Most studies which investigate the relationship between critical thinking skills and instruction focus on how teaching strategies affect the development of critical thinking. In this paper we investigate how student characteristics affect their evaluation of teaching strategies, specifically critical thinking disposition, locus of control, gender, major and class rank. Using a sample of 66 undergraduates recruited from introductory political science classes at Truman State University, we found that, contrary to the literature, students who exhibited a disposition toward critical thinking rated lecture methods of instruction higher than students with a lesser disposition to think critically; further, political science majors rated lecture methods higher than non majors. However, locus of control, gender and year in school had no relationship with teaching strategy evaluation. Recently, there has emerged a growing consensus in the literature on teaching strategies in favor of `group based' methods of instruction for undergraduates over the more traditional `lecture' methods. In particular, it has been argued that breaking up the class into small discussion groups better serves to cultivate critical thinking skills among students. On the other hand `traditional' lecture methods of instruction cause students to "fail to learn how to gather, analyze, synthesize or assess information. They (students) do not learn how to analyze the logic of questions and problems they face, and as a result, cannot adjust their thinking to them" (Garside, 1996, p. 212).[1] This study differs from previous studies on the relationship between teaching strategies and critical thinking skills in two ways. First, although the focus in the literature on critical thinking has primarily been on how different teaching strategies affect the development of critical thinking skills, we investigate how characteristics of students affect their evaluation of different teaching strategies. Second, rather than focus on a single `independent' variable, we investigate the effects of multiple variables on the evaluation of teaching strategies: critical thinking disposition, locus of control, gender, major and year in school. Based upon the literature which suggests that small group methods of instruction are most effective in cultivating critical thinking skills we test the hypotheses that: (1) students with a disposition toward critical thinking will evaluate group-based teaching methods more positively than students who lack such a disposition; (2) students who have an internal locus of control will more positively evaluate group methods of teaching than lecture based methods. Using a variation of the California Critical Thinking Disposition Inventory (Facione, Facione and Sanchez, 1994), a locus of control inventory developed by Nowicki and Duke (1974) and a teaching strategy inventory, the questionnaire was administered to sixty-six undergraduate students recruited from two introductory level political science courses at Truman State University controlling for discipline and instructor. Literature The literature abounds with the contention that group based in-class activities are superior as a teaching technique when compared to more traditional lecture methods of instruction (Beyer, 1985). Through such group interactions teachers don't "tell" rather they help students to critically analyze ideas; students are encouraged to become active learners rather than passive recipients of information (Meyers, 1986; Halpern 1987; Garside, 1996). However, there has been very little work on critical thinking disposition as an independent variable affecting the evaluation of teaching strategies. Perhaps the most complete treatment of the factors which affect the evaluation of teaching strategy is offered by Husbands (1996; 1997). Husbands notes that four sets of factors may affect student evaluation of lecture versus small group oriented methods of instruction: (1) Characteristics of teachers; (2) characteristics of courses; (3) characteristics of students; (4) the interaction between these factors such as interaction effects resulting from gender of teacher and gender of student. …


The diffusion model is a commonly used tool to infer latent psychological processes underlying decision-making, and to link them to neural mechanisms based on response times. Although efficient open source software has been made available to quantitatively fit the model to data, current estimation methods require an abundance of response time measurements to recover meaningful parameters, and only provide point estimates of each parameter. In contrast, hierarchical Bayesian parameter estimation methods are useful for enhancing statistical power, allowing for simultaneous estimation of individual subject parameters and the group distribution that they are drawn from, while also providing measures of uncertainty in these parameters in the posterior distribution. Here, we present a novel Python-based toolbox called HDDM (hierarchical drift diffusion model), which allows fast and flexible estimation of the the drift-diffusion model and the related linear ballistic accumulator model. HDDM requires fewer data per subject/condition than non-hierarchical methods, allows for full Bayesian data analysis, and can handle outliers in the data. Finally, HDDM supports the estimation of how trial-by-trial measurements (e.g., fMRI) influence decision-making parameters. This paper will first describe the theoretical background of the drift diffusion model and Bayesian inference. We then illustrate usage of the toolbox on a real-world data set from our lab. Finally, parameter recovery studies show that HDDM beats alternative fitting methods like the χ2-quantile method as well as maximum likelihood estimation. The software and documentation can be downloaded at: http://ski.clps.brown.edu/hddm_docs/


Objectives: The application of mesenchymal stromal precursor cells (MSC) in clinical settings requires a pharmaceutical definition of cell quality including identity, purity, and potency of the individual preparations. In vitro chondrogenesis is presented to define identity and potency independently of specific laboratory conditions.
 Methods: MSC obtained from 34 patients undergoing hip replacement surgeries were expanded and brought to chondrogenic differentiation in two laboratories in the USA and in Germany. Cell culture protocols were modeled along established procedures with local variations (primary isolation, serum, hormones, micromass and hydrogel cultures). Chondrogenic differentiation in micromasses and in hydrogel encapsulated cells was analyzed by mRNA quantification, and by determination of glycosaminoglycan content.
 Results and Conclusions: The tested cell populations did not differ significantly in the patterns of differentiation between the two laboratories, indicating a strong genetic stability of the adaptive properties of the tested MSC. The results suggest that chondrogenesis may serve as a performance predictor in measures towards standardized quality control.


Pollen analyses in Romanian archaeology are not new and the interest concerning the opportunities offered by this discipline is on the rise. The increasing visibility of the discipline reflects a mentality change in terms of research methodology in Romanian archaeology, especially in prehistoric archaeology. This paper will focus on a short critical survey of the development of archaeological palynology in Romania, from its beginning in the early 20th century to present


The ability to entangle quantum systems is crucial for many applications in quantum technology, including quantum communication and quantum computing. Here, we propose a simple and versatile setup for deterministically creating Bell and Greenberger-Horne-Zeilinger states between photons of different frequencies in a two-step protocol. The setup consists of a quantum bit (qubit) coupled ultrastrongly to three photonic resonator modes. The only operations needed in our protocol are to put the qubit in a superposition state and then tune its frequency in and out of resonance with sums of the resonator-mode frequencies. By choosing which frequency we tune the qubit to, we select which entangled state we create. We show that our protocol can be implemented with high fidelity using feasible experimental parameters in state-of-the-art circuit quantum electrodynamics. One possible application of our setup is as a node distributing entanglement in a quantum network.


A Volcano in My Tummy: Helping Children to Handle Anger presents a clear and effective approach to helping children and adults alike understand and deal constructively with children's anger. Using easy to understand yet rarely taught skills for anger management, including how to teach communication of emotions, A Volcano in My Tummy offers engaging, well-organized activities which help to overcome the fear of children's anger which many adult care-givers experience. By carefully distinguishing between anger the feeling, and violence the behavior, this accessible little book, primarily created for ages 6 to thirteen, helps to create an awareness of anger, enabling children to relate creatively and harmoniously at critical stages in their development. Through activities, stories, articles, and games designed to allow a multi-subject, developmental approach to the topic at home and in school, A Volcano in My Tummy gives us the tools we need to put aside our problems with this all-too-often destructive emotion, and to have fun while we're at it. Elaine Whitehouse is a teacher, family court and private psychotherapist, mother of two and leader of parenting skills workshops for eight years. Warwick Pudney is a teacher and counsellor with ten years experience facilitating anger management, abuser therapy and men's change groups, as well as being a father of three. Both regularly conduct workshops.


The d-band center for metals has been widely used in order to understand activity trends in metal-surface-catalyzed reactions in terms of the linear Bronsted–Evans–Polanyi relation and Hammer–Norskov d-band model. In this paper, the d-band centers for eleven metals (Fe, Co, Ni, Cu, Ru, Rh, Pd, Ag, Ir, Pt, Au) and their pairwise bimetals for two different structures (1% metal doped- or overlayer-covered metal surfaces) are statistically predicted using machine learning methods from readily available values as descriptors for the target metals (such as the density and the enthalpy of fusion of each metal). The predictive accuracy of four regression methods with different numbers of descriptors and different test-set/training-set ratios are quantitatively evaluated using statistical cross validations. It is shown that the d-band centers are reasonably well predicted by the gradient boosting regression (GBR) method with only six descriptors, even when we predict 75% of the data from only 25% given for training (average root mean square error (RMSE) < 0.5 eV). This demonstrates a potential use of machine learning methods for predicting the activity trends of metal surfaces with a negligible CPU time compared to first-principles methods.


Green History traces the development of ecological writing through history and forms a broad critical review of green ideas and movements reinforcing the importance of environmental concern and action in our own time. Animal rights, ecology as science, feminism, green fascism/socialism/anarchism, land reform, peaceful protest, industrialization, ancient ecology, evolution, grassroots activism, philosophical holism, recycling, Taoism, demographics, utopias, sustainability, spiritualism ...all these issues and many more are discussed. Authors include Alice Walker on massacre in the City of Brotherly Love, Aldous Huxley on progress, Lewis Mumford on the organic outlook, Engels on natural dialectics, Thoreau on the fontier life, the Shelleys on vegetarianism and playing God, Bacon on the New Atlantis, Hildegard of Bingen on green vigour, the unknown writer of the Bodhisattva and the Hungry Tigress and Plato on soil erosion. Each article is set within its historical and thematic context. A full introduction and a guide to further reading are also provided.


