Deviations from the classical theory of the barometric efficiency (Jacob 1940) is shown in some examples. A model with a semipermeable bed overlying the aquifer is proposed, and equations for the flow in this model, generated by changes in the total load, for instance changes in air pressure, are presented. Solutions are given for specified variations in the total load, and some data from nature are compared with one of these solutions. The data presented are from the archives of the Geological Survey of Denmark, Hydrogeological Department (DGU, HA).


Objectives (i) To evaluate the impact of routine early pulse oximetry screening on the rate of unexpected neonatal unit (NNU) admissions and the need for echocardiography. (ii) To review the outcomes of babies admitted as a result of a positive pulse oximetry screening test. Design Retrospective review over a 40-month period. Setting Level 3 NNU. Patients All babies admitted as a result of positive pulse oximetry screening. Main outcome measures Indication for admission, clinical diagnosis and management were collated. Results 3552 babies were admitted during the study period. Of these, 1651 were unexpected admissions and 208/1651 (12.6%) were as a result of positive pulse oximetry screening. 165/208 babies (79%) had a significant clinical condition which required further intervention including 17 with congenital heart defect (CHD) (nine critical), 55 with pneumonia, 30 with sepsis and 12 with pulmonary hypertension. No baby died or collapsed on the postnatal ward during the study period. 61/208 babies (29%) had echocardiography and CHD was detected in 28%. Conclusions Routine use of pulse oximetry screening identifies babies with CHD and other illnesses, which, if not identified early could potentially lead to postnatal collapse. It does not appear to overload clinical services, resulting in appropriate admission in the majority and a modest increase in the number of echocardiograms performed.


Cetacean tourism in Aotearoa New Zealand is now over 30 years old and has experienced substantial growth in visitor numbers and operations. The industry is remarkably diverse, targeting several dolphin and whale species, and encompassing varied habitats in coastal waters, fiords and submarine canyons. The knowledge and experience collected over these past 30 years has both advanced the global understanding of cetacean tourism, and influenced scientific practices for its study and management. Here we review the approaches taken in quantifying the impact of cetacean tourism in New Zealand, and critically assess the efficacy of the research and management strategies adopted. We place particular focus on the Bay of Islands, Hauraki Gulf, Kaikoura, Akaroa and Fiordland, areas that include the oldest, and longest studied industries nationally. We propose a set of best research practices, expose the most notable knowledge gaps and identify emerging research questions. Drawing on perspectives from the natural and social sciences, we outline the key determinants of failure and success in protecting cetacean populations from the detrimental impact of tourism. We suggest four golden rules for future management efforts: (1) acknowledge cetacean tourism as a sub-lethal anthropogenic stressor to be managed with precaution, (2) apply integrated and adaptive site- and species-specific approaches, (3) fully conceptualize tourism within its broader social and ecological contexts, and (4) establish authentic collaborations and engagement with the local community. Lastly, we forecast upcoming challenges and opportunities for research and management of this industry in the context of global climate change. Despite New Zealand's early establishment of precautionary legislation and advanced tourism research and management approaches, we detected flaws in current schemes, and emphasize the need for more adaptive and comprehensive strategies. Cetacean tourism remains an ongoing challenge in New Zealand and globally.


Background: Protein Energy Malnutrition (PEM) related to inflammation and physical activities reduction occur commonly among hemodialysis patients. This study aimed to describe Malnutrition-Inflammation Score (MIS) and physical activity of hemodialysis patients. Methods: This study involved 117 patients in the Hemodialysis Unit of Dr. Hasan Sadikin General Hospital Bandung from September to October 2014. Secondary data were collected to examine MIS and physical activity, which was measured by using Baecke Physical Activity Questionnaire. The collected data were presented using frequency distribution. Results: Eighty (68.4%) patients had MIS <6, thirty seven (31.6%) patients had MIS ≥6, and ninety four (80.3%) patients had light physical activity. Conclusions: Most of the patients have MIS <6 and are physically inactive. [AMJ.2015;2(4):601–7]


Doctors in the Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania area often have difficulty speaking with children and parents about childhood obesity issues for a number of reasons. They have limited time in well-child appointments, they perceive a lack of effectiveness of these talks, and these discussions can seem confrontational to children and parents. This paper describes the creation, testing, and implementation of Fitwits MD, a tool that can be used by physicians to facilitate these discussions. Building on prior work developed in the Fitwits School Program, we ran participatory design sessions with health care providers from family medicine and pediatric institutions. The activities included redefining often misused and confusing terminology, role-playing as 9to 12-year-old patients, open conversations about the barriers to weight discussion with families, and the issues providers believe are most important to convey to patients. Doctors used the Fitwits School Program games as inspiration to generate new games that might help them during a well-child visit. During these sessions, doctors realized the difficulties they had in finding a common language and overcoming time and other barriers that limit the desired content. Doctors needed a tool to facilitate comfort between doctors and patients and develop a structure that gives key messages and conversational opportunities. The result is Fitwits MD, a structured tool for office discussion of obesity during well-child care. The Fitwits MD framework and language provide a conversation that is gratifying to early adolescents, caregivers, and health care providers alike.


"The 21st century is perhaps best captured in the 'bad' infinity of the animated GIF, with its stuttering, frustrated temporality, its eerie sense of being caught in a time-trap." – Mark Fisher

We live our lives in a duality of speed and stasis. One in which our working lives seem to be ever more dominated by micro-tasks and feverish networked bureaucracies, counterpointed with a cultural gridlock akin to the frozen time of the animated gif. In neoliberal consumer capitalism the future has stalled in the pastiche of retromania. The fractured drift of the perpetual loop and the harsh regression of the gif animation with its belligerent stutter both in their own way present a new modality. This is a rupture in our understanding of time, a new paradigm, a variant ontology, and a recursive action that is unlike Hegel's indefinite progression as indefinite reiteration.

In Bad Infinity, Pendrell and Trafford juxtapose a jarring imaginary of the underlying temporalities of the neo-liberal unconscious. Weaving together the just out-of-reach, yet that which is constructive of contemporary subjectivity; from the fantasies of data farms and psychotically impassioned global artificial intelligence structures, to the fractures ghosting through our navigation of the confederacy of phantoms stuck in time.


We use analytical arguments and large-scale Monte Carlo calculations to investigate the nature of the phase transitions between distinct complex superfluid phases in a two-component Bose-Einstein condensate when a nondissipative drag between the two components is being varied. We focus on understanding the role of topological defects in various phase transitions and develop vortex-matter arguments, allowing an analytical description of the phase diagram. We find the behavior of fluctuation induced vortex matter to be much more complex and substantially different from that of single-component superfluids. We propose and numerically investigate a drag-induced "preemptive vortex loop proliferation" scenario. Such a transition may be a quite generic feature in many multicomponent systems where symmetry is restored by a gas of several kinds of competing vortex loops.


Sensory neurons use a pair of TRP channels to respond to some itch-inducing chemicals. An itchy pair of channels Chronic itching is a serious condition and is often resistant to antihistamines. Kim and colleagues explored the channels in sensory neurons that mediate the response to itch-inducing stimuli, in particular the inflammatory mediator histamine and the antimalarial drug chloroquine, both of which activate distinct G protein–coupled receptors (GPCRs) at the cell surface. Although TRPV1 and TRPA1, two members of the transient receptor potential (TRP) family of calcium channels, have been implicated in histamine- and chloroquine-induced itching, the authors found that a third member of this family, TRPV4, was also important. Sensory neurons with both TRPV4 and TRPV1 responded to both histamine and chloroquine. Additionally, TRPV4 interacted with TRPV1, enhancing TRPV4 activity. Their data decode itch perception and suggest that targeting TRPV1 or TRPV4 may be beneficial in treating intractable chronic itch. The transient receptor potential channels (TRPs) respond to chemical irritants and temperature. TRPV1 responds to the itch-inducing endogenous signal histamine, and TRPA1 responds to the itch-inducing chemical chloroquine. We showed that, in sensory neurons, TRPV4 is important for both chloroquine- and histamine-induced itch and that TRPV1 has a role in chloroquine-induced itch. Chloroquine-induced scratching was reduced in mice in which TRPV1 was knocked down or pharmacologically inhibited. Both TRPV4 and TRPV1 were present in some sensory neurons. Pharmacological blockade of either TRPV4 or TRPV1 significantly attenuated the Ca2+ response of sensory neurons exposed to histamine or chloroquine. Knockout of Trpv1 impaired Ca2+ responses and reduced scratching behavior evoked by a TRPV4 agonist, whereas knockout of Trpv4 did not alter TRPV1-mediated capsaicin responses. Electrophysiological analysis of human embryonic kidney (HEK) 293 cells coexpressing TRPV4 and TRPV1 revealed that the presence of both channels enhanced the activation kinetics of TRPV4 but not of TRPV1. Biochemical and biophysical studies suggested a close proximity between TRPV4 and TRPV1 in dorsal root ganglion neurons and in cultured cells. Thus, our studies identified TRPV4 as a channel that contributes to both histamine- and chloroquine-induced itch and indicated that the function of TRPV4 in itch signaling involves TRPV1-mediated facilitation. TRP facilitation through the formation of heteromeric complexes could be a prevalent mechanism by which the vast array of somatosensory information is encoded in sensory neurons.


