This paper makes a unique contribution to the South African literature in combining data from an alternative source of household survey data – the All Media and Product Survey (AMPS) – with national accounts income trends for this country, in the recent tradition of research on the world distribution of income performed by Bhalla (2002), Karshenas (2003), Bourguignon and Morrisson (2002), Sala-i-Martin (2002a; 2002b), and Quah (2002), amongst others. Its usefulness lies in arriving at alternative estimates of post-transition poverty and inequality that are consistent with the story that national accounts and other official data collectively tell us about the path of the South African economy during the post-transition period. While the method of scaling survey distribution data by national accounts means is somewhat controversial, it is not clear that the distributional trends obtained using the post-transition sets of either the IESs or the Population Censuses are more reliable, given serious deficiencies in both sources of data. Adjusted distributions yield lower levels of poverty and a stronger decline in poverty during the second half of the period than the figures obtained from the raw AMPS data. While the levels of poverty obtained using adjusted income distributions are artificially low, the derived downward trend is supported by a number of official data sources.


This paper extends the open-economy loanable funds model to Greece and finds that a higher government debt/GDP ratio, a higher real short-term rate, a higher percent change in real GDP, a higher expected inflation rate, a higher EU government bond yield, or a higher nominal effective exchange rate increases the Greek government bond yield. In the conventional closed-economy loanable funds model, similar results are found, but the explanatory power is lower. In the conventional open-economy loanable funds model, the percent change in real GDP and the ratio of the net capital inflow to GDP have insignificant coefficients.


Entity linking maps name mentions in the documents to entries in a knowledge base through resolving the name variations and ambiguities. In this paper, we propose three advancements for entity linking. Firstly, expanding acronyms can effectively reduce the ambiguity of the acronym mentions. However, only rule-based approaches relying heavily on the presence of text markers have been used for entity linking. In this paper, we propose a supervised learning algorithm to expand more complicated acronyms encountered, which leads to 15.1% accuracy improvement over state-of-the-art acronym expansion methods. Secondly, as entity linking annotation is expensive and labor intensive, to automate the annotation process without compromise of accuracy, we propose an instance selection strategy to effectively utilize the automatically generated annotation. In our selection strategy, an informative and diverse set of instances are selected for effective disambiguation. Lastly, topic modeling is used to model the semantic topics of the articles. These advancements give statistical significant improvement to entity linking individually. Collectively they lead the highest performance on KBP-2010 task.


This paper addresses the problem of automatic monitoring the weld quality produced by robotised short arc welding. A simple statistical change detection algorithm for the weld quality, recursive Sequential Probability Ratio Test (SPRT), is used. The algorithm may equivalently be viewed as a cumulative sum (CUSUM) - type test. The test statistics is based upon the variance of the amplitude of the weld voltage. The performance of the algorithm is evaluated using experimental data. The results obtained from the algorithm indicate that it is possible to detect changes in the weld quality automatically and on-line.


BACKGROUND
This study investigated the use of echocardiography in the early detection of regional wall motion abnormalities (RWMA) in patients presenting with acute myocardial infarction (AMI). The relationship between RWMA and mechanical complications, as assessed by two-dimensional echocardiography, and admission levels of amino terminal fragment of pro-brain natriuretic peptide (NT- proBNP) was also examined.

MATERIAL/METHODS
The study population comprised 226 patients admitted to hospital with a diagnosis of AMI. Echocardiography and NT-proBNP measurements were performed on all patients.

RESULTS
Sixty-eight percent of the patients with AMI were found to have RWMA on echocardiography. Significantly more patients had RWMA within any given range of ejection fraction (EF) (p<0.001), but this difference was most pronounced in those with left ventricular (LV) dysfunction. Mitral regurgitation was the most common complication (48%) seen on echocardiography. The majority of patients (84%) had elevated NT-proBNP levels on admission; this was evident in all categories of EF (p=0.003). In those with normal EF on echocardiography (58%), more patients had elevated levels regardless of the presence of RWMA.

CONCLUSIONS
This study showed that echocardiography is useful in the detection of RWMA in the early stages of AMI. No significant relationship was demonstrated between NT-proBNP levels and RWMA in patients with normal or abnormal LV function. Admission plasma NT-proBNP may, however, be considered as an additional marker in the diagnosis of AMI, especially in those without RWMA.


Tulagi was the capital of the British Solomon Islands Protectorate between 1897 and 1942. The British withdrawal from the island during the Pacific War, its capture by the Japanese and the American reconquest left the island's facilities damaged beyond repair. After the war, Britain moved the capital to the American military base on Guadalcanal, which became Honiara.

The Tulagi settlement was an enclave of several small islands, the permanent population of which was never more than 600: 300 foreigners—one-third of European origin and most of the remainder Chinese—and an equivalent number of Solomon Islanders. Thousands of Solomon Islander males also passed through on their way to work on plantations and as boat crews, hospital patients and prisoners.

The history of the Tulagi enclave provides an understanding of the origins of modern Solomon Islands. Tulagi was also a significant outpost of the British Empire in the Pacific, which enables a close analysis of race, sex and class and the process of British colonisation and government in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries.


In recent research on rural-to-urban migration in sub Saharan Africa, a major point of discussion has been to what extent cities in this region are growing as fast as previously assumed and what role rural-to-urban migration plays in this process. Some of the literature suggests that the extent of rural-to-urban migration has been exaggerated and that some cities are even experiencing a migration reversal. A much used example of this 'reversal' is Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso. In this paper, we argue that most of the published literature regarding rural-to-urban migration in Burkina Faso relies on retrospective survey data covering the period prior to 2000 and that in fact little is known about migration trends in the last 15 years. Based on ethnographic field data, our results suggest that recent socio-political and environmental developments in Burkina Faso give rise to at least six distinct reasons for leaving the villages to settle in Ouagadougou. The paper therefore raises the question whether a rural-to-urban migration reversal is currently observed in Ouagadougou. Based on qualitative data no definite answer to this can be given in this paper but the results presented indicate that Ouagadougou might no longer be a good example of rural-to-urban migration reversal.


This is a case study report on Biopro (M) Sdn. Bhd. - a latex disposable glove
manufacturing company which is experiencing loss in revenue due to global steep slide in
the price of latex disposable glove. The company is facing intense pressure from existing
customers to match the current market price.
The problem is aggravated by the inefficiency in the company' s operations such as malfunctioning
of machine, high reject rate, increase in labor cost which have further
increased the cost of production.
In the effort to revive the company' s competitive positioning in the global market,
management by objectives (MBO) has been recommended. This includes the following
steps: establish functional objectives, formulate action plans, implement plans and
maintaining controls.


There has been a tremendous growth in constitutionalism around the world in the last sixty years. Mostly, it has come in two concentrated bursts: in western Europe and Japan following World War II, and in central Europe and Africa following the collapse of communism in 1989. Despite fascinating and important differences in the forms that this growth has taken in various countries, the overarching story is one in which the essentials of the American model of constitutionalism have been adopted. These essentials posit a necessary and fundamental incompatibility between legislative supremacy and the effective legal protection of individual rights, so that opting for the latter requires "constitutionalizing" them in the following specific sense: giving such rights the status of supreme law; entrenching them against ordinary legislative repeal or amendment; and enforcing them through the power of judicial review, exercise of which is unreviewable by ordinary legislative means. There has, however, been a set of recent developments in the three Commonwealth countries of Canada, New Zealand, and the United Kingdom that present an intriguing alternative to this dominant model of constitutionalism. Between 1982 and 1998, each of these three countries adopted a bill of rights in a form that self-consciously and deliberately rejected the central axiom of the American model by seeking to reconcile and accommodate judicial protection of fundamental rights with (what they see as) the legitimate core claims of parliamentary sovereignty. Although they grant significant new power to the courts to protect fundamental rights, each in a different way empowers the legislature to have the final word on what the law of the land is. This article identifies, analyzes and evaluates this new Commonwealth model of constitutionalism. In addition to presenting novel institutional possibilities within the framework of constitutionalist democracy, the new model suggests solutions to a number of practical and theoretical problems that have long been thought to bedevil the American model. By attempting to create genuine dialogue and joint responsibility between courts and legislatures with respect to rights, the new model may both help to reinject matters of principle back into legislative and popular debates, and offer a radically direct solution to the countermajoritarian difficulty associated with judicial review.


To provide a faster path between applications and the network, researchers have advocated removing the operating system kernel and its centralized networking stack from the critical path and creating a user level network interface. With these interfaces, designers can tailor the communication layers each process uses to the demands of that process. Consequently, applications can send and receive network packets without operating system intervention, which greatly decreases communication latency and increases network throughput. Unfortunately, the diversity of approaches and lack of consensus has stalled progress in refining research results into products-a prerequisite to the widespread adoption of these interfaces. Recently, however, Intel, Microsoft, and Compaq have introduced the Virtual Interface Architecture, an emerging standard for cluster or system area networks. Products based on the VIA have already surfaced, notably GigaNet's GNN1000 network interface. As more products appear, research into application level issues can proceed and the technology of user level network interfaces should mature. Several prototypes-among them Cornell University's U-Net2-have heavily influenced the VIA. We describe the architectural issues and design trade-offs at the core of these prototype designs.


