Background Excess body weight in adulthood is associated with risk for asthma admission (AA). Our aim was to investigate if this association also applies to the relation between body mass index (BMI) in childhood and AAs in early adulthood (age 20–45 years). Methods This was a prospective study of 310,211 schoolchildren (born 1930–1989) from the Copenhagen School Health Records Register. Height and weight were measured annually, and generated BMI z-scores were categorized as low (lower quartile), normal (interquartile) and high (upper quartile). Associations between BMI at ages 7–13 and AA were estimated by Cox regressions, and presented as hazard ratios (HRs) and 95% confidence intervals (CI). Main outcome was incident hospital AAs (extracted from the Danish National Patient Register) in early adulthood. Results During 4,708,607 person-years of follow-up, 1,813 incident AAs were observed. Nonlinear associations were detected between childhood BMI and AAs. The risk of AA increased for females in the highest BMI category in childhood, with the highest HR of 1.3 (95% CI 1.16–1.55) at the age of 13 years. By contrast, males in the low BMI category had a higher risk of AA in early adulthood, with the highest HR of 1.24 (95% CI 1.03–1.51) at the age of 12 years. Females with an increase in BMI between ages 7 and 13 years had an increased risk of AA compared with females with stable BMI (HR 1.28, 95% CI 1.10–1.50). Conclusion The association between childhood BMI and AA in early adulthood is non-linear. High BMI increases the risk of AA in females, whereas low BMI increases the risk in males.


Abstract The rise of "fake news" is a major concern in contemporary Western democracies. Yet, research on the psychological motivations behind the spread of political fake news on social media is surprisingly limited. Are citizens who share fake news ignorant and lazy? Are they fueled by sinister motives, seeking to disrupt the social status quo? Or do they seek to attack partisan opponents in an increasingly polarized political environment? This article is the first to test these competing hypotheses based on a careful mapping of psychological profiles of over 2,300 American Twitter users linked to behavioral sharing data and sentiment analyses of more than 500,000 news story headlines. The findings contradict the ignorance perspective but provide some support for the disruption perspective and strong support for the partisan polarization perspective. Thus, individuals who report hating their political opponents are the most likely to share political fake news and selectively share content that is useful for derogating these opponents. Overall, our findings show that fake news sharing is fueled by the same psychological motivations that drive other forms of partisan behavior, including sharing partisan news from traditional and credible news sources.


Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to explore the results of implementing the Kaizen approach in a caravan repairing project near the Jordanian–Syrian border in the Zaatari camp.

Design/methodology/approach
The study is based on the exploratory qualitative research approach. The data were collected through interviews and on-site observation with employees who were involved with the caravan maintenance project and have adequate knowledge and information about this project. In this process, a fishbone diagram, a quality control tool, is used to recognize and explain a causal-effect relationship under the selected Kaizen theme.

Findings
The findings suggest that the Kaizen approach was economical in terms of both money and time. Also, waste elimination can be achieved through a variety of tools and easily combined with the Kaizen approach. Implementing the Kaizen approach is an effective and reliable system that allows for the tackling of all types of inefficiencies in the caravan repairing project.

Research limitations/implications
The findings of this study will help policy makers and managers put together suitable and effective policies that will assist those firms in overcoming the demands of customers and competitors to deliver high quality, inexpensive products in less time through the application of the Kaizen approach. This, in turn, will lead to improved quality, efficiency and productivity in the most cost-effective way. However, these results should not be generalized since they are only confined to the context of caravan repairing project.

Originality/value
Very little research has been done that takes into account the contexts of developing countries. Additionally, most literature presents the use of Kaizen applications only in the manufacturing or production sectors. This study is the first to implement Kaizen as a continuous improvement technique in a caravan repairing project – a job shop industry different from the repetitive batch work environment that is usually associated with implementation of Kaizen. The current research should be of great interest to researchers, managers and professionals who wish to apply Kaizen approach as it is sustainable over time in similar projects.


Urban service provision falls somewhere on the continuum of lower-cost, lower-quality, unreliable and intermittent to higher-cost, higher-quality, reliable and continuous. Piped water services in India are generally in the former category, but efforts are underway in some cities to shift to continuous supply. We use a matched-cohort research design to evaluate one such effort: an upgrade to continuous water service in a pilot zone of Hubli-Dharwad, India, while the rest of the city remained on intermittent services. We conducted a survey of 4000 households with four rounds of data collection over 15 months. We evaluated the household-level net benefits, the equity of their distribution, and the affordability of water access under continuous supply. We also evaluated the project at the system-level (household and utility), estimating the net present value of the upgrade and the feasibility of scale-up to the entire city. We found positive net benefits for households overall, but uneven distribution of these benefits across socioeconomic strata. We also found that the costs of supply augmentation, a necessary step for scale-up, significantly reduced the project net present value. The potential for scale-up is thus unclear. 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.


In this dissertation I examined the relationship between individual energetic status, hormone production, and life history trait expression in field-active Timber Rattlesnakes, Crotalus horridus. In chapter one I reviewed what is known regarding these relationships in snakes and defined major research goals. In chapter two I described the seasonal profile of testosterone (T) and corticosterone (CORT) in relation to the breeding season and to individual energetic status in males. Results showed that the seasonal pattern of T production in C. horridus was different than other pit viper species with similar mating patterns. Testosterone was elevated in the months leading up to the breeding season and levels returned to baseline during the months of peak breeding. Testosterone concentrations were positively related to individual energetic status, but only in the months leading to the breeding season when concentrations were elevated. Annual variation was also observed in both the magnitude of T production and the seasonal profile. Corticosterone concentrations were not related to any measured variable. In chapter three I examined the relationship between individual T and CORT concentrations at the onset of the breeding season, energetic status, and male time-energy allocation. Male C. horridus with greater reserves of stored energy at the onset of the breeding season had higher T concentrations and allocated more time and energy toward reproduction compared to snakes with lower stored energy reserves (estimated by body condition index). Both mate search area and time allocated to behaviors other than foraging were directly related to both energetic status and T concentrations. My results suggest that male C. horridus hedge investment of time and energy towards current reproduction against potential costs in terms of survivorship and future fecundity and that testosterone may play a role in mediating this tradeoff. Results are descriptive and future experiments should be conducted to establish causal links. Annual variation was observed in both T concentrations and male time-energy allocation. In a year with low T and no seasonal variation in T, snakes did not appear to allocate time and energy towards mate search and reproductive behavior. In chapter four I described the relationship between female body condition and reproductive allocation and behavior. Additionally, a combination of long-term behavioral monitoring and analysis of microsatellite DNA markers was used to describe the mating system of female C. horridus. Receptive/attractive females were in better body condition compared to the general population, but maternal snout vent length and not body condition was positively related to litter size and mass. Behavioral and molecular data showed that individual females engaged in mating behaviors with multiple males in a single breeding season and that some litters were sired by multiple males. Behavioral data also showed that females will associate with males even when the likelihood of producing a litter the following year is unlikely. Taken together, my results demonstrate that reproductive life history trait expression varies according to natural variation in energetic status in C. horridus, and suggest that the testosterone may be important in mediating this relationship in male snakes.


In His goodness and wisdom God chose to reveal Himself and to make known to us the hidden [sacramentum] purpose of His will (see Eph. 1:9) by which through Christ, the Word made flesh, man might in the Holy Spirit have access to the Father and come to share in the divine nature (see Eph. 2:18; 2 Peter 1:4). Through this revelation, therefore, the invisible God (see Col. 1:15; 1 Tim. 1:17) out of the abundance of His love speaks to men as friends (see Ex. 33:11; John 15:14–15) and lives among them (see Bar 3:38), so that He may invite and take them into fellowship with Himself. This plan of revelation is realized by deeds and words having an inner unity: the deeds wrought by God in the history of salvation manifest and confirm the teaching and realities signified by the words, while the words proclaim the deeds and clarify the mystery contained in them. By this revelation then, the deepest truth about God and the salvation of man shines out for our sake in Christ, who is both the mediator and the fullness of all revelation.