Tarragon (Artemisia dracunculus L.) has antioxidant, anti-diabetic, anti-bacterial and anti-inflammatory properties. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of tarragon hydro-alcoholic extract on anxiety and depression in male rats exposed to chronic restraint stress. Forty eight male rats were randomly divided into six groups including 1) control, 2) stress, 3) tarragon 100, 4) tarragon 500, 5) stress-tarragon 100 and 6) stress-tarragon 500. Groups 2, 5, and 6 were placed in restrainer for 21 consecutive days, 6 hours a day. Groups 3, 4, 5, and 6 were gavaged with tarragon extract of different doses (100 and 500mg/kg). At the end of this 21-day period, anxiety and depression were evaluated by elevated plus maze and forced swimming test. Data analysis was performed using one-way ANOVA, p<0.05 being considered significant. The percentages of open arm entry and time spent in open arm increased significantly in tarragon-stress groups compared with stress group (p<0.05). Tarragon extract decreased significantly the immobility time in rats exposed to stress in forced swimming test (p<0.01). The results suggested that hydro-alcoholic extract of Artemisia dracunculus L. reduced the anxiety and depression in rats exposed to chronic immobilization stress, probably due to its anti-oxidant compounds.


In the lalate 1980s, the acai (Euterpe oleracea) fruit and palmito extraction system of eastern Amazonia was heralded as a promising alternative to deforestation that could simultaneously provide income to rural producers and protect forest integrity. We e tested these claims in ffive communities located along a distance gradient from the lalargest regional market in Belem, Brazil. We e evaluated the market accessibility and management strategies of acai producers, and assessed the impacts of management on forest characteristics. In contrast to other NTFP systems, we found that distance to the major market is not a limiting factor for acai sales because throughout the region intermediaries are readily available to transport acai from producer to market. Demand for acai fruit is increasing, leading to intensification of palm management, which results in the conversion of native flfloodplain forests into acai-dominated forests that closely resemble plantations. We e conclude that the acai system is not typical of other NTFP and should not be regarded as a model for merging forest conservation with rural development. However, the increased demand for acai, especially from educated consumers, together with the ease of production and marketing, present an opportunity to develop the acai system into one in which both rural livelihoods and forest integrity are supported.


This title explains what science knows about climate change, how it will affect us, its impact on different areas, and what we can do about it.Most of us are familiar with the terms climate change and global warming, but not too many of us understand the science behind them. We don't really understand how climate change will affect us, and for that reason we might not consider it as pressing a concern as, say, housing prices or the quality of local education. This book explains the scientific knowledge about global climate change clearly and concisely in engaging, nontechnical language, describes how it will affect all of us, and suggests how government, business, and citizens can take action against it.If people don't quite understand the seriousness of climate change, it is partly because politicians and the media have misrepresented the scientific community's strong consensus on it - politicians by selectively parsing the words of mainstream scientists, and the media by presenting "balanced" accounts that give the views of a small number of contrarians equal weight with empirically supported scientific findings. The science is complex, couched in the technical language of sinks, forcing, and albedo, and invokes probabilities, risks, ranges, and uncertainties. Policy discussions use such unfamiliar terms as no regrets policy, clean development mechanism, and greenhouse-gas intensity."Climate Change" explains the nuts and bolts of climate and the greenhouse effect and describes their interaction. It discusses the nature of consensus in science, and the consensus on climate change in particular. It describes both public- and private-sector responses, considers how to improve the way scientific findings are communicated, and evaluates the real risks both to vulnerable developing countries and to particular areas of the United States. We can better tackle climate change, this book shows us, if we understand it. We can use this knowledge to guide our own behavior and pressure governments and businesses to take action.


This particularistic case study of St. Louis, Missouri charter schools examines the history of the charter school movement in St. Louis from the perspectives of those most closely involved in policy-making and school development, covering the period from the local movement's inception in 1996 through the first sponsor review year in 2005. Transcribed interviews of ten key participants in the policy development and start-up process, as well as archival data, were thematically coded, deconstructed, triangulated, and reconstructed to form the basis of the history as it is presented in this study. This qualitative study reveals the rich narrative of charter school development specific to St. Louis at the time of the study. It does not study the qualitative efficacy of the charter schools themselves. This history includes conflict between charter proponents and local districts, legislators and sponsors, school operators and sponsors, and most other conceivable combinations of key actors in the process. Conflicts have resulted from disagreement about the legislation itself, the role of the sponsor, the legal and ethical conduct of operators, the effectiveness of the schools, and the philosophical concept of using public money for these independent (but "public) schools. Of the eight schools included in the study, six are still operating as charter schools. Further research should include expanded study of these schools and other charter schools for those elements of success that may be transferable to traditional schools. If two of charter schools' purposes are creating market forces that compel positive change in the local school district, and providing the opportunity for experimental methods that might be applied more broadly, then these elements warrant additional scrutiny. Though St. Louis Charter School History Little, Tara, 2007, UMSL, 3 the success of charter schools in the narrow context of this study was not marked, closer study of these schools as they mature may yield results that provide generalizable teaching and learning strategies. St. Louis Charter School History Little, Tara, 2007, UMSL, 4


Digital technology has unquestionably become central to the enterprise of public history and cultural heritage. Yet the extent to which digital technologies have helped public historians animate higher levels of civic engagement and activism is unclear and becomes particularly problematic in the context of the digital divide. This essay examines the implications of that divide through an analysis of a community-engagement project in a distressed section of inner-city St. Louis. The experience provides a cautionary tale about the efficacy of chasing the latest digital wizardry in the pursuit of public engagement, but also suggests that digital technologies can enhance civic engagement and activism when blended strategically with more traditional formats for interaction.


ABSTRACT:Congolese writer In Koli Jean Bofane's most recent novel Congo Inc. (2014) explores various inflections of African participation in contemporary globalization. Bofane embarks on a dialectical undertaking, debunking globalization-hype as it de facto impacts Africa and showing in reverse that globalization means the participation of African subjects in the global economy as commodities rather than as actors. This reduction of African producers to the level of the raw material they produce in the extractive economies culminates in a negative biopolitics: a necropolitics embedded within economy-as-warfare. By contrast, Bofane suggests a mode of participation in globality (rather than globalization) that stresses an "affirmative biopolitics" of cosmic or planetary dimensions—a form of participation that outstrips and confounds all the pseudo- or semi-participatory sops that are thrown to the inhabitants of the African continent.


We examine the long-term trend of income inequality and the effects of redistribution policies over the past two decades in Japan. The key findings are as follows. First, more than half of the widening inequality is attributable to population aging and declining household size. Notably, the increasing share of the elderly who reside apart from their children has raised income inequality in terms of pre-tax pre-transfer income. Second, the effects of redistribution policies were concentrated on reducing inequality among the elderly, but most of the inequality was caused by income transfers from the young, and withinage redistribution was generally limited. Third, the younger cohorts tend to face greater inequality of disposable income, suggesting that the redistribution policies have become less progressive on a lifetimeincome basis.


Purpose of review Major trauma is often associated with hemorrhage and transfusion of blood and blood products, which are all associated with adverse clinical outcome. The aim of this review is to emphasize why bleeding and coagulation has to be monitored closely in trauma patients and to discuss the rationale behind modern and future transfusion strategies. Recent findings Hemorrhage is a major cause of early death after trauma. Apart from the initial injuries, hemorrhage is significantly promoted by coagulopathy. Early identification of the underlying cause of hemorrhage with coagulation tests (routine and bedside) in conjunction with blood gas analysis allow early goal-directed treatment of coagulation disorders and anemia, thereby stopping bleeding and reducing transfusion requirements. These treatment options have to be adapted to the civilian and noncivilian sector. Transfusion of blood and its components is critical in the management of trauma hemorrhage, but is per se associated with adverse outcome. Decisions must weigh the potential benefits and harms. Summary Future transfusion strategies are based on early and continuous assessment of the bleeding and coagulation status of trauma patients. This allows specific and goal-directed treatment, thereby optimizing the patient's coagulation status early, minimizing the patient's exposure to blood products, reducing costs and improving the patient's outcome.


BACKGROUND
Eyelid melanoma (EM) is a rare condition that accounts for <1% of all cutaneous melanomas. In this analysis, patients diagnosed with EM in the United States were compared to those with other melanomas in the head and neck.

METHODS
The National Cancer Database was used to select patients with head and neck melanoma from 2004 to 2015.

RESULTS
A total of 137,233 patients met the criteria of the study. Among them, 2694 were diagnosed with EM (2%) and 134,539 in other head and neck locations (98%). Regarding the patients with EM, the mean age was 68.56 years (standard deviation 14.04). A greater number of them were treated in Academic/Research Programs (53.6%), insured by Medicare (55.7%), tumor in situ (52.2%), stage 0 (49%), and without ulceration (75.9%). The mean time to treatment commencement was 18.96 days for EM compared to 14.4 days for other melanoma in the head and neck regions (P < 0.001). There was a greater proportion of EM in female patients (odds ratio [OR] 2.371 [2.191-2.566], P < 0.001), compared to male; age greater than 80 years (OR 1.622 [1.360-1.934], P < 0.001) compared to 0 to 49 years. Moreover, EM was an independent predictor for treatment in Academic/Research Programs (OR 1.258 [1.160-1.365], P < 0.001) and diagnosis at autopsy (OR 1.414 [1.083-1.847], P = 0.011) compared to other melanoma in the head and neck region.

CONCLUSION
These novel findings have the potential to guide clinical decision making in head and neck melanoma management.