[This paper is part of the Focused Collection on Gender in Physics.] The dearth of women in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) fields has been lamented by scholars, administrators, policymakers, and the general public for decades, and the STEM gender gap is particularly pronounced in physics. While previous research has demonstrated that this gap is largely attributable to a lack of women pursuing physics in college, prior research reveals little in terms of the characteristics and career interests of women who do plan to major in physics or how these traits have evolved over time. To address these gaps, this study utilized nationwide data on first-time, full-time college students to (1) document national trends in plans to major in physics among women entering college, (2) document the career aspirations of women who intend to major in physics, and (3) explore the characteristics of women who intend to major in physics and how this population has evolved across time. This study found that women ' s interest in physics has been consistently very low in the past four decades. The most popular career aspiration among women who plan to major in physics is research scientist, although this career aspiration is declining in popularity, while increasing numbers of women say that they are undecided in their career choice. Further, this study identifies a distinctive profile of the average female physics student as compared to women in other STEM fields and women across all majors. Women who plan to pursue a physics major tend to be confident in their math abilities, value college as an opportunity to learn, plan to attend graduate school, and desire to make theoretical contributions to science. However, they are less likely than women in other fields to have a social activist orientation. These findings have important implications for scholars, educators, administrators, and policymakers as they seek to recruit more women into the physics field.


Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) are faced with many challenging behaviors that could impede their learning. One commonly reported problem behavior is noncompliance, which is often defined as a delay in response (latency), decrease in rate of responding (fluency), or failure to complete a task. This failure to comply in an appropriate amount of time has been noted as a primary factor for a child's exclusion from the community, poor social interactions, as well as limited instructional opportunities. This study examined the response latency, task completion, and accuracy in responding of an adolescent with ASD utilizing a changing criterion design. Reinforcement was provided only when the student answered a question or complied with an instruction accurately and within the preset criterion which was successively and gradually reduced. Results indicated that response latency decreased from an average of 4.6 seconds down to an average of 2.4 seconds and that there was a significant decrease in no responses. Findings show that differential reinforcement of short latencies resulted in a decrease in response latency and an increase in compliance. Thus, the study yielded positive results and paved the way for future research.


The purpose of this study was to measure the energy cost of walking one mile on the flat to quantify the number of calories in an "Energy Mile", and to test Petzoldt's  Energy  Mile  Theory.  Petzoldt  defined one energy mile as the energy required to walk a one mile on the flat. He recommended adding two energy miles for every 1,000 feet elevation gain. To determine the validity of Petzoldt's theory, this study measured the energy cost and perceived exertion for walking on the flat, with and without a 44.5 pound  backpack,  and  up  an  elevation gain of 1,000 feet, with and without a 44.5 pound backpack. From the data, a 1.6 mile equivalent for 1,000 feet was revealed. Differences between females and males ranged from 1.32 to 2.02. Further research using heavier expedition packs at  higher  altitudes  could  reveal changes in energy cost.


The conclusion of the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) constitutes a priority and key component of the new external trade policy of the European Union (EU) and an immediate follow-up to several years of regulatory cooperation between the two global trade powers. In an era of megaregionals, services in the only area where significant negotiating traction exists at the bilateral and multilateral level. From an EU viewpoint, services is a key sector in these negotiations. As expected, the EU Commission, backed by the EU executive, has advanced an ambitious agenda and conditional offer to the US, hoping for further liberalization on the two sides of the Atlantic. Importantly, these negotiations are expected not only to generate additional liberalization, but should also reshape the regulatory philosophy as far as the regulation of trade in services is concerned. Against this backdrop, this article offers a critical account of the current TTIP negotiations relating to trade in services from an EU perspective. When needed, the article draws parallels with other EU Free Trade Agreements (FTAs) and the General Agreement on Trade in Services (GATS).


Anemia is a blood disorder and the major source of morbidity which is related to impaired oxygen delivery, decrease exercise tolerance and reduce the quality of life in older adults. It can be characterized based on the routine hematological parameter from full blood count test followed by differential diagnosis. However, differential diagnosis incur extra cost and time. The present study aims to look into the possibility of using an additional parameter called immature reticulocyte fraction (IRF) to further refine the classification of anemia prior to differential diagnosis. Data collection performed in Hospital Tengku Ampuan Rahimah (Klang) based on the full blood picture report from November 2015 till December 2015 were analyzed. The data were obtained from four groups of anemia patients consisting of anemia in pregnancy, beta thalassemia, hereditary spherocytosis and iron deficiency anemia. The hematological parameters tested were hemoglobin, total red blood cell, hematocrit, reticulocyte and immature reticulocyte fraction. The correlation between IRF and the other hematological parameters was studied. IRF was correlated to all tested parameters for the beta thalassemia group and do not have any correlation for the group of anemia in pregnancy. Hereditary spherocytosis showed correlation between IRF and red blood cell while iron deficiency anemia showed correlation between IRF and all the hematological parameter except red blood cell. Among the hematological parameter tested, only hemoglobin, hematocrit and red blood cell have significantly different mean value among the anemia group tested. Hence, IRF cannot be used for classification of anemia. Instead, hemoglobin, red blood cell, and hematocrit may have better potential to be used as additional tools for differentiation of the different groups of anemia.


It has been about 10 years since the first report that three drug combination antiretroviral therapy can durably suppress HIV replication.1 Subsequent studies have confirmed that when used appropriately highly active antiretroviral therapy (see box 1) can suppress viral replication to such low levels that the virus is unable to generate drug resistance mutations. Theoretically, once this level of viral suppression is achieved, treatment should work indefinitely, and the long term risk of morbidity and morality related to HIV associated immunodeficiency becomes negligible. Experience to date suggests that lifelong suppression of HIV is feasible.

This review is aimed at informing clinicians about the current management of HIV infection. Authoritative and continuously updated reviews are available on the web (for example, the US Department of Health and Human Services treatment guidelines at www.hivatis.org); this review does not attempt to exhaustively summarise the literature or to provide guidance to clinicians with expertise in HIV. Rather, I summarise those issues that are likely to confront clinicians, including clinicians who do not routinely treat people infected with HIV.

I searched PubMed databases for studies pertaining to antiretroviral therapy and its complications, lipodystrophy and lipoatrophy, and immune reconstitution. I also consulted recently published national and international treatment guidelines and considered unpublished data presented at international meetings.

HIV seems to be designed to mutate and evolve as rapidly as possible. This evolutionary capacity is the result of at least three properties: an extremely high rate of virus turnover (at least 1010 new virions are produced per day), a high mutation rate (about one mutation per new virion), and an impressive capacity of many HIV proteins to function in the face of multiple amino acid changes (for example, at least 33 of the 99 amino acids in HIV protease can mutate and cause drug resistance …


While there is a considerable body of academic literature on prostitution and sex work, there is relatively little research exploring the working conditions and occupational structures for men and women working in the indoor sex industry. There is a continuing tension between the theoretical position that considers prostitution as gendered exploitation and that which views commercial sex as work, although more recent studies have begun to explore different labour practices in some types of sex work. This thesis moves beyond previous analyses through framing the research theoretically as an occupational study, encompassing the experiences and transitions of female and male sex workers, as well as a small number of transgender participants, and setting these in the context of broader labour market theories and research. Using a qualitative approach, the study considers diverse labour processes and structures in indoor markets and adult sex workers perceptions of the terms and conditions of their work. The research develops an understanding of sex workers agency in relation to state structures, policy frameworks and varied working circumstances. It theorises the relationship of human agency to social stigma and recognition or denial of rights. It extends on existing classifications of pathways into and from sex work and develops typologies incorporating transitions between sub-sectors in the indoor sex industry, as well as temporary and longer-term sex working careers related to varied settings and individual aspirations. While the research identified gendered structures in indoor markets, which reflect those in the broader economy, the findings also contest gender-specific constructions of exploitation and agency through emphasising the diverse experiences of both male and female sex workers. I argue for development of a continuum of agency, which incorporates interlinking concepts such as respect, recognition and economic status and includes both commercial and private intimate relations. I contend that acknowledgement of sexual labour as work is a necessary precondition for recognising sex workers rights and reducing instances of physical and social disrespect. Nonetheless, this is not sufficient to counter social stigma, which is perpetuated by state discourses and policy campaigns which fail to recognise sex workers voices and, in doing so, create new forms of social injustice.


In a standard Markov decision process (MDP), rewards are assumed to be precisely known and of quantitative nature. This can be a too strong hypothesis in some situations. When rewards can really be modeled numerically, specifying the reward function is often difficult as it is a cognitively-demanding and/or time-consuming task. Besides, rewards can sometimes be of qualitative nature as when they represent qualitative risk levels for instance. In those cases, it is problematic to use directly standard MDPs and we propose instead to resort to MDPs with ordinal rewards. Only a total order over rewards is assumed to be known. In this setting, we explain how an alternative way to define expressive and interpretable preferences using reference points can be exploited.


Ideal Homes? shows how both popular images and experiences of home life relate to the ability of society's members to produce and respond to social change. The book provides for the first time an analysis of the space of the home and the experiences of home life by writers from a wide range of disciplines, including sociology, architecture, geography and anthropology. It covers a range of subjects, including gender roles, different generations relationships to home, the changing nature of the family, transition and risk and alternative visions of home.