We study unsupervised video representation learning that seeks to learn both motion and appearance features from unlabeled video only, which can be reused for downstream tasks such as action recognition. This task, however, is extremely challenging due to 1) the highly complex spatial-temporal information in videos and 2) the lack of labeled data for training. Unlike representation learning for static images, it is difficult to construct a suitable self-supervised task to effectively model both motion and appearance features. More recently, several attempts have been made to learn video representation through video playback speed prediction. However, it is non-trivial to obtain precise speed labels for the videos. More critically, the learned models may tend to focus on motion patterns and thus may not learn appearance features well. In this paper, we observe that the relative playback speed is more consistent with motion patterns and thus provides more effective and stable supervision for representation learning. Therefore, we propose a new way to perceive the playback speed and exploit the relative speed between two video clips as labels. In this way, we are able to effectively perceive speed and learn better motion features. Moreover, to ensure the learning of appearance features, we further propose an appearance-focused task, where we enforce the model to perceive the appearance difference between two video clips. We show that jointly optimizing the two tasks consistently improves the performance on two downstream tasks (namely, action recognition and video retrieval) w.r.t the increasing pre-training epochs. Remarkably, for action recognition on the UCF101 dataset, we achieve 93.7% accuracy without the use of labeled data for pre-training, which outperforms the ImageNet supervised pre-trained model. Our code, pre-trained models, and supplementary materials can be found at https://github.com/PeihaoChen/RSPNet.


Self-drive day trip tourism has an enormous economic importance for the region of Lower Austria which surrounds Austria´s capital Vienna. The residents of Lower Austria and Vienna form the vast majority of day-trip visitors to Lower Austria. Despite the importance of the segment of day trip tourism for regional tourism marketing organizations (TMOs) this group of tourists is difficult to grasp. Promoting blogs of residents about their leisure time activities in a region is a promising marketing instrument for regional TMOs to address this market segment. This doctoral thesis project proposes and validates a behavioral model based on the technology acceptance model (TAM) for modeling behavioral intentions of three main participatory patterns in online communities based on blogs. Based on the results of this project possible starting points for subsequent research are identified and recommendations for TMOs intending to implement such regional blog communities are provided. The findings of this research project support practitioners by providing a deeper understanding of the motives of prospective participants. As the elements of the proposed behavioral model are based on previous research and conceptualized independent of the topic of interest of the blog community, the findings are additionally indicatory for research on blog communities in other fields. (author's abstract)


The development of a London-wide networked trauma system is fundamentally changing the way care of patients with multiple injuries is delivered. These changes lead to commonalities in the organisation and delivery of care and provide a subsequent basis for shared learning opportunities.

In December 2009 NHS London commissioned a scoping project to determine the demand for a post-graduate curriculum in major trauma care for nurses and allied health professionals (AHPs).

The scoping objectives were to:
1. Map the current provision of post-graduate education in major trauma care across the UK
2. Establish the service-led need for post-graduate education for the trauma workforce
3. Scope the capacity and capability of providers to deliver such programmes to the trauma workforce across London

The main findings were:
1. A wide variety of education for major trauma care currently exists in the UK. However, little of this is aimed specifically at nurses/AHPs and validated at post-graduate level.
2. There was universal support shown by stakeholders in clinical practice for the development of a pan-London approach to the delivery of post-graduate education in trauma care.
3. Considerable interest was expressed by educational providers towards the collaborative development of an inter-professional pan-London post-graduate curriculum. There is some existing expertise to deliver education particularly within nursing and pre-hospital care.

At the time of writing NHS London's response to the project findings had not been received. It is hoped this work will inform the future development of education for the major trauma workforce.


We develop a model of equilibrium entry, trade, and price formation in over-the- counter (OTC) markets. Banks trade derivatives to share an aggregate risk subject to two trading frictions: they must pay a fixed entry cost, and they must limit the size of the positions taken by their traders because of risk-management concerns. Although all banks in our model are endowed with access to the same trading technology, some large banks endogenously arise as "dealers," trading mainly to provide intermediation services, while medium sized banks endogenously participate as "customers" mainly to share risks. We use the model to address positive questions regarding the growth in OTC markets as trading frictions decline, and normative questions of how regulation of entry impacts welfare.


Abstract The logical reasoning first appeared within the Babylonian legal tradition established by the Sumerians in the law codes which were first over the world: Ur-Nammu (ca. 2047 – 2030 B.C.); Lipit-Ishtar (ca. 1900 – 1850 B.C.), and later by their successors, the Akkadians: Hammurabi (1728 – 1686 B.C.). In these codes the casuistic law formulation began first to be used: "If/when (Akkadian: šumma) this or that occurs, this or that must be done" allowed the Akkadians to build up a theory of logical connectives: "... or…", "… and…", "if…, then…", "not…" that must have been applied in their jurisprudence. So, a trial decision looked like an inference by modus pones and modus tollens or by other logical rules from (i) some facts and (ii) an appropriate article in the law code represented by an ever true implication. The law code was announced by erecting a stele with the code or by engraving the code on a stone wall. It was considered a set of axioms announced for all. Then the trial decisions are regarded as claims logically inferred from the law code on the stones. The only law code of the Greeks that was excavated is the Code of Gortyn (Crete, the 5th century B.C.). It is so similar to the Babylonian codes by its law formulations; therefore, we can suppose that the Greeks developed their codes under a direct influence of the Semitic legal tradition: the code was represented as the words of the stele and the court was a logic application from these words. In this way the Greek logic was established within a Babylonian legal tradition, as well. Hence, we can conclude that, first, logic appeared in Babylonia and, second, it appeared within a unique legal tradition where all trial decisions must have been transparent, obvious, and provable. The symbolic logic appeared first not in Greece, but in Mesopotamia and this tradition was grounded in the Sumerian/Akkadian jurisprudence.


This study documents significant differences in the interbank market lending and borrowing levels across countries. We argue that the existing differences in interbank market usage can be explained by the trust of the market participants in the stability of the country's banking sector and counterparties, proxied by the history of banking crises and failures. Specifically, banks originating from a country that has lower level of trust tend to have lower interbank borrowing. Using a proprietary dataset on bilateral exposures, we investigate the Euro Area interbank network and find the effect of trust relies on the network structure of interbank markets. Core banks acting as interbank intermediaries in the network are more significantly influenced by trust in obtaining interbank funding, while being more exposed in a community can mitigate the negative effect of low trust. Country-level institutional factors might partially substitute for the limited trust and enhance interbank activity. JEL Classification: G01, G21, G28, D85


We replay an investment game that compares the performance of a player using Bayesian methods for determining portfolio weights with a player that uses the Monte Carlo based resampling approach advocated in Michaud (1998). Markowitz and Usmen (2003) showed that the Michaud player always won. However, in the original experiment, the Bayes player was handicapped because the algorithm that was used to evaluate the predictive distribution of the portfolio provided only a rough approximation. We level the playing field by allowing the Bayes player to use a more standard algorithm. Our results sharply contrast with those of the original game. The final part of our paper proposes a new investment game that is much more relevant for the average investor - a one-period ahead asset allocation. For this game, the Bayes player always wins.


The field of data mining has seen a demand in recent years for the development of ideas and results in an integrated structure. Mathematical Methods for Knowledge Discovery & Data Mining focuses on the mathematical models and methods that support most data mining applications and solution techniques, covering such topics as association rules; Bayesian methods; data visualization; kernel methods; neural networks; text, speech, and image recognition; and many others. This Premier Reference Source is an invaluable resource for scholars and practitioners in the fields of biomedicine, engineering, finance and insurance, manufacturing, marketing, performance measurement, and telecommunications.


We present the results of an intercomparison exercise between six different radiative transfer (RT) models carried out in the framework of QUILT, an EU funded project based on the exploitation of the Network for the Detection of Stratospheric Change (NDSC). RT modelling is an important step in the interpretation of Differential Optical Absorption Spectroscopy (DOAS) observations. It allows the conversion of slant column densities (SCDs) into vertical column densities (VCDs) using calculated air mass factors (AMFs). The originality of our study resides in comparing SCD simulations in multi-axis (MAX) geometry (trace gases: NO 2 and HCHO) and in taking into account photochemical enhancement for calculating SCDs of rapidly photolysing species (BrO, NO2, and OClO) in zenith-sky geometry. Concerning the zenith-sky simulations, the different models agree generally well, especially below 90 ◦ SZA. At higher SZA, larger discrepancies are obtained with relative differences ranging between 2% and 14% in some cases. In MAX geometry, good agreement is found between the models with the calculated NO2 and HCHO SCDs differing by no more than 5% in the elevation and solar zenith angle (SZA) ranges investigated (5–20 and 35–85, respectively). The impacts of aerosol scattering, ground albedo, and relative azimuth on MAX simulations have also been tested. Significant discrepancies appear for the aerosol effect, suggesting differences between models in the treatment of aerosol scattering. A betCorrespondence to: F. Hendrick (email@example.com) ter agreement is found in case of the ground albedo and relative azimuth effects. The complete set of initialization data and results have been made publicly available through the QUILT project web site ( http://nadir.nilu.no/quilt/ ), enabling the testing of other RT codes designed for the calculation of SCDs/AMFs.