One of the most promising routes to a sustainable energy future, as well as climate change mitigation, is the development of renewable energy sources such as wind, solar energy, and hydropower. Indeed, scientists have proposed plans to move completely (100 percent!) to these energy sources within a couple of decades. Mark Z. Jacobson and M.A. Delucchi, scientists from Stanford and U.C. Davis, have outlined a plan to achieve this goal, thereby "eliminating all fossil fuels". Hydroelectric power already provides almost one-fifth of the world's electricity, and wind and solar development is rapidly picking up as well. However, before we leave our worries behind and celebrate, we must resolve one potentially difficult issue for renewable energy, especially these three favored brands. They conflict with another important goal, that of protecting biodiversity. Wind, solar, and hydro energy all have one thing in common: they destroy habitat as well as directly kill wildlife, including listed endangered species and their habitat. Can these problems be reconciled with the movement toward renewable energy, allowing us to partake of its many benefits? At least for now, we regularly see renewable energy progress impeded by the need for Endangered Species Act compliance. The ESA has presented itself as a potentially catastrophic obstacle to renewable energy development. The time has come to think about how we might maximize our access to renewable energy while minimizing its impacts on vulnerable species. This Essay will first review the existing conflicts between endangered species and these three sources of renewable energy. This will be followed by analysis of the potential for harmonizing each energy source with the dictates of the Endangered Species Act, concluding with specific proposals for redesigning our methods of harvesting these forms of renewable energy. As one example, innovators have designed impressive new wind-harvesting technologies that are less dangerous to birds and bats without sacrificing efficiency. I propose that the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service incorporate a preference for wildlife-protective technologies into the regional incidental take permitting requirements, at least for certain higher-risk landscapes. The ultimate goal of the piece is to analyze the extent to which it is possible to use each form of renewable energy without significant ecosystem impacts, to generate somewhat of a ranking of preferred modes of development, and to seek the best path (in relation to wildlife) to a renewable energy future. Such a future is itself essential to biodiversity, so the interests must be harmonized.


This paper develops and demonstrates an original approach to face-image analysis based on identifying distinctive areas of each individual's face by its comparison to others in the population. The method differs from most others—that we refer as unary—where salient regions are defined by analyzing only images of the same individual. We extract a set of multiscale patches from each face image before projecting them into a common feature space. The degree of "distinctiveness" of any patch depends on its distance in feature space from patches mapped from other individuals. First a pairwise analysis is developed and then a simple generalization to the multiple-face case is proposed. A perceptual experiment, involving 45 observers, indicates the method to be fairly compatible with how humans mark faces as distinct. A quantitative example of face authentication is also performed in order to show the essential role played by the distinctive information. A comparative analysis shows that performance of our n-ary approach is as good as several contemporary unary, or binary, methods, while tapping a complementary source of information. Furthermore, we show it can also provide a useful degree of illumination invariance.


The combination of geothermal heat pumps (GEO HPs) and thermally activated building systems (TABS), that allow both low temperature heating and high temperature cooling, could yield primary energy savings of around 2071% in comparison with conventional heating/cooling systems. However, the potential energy savings are rarely reached in practice due to bad integration of the different subsystems and inefficient control. The present paper presents the analysis of two monitoring campaigns by stressing the influence of relevant parameters such as the performance of components (heat pump, ground heat exchangers, TABS, etc.), building characteristics and the implemented control strategies. The buildings have been monitored and analyzed in the frame of the WKSP-project realized by Institute of Building Services and Energy Design (IGS) at Technical University of Braunschweig. The results show good performance of ground coupled heat pump with seasonal COP up to around 5. Moreover, the use of ground heat exchangers to perform free chilling allows seasonal EER up to 20. Furthermore, the control strategies implemented in the different buildings are quite different. It is also shown that this system can lead to a running cost reduction up to 50% compared to conventional systems and that CO2 emissions can be reduced by 40%.


Organically preserved, unicellular microfossils of Ediacaran and Cambrian age, which comprise single and multiple internal bodies within the vesicle, have been studied with a view towards explaining the origin and function of these structures. Assessed by body plan, ornamentation, excystment structure, cell wall resistance and ultrastructure (where available), and newly observed internal bodies defined by their own, robust wall, these microfossils are recognised as algal zygotic cysts and phycomata by comparison with extant green algae. Although rare, these internal bodies are a persistent feature of specific morphotypes regardless of geological age, and are reviewed. Internal bodies are a part of reproductive cysts, resembling those known in different clades of green algae: prasinophytes, chlorophytes and streptophytes, as well as alveolates (including dinoflagellates). They are inferred to be endocysts containing zygotes and/or sacs of swarmers, if single, or offspring cells (spores), if multiple, in sexual and asexual generations of ancient taxa of the classes Prasinophyceae and Chlorophyceae. It may not be excluded, however, that they represent the earliest, stem-group streptophytes or alveolates. The diagnoses of the Ediacaran taxa Ancorosphaeridium, A. magnum, Densisphaera, D. arista, D. fistulosa, Multifronsphaeridium ramosum and Tanarium tuberosum are emended to include the internal bodies as integral morphological structures of microfossils, and to abandon the erroneous identification of the double wall of the vesicle. Based on the earliest occurrence of microfossils with an internal body in the Dictyosphaera—Shuiyousphaeridium plexus, sexual reproduction among photosynthesising microbiota is interpreted at c. 1.6–1.4 Ga, a common phenomenon in the Ediacaran (Tanarium, Ancorosphaeridium, Densisphaera), and dominant in the Cambrian (Skiagia, Polygonium and many others) periods.


Purpose: Although new teachers' induction is a key issue of principals' work, there's still little research on this. Occurring within the frame of a EU project, the goal of the study was to perceive the main needs of principals to support beginning teachers in Belgium (Flanders), Finland and Portugal . Research m ethod: It built on a questionnaire applied to 1654 principals in three countries . 261 principals replied to the questionnaire. Descriptive statistics and exploratory factor analysis were used, and a comparative test involving the countries under analysis was performed.  Findings: The most relevant needs referred to professional/organizational development and pedagogical leadership, comprising implementation of supervisory devices and ICT integration in the classroom. Principals stressed the need to support new teachers to promote differentiated pedagogy, critical reflection and collaborative practices. Moreover, we found significant differences between countries: Belgians presented the highest scores in all dimensions, followed by the Portuguese and the Finish, respectively. Conclusions: There's a consensus on the relevance of principals' action as pedagogical leaders, with a great focus on collaboration as a methodology of work among teachers, and reflection as an opportunity for professional growth and learning. Traditionally, this issue concerned only teachers. Currently, there seems to be a shift towards a commitment of principals to become more directly involved in driving teachers' practices and teaching processes. Nevertheless, this consensus is not total, as they value differently, in breadth and depth, the other dimensions, which must be analyzed in the light of the idiosyncrasies of each educational system.


This paper studies the effects of asymmetries in re-election probabilities across parties on public policy and their subsequent propagation to the economy. The struggle between groups that disagree on targeted public spending (e.g., pork) results in governments being endogenously short-sighted: Systematic underinvestment in infrastructure and overspending on targeted goods arise, above and beyond what is observed in symmetric environments. Because the party enjoying an electoral advantage is less short-sighted, it devotes a larger proportion of revenues to productive investment. Hence, political turnover induces economic fluctuations in an otherwise deterministic environment. I characterize analytically the longrun distribution of allocations and show that output increases with electoral advantage, despite the fact that governments expand. Volatility is non-monotonic in electoral advantage and is an additional source of inefficiency. Using panel data from US states I confirm these findings.


Every week young children are hospitalized on the playing fields of Britain. Yet this data is never collected, nor is there any concerted attempt to work out how to make sport safer. Using meticulous, peer-reviewed research, the book sets out the true risks associated with the sport, raising uncomfortable questions for politicians and the educational authorities. Would parents be so willing to let their children play rugby if they knew that the average risk of serious injury over the course of a season could be at least 17 percent, or nearly one in six?


A series of D.C. Circuit cases invalidating SEC rules on economic analysis grounds has cast the agency's rulemaking authority in doubt. We trace the evolution of this case law, noting the incompatibility of strict cost-benefit analysis procedures designed for executive agencies with structure and processes of multimember commissions like the SEC. The SEC has, until very recently, abstained from defining its statutory requirements for economic analysis, and thereby left courts and commenters free to develop an ad hoc, open-ended jurisprudence of economics in SEC rulemaking that has proven increasingly unworkable in practice. Current legislative proposals would codify and extend the logic of this case law, and thereby make future financial regulations even less likely to survive judicial review — even regulations expressly mandated by Congress. The SEC, faced with these substantial threats to its rulemaking authority should continue to improve its rulewriting processes, including its use of economic analysis, affirm its substantial and long-standing expertise in financial economics, and insist on the agency's right, derived from that expertise, to discern and define the boundary between economic analysis and policy choice. We view the SEC's staff's recent articulation of a theory of economic analysis as an important step in its response to these developments, and recommend continued refinement of its definition of its economic analysis mandates, and their relationship to the SEC's primary mission, the protection of investors. This effort should lead to economic analyses of future rules that are both meaningful and feasible, and help reclaim the judicial deference that the Commission's decisions are due, particularly if these staff efforts are adopted at the Commission level.


Introduction Antiretroviral changes (single drug substitutions and regimen switches) limit treatment options and introduce challenges such as increased cost, monitoring and adherence difficulties. Patterns of drug substitutions and regimen switches from stavudine (d4T) and zidovudine (AZT) regimens have been well described but data on tenofovir (TDF) are more limited. This study describes the patterns and risk factors for drug changes of these antiretroviral drugs in adults. Method This retrospective cohort study included HIV positive, antiretroviral treatment (ART) naïve adults aged ≥18 years who started ART with two nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitors (NRTIs) and a non-nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitor. Follow-up was censored at first drug change and analysis focused on NRTI changes only. Results Between September 2002 and April 2011, 5095 adults initiated ART in Gugulethu. This comprised 948 subjects on TDF, 3438 on d4T and 709 subjects on AZT. Virological suppression rates at 1 year, regimen switching due to virological failure and overall losses to the programme were similar across the three groups. TDF had the lowest incidence rate of drug substitutions (2.6 per 100 P/Ys) compared to 17.9 for d4T and 8.5 per 100 P/Ys for AZT. Adverse drug reactions (ADRs) accounted for the majority of drug substitutions of d4T. Multivariate analysis showed that increasing age, female sex and d4T exposure were associated with increased hazard of drug substitution due to ADRs. Conversely, TDF exposure was associated with a substantially lower risk of substitution (adjusted hazards ratio 0.38; 95% CI 0.20–0.72). Conclusion Regimen switches and virological suppression were similar for patients exposed to TDF, d4T and AZT, suggesting all regimens were equally effective. However, TDF was better tolerated with a substantially lower rate of drug substitutions due to ADRs.