The sona drawings of the Chokwe people of Angola/Congo are continuous one-line drawings, generally made in the sand, that are often used to build highly symmetric one-line drawings. A large class of these drawings can be viewed as a form of "mirror curves," visualizable as a curve bouncing through an arrangement of dots, bouncing off "mirrors" placed between some of the dots, and leaving a symmetric, closed trail behind. To investigate some of the possibilities for such Chokwe sona, we construct such sona for all 7 strip symmetry groups on all but the smallest rectangles. This allows us to use mathematical techniques to build classes of sona that, we argue, meet the artistic goals of the Chokwe people, and (we hope) would be viewed favorably by the historic artists of this culture.


As societies strive to address current environmental challenges new markets and opportunities are opening up for both businesses and entrepreneurs implement sustainability within their operations. In a recent report by OECD (2013) it is noted that green entrepreneurs in general have to overcome higher barriers than other entrepreneurs, e.g. concerning regulations, immature markets and shortages of skills. Thus, one key question is how identification, evaluation and exploitation of business opportunities related to sustainable innovation and green business can be effectively supported by organizations such as business incubators. The aim of this study is to investigate business incubators in three European countries with the highest positions on European Union's Eco-Innovation Scoreboard from 2014 (Finland, Germany, Sweden) with respect to how they manage sustainability aspects. More specifically, we are studying how sustainability in social and environmental terms is integrated into incubators' processes for selection and support of their tenants. The data was collected through a survey where we reached the management of 360 business incubators in the three countries and received 96 responses. We show that there is substantial interest among incubators to gain an image of being sustainability-profiled. However, this image does not seem to be supported with practical organizational routines when selecting and supporting tenants. While the majority of incubators in Finland, Germany and Sweden consider sustainability an important issue for incubation, few incubators actually offer sustainability specific services or advice (e.g. related to ecodesign or marketing of green products). This is a clear gap in the existing entrepreneurship support system that should be addressed by policymakers, stakeholders and managers of incubators.


Abstract The UK Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC) commissioned the British Geological Survey (BGS) to summarize the available geological knowledge, integrate new seismic mapping and well analysis, and make preliminary in-place resource assessments for the three most prospective areas onshore Britain to foster a greater understanding of the unconventional shale resource potential in advance of the 14th Landward Licensing Round. The first study, published in June 2013, reviewed the Carboniferous Bowland–Hodder shales across central Britain where a large volume of in-place gas was assessed to be present. The second study, of the Jurassic shale of the Weald Basin in southern England, published in May 2014, concluded that owing to insufficient burial there was no significant Jurassic shale gas potential, but there could still be shale oil resources at several levels in the centre of the basin. The third study, published in June 2014, covered the Midland Valley of Scotland where both oil and gas potential in Carboniferous shales was identified. A large volume of in-place gas and oil resource has been assessed to be present. However, not enough is known at the time of writing to estimate a recovery factor or to estimate potential producible reserves. This paper summarizes the results of the BGS reports and their impact on the subsequent licensing process in England.


We utilize data from sensitive soccer games in 75 countries between the years 2001 and 2013. In these games one team was in immediate danger of relegation to a lower division (Team A) and another team was not affected by the result (Team B). Using within-country variation, our difference-in-difference analysis reveals that the more corrupt the country, according to Corruption Perceptions Index, the higher is the probability that Team A would achieve the desired result in the sensitive games relative to achieving this result in other, non-sensitive games against the same team. We also find that in the later stages of the following year, the probability that Team A would lose against Team B compared to losing against a similar team (usually better than Team B) is significantly higher in more corrupt countries than in less corrupt countries. This result serves as evidence of quid pro quo behavior.


Johnson et al. (1) and Nowak and Dorman (2) make a significant contribution to the complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) literature. As noted in both papers, there is little published on the subject in relationship to the role of health education. This brief discusses the three findings common to both papers, including the definition of and attitudes regarding CAM, the type of individuals in the U.S. who engage in CAM treatments or therapies, and the role of health education related to CAM. It also suggests some future roles for health educators. First, a history of the term CAM is in order. Prior to 1998, terms such as "folk medicine," "home remedies," and "traditional medicine" were used. The first federal funding for CAM was approved in October 1991. Public Law 102-170 provided $2 million to the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to establish an office and advisory panel to research programs that would investigate promising but unconventional medical practices. This action was followed by Public Law 103-43, the National Institutes of Health Revitalization Act of 1993, which established the Office of Alternative Medicine (OAM) within the Office of the Director of NIH. Its purpose was to facilitate the evaluation of alternative medicine treatment and to disseminate information to the public through an information clearinghouse. And in October 1998, the Omnibus Consolidated and Emergency Supplemental Appropriations Act (Public Law 105-277) elevated the status of the OAM by authorizing the establishment of the National Commission of Complementary and Alternative Medicine (NCCAM) under the NIH. The term CAM was thereby recognized. (3) Nowak and Dorman reported from the student respondents' perspective that CAM is generally misunderstood and used primarily as a way to enhance personal appearance and/or performance. The students preferred self-directed CAM approaches, such as exercise, dietary supplements, or vitamins. A similar 2002 NCCAM survey of Americans revealed that only 14.8% of adults sought care from licensed or certified CAM practitioners; most individuals using CAM preferred to treat themselves. (2) When added to the analysis, prayer was the most popular CAM strategy for both students and national survey respondents. Even though the NCCAM list of common therapies does not include prayer, there remains confusion as to whether prayer should be included in CAM survey choices. The respondents had misunderstandings about CAM. Although CAM is no longer labeled quackery, Nowak and Dorman (2(p.83)) reported the continued use of the word: "thirty-one percent of respondents believed alternative therapists are quacks, while over a quarter believed most alternative therapies do not work" Although Johnson et al. (1(p.75)) did not report any use of the word quackery, they confirmed CAM misunderstandings--health educators were familiar "with the common CAM therapies, such as massage therapy, chiropractic, and dietary supplements, but were unfamiliar with the less widely used therapies, including Ayurveda, osteopathy, Qi Gong, and Reiki." These findings confirm the relationship between lack of CAM knowledge and misconceptions. Second, from a global perspective and regardless of the term used, CAM has been practiced for centuries by individuals seeking ways to ease their undesirable health symptoms. In addition, many individuals have used folk medicine due to lack of income or lack of access to medical care; but in the U.S., the use of CAM increases as educational attainment increases. Most such individuals use CAM to treat musculoskeletal conditions associated with chronic or recurring pain. (4) Although Johnson et al. (1) did not seek respondents' personal experience with CAM, findings revealed that CAM knowledge was influenced by gender, education level, ethnicity, and employment setting. Nowak and Dorman (2) reported that the majority of students responding were white and female. The national NCCAM survey reported that women were more likely than men to use CAM, (4) which may be the reason why women were more interested in completing the student survey. …


In this work, a distributed Kalman filtering and clustering framework for sensor networks tasked with tracking multiple state vector sequences is developed. This is achieved through recursively updating the likelihood of a state vector estimation from one agent offering valid information about the state vector of its neighbors, given the available observation data. These likelihoods then form the diffusion coefficients, used for information fusion over the sensor network. For rigour, the mean and mean square behavior of the developed Kalman filtering and clustering framework is analyzed, convergence criteria are established, and the performance of the developed framework is demonstrated in a simulation example.