We study the dynamic general equilibrium of an economy where risk averse shareholders delegate the management of the firm to risk averse managers. The optimal contract has two main components: an incentive component corresponding to a non-tradable equity position and a variable "salary" component indexed to the aggregate wage bill and to aggregate dividends. Tying a manager's compensation to the performance of her own firm ensures that her interests are aligned with the goals of firm owners and that maximizing the discounted sum of future dividends will be her objective. Linking managers' compensation to overall economic performance is also required to make sure that managers use the appropriate stochastic discount factor to value those future dividends. General equilibrium considerations thus provide a potential resolution of the "pay for luck" puzzle. We also demonstrate that one sided "relative performance evaluation" follows equally naturally when managers and shareholders are differentially risk averse. JEL classification: E32, E44


The increased availability of broadband connections has recently led to an increase in the use of Internet broadcasting (webcasting). Most webcasts are archived and accessed numerous times retrospectively. One of the hurdles users face when browsing and skimming through archives is the lack of text transcripts of the audio channel of the webcast archive. In this paper, we proposed a procedure for prototyping an Automatic Speech Recognition (ASR) system that generates realistic transcripts of any desired Word Error Rate (WER), thus overcoming the drawbacks of both prototypebased and Wizard of Oz simulations. We used such a system in a study where human subjects perform question-answering tasks using archives of webcast lectures, and showed that their performance and perception of transcript quality is linearly affected by WER, and that transcripts of WER equal or less than 25% would be acceptable for use in webcast archives. Index Terms: Speech recognition, Wizard of Oz, Prototyping, User interface, Webcast.


The depletion of fossil fuels and the worst impact on environmental pollution caused of their burning have led to the search for renewable clean energies. Nowadays, there are many sources of renewable energy. Biodiesel is just one source, but a very important one. Biodiesel has been known as an attractive alternative fuel although biodiesel produced from edible oil is very expensive than conventional diesel. Therefore, the uses of biodiesel produced from non-edible oils are much better option. Biodiesel is gaining more and more importance as an attractive fuel due to the depleting fossil fuel resources. Chemically biodiesel is monoalkyl esters of long chain fatty acids derived from renewable feed stock like vegetable oils and animal fats. This paper will describe the engineering design for the reactor vessel development beginning at the stoichiometric equations for the production process and the thermal energy balance to the detail engineering including the equipment selection and fabrication in order to meet the design and objective specifications. Biodiesel produced from cashew shell pyro oil, coconut shell pyro oil, Kikar seeds pyro oil and velikkathan seeds pyro oil are used in this setup to produce the Bio diesel. The bio diesel pyro oil properties are very near to diesel fuel and this design system showed close value to the requirements of diesel standard.


We describe Leptolophus sp. (Equoidea) teeth from the late Eocene at Zambrana (Alava, Basque Country). The features of the M2 are comparable to those of Leptolophus sp. from the upper part of the middle Eocene (MP 15-16) of Mazateron (Soria, Spain). However, there are a number of differences, including the large size and more accentuated hypsodonty. This discovery extends the stratigraphical distribution of Leptolophus Remy, 1965 to the Ludian (Priabonian, MP 18).


The effective use of language learning strategies by second language learners plays an
important role in overcoming difficulties in communication for both written and spoken
purposes and to enhance their proficiency in the language. Hence, the present study
investigated the language learning strategies used by 320 low achieving learners of ESL
(English as a Second Language) from both urban and rural schools in the state of
Selangor, Malaysia. Data obtained via a Respondent Background questionnaire and
interviews indicated the low achievers' perceived reasons for learning the English
language. Most of them indicated that they had the interest in learning the English
language. The SILL (Strategy Inventory for Language Learning) questionnaire was used
to elicit responses on the use of language learning strategies by low achieving learners of
ESL and the differences in terms of strategy use between urban and rural low achievers.
The overall results obtained demonstrated that the low achieving learners did use
language learning strategies but their use was generally of moderate frequency. There
was also evidence that urban learners used memory, cognitive, metacognitive, affective,
 iii
and social language learning strategies more often at moderate levels than rural learners
who indicated rather low levels of the activity. Results obtained via interviews with
teachers indicated that they were not aware of language learning strategies. They also
expressed that the low achieving learners did not show interest in the English language
lessons. Strategy training was also conducted in this study to determine the extent of
benefit that could be derived by low achievers from such training. Results obtained from
this quasi-experimental phase of the study revealed that low achieving learners who
participated in the training performed better in both written and spoken aspects of
language use in the post-tests than those who were not provided the training. Learners'
perception of the strategy training was also positive and they expressed that they
benefited from the training. Hence, the findings of the study underscore the need for
strategy training especially for low achieving learners of ESL, which may be included in
the school curriculum for TESL.


Traumatic biomechanics of the human body under various loading conditions, such as car crash, falling, contact sports, and military environments, has been studied for decades. The goal of research in this area is to advance knowledge pertaining to human injury causation and develop affordable and effective countermeasures for protection towards injury and fatality reduction. From an ethical point of view, it is extremely difficult to propose a well-controlled human subject study aiming at understanding the injury mechanisms and establishing the associated tolerance values. For this reason, many numerical simulation techniques, such as finite element, boundary element, and meshless methods, have been used to study the human body response in an attempt to obtain in-depth insights into injury biomechanics, thus minimizing the need for testing human subject in this important research field.

This special issue serves as a brief update to the current status of and advances in using commercially available numerical tools in the study of human body responses under different impact situations and development of injury prevention measures to protect their respective human body regions.

The paper by X. Song et al. analyzes the biomechanical effects of sinuses in the skull on the facial impact response. Two finite element head models with and without sinuses are built. The results show that if the sinuses are far away from the impact location, its effect could be neglected. Another paper by the same group investigates the influence of gyri and sulci. The responses of two head models, with and without gyri and sulci under impact loading conditions, are compared. The model predictions indicate considerable changes of stress and strain between two cases, thus pointing out the necessity to include these anatomic features in the modeling. S. Cui et al. study how the variation of pediatric brain tissue properties can affect the intracranial response of a 6-year-old child in the impact accidents. The bulk modulus and viscoelastic parameters are changed in a large wider range and the simulated responses show an opposite trend between the shear stress and shear strain distributions. More investigation is needed. Y. Hua et al. develop a computational model to study the role of network of blood vessels in the brain under air blast loading. Voronoi tessellations are implemented to represent the network of brain. The results demonstrate an evident increase of strains when the blood vessels are included. But they have limited effect on the intracranial pressure. D. Li et al. compare the responses of an isolated head finite element model and a full-body model with head under the same impact loading conditions. Based on the results, they conclude that the isolated head model may not equivalently reflect the strain levels below the 10% compared to the whole human body model. J. Lei et al. use detailed finite element models to evaluate the mechanism of pelvis ring fracture. It has been found that the pelvic ring integrity is the prerequisite of the pelvic stability and should be in a stable condition when the complex fracture is treated. Y. Fan et al. apply numerical simulations to evaluate the performance of fixation systems in the most frequent T-shaped acetabular fracture and an optimal design of fixture is achieved. M. Sridevi et al. predict healing period of a tibia fracture in humans across limb using first-order mathematical model. The computational results confirm the X-ray diagnostic data.

The papers included in this special issue present some recent advances of computational modeling tools in the traumatic injury related biomechanical and clinical studies. With the rapid development of modern computers and computational methods, novel modeling/simulation techniques and new applications of numerical models are emerging. We hope that the readers will find articles in this special issue interesting and stimulating enough to encourage them in directing efforts toward fostering further research on computational methods for the trauma injury in the near future.

Feng Zhu

Clifford C. Chou

Libo Cao


A new genus and species, Pseudorestias lirimensis, is described from the southern part of the Chilean Altiplano. While sharing several characters that clearly align the new species with Orestias, this new fish is characterized by numerous autapomorphies: the Meckel cartilage is a continuous cartilage that broadly expands posteriorly (in large specimens, it keeps its anterior part and is resorbed posteriorly), the basibranchials are fused into one long element, the second pharyngobranchial is not displaced dorsally over pharyngobranchial tooth plate 3+4, but they are aligned, the anterior and posterior ceratohyals are closely articulated keeping a scarce amount of cartilage between both bones and ventral to them, ossified middle and distal dorsal radials are present in females as well as ossified middle and distal anal radials. Pseudorestias lirimensis presents strong sexual dimorphism associated to size. Females are almost twice as large and long than males, neuromast lines are absent in males, a mesethmoid is present in males, squamation on head is reduced in males, and ossified middle and distal radial of dorsal fin are cartilaginous in males. Pseudorestias and Orestias are suggested as the sole members of the tribe Orestiini. A list of characters diagnosing the tribe is provided. The presence of the new genus is interpreted as a possible result of the ecosystem isolation where the fish is living from surrounding basins—as early as possibly from the Miocene-Pliocene times—and its physical and chemical characteristics. Small populations, living conditions, small habitat, and reduced distribution make this species a strong candidate to be considered critically endangered, a situation already established for all other Chilean species living in the Altiplano. There is high probability it will become extinct due to water demands and climate change in the region.