The method of constrained iteration is used to deconvolve measured histograms of intensity fluctuations of a laser beam propagated through atmospheric turbulence. The histograms are blurred by noise and background contributions in consequence of the combination law of probability-density functions. The deconvolution is applied first without constraint and then with the physical condition of positivity of the counting values. A criterion for properly stopping the iteration is also presented. The results are checked by evaluating the moments and comparing them with those previously obtained from direct noise and background removal.


In this paper, we investigate the gyrostat under influence of an external potential force with the Suslov nonholonomic constraint: the projection of the total angular velocity onto a vector fixed in the body vanishes. We investigate cases of free gyrostat, the heavy gyrostat in the constant gravity field, and we discuss certain properties for general potential forces. In all these cases, the system has two first integrals: the energy and the geometric first integral. For its integrability, either two additional first integrals or one additional first integral and an invariant $n$-form are necessary. For the free gyrostat we identify three cases integrable in the Jacobi sense. In the case of heavy gyrostat three cases with one additional first integral are identified. Among them, one case is integrable and the non-integrability of the remaining cases is proved by means of the differential Galois methods. Moreover, for a distinguished case of the heavy gyrostat a co-dimension one invariant subspace is identified. It was shown that the system restricted to this subspace is super-integrable, and solvable in elliptic functions. For the gyrostat in general potential force field conditions of the existence of an invariant $n$-form defined by a special form of the Jacobi last multiplier are derived. The class of potentials satisfying them is identified, and then the system restricted to the corresponding invariant subspace of co-dimension one appears to be integrable in the Jacobi sense.


This thesis presents three essays. The first examines the effect of having a breadwinner mother on children's gender norms in England. It shows that, while boys with breadwinning mothers are less likely to develop traditional views, girls are more likely to become traditional, in opposition to their family's norm but in line with society's. It then develops a model of gender identity, showing that the results can be explained by girls' weaker preference for conformity to their family. Finally, it employs conformity measures to show that this prediction holds empirically, and implements a regression discontinuity design to estimate the effect of living in such norm-minority families on conformity.
The second essay studies costs in adjusting taxable income, using tax reforms and data from the Republic of Cyprus. Combining reduced-form evidence with a structural model of labour supply, it estimates these costs at CYP 79 for salary earners, and CYP 5 for the self-employed (the equivalent of 135 and 8.5 Euros respectively). It then examines the mechanisms driving the observed responses, and proposes a method that estimates asymmetries in adjustment costs to infer the underlying source of frictions.
Using the same data, the third chapter examines the importance of tax policy design for tax enforcement and behavioural responses in charitable contributions. It shows three sets of results. First, exploiting salary-dependent thresholds for third-party reporting of charitable contributions, it estimates that reported donations increase by about 0.7 pounds when taxpayers can claim 1 pound more without providing documentation. Second, it finds that at least 40 percent of these observed responses are purely due to changes in reporting, using a reform that retroactively shifted the reporting threshold. Last, it estimates a tax price elasticity of reported charitable donations at -0.5, and shows that this policy parameter is highly sensitive to the reporting environment.


The purpose of this study is to determine how assistance institutions are contributing to the development of small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in Nigeria, with special reference to Industrial Development Centre (IDC), Osogbo, Nigeria. Survey research was used in order to carry out the study. Three hundred and forty (340) respondents from university students, trade union congress and private entrepreneurs in Nigeria were sampled. Four research questions were generated from the literature review, questionnaire on developing small business entrepreneurs through assistance institutions, and the responses elicited from respondents were numerically quantified, tabulated and analyzed using the Likert Scale. The analysis showed that assistance institutions in Nigeria, especially IDC, have really contributed immensely to the promotion of small and medium enterprises as well as entrepreneurship development generally. The paper also looked into some problems confronting SMEs in the developing nations like Nigeria. Based on the findings, it is recommended that efforts should be made to commercialize the products of IDC so as to meet the demand of the people, and special fund should be set aside to encourage entrepreneurs who may be financially handicapped after training on SMEs development.


The two papers in this thesis are aimed at solving problems in Integrated Pest Management project, practice, and program evaluations. In the first paper, an evaluation design is constructed for the Onion ipmPIPE website, an onion pest information website. The Bayesian decision theoretic approach may not accurately model onion growers' pest management decisions throughout the season. Randomization of the treatment is possible, but an incomplete grower list proved to be a problem. The analysis shows that an instrumental variables approach may be the most appropriate method for estimating the impact of the Onion ipmPIPE website because its data needs are solved by using USDA-NASS surveying services. In the second paper, the challenge is to develop a practical method to measure benefits accruing to women from agricultural research using secondary data. Donors, governments and others are interested in determining how benefits from agricultural research accrue to women. We develop a three-step framework to identify women's crops and technologies. In step one, total potential benefits from research are estimated; step two allocates those benefits between men and women; step three, incorporates technology-specific parameters to refine the estimates of potential benefits. We apply this framework to Honduras and find that steps one and two provide the most information on the magnitude and distribution of benefits, but that refinements in step three can affect rankings of research program impacts on women.


In the recent years, the usage of 3D Collaborative Virtual Environments (CVEs) for educational purposes has increased. The metaphors behind the design of virtual places are quite diverse, from replication of real universities to art museums and scientific labs. At the same time, recent technological developments have opened new perspectives for the cooperation between human learners, virtual humans and anthropomorphic robots, thus extending the realm of CVEs to an augmented virtual reality continuum, where real and virtual parts supplement and influence each other. This kind of learning environments can be defined as DigiMech Learning Environments (DMLE). The goal of this paper is to provide a characterization of place metaphors for the augmented environments of DMLE. It will serve as a background for future design of such environments for different educational goals.


This article focuses on students from two Israeli teacher education colleges serving marginalized communities, both of which participated in a European Union (EU) project aimed at fostering internationalization in higher education institutions in Israel. The study reported focuses on students' agency in shaping institutional internationalization processes, in particular during their studies but also, as it became apparent, later in their teaching careers following graduation. Moreover, we explore how students' agency in internationalization is shaped by the conflict and its consequences. Employing a qualitative methodology, we followed six students' personal and professional trajectories, revealing the nature and scope of their activities and perceptions in light of their proactive role in internationalization in their institutions. We show how life in a conflict-ridden society may prompt proactivity and agency among marginalized students, revealing and discussing the potential transformative nature of students' agency in internationalization processes. Our findings indicate that institutions can strive to facilitate student agency and utilize it to further develop internationalization within their institutions.


Background: The two major sources of vitamin D are food and sunlight. Uncontrolled urbanization leads to undue air pollution which may lead to increased prevalence of hypovitaminosis D among the urban population. This study was designed to compare the levels of serum vitamin D and lipid profile in adequately sun exposed population of rural and urban areas. Methods: This study was conducted on 80 male participants. Group 1 (n=40) comprised of rural residents and group 2 (n=40) of urban residents, all with adequate and equal exposure to sunlight. Serum vitamin D levels were measured using ELISA. Lipid profile was measured using enzymatic colorimetric methods. Results: In rural group, sixteen participants (40%) had sufficient whereas 24 (60%) had insufficient vitamin D. No participant was found to be in deficient category. In urban group one participant (2.5%) was found in deficient and one (2.5%) in sufficient categories whereas 38 (95%) were found to be in insufficient category. The difference in frequency was found to be significant (p<0.001). Median and interquartile range of vitamin D in group 1 and II was 68 (56–54) and 49 (42–56) ηg/ml and the difference was significant (p<0.001). There was no difference between the two groups for triglycerides, total cholesterol and low-density lipoproteins, however, high density lipoproteins were significantly lower in group II as compared to group I (39.5±7.6 vs 47.6±9.0, p<0.001). Conclusion: Urban population had lower levels of vitamin D and high-density lipoproteins as compared to rural population.
Pak J Physiol 2018;14(4):32–5


In this paper, the optimal location and characteristics of TADAS dampers in moment resisting steel structures, considering the application of minimum number of TADAS dampers in a building as an objective function and the restriction for destruction of main members is studied. Genetic algorithm in first generation randomly produces different chromosomes representing unique TADAS dampers distributions in structure and the structure corresponding to each chromosome is time history analyzed. Then the damage index for each member and the average weighted damage index for all members are determined. Genetic algorithm evaluates the fitness of each chromosome then selection and crossover as logical operators and mutation as random operator effect the current generation's chromosomes according to their fitness and new chromosomes are generated. Accordingly, successive generations are reproduced in the same way until the convergence condition is fulfilled in final generation and four distributions are suggested as better options. Since these proposed distributions are selected under the one earthquake, therefore, it is better that the four new structures are cost-benefit analyzed in different earthquakes. Finally, the optimal placement for dampers is compared and selected based on a benefit to cost ratio, drift stories and the number of different TADAS types of such structures. The increase in amount of energy dissipated via dampers located in different floors as well as the status of plastic hinges in main members of the structure strengthened with optimum option are the proof of the optimal placement and suitable characteristics for dampers.