Value-based reliability planning (VBRP) has been a well-established theoretical concept in the utility industry for over 30 years. However, few utilities have implemented this planning framework because customer interruption cost estimates - a key input for VBRP - have not been readily available, especially for rural electric entities that do not have the resources to conduct an in-depth customer interruption cost survey. In addition, the electric utility industry has lacked a detailed technical framework for applying the VBRP theory. To address these barriers to incorporating customer interruption costs into reliability planning, the authors of this paper developed the Interruption Cost Estimate (ICE) Calculator, which is a tool designed for electric reliability planners at utilities, government organizations or other entities that are interested in estimating interruption costs and/or the benefits associated with reliability improvements. This paper provides a case study that uses the ICE Calculator and specifically discusses how rural electric entities can take advantage of this publicly available reliability planning tool.


The deposition and characterisation of Langmuir-Blodgett (LB) films containing the ionophore valinomycin are described. In particular, the thesis concentrates on two specific mixed LB systems incorporating the ionophore, namely, arachidic acid/valinomycin and L-a-phosphatidic acid dipalmitoyl (DPPA)/valinomycin. The extremely sensitive spectroscopic technique of attenuated total reflection (ATR) Fourier transform infrared (FTRIR) spectroscopy is used to investigate the interaction of these ultra-thin LB structures with aqueous solutions containing potassium ions. It is shown that LB layers of pure valinomycin do not complex with potassium ions and that, in order for complexation to occur, the ionophore must be mixed with a secondary component. The formation of the valinomycin-potassium (VM/K(^+)) complex in the arachidic acid/vahnomycin system is demonstrated and the effects of the mole-fraction of arachidic acid, and of the potassium ion concentration upon complexation are described. The IR studies also reveal profound structural changes in the fatty acid matrix upon complexation, and the important result that dissociation of the VM/K(^+) complex does not occur in this mixed system. However, it is shown that if the fatty acid molecule is replaced by the phosphohpid molecule, DPPA, then both formation and dissociation of the complex occur. The results, however, indicate that this system is unstable with loss of the LB film into the aqueous solution during immersion. A number of attempts to eliminate this problem are described. The fabrication and characterisation of ion-selective-field-effect transistors (IS-FETs) are also reported. One of the aims of the research is to develop a potassium- ion sensor, and with this in mind, the deposition of LB films onto the gate surface of the ISFET is demonstrated. The K(^+)-response of the LB film coated devices is described and the results interpreted in terms of the IR evidence.


The purpose of this study was to investigate the leadership behavior of local public school superintendents in Louisiana by organizational characteristics. More specifically, this study proposed to determine how the leadership styles of Louisiana public school superintendents vary in terms of size of districts administered when the following variables were examined: a) the educational administrative training of the superintendent; b) the institution from which the superintendent attained his graduate degree; c) the number of years employed as superintendent in his present position; d) the total years employed by his present local school system; e) the position held prior to becoming superintendent ; f) the age of the superintendent; and g) the salary of the superintendent. Through the utilization of the Ohio State Theory of Leader Behavior, the researcher examined the differences in the leader behavior of Louisiana public school superintendents on two dimensions, initiating structure and consideration. Each dimension was perceived from the perspective of the superintendents themselves and of their administrative staff. The population of this study was the school superintendents of the 66 school systems in Louisiana. The school systems were categorized into three groups according to the size of the school Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. district in terms of public student registration. The sample consisted of 62 superintendents and 303 administrative staff members. Analysis of variance was utilized to determine whether significant differences existed between specified groups of superintendents. The results from this study indicate that the independent variables of education, institution from which graduate training was attained, years employed as superintendent, and years employed in system were significant. That is, the analysis of variance revealed significant differences among the initiating structure and consideration means when leader behavior was perceived by the superintendents or the administrative staff members. Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission.


Legal education is facing a series of crises, the worst of which may well be its graduates' perceived lack of professionalism - qualities such as civility, judgment, and commitment to service. This urgent message has been amplified by recent high profile critiques emphasizing the need to teach professionalism, as well as to make law schools more nurturing and humanistic environments. The purpose of this article is to show that the challenge of preparing law students to become caring and competent professionals can be met by using a sequence of experiential learning opportunities to teach relational competencies. Even the harshest critics of legal education agree that clinical programs in law schools succeed; however, the idea of expanding such programs presents challenges. Others worry that law schools will be tempted to do clinics "on the cheap." Nevertheless, if we truly are concerned about the quality of legal education, we should focus instead on understanding what exactly students learn through clinics that contribute to their development of professionalism, and, further, whether other academic experiences, such as externships or simulations, can contribute to these same goals. The article sets out a conceptual model for exploring this professional identity challenge. The first part is called the "Experiential Learning Helix," a developmental approach that identifies three different roles all law students should experience toward becoming a professional: (1) simulated practice; (2) the "mentee" role, and the "first-chair" role. The second part of this model is "Relationship-Centered Lawyering," a normative framework focusing on three areas of competency every effective lawyer needs: (a) understanding theory about the person-in-context, (b) promoting procedural justice, and (c) appreciating interpersonal, cultural, and emotional issues. When grounded in this relational framework, the Helix holds promise for legal education's sustainability into the future.


Simulations of the last 500 yr carried out using the Third Hadley Centre Coupled Ocean–Atmosphere GCM (HadCM3) with anthropogenic and natural (solar and volcanic) forcings have been analyzed. Globalmean surface temperature change during the twentieth century is well reproduced. Simulated contributions to global-mean sea level rise during recent decades due to thermal expansion (the largest term) and to mass loss from glaciers and ice caps agree within uncertainties with observational estimates of these terms, but their sum falls short of the observed rate of sea level rise. This discrepancy has been discussed by previous authors; a completely satisfactory explanation of twentieth-century sea level rise is lacking. The model suggests that the apparent onset of sea level rise and glacier retreat during the first part of the nineteenth century was due to natural forcing. The rate of sea level rise was larger during the twentieth century than during the previous centuries because of anthropogenic forcing, but decreasing natural forcing during the second half of the twentieth century tended to offset the anthropogenic acceleration in the rate. Volcanic eruptions cause rapid falls in sea level, followed by recovery over several decades. The model shows substantially less decadal variability in sea level and its thermal expansion component than twentiethcentury observations indicate, either because it does not generate sufficient ocean internal variability, or because the observational analyses overestimate the variability.


Interviewing for Radio is a thorough introduction to the techniques and skills of the radio interview. It offers advice on how to ask the right question and elicit a response, and guides the reader through the use of equipment, the mechanics of recording, the studio environment, live broadcasts, presentation and pronunciation, and editing material.

Written by an experienced producer and instructor, Interviewing for Radio includes:

the history of the radio interview and the importance of its role today
practical exercises which introduce successful interview and technical skills
case studies and hypothetical scenarios to help you prepare for potential difficulties
a discussion of ethics, risk assessment, codes of conduct and regulations
This second edition has been thoroughly updated and includes advice from a new range of practitioners, and examples of recent UK and international interviews. The author critically analyses these interviews and explains the preparation, organisation and expertise required in order to produce a successful radio broadcast. Interviewing for Radio references both new and existing regulations and guidelines for UK journalists, then offers a global perspective by drawing on the differences and similarities with those applicable to other countries.

This invaluable book is supported by a companion website that includes audio interviews with practitioners accompanied by a range of student exercises, a comprehensive glossary in the form of interactive flashcards, and suggested links for further listening.


This paper reports on our investigation of 1,3-bis-(1-pyrene)propane (bpp) as a potential probe for chlorinated hydrocarbons. Changes in the emission spectra of bpp in methanol solutions, upon addition of methylene chloride, chloroform, or carbon tetrachloride, are described. Dramatic changes in the emission spectrum were noted for CCl4, compared to the other additives. These effects are explained by the preferential solvation of bpp by CCl4 and the formation of an excited-state complex (exciplex), leading to quenching of the excimer emission and, ultimately, the monomer emission. When solutions of bpp in the neat chlorinated hydrocarbons were exposed over time to 350-nm light, changes in the emission spectrum were noted for all solvents. Changes in both the excitation and emission spectra of bpp in CCl4 are related to exciplex formation, leading to irreversible formation of photochemical products. Poly(vinyl alcohol) films containing bpp were exposed to CH2C12, CHC13, or CCl4 vapors, and trends consistent with the solution study were observed. A rapid decrease in bpp excimer emission, upon exposure to CCl4 vapors, was observed. The effects of CCl4 in air and argon atmospheres on the bpp/PVA films were also investigated, with oxygen quenching limiting the ability of this system to detect low concentrations of CCl4.


