Internationally, allocation of responsibility for reducing greenhouse gas emissions is currently based on the production‐based (PB) accounting method, which measures emissions generated in the place where goods and services are produced. However, the growth of emissions embodied in trade has raised the question whether we should switch to, or amalgamate PB accounting, with other accounting approaches. Consumption‐based (CB) accounting has so far emerged as the most prominent alternative. This approach accounts for emissions at the point of consumption, attributing all the emissions that occurred in the course of production and distribution to the final consumers of goods and services. This review has a fourfold objective. First, it provides an account of the logic behind attributing responsibility for emissions on the basis of consumption instead of production. Issues of equity and justice, increased emissions coverage, encouragement of cleaner production practices, and political benefits are considered. Second, it discusses the counterarguments, focusing in particular on issues of technical complexity, mitigation effectiveness, and political acceptability. Third, it presents the spectrum of implementation possibilities—ranging from the status quo to more transformative options—and considers the implications for international climate policy that would accrue under various scenarios of adopting CB accounting in practice. Fourth, it looks at how CB accounting may be adjusted to fit with current political realities and it identifies policy mechanisms that could potentially be utilized to directly or indirectly address CB emissions. Such an approach could unlock new opportunities for climate policy innovation and for climate mitigation. WIREs Clim Change 2017, 8:e438. doi: 10.1002/wcc.438


We report U-Pb and 39Ar-40Ar measurements on plutonic rocks recovered from the Ocean Drilling Program (ODP) Legs 173 and 210. Drilling revealed continental crust (Sites 1067 and 1069) and exhumed mantle (Sites 1070 and 1068) along the Iberia margin and exhumed mantle (Site 1277) on the conjugate Newfoundland margin. Our data record a complex igneous and thermal history related to the transition from rifting to seafloor spreading. The results show that the rift-to-drift transition is marked by a stuttering start of MORB-type magmatic activity. Subsequent to initial alkaline magmatism, localized mid-oceanic ridge basalts (MORB) magmatism was again replaced by basin-wide alkaline events, caused by a low degree of decompression melting due to tectonic delocalization of deformation. Such "off-axis" magmatism might be a common process in (ultra-) slow oceanic spreading systems, where "magmatic" and "tectonic" spreading varies in both space and time.


Electricity distribution is, in most countries, monopoly business and regulated by local authority. Entry of international companies and regulatory demands for higher cost efficiency and better distribution quality demand continuous development in business models of electricity companies. Outsourcing and service providing are possible solutions for improving the cost efficiency of energy companies. The aim of this study is to give both theoretical and practical aspects on the development of electricity utilities' business models in Scandinavia .


The 2017 American Housing Survey (AHS) included a supplemental survey of rental units receiving subsidies from programs administered by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). In addition, the U.S. Census Bureau used addresses provided by HUD to identify other units in its regular AHS sample that are subsidized by HUD. Together, the 2017 AHS supplemental and regular samples contained 4,728 assisted units. This report uses information on those units to characterize the 4.5 million rental units assisted by HUD in 2017. In addition, this report uses information from previous address-matched efforts to analyze how the HUD-assisted rental stock has changed over the last three decades. From 1991 to 2017, the number of HUD-assisted units increased by 12 percent, or approximately 500,000 units. HUD's program mix has changed substantially as the Housing Choice Voucher program expanded its share from 26 percent of the assisted stock in 1989 to 48 percent in 2017. Overall the HUD-assisted stock is in fairly good condition, with only 2.3 percent of units severely inadequate in 2017, about the same as unassisted units occupied by very low-income renters.


In organizations, process mining activities are typically performed in a recurrent fashion, e.g. once a week, an event log is extracted from the information systems and a process mining tool is used to analyze the process' characteristics. Typically, process mining tools import the data from a file-based source in a pre-processing step, followed by an actual process discovery step over the preprocessed data in order to present results to the analyst. As the amount of event data grows over time, these tools take more and more time to do pre-processing and all this time, the business analyst has to wait for the tool to finish. In this paper, we consider the problem of recurrent process discovery in live environments, i.e. in environments where event data can be extracted from information systems near real time. We present a method that pre-processes each event when it is being generated, so that the business analyst has the pre-processed data at his/her disposal when starting the analysis. To this end, we define a notion of intermediate structure between the underlying data and the layer where the actual mining is performed. This intermediate structure is kept in a persistent storage and is kept live under updates. Using two state-of-the-art process mining techniques, we show the feasibility of our approach. Our work is implemented in process mining tool ProM using a relational database system as our persistent storage. Experiments are presented on real-life event data to compare the performance of the proposed approach with the state of the art.


This essay provides a historical contextualization of the Universal Declaration's statement on religious liberty. It suggests that its main components—the stress on the inner dimensions of conscience and belief, as well as the right to change one's religion—reflected very particular political and intellectual currents in the postwar moment. Article 18 was not the product of an abstract overlapping consensus; instead, it marked a victory for some actors to whom the details of this statement mattered. In this respect, this essay highlights the influence of Charles Malik and the Commission of the Churches on International Affairs. What these actors did in the context of writing the UDHR was essentially to recast international religious liberty as primarily concerned with the formation of the individual person's beliefs, rather than the "free exercise" of religion.


This paper examines citizenship policy in Japan, Germany and Sweden in an attempt to explain why some rich, democratic nations have high rates of naturalization and non-restrictive paths to citizenship, while others have negligible rates of naturalization and very restrictive policies. Japan has a very restrictive policy while Sweden has a very open policy. Germany is a mid-level case that has moved from more restrictive to less restrictive over the last several years. In this paper I look at the explanatory potential of internal, institutional, and external variables. I use data from the World Values Survey to compare domestic attitudes. I look at constitutional provisions and the structure of judicial systems to compare institutional factors. I then compare regional integration and security concerns as external pressures. I conclude that cultural attitudes seem to follow, rather than precipitate, policy change, while the institutional and external factors are more promising as explanatory factors for variance in citizenship regimes.


Title of dissertation: TRAUMA, DEPRESSION, EARLY ATTACHMENT, AND NEONATAL HEALTH OUTCOMES AMONG AFRICAN AMERICAN MOTHERS AND THEIR INFANTS Colleen I. Morrison, Doctor of Philosophy, 2016 Directed By: Professor Brenda Jones Harden Department of Human Development and Quantitative Methodology Young children whose mothers are depressed are vulnerable to a range of negative developmental outcomes beginning during the prenatal period and persisting throughout childhood. There is a large and growing need for evidence-informed pre-and postnatal services for pregnant women, especially in high-risk populations. More research is needed to inform practices relative to identifying pregnant women at risk for depression, providing treatment of depression and its concomitants during pregnancy and the postpartum period, and promoting positive developmental outcomes in infants who have been exposed to perinatal depression. The goal of this study was to enhance our knowledge of perinatal depression (i.e., depression that occurs during pregnancy or within the first 12 months following delivery) as well as its impact on maternal functioning in low-income, African American women and the health and developmental outcomes of their young infants. Participants were low-income African American women (N = 70), recruited during their third trimester of pregnancy, and their newborns. Data collection took place over two time periods: during the third trimester of pregnancy and at one month postpartum. Prenatal data collected include information on a range of risk and protective factors, including prenatal depression, health behaviors, and maternal-fetal attachment (i.e., mother's feelings of attachment to her unborn child). Postnatal data collected include information on depression, neonatal outcomes (e.g., birth weight), and maternal feelings of attachment to her infant. Multiple regression, logistic regression, and measured variable path analysis were used to test the relationships between risk factors, maternal functioning, and neonatal outcomes. Although his study relied on a small convenience sample of pregnant women, and is not generalizable to a broader population, there are still several findings of note. Marital status and trauma exposure significantly contributed to prenatal depressive symptoms. Also, maternal-fetal attachment mediated the relationship between prenatal depressive symptoms and health practices, but only for participants who were not married or cohabitating. Finally, maternal-fetal attachment significantly predicted maternal-infant attachment. Implications for policy and practice are presented. RISK AND PROTECTIVE FACTORS DURING THE PERINATAL PERIOD AMONG AFRICAN AMERICAN MOTHERS AND THEIR INFANTS


Specialized proresolving lipid mediators reduce human T cell activation and prevent TH1 and TH17 cell differentiation from naïve T cells while promoting de novo Treg induction. Naïve T cells nudged by lipid mediators Specialized proresolving lipid mediators are known to modulate the innate immune system, and here, Chiurchiù et al. report that some of these lipid mediators can also inhibit human T cell activation. Incubation with lipid mediators increased naïve CD4+ T cell differentiation into regulatory T cells and suppressed differentiation of TH1 or TH17 cells. A mouse model that is unable to generate precursors for these lipid mediators also had an increase of TH1 and TH17 cells and relatively fewer regulatory T cells than wild-type mice. These results identify a potentially useful avenue of immunomodulation for steering T cell responses in inflammation or autoimmunity. Resolution of inflammation is a finely regulated process mediated by specialized proresolving lipid mediators (SPMs), including docosahexaenoic acid (DHA)–derived resolvins and maresins. The immunomodulatory role of SPMs in adaptive immune cells is of interest. We report that D-series resolvins (resolvin D1 and resolvin D2) and maresin 1 modulate adaptive immune responses in human peripheral blood lymphocytes. These lipid mediators reduce cytokine production by activated CD8+ T cells and CD4+ T helper 1 (TH1) and TH17 cells but do not modulate T cell inhibitory receptors or abrogate their capacity to proliferate. Moreover, these SPMs prevented naïve CD4+ T cell differentiation into TH1 and TH17 by down-regulating their signature transcription factors, T-bet and Rorc, in a mechanism mediated by the GPR32 and ALX/FPR2 receptors; they concomitantly enhanced de novo generation and function of Foxp3+ regulatory T (Treg) cells via the GPR32 receptor. These results were also supported in vivo in a mouse deficient for DHA synthesis (Elovl2−/−) that showed an increase in TH1/TH17 cells and a decrease in Treg cells compared to wild-type mice. Additionally, either DHA supplementation in Elovl2−/− mice or in vivo administration of resolvin D1 significantly reduced cytokine production upon specific stimulation of T cells. These findings demonstrate actions of specific SPMs on adaptive immunity and provide a new avenue for SPM-based approaches to modulate chronic inflammation.