• This Infobrief examines and discusses REDD+ achievements and challenges in Brazil for the period 2015–2019, reflecting the opinions of relevant actors within the REDD+ policy domain in the country. • Over time, REDD+ initiatives have promoted changes in Brazilian political articulation, funding possibilities and mobilization of civil society, and brought more visibility to the importance of combating deforestation and forest degradation within the country. • In terms of practical implementation, the national REDD+ framework is still quite limited. • Further development of the national REDD+ strategy is a considerable challenge for Brazil, as it is becoming clearer that the current national political rhetoric does not consider fighting and controlling deforestation and climate change as government priorities. • Several major challenges exist because weak forest resource governance, poor enforcement of the environmental legislation, social inequalities, land use conflicts, and lack of political commitment remain in the country's profile. However, international pressure on Brazil to stop deforestation might provide an opportunity for those actors who until now had little presence in the REDD+ political arena. Patrícia Gallo1,2, Alice Brites3 and Tatiane Micheletti4


Inequalities in health by educational attainment are persistent both over time and across countries. However, their magnitudes, evolution, and main drivers are not necessarily consistent across jurisdictions. We examine the health-education gradient among older adults in the United States, Canada, France, the Netherlands, Spain and Italy, including how it changes over time between 2004 and 2010. Using longitudinal survey data, we assess how rates of incident poor health, incident difficulties with activities of daily living, and incident chronic conditions vary by educational attainment across countries. We also examine how potential confounders, including demographic characteristics, income, health care utilisation and health behaviours, affect the health-education gradient within countries over time. We find systematic differences in disease incidence, as well as in the health-education gradients, across countries. We also demonstrate that while adjusting for confounders generally diminishes the health-education gradient, the impacts of these variables vary somewhat across countries.


Background: Sexual minority women (SMW; such as lesbian, bisexual, and mostly lesbian) exhibit excess cardiometabolic risk, yet factors that contribute to cardiometabolic risk in this population are poorly understood. Trauma exposure has been posited as a contributor to cardiometabolic risk in SMW. Materials and Methods: An analysis of data from Wave 3 of the Chicago Health and Life Experiences of Women Study was conducted. Multinomial logistic regression was used to examine correlates of trauma. Next, multiple logistic regression was used to examine the associations of different forms of trauma throughout the life course (childhood, adulthood, and lifetime), with psychosocial and behavioral risk factors and self-reported cardiometabolic risk (obesity, hypertension, and diabetes) in SMW adjusted for relevant covariates. Results: A total of 547 participants were included. Older age was associated with higher rates of childhood and adulthood trauma. SMW of color reported higher rates of childhood trauma than white participants. Higher education was associated with lower rates of adulthood trauma. All forms of trauma were associated with probable diagnosis of post-traumatic stress disorder and lower perceived social support. Adult trauma was associated with anxiety, whereas childhood and lifetime trauma were associated with higher odds of depression. No significant associations between forms of trauma and behavioral risk factors were noted, except that childhood trauma was associated with higher odds of past-3-month overeating. Logistic regression models examining the association of trauma and cardiometabolic risk revealed that childhood trauma was an independent risk factor for diabetes. Adulthood and lifetime trauma were significantly associated with obesity and hypertension. Conclusions: Trauma emerged as an independent risk factor for cardiometabolic risk in SMW. These findings suggest that clinicians should screen for trauma as a cardiovascular risk factor in SMW, with special attention to SMW most at risk.


Nuclear energy technology has to evolve continuously toward two goals: reduction of the cost of power plants and increasing their safety margins. One approach that can enhance both the economics and safety performance is the adoption of new fuel geometries that increase the fuel surface-to-volume ratio in the core. This will facilitate heat transfer to coolant at lower fuel temperatures. This paper reviews the methodology applied to develop an appropriate design of an innovative internally and externally cooled annular fuel for high-power-density pressurized water reactors (PWRs). It provides an overview of key results obtained during a U.S. Department of Energy-sponsored project that addressed thermal hydraulics, reactor physics, fuel manufacturing, and fuel performance characterization. Using this fuel, it is shown that power density uprates up to 150% can be achieved in PWRs while maintaining or improving the safety margins. If this is applied to future reactors, significant economic advantages can be realized. Even when the power level is maintained close to what it is in existing power reactors, the annular fuel will greatly enhance safety and facilitate higher burnup of the fuel.


Loss of genetic diversity is thought to lead to increased risk of extinction in endangered populations due to decreasing fitness of homozygous individuals. Here, we evaluated the presence of inbreeding depression in a long‐lived seabird, the European shag (Phalacrocorax aristotelis), after a severe decline in population size by nearly 70%. During three reproductive seasons, 85 breeders were captured and genotyped at seven microsatellite loci. Nest sites were monitored during the breeding season to estimate reproductive success as the number of chicks surviving to full‐size‐grown per nest. Captured birds were tagged with a ring with an individual code, and resighting data were collected during 7‐year period. We found a strong effect of multilocus heterozygosity on female reproductive performance, and a significant, although weaker, effect on breeder survival. However, our matrix population model suggests that this relatively small effect of genetic diversity on breeder survival may have a profound effect on fitness. This highlights the importance of integrating life history consequences in HFC studies. Importantly, heterozygosity was correlated across loci, suggesting that genomewide effects, rather than single loci, are responsible for the observed HFCs. Overall, the HFCs are a worrying symptom of genetic erosion in this declining population. Many long‐lived species are prone to extinction, and future studies should evaluate the magnitude of fitness impact of genetic deterioration on key population parameters, such as survival of breeders.


use su A seller wishes to sell multiple goods by a deadline, for example, the end of a season. Potential buyers enter over time and can strategically time their purchases. Each period, the profit-maximizing mechanism awards units to the buyers with the highest valuations exceeding a sequence of cutoffs. We show that these cutoffs are deterministic, depending only on the inventory and time remaining; in the continuous-time limit, the optimal mechanism can be implemented by posting anonymous prices. When incoming demand decreases over time, the optimal cutoffs satisfy a one-period-look-ahead property and prices are defined by an intuitive differential equation.


We show that the blue and UV excess emission at the first few days of some type Ia supernovae (SNe Ia) can be accounted for in the double degenerate (DD) scenario by the collision of the SN ejecta with circumstellar matter that was blown by the accretion disk formed during the merger process of the two white dwarfs (WDs). We assume that in cases of excess early light the disk blows the circumstellar matter, that we term disk-originated matter (DOM), hours to days before explosion. To perform our analysis we first provide a model-based definition for early excess light, replacing the definition of excess light relative to a power-law fit to the rising luminosity. We then examine the light curves of the SNe Ia iPTF14atg and SN 2012cg, and find that the collision of the ejecta with a DOM in the frame of the DD scenario can account for their early excess emission. Thus, early excess light does not necessarily imply the presence of a stellar companion in the frame of the single-degenerate scenario. Our findings further increase the variety of phenomena that the DD scenario can account for, and emphasize the need to consider all different SN Ia scenarios when interpreting observations.


This article makes available some early letters chronicling the relationship between the biologist Joseph H. Woodger and the logician Alfred Tarski. Using twenty-five unpublished letters from Tarski to Woodger preserved in the Woodger Papers at University College, London, I reconstruct their relationship for the period 1935-1950. The scientific aspects of the correspondence concern, among other things, Tarski's reports on the work he is doing, his interests, and his --- sometimes critical but always well-meaning --- reactions to Woodger's attempts at axiomatizing and formalizing biology using the system of Principia Mathematica. Perhaps the most interesting letter from a philosophical point of view is a very informative letter on nominalism dated November 21, 1948. But just as fascinating are the personal elements, the dramatic period leading to the second world war, their reaction to the war events, Tarski's anguish for his family stranded back in Poland, the financial worries, and his first reports on life in the East Coast and, as of 1942, at the University of California, Berkeley.


In this proof-of-concept study, we introduce and demonstrate MXene as a novel type of intercalation electrode for desalination via capacitive deionization (CDI). Traditional CDI cells employ nanoporous carbon electrodes with significant pore volume to achieve a large desalination capacity via ion electrosorption. By contrast, MXene stores charge by ion intercalation between the sheets of its two-dimensional nanolamellar structure. By this virtue, it behaves as an ideal pseudocapacitor, that is, showing capacitive electric response while intercalating both anions and cations. We synthesized Ti3C2-MXene by the conventional process of etching ternary titanium aluminum carbide i.e., the MAX phase (Ti3AlC2) with hydrofluoric acid. The MXene material was cast directly onto the porous separator of the CDI cell without added binder, and exhibited very stable performance over 30 CDI cycles with an average salt adsorption capacity of 13 ± 2 mg g−1.


This guide lists key sources of Census data covering both the latest releases from the current 2000 Census and data going back to 1790. Print and electronic sources are included.


The European Union (EU) is assumed to suffer from a democratic deficit. It is often posited that in the EU there is only a weak and indirect connection between public preferences and policy change. This article investigates empirically whether any relationship exists between public support for European integration and EU policy output (1973—2008). Using a new indicator of policy output — the volume of important legislation produced in a semester — I discover a surprising relationship between public support and legislative production. Employing vector autoregression (VAR), I demonstrate that public EU support Granger-causes legislative output but not vice versa, and that the relationship is strong up to the middle of the 1990s but non-existent afterwards. The effect is robust to the inclusion of indicators of the state of the economy and government preferences. In addition, I discover that the average level of EU support in the Council of Ministers follows unemployment levels with a four-year delay.


In the post–Cold War period, scholars have considered the Asia Pacific to be ripe for military competition and conflict. Developments over the past decade have deepened these expectations. Across the region, rising military spending and efforts of various states to bolster their military capabilities appear to have created an increasingly volatile climate, along with potentially vicious cycles of mutual arming and rearming. In this context, claims that China's rapid economic growth and surging military spending are fomenting destabilizing arms races and security dilemmas are widespread. Such claims make for catchy headlines, yet they are rarely subject to rigorous empirical tests. Whether patterns of military competition in the Asia Pacific are in fact attributable to a security dilemma–based logic has important implications for international relations theory and foreign policy. The answer has direct consequences for how leaders can maximize the likelihood that peace and stability will prevail in this economically and strategically vital region. A systematic empirical test derived from influential theoretical scholarship on the security dilemma concept assesses the drivers of bilateral and multilateral frictions and military competition under way in the Asia Pacific. Security dilemma–driven competition appears to be an important contributor, yet the outcome is not structurally determined. Although this military competition could grow significantly in the near future, there are a number of available measures that could help to ameliorate or manage some of its worst aspects.