Noted Basque ethnographer Jose Miguel de Barandiaran was an exceptional witness to an entire century of the history of the Basque Country. He was born in 1889 and died in 1991, just prior to his 102nd birthday, having remained active until a year before his death. An ordained priest, he dedicated most of his life to researching the past of his homeland. His research included excavating caves and dolmens as well as recording the traditional lifeways, legends, and superstitions of the Basque people. His findings were published in hundreds of articles appearing in the Anuario de Eusko-folklore and other journals, as well as several monographs. This work includes an extensive introduction by the editor, Jesus Altuna, with biographical information on Barandiaran and a discussion of the selected writings. These are taken from Barandiaran's books Mitologia vasca (Basque Mythology), El Hombre prehistorico en el Pais Vasco (Prehistoric Man in the Basque Country), and Bosquejo etnografico de Sara (An Ethnographic Sketch of Sara). Included are a number of Barandiaran's drawings, plus photgraphs, bibliography, and an index.


The aim of this paper is to analyze the ways in which Indigenous tourism affects representations of identity and culture, and how tourism practices are described, negotiated and related to development in Indigenous communities. This aim is met through a study, including interviews and observations in Québec, Canada, where Indigenous tourism has received increased attention and economic importance in recent years. Tourism is put forward as positive for economic as well as social and cultural development, through alternative income opportunities and the revalorization of traditions and cultural practices. Individuals from four different ethnic nations were involved in the study: Innu (formerly known as Montagnais), Cree (Eeyou), Wôbanaki (Abénakis) and Hurons (Wendat). From the interviews conducted for this study, we find that Indigenous tourism influences the ways in which individuals see themselves, and how they perceive their identity and culture. Through the production of Indigenous tourism products, the notion of authenticity is challenged, and performed in ways that benefit contemporary life within the communities. But these performances may also reproduce or challenge traditional Indigenous identities, and fuel tensions and conflicts between different groups within the communities.


The test-QD in-situ annealing method could surmount the critical nucleation condition of InAs/GaAs single quantum dots (SQDs) to raise the growth repeatability. Here, through many growth tests on rotating substrates, we develop a proper In deposition amount (θ) for SQD growth, according to the measured critical θ for test QD nucleation (θc). The proper ratio θ/θc, with a large tolerance of the variation of the real substrate temperature (Tsub), is 0.964−0.971 at the edge and > 0.989 but < 0.996 in the center of a 1/4-piece semi-insulating wafer, and around 0.9709 but < 0.9714 in the center of a 1/4-piece N+ wafer as shown in the evolution of QD size and density as θ/θc varies. Bright SQDs with spectral lines at 905 nm–935 nm nucleate at the edge and correlate with individual 7 nm–8 nm-height QDs in atomic force microscopy, among dense 1 nm–5 nm-height small QDs with a strong spectral profile around 860 nm–880 nm. The higher Tsub in the center forms diluter, taller and uniform QDs, and very dilute SQDs for a proper θ/θc: only one 7-nm-height SQD in 25 μm2. On a 2-inch (1 inch = 2.54 cm) semi-insulating wafer, by using θ/θc = 0.961, SQDs nucleate in a circle in 22% of the whole area. More SQDs will form in the broad high-Tsub region in the center by using a proper θ/θc.


Extramammary Paget disease (EMPD) is a rare dermatologic condition that frequently presents in areas where apocrine sweat glands are abundant, most commonly the vulva, although perineal, scrotal, perianal, and penile skin may also be affected. Lesions clinically present as erythematous, well-demarcated plaques that may become erosive, ulcerated, scaly, or eczematous. Extramammary Paget disease has a female predominance and usually occurs in the sixth to eighth decades of life. Professionals disagree about many aspects of EMPD, for example, the prevalence of concurrent vulvar adenocarcinoma or invasive EMPD, association with regional and distant cancers, and recurrence rates following surgical excision. Early recognition is imperative because the diagnosis is frequently delayed and there is a high incidence of associated invasive disease. [5]


of Theorems and Programs," argued that formal verification of programs is "difficult to justify and manage." The article created the perception, in the minds of many computer scientists, that formal verification is a futile area of computing research. That article did not cite a 1977 paper by Amir Pnueli entitled "The Temporal Logic of Programs." His paper had attracted little attention by 1979, but by 1997 it would be described as a "landmark paper" in the citation that accompanied Pnueli's 1996 ACM A.M. Turing Award. In his paper, Pnueli, whose sudden and unexpected death on Nov. 2, 2009 shocked the computer science community, laid the foundation for formal verification of concurrent and reactive programs. (An article describing Pnueli's scientific legacy appears on page 22.) The paper also laid the foundation for the development of model checking, an automated formalverification technique for which Edmund A. Clarke, E. Allen Emerson, and Joseph Sifakis received the 2007 ACM Turing Award. With hindsight of 30 years, it seems that De Millo, Lipton, and Perlis' article has proven to be rather misguided. In fact, it is interesting to read it now and see how arguments that seemed so compelling in 1979 seem so off the mark today. Should we infer that Communications erred in publishing that article? My answer is a resounding "no!" My basic education included exposure to Talmudic scholarship. Jewish scholars in the first half of the first millennium believed that truth will emerge from vigorous debate. The Talmud, a monumental work of Jewish scholarship concluded circa 500 CE, is in essence a compendium of legal debates. Vigorous debate, I believe, exposes all sides of an issue—their strengths and weaknesses. It helps us to reach more knowledgable conclusions. To quote Benjamin Franklin: "When Truth and Error have fair Play, the former is always an overmatch for the latter." In my opinion, however, the editors of Communications in 1979 did err in publishing an article that can fairly be described as tendentious without publishing a counterpoint article in the same issue. Indeed, the article instigated so many reader responses, the editors published 10 pages of letters in the November 1979 Forum section of Communications, calling the work everything from "marvelous" to "humorous." In 2007, when I met with various focus groups to discuss the relaunching of Communications, I was encouraged to keep this publication engaged in controversial topics. "Let blood spill over the pages of Communications," said one discussant jokingly. At the same time, however, participants believed that the magazine should represent all points of view fairly. This sentiment led to the establishment of the Point-Counterpoint feature, in which both sides of an issue are represented by opposing articles. Quoting Franklin again: "when Men differ in Opinion, both Sides ought equally to have the Advantage of being heard by the Publick." Since the relaunch in July 2008, we have published several Point-Counterpoint pairs: on computing curricula, e-voting, Net neutrality, and the direction of CS education in the U.S. At this point, however, the pipeline for such articles is dry. I had assumed that both members of the editorial board and readers would propose topics for PointCounterpoint articles, but that does not seem to be the case. It is almost as if people believe there is something improper about engaging in direct debate. In fact, several authors whom I invited to participate in Point-Counterpoint debates have declined in order to avoid head-on confrontation. The truth is, however, that there are many issues in computing that inspire differing opinions. We would be better off highlighting the differences rather than pretending they do not exist. In this issue of Communications we have a debate that is quite a rarity in computing research: a technical debate. MapReduce (MR) is a software framework to support distributed computing on large data sets on computer clusters. It was introduced by J. Dean and S. Ghemawat of Google in a highly influential 2004 article, and featured as a Research Highlight paper in the January 2008 issue of Communications. The success of MapReduce led some to claim that the extreme scalability of MR will "relegate relational database management systems (RDBMS) to the status of legacy technology." A pair of Contributed Articles in this issue— Dean and Ghemwat on one side and Stonebraker et al. on the other—debate the relative merits of MR and RDBMS beginning on page 64. As parallel computation is one of the hottest topics in computing today, I have no doubt that our readers will find this technical debate highly instructive. If you have topics that you think should be debated on the pages of Communications, please contact me. More debate, please!