During the last few decades, the concepts and procedures of seismic design of buildings have evolved significantly. Traditionally, seismic design was based on providing the structure with the strength it needs to resist equivalent lateral forces that represent the earthquake induced forces. This methodology has proven to be inefficient in providing the target level of seismic performance in all case scenarios. The new methodology in seismic design, performance-based design, aims at designing the structure to achieve the expected performance levels under different levels of seismic hazard. Although this goal is still not fully attained, several developments have taken place towards it. The latest edition of the National Building Code of Canada (NBCC 2005) requires the use of dynamic analysis for the seismic design, except in the case of short to medium height simple buildings with regular geometry where the use of the equivalent static load method is still allowed. In this study, three moment resisting frame buildings assumed to be located in Vancouver, British Columbia are designed based on the equivalent static load method of the NBCC 2005 and their performance is evaluated using nonlinear dynamic time-history analysis. Multiple ground motion records corresponding to different seismic hazard levels are used in the analysis. The effect of infill panels on the seismic response is studied as well. The results show that the design is satisfactory and, in some cases, conservative. The results also show that infill panels, in most cases, enhance the dynamic response of the buildings, while in some cases they may have a negative impact on it.


Sea lion mortalities in central California during May and June 1998 were traced to their ingestion of sardines and anchovies that had accumulated the neurotoxin domoic acid. The detection of toxin in urine, feces, and stomach contents of several sea lions represents the first proven occurrence of domoic acid transfer through the food chain to a marine mammal. The pennate diatoms, Pseudo‐nitzschia multiseries and P. australis, were the dominant, toxin‐producing phytoplankton constituting algal blooms near Monterey Bay, Half Moon Bay, and Oceano Dunes, areas where sea lions with neurological symptoms stranded. Toxic Pseudo‐nitzschia were also found near Morro Bay Point Conception, Point Arguello, and Santa Barbara, demonstrating that these specie were widespread along the central California coast in June 1998. Measurements of domoic acid during three cruises in early June showed the highest cellular toxin levels in P. multiseries near Point A~o Nuevo at 6 pg cell−1 and in P. australis from Morro Bay at 78 pg cell−1. Maximum cellular domoic acid levels were observed within 20 km of the coast between 0 and 5 m depth, although toxin was also measured t depths of 40 m. Hydrographic data indicated that the highest toxin levels and greatest numbers of toxic cells were positioned in water masses associated with upwelling zones near coastal headlands. Nutrient levels at these sites were less than those typically measured during periods of active upwelling, due to the 1998 El Ni~o event. The flow of cells and/or nutrients from coastal headlands into embayments wher cells can multiply in a stratified environment is a possible mechanism of bloom development along the central California coast. This coupling of toxic Pseudo‐nitzschia growth near upwelling zones with physical processes involved in cell transport will be understood only when long‐term measurements are made at several key coastal locations, aiding in our capability to predict domoic‐acid producing algal blooms.


Like many developing countries, Turkey has also given priority to the development of tourism industry as a part of its economic growth strategy. This study intends to investigate whether tourism has really contributed to the economic growth in Turkey. The interaction between tourism and economic growth is investigated by making use of leveraged bootstrap causality tests. This method is robust to the existence of non-normality and ARCH effects. Special attention is given to the choice of the optimal lag order of the empirical model. It is found that the tourism-led growth hypothesis is supported empirically in the case of Turkey.


Reelin is a secreted protein that regulates neuron localization during development of the mammalian brain. Utsunomiya-Tate et al. analyzed neuronal cell lysates and culture media and found that Reelin forms large protein complexes of various sizes. An antibody known to bind to the amino-terminus of Reelin and to inhibit its biological activity also inhibited formation of Reelin multimers. Isolated epitope fragments of Reelin formed a linear, soluble polymer whose interaction is electrostatic in nature. A mutant form of Reelin lacking the epitope region did not form polymers nor could it transduce signals through Reelin receptors. The authors propose that the Reelin multimer may induce receptor oligomerization, although the size of the biologically active multimer is not yet known. Utsunomiya-Tate, N., Kubo, K., Tate, S., Kainosho, M., Katayama, E., Nakajima, K., and Mikoshiba, K. (2000) Reelin molecules assemble together to form a large protein complex, which is inhibited by the function-blocking CR-50 antibody. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 97: 9729-9734. [Abstract] [Full Text]


During a pipeline excavation, additional pipe stress and deflection can be produced due to altered soil support beneath the exposed pipe, which might bring in additional integrity concerns for the pipe under assessment. Classical beam theories and soil-spring modeling are inadequate for the complex pipe-soil interactions and boundary conditions. The objective of the present study was to develop a computational model that can be used to predict pipe stress and deflection during an integrity dig. The pipe-soil interaction was modeled with 3D elements using surface-to-surface contact approximation in ABAQUS. The pipe was assumed to be initially buried, then exposed for 12, 20, 30 and 34 m subsequently to mimic a buried pipeline under step-by-step excavation. The results indicated that the depth of soil support is a dominant factor for the pipe stress and deflection during an integrity excavation, which has not been previously investigated. Significant axial stress and strain in the longitudinal direction were produced by excavation, which may increase the risk of failure for the pipe that is suspected of circumferential defects. Furthermore, nonuniform soil support could cause substantial pipe deflections and stresses that may trigger an integrity dig. The model may be used to estimate the pipe stress and deflection prior to an integrity dig based on the soil conditions.


Dynamical quantum phase transitions (DQPTs) feature singular temporal behavior in transient quantum states during nonequilibrium real-time evolution. In this work we show that DQPTs in random Ising chains exhibit critical behavior with nontrivial exponents that are not integer valued and not of mean-field type. By means of an exact renormalization group transformation we estimate the exponents with high accuracy eliminating largely any finite-size effects. We further discuss how the considered dynamical phenomena can be made accessible in current Rydberg atom platforms. In this context we explore signatures of the DQPTs in the statistics of spin configuration measurements available in such architectures. Specifically, we study the statistics of clusters of consecutively aligned spins and observe a marked influence of the DQPT on the corresponding distribution.


Abstract We previously reported on the very low rate of bone density assessment and vitamin D nutritional (VDN) status among 135 patients presenting with proximal hip fractures (ENDO-2018). It is generally assumed that bone turnover increases soon after a fracture, particularly after a major fracture such as hip. However, very little data exists on bone turnover markers (BTM) immediately after a hip fracture. In addition, it is unclear if the BTMs are related to prevailing VDN and parathyroid function. As part of ongoing project we assessed these characteristics in a larger sample (162), and further evaluated the indices of mineral homeostasis (as assessed by serum PTH and 25-OHD levels), and bone turnover (as assessed by serum CTX and bone specific alkaline phosphatase (BSAP); commonly used markers of bone resorption and formation respectively, in clinical practice. 162 patients were admitted with proximal femur fractures over 5y (1/1/2011 to 12/31/2016). The electronic health records (EHR) of 162 patients were reviewed to determine the rate of BMD testing, VDN, parathyroid function and BTMs. There were 112 women (69%) and 72 (44%) Caucasians with a mean age 78.6 ± 12.4y (range 49-98y). Mean 25-OHD was 22.6 ±12.9 ng/ml, and PTH was 61.1 ± 37.9 pg/ml. Mean serum CTX was 481 ± 241 mmol/mol and BSAP was 20.2 ± 14.6. Prevalence of vitamin D deficiency (<20ng/ml) was 44%, insufficiency (<30ng/ml) was 36%, and only 20% had optimal VDN. Serum PTH >70pg/ml in 25% (17/69), of whom 8 had 25-OD <20 ng/ml. By contrast, 42% (22/52) patients with serum PTH <70 pg/ml had a serum 25-OHD <20 ng/ml; the difference in vitamin D insufficiency was similar between the two groups of patients with and without hyperparathyroidism. Serum CTX was <300 mmol/mol in 25% (21/80) patients, which we considered as low bone turnover, and the mean BSAP in these patients was 13.4 ± 4.9 µg/L. Sixteen patients (20%) had serum BSAP >22 µg/L, all of whom had serum CTX >300 mmol/mol, which we considered as high bone turnover. The remaining 55% had high serum CTX 300-600 mmol/mol and the mean BSAP in these patients was 16.2 ± 7.9 µg/L. In a sub-set of 51 patients with BMD, osteopenia was seen in 13% using spine and 12% using femoral neck T-Scores, and osteoporosis in 9% using spine and 14% using femoral neck T scores. Neither spine nor femoral neck BMD correlated with VDN, PTH, or BTMs. Conclusions: Despite acute major fracture 26% have low bone turnover as assessed by BTMs. Only 25% had PTH >70 pg/ml that was not related to the prevailing VDN or renal function, but was related to age. High bone turnover was present in 74%, but was not related to PTH level or VDN. This is the first and most comprehensive study of mineral and skeletal homeostasis in a large sample of patients with hip fracture. Considering the large variation in BTMs, our findings may have therapeutic (antiresoprtive/anabolic) implications. Further studies are need to either confirm or refute our observations.


A new formulation for the solution of wave propagation in inhomogeneous optical systems, based on the extension of conventional differential-transfer matrices into modified differential-transfer matrices, is given. In justification of our proposed method, several examples are presented, and the greater accuracy of our modified differential transfer matrices compared with that of conventional differential-transfer matrices is observed in several cases. It is also shown that the modified differential-transfer-matrix method is accurate enough even in those cases that the conventional differential-transfer-matrix method fails to yield acceptable results.