Sets of head-up, head-down, eye-up and eye-down motor fibres were studied in the oculomotor nerve of the rock lobster. An eye-withdrawal fibre was also investigated.
Apart from the statocyst input, light distribution on the eyes has the strongest influence on the position-sensitive fibres. Weaker optokinetic input from moving targets is also present.
Strongly habituating input is obtained from the antennal joints. This input causes orientation of the eye toward the direction in which the antenna points.
The same antennule movement in the vertical plane can result in either excitation or inhibition of the head-down fibre, suggesting the presence of two opposing inputs, presumably from the statocysts and basal joint receptors of the antennule.
The inputs on to the position-sensitive fibres which indicate body position are such as to stabilize the eye position in space during body movement. The optokinetic and antennal joint inputs are probably involved in tracking and antennal pointing reactions.
The eye-withdrawal fibre is stimulated by touch of the head and around the eye, but is inhibited by the excited state.


ABSTRACT The partition of India in 1947 was, and undoubtedly remains, the most turbulent episode in the recent history of the subcontinent. Of course, the reading of Partition history, be it through its humanitarian or political dimension, is anything but uniform. It is observable that a group narrative of Partition exists for each community directly affected by the event – that is to say, Hindu, Muslim and Sikh respectively. What this article intends to do is focus in on one of these groups – the Sikhs, by demonstrating how their group narrative of Partition has evolved in the period since 1947.


Premised on the assumption of a liberalised higher education sector that introduced market based principles in Universities in Uganda; this study investigates the formats of financial management integration as well as the factors that influence the financial systems adopted by institutions. It explores divergences and convergences in the financial management of public and private universities in Uganda with a view of identifying challenges and establishing best practices that could be adopted within the Higher Education sector. The study begins from a preliminary proposition that the diversification of Higher Education provision has impacted university financial management practices. It then seeks to understand how the individual institutions have been affected. Whereas anecdotal evidence suggested financial austerity for survival in private universities, literature shows large budget deficits and arrears each financial year for the public universities. The study adopts a multiple case study design with two public and two private universities. Taken together the cases provide a more appropriate basis for generalisation about the financial management status of higher education institutions in Uganda. The study acknowledges that the University is operating within a changing national framework that is increasingly inclined towards accountability, financial reforms in the public sector and reduced financing. Yet it is also cognisant of international trends of performance measurement and management as derivatives of this New Public Management ideology. Through document reviews, observations and semi-structured 'elite' interviews with participants at executive and middle management levels, the study extends Pollitt's (2001) typology of financial and performance integration and applies it within a higher education context. The study establishes that despite the similarity in categorisation and the congruence of the contextual environment, it is the source and conditions of funding rather than the private or public orientation of the universities that generate inter and intra institutional differences. More importantly, the source of funding is a major contributor to resource allocation practices, mobilisation, performance rewards and feedback; as much as it inhibits decentralisation in public universities and enhances centralisation in the private universities. Factors influencing financial management range from governance in terms of the distribution of executive power, to size, market and regulation by government. Institutional factors extend to information systems and communication in addition to strategic plan ownership and utility. The analysis of management practices at the four cases underscore that financial management is influenced by both financial and non-financial dynamics.


Although the development of gene therapy for cystic fibrosis (CF) was high priority for many groups in academia and industry in the first 10 to 15 years after cloning the gene, more recently active research into CF gene therapy is only being performed by a small number of committed, mainly academic, groups. However, despite the waning enthusiasm, which is largely due to the realisation that gene transfer into lungs is more difficult than originally thought and the fact that meaningful clinical trials are expensive and difficult to perform, gene therapy continues to hold promise for the treatment of CF lung disease. Problems related to repeat administration of adenovirus and adeno-associated virus-based vectors led to a focus on non-viral vectors in clinical trials. The UK CF Gene Therapy Consortium is currently running the only active gene therapy programme, aimed at assessing if repeated administration of a non-viral gene transfer agent can improve CF lung disease. However, the recent suggestion that lentiviral vectors may be able to evade the immune system and, thereby, allow for repeat administration and long lasting expression opens new doors for the use of viral vectors in the context of CF gene therapy. In addition, early pre-clinical studies have recently been initiated to address cell therapy-based approaches for CF. This involves systemic and topical administration of a variety of stem/progenitor cells, as well as first attempts as producing a tissue-engineered lung. Recent studies in viral and non-viral vector developments, as well as cell therapy will be discussed and an update on clinical gene therapy studies will be provided here.


Rocky shores are quite heterogeneous environments which present typical patterns of distribution of the organisms that are affected by many biotics and abiotics factors. This study, realized at Barra do Una Sustainable Development Reserve – Peruibe SP, analyzed the rocky shore community stratification and its covering percentage in the midlittoral zone, using nondestructive methods. The photographic record was performed on the 20x20 parcels on seven vertical transects and it was measured the limits of occupation of the organisms' distribution zones. The observed benthic community of the midlittoral zone consisted of at least 14 taxonomic groups. Brachidontes darwinianus , Phragmatopoma lapidosa e Chthamalus bisinuatu were the organisms with the highest covering percentage among the analyzed areas. Keywords : rocky shore; zonation; benthic community; nondestructive method.


Young adults enter college with many challenges - complicated family dynamics, identity issues, and extreme pressure to succeed, among others. Students may also have mental health difficulties, ranging from adjustment disorders to mood disorders, and growing numbers of them are seeking help on campus. But these students are also resilient and eager to learn, stepping onto campus with hope for a new and better phase of life. Doris Iarovici, a psychiatrist at Duke University Counseling and Psychological Services, sees in college and university mental health services an opportunity for mental health professionals to bring about positive change with young people during a crucial period of their development. Dr. Iarovici describes the current college mental health crisis and narrates how college mental health services have evolved along with changes in student populations. She discusses students' lifestyle problems and psychiatric concerns, using case vignettes to explore a variety of interventions. Included are discussions of substance abuse, relationship difficulties, eating disorders, depression and anxiety, and culture clashes. Problems uniquely addressed in this book include sleep disturbances and perfectionism. An essential component of the volume is a guide to making emergency assessments, from risk classification and hospitalization to public safety and communication within and outside the campus community.


The German invasion of the Soviet Union in June of 1941 has long been attributed to errors by Joseph Stalin, yet a revisionist position known as the Icebreaker hypothesis has also emerged alleging that Stalin is not to blame. This essay examines why the Icebreaker theory is erroneous based on its lack of concrete facts. The reasons why Operation Barbarossa was so effective are also examined, leading to the conclusion that Stalin should still shoulder most of the blame for Soviet disorganization prior to the invasion.


Adhesion of the middle turbinate to the lateral nasal wall is a common complication of endoscopic sinus surgery. The potential sequela of middle turbinate lateralization is obstruction of the middle meatus and the maxillary, ethmoid, or frontal sinuses, which can result in recurrent sinus disease and often necessitate revision surgery. While various materials and stents have been developed to prevent middle turbinate adhesion to the lateral nasal wall, suture medialization of the middle turbinate to the nasal septum with an absorbable suture has the potential to be just as successful without causing the discomfort associated with other methods. We conducted a retrospective review of suture medializations of 157 middle turbinates in 85 patients who had undergone endoscopic sinus surgery to ascertain the incidence of postoperative middle turbinate adhesion to the lateral nasal wall. We found that adhesions developed in 17 middle turbinates (10.8%) in 15 patients; the remaining 140 middle turbinates (89.2%) were free of scarring. Thirteen of the 17 adhesions were easily divided in the outpatient clinic setting during routine postoperative endoscopic care, meaning that only 4 of the 157 turbinates (2.5%) demonstrated synechiae that remained problematic after routine care. We conclude that the development of clinically significant adhesions following suture medialization of the middle turbinate is uncommon. Suture medialization should be considered as an alternative to middle meatal packing or stenting to prevent adhesions following endoscopic sinus surgery.


Drugs such as adreno-corticosteroids, corticosteroids, purine analogues, antibiotics, immunomodulators, and 5-aminosalicylic acid have become the foundations in management therapy for Ulcerative Colitis (UC). These medicaments remain available in the variety of forms are used an orally and topically to reduce inflammation of the colon and rectum. There can be seen the imbalance of intestinal beneficially acting bacteria triggered an inapt, intense, and enduring mucosal immune retort that leads to the intestinal tissue impairment in an individual. Nonetheless, all these drugs are useful for treatment tolerated with some shortcomings side-effects. From the beginning to the end of human life, natural plants or plant products play an important part. In this existing review, the authors summarize the revisions relating to the natural products practiced by UC patients as a substitute management process for each induction or upkeep management.


Kalhat has forcefully criticised Wittgenstein's linguistic or conventionalist account of logical necessity, drawing partly on Waismann and Quine. I defend conventionalism against the charge that it cannot do justice to the truth of necessary propositions, renders them unacceptably arbitrary or reduces them to metalingustic statements. At the same time, I try to reconcile Wittgenstein's claim that necessary propositions are constitutive of meaning with the logical positivists' claim that they are true by virtue of meaning. Explaining necessary propositions by reference to linguistic conventions does not reduce modal to non-modal notions, but it avoids metaphysical accounts, which are incapable of explaining how we can have a priori knowledge of necessity.