In the case of a public health emergency such as the COVID-19 pandemic, access to large quantities of appropriate personal protection equipment (PPE) has presented a significant problem. A shortage of face masks and respirators has been widely reported across the world. A concerted effort to manufacture high volumes has not unsurprisingly put pressure on the supply chain and the important certification processes. PPE procured or donated as uncertified stock requires rigorous, expedient and scientifically informed evidence before decisions can be made regarding suitable deployment, expensive certification, return or possible destruction of stock. This paper reports a series of experiments devised in reaction to this situation. In this study, an experimental methodology for the assessment of the filtration performance of samples of real-world, uncertified, fluid resistant surgical masks (FRSM type IIR) was evaluated in the resource limited (lockdown) environment of the COVID-19 pandemic. A steady-state flow rig was adapted to incorporate a bespoke filter flow chamber for mounting face masks in order to evaluate the resistance to air flow as an indicator of mask inhalation performance. Pure air was drawn through a specified control surface area at known flow rate conditions; the resistance to the air flow through the masks was measured as the resulting pressure drop. Over 60 tests were performed from 4 different, randomly sampled batches and compared to a control sample of EN Type IIR certified FRSM masks. Steady-state volumetric airflow rates of 30 and 95 lmin-1 were chosen to represent deep breathing and vigorous exercise conditions respectively. The results showed that the sample masks produced a pressure drop of between 26% to 58% compared to the control batch at the lower flow rate and 22% to 55% at the higher rate. The results for each sample were consistent across both flow rates. Within the group of masks tested, two sets (between 48% and 58% of the reference set) showed the potential to be professionally assessed for appropriate deployment in a suitable setting. Although the absolute values of pressure drop measured by this method are unlikely to correlate with other testing approaches, the observed, indicative trends and relative performance of the masks is key to this approach. Critically, this method does not replace certification but it has enabled a public body to quickly make decisions; certify, re-assign, refund, thus saving time and resources. The total time spent conducting the tests was less than 8 hours and the low cost method proposed can be repurposed for low resource regions.


Chronic kidney disease
(CKD) affects approximately 37 million American adults with many more at risk
for disease development. Elevated serum phosphorus and related abnormalities in
phosphorus homeostasis due to progressive loss of kidney function are primary
driving forces behind cardiovascular dysfunction and mortality in CKD patients.
Intestinal phosphorus absorption is an understudied aspect in phosphorus
homeostasis. Despite this lack of information, current therapies focus on
reducing intestinal phosphorus absorption via the use of oral phosphate binders
and dietary phosphorus restriction. Abnormalities in phosphorus-regulating hormones
are already present in early stages of CKD, including elevated FGF23 and
decreased 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D, which should have the effect of reduced
phosphorus absorption. However, rodent studies suggest that intestinal
phosphorus absorption remains at inappropriately normal levels in CKD, despite
perturbations in phosphorus homeostatic hormones. In these works, we studied
intestinal phosphorus absorption in patients with CKD, with a particular
emphasis on controlled diet studies, and on method of intestinal phosphorus
absorption assessment. In our first study, we assessed the variation
and reliability of 24-hour urinary phosphorus excretion, a presumed biomarker
of intestinal phosphorus absorption, in N=8 moderate-stage CKD patients. Here
we found a high degree of variability in 13-consecutive measures of 24-hour
urine phosphorus measures in patients consuming a controlled diet. We also
found that at least two measures of 24-hour urine phosphorus is required for a
reliable measure. Lastly, we found that in these moderate CKD subjects, 24-hour
urine phosphorus is not related to net phosphorus absorption. However, this
does not preclude the existence of a relationship in interventional studies
assessing direct methods of intestinal phosphorus absorption suppression (i.e.
efficacy studies of phosphorus binders) and urinary phosphorus excretion.

Next, we assessed
fractional intestinal phosphorus absorption in N=8 moderate-stage CKD patients
compared to N=8 healthy adults matched for age, sex, and race. In this study,
we administered the radioisotopic tracer, 33-Phosphorus, via oral and
intravenous routes, staggered by exactly 25-hours. This mimics the
gold-standard method of dual-administration of two different isotopes. In our
study, the use of a single isotope is a safer method as 33-Phosphorus is lower
energy compared to 32-Phosphorus, a higher energy isotope used in some previous
studies of end-stage kidney disease. Our results showed that fractional
intestinal phosphorus absorption was similar between CKD patients and healthy
adults, as we hypothesized. These findings were despite significantly lower
values of serum 1,25D in CKD patients compared to healthy adults.

Lastly, we considered the
effect of adherence to a low-phosphorus diet on serum phosphorus
area-under-the-curve during the intradialytic period in hemodialysis patients.
In this secondary analysis of a placebo-arm of a drug trial that included a controlled
diet, we examined the post-dialytic serum phosphorus rebound in N=13
hemodialysis patients. We found that, compared to previous reports in the
literature, adhering to a low-phosphorus diet in hemodialysis patients may
delay the serum phosphorus rebound in the intradialytic period. In our study,
only 2 of 13 patients had returned to their pre-dialysis serum phosphorus
values at 24-hours post-dialysis and 4 of 13 at 48-hours. Importantly, all
patients were not using phosphate binder medications for the duration of the
study. These data show a potential benefit of adherence to a low phosphorus
diet for phosphorus control, even in the absence of phosphate binder medications.
However, longer studies of a controlled low phosphorus diet compared with a
normal phosphorus diet on serum phosphorus rebound in the intradialytic period is
needed to substantiate these findings.

The results from our
studies are foundational in the understanding phosphorus absorption in moderate
CKD. This knowledge will be critical for the development of translational interventions
to limit phosphorus burden at earlier stages of the disease, thus limiting
additional risk for disease progression and mortality.


Hydrologic lead time is an important factor in many water resources engineering applications. The determination of the response time of a watershed to runoff-producing rainfall is the focus of this paper. The paper tests the hypothesis that a watershed responds similarly to rainfall of various temporal distributions in a manner unique to that basin. Simply put, each basin has a unique handprint of physical characteristics resulting in a relatively uniform response time regardless of the rainfall distribution and resulting runoff volume. An HEC-1 basin model is executed using several different rainfall distributions. The lag time from the occurrence of the highest rainfall intensity to the time of the peak discharge is computed for each model. Those results indicate the handprint basin response drives the hydrologic lag time and is virtually uniform for all distributions. A historic flood-producing rainfall event is reconstructed from radar data to estimate the rainfall point values, spatial and temporal distribution and those data are input into an HEC-1 watershed model. The results indicate similar basin response times associated with the historic event as compared to the basin response time derived from the HEC-1 models using hypothetical rainfall distributions, thus supporting the original watershed handprint hypothesis.


Domestic violence is an epidemic that is occurring at alarming rates throughout the state of Florida and across the nation. Much of that abuse occurs behind closed doors inside the home where there are no witnesses. Because Florida law does not allow a person to record communications without the consent of everyone else involved, victims are forced to rely on uncorroborated verbal accusations when they report their abuse. Unfortunately, it is difficult to prosecute these cases because they turn into credibility contests where the abuser often has an unfair advantage and has learned how to manipulate the system. If the abuse was serious enough, the victim can rely on visible physical injuries to support her allegations. That is also problematic because it forces victims to use their bodies as evidence when far more effective substitutes are available.This Note demonstrates that, although we claim domestic violence is no longer a private matter, we are effectively keeping it hidden behind closed doors by refusing to let victims record their abuse and then making it exceedingly difficult to prove their allegations without corroboration. The abuser's right to privacy has become a priority over the victim's safety. This Note argues that domestic violence victims need the ability to record the abuse they suffer inside the homes they share with their abusers. Finally, this Note proposes a statutory amendment to Florida's all-party consent law that would achieve this goal.


Abstract While references are frequently made in the restorative justice literature to the desirability of eliciting empathy towards their victims from offenders, little is known about whether it is in fact worthwhile to do so. Does empathy towards victims influence offenders' future behaviour? Empathy itself is an ambiguous concept which has been defined in a variety of ways. The implications for the practice and evaluation of restorative justice are that considerably greater clarity is required; the use of common measures of empathy may also be helpful. A distinction needs to be made between perspective taking and empathy; it is suggested that there is a continuum between intellectualising about other's feelings, responding compassionately to them and actively communicating with them. It is concluded that practitioner involvement in the design of future research on this topic should help to avoid further confusion. Key words; restorative justice evaluation, empathy, perspective taking, offenders Introduction In recent years, criminologists have become increasingly aware of and interested in the place of feelings and emotions in studying criminal justice (Arrigo and Williams, 2003; Karstedt, 2002; Masters and Smith, 1998). The emotions experienced by victims and offenders are clearly important in considering the relationship (or lack of one) between members of the two groups, and this forms a crucial part of restorative justice theorising. As Bottoms has pointed out, a successful restorative intervention involves the victim and the offender on a very personal and often deeply affective level: "if the apologetic discourse is to be really meaningful... one must express genuine regret and remorse for an act that has breached a shared moral code, and the other must forgive. Only in this way can prior social relationships be 'restored', although... this process itself requires continual emotional work by the parties. . . the pain and regret of the sincere apology (often a difficult matter for the offender to express), followed by the equally difficult act of forgiveness offered (perhaps uncertainly) by the wronged person, have the power to effect a social transformation" (2003, p. 96). Surprisingly little is known about the connection between offenders' feelings of empathy towards victims, and their likely future behaviour. While it is taken for granted in much of the literature about influencing offenders' behaviour that it must be a good thing to encourage and develop feelings of empathy (see for example Buonatesta, 2004; Walgrave, 2001; Morris and Maxwell, 2001; Briggs et al, 1998), there is a lack of empirical evidence on this issue (see van Stokkom, 2002). The assumption (and presumably many practitioners' experience supports it) is that any intervention which has the effect of increasing an offender's empathy towards the victim will: strengthen internal inhibitions against re-offending, improve the capacity for intimacy in interpersonal relationships, and contribute to maintaining the motivation to change. With empathy the offender can no longer not perceive his victim's pain (Hildebran and Pithers, 1989, p. 238). Whether it is worthwhile to try to elicit victim empathy in offenders is a crucial question from the point of view of restorative justice practitioners, policy-makers, victim support agencies and individual victims, and it is an issue which requires a major research effort if it is to be thoroughly addressed. Some work has already been done in this area, but it reveals some gaps in existing knowledge. There are dangers in attempting to elicit empathy towards victims in inappropriate cases: the 'anger' or 'revenge' rapist, for example, gains sexual satisfaction from hearing about the pain he has caused to victims (see Teague, 19932; Scully, 1990; Stevens, 2000), which might mean that those working with such offenders would generate counter-productive effects if they referred to victims' pain and suffering in the course of trying to elicit empathy in offenders. …