Humans and animals have the ability to reason and make predictions about different courses of action at many time scales. In reinforcement learning, option models (Sutton, Precup \&Singh, 1999; Precup, 2000) provide the framework for this kind of temporally abstract prediction and reasoning. Natural intelligent agents are also able to focus their attention on courses of action that are relevant or feasible in a given situation, sometimes termed affordable actions. In this paper, we define a notion of affordances for options, and develop temporally abstract partial option models, that take into account the fact that an option might be affordable only in certain situations. We analyze the trade-offs between estimation and approximation error in planning and learning when using such models, and identify some interesting special cases. Additionally, we demonstrate empirically the potential impact of partial option models on the efficiency of planning.


The olfactory receptor (OR) superfamily provides a basis for the remarkable ability to recognize and discriminate a large number of odorants. In mice, the superfamily includes ∼1000 members, and they recognize overlapping sets of odorants with distinct affinities and specificities. To address the molecular basis of odor discrimination by the mammalian OR superfamily, we performed functional analysis on a series of site-directed mutants and performed ligand docking simulation studies to define the odorant-binding site of a mouse OR. Our results indicate that several amino acids in the transmembrane domains formed a ligand-binding pocket. Although other G-protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs) recognize biogenic ligands mainly with ionic or hydrogen bonding interactions, ORs recognize odorants mostly via hydrophobic and van der Waals interactions. This accounts for the broad but selective binding by ORs as well as their relatively low ligand-binding affinities. Furthermore, we succeeded in rational receptor design, inserting point mutations in the odorant-binding site that resulted in predicted changes in ligand specificity and antagonist activity. This ability to rationally design the receptor validated the binding site structure that was deduced with our mutational and ligand docking studies. Such broad and specific sensitivity suggests an evolutionary process during which mutations in the active site led to an enormous number of ORs with a wide range of ligand specificity. The current study reveals the molecular environment of the odorant-binding site, and it further advances the understanding of GPCR pharmacology.


This document defines a Media Gateway Control Protocol (MGCP) package
to support fax calls. The package allows for fax calls to be supported
in two different ways. The first one utilizes ITU-T Recommendation
T.38 for fax relay under the control of the Call Agent. The second one
lets the gateway decide upon a method for fax transmission as well as
handle the details of the fax call without Call Agent involvement.


Purpose: The purpose of this initiative was to develop and implement an interprofessional panel aimed to expose a university audience to the magnitude of opioid misuse and abuse, as well as demonstrate each health professional's role in curbing the epidemic. Further, this experience was to provide a platform for interprofessional discussion and to share with attendees tangible action items to begin combatting the opioid epidemic. Methods: An interdisciplinary committee of healthcare professionals collaborated to initiate a dialogue around opioid misuse and abuse to highlight the power of interprofessional (IP) collaboration in addressing the opioid epidemic. Each panel member shared a personal vignette about his or her professional experience with the epidemic, then the audience members were asked to participate in a question and answer session. Primary outcomes from this IP experience were derived from an eight-item satisfaction survey. The event was held in April 2016. The interdisciplinary committee marketed this event to all students, faculty, and staff in the Rueckert-Hartman College of Health Care Professionals one month before the event through electronic emails and posters. Results: Forty-four (63%) of participants completed the satisfaction survey of which 88.6% were students of healthcare professions. The satisfaction survey evaluative results were positive and referenced the panel as being an excellent IP event that was helpful, informative, and enjoyable. The results support that the initiative successfully increased understanding of the magnitude of the opioid epidemic for the attendees of this pilot event. The target audience of students expressed a greater awareness of the magnitude of the problem (43.2%) and an increased appreciation of the IP aspects of opioid management strategies (36.4%). Attendees also identified the need for ownership of their role as existing and future health care professionals and the need to work as an IP team to address the problem. Conclusion: An interprofessional panel format as an optional extracurricular event is an effective way to communicate key educational messages about opioid misuse and abuse to a target audience of graduate students at a mid-sized college of health professions.


This study examines how accurately the Family Violence Risk Assessment Tool (FVRAT) predicts repeat domestic violence. The FVRAT is a 37-item tool used by police in the ACT to inform their responses to domestic violence. This study examines a sample of 350 unique cases of violence involving current or former intimate partners between March and December 2017 in which police used the FVRAT. Repeat domestic violence was measured based on whether a subsequent report of domestic violence was made to police within six months. The FVRAT is not a strong predictor of repeat domestic violence. However, an empirically refined version of the FVRAT consisting of 10 individually predictive items much more accurately predicts repeat domestic violence.


This study examines the clash between diversity policies as designed in the West and the challenges in implementing these in the Middle East and North Africa region. We contribute to the role of context in diversity management by studying how HR managers deal with diversity policies when the Western approach and the local context are perceived as being incompatible. Twenty HR/diversity managers working for multinational companies in nine different countries in the Middle East and North Africa region were interviewed. The findings show that a manager's understanding of the interrelated nature of multilevel factors of the local context influences the strategies adopted. Three strategies to deal with the perceived clash are identified: forcing a Western approach upon the local country, a reframing strategy where existing policies are reformulated to fit the Western requirements, and a sensitive approach in which the local context is considered. The study suggests that multinationa.l companies have to adapt diversity policies to local multilevel factors of the country in which they operate.


This paper provides an overview on the viability and performance of bitcoins as a payment
alternative. The history of the Crypto-currency is briefly covered followed by the operation
and potential technology failure. The paper then discusses consumer acceptance of bitcoins by
analyzing a survey conducted by and the positive and negative observation of the results will be
discussed. Fiat Currencies, Traditional E-commerce and Alt-Coin are identified as bitcoins direct
competitors and a comparison done on bitcoins against its competitors. The regulatory issues
and the legality of bitcoin are also discussed


Liposarcoma is the most common soft tissue sarcoma, but little is known about the genomic basis of this disease. Given the low cell content of this tumor type, we utilized flow cytometry to isolate the diploid normal and aneuploid tumor populations from a well-differentiated liposarcoma prior to array comparative genomic hybridization and whole genome sequencing. This work revealed massive highly focal amplifications throughout the aneuploid tumor genome including MDM2, a gene that has previously been found to be amplified in well-differentiated liposarcoma. Structural analysis revealed massive rearrangement of chromosome 12 and 11 gene fusions, some of which may be part of double minute chromosomes commonly present in well-differentiated liposarcoma. We identified a hotspot of genomic instability localized to a region of chromosome 12 that includes a highly conserved, putative L1 retrotransposon element, LOC100507498 which resides within a gene cluster (NAV3, SYT1, PAWR) where 6 of the 11 fusion events occurred. Interestingly, a potential gene fusion was also identified in amplified DDR2, which is a potential therapeutic target of kinase inhibitors such as dastinib, that are not routinely used in the treatment of patients with liposarcoma. Furthermore, 7 somatic, damaging single nucleotide variants have also been identified, including D125N in the PTPRQ protein. In conclusion, this work is the first to report the entire genome of a well-differentiated liposarcoma with novel chromosomal rearrangements associated with amplification of therapeutically targetable genes such as MDM2 and DDR2.


Purpose of reviewThe aim is to describe recent insight into risk factors for symptoms included in the sick building syndrome (SBS) and to give an insight into preventive work to reduce SBS. Recent findingsNew studies have added evidence for the role of personality traits and psychosocial work environment, reactive chemistry and the inflammatory properties of indoor particles for SBS. Field studies using physiological methods and measurements of oxidative stress can lead to better understanding of the cause of SBS. Moreover, there is an increased focus on the indoor environment and 'sick house syndrome' in Asia. SummarySBS is related to both personal and environmental risk factors. In the office environment, SBS may have important economical implications. More focus is needed on the indoor environment in schools and day care centres, hospitals and nursing homes for elderly. Improvements of the home environment may be the most cost-effective way to reduce the burden of indoor exposure. The link between indoor and outdoor air pollution should not be neglected, and the role of energy saving and climate changes will be an important future issue.


The present paper examines the acquisition of English physical motion constructions by Spanish translators in training. Drawing from Talmy's (1985, 1991, 2000) typological framework for motion event descriptions and Slobin's (1996, 2003) thinking-for-speaking hypothesis, the main aim of this research is to study whether the acquisition of English lexicalization patterns by Spanish translators in training could be facilitated by instructing them to think-for-translating into English. To this end, first, participants in the experimental and control group were told to translate some narrative fragments from Spanish into English. Then, once they completed the task, participants in the experimental group were instructed on the typological differences between English and Spanish with regard to the domain of physical motion and on how to render typical Spanish motion descriptions into English motion constructions. Finally, after a one week delay they were told to translate new fragments from Spanish into English. We observed that participants in the experimental group produced a higher number of manner verbs plus path expressions than the control group which, in turn, favoured the use of non-manner verbs plus path expressions. The results show that, overall, instruction contributes to better performance in the production of satellite-framed constructions but translators in training still have problems with the use of satellites and prepositional phrases.