We examined the carbon sources used by bacteria and mesozooplankton in the Scheldt River and estuary (Belgium, The Netherlands) using a combined stable isotope and fatty acid composition approach. Water samples were collected monthly at six stations during 1 yr and analyzed for 13C of dissolved inorganic carbon, dissolved organic carbon (DOC), and particulate organic carbon (POC). Mesozooplankton was determined up to family, genus, or species level and analyzed for 13C and fatty acid content. Suspended particles were analyzed for phospholipid fatty acids and their 13C contents to estimate isotope ratios of phytoplankton groups and heterotrophic bacteria. The carbon isotope signatures of DOC, POC, and bacterial biomass were similar and significantly enriched relative to those of diatoms and green algae, pointing to allochthonous subsidies as an important carbon source for bacteria. The contribution of algae to zooplankton diets as estimated from isotope ratios and fatty acid profiles averaged 41% and 75% respectively, and did not differ significantly among stations, taxa, or age categories. Mesozooplankton relies primarily on grazing on phytoplankton and direct consumption of particulate organic matter. Mesozooplankton appears to receive little of its carbon from DOC via bacteria.


Abstract. The large stocks of soil organic carbon (SOC) in soils
and deposits of the northern permafrost region are sensitive to global
warming and permafrost thawing. The potential release of this carbon (C) as
greenhouse gases to the atmosphere does not only depend on the total
quantity of soil organic matter (SOM) affected by warming and thawing, but it
also depends on its lability (i.e., the rate at which it will decay). In this study
we develop a simple and robust classification scheme of SOM lability for the
main types of soils and deposits in the northern permafrost region. The
classification is based on widely available soil geochemical parameters and
landscape unit classes, which makes it useful for upscaling to the entire
northern permafrost region. We have analyzed the relationship between C
content and C-CO2 production rates of soil samples in two different
types of laboratory incubation experiments. In one experiment, ca. 240 soil
samples from four study areas were incubated using the same protocol (at 5 ∘C, aerobically) over a period of 1 year. Here we present C
release rates measured on day 343 of incubation. These long-term results are
compared to those obtained from short-term incubations of ca. 1000 samples
(at 12 ∘C, aerobically) from an additional three study areas. In
these experiments, C-CO2 production rates were measured over the first
4 d of incubation. We have focused our analyses on the relationship
between C-CO2 production per gram dry weight per day (µgC-CO2 gdw−1 d−1) and C content (%C of dry weight) in the
samples, but we show that relationships are consistent when using C ∕ N ratios or
different production units such as µgC per gram soil C per day (µgC-CO2 gC−1 d−1) or per cm3 of soil per day
(µgC-CO2 cm−3 d−1). C content of the samples is
positively correlated to C-CO2 production rates but explains less than
50 % of the observed variability when the full datasets are considered. A
partitioning of the data into landscape units greatly reduces variance and
provides consistent results between incubation experiments. These results
indicate that relative SOM lability decreases in the order of Late Holocene
eolian deposits to alluvial deposits and mineral soils (including
peaty wetlands) to Pleistocene yedoma deposits to C-enriched pockets in cryoturbated soils to peat deposits. Thus,
three of the most important SOC storage classes in the northern permafrost
region (yedoma, cryoturbated soils and peatlands) show low relative SOM
lability. Previous research has suggested that SOM in these pools is
relatively undecomposed, and the reasons for the observed low rates of
decomposition in our experiments need urgent attention if we want to better
constrain the magnitude of the thawing permafrost carbon feedback on global
warming.


The influence of Mediterranean riparian forests on stream nitrogen dynamics: a review from a catchment perspective Riparian zones are considered natural filters of nitrogen (N) within catchments because they can substantially diminish the exports of N from terrestrial to aquatic ecosystems. However, understanding the influence of riparian zones on regulating N exports at the catchment scale still remains a big challenge in ecology, mainly because upscaling plot scale results is difficult, as it is disentangling the effects of riparian, upland, and in-stream processes on stream water chemistry. In this review, we summarize previous studies examining key hydrological and biogeochemical processes by which Mediterranean riparian zones regulate catchment water and N exports. We focus on Mediterranean regions because they experience a marked climatic seasonality that facilitates disentangling the close link between climate, riparian hydrology, and stream N exports. We show that Mediterranean riparian soils can be hot spots of N mineralization and nitrification within catchments given their relatively moist conditions and large stocks of N-rich leaf litter. Extremely large nitrification rates can occur during short-time periods (i.e. hot moments) and lead to increases in stream N loads, suggesting that riparian soils can be a potential source of N to adjacent aquatic systems. Moreover, riparian trees can contribute to decrease riparian groundwater level during the vegetative period, and promote reverse fluxes from the stream to the riparian zone. During periods of high hydrological retention, stream water exports to downstream ecosystem decrease, while stream water chemistry is mostly determined by in-stream processes. Riparian tree phenology can also affect catchment N exports by shaping the temporal pattern of both light and litter inputs into the stream. In spring, light enhances in-stream photoautotrophic N uptake before riparian leaf-out, while riparian leaf litter inputs promote in-stream N mineralization in summer and fall. Finally, we illustrate that the impact of Mediterranean riparian zones on stream hydrology and biogeochemistry increases along the stream continuum, and can ultimately influence catchment N exports to downstream ecosystems. Overall, findings gathered in this review question the well-established idea that riparian zones are efficient N buffers, at least for Mediterranean regions, and stress that an integrated view of upland, riparian, and stream ecosystems is essential for advancing our understanding of catchment hydrology and biogeochemistry.


Objective: Children with a cleft of the upper lip exhibit obvious facial disfigurement. Many require multiple lip surgeries for an optimal esthetic result. However, because the decision for lip revision is based on subjective clinical criteria, clinicians may disagree on whether these surgeries should be performed. To establish more reliable, functionally relevant outcome criteria for evaluation and treatment planning, a clinical trial currently is in progress. In this article, the design of the clinical trial is described and results of a study on subjective evaluations of facial form by surgeons for or against the need for lip revision surgery are presented. Design: Parallel, three-group, nonrandomized clinical trial and subjective evaluations/ratings of facial views by surgeons. Subjects: For the clinical trial, children with repaired cleft lip and palate scheduled for a secondary lip revision, children with repaired cleft lip and palate who did not have lip revision, and noncleft children. For the subjective evaluations, surgeons' facial ratings of 21 children with repaired cleft lip. Analysis: Descriptive and Kappa statistics assessing the concordance of surgeons' ratings of (a) repeated facial views and (b) a recommendation of revision on viewing the prerevision and postrevision views. Results: The surgeons' consistency in rating repeated views was moderate to excellent; however, agreement among the surgeons when rating individual participants was low to moderate. Conclusions: The findings suggest that the agreement among surgeons was poor and support the need for more objective measures to assess the need for revision surgery.


Previous randomized studies have shown that addressing children's current learning gaps, rather than following an over-ambitious uniform curriculum, can lead to significant learning gains. In this study, we evaluate a series of efforts to scale up the NGO Pratham's approach to teaching children according to their actual learning level, in four Indian States. While this approach was previously shown to be extremely effective when implemented with community volunteers outside of school, the objective of these new scale-up evaluations was to develop a model that could be implemented within the government school system. In the first two instances (Bihar and Uttarakhand), the methodology was not adopted by government schoolteachers, despite well-received training sessions and Pratham support. Motivated by the quantitative and qualitative analysis of these early attempts, we adapted the approach and designed large-scale experiments in the states of Haryana and Uttar Pradesh to test two new scale-up models. In Haryana, teachers received support from government resource persons trained by Pratham, and implemented the approach during a dedicated hour. In Uttar Pradesh, Pratham volunteers implemented high-intensity, short-burst "learning camps" for 40 days, in school and during school hours, with additional 10-day summer camps. Both models proved effective, with gains in language of 0.15 standard deviation in Haryana, and 0.70 standard deviations in Uttar Pradesh, on all students enrolled in these schools at baseline. These two models provide blueprints that can be replicated inside other government systems.


Introduction: The public database HbVar (http://globin.cse.psu.edu/globin/hbvar/), contains information on 1,324 molecular variants, including 979 haemoglobin variants and 395 thalassaemia entries. Although much research has been conducted on molecular and clinical aspects of thalassaemia and other haemoglobin variants, to date the underlying contribution of population genetics has received little attention.

Objectives : To investigate examples of geographical and regional variation in B-thalassaemia and other haemoglobinopathies in order to identify the strengths and weaknesses of the available data in HbVar, and their applicability to community- and population-based studies.

Methods: Information on haemoglobin variants listed in HbVar was initially examined and data on Indian, Pakistani and Italian individuals and communities were selected and abstracted. These data were then subjected to Venn analysis and GIS mapping.

Results: Few data were available for the Indian sub-continent. The initial analysis also revealed a lack of clear delineation of regional and community identification in the information listed for Indian and Pakistani individuals, thus limiting its application to population genetiCS analysis. To overcome these limitations, a method of analysis was developed for mapping Italian data on haemoglobin variants using Google Map technology.