The vital role of spending clause legislation in the operation of our government flies below the popular radar. Not many people realize that programs like Social Security, special education, and the current economic stimulus efforts take the form of laws exercising Congress's power under the spending clause of the constitution. Spending clause statutes exercise this power by imposing conditions on the funding recipients. But this source of expansive federal power is under pressure. The Supreme Court's conservative members have developed and begun to use more aggressively a clear statement rule of interpretation that, by placing strict requirements regarding the conditions contained in the statutory text, narrows the reach of spending clause legislation. This article provides a comprehensive look at the development and use of the clear statement rule for federal spending legislation. It uses a single statutory scheme, the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), as a lens to examine the extent of reliance on the rule, with particular focus on two recent cases. I review the federalism-based justifications for the rule and recommend a rule of appropriate scope and strength. I conclude that the purpose of giving states notice of their essential obligations under spending legislation is served by a far less rigid version of the rule-one that looks to the core obligations imposed by the statute, and recognizes notice drawn from legislative history, judicial interpretations, and administrative interpretations, in addition to statutory text.


In your profession, do you help or work with people who have been traumatized? Do you listen to stories of abuse, suffering, or trauma from your clients every day? If so, you know it is important to hear and bear witness to trauma survivors' experiences and not be changed. You know firsthand the personal cost of the work you do and the struggle to make sense of powerful, often painful, feelings and altered beliefs. This transformation of a helper's inner experience is called vicarious traumatization (VT); it is an inescapable effect of trauma work. Transforming the Pain is the first workbook to address VT. It is designed to take care of the helper - to help you asses, address, and transform your own VT. Authors Karen W. Saakvitne and Laurie Anne Pearlman define and describesthe VT process and offer reassurance that you are not alone with these painful experiences. The book includes self-assessment worksheets, and guidelines and specific exercises for addressing VT and improving self-care. It is designed to be used by a wide range of professionals and paraprofessionals, including, but not limited to, therapists, police, medical personnel, crisis workers, and clergy. After working with Transforming the Pain, you will find that you have a new awareness of the ways your work affects your life as well as new skills and tools for improving your emotional well-being.


Economic growth in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) has averaged roughly 5 percent per year over the past decade, improving living standards and bolstering human development indicators across the continent. Stronger public institutions, a supportive, private sector–focused policy environment, responsible macroeconomic management, and a sustained commitment to structural reforms have greatly expanded opportunities for countries in SSA to participate in global markets. In recent years, many countries in the region have benefited from an increasingly favorable external environment, high commodity prices, and an especially strong demand for natural resources by emerging economies, particularly China. Over the longer term, leveraging Chinese investment to support broad-based growth will require policies designed to boost the competitiveness of sectors in which China's economic rebalancing may create a comparative advantage for SSA. To date, few African countries have been able to benefit from large-scale Chinese investment outside the resource sector. However, as China's growth slows and its economy shifts toward a more consumption-driven model, it is likely that global demand for resource imports will slow as well. Countries with the most heavily concentrated export mix, particularly in the mineral and oil sectors are the most vulnerable to China's economic rebalancing and should be ready to adopt measures to mitigate the impact of negative terms-of-trade shocks. By contrast, as wage rates in China continue to rise and firms refocus their attention on domestic demand, countries in SSA will be well positioned to exploit emerging opportunities for investment in export-oriented manufacturing. Ethiopia provides an instructive example, as its inexpensive yet relatively skilled labor force, coupled with the government's proactive efforts to court Chinese investors, have enabled Ethiopia to attract substantial investments in labor-intensive industries. Infrastructure enhancement, workforce development, and good-governance reforms offer a promising strategy for many countries in the region. Although the establishment of industrial zones has yielded mixed results, several salient success stories warrant careful attention. This report discusses how Africa could take advantage of the untapped opportunities offered by China's progressively intensifying investment and trade ties with SSA. It is hoped that this analysis will enrich the ongoing dialogue between policy makers, private firms, and civil society regarding China's increasingly important role in the growth and development of Sub-Saharan Africa.


With the signing of H.R. 1256, the Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act, the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) gained regulatory authority over the tobacco industry. A notable clause in this Act permits the FDA to regulate nicotine yields. However, they cannot completely remove this addictive constituent from tobacco products. This restriction has prompted the FDA to seek research on the threshold dose of nicotine that does not support dependence. This idea of threshold dose has led to an interesting reframing of scientific questions. For example, some researchers studying nicotine from this regulatory perspective translated the notion of an addiction threshold to a construct thought to play a role in addiction but which can be more readily operationalized. Examples include reinforcement threshold, discrimination threshold, and reinforcer-enhancement threshold. In this Perspective Paper, we highlight the importance of behavioral pharmacology and, specifically, the experimental analysis of behavior to help establish a scientific basis for policy decisions regarding nicotine yields. Recent research, including exemplars provided herein, note vast individual differences in the effects of nicotine at a known dose. Unfortunately, the behavioral and biological factors that contribute to such individual variations remain to be understood. We believe that behavior analysts are uniquely well-positioned to contribute to this understanding.


Geodetic measurements of surface deformation have been used for several decades to study how the Earth's surface responds to a wide range of geophysical processes. Geodetic time series acquired over a finite spatial extent can be used to quantify the time dependence of surface strain for a wide range of spatial and temporal scales. In this thesis, we present a new method for automatically decomposing geodetic time series into temporal components corresponding to different geophysical processes. This method relies on constructing an overcomplete temporal dictionary of reference functions such that any geodetic signal can be described by a linear combination of the functions in the dictionary. By solving a linear least squares problem with sparsity-inducing regularization, we can limit the total number of dictionary elements needed to reconstruct a signal. In Chapter 2, we present the development of this method in the context of transient detection, where we define transient deformation as nonperiodic, nonsecular accumulation of strain in the crust. The sparsity regularization term automatically localizes the dominant timescales and onset times of any transient signals. We apply this method to Global Positioning System (GPS) data for a slow slip event in the Cascadia subduction zone while incorporating a spatial weighting scheme that filters for spatially coherent signals. In Chapter 3, we use a combination of unique space geodetic measurements and seismic observations to study the 2014 collapse of Barðarbunga Caldera in Iceland associated with a major eruption event. The eruption sequence, which involved deflation of a magma chamber underneath the caldera and emplacement of a dike leading to lava flow, resulted in rapid subsidence of the glacier surface overlying the caldera and wide-scale ground deformation encompassing the rift zone associated with the dike emplacement. We present a model of the collapse that suggests that the majority of the observed subsidence occurs aseismically via a deflating sill-like magma chamber. In Chapter 4, we extend upon the transient detection framework presented in Chapter 2 to study complex surface deformation over groundwater basins near Los Angeles, California. We develop a distributed time series analysis framework based on the sparse estimation techniques of Chapter 2 and apply it to an 18-year interferometric synthetic aperture radar (InSAR) time series covering the Los Angeles area. We compare long- and short-term ground deformation signals to hydraulic head data from monitoring wells to understand the mechanical link between pressure variations in subsurface aquifers and observed ground deformation.


Edge localized mode (ELM) must be eliminated which enhances the erosion of divertor plates in the Hmode operation of tokamak reactors. Suppression of ELM has been experimentally achieved by the resonant magnetic perturbation (RMP) with multipartite coils. In a DEMO reactor with strong neutron flux, however, it is desired the coils near the first wall not to be put in. We propose an innovative concept of the RMP for tokamak DEMO reactors without installing coils but inserting ferritic steels of the helical configuration. Helically perturbed magnetic field is naturally formed in the axisymmetric toroidal magnetic field through the helical ferritic steel inserts (FSIs). The perturbation amplitude in the plasma pedestal region can easily be set above several 10-4 of the toroidal field strength in the DEMO reactor condition, which is enough for the RMP to mitigate/suppress ELMs.