This article analyzes learning in continuous stochastic neural networks defined by stochastic differential equations (SDE). In particular, it studies gradient descent learning rules to train the equilibrium solutions of these networks. A theorem is given that specifies sufficient conditions for the gradient descent learning rules to be local covariance statistics between two random variables: (1) an evaluator that is the same for all the network parameters and (2) a system variable that is independent of the learning objective. While this article focuses on continuous stochastic neural networks, the theorem applies to any other system with Boltzmann-like equilibrium distributions. The generality of the theorem suggests that instead of suppressing noise present in physical devices, a natural alternative is to use it to simplify the credit assignment problem. In deterministic networks, credit assignment requires an evaluation signal that is different for each node in the network. Surprisingly, when noise is not suppressed, all that is needed is an evaluator that is the same for the entire network and a local Hebbian signal. This modularization of signals greatly simplifies hardware and software implementations. The article shows how the theorem applies to four different learning objectives that span supervised, reinforcement, and unsupervised problems: (1) regression, (2) density estimation, (3) risk minimization, and (4) information maximization. Simulations, implementation issues, and implications for computational neuroscience are discussed.


and Restaurant and Institutional Education, 311 First Street, N.W., Washington, D.C. 20001. $50 annual subscription; $20 single issue. This article, the first of a three-part series on the foodservice industry, uses &dquo;structural analysis&dquo; as a conceptual framework to analyze the nature of competition in the foodservice industry. A tool for helping managers understand the underlying economic environment of their industry, structural analysis is all too often overlooked as a critical step in formulating competitive strategy.


Over the past 30 years of community cultural development policy and practice in Australia, artists and communities have been stimulating dialogue and developing cultural expression though collaborative and creative practice. Growing evidence has been collected regarding the instrumental benefits, such as increasing 'social capital', economic development and health outcomes. However, there remains little critical attention paid to the intrinsic artistic values of this practice. This diverse field is inherently interdisciplinary, and, like traditional art forms, follows particular principles and ethics. Without a clearly articulated aesthetic, it is often overlooked as non-professional art practice. This paper argues that more attention needs to be paid to the artistic merits of this field as socially engaged arts practice, and to do so, three inter-related lenses for the practice are considered: an art history context, cultural development theory, and the ever-changing Australia Council's community arts policy.


Challenge by choice (CBC) has been regarded as a foundational principle for challenge ropes course programs. Although CBC is widely accepted as the primary mechanism for facilitating intended ropes course outcomes, especially a participant's involvement, until recently it had remained an untested assumption. This study explored the role of CBC as it pertains to participants' involvement in adventure activities. Using a general inductive data analysis approach, three themes emerged: instruction, atmosphere, and challenge. Whereas instruction positively influenced involvement, atmosphere and challenge had both positive and negative influences. Findings suggest that CBC might be necessary but not sufficient in explaining students' involvement in adventure activities.


Emerging data indicates that exercise may regulate cancer pathogenesis, but the mechanisms underpinning how it regulates the tumor as well as surrounding microenvironment are poorly understood. Dissecting this complex, highly integrated physiology requires model systems which accurately recapitulate key aspects of human response to exercise, yet permit rapid and unbiased genetic interrogation of relevant pathways. The zebrafish has emerged as a new model for cancer due to its high resolution in vivo imaging and capacity for large-scale, unbiased screening approaches. Here, we have developed a set of tools to study the effects of exercise in a zebrafish model of melanoma. Using a flow chamber, we studied the effects of endurance exercise bouts (3-6 hour/d, 5d/wk for 1 to 3 wks) in both larval and adult zebrafish. The regimen was well tolerated, with no unexpected toxicities or changes in survival. When the zebrafish were transplanted with ZMEL1-GFP melanoma cells, we found that endurance exercise over a 2-week period led to a significant decrease in cancer growth in the larval zebrafish. As zebrafish cancer models show strong conservation in human disease, our findings have direct application to understanding the human exercise/cancer relationship.


What would happen if cost-benefit analysis (CBA) were applied to disclosure regulations? Mandated disclosure has largely escaped rigorous CBA because it looks so plausible: disclosure seems rich in benefits and low in cost. This article makes two arguments. First, it previews our thesis in More Than You Wanted to Know that disclosure laws do not deliver their anticipated benefits and thus cannot easily pass quantified CBA. Second, it describes a previously unrecognized cost of disclosure, one arising from lawmakers' collective-action problem. With the proliferation of disclosures, each new mandate diminishes the attention that people can give to other information, including all other disclosures. The problem for CBA is lawmakers' inability to coordinate laws across different fields and jurisdictions. This article illustrates this regulatory failure by examining the rigorous cost-effectiveness analysis conducted by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau for its recent mortgage disclosure regulation.


Much analysis in macroeconomics empirically addresses economy-wide incentives behind consumer/investment choices by using insights from the way a single representative household would behave. Heterogeneity at the micro level can jeopardize attempts to back up the representative consumer construct with microfoundations. One complex aspect of micro-level heterogeneity is household size, as individuals living in multi-member households have the potential to share goods within the household, benefiting from household-size economies. Theoretically, we show that validating the role of a representative consumer would require that the way individuals benefit from intra-household sharing is strictly aligned across the rich and the poor: once expenditures for subsistence needs are subtracted from disposable household income, household-size economies the remainder (discretionary) household incomes entail must be the same across the rich and the poor. We have designed a survey method that allows the testing of this stringent property of intra-household sharing and find that it holds.


One of the striking features in Central and Eastern European (CEE) countries is the deterioration of their agricultural and food trade balance during transition to a market economy as im-ports increased faster than exports or exports even declined. This paper investigates the Slovenian agricultural and food trade in more detail focusing on changes in the geographical distribution of trade and the nature of trade specialization on the basis of the Grubel-Lloyd Intra-Industry Trade index and Marginal Intra-Industry Trade Indices. The results indicate that Slovenian agricultural and food trade largely remains of the inter-industry type with specialisation of exports towards the former Yugoslav markets and imports from the European Union. The proportion of intra-industry trade was especially low for bulk commodities with little or no processing. A major explanations for these findings is that despite the free trade agreements Slovenia signed with the EU and countries of Central and Eastern Europe the level of protection in the agricultural and food sector has remained rather high. Due to EU membership Slovenia faces now direct competition in a market of 25 countries. This intensifies the restructuring process in the Slovenian agricultural and food sector. Due to the present low level of IIT this likely induces rather high adjustment costs since restructuring and reallo-cation of factors will have to occur between and not within industries.


Tensile properties and fracture behavior of an AA6060 alloy were investigated at room temperature (295K) and cryogenic temperature (77K). It was found that both ultimate tensile strength and elongation increased with decreasing temperature. In particular, the latter increased with increasing strain rate at 77K. The changes in mechanical properties were thought to be due to a higher working hardening rate at low temperature, while the effect of strain rate on strain hardening was obscure at both temperatures. The hardness after tensile testing at 77K increased due to an increased accumulated dislocation density. Fracture occurred in a semi-ductile transgranular manner at 295K, while a mixture of intergranular and transgranular mode with less slip localization occurred at 77K. Moreover, a decreased testing temperature led to a decreased size of dimples. The rotation of grain orientations can lead to increased Schmid factors and change of the latter was strongly dependent on the deformation temperature, which was clarified by compression tests.


An attempt has been made to define the Quaternary development of a
tidal delta system and the surrounding area of the Menai Strait and
Caernarfon Bay. The morphologies and processes of a tidal inlet and
its associated flood and ebb-tidal deltas are described and a model of
sediment transport pathways prevailing in the study area has been
proposed.
Seismic stratigraphic evidence suggests that the Quaternary deposits
in Caernarfon Bay are primarily composed of three depositional
sequences i. e. glacial, postglacial, and recent. The oldest sequence
i. e. glacial sequence, lies unconformably on bedrock. The bedrock
topography was successfully defined using a sparker seismic system and
the results suggest that the bedrock surface is very uneven in nature
and that there are two NE-SW trending valley features which can be
linked to the Berw and Dinorwic faults. However, their typical
U-shaped form may be attributed to erosion during the late Devensian
ice advance. Various types of progradational reflection patterns
within the postglacial sequence suggest a rapid rise in sea level
after c. 9000 years B. P.
It appears that the completion of the present morpho-hydrodynamic
system most probably took place c. 5000 years B. P. The newly evolved
morpholgy and flood and ebb tidal currents resulted in the
accumulation of thick deposits of recent sediments in and outside the
inlet i. e. flood and ebb-tidal deltas. A comparison of these tidal
deltas with standard models suggest that whilst the flood-tidal delta
shows hardly any resemblance to the standard model, the ebb-tidal
delta is strikingly consistent in morphology and processes with the
standard model.
A model of the sediment transport pathways, proposed on the basis of
comprehensive studies of bedform characteristics, grain size
distribution trends, and to some extent on the basis of sediment
transport calculations, suggests that there is a net sediment
transport towards the southwest through the Menai Strait. The study of
temporal variations in the characteristics of bedforms within the
Menai Strait during a neap/spring tidal cycle suggest that the
bedforms are ebb-oriented during most of the tidal states. A partial flood orientation occurs only during high spring tide. The extensive
occurrence of sand ribbons with superimposed small scale megaripples (1-2m in wavelength) in the deeper parts of the Caernarfon Bay suggest
a relatively lesser net sediment transport northeastwards which turns
towards the north as it approaches the ebb-tidal delta body.