Conclusions: In countries such as India and Pakistan, with multiple geographical, ethnic, language and social subdivisions, it is probable that many haemoglobin variants and thalassaemia mutations are community-specific. The ability to pinpoint regional and community variants would greatly assist genomic screening and prenatal diagnosis programmes. To fulfil the aims of the Asian Thalassaemia Network, the collection of appropriately detailed population data is urgently needed


OBJECTIVE
Exposure to selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) has been shown to increase the risk of stroke. In this study, we investigated age and time effects on the risk of first onset stroke in SSRI-exposed (SSRIEXP) adult subjects.

METHODS
We analyzed an 8-year cohort from the National Health Insurance Research Database, Taiwan. Patients were defined as SSRIEXP subjects if they received SSRI prescriptions for at least 2 consecutive months during January 1, 2001, to December 31, 2007. Otherwise, they were categorized as SSRI-nonexposed (SSRINONE) subjects. Stroke diagnosis was made according to ICD-9 codes 430-432 (hemorrhagic stroke) and 433-437 (ischemic stroke).

RESULTS
Kaplan-Meier survival analysis showed a greater probability of first onset stroke in SSRIEXP than SSRINONE subjects (P < .001). The higher incidence rates in SSRIEXP subjects persisted to the 3 year time point. Ischemic/hemorrhagic stroke cumulative incidence ratios were also higher during the first 3 years in SSRIEXP subjects. Analysis of adjusted hazard ratios indicated that younger SSRIEXP subjects were more likely to experience stroke, with a slight increase of risk in subjects older than 65 years. Stratified analysis of ischemic stroke and hemorrhagic stroke resulted in a similar hazard ratio trend.

CONCLUSIONS
Use of SSRIs independently increases the risk of stroke across age strata. The risk is higher in younger adult subjects, and the stroke is more likely to be ischemic than hemorrhagic. The underlying mechanisms of stroke may be related to cerebral microbleeding or an overcorrection of hemostasis function.


. The function of migration is to allow exploitation of resources whose availability is heterogeneous in space and time. Much effort has been historically directed to studying migration as a response to seasonal, predictable fl uctuations in resource availability in temperate species. A deeper understanding of how different migration patterns emerge in response to different patterns of resource variation requires describing migration patterns of species inhabiting less predictable environments, especially in tropical and subtropical areas. We provide the fi rst individual-based, quantitative description of migratory patterns in a subtropical wading bird in the southeastern United States, the wood stork ( Mycteria americana ). Using GPS tracking data for 64 individuals tracked between 2004 and 2017, we classi fi ed migratory behavior at the individual-year level using information theory-based model selection on nonlinear models of net squared displacement. We found that the wood stork population is partially migratory, with 59% of individuals seasonally commuting between winter ranges in Florida and summer ranges elsewhere in the population range (migrants), and 28% remaining in a single area in Florida year-round (residents). Additionally, 13% of storks act as facultative migrants, migrating in some years but not in others. Comparing the distribution of residents and migrants suggests that different migratory strategies might be associated with the use of different or differently distributed resources, possibly including food supplementation from human activities. The existence of facultative migrants shows the potential for plastic change in migratory patterns. Partial migration in wood storks may be an adaptation to high heterogeneity and unpredictability of food resources. We suggest that future research should focus on wading birds as model species for the study of partial migration as an adaptation to heterogeneous and unpredictable environments.


Information on the radiation level and radionuclide concentration in different environmental matrices is available in the literature. However, systematic studies on the distribution and enrichment of radionuclides in plant species, especially in ayurvedic medicinal plants, are sparse. Mankind still depends on traditional herbal medicine for the treatment of various diseases and ailments. As natural herbs are the main ingredients of ayurvedic medicines, the study of radionuclide concentration in such herbs has great significance. In view of this, 12 ayurvedic medicinal plants collected from Moodabidri, near Mangalore, were analysed for the activity concentration of 210Po, an important contributor to the internal exposure of human population. The 210Po activity in the medicinal plants was found to vary from 6.3 to 56.9 Bq kg−1 with a mean value of 27.8 Bq kg−1. The absorbed gamma-dose rate in the study area varied from 34.8 to 52.2 nGy h−1 with a mean value of 43.5 nGy h−1. The results obtained are presented and discussed in this paper.


As a manager of a local subsidiary, how skilled should you be in understanding a customer's behavior? Lars Falk, country manager at Genupay in Sweden AB, an IT software company, and one of his salespeople are awaiting a promised fax about a sweet deal he had landed with a Swedish casino company. The timing of this contract could not have been better. The CEO of Genupay Inc., the parent company in London, was putting the pressure on Falk to address some financial shortcomings. The local company was, so far, a loss-making subsidiary. In the (A) case, Falk senses a problem when the promised contract fails to appear. The (B) case, 24 hours later, reveals that the customer is canceling its purchase. The (C) case reveals that the purchasing contract signatory had left the casino company, which has Falk wondering about the potential fallout of taking legal action. This case set is intended to be read and taught in a single 90-minute class. It allows for the application of frameworks on mapping functional and legal roles of actors in the buying decision and the personal selling processes. The main events of the case are actual occurrences; all actors are disguised.


ABS TRACT: This study investigated the effect, on reactor performance and biomass retention inside the bed, of the material used to make the supports of anaerobic fixed-bed reactors. Three inert supports of similar shape but made of three different materials polyvinyl chloride, polypropylene, high-density polyethylene were manufactured and used. All three supports had the same specific surface area but different relative densities. Three identical 10 L lab-scale upflow anaerobic fixed-bed reactors were filled (80% of the working volume) each respectively with polyvinyl chloride, polypropylene and polyethylene support, and fed with vinasse (44 g total COD/L) for 140 days at 35 °C. The organic loading rates were increased from 0.5 g/L.d. to the maximum acceptable by each reactor. Fairly similar maximum organic loading rates were reached for each type of support, with values above 20 g of COD/L.d. and more than 80 % soluble chemical oxygen demand removal efficiency. A very large amount of biomass was entrapped and attached in all the supports and represented more than 95% of the total biomass inside the reactors. In terms of performance and biomass accumulation, this study demonstrated quite similar behavior for anaerobic fixed-bed reactors with supports made of different materials, which suggests that the nature of the material used to make the supports has no major influence. The chemical nature of the support material clearly has negligible effect and thus the size, shape, and porosity of the support must be more influential.


The emphasis in the new curriculum after 1996 in South Africa was placed on the transition from the traditional aims and objectives approach to Outcomes-based education (OBE) and Curriculum 2005. This paradigm shift was interpreted as a prerequisite for achievement of the vision of an internationally competitive country. When analysing the school system in South Africa it became clear that the education system was flawed, with poorly performing teachers, poor work ethics, lack of community and parental support, poor control by education authorities, poor support for teachers and very low levels of accountability. These factors further spilled over into the morale of learners and could be seen in the lack of discipline, brutal violence in schools, low moral values, truancy, absenteeism, late coming and high dropout rates from Grade 1 to Grade 12 and very poor performance in essential areas such as Mathematics and Literacy. Citizens in historically disadvantaged areas tend to become victims of poverty, gangs and drug abuse. These factors further blend with the evil of politics in South African schools which are furthermore plagued by various forms of corruption and socio-economic challenges. Eighteen years after the end of the apartheid dispensation, apartheid is still blamed by many for any real or imagined ills in society, but the reality is that there is no political will to enforce the law or to meet public expectations of accountability, efficiency and delivery. In the light hereof, recommendations are proposed that will address these challenges. The critical message of this article will convey that the fact of the matter is that learner enrolment is not the same as attendance and attendance does not imply learning. Therefore, teaching in South Africa must become a profession of preference and pride as opposed to the present very lackadaisical attitude.


In applications of HTN planning, repeated problems have arisen from the lack of correspondence between HTN tasks and classical-planning goals. We describe these problems and provide a new Hierarchical Goal Network (HGN) planning formalism that overcomes them. HGN tasks have syntax and semantics analogous to classical planning problems, and this has several benefits: HGN methods can be significantly simpler to write than HTN methods, there is a clear criterion for whether the HGN methods are correct, and classical-planning heuristic functions can be adapted for use in HGN planning. We define the HGN formalism, illustrate how to prove correctness of HGN methods, provide a planning algorithm called GNP (Goal Network Planner), and present experimental results showing that GNP's performance compares favorably to that of SHOP2. We provide a planning-graph heuristic for optional use in GNP, and give experimental results showing the kinds of situations in which it helps or hurts GNP's performance.


Sending diplomatic missions abroad and receiving foreign missions at home is in the political and economic interests of countries. But such missions depend on domestic and foreign political will and they also cost scarce resources. This article demonstrates that the global pattern of diplomatic representation is significantly determined by geographical distance between countries, by the power of both sending and recipient countries and by the degree of their ideological affinity. The pattern of diplomatic representation is both a reflection of and a contributor to a world of nation-states dominated by geographical distance, unequal power and ideological division.


Female Octopus hummelincki lays eggs, broods them, reduces its food intake, and dies after the young hatch. Removal of both optic glands after spawning results in cessation of broodiness, resumption of feeding, increased growth, and greatly extended life-span. Optic gland secretions may cause death of most cephalopods and may function to control population size.


The availability of combination antiretroviral therapy has changed the lives of millions of people living with HIV (PLWH), for whom a once fatal infection can now be a manageable chronic disease. Yet only 30 percent of PLWH in the United States are virally suppressed, and significant gaps in access to care persist. While programs to boost linkage to and retention in HIV care are critical to improving the health of PLWH, efforts to evaluate these programs are surprisingly scarce. Using cutting-edge implementation science, this book tackles the issue of how to better link and retain PLWH in ongoing primary medical care. A multipart case study examines successful strategies and provides detailed profiles of the organizations involved and their processes for reaching, linking, and retaining PLWH. Barriers to and facilitators of implementation are explored qualitatively, network analysis is used to assess changes in interagency collaboration among organizations serving PLWH, and evidence-based recommendations are offered for improving linkage to HIV care in the US.