The stance of monetary policy in Australia is set in terms of a target for the cash rate. To keep the cash rate at the policy target, the Reserve Bank sets the supply of Exchange Settlement (ES) balances at a level consistent with demand. The level of ES balances changes when entities in the private banking system transact with the Reserve Bank and its clients, particularly the Australian Government. These changes need to be accurately forecast, so that they can be counterbalanced by the Reserve Bank's domestic market operations.


Heath 2/e, presents a broad overview of numerical methods for solving all the major problems in scientific computing, including linear and nonlinear equations, least squares, eigenvalues, optimization, interpolation, integration, ordinary and partial differential equations, fast Fourier transforms, and random number generators. The treatment is comprehensive yet concise, software-oriented yet compatible with a variety of software packages and programming languages. The book features more than 160 examples, 500 review questions, 240 exercises, and 200 computer problems. Changes for the second edition include: expanded motivational discussions and examples; formal statements of all major algorithms; expanded discussions of existence, uniqueness, and conditioning for each type of problem so that students can recognize "good" and "bad" problem formulations and understand the corresponding quality of results produced; and expanded coverage of several topics, particularly eigenvalues and constrained optimization. The book contains a wealth of material and can be used in a variety of one- or two-term courses in computer science, mathematics, or engineering. Its comprehensiveness and modern perspective, as well as the software pointers provided, also make it a highly useful reference for practicing professionals who need to solve computational problems.
Table of contents

1 Scientific Computing
2 Systems of Linear Equations
3 Linear Least Squares
4 Eigenvalues Problems
5 Nonlinear Equations
6 Optimization
7 Interpolation
8 Numerical Integration and Differentiation
9 Initial Value Problems for ODEs
10 Boundary Value Problems for ODEs
11 Partial Differential Equations
12 Fast Fourier Transform
13 Random Numbers and Simulation


Churn is the movement of customers from one mobile network operator to another. It is always better to retain a customer than having to find a new customer in the present competitive environment and the importance of this fact can't be stressed enough. Being more of a social phenomenon than a mathematical one the existing models fail in prediction of such a behavioral quantity. Churn prediction is valuable to the mobile operator depending on the level of accuracy of predictions. This paper presents predictive modeling of customer behavior based on the application of hybrid learning approaches for churn prediction in the mobile network. Our proposed framework deals with a better and more accurate churner prediction technique compared to the existing ones as it incorporates hybrid learning method which is a combination of tree induction system and genetic programming to derive the rules for classification based on the customer behavior. Finally using the game theory techniques we understand the community effect of churn. We calculated the predicted score which is a churn value of a mobile customer. The proposed model is used for prediction of various user defined groupings based on usage time, location and their underlying social network, thus making it a pragmatic approach which models churn on human level than a mathematical level. The post evaluation results on a real world dataset from a leading operator validate our findings.


Atherosclero8is represents a major health problem in the western world. The local haemodynamics is believed to be an initiating and localizing factor in this multilactorial disease process. To fully understand this interaction it is important to obtain detailed information about the local haemodynamics in accurate models of the hnrnan vascular system. Because of the complexity of arterial geometry, in mvo velocity measurements are subject to large errors by currently available techniques. It is also difficult to construct the highly irregular arterial bifurcation model for in vitro investigations. By using a combination of two new methodologies,namely magnetic resonance angiography (MRA) and computational fluid dynamics CFD), the precise patterns of flow anticipating the onset of disease at arterial bifurcations can now, in principle, be determined. However, flow simulations based on in vzvo data directly acquired from clinical measurements have rarely been performed, due to difficulties involved in converting medical images into a data set that CFD software packages can accept. ,In this study, a computer modelling technique, which integrates dinically acquired MR angiograms, image processing and CFD, for the reconstruction of 3D blood flow patterns in realistic arterial geometry, was developed. In the procedure, human arteries are scanned non-invasively by MR angiography. With the MR angiograms, image processing and 3D reconstruction are performed and structured numerical grid is generated for the arteries scanned. Together with MR in tnvo measured velocity profiles at the boundary planes of the model, CFD simulations are undertaken. To test the capability and reliability of the whole procedure, two examples are given, of the human abdominal and right carotid bifurcations. The complete haemodynamic patterns obtained allow a full clinical understanding to be gained of individual patient behaviour. Aspects such as wall shear stress variation, secondary flow and flow separations are demonstrated. The problem of quantitative reliability of the predictions is discussed in some depth.