Knowledge of the wintertime sea-ice production in Arctic polynyas is an important requirement for estimations of the dense water formation, which drives vertical mixing in the upper ocean. Satellite-based techniques incorporating relatively high resolution thermal-infrared data from MODIS in combination with atmospheric reanalysis data have proven to be a strong tool to monitor large and regularly forming polynyas and to resolve narrow thin-ice areas (i.e., leads) along the shelf-breaks and across the entire Arctic Ocean. However, the selection of the atmospheric data sets has a large influence on derived polynya characteristics due to their impact on the calculation of the heat loss to the atmosphere, which is determined by the local thin-ice thickness. In order to overcome this methodical ambiguity, we present a MODIS-assisted temperature adjustment (MATA) algorithm that yields corrections of the 2 m air temperature and hence decreases differences between the atmospheric input data sets. The adjustment algorithm is based on atmospheric model simulations. We focus on the Laptev Sea region for detailed case studies on the developed algorithm and present time series of polynya characteristics in the winter season 2019/2020. It shows that the application of the empirically derived correction decreases the difference between different utilized atmospheric products significantly from 49% to 23%. Additional filter strategies are applied that aim at increasing the capability to include leads in the quasi-daily and persistence-filtered thin-ice thickness composites. More generally, the winter of 2019/2020 features high polynya activity in the eastern Arctic and less activity in the Canadian Arctic Archipelago, presumably as a result of the particularly strong polar vortex in early 2020.


Changes in information technology, in combination with changing popular and political opinion (including concern over climate change) are moving the subject of corporate social responsibility ('CSR') to the forefront of policy reform, consumer and investor behavior, and graduate business education. Nevertheless, up to the present, CSR has not thrived within law schools' curricula, or mainstream graduate or undergraduate programs. First, the subject is too synthetic to fit neatly within the core, established framework of academic subject areas (e.g. history, economics, sociology and management), or law schools' conventional teaching of corporate, securities, employment, administrative, or environmental law. CSR is relevant to all these areas but has not become central in any one of them. This essay charts the intellectual history of CSR and explains how the traditional corporations and securities regulation courses have marginalized the study of CSR. It suggests ways these courses could be expanded to address CSR issues and contends that law schools will be falling behind if they do not prepare future corporate lawyers to do so. The global nature of modern commerce and financial markets, and the greater accountability facilitated by the internet, will ensure continued, widespread interest in CSR subjects. The Appendix presents my Congressional testimony in favor of the Extractive Industries Transparency and Disclosure Act – an act which raises fundamental CSR issues which could be explored in law and business schools, as well as in graduate programs in political science and economics, inter alia.


BACKGROUND
Late preterm infants have increased rates of morbidity and mortality compared to term infants. Determining the risk factors in these infants leads to more comprehensive preventive and treatment strategies.

AIMS
Our aim was to analyse the morbidity rates such as respiratory system diseases, infections, congenital anomalies, hypoglycemia and hematologic abnormalities and mortality rates in a large group of patients at a referral center.

STUDY DESIGN
Retrospective cross-sectional study.

METHODS
Medical records of late preterm and term infants who were managed at the referral center were analysed.

RESULTS
41752 births were analysed in 3 years. 71.9% of all births were between 37-42 gestational weeks (i.e. term) and 16.1% were between 34-37 weeks (i.e. late preterm). Compared to term infants, late preterm infants had increased rates of short-term problems. The rate of mortality increased with decreased gestational age. The duration of hospitalization was significantly higher in the smallest late preterm infants.

CONCLUSION
This study demonstrated the need that late preterm infants who have higher risk for morbidity and mortality, compared to term infants require close monitoring. The rate of mortality and hospitalization increased with decreased gestational age.


Secrets and memories collide in The Twilight Hour, the new novel from bestselling author Nicci Gerrard. 'Be with me now, at the twilight hour. When the light fails.' 'I'm here.' 'Tell me.' 'What shall I tell you?' 'Tell me about us, when we were young. What was it like? What was I like then?' Eleanor Lee has lived a fiercely independent existence for over ninety years, but now it's time to tidy her life away - books, photographs, paintings, letters - a lifetime of possessions all neatly boxed up for the last time. But amongst them there are some things that must be kept hidden. And, nearing blindness, Eleanor needs help to uncover them before her children and grandchildren do. Peter, a young man with a broken heart who feels as lost as Eleanor's past, is employed to help with this task. And together they uncover traces of another life - words and photographs telling a story of forbidden love, betrayal, passion, grief and self-sacrifice, which Eleanor must visit one last time. By speaking her memories out loud, and releasing the secrets of her past, Eleanor can finally lay them to rest. To honour them at last, and protect those who must never know. Praise for Nicci Gerrard: "Beguiling, poignant, wonderful". (Sunday Express). "Acutely observed and beautifully written". (Woman and Home). "Subtle, poignant and tremendously skilful". (Observer). Nicci Gerrard writes for the Observer and is the co-author, with Sean French, of the bestselling Nicci French thrillers. She lives in Suffolk with her husband and four children. Her novels Things We Knew Were True, Solace, The Moment You Were Gone, The Winter House and Missing Persons are all published by Penguin and received rave reviews.


Delay-And-Sum (DAS), the state-of-art in ultrasound imaging, is known to be sub-optimal, resulting in low resolution and contrast. Most proposed improvements involve ad-hoc re-weighting, or hit computational bottlenecks given real-time requirements. This paper takes a fresh perspective on the problem, leveraging a functional framework to obtain a regularized least-squares estimate of the tissue reflectivity function. An explicit solution is derived, which - for specific cases – can be efficiently implemented, making it suitable for real-time imaging. In our formulation, DAS appears as a back-projection without any optimal properties. We illustrate the framework through first a one-dimensional set-up, and then a two-dimensional extension with Synthetic Aperture Focusing Technique (SAFT). The one-dimensional simulations show a 77% resolution improvement with respect to DAS, which artificially limits the available bandwidth. On a standard performance-assessment phantom, simulations show that SAFT depth resolution can be improved by 71%.


Teaching English in an Iranian and Islamic culture poses complex questions for both teachers and learners. In this paper, the authors intend to shed light on what it means to teach English as a foreign language (TEFL) in an Islamic-Iranian context. Having reviewed the colonial and postmodern views of English language teaching, the authors took a look beyond the current state of TEFL in Iran, which is marked by its continuing global tendency, and into the future with an emphasis on the importance of including the local specificities of the Iranian culture and religion. The status of the TEFL in Iran and the direction it should take in the future are accompanied by offering some solutions to inherent problems. Iranian TEFL is introduced as the successful assertion of Iranian local culture against the cultural and ideological domination of the West, which can be an antidote to the harshness of all marginalizations Iranians have suffered for centuries.


In 1988 Joseph Tainter published his seminal work, The Collapse of Complex Societies, in which he presented an original theory of social complexity that he offered as the best explanation for the collapse of civilisations throughout history. Tainter's theory, which I outline in more detail below, essentially holds that human societies become more socially complex as they solve the problems they face, and while this complexity initially provides a net benefit to society, eventually the benefits derived from increasing complexity diminish and the relative costs begin to increase. There comes a point, Tainter argues, when all the energy and resources available to a society are required just to maintain the society, at which point further problems that arise cannot be solved and the society then enters a phase of deterioration or even rapid collapse. Not only is Tainter's theory of historical interest, many believe it has implications for how we understand the world today. One of the most challenging aspects of Tainter's theory is how it reframes – one might even say revolutionises – sustainability discourse (Tainter, 2011a). Tainter argues that sustainability is about problem solving and that problem solving increases social complexity. But he also argues that social complexity requires energy and resources, and this implies that solving problems, including ecological problems, can actually demand increases in energy and resource consumption, not reductions. Indeed, Tainter (2006: 93) maintains that sustainability is 'not a passive consequence of having fewer human beings who consume more limited resources,' as many argue it is; he even goes as far as to suggest that voluntary simplification by way of foregoing consumption may no longer be an option for industrial civilisation, for reasons that will be explained. Instead, Tainter's conception of sustainability involves subsiding increased complexity with more energy and resources in order to solve ongoing problems. While Tainter's theory of social complexity has much to commend it, in this paper (which is part of a larger work-in-progress) I wish to examine and ultimately challenge Tainter's conclusion that voluntary simplification is not a viable path to sustainability. In fact, I will argue that it is by far our best bet, even if the odds do not provide grounds for much optimism. Moreover, should sustainability prove too ambitious a goal for industrial civilisation, I contend that simplification remains the most effective means of building 'resilience' (i.e. the ability of an individual or community to withstand societal or ecological shocks). While I accept that problem solving generally implies an increase in social complexity, the thesis I present below is that there comes a point when complexity itself becomes a problem, at which point voluntary simplification, not further complexity, is the most appropriate response. Not only does industrial civilisation seem to be at such a point today (Homer-Dixon, 2006), or well beyond it (Gilding, 2011), I hope to show that voluntary simplification presents a viable and desirable option for responding to today's converging social, economic, and ecological problems. This goes directly against Tainter's conception of sustainability, while accepting much of his background theoretical framework.