Carnosine is a natural dipeptide synthesized by both vertebrate and invertebrate organisms and has functional properties that are specific to muscle and excitable tissues. Recent in vivo and in vitro studies have shown that carnosine presents metal chelating and antioxidant activities and has the ability to inhibit protein carbonylation and glycoxidation. This review describes the health benefits of carnosine in relation to its bioaccessibility, bioavailability and biochemical properties as well as providing the current state-of-the-art knowledge on the potential use of carnosine as a nutraceutical. The therapeutic potential of carnosine has also been investigated by a number of preclinical and clinical studies for diseases such as diabetes and its associated complications, as well as fatigue, ageing, and some neurological disorders. Altogether the current literature provides supportive evidence on the use of carnosine as a natural dietary supplement with significant health boosting efficiency and without any side effects.


Cardinalfishes (family Apogonidae) form a major component of nocturnal planktivore assemblages on coral reefs. In order to assess their trophic role on reefs, we examined diet, diel feeding behaviour and nocturnal foraging in 7 species in the lagoon at One Tree Reef, Great Barrier Reef,
Australia. Between 64 and 93% of fish collected at dawn had identifiable material in the stomach compared with 5 to 36% of fish collected at dusk, suggesting that all 7 species were predominantly nocturnal feeders. The movement of apogonids between resting sites and feeding grounds was
examined using day and night visual surveys. Apogonids shared restricted resting habitats by day but moved into a range of habitats at night. Species were spatially segregated at night, both horizontally and vertically in the water column. Most species had generalised diets containing primarily demersal plankton and benthic invertebrates, suggesting a role in recycling rather than importation of nutrients and energy on reefs. Dietary differences among species appeared to be driven largely by
their feeding positions in the water column at night. Since apogonids feed in a range of habitats, then return to restricted resting sites during the day, they are likely to play an important role in concentrating nutrients and energy on reefs, providing localised and predictable resources for both predators and detritivore communities.


OBJECTIVE
To review the current literature on the use of B-type natriuretic peptide in the diagnosis and management of heart failure.

DATA SOURCES
Literature search of PubMed was performed up to September 2007.

STUDY SELECTION
Key words for the literature search were 'heart failure' and 'B-type natriuretic peptide'.

DATA EXTRACTION
Original papers and review articles related to the use of B-type natriuretic peptide in the diagnosis and management of heart failure.

DATA SYNTHESIS
Heart failure is common in Hong Kong, and is associated with significant morbidity and mortality. Heart failure is often misdiagnosed. B-type natriuretic peptide may be regarded as a quantitative marker of heart failure; its levels have good diagnostic accuracy and can be measured with a rapid and simple bed-side assay and are useful in the assessment of patients with acute dyspnoea. Factors, such as obesity and renal impairment, alter B-type natriuretic peptide levels. Measurement of B-type natriuretic peptide facilitates improved medical outcomes, is cost-effective, and constitutes a good prognostic indicator for death and cardiac events.

CONCLUSIONS
Determination of B-type natriuretic peptide levels is useful in the assessment of patients with acute dyspnoea, to exclude or diagnose heart failure, to facilitate improved medical outcomes, and is cost-effective. In addition, it is a good long-term prognostic indicator and can be used to guide heart failure treatment.


INTRODUCTION: Urinary tract infection (UTI) is considered as the most common bacterial infectious disease seen among the pediatric patients. Most commonly, members of Enterobacteriaceae, particularly uropathogenic strains of E. coli and Enterobacter spp. are the primary causative pathogens of UTI in the different part of the world. Emergence of antimicrobial resistance rates among pathogens recovered from urinary tract infections is an increasing problem in the specific region. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Prevalence and anti microbial susceptibility pattern of the bacterial uropathogens isolated from the children attending Gandaki Medical College Teaching Hospital and Reserch Center (GMC) Nepal. A total of 155 children aged upto 15 years were included in this study. Urine cultures were carried out and the isolates were identified by Gram staining and conventional biochemical methods. Antimicrobial susceptibility testing was performed by disk diffusion method according to the Clinical and Laboratory Standards Institute (CLSI). RESULTS: In the present study 21.3 % of the sample size, showed significant bacterial growth. E. coli was the most frequently occurring pathogen (39.40%), followed by Proteus spp. 21.2%, Citrobacter spp. and Streptococcus faecalis (12.1%) Klebsiella spp. (9.1%), and Staphylococcus aureus and Enterobacter (3.0%). Susceptibility rate of E. coli were 69.2% to Gentamycin and Amikacin, 53.8% to Norfloxacin, 38.4% to Nalidixic acid and Norfloxacin. CONCLUSIONS: Pediatric urine culture isolates were becoming increasingly resistant to commonly used antibiotics. Finally, we suggest that empirical antibiotic selection should be based on knowledge of the local prevalence of bacterial organisms and antibiotic sensitivities rather than on universal guidelines. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.3126/ijim.v2i3.8665 Int J Infect Microbiol 2013;2(3):82-86


An analog neural network that can be taught to recognize stimulus sequences is used to recognize the digits in connected speech. The circuit computes in the analog domain, using linear circuits for signal filtering and nonlinear circuits for simple decisions, feature extraction, and noise suppression. An analog perceptron learning rule is used to organize the subset of connections used in the circuit that are specific to the chosen vocabulary. Computer simulations of the learning algorithm and circuit demonstrate recognition scores >99 % for a single-speaker connected-digit data base. There is no clock. The circuit is data driven, and there is no necessity for endpoint detection or segmentation of the speech signal during recognition. Training in the presence of noise provides noise immunity up to the trained level. For the speech problem studied, the circuit connections need only be accurate to about 3-b digitization depth for optimum performance. The algorithm used maps efficiently onto analog neutral network hardware. >


Advancements in technology and broadband have revolutionized the current practice of medicine. The field of pediatric cardiology is no exception given the need for prompt diagnosis and reliance on cardiac imaging to identify infants and children with potentially life-threatening cardiovascular disease. As the relationship between telemedicine and pediatric cardiology has advanced, it has created a need to develop a broad, comprehensive document reviewing all the various aspects of telemedicine in pediatric cardiology. For more than a decade, a significant body of literature has been published describing individual experiences and practices, yet there remains no comprehensive statement or document summarizing this rapidly advancing field. In an effort to describe the collective experience and to provide structure and guidance for pediatric cardiology practitioners and healthcare providers, we have developed a scientific statement on the use of telemedicine in pediatric cardiology.

Specific areas explored in this document include both neonatal and fetal tele-echocardiography, implications for training community sonographers, pulse oximetry programs, qualitative improvement and appropriate use criteria initiatives, and remote electrophysiological monitoring. This document also includes teleconsultation and teleausculation, direct-to-consumer and home monitoring programs, and a look into the use of telemedicine and pediatric cardiology in the intensive care setting. Furthermore, a detailed review of the legislative, public policy, and legal aspects of telemedicine is provided, along with financial and reimbursement information.

Several terms are used in the literature interchangeably; a brief explanation is provided to help readers of this document. The term telehealth is defined as the use of technology to bridge distances in any aspect of medicine; telemedicine is the specific application of technology to conduct clinical medicine at a distance. The term telecardiology is defined as the broad application of telemedicine in the field of cardiology specifically, and tele-echocardiography is the most common application used within this field.

Echocardiography is …


Measuring and modeling network traffic is of key importance for the traffic engineering of IP networks, due to the growing diversity of multimedia applications and the need to efficiently support QoS differentiation in the network. Several recent measurements have shown that Internet traffic may incorporate long-range dependence and self-similar characteristics, which can have significant impact on network performance. Selfsimilar traffic shows variability over many time scales, and this behavior must be taken into account for accurate prediction of network performance. In this paper, we propose a new parameter fitting procedure for a superposition of Markov Modulated Poisson Processes (MMPPs), which is able to capture self-similarity over a range of time scales. The fitting procedure matches the complete distribution of the arrival process at each time scale of interest. We evaluate the procedure by comparing the Hurst parameter, the probability mass function at each time scale, and the queuing behavior (as assessed by the loss probability and average waiting time), corresponding to measured traffic traces and to traces synthesized according to the proposed model. We consider three measured traffic traces, all exhibiting self-similar behavior: the well-known pOct Bellcore trace, a trace of aggregated IP WAN traffic, and a trace corresponding to the popular file sharing application Kazaa. Our results show that the proposed fitting procedure is able to match closely the distribution over the time scales present in data, leading to an accurate prediction of the queuing behavior. key words: Traffic modeling, self-similar, time scale, Markov Modulated Poisson Process.


This paper asks two questions. First, when countries open up, what are the incentives of firm owners to invest in the productivity of their firms? And why do they wait until the country opens up to do so? To explore these questions, I set up a simple model in which firm owners choose the optimal mix of profits and leisure. The key insight is that openness drives a wedge between "productive" and "unproductive" firm owners, driving up the price of leisure, and therefore the incentives to innovate. The model is modified to consider one further insight: when countries open up, the real price of a consumption basket goes down because consumers enjoy more variety, which again changes the relative price of leisure. I illustrate the model implications with a survey of small firm owners in Mexico.