Preface. Acknowledgements. Notation index. Part I THE DETERMINISTIC MODEL. 1 Introduction and motivation. 1.1 Risk and insurance. 1.2 Deterministic versus stochastic models. 1.3 Finance and investments. 1.4 Adequacy and equity. 1.5 Reassessment. 1.6 Conclusion. 2 The basic deterministic model. 2.1 Cashflows. 2.2 An analogy with currencies. 2.3 Discount functions. 2.4 Calculating the discount function. 2.5 Interest and discount rates. 2.6 Constant interest. 2.7 Values and actuarial equivalence. 2.8 Regular pattern cashflows. 2.9 Balances and reserves. 2.10 Time shifting and the splitting identity. *2.11 Change of discount function. *2.12 Internal rates of return. *2.13 Forward prices and term structure. 2.14 Standard notation and terminology. 2.15 Spreadsheet calculations. 2.16 Notes and references. 2.17 Exercises. 3 The life table. 3.1 Basic definitions. 3.2 Probabilities. 3.3 Constructing the life table from the values of qx. 3.4 Life expectancy. 3.5 Choice of life tables. 3.6 Standard notation and terminology. 3.7 A sample table. 3.8 Notes and references. 3.9 Exercises. 4 Life annuities. 4.1 Introduction. 4.2 Calculating annuity premiums. 4.3 The interest and survivorship discount function. 4.4 Guaranteed payments. 4.5 Deferred annuities with annual premiums. 4.6 Some practical considerations. 4.7 Standard notation and terminology. 4.8 Spreadsheet calculations. 4.9 Exercises. 5 Life insurance. 5.1 Introduction. 5.2 Calculating life insurance premiums. 5.3 Types of life insurance. 5.4 Combined insurance-annuity benefits. 5.5 Insurances viewed as annuities. 5.6 Summary of formulas. 5.7 A general insurance-annuity identity. 5.8 Standard notation and terminology. 5.9 Spreadsheet applications. 5.10 Exercises. 6 Insurance and annuity reserves. 6.1 Introduction to reserves. 6.2 The general pattern of reserves. 6.3 Recursion. 6.4 Detailed analysis of an insurance or annuity contract. 6.5 Interest and mortality bases for reserves. 6.6 Nonforfeiture values. 6.7 Policies involving a 'return of the reserve'. 6.8 Premium difference and paid-up formulas. *6.9 Universal life and variable annuities. 6.10 Standard notation and terminology. 6.11 Spreadsheet applications. 6.12 Exercises. 7 Fractional durations. 7.1 Introduction. 7.2 Cashflows discounted with interest only. 7.3 Life annuities paid mthly. 7.4 Immediate annuities. 7.5 Approximation and computation. *7.6 Fractional period premiums and reserves. 7.7 Reserves at fractional durations. 7.8 Notes and references. 7.9 Exercises. 8 Continuous payments. 8.1 Introduction to continuous annuities. 8.2 The force of discount. 8.3 The constant interest case. 8.4 Continuous life annuities. 8.5 The force of mortality. 8.6 Insurances payable at the moment of death. 8.7 Premiums and reserves. 8.8 The general insurance-annuity identity in the continuous case. 8.9 Differential equations for reserves. 8.10 Some examples of exact calculation. 8.11 Standard actuarial notation and terminology. 8.12 Notes and references. 8.13 Exercises. 9 Select mortality. 9.1 Introduction. 9.2 Select and ultimate tables. 9.3 Changes in formulas. 9.4 Projections in annuity tables. 9.5 Further remarks. 9.6 Exercises. 10 Multiple-life contracts. 10.1 Introduction. 10.2 The joint-life status. 10.3 Joint-life annuities and insurances. 10.4 Last-survivor annuities and insurances. 10.5 Moment of death insurances. 10.6 The general two-life annuity contract. 10.7 The general two-life insurance contract. 10.8 Contingent insurances. 10.9 Duration problems. 10.10 Applications to annuity credit risk. 10.11 Standard notation and terminology. 10.12 Spreadsheet applications. 10.13 Notes and references. 10.14 Exercises. 11 Multiple-decrement theory. 11.1 Introduction. 11.2 The basic model. 11.3 Insurances. 11.4 Determining the model from the forces of decrement. 11.5 The analogy with joint-life statuses. 11.6 A machine analogy. 11.7 Associated single-decrement tables. 11.8 Notes and references. 11.9 Exercises. 12 Expenses. 12.1 Introduction. 12.2 Effect on reserves. 12.3 Realistic reserve and balance calculations. 12.4 Notes and references. 12.5 Exercises. Part II THE STOCHASTIC MODEL. 13 Survival distributions and failure times. 13.1 Introduction to survival distributions. 13.2 The discrete case. 13.3 The continuous case. 13.4 Examples. 13.5 Shifted distributions. 13.6 The standard approximation. 13.7 The stochastic life table. 13.8 Life expectancy in the stochastic model. 13.9 Stochastic interest rates. 13.10 Notes and references. 13.11 Exercises. 14 The stochastic approach to insurance and annuities. 14.1 Introduction. 14.2 The stochastic approach to insurance benefits. 14.3 The stochastic approach to annuity benefits. *14.4 Deferred contracts. 14.5 The stochastic approach to reserves. 14.6 The stochastic approach to premiums. 14.7 The variance of r L. 14.8 Standard notation and terminology. 14.9 Notes and references. 14.10 Exercises. 15 Simplifications under level benefit contracts. 15.1 Introduction. 15.2 Variance calculations in the continuous case. 15.3 Variance calculations in the discrete case. 15.4 Exact distributions. 15.5 Non-level benefit examples. 15.6 Exercises. 16 The minimum failure time. 16.1 Introduction. 16.2 Joint distributions. 16.3 The distribution of T. 16.4 The joint distribution of (T, J ). 16.5 Other problems. 16.6 The common shock model. 16.7 Copulas. 16.8 Notes and references. 16.9 Exercises. Part III RISK THEORY. 17 The collective risk model. 17.1 Introduction. 17.2 The mean and variance of S. 17.3 Generating functions. 17.4 Exact distribution of S. 17.5 Choosing a frequency distribution. 17.6 Choosing a severity distribution. 17.7 Handling the point mass at 0. 17.8 Counting claims of a particular type. 17.9 The sum of two compound Poisson distributions. 17.10 Deductibles and other modifications. 17.11 A recursion formula for S. 17.12 Notes and references. 17.13 Exercises. 18 Risk Assessment. 18.1 Introduction. 18.2 Utility theory. 18.3 Convex and concave functions: Jensen's inequality. 18.4 A general comparison method. 18.5 Risk measures for capital adequacy. 18.6 Notes and references. 18.7 Exercises. 19 An introduction to stochastic processes. 19.1 Introduction. 19.2 Markov chains. 19.3 Martingales. 19.4 Finite-state Markov chains. 19.5 Notes and references. 19.6 Exercises. 20 Poisson processes. 20.1 Introduction. 20.2 Definition of a Poisson process. 20.3 Waiting times. *20.4 Some properties of a Poisson process. 20.5 Nonhomogeneous Poisson processes. 20.6 Compound Poisson processes. 20.7 Notes and references. 20.8 Exercises. 21 Ruin models. 21.1 Introduction. 21.2 A functional equation approach. 21.3 The martingale approach to ruin theory. 21.4 Distribution of the deficit at ruin. 21.5 Recursion formulas. 21.6 The compound Poisson surplus process. 21.7 The maximal aggregate loss. 21.8 Notes and references. 21.9 Exercises. 22 Credibility theory. 22.1 Introduction. 22.2 Conditional expectation and variance. 22.3 General framework for Bayesian credibility. 22.4 Classical examples. 22.5 Approximations. 22.6 Conditions for exactness. 22.7 Estimation. 22.8 Notes and references. 22.9 Exercises. 23 Multi-state models. 23.1 Introduction. 23.2 The discrete-time model. 23.3 The continuous-time model. 23.4 Notes and references. 23.5 Exercises. Appendix A review of probability theory. A.1 Introduction. A.2 Sample spaces and probability measures. A.3 Conditioning and independence. A.4 Random variables. A.5 Distributions. A.6 Expectations and moments. A.7 Expectation in terms of the distribution function. A.8 The normal distribution. A.9 Joint distributions. A.10 Conditioning and independence for random variables. A.11 Convolution. A.12 Moment generating functions. A.13 Probability generating functions. A.14 Mixtures. Answers to exercises. References. Index.


New types of social networks have recently emerged that have facilitated the growth of a different kind of user-generated content: curation. The user finds various content from the Internet and then organizes or "curates" the content in a social network platform in a way that better serves the user's purpose. For example, on Pinterest, users can "pin" content from the web onto their virtual "pinboards" that have topical categories of the users' choice. The content typically involves a photograph (in reduced size) from the original web page that is then displayed on the user's pinboard. Clicking on the photograph displays the actual photograph (or a copy of it), but displayed on the Pinterest website, with attribution and a link to the original website. In this way, the user is able to organize content from the web visually by the user's own categories, such as favorite recipes, yoga instruction, furniture to buy, or places to travel.In the background of Internet curation lurks copyright law, waiting to rear its proverbial head. The kind of activity Pinterest facilitates may constitute copyright infringement, although at least an arguable defense based on fair use or the DMCA safe harbors exists. If a lawsuit is filed, an adverse decision against the site could put in jeopardy this emerging practice of content curation — quashing it generally.This Article offers a way for Congress to address, more generally, the recurring problem created by new speech technologies that disrupt copyright law. The proposal is for Congress to enact a copyright exemption for qualifying 501(c)(3) "charitable" non-profit entities. These entities will be "copyright exempt" for a limited purpose to develop and deploy new kinds of Internet speech technologies free for the public's use. Under the proposed Nonprofit Internet Copyright Exemption (NICE) Act, such nonprofits and their users will enjoy a copyright exemption for noncommercial activity involving user-generated content, including Internet curation.