In the Postmodern era there are diverse forms of architecture, which is also related to. structural and material technology that is developing so rapidly. The method used is the analysis of architectural theories to find the relationship between Function‐Form, whether: 1) The concept of Form follows Function; 2) The concept of Function follows Form; 3) The concept of Form and Function runs together. The relation between the concept of Function and Form will result in the meaning of the architectural work itself. The conclusion is: in architectural design there is no exact rule whether the Function must follow the Form, or Form must follow the Function, or Function and Form run side by side, but the relationships between Function and Form merge into a single method towards the expression of architectural Form, so that this Function‐Form relationship will be interpreted by the observer towards the expression of the architectural creation itself. The findings in this study are to give architectural designers freedom regarding the relationship between Function‐Form. However, the most important thing from this relationship is that the meaning must be reflected in the expression of the form that corresponds to the relationship to be achieved. The benefit of this research is that architectural students can know more deeply the relationship between the Function‐Form that will be used in the design, and also for architect practitioners in designing the building.


Especially in the East of Germany the right-wing populist party Alternative for Germany has been very succesful in recent elections. The academic discourse concentrates on a lot of prominent theories to explain the vote for AfD as well as right-wing extremist attitudes. However, in this context religiosity is still a black box as the research reveals contradictory results due to the insufficient measurement of religiosity. Against this background the paper reflects on the theory of authoritarian personality (Adorno et. al 1950) and takes different forms of religiosity into account. Based on the analysis of a representative population survey (ALLBUS 2018), the paper discusse the role of different forms of religiosity such as commitment to church, attachment to god and belief in supernatural powers. The paper reveals that these factors play a role in a way that expecially belief in supernatural powers correlates with right-wing extremism and attachment to church is especially an immunizing factor in the East of Germany, where the doctrine of the churches as well as the democratic history is particularly helpful to prevent right-wing extremist views as well as the vote for the AfD.


This article details the design, construction, and operation of flexible system that modulates light exposure for the purpose of fabricating continuous and discrete gradient combinatorial libraries. Designed for versatility, the device combines "off the shelf" components, modular accessories, and flexible computer control, so that it can be used for a variety of combinatorial research applications. Salient aspects and capabilities of the instrument are illustrated through two practical examples. The first case demonstrates how user defined exposure functions can be used to create continuous surface energy gradient libraries with a linear profile. The second example illustrates the creation of continuous and discrete libraries for mapping exposure-property functions in a photocurable polymer system.


The relevance of snow for climate studies is based on its physical properties, such as high surface reflectivity. Surface ultraviolet (UV) albedo is an essential parameter for various applications based on radiative transfer modeling. Here, new continuous measurements of the local UV albedo of natural Arctic snow were made at Sodankyla (67°22'N, 26°39'E, 179 m a.s.l.) during the spring of 2007. The data were logged at 1-min intervals. The accumulation of snow was up to 68 cm. The surface layer thickness varied from 0.5 to 35 cm with the snow grain size between 0.2 and 2.5 mm. The midday erythemally weighted UV albedo ranged from 0.6 to 0.8 in the accumulation period, and from 0.5 to 0.7 during melting. During the snow melt period, under cases of an almost clear sky and variable cloudiness, an unexpected diurnal decrease of 0.05 in albedo soon after midday, and recovery thereafter, was detected. This diurnal decrease in albedo was found to be asymmetric with respect to solar midday, thus indicating a change in the properties of the snow. Independent UV albedo results with two different types of instruments confirm these findings. The measured temperature of the snow surface was below 0°C on the following mornings. Hence, the reversible diurnal change, evident for ~1–2 h, could be explained by the daily metamorphosis of the surface of the snowpack, in which the temperature of the surface increases, melting some of the snow to liquid water, after which the surface freezes again.


Software product lines are widely used due to their advantageous reuse of shared features while still allowing optional and alternative features in the individual products. Especially for high-integrity product lines, we would like to use model checking to verify that key properties hold as each new product is built. However, this goal is currently hampered by the complexity of composing model-checking results for the features in a way that allows reuse for subsequent products. This paper presents an incremental and compositional model-checking technique that allows efficient reuse of model checking results associated with the features in a product line. It goes beyond related work in that it removes restrictions on how the features can be sequentially composed. This flexibility is important because it means that many more real-world systems can be modelchecked. We have implemented the technique, and demonstrate and evaluate it on a medical device product line.


The widespread and rapid internationalization of small to medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in the healthcare sector is outpacing our efforts to understand the motives behind this phenomenon and the processes that propel it. This paper investigates the internationalization processes of Swedish SMEs that operate in the international healthcare markets. Based on interviews from five SMEs, the study seeks to understand why these SMEs internationalize, and how and in what way this internationalization process unfolds. By developing a conceptual model based on previous literature for SME internationalization, knowledge and networks, and the regulatory environment in which the SMEs operate, the findings are analyzed in the context of the healthcare industry. The research concludes that product approval regulations have a small influence on the internationalization process; instead establishing relationships with local key opinion leaders to create awareness and legitimacy was essential to successfully enter a new foreign market. A further key finding identified was that each market is characterized by different national praxis and contrasting views on patient treatment methods, which was recognized as a challenge among the case firms.


Mental health has long been a neglected problem in global healthcare. The social and economic impacts of conditions affecting the mind are still underestimated. However, in recent years it is becoming more apparent that mental disorders are a growing global concern that is not to be trivialised. Considering the rising burden of psychiatric illnesses, there is a necessity of developing novel services and researching effective means of providing interventions to sufferers. Such novel services could include technology-based solutions already used in other healthcare applications but are yet to make their way into standard psychiatric practice.

This thesis presents a study on how pervasive technology can be utilised to devise an "early warning" system for patients with bipolar disorder. The system, containing wearable and environmental sensors, would collect behavioural data and use it to inform the user about subtle changes that might indicate an upcoming episode. To test the feasibility of the concept a prototype system was devised, which was followed by trials including four healthy volunteers as well as a bipolar patient. The system included a number of sensory inputs including: accelerometer, light sensors, microphones, GPS tracking and motion detectors.

The experiences from the trials led to a conclusion that a large number of sensors may result in incompliance from the users. Therefore, a separate investigation was launched into developing a methodology for detecting behavioural patterns in inputs possible to collect from a mobile phone alone. The premise being that a phone is an everyday use appliance and is likely to be carried and accepted by the patient. The trial revealed that monitoring GPS tracks and Bluetooth encounters has the potential of gaining an insight into a person's social and behavioural patterns, which usually are strongly influenced by the course of bipolar disorder.

Lessons learned during these proceedings amounted to a clearer concept of how a future personalised ambient monitoring system could improve the outcome of treatment of bipolar disorder as well as other psychiatric conditions.


An original methodology for the analysis of cascading effects in critical infrastructure is hereby presented. First of all, a rationale to identify elements (items) of daily life of citizens whose lack would cause a considerable impact on the quality of life of population is discussed. Then, a methodology to foresee domino effects among infrastructures is described. This methodology allows to account for domino effects in the identification of critical infrastructures, based on the impact on citizens of the outage of the various infrastructures, and supports an effective implementation of EU Directive 114/08/CE on the identification and protection of critical infrastructures.


For International Women's Day Dr Kristy Howells, Dr Laura Gubby, Dr Katie Dray and Dr Hayley Mills explore how sport can become more gender-balanced.

The campaign theme for International Women's Day 2019 is #BalanceforBetter which calls for a gender-balanced world. Within the broader context of gender-balance, particular areas in society seem to currently display a more exaggerated gender imbalance. For example, shining a spotlight on sport brings to light existing gender imbalances and indicates multiple areas that could benefit from strategies to redress the balance.

An indication of the magnitude of the gap can be seen by participation statistics which show that 1,551,400 more men participate at least once a week in sport compared to women (aged 16+ in England, Sport England 2016).

The trend appears to be further reflected in the positions held by men and women in sport boardrooms. For example, only 30% of national governing body (NGB) board positions are held by females, which is a drop of 6% since 2014, and only 36% of senior leadership level positions in NGBs are held by women.

Additionally, the issue of pay underlines a range of discrepancies. In 2017, only one woman, Serena Williams, made the top 100 paid athletes. Although it was reported in 2017 that 83% of sports do have equal prize money, there are still some dramatic comparisons in wages, for example, a win in the 2015 football World Cup earnt the women winning team £1.5 million, whilst the men received £26.5 million for the equivalent event.

Some may argue that lack of pay is related to lack of viewing figures and the revenue that it brings, but it could also be argued that this difference is fuelled due to a lack of media attention. For example, media coverage of women's sport in the UK was only 7% of all sports media coverage: 10% of televised sports, 2% of newspaper coverage, 5% of radio sports and 4% of online sports coverage is dedicated to women's sport (Women in Sport 2014 report).

But how should we make a difference to move somewhere nearer to gender-balance and #BalanceforBetter? Well perhaps Lori Lindsey (former US women's national soccer team) put it the most succinctly: "Instead of writing about why women don't receive coverage, [news networks] should just use that space to cover women's sports".

To move towards a better gender-balance in sport, we now need to inspire our girls and women by being role models and celebrating female successes as often as possible from participation sport all the way through to elite sport.

We need to show our next generation that sport has multiple routes and careers for those women and girls who wish to dedicate their lives to sport. We need to celebrate the vast array of female opportunities in the world of sport, from those related to physical activity, to physical education, to health and wellbeing. This will help recognise sport as a female career and readdress the gender-balance.