Blockaders, Refugees, and Contrabands chronicles the role of the East Gulf Blockading Squadron in creating civil strife and warfare along the west coast of Florida during the Civil War. This history illuminates the Squadron's impact on Florida - the Confederate state most susceptible to actions by the U.S. Navy - and the far-reaching effects of its activities on the outcome of the War. Initially the East Gulf Blockading Squadron gave no indication that, with its allies - Florida's refugees and contrabands (escaped slaves) - it would create a civil war within Florida. When the Squadron raided the mainland it found sympathizers ashore who helped the sailors cut out blockade-runners, harass the enemy, and destroy coastal salt works. As the number of refugees and contrabands increased they became a source of manpower for the Squadron. After Confederate conscripts and army deserters fled to the impenetrable swamps of Florida's Gulf Coast, they turned to the Squadron for succor and aid. In time the blockaders, refugees, and contrabands joined forces to participate in fluid partisan combat actions. When Federal control of the Mississippi River cut the South's supply of western beef, the Confederacy turned to south Florida. The Union army enlisted the Squadron's refugees into the U.S. Second Florida Cavalry to keep the beef from rebel armies. This action elevated the conflict from guerrilla to conventional war. Additionally, the Second Infantry Regiment, U.S. Colored Troops, fought beside the blockaders and refugees, freeing and recruiting contrabands. All blockading squadrons had contacts with refugees and contrabands, but only the East Gulf Blockading Squadron utilized these allies to fostera civil war. The subsequent salt and cattle raids struck blows that were felt beyond the state and had a devastating impact on the balance of the Confederacy and on the ultimate course of the Civil War.


Leiognathids are shallow-water, Indo-West Pacific fishes that have a circumesophageal, bacterial light organ. Visual observations of living fishes revealed a mottled ventral luminescence pattern, which was analyzed both behaviorally and morphologically. In behavioral experiments, these fishes responded to increases in intensity of downwelling light with increases in the intensity of ventral luminescence. However, while the absolute luminescence levels tracked the ambient light levels, they did not increase in direct proportion to those of increasing downwelling light; luminescence levels were closer to the intensity of downwelling light at low light levels. The tissues that intervene between the internal light organ and the external environment are responsible for the observed mottled pattern of the ventral luminescence. Furthermore, these tissues, which have been incorporated into the light organ system, are involved in the control of the intensity, spectral quality and angular distribution of the fish9s luminescence. The spectral peak of the bacterial luminescence from whole fish (500 nm) was shifted about 10 nm towards the green relative to the spectral peak of cultured light organ symbionts (485–490 nm). The luminescence had the greatest intensity of outward expression at an angle of 20–25° from the ventral midline and was undetectable dorsally. The ventral illumination behavior of leiognathids, with their associated morphology, is compared and contrasted with the counterillumination systems that have been described in a number of mesopelagic fishes, shrimps and squids. Note: To whom reprint requests should be addressed at the Department of Biological Sciences, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA 90089–0371, USA.


Widespread application for herbal medicines based on Hyperici herba has been experienced in the last few years, especially in the treatment of depression syndrome. As the wild origins could not satisfy the market demands neither in quantitative nor in qualitative respect, the necessity of the development of intensive growing methods has been raised. In the course of our investigations we intended to clear up the morphological and chemical variability among and within populations of different origin in order to start a new breeding program. According to our data, growth dynamics of populations could be characterised by a logistic curve. According to the time of flowering the populations formed early, middle and late groups. Morphological diversity among populations was measurable in differences of flower length, plant height, different leaf types and plant habit, according to which characteristics groups were distinguished. Generally, the accessions were the most homogenous in plant height (CV: 7-15%), followed by inflorescence-lengths (CV: 11-36%) and the least uniform characteristics proved to be the number of flowering shoots (CV: 14-59%). The greatest morphological heterogeneity was experienced in the accessions of wild origin as it has been expected. In the second vegetation period generally a much better homogeneity was obtained, than in the first year. The most outstanding accessions produced 1.2 t of dry flowers and 4 t of dry flowering shoots, calculating to one hectare area. The individual yields varied on a large scale in each population (CV: 18-70%).
The content of hypericin varied between 1,85 and 9,9 mg/g in 1996, and between 0,18 and 2,70 mg/g in 1997, showing high individual divergences. Flavonoid values -including first of all hyperosid, rutin and quercitrin - reached 17-39 mg/g in the first and 15-20 mg/g in the second year, respectively. Individual and seasonal variation was less than in hypericin. A joint high level of these two compound groups seems to have low frequencies.
The superior population were selected for further breeding.


textabstractHereditary retinal disorders constitute a large heterogeneous group of diseases in which
the photoreceptors are primarily aff ected. When cone cells are aff ected, one cannot see
details or perceive color. In this thesis, we focused on the three most important diseases
in which the cones are primarily aff ected: achromatopsia (ACHM), cone dystrophy (CD),
and cone-rod dystrophy (CRD). Although cone disorders account for only a small portion
of all retinal disorders, they have a great impact on daily life. This is mainly due to
the early onset of disease, severe visual outcome, and lack of therapeutic options. Cone
disorders can have an autosomal recessive, autosomal dominant or X-linked inheritance,
but unfortunately the genetic etiology is still largely unknown. This hampers clinical and
genetic counseling and the development of therapeutic options. This gap of knowledge
encouraged us to initiate a multicenter study with the aim to investigate the clinical
course of cone disorders and to unravel the genetic causes.


Scalar methods for multicomponent data processing require in principle separate wave modes. A method for wave mode separation in the presence of topography is proposed and tested on synthetic seismic data, generated over a complex geology model with a 2D elastic FD method. The resulting data are migrated using two preSDM approaches, Kirchhoff and PSPI, which also take into account the rough topography. The seismic images obtained show the challenging characteristics of these data; the methods provide insights into approaches that can be rewarding for elastic wave processing in complex settings.


In this paper we study an extension of a classic newsvendor model with balking under a service-level constraint. We also relax the assumption that the demand distribution is fully available to a decision-maker; we assume that only the mean and variance of the demand distribution are known, and discuss the procedure for determining the optimal order quantity for the concomitant model. We further extend our base model to two different cases: (i) when the fixed ordering cost is included, and (ii) when yield is uncertain. We illustrate the solution procedures for each case with numerical examples. Moreover, we discuss the performance and robustness of the approach through randomly generated test instances, and perform a numerical sensitivity analysis to evaluate the impact of the changes of a targeted fill-rate and variances of a demand distribution.


The Inria Sophia Antipolis Méditerranée center counts 37 research teams and 9 support departments. The center's staff (about 600 people including 400 Inria employees) is composed of scientists of different nationalities (250 foreigners of 50 nationalities), engineers, technicians and administrators. 1/3 of the staff are civil servants, the others are contractual. The majority of the research teams at the center are located in Sophia Antipolis and Nice in the AlpesMaritimes. Six teams are based in Montpellier and a team is hosted by the computer science department of the University of Bologna in Italy. The Center is a member of the University and Institution Community (ComUE) "Université Côte d'Azur (UCA)".


The New York Times Annotated Corpus and the ACM Digital Library are two prototypical examples of document collections in which each document is tagged with keywords and significant phrases. Such collections can be viewed as high-dimensional document cubes against which browsers and search systems can be applied in a manner similar to online analytical processing against data cubes. The tagging patterns in these collections are examined and a generative tagging model is developed that can mimic the tag assignments observed in those collections. When a user browses the collection by means of a Boolean query over tags, the result is a subset of documents that can be summarized by a centroid derived from their document term vectors. A partial materialization strategy is developed to provide efficient storage and access to centroids for such document subsets. A customized local term vocabulary storage approach is incorporated into the partial materialization to ensure that rich and relevant term vocabulary is available for representing centroids while maintaining a low storage footprint. By adopting this strategy, summary measures dependent on centroids (including bursty terms, or larger sets of indicative documents) can be efficiently and accurately computed for important subsets of documents. The proposed design is evaluated on the two collections along with PubMed (a held-back document collection) and several synthetic collections to validate that it outperforms alternative storage strategies. Finally, an enhanced faceted browsing system is developed to support users' exploration of large multi-tagged document collections. It provides summary measures of document result sets at each step of navigation through a set of indicative terms and diverse set of documents, as well as information scent that helps to guide users' exploration. These summaries are derived from pre-materialized views that allow for quick calculation of centroids for various result sets. The utility and efficiency of the system is demonstrated on the New York Times Annotated Corpus.


The purpose of this project was to develop, implement and evaluate a career guidance programme as an alternative to the Seal Cove Prevocational Programme for the attainment of a career educative objective. -- The career guidance programme was carried out with an academic and general grade nine class in Mobile school, a rural Newfoundland central high school. The programme consisted of a variety of activities designed to give the student insight into occupational opportunities and into their own interests and abilities. The objectives of the programme were to increase the students' knowledge of themselves and the world of work, and to help them realistically relate their own self-characteristics to occupational opportunities. -- A criterion of career development for the ninth grade level was established and a career knowledge instrument to measure this criterion was developed. -- The career guidance programme was evaluated by pretest and posttest administrations of the career knowledge instrument. The programme was compared with the Seal Cove Prevocational Programme by a posttest administration of the career knowledge instrument to a sample of 150 grade nine academic and general students in the Conception Bay area who had been involved in the Prevocational Programme. A t-test and an analysis of variance were carried out on the data related to the questions of the Project. -- The results showed that for both the academic and general students in Mobile there was a significant increase in their mean scores from the pretest to the posttest administration of the career knowledge instrument. In addition, on the posttest administration of the career knowledge instrument the mean scores of the grade nine students in Mobile were significantly higher than those scores of the grade nine students involved in the Seal Cove Prevocational Programme. -- The conclusion was made that the experimental programme, the career guidance programme, achieved the overall goal of increasing the career knowledge of the students, whereas the Seal Cove Prevocational Programme was not effective in the achievement of this goal. -- Finally, recommendations for further research were made concerning career guidance programmes, prevocational programmes and the career knowledge instrument.