Exercise Referral (ER) is a common mechanism in the UK to increase physical activity levels of 'sedentary' individuals and those diagnosed with chronic disease. Despite growth in ER schemes there remains limited evidence of ER's impact and service provision is inconsistent. Importantly, there is a need to develop a greater understanding of how the meanings associated with ER are produced, reproduced and resisted amongst stakeholders. This paper presents data from interviews conducted with 27 participants in ER services from the east of England (7 exercise professionals, 5 health professionals and 15 clients), analysed through a figurational sociological lens. Interviews explored the meanings stakeholders attached to ER, as well as lived experiences of ER services. Data were analysed using thematic analysis. Four key themes emerged relating to stakeholder expectations, relationships, perceptions of programme delivery and programme receipt. Data highlighted the conflicting and inconsistent nature of stakeholder perceptions within and across groups, suggesting that participants attached specific, interdependent and sometimes contradictory meanings to ER services, and often defined their role and expectations of ER in relation to those of 'other' groups. This created conflict, and some participants appeared to reinvent or even resist aspects of what they considered the views and goals of
'other' stakeholders. In contrast to health-professional accounts, exercise professionals and clients outlined how they perceived health professionals' understanding of ER and the benefits of physical activity to be deficient. This resulted in participants from these groups failing to communicate with health professionals under the presumption that they lacked interest. Through understanding power relationships in the ER figuration, it becomes possible to see how intended actions of all stakeholders can interact within ER service delivery, creating interesting, unintended consequences.


Background The potential contribution of denture-related sores to oral carcinogenesis still fuels controversies. This study assessed the association between recurrent denture-related sores and squamous cell carcinoma in anatomic sites of the mouth that are specifically at risk of sores by ill-fitting dentures. Methods We conducted a hospital-based case-control study comprising 71 histologically-confirmed cases of squamous cell carcinoma in anatomic sites of the mouth that were specifically at risk of developing sores due to ill-fitting dentures, who were attended at two hospitals in São Paulo, Brazil; and 240 controls without cancer, recruited from outpatient units of the same hospitals. Associations were assessed by multivariate logistic regression conditioned on socio-demographic (family income) and behavioural characteristics (tobacco smoking, alcohol drinking and dietary patterns). Results The association between ill-fitting dentures and mouth cancer was statistically significant in the multivariate model, which adjustment for socio-demographic and behavioural characteristics: OR=3.98 (95% CI 1.06 to 14.96). The specific assessment of association between tumours in the lower jaw and sores by mandibular dentures confirmed this result (OR=6.39; 95% CI 1.49 to 29.52). Conclusions These results reinforce the hypothesis that an appropriate application and monitoring of dental prosthesis represent a non-negligible scope for cancer prevention.


Many Wadis in the Arab Emirates (UAE) are active during rainy periods. Geomorphologically, the UAE is composed of mountains, gravel plains, sand dunes, and coastal zones. The runoff generation in these Wadis represents a complex phenomenon because of the topography of drainage basin. Morphological parameters were estimated and analyzed for the surface runoff generation and flooding possibility of twelve catchments in Ras Al Khaimah area of UAE. Hydrologic Engineering Center-Hydrologic Modeling System model is used to estimate the water yield in Wadi Al Bih due to rainfall events. Simulated results were compared with the observed water storage data of several historical storm events for the calibration of the model. The obtained results were compared with the observed yield and are found accurate and within an average of error 10%. Rainfall-runoff/yield curves were developed based on the duration and intensity of rainfall distribution. These curves can be used for prediction of surface water runoff and water storage in dams due to different rainfall events. Keywords-Geomorphology, Watershed, Flood, Rainfall-runoff, United Arab Emirates.


This article describes an empirical study of the occupational composition of zoning boards in Iowa. The study finds that both zoning adjustment boards and planning commissions are heavily weighted toward white-collar professionals; labor and agricultural interests are significantly under-represented. Moreover, the study finds that boards are heavily populated with those who stand to gain from property development. The study recommends that legal restrictions on board appointments be tightened to ensure a better cross-section of the community is represented.


Knowledge of the atmospheric chemistry of reactive greenhouse gases is needed to accurately quantify the relationship between human activities and climate, and to incorporate uncertainty in our projections of greenhouse gas abundances. We present a method for estimating the fraction of greenhouse gases attributable to human activities, both currently and for future scenarios. Key variables used to calculate the atmospheric chemistry and budgets of major non‐CO2greenhouse gases are codified along with their uncertainties, and then used to project budgets and abundances under the new climate‐change scenarios. This new approach uses our knowledge of changing abundances and lifetimes to estimate current total anthropogenic emissions, independently and possibly more accurately than inventory‐based scenarios. We derive a present‐day atmospheric lifetime for methane (CH4) of 9.1 ± 0.9 y and anthropogenic emissions of 352 ± 45 Tg/y (64% of total emissions). For N2O, corresponding values are 131 ± 10 y and 6.5 ± 1.3 TgN/y (41% of total); and for HFC‐134a, the lifetime is 14.2 ± 1.5 y.


Foreward by Gary Orfield: This study by Dr. Liliana Garces raises an issue of great importance for both the nation's future and the national debate over the necessity of affirmative action. America's future depends on effectively competing in a global market and maintaining the world's strong research capability. That capability is developed in graduate training at leading universities. As the nation passes through an historic demographic transformation and members of traditionally excluded racial and ethnic minorities make up a far larger proportion of the next generation, we are failing to train these students with the skills needed to sustain and expand our technology and research capacity. The most important tools for recruiting traditionally excluded students include a variety of affirmative action programs that identify and nurture talent among groups often denied equal opportunity to prepare for such training. All of our leading research universities and professional associations adopted such policies.As affirmative action has been banned in several states and the U.S. Supreme Court is set to consider the issue for the third time this fall in Fisher v. University of Texas at Austin (2011), it is vital to understand what impact the loss of affirmative action has had in particular states and to consider whether these states have found alternatives that maintain diversity without affirmative action. It is particularly important to consider graduate education since the major alternatives proposed for undergraduate access—the percent plan and admission by social and economic status—cannot be applied to graduate admissions where decisions are not made among students from a single state, undergraduate programs vary widely in terms of adequate preparation for graduate work, and students are admitted as adults, not on the basis of their family circumstances.If the need is truly urgent and the programs in states prohibiting affirmative action don't work, the country's ability to prepare its changing population to sustain and expand these critical capacities will be severely damaged. Dr. Garces' important work suggests that this is a likely outcome. Also available at: http://civilrightsproject.ucla.edu/


In recent years, many philosophers of modern physics came to the conclusion that the problem of how objectivity is constituted (rather than merely given) can no longer be avoided, and therefore that a transcendental approach in the spirit of Kant is now philosophically relevant. The usual excuse for skipping this task is that the historical form given by Kant to transcendental epistemology has been challenged by Relativity and Quantum Physics. However, the true challenge is not to force modern physics into a rigidly construed static version of Kant's philosophy, but to provide Kant's method with flexibility and generality. In this book, the top specialists of the field pin down the methodological core of transcendental epistemology that must be used in order to throw light on the foundations of modern physics. First, the basic tools Kant used for his transcendental reading of Newtonian Mechanics are examined, and then early transcendental approaches of Relativistic and Quantum Physics are revisited. Transcendental procedures are also applied to contemporary physics, and this renewed transcendental interpretation is finally compared with structural realism and constructive empiricism. The book will be of interest to scientists, historians and philosophers who are involved in the foundational problems of modern physics.