Ischemic cerebrovascular disease is a global health
problem. According to the World Health Organization, ischemic stroke is
actually the most common cause of death in the world. Ginkgo biloba extract
(GbE) is a traditional Chinese medicine for angina pectoris. Ginkgo biloba
plays a role in expanding blood vessels, increasing coronary and cerebral blood
flow, preventing platelet aggregation, inhibiting thrombosis, and improving the
microcirculation. In the present study, we investigated the mechanisms involved
in the neuroprotective effects of GbE in a model of hypoxic-ischemic brain
disease. We used NGF(100 ng/ml for 6 days)and OGD(5% CO2and 95% N2, 1 mmol/l NaS2O4insugar-free DMEM for 16 h) to stimulate
PC12 cells and convert them into neurons in order to establish an ischemia
model. The results showed that PC12 cells transformed into cells that looked
like neurons and that MAP2 was up-regulated in NGF-treated PC12 cells. Cell
apoptosis was found to be up-regulated after NGF stimulation and OGD. The
apoptosis rate after 16 hours of OGD was 19.44%. GbE (50ng/ml) reduces
apoptosis rate to 11.35%. These results may help to show that NGF treatment can
be combined with OGD to establish anin
vitromodel of acute ischemic brain damage. In the present study, we find that
GbE effectively increases the survival rate of PC12 cells and relieves OGD
damage. These results suggest that GbE has the neuroprotective effects of
ischemic brain damage.


Substance use disorders and misuse of alcohol and drugs are significant problems in the UnitedStates. Demographic variables such as age, marital status, education, and race or ethno-culturalbackground may play a role in the prediction of substance use, especially problematic use orabuse. Findings throughout the literature, however, are mixed, perhaps in part because certaindemographic risk factors may 'behave' differently depending on the outcome of interest (i.e.,substance use versus relapse), and vary also as a function of norms of substance use within acertain group. Less is also known about the extent to which common predictor variables such asage and marital status are able to predict pre- and post-treatment adjustment across genders,ethnic groups, and treatment types. Finally, the relative dearth of studies examining demographicvariables in relation to relapse, as well as the lack of current studies, suggests a need for athorough investigation of the aforementioned variables as predictors of relapse in a clinicalsample. Risk factors such as age, education level, marital status, and employment status havebeen shown to be predictors of substance use treatment outcomes in numerous studies. However,results of the present study suggest that when examining these risk factors across race, gender,and program type there is a compounding effect leading to higher relapse rates than when examining just the risk factor regardless of age, gender, or program type. Findings may aidsubstance use treatment programs in their identification of clients who may do especially well ina particular treatment type, and also help prevent relapse among individuals with certain key riskdemographics. Ultimately, such findings may reduce the financial and emotional cost associatedwith relapse following treatment.


In this thesis the cortical processes involved in motor skill learning were examined. Electroencephalography (EEG) was used to record the movement-related cortical potential (MRCP): an event-related potential reflecting the cortical activity involved in motor planning and preparation, prior to performance of a guitar playing task. A series of five experiments was conducted to investigate how the MRCP may vary depending on a performer's skill level and how it may change with skill learning.
In Study 1 a scale-playing task on the guitar, from which it was possible to accurately record the MRCP, was identified. In Study 2, the MRCP was recorded during scale-playing on the guitar from a group of experienced guitarists and a group of non-musicians who had no prior musical training and no experience of playing any musical instrument. Differences in the amplitude and onset times of the MRCP components were compared across groups, with results indicating that the experienced guitarists allocated less cortical activity to planning the performance of the scale than the non-musicians. The purposes of Studies 3, 4, and 5 were to establish the extent to which these between-group differences were the result of training by the experienced guitarists. In Study 3 the effect of short-term practice on movement-related cortical activity was investigated and, contrary to the hypothesis, found an increase in cortical activity involved in movement preparation following practice on the guitar. In Studies 4a and 4b the effect of long-term motor practice on the MRCP was explored. Non-musicians took part in a five and ten week training programme, learning to play the guitar. Study 4a reported a decrease in cortical activity in certain parts of the motor cortex following five weeks of learning to play a scale on the guitar. When the training programme was extended to ten weeks in Study 4b however, an increase in cortical activity was found in certain areas of the motor cortex. Study 4c investigated the effect of a period of de-training on the MRCP in five participants. Results from these participants indicated a decrease in MRCP amplitude following training. This reduced amplitude was also found following a five-week period of de-training. Finally, in Study 5, within-session changes in cortical activity were investigated over an extended ten-week learning period. The combined results of Studies 3 and 5 indicate that there may be an increase in both pre- and primary motor cortex activity during the initial phase of motor skill learning, followed by a decrease in motor cortex activity once the performer becomes competent in the task. From the results of these studies, it was concluded that the process of motor skill learning is likely to be more complex than is currently stated in the literature. Rather than a simple linear decrease in the amount of cortical activity involved in motor planning as a result of learning, it is more likely that fluctuations in cortical activity occur at different stages in the learning period, which may, over time, lead to a reduced activity being required during motor preparation.


Purpose - The purpose of this study is to explore three paradoxes of service innovation and provide a way forward for fresh thinking on the topic. Design/methodology/approach - Through a conceptual model of service innovation research, the authors challenge the "pro-change" bias and explore what can be learnt from the duality of service innovation. Findings - This paper suggests that research moves beyond a firm perspective to study service innovation on multiple levels of abstraction. A conceptual model based on two dimensions, level (individual, organization and society) and outcome (success, failure), is used to pinpoint and explore three dualities of service innovation: adopt-reject, change-static and good-bad. Originality/value - By challenging the traditional perspective on service innovation, the authors present new avenues for fresh thinking in research on service innovation. In this paper, the authors encourage researchers and managers to learn from failures and to acknowledge the negative effects of service innovation.


RATIONALE
Pulmonary rehabilitation improves dyspnea and exercise capacity in idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF); however, it is unknown whether breathing high amounts of oxygen during exercise training leads to further benefits.

OBJECTIVES
Herein, we describe the design of the High Oxygen Delivery to Preserve Exercise Capacity in IPF Patients Treated with Nintedanib study (the HOPE-IPF study). The primary objective of this study is to determine the physiological and perceptual impact of breathing high levels of oxygen during exercise training in patients with IPF who are receiving antifibrotic therapy.

METHODS
HOPE-IPF is a two-arm double-blind multicenter randomized placebo-controlled trial of 88 patients with IPF treated with nintedanib. Patients will undergo 8 weeks of three times weekly aerobic cycle exercise training, breathing a hyperoxic gas mixture with a constant fraction of 60% inhaled oxygen, or breathing up to 40% oxygen as required to maintain an oxygen saturation level of at least 88%.

MEASUREMENTS AND MAIN RESULTS
End points will be assessed at baseline, postintervention (Week 8), and follow-up (Week 26). The primary analysis will compare the between-group baseline with post-training change in endurance time during constant work rate cycle exercise tests. Additional analyses will evaluate the impact of training with high oxygen delivery on 6-minute walk distance, dyspnea, physical activity, and quality of life.

CONCLUSIONS
The HOPE-IPF study will lead to a comprehensive understanding of IPF exercise physiology, with the potential to change clinical practice by indicating the need for increased delivery of supplemental oxygen during pulmonary rehabilitation in patients with IPF. Clinical trial registered with www.clinicaltrials.gov (NCT02551068).


We introduce a test for whether agents' preferences over network structure are interdependent. Interdependent preferences induce strategic behavior since the optimal set of links directed by agent i will vary with the configuration of links directed by other agents. Our model also incorporates agent-specific in- and out-degree heterogeneity and homophily on observable agent attributes. This introduces 2N+K^2 nuisance parameters (N is number of agents in the network and K the number of possible agent attribute configurations). Under the null equilibrium is unique, but our hypothesis is nevertheless a composite one as the degree heterogeneity and homophily nuisance parameters may range freely across their parameter space. Under the alternative our model is incomplete; there may be multiple equilibrium network configurations and our test is agnostic about which one is selected. Motivated by size control, and exploiting the exponential family structure of our model under the null, we restrict ourselves to conditional tests. We characterize the exact null distribution of a family of conditional tests and introduce a novel Markov Chain Monte Carlo (MCMC) algorithm for simulating this distribution. We also characterize the locally best test. The form of this test depends upon the gradient of the likelihood with respect to the strategic interaction parameter in the neighborhood of the null. Remarkably, this gradient, and consequently the form of the locally best test statistic, does not depend on how an equilibrium is selected. Exploiting this lack of dependence, we outline a feasible version of the locally best test. We present two illustrative applications. First, we test for whether nations behave strategically when choosing locations for overseas diplomatic missions. Second, we test for whether firms prefer to sell to firms with richer customer bases (i.e., whether firms value "indirect customers"). Some Monte Carlo experiments explore the size and power properties of our test in practice.


In this paper we present a local search heuristic method for an integrated airline scheduling, fleeting and pricing model. The integrated model simultaneously optimizes the decisions of schedule design, fleet assignment, seat allocation, pricing and considers passengers spill and recapture. The resulting problem is a mixed integer non-convex problem due to the explicit representation of a demand model which guides the revenue management decisions. The local search heuristic tackles the complexity of the problem decomposing the problem into two simplified versions of the integrated model. The first model is a fleet assignment model where the pricing decision is fixed. The fleet assignment sub-model is a mixed integer linear problem. The second model is a revenue management model where the fleet assignment decision, i.e., the transportation capacity, is fixed. This revenue sub-model is a continuous nonlinear problem. These sub-models are solved in an iterative way with intelligent local search mechanisms. Price sampling is used for a local search on price and variable neighborhood search techniques are used for exploring superior fleet assignment decisions. Metaheuristic mechanisms permit to escape from local optima. The local search heuristic is presented in comparison to two other heuristic approaches: a heuristic procedure provided by an open-source generic MINLP solver and a sequential approach which mimic the current practice of airlines. The three approaches are tested on a set of experiments with different problem sizes. The local search heuristic outperforms the two other approaches in terms of the quality of the solution and computational time.