We need more attention on opportunities for women in sport officiating, sports reporting, leadership roles such as the UK Sports Minister, sports coaching, sports teaching, as well as a need to highlight the importance of careers in areas such as sport psychology and sport science.

We also need to recognise existing contributions such as the 'Women in Sport Network' and 'Project 500' which aims to have more women and better coaching within sport. These professions and networks deserve more recognition.

Here at CCCU we are ensuring that sport is no longer 'just a boys' club' and instead, we are advocators for achieving better balance by offering routes into sport professions and increasing coverage and sport research that our women need and also deserve within sport, physical activity and physical education.

Together we can bring a #BalanceforBetter in order to enhance the future of the whole sporting sector.


One aspect of higher order social cognition is empathy, a psychological construct comprising a cognitive (i.e., recognizing emotions) and an affective (i.e., responding to emotions) component. Empathy deficits have been linked to executive and emotion regulation dysfunction in depression that might underlie a patient's interpersonal difficulties. However, most studies measure empathy through the Interpersonal Reactivity Index (IRI), which may not accurately capture affective empathy. Critically, prior studies have not examined a potential dissociation between cognitive and affective empathy in depressed individuals. In Study 1, a factor analysis determined the appropriateness of using the IRI to measure affective empathy. Results showed poor model fit with the affective empathy factor. In Study 2, we developed a behavioral measure of empathy, and examined differences in empathic processing as it relates to depression and ruminative thought. Results revealed differences in empathy between depressed and healthy controls, as well as differences by level of rumination. We discuss the implications of these findings for depression treatment.


Abstract Amphibole and garnet are among the most widespread heavy minerals in orogenic sediments. Their chemical composition and optical properties vary markedly and systematically with temperature and pressure conditions during growth, and thus provide important information on the metamorphic evolution of source areas that is crucial in palaeotectonic and palaeogeodynamic reconstructions. This study investigates the chemical composition of detrital amphiboles and garnets derived from parent rocks of progressively increasing metamorphic grade through a well-studied composite section across the Central and Southern Alps, including the granulite-facies core of the Late Palaeozoic orogen exposed in the Ivrea–Verbano Zone and the amphibolite-facies core of the Cenozoic orogen exposed in the Lepontine Dome. We specifically focus on metamorphic grade because it represents the best proxy for tectono-stratigraphic crustal level, and hence degree of unroofing of source areas. In river sands collected between metamorphic isograds corresponding to crystallization temperatures ranging from c. 500 °C to c. 850 °C, TiO2 gradually increases in detrital amphibole while its colour progressively changes from blue-green in the lower amphibolite-facies where actinolite, hornblende and tschermakite are most abundant, to brown in the granulite facies where pargasite is dominant. Detrital garnets display moderate gradual changes across the amphibolite-facies Lepontine Dome, where low-Mg 'type B' garnets predominate. Almandine-spessartine is spatially associated with abundance of pegmatites while entering the zone of anatexis (Southern Steep Belt), where grossular or grossular-andradite-spessartine are occasionally found. A sharp change occurs while reaching granulite-facies in the Ivrea–Verbano Zone, where high-Mn garnets disappear and 'type A' almandine-pyrope (from 'stronalite' metasediments) and 'type C' almandine-pyrope-grossular (from metagabbros of the Mafic Complex) predominate. Also redefined in this article are a series of numerical indices based on amphibole colour and relative abundances of diverse key minerals (chloritoid, staurolite, andalusite, kyanite, fibrolitic and prismatic sillimanite), useful to accurately assess the average metamorphic grade of meta-igneous and metasedimentary source rocks. Supplementary material: Chemical composition of detrital amphiboles and garnets and full information on the location and mineralogical composition of studied samples is available at http://www.geolsoc.org.uk/SUP18618.


A simulation model and a rigid body model are used to investigate twisting initiated during the take-off or contact phase. It is shown that it is possible to produce a full twist solely by building up angular momentum in the arms during the contact phase. This method is only half as effective as building up momentum in the whole body during contact. The introduction of twist into a somersault changes the somersault rate by less than 1%. By timing arm adduction appropriately, it is possible to take advantage of nutation and boost the initial value of the tilt angle and so obtain a greater twist rate. Twist may be stopped by the action of piking, since the motion changes from the twisting mode to the wobbling mode of rigid body motion. Transition to and from these two modes can be used to increase or decrease the tilt angle and twist rate.


"His name is Percy Bysshe Shelley, and he is the author of a poetical work entitled 'Alastor', or 'The Spirit of Solitude'". With these words, the radical journalist and poet Leigh Hunt announced his discovery in 1816 of an extraordinary talent within "a new school of poetry rising of late." The third volume of the acclaimed edition of "The Complete Poetry of Percy Bysshe Shelley includes Alastor, one of Shelley's first major works, and all the poems that Shelley completed, for either private circulation or publication, during the turbulent years from 1814 to March 1818: "Hymn to Intellectual Beauty", "Mont Blanc, Laon and Cythna, as well as shorter pieces, such as his most famous sonnet, "Ozymandias". It was during these years that Shelley, already an accomplished and practiced poet with three volumes of published verse, authored two major volumes, earned international recognition, and became part of the circle that was later called the Younger Romantics. As with previous volumes, extensive discussions of the poems' composition, influences, publication, circulation, reception, and critical history accompany detailed records of textual variants for each work. Among the appendixes are Mary W. Shelley's 1839 notes on the poems for these years, a table of the forty-two revisions made to Laon and Cythna for its reissue as The Revolt of Islam, and Shelley's errata list for the same. It is in the works included in this volume that the recognizable and characteristic voice of Shelley emerges-unmistakable, consistent, and vital.


A biofuels race has emerged because of the increasing cost of oil. In parallel, a growing concern for environmental protection has been observed. The expansion of biofuel production has occurs concurrently with raising prices of the foodstuffs. Developing countries like Mali have seen this situation as an opportunity to reduce its dependency on oil imports and generate gains from biofuel production. This development strategy could put pressure on food security in the country. The government of Mali has developed a strategy to promote biofuels production particularly with jatropha. The economic and environmental stakes around this strategy are far from being negligible. In this paper, we provide an analysis of this sector with opportunities and risk of developing this sector.


"In this study I propose a statistical model, the Riparian Nutrient Attenuation Model (RNAM), designed to quickly and accurately access the nutrient attenuation capability of riparian buffer zones. This information may help land managers evaluate riparian systems in terms of their capacity to retain nutrients. Developed using data available in the literature, RNAM uses three physical properties of the riparian, including vegetation type, slope, and width, to estimate the retention of total N, NO3- and P. Three RNAM sub-models, RNAM-nitrogen, RNAM-nitrate and RNAM-phosphorus, were developed to handle each of the three nutrients. In developing RNAM, the relationships between the predictor variables and nutrient retention were examined. A preliminary test of RNAM indicated that each of the sub-models is capable of producing reasonably accurate estimations of percent nutrient reduction. RNAM-nitrogen, however, produced inconsistent estimates of nitrogen reduction at higher levels. More data is needed to calibrate and validate RNAM."--Abstract from author supplied metadata


The purpose of the present paper is to place on record data on fossil Rhinocerotidae from Africa not included in earlier papers. Material has turned up in Africa in great quantities over the last decade, much from beautifully calibrated sequences especially in Ethiopia and the Baringo area of Kenya. Dreary descriptions of fossil teeth and bones are simply a prerequisite to construct, as is my aim, a sort of phylogeny of the rhinoceroses of Africa comparable to those long established for Europe or America. We have at this moment seven genera and a dozen or so species of Rhinocerotidae from the Neogene and the Quaternary, which will be dealt with below. My research in East and South Africa has been supported by grants-in-aid from the Wenner-Gren Foundation for Anthropological Research, Inc., in New York City. Brachypotherium heinzelini Hooijer This species, first recorded from Sinda, Congo (Hooijer, 1963), and afterwards from Rusinga, Karungu, and Napak II (Hooijer, 1966), is characteristic of the Early Miocene of East Africa. Recently, the lower jaw fragment from the Miocene of Langental in Southwest Africa described but unnamed by Stromer (1926: 112) was identified as Brachypotherium heinzelini by Heissig (1971); the first southern African record of the species. I agree with this identification, but it is not correct to state that flattened external grooves such as seen in the Langental P4-M2 appear first in Brachypotherium only at the base of the Vindobonian (Heissig, 1971* 127): Brachypotherium stehlini Viret of the Upper Burdigalian and Lower Vindobonian already has them (Hooijer, 1966: 145). The external grooves and cingula are variable in B. heinzelini as well as in B. snowi (Fourtau)


In animal breeding, genetic evaluation and estimation of genetic parameters have centered primarily on normally distributed traits and linear additive genetic models. The present study examined the feasibility of estimating additive, dominance and additive x additive type epistatic genetic variances in linkage equilibrium when these types of effects exist. Computer simulation was used for this purpose. Pseudo-normal records were the sum of a stochastic genetic component and a pseudo-normal environmental deviation. Non-additive genetic components of variance are difficult to estimate due to "confounding" between additive and non-additive genetic effects. However, given an appropriate pedigree, likelihood procedure can extract the information available on these components although it is reasonable to expect that non-additive components are more difficult to estimate well than additive ones. Univariate mixed linear models were used to describe and analyze the data. With normally distributed records, likelihood procedure was used for estimation of the variance components. An average of 7 iterations were required to converge at the fifth decimal point with the Newton-Raphson algorithm for maximum likelihood (ML) in design 4 (the "most efficient" one) for all combinations of genetic parameters considered in the study. Asymptotic theory indicated that in a genetic model with additive, dominance and additive x additive effects, the most difficult parameter to estimate was the variance "due to" epistasis, and that several thousand families were required to obtain reliable estimates of this parameter. In the presence of additive x additive effects, biases, mean squared errors and empirical variances of additive and dominance variance estimators were larger; further, sampling properties mentioned above of the additive and additive x additive variance estimators were affected by linkage.