In this paper, we describe our entrant in the travel division of the 2006 Trading Agent Competition (TAC). At a high level, the design of many successful autonomous trading agents can be summarized as follows: (i) price prediction: build a model of market prices; and (ii) optimization: solve for an approximately optimal set of bids, given this model. To predict, we simulate simultaneous ascending auctions. To optimize, we apply the sample average approximation method. Both of these procedures might naturally be abbreviated SAA; hence the title of this paper. Our agent dominated the preliminary and seeding rounds of TAC Travel in 2006, and emerged as champion in the finals in a photo finish.


Large-scale transcription start site (TSS) profiling produces a high-resolution, quantitative picture of transcription initiation and core promoter locations within a genome. However, application of TSS profiling to date has largely been restricted to a small set of prominent model systems. We sought to characterize the cis-regulatory landscape of the water flea Daphnia pulex, an emerging model arthropod that reproduces both asexually (via parthenogenesis) and sexually (via meiosis). We performed Cap Analysis of Gene Expression (CAGE) with RNA isolated from D. pulex within three developmental states: sexual females, asexual females, and males. Identified TSSs were utilized to generate a "Daphnia Promoter Atlas," i.e., a catalog of active promoters across the surveyed states. Analysis of the distribution of promoters revealed evidence for widespread alternative promoter usage in D. pulex, in addition to a prominent fraction of compactly-arranged promoters in divergent orientations. We carried out de novo motif discovery using CAGE-defined TSSs and identified eight candidate core promoter motifs; this collection includes canonical promoter elements (e.g., TATA and Initiator) in addition to others lacking obvious orthologs. A comparison of promoter activities found evidence for considerable state-specific differential gene expression between states. Our work represents the first global definition of transcription initiation and promoter architecture in crustaceans. The Daphnia Promoter Atlas presented here provides a valuable resource for comparative study of cis-regulatory regions in metazoans, as well as for investigations into the circuitries that underpin meiosis and parthenogenesis.


We investigate one-dimensional nonlinear photonic crystals consisting of ferroelectric domains with the modulated polarization direction. The optimal arrangement of the polarization directions of the ferroelectric domains can be achieved with the use of the simulated annealing method. We find that the second-harmonic generation (SHG) is increased significantly when the frequencies of the fundamental wave aim at the photonic band edges and the special arrangement of the polarization directions of the ferroelectric domains is satisfied. The optimal structure can achieve simultaneously multiple wavelength SHGs with nearly identical conversion efficiencies for both the "forward" and "backward" SHGs.


We use the discrete-time dynamic investment model to evaluate the gains from including hedge funds in the investment opportunity set. In this multi-period framework, an investor's utility is affected by all moments of the return distribution. We assume that investors rebalance their portfolios on a monthly basis, and we compare the performance of portfolios which may include hedge funds versus portfolios consisting of stocks and bonds only. Our findings show that: (1) investors will allocate wealth to hedge funds even when they take into account deviations from normality in hedge fund returns. Those ex ante optimal allocations result in portfolios that ex post have higher geometric returns compared to the case in which hedge fund investing is not permitted; (2) investors that form portfolios taking all moments of the return distribution into account construct portfolios that are very similar to the portfolios being constructed by investors who care only about expected return and standard deviation, suggesting that the two first moments of the return distribution dominate higher moments; (3) the positive effect on capital growth from including hedge funds into the portfolios remains, although smaller, when the so-called "stale-pricing effect" is considered; and (4) lock-up periods and advance notice periods may force investors to have portfolios that deviate from their targeted ex ante optimal portfolios. Through a simple experiment we show that this inability to rebalance hedge fund allocations may seriously impact the benefits that hedge fund allocations appear to offer.


First published in July 1850, shortly after Wordsworth's death, The Prelude was the culmination of over fifty years of creative work. The great Romantic poem of human consciousness, it takes as its theme the growth of a poet's mind': leading the reader back to Wordsworth's formative moments of childhood and youth, and detailing his experiences as a radical undergraduate in France at the time of the Revolution. Initially inspired by Coleridge's exhortation that Wordsworth write a work upon the French Revolution, The Prelude has ultimately become one of the finest examples of poetic autobiography ever written; a fascinating examination of the self that also presents a comprehensive view of the poet's own creative vision.


This thesis presents new superconducting compact (as opposed to separated-sector ) cyclotron designs for injection in CABOTO, a linac developed by the TERA Foundation delivering C6+/H2+ beams up to 400 MeV/u for ion beam therapy. This association of a variable energy linac injected by a fixed energy cyclotron is called cyclinac. Two superconducting cyclotron designs are compared under the same design constraints and methods: a synchrocyclotron and an isochronous cyclotron, both at the highest possible magnetic field and with an output energy of 230 MeV/u. This energy allows to use the cyclotron as a stand-alone accelerator for protontherapy. Once the optimal cyclotron is determined, lower energy cyclotrons can easily be designed. The short pulse length (1.5 µs), fast repetition rate (100-300 Hz) and small beam transmission of the cyclinac (0.2%) require intense pulsed ion sources. To deliver the desired clinical dose rate, the average pulse current of 60 eµA of C6+ at 300 Hz can be produced by three commercial EBIS (EBIS-SC by Dreebit Gmbh) operating at 100 Hz and connected to the beamline in alternating mode. A multicusp ion source is sufficient to produce compatible H2+ beams. The synchrocyclotron design features a central magnetic field of 5 T, an axisymmetric pole and a constant field index of 0.02. The beam is injected axially with a spiral inflector (K = 1.4). A static magnetic perturbation of 0.1 T and 5° width boosts the beam radial gain per turn (with no emittance degradation) by exciting the first radial integer resonance and thus allows beam ejection with moderate beam losses (30%). The RF system operates in first harmonic (Q = 2500). The 180° Dee provides 28 kV peak voltage and the RF is modulated (30-38 MHz) by a rotating capacitor (90-900 pF). The synchrocyclotron's best features are the simple and compact magnet (300 tons) and the low RF power requirements (30 kW power supply). The isochronous cyclotron design features a 3.2 T central magnetic field, four sectors and a pole characterized by elliptical gaps in the hills (3-30 mm) and in the valleys (11-50 cm). Spiraling is minimized (80° total hill axis rotation) and beam ejection is achieved with a single electrostatic deflector placed inside an empty valley. The two RF cavities operate in fourth harmonic at 98 MHz (Q = 7100). The RF system provides peak voltages of 70-120 kV and is powered by a single 100 kW unit. The synchrocyclotron reliability is brought into question by the need of a rotating capacitor and by the complexity of the injection and ejection systems. However, the isochronous cyclotron requires a much more complex magnet. Overall, the isochronous cyclotron is a better solution compared to the synchrocyclotron, because it is as compact but more reliable. To quantitatively determine the industrial and clinical optimum for the CABOTO injection energy, three complementary isochronous cyclotrons of 70, 120 and 170 MeV/u are studied, based on the 230 MeV/u design. The optimal cyclotron energy strongly depends on the clinical aim of the facility. For a dual proton and carbon ion centre, the best compromise between clinical flexibility, accelerator size and power consumption is to accelerate particles up to 150 MeV/u in the cyclotron. In this configuration, the 150 MeV/u isochronous cyclotron has similar weight and spiraling as the most widely used cyclotron for protontherapy (C235 by IBA S.A.), CABOTO is 24 m long and the overall power consumption of the cyclinac is 650 kW. Adding to these characteristics, the property of fast energy variation of the linac makes the cyclinac presented in this thesis a strongly competitive accelerator for dual proton and carbon ion therapy.


Abstract— Chondrules, silicate spheres typically 0.1 to 1 mm in diameter, are the most abundant constituents in the most common meteorites falling on Earth, the ordinary chondrites. In addition, many primitive meteorites have calcium‐aluminum‐rich inclusions (CAIs). The question of whether comets have chondrules or CAIs is relevant to understanding what the interior of a comet is like and what a cometary meteorite might be like. In addition, one prominent model for forming chondrules and CAIs, the X‐wind model, predicts their presence in comets, while most other models do not. At present, the best way to search for chondrules and CAIs in comets is through meteor showers derived from comets, in particular, the Leonid meteor shower. Evidence potentially could be found in the overall mass distribution of the shower, in chemical analyses of meteors, or in light curves. There is no evidence for a chondrule abundance in the Leonid meteors similar to that found in chondritic meteorites. There is intriguing evidence for chondrule‐ or CAI‐sized objects in a small fraction of the light curves, but further work is required to generate a definitive test.


This Essay argues that bankruptcy proceedings are well-suited to resolving mass tort claims. Mass tort cases create a collective action problem that encourages claimants who are worried about available recoveries to race to the courthouse to collect ahead of others. This race can destroy going concern value and lead to the dismemberment of valuable firms. Coordination among claimants is difficult as each one seeks to maximize its own recoveries. These are the very collective action and holdout problems that bankruptcy proceedings are designed to solve. As such, bankruptcy proceedings are appropriate means of resolving mass torts as long as they leave tort victims no worse off than they would have otherwise been. We further argue that legal innovations such as third-party releases and divisional mergers, which facilitate efficient bankruptcy proceedings and reduce holdout problems, should be welcomed as long as courts are attentive to the potential for abuse. Of course, the bankruptcy process is not fully immune to abuse. For example, incumbent managers may have outsized bargaining leverage in bankruptcy or may take advantage of information asymmetries to push for reorganizations that divert value away from tort claimants. To control for such abuse, this Essay explores potential reforms aimed at ensuring that bankruptcy proceedings effectively mitigate collective action problems without disadvantaging tort victims as a class. Some of these reforms, such as giving tort claimants a priority claim, will sound familiar to bankruptcy scholars. Others, such as giving tort claimants a right to propose a plan of reorganization are more extreme. Because all these proposals have costs and benefits, our aim is not to endorse any one set of reforms; rather, we emphasize that it is possible to address potential abuses through internal reforms that facilitate mass


Abstract The first example of an intermolecular thiol–yne–ene coupling reaction is reported for the one‐pot construction of C−S and C−C bonds. Thiol–yne–ene coupling opens a new dimension in building molecular complexity to access densely functionalized products. The employment of Eosin Y/DBU/MeOH photocatalytic system suppresses hydrogen atom transfer (HAT) and associative reductant upconversion (via C−S three‐electron σ‐bond formation). Investigation of the reaction mechanism by combining online ESI‐UHRMS, EPR spectroscopy, isotope labeling, determination of quantum yield, cyclic voltammetry, Stern–Volmer measurements and computational modeling revealed a unique photoredox cycle with four radical‐involving stages. As a result, previously unavailable products of the thiol–yne–ene reaction were obtained in good yields with high selectivity. They can serve as stable precursors for synthesizing synthetically demanding activated 1,3‐dienes.