The identification of phenolics from various cultivars of fresh sweet and sour cherries and their protective effects on neuronal cells were comparatively evaluated in this study. Phenolics in cherries of four sweet and four sour cultivars were extracted and analyzed for total phenolics, total anthocyanins, and their antineurodegenerative activities. Total phenolics in sweet and sour cherries per 100 g ranged from 92.1 to 146.8 and from 146.1 to 312.4 mg gallic acid equivalents, respectively. Total anthocyanins of sweet and sour cherries ranged from 30.2 to 76.6 and from 49.1 to 109.2 mg cyanidin 3-glucoside equivalents, respectively. High-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) analysis revealed that anthocyanins such as cyanidin and peonidin derivatives were prevalent phenolics. Hydroxycinnamic acids consisted of neochlorogenic acid, chlorogenic acid, and p-coumaric acid derivatives. Glycosides of quercetin, kaempferol, and isorhamnetin were also found. Generally, sour cherries had higher concentrations of total phenolics than sweet cherries, due to a higher concentration of anthocyanins and hydroxycinnamic acids. A positive linear correlation (r2 = 0.985) was revealed between the total anthocyanins measured by summation of individual peaks from HPLC analysis and the total anthocyanins measured by the pH differential method, indicating that there was in a close agreement with two quantifying methods for measuring anthocyanin contents. Cherry phenolics protected neuronal cells (PC 12) from cell-damaging oxidative stress in a dose-dependent manner mainly due to anthocyanins. Overall results showed that cherries are rich in phenolics, especially in anthocyanins, with a strong antineurodegenerative activity and that they can serve as a good source of biofunctional phytochemicals in our diet.


The gut microbiome is comprised of various types of bacteria, fungi, protozoa, and viruses naturally occurring in humans and animals as normal microflora. Gut microorganisms are typically host specific, and their number and type vary according to different host species and environment. Gut microbes contribute directly and/or indirectly to various physiological processes including immune modulation, regulation of various neurotransmitter, and hormones, as well as production of many antioxidants and metabolites. They also play a role as antibiotic, anti-inflammatory, anti-diabetic, and anti-carcinogenic agents. Moreover, the ability of gut microbes to attenuate various systemic diseases like coronary heart disease, irritable bowel syndrome, metabolic diseases like diabetes mellitus, and infectious diseases like diarrhea has recently been reported. Current research findings have enough evidence to suggest that gut microbiome is a new organ system mainly due to the microorganisms' specific biochemical interaction with their hosts and their systemic integration into the host biology. Investigations into the potential ability of gut microbiome to influence metabolism inside their host via biochemical interaction with antibiotics and other drugs has recently been initiated. This chapter specifically focuses on the importance of gut microorganisms as a new organ system.


Online Material: Additional figures.

Focal mechanism and moment tensor determinations based on regional and local waveforms have become routine tasks in seismology. In recent years, considerable effort has been dedicated to extend software capabilities, in particular towards the inclusion of finite‐extent sources and easy, user‐friendly use. Two examples of these efforts are the FMNEAREG and KIWI software packages. Focal Mechanism from NEAr source to REGional distance records (FMNEAREG; Delouis et al. , 2008; Maercklin et al. , 2011) performs a grid search in order to find pure double‐couple sources, based on a 1D (line) finite‐source representation and complete elastodynamic wave field. The KIWI software (KInematic Waveform Inversion; Cesca et al. , 2010) allows the automatic retrieval of point‐source parameters, and for magnitudes above a given threshold kinematic finite‐fault rupture models can also be obtained. KIWI relies on a pre‐calculated database of Green's functions. KIWI performs the moment tensor inversion in two steps, the first of which is based on the fit of amplitude spectra. The second step is based on time‐domain waveform fits.

The ISOLA, ISOLated Asperities, software package (Sokos and Zahradnik, 2008) also performs waveform inversions to find source parameters. ISOLA is based on FORTRAN codes and offers a user‐friendly MATLAB graphical interface (GUI; www.mathworks.com/products/MATLAB). ISOLA allows for both single‐ and multiple‐point‐source iterative deconvolution (Kikuchi and Kanamori, 1991) inversion of complete regional and local waveforms. The moment tensor is retrieved through a least squares inversion, whereas the position and origin time of the point sources are grid searched. The computation options include inversion to retrieve the full moment tensor (MT), deviatoric MT, and pure double‐couple MT. Finite‐extent source inversions may also be performed by prescribing a priori the double‐couple mechanism (which will remain homogeneous over the fault plane). Green's functions, including near‐field terms, are calculated using the discrete wavenumber method (Bouchon, …


This book offers a presentation of the special theory of relativity that is mathematically rigorous and yet spells out in considerable detail the physical significance of the mathematics. It treats, in addition to the usual menu of topics one is accustomed to finding in introductions to special relativity, a wide variety of results of more contemporary origin. These include Zeeman's characterization of the causal automorphisms of Minkowski spacetime, the Penrose theorem on the apparent shape of a relativistically moving sphere, a detailed introduction to the theory of spinors, a Petrov-type classification of electromagnetic fields in both tensor and spinor form, a topology for Minkowski spacetime whose homeomorphism group is essentially the Lorentz group, and a careful discussion of Dirac's famous Scissors Problem and its relation to the notion of a two-valued representation of the Lorentz group. This second edition includes a new chapter on the de Sitter universe which is intended to serve two purposes. The first is to provide a gentle prologue to the steps one must take to move beyond special relativity and adapt to the presence of gravitational fields that cannot be considered negligible. The second is to understand some of the basic features of a model of the empty universe that differs markedly from Minkowski spacetime, but may be recommended by recent astronomical observations suggesting that the expansion of our own universe is accelerating rather than slowing down. The treatment presumes only a knowledge of linear algebra in the first three chapters, a bit of real analysis in the fourth and, in two appendices, some elementary point-set topology. The first edition of the book received the 1993 CHOICE award for Outstanding Academic Title. Reviews of first edition: "...a valuable contribution to the pedagogical literature which will be enjoyed by all who delight in precise mathematics and physics." (American Mathematical Society, 1993) "Where many physics texts explain physical phenomena by means of mathematical models, here a rigorous and detailed mathematical development is accompanied by precise physical interpretations." (CHOICE, 1993) "...his talent in choosing the most significant results and ordering them within the book can't be denied. The reading of the book is, really, a pleasure." (Dutch Mathematical Society, 1993)


ABSTRACT Kasbarian and Öktem explore the extent to which 'political friendships' between Armenians, Turks and Kurds—members of communities antagonized by the traumatic experience of genocide—can subvert hegemonic power arrangements of denial and nationalist mobilization. Based on participant observation and in-depth interviews with a group of Armenians and Turks in London, their paper explores how the members of this group experienced a transformation of their subject positions by facing each other's stories, gradually overcoming insecurities and fears of the Other. This dynamic process precipitated a shift of position, individually and collectively, enabling the formation of a community that acted beyond the confines of the reigning logics of nationalist projects. They argue that, in the relatively level playing field of the transnational, political and other friendships can develop to the point of becoming 'moral communities' that challenge established status quos and unequal power relations. Friendship and interpersonal relations that transgress these boundaries undermine reigning discourses and are, ultimately, political acts. However, these 'low' politics interactions still face the reality of 'high' politics, structured by the actions of an overbearing and semi-democratic Turkish state, the political expedience of third countries and a factious Armenian diaspora.


Microscopy has played an essential part in developing our knowledge of Portland cement clinker phase composition, and is routinely used to monitor kiln operating conditions to insure cement quality. Our developing understanding of the phase composition of clinker coincides with the early days of the polarized light microscope where the then-new instrument was used to resolve conflicting theories on the phase constituents of cement clinker, essentially a man-made rock formed through sintering a ground, blended mixture of limestone, clay, and iron oxides. The phase abundance, distribution and texture of cement clinker reflect the combination of proportioning, grinding, and homogenization of the raw materials, and the firing and cooling history of the clinkering process. The ability to visualize, record and quantify phase compositional and textural attributes of the clinker allowed cement chemists a view into this process, to develop a better understanding on clinker production, and to be able to identify problems in the preparation and firing of the raw materials for improved production of the clinker. Today, most microscopy uses polished sections of clinker and reflected light, and quantitative methods include the point-count analysis, as well as image processing and analysis. The development of certified clinker reference materials have facilitated the development of the first standard test methods for clinker microscopy and X-ray powder diffraction. The application of the scanning electron microscope (SEM) allows analysis of the fine-grained, multi-phase particles of hydraulic cements and pozzolans, expanded our view into their mineralogical and textural characterization. Modeling the hydration process has developed to the point where selected properties of cement performance may be predicted from a well-characterized cement through microscopy. Cement phase mineralogy and textural characteristics, captured through SEM imaging, and particle shape characteristics quantified through X-ray tomography has allowed the generation of 3D virtual cement particles that retain the phase and textural attributes, providing realistic inputs to cement hydration models.


We compared the utility of several trait models for describing personality disorder in a heterogeneous clinical sample (N = 94). Participants completed the Schedule for Nonadaptive and Adaptive Personality (SNAP; Clark, 1993b), a self-report measure that assesses traits relevant to personality disorder, and two measures of the Five-Factor Model: the Revised NEO Personality Inventory (NEO-PI-R; Costa and McCrae, 1992) and the Big Five Inventory (BFI; John, Donahue, & Kentle, 1991). Regression analyses indicated substantial overlap between the SNAP scales and the NEO-PI-R facets. In addition, use of the NEO-PI-R facets afforded substantial improvement over the Five-Factor Model domains in predicting interview-based ratings of DSM-IV personality disorder (American Psychiatric Association, 1994), such that the NEO facets and the SNAP scales demonstrated roughly equivalent levels of predictive power. Results support assessment of the full range of NEO-PI-R facets over the Five-Factor Model domains for both research and clinical use.