Computation is central to the foundations of modern cognitive science, but its role is controversial. Questions about computation abound: What is it for a physical system to implement a computation? Is computation sufficient for thought? What is the role of computation in a theory of cognition? What is the relation between different sorts of computational theory, such as connectionism and symbolic computation? In this paper I develop a systematic framework that addresses all of these questions. Justifying the role of computation requires analysis of implementation, the nexus between abstract computations and concrete physical systems. I give such an analysis, based on the idea that a system implements a computation if the causal structure of the system mirrors the formal structure of the computation. This account can be used to justify the central commitments of artificial intelligence and computational cognitive science: the thesis of computational sufficiency, which holds that the right kind of computational structure suffices for the possession of a mind, and the thesis of computational explanation, which holds that computation provides a general framework for the explanation of cognitive processes. The theses are consequences of the facts that (a) computation can specify general patterns of causal organization, and (b) mentality is an organizational invariant, rooted in such patterns. Along the way I answer various challenges to the computationalist position, such as those put forward by Searle. I close by advocating a kind of minimal computationalism, compatible with a very wide variety of empirical approaches to the mind. This allows computation to serve as a true foundation for cognitive science.


Isolectin B4 isolated from Vicia villosa seeds is specific for the Tn antigen, a carcinoma-associated molecular marker. Crystals of the isolectin grown in the presence of carbohydrate are tetragonal, space group P4(1) (or P4(3), with a = 91.3 A, c = 151.7 A and one tetramer in the asymmetric unit. The crystals diffract X-rays to 2.8 A resolution and are suitable for high-resolution structural analysis.


A factor is identified that determines the amount of vasculature in the brain and, in doing so, affects brain function. Superficial similarities of vasculature in different parts of the body may mask organ-specific developmental nuances. The vasculature of the brain uniquely has to insulate the organ from insults that the rest of the body must tolerate. Kuhnert et al. analyzed the developmental uniqueness of the brain's vasculature through study of a G protein–coupled receptor, GPR124, initially identified by its actions in the vasculature of colon cancer. GPR124 is also involved in normal development of the brain's vasculature. Mice expressing low levels of GPR124 did not develop adequate vasculature in the brain and died from hemorrhages. Mice with too much GPR124 developed a tangled, thin-walled, excessive vasculature in the brain. Although the overexpressing mice survived, they were prone to neurological symptoms such as ataxia. GPR124 seems to control the normal development of the endothelial cells, particularly in the forebrain and ventral neural tube. F. Kuhnert, M. R. Mancuso, A. Shamloo, H.-T. Wang, V. Choksi, M. Florek, H. Su, M. Fruttiger, W. L. Young, S. C. Heilshorn, C. J. Kuo, Essential regulation of CNS angiogenesis by the orphan G protein–coupled receptor GPR124. Science 330, 985–989 (2010). [Abstract] [Full Text]


This thesis examines the history of lone motherhood in England between 1945 and 1990.
Most studies of lone motherhood after 1945 have focused on unmarried women, but this
study looks at all routes into lone motherhood: pre-marital pregnancy, separation,
divorce and widowhood. Existing research on post-1945 history has tended to prioritise
the role of the state in determining demographic trends in family life and behaviour. This
thesis uses oral history evidence to demonstrate how women's agency shaped routes into
lone motherhood as well as their management of female-headed household economies
and their sense of identity within the post-war welfare state. A sample of fifty oral history
interviews, primarily selected from the Millennium Memory Bank at the National Sound
Archive forms the basis of the thesis. Interviewees are predominantly working-class and
from urban locations across all regions of England. The sample is divided into five
generational cohorts, which span the immediate post-war period, 1950s, 1960s 1970s and
1980s. Childhood, adolescent and marital experiences are analysed within each cohort in
order to understand changes and continuities in women's entrance into lone
motherhood. In addition, contemporary sociological sources are discussed alongside the
oral histories in order to understand the relationship between the sociological
construction of lone motherhood and lone mothers' developing social identities in the
post-war period. Three categories of analysis in relation to the experience of lone
motherhood feature: 'Accommodation and Housing,' 'Maternal Economy' and 'Social
Membership and Identity.' The study concludes that women's greater entrance into lone
motherhood after 1970 was driven by their rejection of an untenable social and
economic division of labour in marriage, which remained consistent across our period.
The development of sociological classification in relation to one parent families in the
1960s is demonstrated to have been taken-up by women from the 1970s onwards to
legitimize their entitlement to state assistance and housing. This entitlement is also
argued to have rested on an inter-generational maternal identity that understood the
importance of maternity and the false demarcation between waged and domestic labour,
which working-class women, inside and outside of marriage, confronted across the
twentieth-century.


This article explores the EU's efforts to reunify and reconstruct Mostar through the seminal experiment of EUAM (1994-1996), which combined peacebuilding with urban reconstruction in an innovative way. The aim is to identify lessons to be learned from the experiences of EUAM that can assist the EU to adjust its peacebuilding approach to better address post-conflict divides in cities where the EU currently is engaged. Cities divided by violent conflict tend to freeze the conflict, as they remained divided regardless of a conflict settlement, and they become serious obstacles to peace and a challenge to peacebuilding. Far too little is known about the role of urban space in building peace in ethno-nationally contested cities. By marrying critical urban studies with critical peacebuilding literature this article brings novelty to EU-studies and advances our understanding of the EU's role in peacebuilding as well as in the Western Balkans.


During organogenesis in all multi‐cellular organisms, axial patterning is required to transform a single layer organ primordium into a three‐dimensional organ. The Drosophila eye model serves as an excellent model to study axial patterning. Dorso‐ventral (DV) axis determination is the first lineage restriction event during axial patterning of the Drosophila eye. The early Drosophila eye primordium has a default ventral fate, and the dorsal eye fate is established by onset of dorsal selector gene pannier (pnr) expression in a group of cells on the dorsal eye margin. The boundary between dorsal and ventral compartments called the equator is the site for Notch (N) activation, which triggers cell proliferation and differentiation. This review will focus on (1) chronology of events during DV axis determination; (2) how early division of eye into dorsal and ventral compartments contributes towards the growth and patterning of the fly retina, and (3) functions of DV patterning genes. Developmental Dynamics 241:69–84, 2012. © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.


The quality of a product is commonly defined by its ability to satisfy stakeholder needs and expectations. Therefore, it is important to find, select, and plan the content of a software product to maximize the value for internal and external stakeholders. This process is traditionally referred to as requirements engineering in the software industry, while it is often referred to as product management in industries with a larger market focus. As an increasing number of software products are delivered to a market instead of single customers, the need for product management in software companies is increasing. As a side effect, the need for mechanisms supporting decisions regarding the content of software products also increases. While decision-support within requirements engineering and product management is a broad area, requirements prioritization together with release planning and negotiation are considered as some of the most important decision activities. This is particularly true because these activities support decisions regarding the content of products, and are hence drivers for quality. At the same time, requirements prioritization is seen as an integral and important component in both requirements negotiation (with single customers) and release planning (with markets) in incremental software development. This makes requirements prioritization a key component in software engineering decision support, in particular as input to more sophisticated approaches for release planning and negotiation, where decisions about what and when to develop are made. This thesis primarily focuses on evolving the current body of knowledge in relation to release planning in general and requirements prioritization in particular. The research is carried out by performing qualitative and quantitative studies in industrial and academic environments with an empirical focus. Each of the presented studies has its own focus and scope while together contributing to the research area. Together they answer questions about why and how requirements prioritization should be conducted, as well as what aspects should be taken into account when making decisions about the content of products. The primary objective of the thesis is to give guidelines on how to evolve requirements prioritization to better facilitate decisions regarding the content of software products. This is accomplished by giving suggestions on how to perform research to evolve the area, by evaluating current approaches and suggest ways on how these can be improved, and by giving directions on how to align and focus future research to be more successful in development of decision-support approaches. This means that the thesis solves problems with requirements prioritization today, and gives directions and support on how to evolve the area in a successful way.


The microbiological quality of bottled water has been studied over the past 30 years as bottled water can contain pathogens. The aim of this study was to determine if retailed bottled water in New Zealand complied with the Australia and New Zealand Food Standards (ANZFS) Code (2002) and the New Zealand Microbiological Reference Criteria (1995). Thirty-eight domestic and imported bottled water brands were tested for Total Coliforms, Escherichia coli , Pseudomonas aeruginosa , Enterococci, HPC, Yeasts and Moulds. Three brands did not comply with both of the above criteria for Total Coliforms. Seventeen brands did not comply with HPC criteria and 21 brands displayed mould growth. A questionnaire was used to assess the impact of manufacturing procedures on bottled water quality. Four responding manufacturers, which represented 11 bottled water brands, bottled at least one brand that did not comply with the ANZFS Code for HPC. Our study demonstrated that even 10 years after the initial study in New Zealand microbiological contamination in bottled waters was still being detected. We further demonstrated that monitoring of bottled water microbiological quality was essential and that the presence of manufacturers9 procedures for ensuring satisfactory bottled water microbiological quality did not always guarantee it.