New Zealand is currently the third largest global producer of kiwifruit and thus plays an important role in the international market. Exports of kiwifruit are also of significant horticultural value for New Zealand and in 2007 the kiwifruit industry accounted for export values of NZ$790 million.
The global kiwifruit market has experienced substantial changes in recent years and is likely to change significantly in the near future due to developments in production sources, adjustments to trade policy settings and shifts in consumer preferences. The New Zealand kiwifruit industry needs to consider what the impacts of these changes might be so that future strategies can be constructed effectively.
Little quantitative modelling has been done in New Zealand to consider the impacts of changes to the global kiwifruit industry. The major contribution of this research was the development and calibration of a kiwifruit industry-specific partial equilibrium trade model. The model was then used to examine the impacts on New Zealand producers of these trade-related changes in the global kiwifruit market. Three relevant scenarios were developed for this purpose. They include a drop in EU demand through the introduction of a stricter Sanitary and Phytosanitary policy, an expansion of the Chinese kiwifruit industry where production is doubled by year 2013 and finally a trade liberalisation scenario where current import tariffs on kiwifruit were removed worldwide.
It is clearly observed, through both the Chinese expansion scenario and the trade liberalisation scenario, what a potential impact and future role China has as a world market player. Increased availability of Chinese kiwifruit appears to affect New Zealand producer returns and exported quantities negatively, albeit not as significantly as the EU introduction of an SPS policy. A trade liberalisation scenario, on the other hand, proves to increase New Zealand grower returns significantly for all varieties.


Thomas Paine, a native of Thetford, England, arrived in America's coloines with little in the way of money, reputation, or prospects, though he did have a letter of recommendation in his pocket from Benjamin Franklin. Paine also had a passion for liberty in all its forms, and an abiding hatred of tyranny. His forceful, direct expression of those principles found voice in a pamphlet he wrote entitled "Common Sense," which proved to be the most influential political work of the time. Ultimately, Paine's treatise provided inspiration to the second Continental Congress for the drafting of the Declaration of Independence. "46 Pages" is a dramatic look at a pivotal moment in our country's formation, a scholar's meticulous recreation of the turbulent years leading up to the Revolutionary War, retold with excitement and new insight.


This study investigated the impact of thinking instruction on students' metacognition and thinking behavior. Higher-order thinking occurs when individuals use their underlying metacognitive strategies which increase the probability of achieving a desirable result. The study was designed as a case study of an intervention and a posttest-only control group design was adopted. Participants consisted of students with a variety of majors were recruited from a medium-size university located in southern Taiwan. Two classes of the Developing Thinking course, totaling 78 students, comprised the group receiving the intervention, while 196 students in six General English classes comprised the comparison group. The intervention students were introduced to thinking skills, facts and opinions, question stems, and thinking from different perspectives. The quantitative results show strong evidence that the thinking instruction exerts statistically significant positive effects on students' metacognition. Qualitative evidence also shows improvements in cognitive awareness with students demonstrating a more consistent application of thinking skills, an increased ability to think critically with thinking dispositions cultivated, and most importantly, a transfer of thinking behavior across the curriculum and in their personal lives. The researcher suggests the value of introducing thinking instruction to promote critical thinkers.


We describe the methodology applied in the 12th national forest inventory of Finland (NFI12) and describe the state of Finland's forests as well as the development of some key parameters since 1920s. According to the NFI12, the area of forestry land (consisting of productive and poorly productive forest, unproductive land, and other forestry land) is 26.2 M ha. The area of forestry land has decreased from 1920s to 1960s due to expansion of agriculture and built-up land. 20% of the forestry land is not available for wood supply and 13% is only partly available for wood supply. The area of peatlands is 8.8 M ha, which is one third of the forestry land. 53% of the current area of peatlands is drained. The volume of growing stock, 2500 M m, is 1.7 times the volume estimated in NFI1 in the 1920s for the current territory of Finland. The estimated annual volume increment is 107.8 M m. The increment estimate has doubled since the estimate of NFI2 implemented in late 1930s. The annual mortality is estimated to 7 M m, which is 0.5 M m more than according to the previous inventory. Serious or complete damage was observed on 2% of the productive forest available for wood supply. The amount of dead wood is on average 5.8 m ha in productive forests. Since the NFI9 (1996–2003) the amount of dead wood has increased in South Finland and decreased in North Finland both in protected forests and forests available for wood supply (FAWS). The area of natural or almost natural forests on productive forest is 380 000 ha, out of this, 42 000 ha are in FAWS and 340 000 ha in protected forests.33333–1


The use of electronic banking is increased rapidly worldwide. However, the percentage of Greek e-banking users, even if it has increased, is still very low. The adoption of e-banking depends on some factors which are connected with the services that the banks offer and the satisfaction from these factors influences, the overall satisfaction. The aim of this study was the exploration of the perception of Greek e-banking users about the factors affecting the satisfaction from the use of e-banking and moreover the influence of their experiences in the perception's formation. In order to achieve the aims of this study a research was realized, using a structured questionnaire, in 354 users of e-banking. The results show that Greek customers are quite satisfied from the e-banking dimensions and moreover the dimensions that mostly affect the overall satisfaction are "trust" and "convenience/ usefulness".


Today, some new digital communication tool, for example web-log and SNS (Social Network service) becomes poplar in the world. Japan is not also the exception. Web-log has become popular in 2005 and SNS has become popular in 2006. The top SNS service company, mixi, Inc., has listed in the mothers market and the numbers of mixi member is over 8 million at Jan. 28. 2007. Various kinds of people in Japan are just using these services and they can become friendly with these operations in short time. Furthermore, in recent years, web-log and SNS are also used for the business purposes internally in various companies, i.e. Oracle Japan, NTT Data, UNIQLO etc. Since there is not enough know-how to succeed in utilization of these new digital communication tools, most these companies are in the process of trial and error. The approach for the introduction seems so similar as the one of groupware. We have a lot of fear that many companies will fail to operate new communication tool without suitable approach.
 Tsuchiya, et al. (2006) indicates a possibility of an internal web-log or internal SNS for promoting people's emergent process, but they did not show enough know-how to manage the process. Itami (1999) proposed a concept of management of "BA" and said a possibility of IT tools for knowledge management in a company or an organization. Unfortunately, there were not any suitable IT tools at that time, e.g. groupware did not meet people's expectations. Currently we can use some new tools, internal web-log and SNS, and we believe that we can create better conditions for people's emergent process in a company or an organization. Everybody understands that it is hard to control people's emergent process completely. However, we certainly need to manage the process as well as introducing a new tool in an organization. But the know-how of management the emergent process is not clear. Furthermore, nobody has proposed the suitable effectiveness measurement of the new tools. Nobody mentions about the agent function of the new tools for organization learning. The purpose of this thesis is to propose and discuss some ideas of agent function of internal web-log or SNS in Japanese company or organization. We refer some case studies in Japan and try to extract principles of successful utilizing these new tools. We also discuss the facilitation approach to facilitate people's emergent process for their learning.


ORAL HEALTH POLICIES 131 Purpose The American Academy of Pediatric Dentistry (AAPD) recognizes the importance of transitioning patients with special health care needs (SHCN) to an adult dental home as they reach the age of majority. Finding a dental home1 to address their special circumstances while providing all aspects of oral care in a comprehensive, continuously accessible, coordinated, and family-centered manner may be a challenge. This policy addresses transition of young adult patients with SHCN and identifies barriers that may challenge delivery of oral health care to this population.


This volume explores the evolution of infectious agents that are sexually-transmitted or transmissible in humans and animals. This subject has received little attention until recently, in spite of historical records of sexually transmitted diseases over many centuries before Darwin s second opus emphasizing the importance of sex in reproductive fitness. A growing number of agents are being identified that assume the sexual route of transmission. This volume explores the increased appreciation of evolutionary interactions with development (EVO-DEVO), the possible epigenetic mechanisms involved in both, and the recognition of the importance of evolution in human and veterinary medicine and public health. Also discussed are the rapid advances in technological methodologies that can provide important detailed molecular characterization of sexually-associated viruses, bacteria, yeasts, protozoa, and ectoparasites. These are helping to date the likely zoonotic and co-evolutionary origins of the human- or animal-related agents and their initial, or later, radiation to the host s genital econiche. The rapid replication of these agents results in many acute and often chronic diseases although, as in the case of the gamete-transmitted endogenous retroviral genes, some may prove to have EVO-DEVO benefits. This volume takes an interdisciplinary approach to the exchange of newer evolutionary perspectives and technological advances to expand the understanding of the commonality and diversity of these animal and human infectious agents. NOTE: Annals volumes are available for sale as individual books or as a journal. For information on institutional journal subscriptions, please visit http://ordering.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/subs.asp?ref=1749-6632&doi=10.1111/(ISSN)1749-6632. ACADEMY MEMBERS: Please contact the New York Academy of Sciences directly to place your order (www.nyas.org). Members of the New York Academy of Science receive full-text access to the Annals online and discounts on print volumes. Please visit http://www.nyas.org/MemberCenter/Join.aspx for more information about becoming a member.