The main task of HTTP Adaptive Streaming is to adapt video quality dynamically under variable network conditions. This is a key feature for multimedia delivery especially when quality of service cannot be granted network-wide and, e.g., throughput may suffer short term fluctuations.
Hence, robust bitrate adaptation schemes become crucial in order to improve video quality. The objective, in this context, is to control the filling level of the playback buffer and maximize the quality of the video, while avoiding unnecessary video quality variations.
In this paper we study bitrate adaptation algorithms based on Backward-Shifted Coding (BSC), a scalable video coding scheme able to greatly improve video quality. We design bitrate adaptation algorithms that balance video rate smoothness and high network capacity utilization, leveraging both on throughput-based and buffer-based adaptation mechanisms.
Extensive simulations using synthetic and real-world video traffic traces show that the proposed scheme performs remarkably well even under challenging network conditions.


Social media anomaly detection is of critical importance to prevent malicious activities such as bullying, terrorist attack planning, and fraud information dissemination. With the recent popularity of social media, new types of anomalous behaviors arise, causing concerns from various parties. While a large amount of work have been dedicated to traditional anomaly detection problems, we observe a surge of research interests in the new realm of social media anomaly detection. In this paper, we present a survey on existing approaches to address this problem. We focus on the new type of anomalous phenomena in the social media and review the recent developed techniques to detect those special types of anomalies. We provide a general overview of the problem domain, common formulations, existing methodologies and potential directions. With this work, we hope to call out the attention from the research community on this challenging problem and open up new directions that we can contribute in the future.


Objective Reduction of left ventricular outflow tract obstruction (LVOTO) often improves symptoms in hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM), but the correlation between exercise performance and measured LVOT gradients is weak. We investigated the relationship between LVOTO and cardiorespiratory responses during exercise. Methods The study cohort included 70 patients with HCM (32 with LVOTO, 55 male, age 47±13) attending a dedicated cardiomyopathy clinic and 28 normal volunteers. All underwent cardiopulmonary exercise testing with simultaneous non-invasive haemodynamic assessment using finger plethysmography. Main outcome measures were peak oxygen consumption, cardiac index and arteriovenous oxygen difference. Results When compared with controls, patients had reduced peak exercise oxygen consumption (22.4±6.1 vs 34.7±7.7 mL/kg/min, p<0.0001) and cardiac index (5.5±1.9 vs 9.4±2.9 L/min/m2, p<0.0001). At all workloads, stroke volume index (SVI) was lower and arteriovenous oxygen difference greater in patients. During all stages of exercise, LVOTO in patients was associated with failure to augment SVI and higher oxygen consumption; cardiac reserve (4.4±2.7 vs 6.3±3.6 L/min, p=0.025) and peak mean arterial pressure (104±16 vs 112±16 mm Hg, p=0.033) were lower. Multivariable predictors of cardiac output response were age (β: −0.11; CI −0.162 to −0.057; p<0.0001), peak LVOT gradient (β: −0.018; CI −0.034 to −0.002; p=0.031) and gender (β: −2.286; CI −0.162 to −0.577; p=0.01). Within the obstructive cohort, different patterns of SV response were elicited in patients with similar clinical features. Conclusions Cardiac reserve is reduced in HCM because of failure of SV augmentation. LVOTO exacerbates this abnormal response, but haemodynamic responses vary significantly. Non-invasive exercise haemodynamic assessment may improve understanding of symptoms and help tailor therapy.


In today's competitive business market, Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) are seeking to adopt supporting tools in order to survive. Many large organizations have been successfully implementing Knowledge Management with productivity and efficiency gains cited. SME's on the other hand are less familiar with this practice with fewer published studies of Knowledge Management focusing on SMEs. Studies which draw global comparisons of Knowledge Management practices in SME's are particularly rare. The aim of this study is to identify and investigate similarities and differences in Knowledge Management practice between SMEs in UK and Thailand within the manufacturing sector. The objective being to better understand and facilitate the transfer of good practice and lessons between the two countries. Questionnaires investigating Knowledge Management practice have been developed and distributed to SMEs in the Manufacturing Sector across the UK and Thailand. This paper reports on the responses of a total of 384 questionnaires from 36 manufacturing companies from the UK and Thailand. The study covers a range of manufacturing sectors including food and beverage, automotive and aerospace industries etc. Findings are reported from each of the two countries followed by a comparative statistical analysis of the similarities and differences. The results show a significant difference between the numbers of manufacturing SME's that have implemented a formal knowledge management approach. With significantly more Thai organisations reporting the adoption of formal knowledge management approaches. Similarities exist in the encouragement given to employees for knowledge management activities. Significant difference exists in the barriers that the UK and Thai organisations face in capturing knowledge. The results have the potential to gain improvements and competitive advantage through understanding how knowledge management is influenced by geographic and cultural differences and the transfer of lessons and good practice between Thailand and the UK.


Do the parties in a typical dispute face incentives similar to those in the classic prisoner's dilemma game? In this paper, we explore whether the costs and benefits of legal representation are such that each party seeks legal representation in the hope of exploiting the other party, while knowing full well that failing to do so will open up the possibility of being exploited. The paper first shows how it is possible to test for the presence of such an incentive structure in a typical dispute resolution system. It then reports estimates of the incentives for the parties to obtain legal representation in wage disputes that were settled by final-offer arbitration in New Jersey. The paper also reports briefly on similar studies of data from discharge grievances, court-annexed disputes in Pittsburgh, and child custody disputes in California. In each case, the data provide evidence that the parties face strong individual incentives to obtain legal representation which makes the parties jointly worse off. Using our New Jersey data, we find that expert agents may well have played a productive role in moderating the biases of their clients, but only early on in the history of the system. Over time, the parties slowly evolved to a non-cooperative equilibrium where the use of lawyers becomes nearly universal, despite the fact that agreeing not to hire lawyers is cheaper and does not appear to alter arbitration outcomes.


In this paper, we simulate how an increase in the productivity of the North-East Arctic cod fishery affects Russian–Norwegian cooperation on fish stock management. We link the productivity increase to sea environmental conditions and climate change through a temperature-dependent, stock–recruitment relationship, whereby the numbers of recruits positively relates to sea temperatures given the spawning stock biomass. The results indicate that the increased recruitment to and productivity of the stock increases the relative benefits of joint management compared with a noncooperative outcome.


We present two new algorithms for generating uniformly random samples of pages from the World Wide Web, building upon recent work by Henzinger et al. (Henzinger et al. 2000) and Bar-Yossef et al. (Bar-Yossef et al. 2000). Both algorithms are based on a weighted random-walk methodology. The first algorithm (DIRECTED-SAMPLE) operates on arbitrary directed graphs, and so is naturally applicable to the web. We show that, in the limit, this algorithm generates samples that are uniformly random. The second algorithm (UNDIRECTED-SAMPLE) operates on undirected graphs, thus requiring a mechanism for obtaining inbound links to web pages (e.g., access to a search engine). With this additional knowledge of inbound links, the algorithm can arrive at a uniform distribution faster than DIRECTEDSAMPLE, and we derive explicit bounds on the time to convergence. In addition, we evaluate the two algorithms on simulated web data, showing that both yield reliably uniform samples of pages. We also compare our results with those of previous algorithms, and discuss the theoretical relationships among the various proposed methods.


As the impact of climate change progresses, heat waves are expected to increase significantly in the future. Coupled with the urban heat island effect, this will tend to have a major impact on the comfort of the inhabitants in urban areas. It is thus crucial to adopt the necessary sustainable measures and development scenarios to improve city liveability and human health. The main physical parameters that affect the outdoor human comfort are the air temperature, the relative humidity and the wind speed. Various tools, such as CFD or LES models, have been used in the past to evaluate these variables for the calculation of human comfort indices. These tools however are computationally too expensive and require extensive resources and data. Moreover, in our previous studies on the outdoor human comfort realized with the CitySim software, the meteorological variables were not linked to the urban form, geometry and roughness. To overcome these barriers, the CIM (Canopy Interface Model) was developed to calculate high-resolution vertical profiles of meteorological variables. The CitySim software to perform energy and temperature simulations then used these outputs. In this study, virtual pedestrians were located in two different areas of the EPFL campus, in Lausanne (Switzerland): a natural environment characterized by clay soil and cherry trees and an artificial environment, the new asphalt square near the SwissTech Convention Centre. The analysis carried out with the CitySim software compares the outdoor human comfort of pedestrian with the wind data from the traditional Meteonorm dataset, and the new CIM wind simulations. A sensitivity analysis of the results shows the difference between both simulations, quantifying the impact of the new wind model in the calculation of the indices.


This survey was aimed to determine the indigenous knowledge of communities around Lake Victoria Region regarding the treatment and management of Tuberculosis. Opinion leaders suggested the names and locations of known Traditional Medical Practitioners (TMPs) in the study locale. A sample of 102 TMPS from Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania residing around Lake Victoria Basis in East Africa participated in the study. Snow ball sampling technique was used to draw 22 TB patients claimed to have been treated by TMPs. It was established that local people have remarkable detailed knowledge of species identity, characteristics and their specific uses in the treatment and management of Tuberculosis. The main parts of the plants used include the root, bark, leaves and seeds in various combinations. It is concluded that local people have vast knowledge regarding the treatment of tuberculosis which is largely confined to the elderly, exploit the medicinal plants non- sustainably, and use crude plant extracts as concoctions for treating and/or managing TB. It is recommended that traditional knowledge should be documented, and top priority be given to the conservation of the habitat by launching special programs for raising people's awareness about sustainable utilization of medicinal plant species and conservation.


The GBIF portal contains a description of most of the global biodiversity data. It faces two problems, namely the data availability and a poor expressiveness of queries, mainly due to a growing number of users which keep expressing new needs. To tackle these problems, we envision a scalable and relatively low cost solution. With this in mind, we propose a non-invasive and decentralized architecture for processing GBIF queries over a cloud infrastructure. We define a dynamic strategy for data distribution and queries processing algorithms that fit the GBIF requirements. We demonstrate the feasibility and efficiency of our solution by a prototype implementation which allows for processing extra query types, up to now unsupported by the GBIF portal.