We examined the prevalence of antimicrosomal and antithyroglobulin antibodies in psychiatric inpatients with unipolar depression (N = 218), bipolar disorder manic (N = 51), bipolar disorder depressed (N = 19), and bipolar disorder mixed (N = 26) in comparison with two control groups: psychiatric inpatients with adjustment disorder (N = 80) and family medicine outpatients without current psychiatric illness (N = 144). A statistical analysis that controlled for age and sex revealed the frequency of positive antibody titers not to be increased in patients with a diagnosis of unipolar depression (6.9%) or bipolar disorder manic (3.9%), when compared with patients with adjustment disorder (2.5%) and non‐psychiatric subjects (6.9%). There was a weak trend toward an increased prevalence of antithyroid antibodies in patients with bipolar disorder, mixed (19%) or depressed subtype (16%). The excess occurrence of antibodies in patients with either mixed or depressed bipolar disorder did not appear to be related to lithium exposure, which was similar in all bipolar subgroups. When the intervening influences of age and sex are taken into account, unipolar depression does not appear to be associated with an excessive rate of antithyroid antibodies; however thyroid autoimmunity may be weakly associated with subtypes of bipolar disorder in which depressive symptoms are prominent. Depression and Anxiety 5:91–96, 1997. © 1997 Wiley‐Liss, Inc


There is increasing recognition in comparative risk assessment of the intrinsic subjectivity of fundamental framing assumptions and the consequent necessity for active participation in analysis by all interested and affected parties. Despite this, there remains considerable inertia in the implementation of these insights in formal policy making and regulatory procedures on risk. Here, the issue seems as often to be seen as a need for better 'communication' and 'management' as for better analysis, with attention devoted as much to the classification of divergent public perspectives as to techniques for direct stakeholder participation. Pointing to the fundamental methodological problems posed in risk assessment by the conditions of ignorance and Arrow's impossibility, the present paper contends that public participation is as much a matter of analytical rigour as it is of political legitimacy. It is argued that straightforward techniques such as multi-criteria and sensitivity analysis, along with a formal approach to diversification across portfolios of 'less risky' options, may go some way toward addressing these apparently intractable problems.


Adult Bemisia tabaci (Gennadius) were tested with imidacloprid in a bioassay method using systemically treated cotton leaves. The method was simple, robust and repeatable and provided baseline data for a laboratory and a number of recently collected field strains. The LC 50 for imidacloprid susceptible strains was calculated to be 1.7 ppm and a concentration of 16 ppm determined as diagnostic for imidacloprid resistance. Ten strains of B. tabaci collected from the Almeria region of Spain showed significantly less mortality at the diagnostic dose than the susceptible strains. The intensive use of imidacloprid in the Almeria region is considered the reason for the occurrence of resistance in this locality. Resistance to organophosphates, pyrethroids and endosulfan in B-type and non-B type B. tabaci did not confer resistance to imidacloprid.


The south-central Rocky Mountains, USA, are characterised by a dry, continental mesoclimate with typical convective cloud formation during the afternoon. Little is known about the specific influence of such predictable cloud patterns on the microclimate and ecophysiology of associated species. During the summer of 2012, days with afternoon clouds were most common (50% of all days) compared with completely clear (24%) or cloudy days (6.5%). In two representative alpine species, Caltha leptosepala DC. and Arnica parryi A. Gray, fully overcast days reduced mean daily photosynthesis (A) by nearly 50% relative to fully clear days. Mean afternoon A was significantly lower on fully cloudy days relative to days with afternoon clouds only or no clouds in both species. Notably, A did not differ during afternoon cloud days relative to clear afternoons. Afternoon clouds significantly reduced transpiration (E) in C. leptosepala relative to clear days, and both species showed mean reductions in plant water stress (i.e. higher Ψ), though this difference was not significant. Water use efficiency (WUE) (A/E) decreased from morning to afternoon, especially on cloudy days, and the presence of clouds had a positive effect on the light reactions of photosynthesis based on fluorescence measurements (Fv'/Fm'), in both species. Cloudy days were characterised by higher Fv/Fm than afternoon clouds and clear days during both the morning and the afternoon (especially for A. parryi) and recovery to near pre-dawn values for cloudy and afternoon cloud day types, but not clear days. Overall, similar ecophysiological advantages of this typical afternoon cloud pattern was apparent in both species, although their spatial microsite differences related to winter snow accumulation may also play an important role.


Allium mongolicum Regel is a desert plant that shows great resistance to wind erosion, drought, and low temperatures and is widely distributed in the desert lands of China. Understanding the molecular mechanisms underlying its drought resistance is essential for uncovering drought resistance genes and improving its beneficial traits. Here, a de novo RNA-Seq assembly analysis was conducted using the roots of 1-month-old seedlings under drought stress. Using pairwise comparisons of untreated plants (CK), 48-hour drought plants (G48h), and 96- hour drought plants (G96h), in total, 2,211 differentially expressed unigenes (DEGs) were obtained. Furthermore, using functional annotation, these DEGs were mainly involved in the plasma membrane, photosynthesis, and secondary carbohydrate metabolism. Moreover, genes involved in the ABA-mediated signaling pathway and secondary metabolism were upregulated in the roots. These results suggest that desert plants may use signaling and secondary metabolic pathways as adaptive responses to drought stress. Collectively, this work could help elucidate the molecular mechanisms underlying the ability of A. mongolicum Regel to respond to drought stress and aid in the selection of novel drought tolerance genes.


A model of sedimentation-consolidation processes in so-called clarifier-thickener units is given by a parabolic equation describing the evolution of the local solids concentration coupled with a version of the Stokes system for an incompressible fluid describing the motion of the mixture. In cylindrical coordinates, and if an axially symmetric solution is assumed, the original problem reduces to two space dimensions. This poses the difficulty that the subspaces for the construction of a numerical scheme involve weighted Sobolev spaces. A novel finite volume element method is introduced for the spatial discretization, where the velocity field and the solids concentration are discretized on two different dual meshes. The method is based on a stabilized discontinuous Galerkin formulation for the concentration field, and a multiscale stabilized pair of $\mathbb{P}_1$-$\mathbb{P}_1$ elements for velocity and pressure, respectively. Numerical experiments illustrate properties of the model and the satisfactory p...


Despite a commitment by the European Union to protect its migratory bat populations, conservation efforts are hindered by a poor understanding of bat migratory strategies and connectivity between breeding and wintering grounds. Traditional methods like mark-recapture are ineffective to study broad-scale bat migratory patterns. Stable hydrogen isotopes (δD) have been proven useful in establishing spatial migratory connectivity of animal populations. Before applying this tool, the method was calibrated using bat samples of known origin. Here we established the potential of δD as a robust geographical tracer of breeding origins of European bats by measuring δD in hair of five sedentary bat species from 45 locations throughout Europe. The δD of bat hair strongly correlated with well-established spatial isotopic patterns in mean annual precipitation in Europe, and therefore was highly correlated with latitude. We calculated a linear mixed-effects model, with species as random effect, linking δD of bat hair to precipitation δD of the areas of hair growth. This model can be used to predict breeding origins of European migrating bats. We used δ13C and δ15N to discriminate among potential origins of bats, and found that these isotopes can be used as variables to further refine origin predictions. A triple-isotope approach could thereby pinpoint populations or subpopulations that have distinct origins. Our results further corroborated stable isotope analysis as a powerful method to delineate animal migrations in Europe.


As school choice options have evolved over recent years, it is important to understand what family and school factors are associated with the enrollment decisions families make. Use of restricted-access data from the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study allowed us to identify household location from a nationally representative sample of students and to match households to the actual schools attended and other nearby schools. This matching is significant as previous research generally has not been able to link individual households to school enrollment decisions. Using these data, we examined the role that socioeconomic status, race, and ethnicity play in school enrollment decisions. One of our more interesting results suggests that the newest public alternative, charter schools, attracts families with higher socioeconomic status than those that traditional public schools attract. The attraction of charter schools, however, unlike traditional public schools, appears to be racially and ethnically neutral. Families do not choose a charter school because of its racial or ethnic composition, nor do race and ethnicity within a household influence its choice of charter schools. Other socioeconomic factors influencing charter school choice are more similar to factors explaining private school choice than to those factors explaining the choice of traditional public schools. The findings suggest that policies governing the design of charter schools should focus on broader socioeconomic diversity rather than race only. C � 2013 by the Association for Public Policy Analysis and Management.