BACKGROUND
: Previous studies indicate that age, Glasgow Coma Scale score (GCS), arterial hypotension, computed tomography (CT) findings, and pupillary reactivity are strong predictors of outcome for patients with severe traumatic brain injury (TBI). However, the predictive validity of these variables has never been rigorously tested in patients from the developing world. The objective of this study was to evaluate the prognostic value of these variables in a resource-limited setting and to test their predictive power by using them to create an outcome model.

METHODS
: The study was conducted at Hospital Emergencias "Dr. Clemente Alvarez" in Rosario, Argentina. All patients with severe TBI meeting criteria between August 2000 and February 2003 were included. Outcome at 6 months postinjury was measured by mortality and by the Extended Glasgow Outcome Scale score. Two logistic regression models were created for predicting mortality and outcome.

RESULTS
: Outcome measures were acquired for 100% of the sample (N = 148). There was 58% mortality; 30% had moderate to good recovery, and 12% were severely disabled. The model accurately predicted 83.9% of mortality, and 81.1% of outcome. Because of variation in timing of CT scans, the models were recalculated without the CT variable. The accuracy of prediction was 79.7% and 79% for mortality and Extended Glasgow Outcome Scale, respectively.

CONCLUSIONS
: This study provides rigorous, prospective data that (1) validates the generalizability of the five World Health Organization/Organization Mondiale de la Santé TBI prognostic predictors outside of the developed world, and (2) provides outcome benchmarks for mortality and morbidity from severe TBI in developing countries.


This paper studies the Keccak-based authenticated encryption (AE) scheme Ketje Sr against cube-like attacks. Ketje is one of the remaining 16 candidates of third round CAESAR competition, whose primary recommendation is Ketje Sr. Although the cube-like method has been successfully applied to Ketje's sister ciphers, including Keccak-MAC and Keyak – another Keccak-based AE scheme, similar attacks are missing for Ketje. For Ketje Sr, the state (400-bit) is much smaller than Keccak-MAC and Keyak (1600-bit), thus the 128-bit key and cubes with the same dimension would occupy more lanes in Ketje Sr. Hence, the number of key bits independent of the cube sum is very small, which makes the divide-and-conquer method (it has been applied to 7-round attack on Keccak-MAC by Dinur et al.) can not be translated to Ketje Sr trivially. This property seems to be the barrier for the translation of the previous cube-like attacks to Ketje Sr. In this paper, we evaluate Ketje Sr against the divide-and-conquer method. Firstly, by applying the linear structure technique, we find some 32/64-dimension cubes of Ketje Sr that do not multiply with each other as well as some bits of the key in the first round. In addition, we introduce the new dynamic variable instead of the auxiliary variable (it was used in Dinur et al.'s divide-and-conquer attack to reduce the diffusion of the key) to reduce the diffusion of the key as well as the cube variables. Finally, we successfully launch a 6/7-round 1 key recovery attack on Ketje Sr v1 and v2 (v2 is presented for the 3rd round CAESAR competition.). In 7-round attack, the complexity of online phase for Ketje Sr v1 is 2 113 , while for Ketje Sr v2, it is 2 97 (the preprocessing complexity is the same). We claim 7-round reduced Ketje Sr v2 is weaker than v1 against our attacks. In addition, some results on other Ketje instances and Ketje Sr with smaller nonce are given. Those are the first results on Ketje and bridge the gaps of cryptanalysis between its sister ciphers – Keyak and the Keccak keyed modes.


Abstract Surface ruptures found east of the high peak of Bukadaban that formed during the 2001 Kunlun earthquake reveal a minor northeast–southwest‐trending graben, across which oblique approximately east–west extension occurred. Scarps along the southeast flank of the graben indicate vertical components of slip of 3–4 m, and left steps in the trace suggest a component of left‐lateral slip. Scarps on the northwest flank show vertical components of only ∼1.5  m; east–west‐trending ridges in the flanking footwall and hanging wall imply north–south shortening and therefore also a component of left‐lateral slip. These observations corroborate the inference made by others that Bukadaban, though >6000  m high, lies within or adjacent to an active pull‐apart basin between two major strike‐slip segments oriented ∼N100°E.


The power-voltage characteristic of photovoltaic (PV) arrays operating under partial-shading conditions exhibits multiple local maximum power points (MPPs). In this paper, a new method to track the global MPP is presented, which is based on controlling a dc/dc converter connected at the PV array output, such that it behaves as a constant input-power load. The proposed method has the advantage that it can be applied in either stand-alone or grid-connected PV systems comprising PV arrays with unknown electrical characteristics and does not require knowledge about the PV modules configuration within the PV array. The experimental results verify that the proposed global MPP method guarantees convergence to the global MPP under any partial-shading conditions. Compared with past-proposed methods, the global MPP tracking process is accomplished after far fewer PV array power perturbation steps.


This research have the character of conducted case study at Company of check and Diligence Of Husk of Sumber Kulit Magetan with title " Analysis Management Control Produce Company of Check and Diligence Of Husk of Hadhi Bharata Sejahtera Magetan". Target of this research is to know financial control efficiency produce at company of Check and Diligence of Sumber Kulit Magetan. Analyzer used to know efficiency financial control of production use difference analysis that is with analyzing and comparing furthermore between realization and budget. From result of analysis and calculation can know by: 1). Company of check and diligence of husk of Sumber Kulit Magetan in operation of raw material budget still not yet efficient posed at loss difference equal to in the year 2005, in the year 2006 and in the year 2007. The mentioned influenced by raw material price uncertainty which because of rare of available materials in market. 2). At operation of direct labor budget also not yet shown efficient in the situation loss difference equal to in the year 2005, in the year 2006 and in the year 2007. This matter influenced by bigger loss difference him either from tariff difference and also energy fee difference of job direct which because do not control of employees performance so that have an in with result of production which cannot reach which is budgeted by company. 3) While financial control of factory overhead have is efficient. The mentioned shown in the situation beneficial difference in the year 2005, in the year 2006 and in the year 2007. The mentioned because of existence of increase of BBM so that company increase budget the expense of overhead of previous year. But in its him usage of BBM do not exceed amount which have been budgeted by company. Besides is also caused by usage of electrics which smaller than which have been budgeted by company of existence of damage at some machine produce and at least usage of telephone. Pursuant to conclusion above, writer of implication can that: 1). In planning raw material budget and direct labor cost do not just pursuant to last year, however also reckon the level of good raw material of amount and also its price and needed time in course of production. So that company can compile efficient cost estimate. 2).Whit the happening of difference do not profit year 2005, 2006, 2007 at raw material budget and direct labor cost, hence company require to perform a repair of raw material budget and direct labor cost before doing production process.


This article argues that the debate over the future of Medicare has been dominated by financial considerations at the expense of an examination of the place of supervisory institutions in the health care system. Supervisory institutions will be of central importance to the future of Medicare because any future system will include some national standards, which, to be effective, must be interpreted, applied and enforced by institutions of some kind. This article focuses on two specific institutional questions: the dismal record of federal enforcement of the existing national standards of the Canada Health Act, and the pressing need for dispute-settlement machinery under the Social Union Framework signed by Ottawa and nine provinces in 1999. The article also examines the compliance of Alberta's Bill 11 with the Canada Health Act.


Recent progress in deep learning has primarily been fueled by the availability of large amounts of annotated data that is obtained from highly expensive manual annotating pro-cesses. To tackle this issue of availability of annotated data, a lot of research has been done on unsupervised domain adaptation that tries to generate systems for an unlabelled target domain data, given labeled source domain data. However, the availability of annotated or labelled source domain dataset can't always be guaranteed because of data-privacy issues. This is especially the case with medical data, as it may contain sensitive information of the patients. Source-free domain adaptation (SFDA) aims to resolve this issue by us-ing models trained on the source data instead of using the original annotated source data. In this work, we try to build SFDA systems for semantic processing by specifically focusing on the negation detection subtask of the SemEval2021 Task 10. We propose two approaches -ProtoAUGandAdapt-ProtoAUGthat use the idea of self-entropy to choose reliable and high confidence samples, which are then used for data augmentation and subsequent training of the models. Our methods report an improvement of up to 7% in F1 score over the baseline for the Negation Detection subtask.


Contagion is an elusive concept and several definitions have been used in the literature. According to Forbes and Rigobon (2002) contagion is defined as a significant increase in cross-market linkages after a shock to one country. In this paper we provide a selective literature review on international financial contagion, placing special emphasis on the ongoing European sovereign debt crisis. In summary, empirical research has pointed toward the existence of contagion effects during periods of financial turmoil. The paper summarizes various policy measures and institutional reforms that would help regulators and policy makers to deal with the adverse effects of contagion.


Research has focused predominantly on how teachers affect students' achievement on standardized tests despite evidence that a broad range of attitudes and behaviors are equally important to their long-term success. We find that upper-elementary teachers have large effects on self-reported measures of students' self-efficacy in math, and happiness and behavior in class. Students' attitudes and behaviors are predicted by teaching practices most proximal to these measures, including teachers' emotional support and classroom organization. However, teachers who are effective at improving test scores often are not equally effective at improving students' attitudes and behaviors. These findings lend empirical evidence to well-established theory on the multidimensional nature of teaching and the need to identify strategies for improving the full range of teachers' skills.