The majority of Trichocomaceae are saprobes and have diverse physiological properties. They are capable of growing under extreme conditions, such as extremely low water activities, low temperatures (psychrotolerant), high temperatures (thermotolerant), low acidity levels and/or low oxygen levels. Some are known to have a positive or negative impact on human activities. They are associated with food spoilage and mycotoxin production and can occur in the indoor environment, causing health hazards by the formation of β-glucans, mycotoxins and surface proteins. Some species are opportunistic pathogens, while others are exploited in biotechnology for the production of enzymes, antibiotics and other products. This thesis provides insight into the phylogeny of Trichocomaceae, taxonomy of Penicillium with emphasis on sections Citrina and Lanata-divaricata and mating behaviour of Paecilomyces variotii in relation to species delimitation and food spoilage. The phylogeny of Penicillium and its relationship with other members of Trichocomaceae was studied, and an updated list of accepted Penicillium names is provided. Using a multigene approach and phenotypic characters, the Trichocomaceae are divided in three separate families: Aspergillaceae, Thermoascaceae and Trichocomaceae. Phylogenetic analysis shows that Penicillium is polyphyletic and members of the subgenera Aspergilloides, Furcatum and Penicillium belong to Penicillium s. str., while the majority of species of subgenus Biverticillium belong to the redefined genus Talaromyces. Thermophilic Penicillium-like fungi (e.g. Talaromyces emersonii) have gained much attention in biotechnology the last decades, primarily because of their capacity to produce thermostable enzymes. These species are unrelated to Penicillium sensu stricto and a new genus named Rasamsonia was proposed for these fungi. Species belonging to Penicillium sections Citrina and Lanata-divaricata have a worldwide distribution and commonly occur in soils. New insights in the phylogeny and taxonomy of these sections show that section Citrina and Lanata-divaricata includes 39 species and 33 species, respectively, 22 of those are described here as new. These species have unique properties and the newly proposed classification scheme may help in determining more accurate the mycobiota of soils, which may be important for biodiversity, ecological and climate change studies. Furthermore, some of these species are associated with leaf litter decomposition and may be efficient lignocellulose degraders and could represent a new source for cellulolytic and xylanolytic enzymes, while others are producers of uncharacterized compounds that might represent novel drug leads (incl. novel antibiotics). Paecilomyces variotii, a species related to Penicillium, is a common cosmopolitan species that is able to spoil various food- and feedstuffs and is frequently encountered in heat-treated products. Ascospores, which are usually considered to be the heat-resistant propagule in other fungi, were rarely found in P. variotii cultures. As a result, the route of P. variotii contamination remained largely unknown. The mating type genes MAT1-1 and MAT1-2 were determined and these appeared to be evenly distributed among strains isolated from heat treated products, showing the presence of cryptic sexuality. Mating experiments indicated that P. variotii is able to form ascomata and ascospores in culture in a heterothallic manner, giving insight in the contamination route of this heat resistant fungus.


»Individualisierung und Fertilitat«. In this paper, we discuss individualisation theory as a parsimonious framework concept to describe and explain core points of fertility change in Western societies since the end of the 19th century. We emphasise two dimensions of individualisation: firstly, the increase in status of the individual in cultural, social, economic and legal respects (human dignity); secondly, the increase in autonomy and freedom of choice. In contrast to other approaches based on individualisation theory, we do not use the concept of self-realisation in the sense of an increased orientation towards purely individual interests, not least because this concept has failed before the renewed rise in fertility that has recently been observed in some advanced societies. We discuss the relevance of these two dimensions of individualisation in the context of the first transition and the 1960s with its declining fertility rates. Whereas the first demographic transition can be mainly explained by the rising status of children, which increased the costs of parenting and thus changed the interests of (potential) parents to have children, the transition in the 1960s resulted mainly from the rising status of women in education and the labour market. An important but hitherto neglected change was the increasing divorce rates, as the possibility to dissolve a marriage devalued the traditional gender contract of the breadwinner/housewife model and decreased the willingness of women and men to invest in marriage and children. The contrast between the recently growing fertility rates in Sweden, France and the US with the continuously low fertility in the Germanspeaking countries can partly be seen as a result of different divorce regimes. Whereas the first group of countries has limited the entitlement to spousal support through alimonies, the second group has institutionalised extensive entitlements for moth-


In view of the significant sequelae associated with Lyme borreliosis, there is a need for timely and accurate diagnosis of erythema migrans (EM). Although Borrelia burgdorferi can be cultured from biopsies of EM lesions, immunodiagnostic testing is more widely available. Four immunoserologic methods were studied by using the sera of 51 patients with EM lesions that were culture positive for B. burgdorferi. Nineteen patients had single primary lesions, and thirty-two had multiple secondary lesions. At the time of biopsy, 40 patients, 8 with primary lesions and all patients with secondary lesions, were seropositive by an immunoglobulin M (IgM) indirect fluorescent-antibody (IgM IFA) test (Bion Enterprises). Twenty-three patients were seropositive by a whole-cell fluorescence enzyme immunoassay (EIA) (BioWhittaker, Inc.), twenty-two were positive by immunoblotting (ViroStat, Inc.), and one was positive by a P39 recombinant EIA (P39 EIA) (General Biometrics, Inc.). Sera from various patient control groups were tested: rheumatoid arthritis (n = 19), infectious mononucleosis (n = 20), systemic lupus (n = 22), syphilis (n = 13), streptococcal sequelae (n = 20), and healthy subjects (n = 16). None of these sera reacted with the IgM IFA test or P39 EIA. Fifteen reacted with the fluorescence EIA. We conclude that the IgM IFA test is an effective and reliable assay for the diagnosis of EM, particularly for patients with secondary lesions. Immunoblot, fluorescence EIA, and P39 EIA lack the sensitivity to reliably diagnose EM.


Reducing conditions in soils can be documented by the voltage measured between Pt and reference electrodes (Eh) or by using dyes like α,α(-dipyridyl for identifying reduced species (such as Fe 2+ ). Indicator of Reduction in Soils (IRIS) tubes have been recently introduced as an alternative approach for documenting reducing conditions in soils, where a synthetic Fe oxyhydroxide painted on polyvinyl chloride tubes can be reduced, dissolved, and removed by respiring soil microorganisms. In order for the Fe oxyhydroxide paint to adhere to the tubes, it must be synthesized as a mixture offerrihydrite and goethite. Based on thermodynamics, ferrihydrite is predicted to be more easily reduced at higher redox potentials than goethite. We hypothesized that IRIS tubes made using paint composed of different proportions of ferrihydrite and goethite would perform differently in wetland soils. This experiment evaluated the performance of IRIS tubes created using nine Fe oxyhydroxide paints with different proportions offerrihydrite and goethite ranging from 15.2 to 70.9 mol % goethite. Tubes were evaluated following placement in mesocosms in the laboratory using two different wetland soil materials for 13 d. An ANOVA indicated that there were highly significant differences (P < 0.0001) in full or intermediate removal of paint due to paint type. In general, the extent of paint removal was inversely related to goethite content. The minimum goethite content needed to successfully manufacture IRIS tubes is approximately 40%, and we recommend that IRIS tubes not be used when the goethite content is beyond the range of 40 to 60 mol %.


. The present study examines school satisfaction among 1,090 Dutch and ethnic minority children aged between ten and twelve in relation to their school context. Data were gathered in 51 classes from 26 schools. Individual and classroom variables were examined simultaneously, using multilevel analysis. Controlling statistically for general life satisfaction and teacher likeability, the results show that the effects of educational performance and peer victimization on school satisfaction were mediated by perceived scholastic competence and social self-esteem, respectively. In addition, ethnic minority groups were more satisfied with school than the Dutch pupils, and girls were more satisfied than boys. Multilevel analysis showed that school satisfaction was dependent on the classroom context. The academic and social climate in the class had positive effects on the level of satisfaction with school. The percentage of Dutch pupils, the percentage of girls and the number of pupils had no significant independent effects on school satisfaction.


Knowledge of the interactions of hydrological processes with the landscape are important to understand variations in basic hydrological data for the comprehensive management of basins. Land cover and land use is one essential factor in the assessment of such management problems. In this study in a representative German basin, available land cover and land use data is analysed in correspondence with available hydrological measuring data.The aim of this study is to analyse the relationships between hydrological data and land use and to obtain a monitoring strategy which allows a valuable support to a comprehensive management of river basins.Two spatial scales, the basin Gersprenz and its subbasin Fischbach, are described in detail regarding the variations in electrical conductivity (EC) as a parameter of water quality with high resolution field data from the state-wide monitoring network (12 stations) as well as from own research monitoring (12 stations). The results show that water quality, using EC as an indicator, can be related to land use pattern. From stream source to mouth, there is an increase in anthropogenic impacts and the EC values show an increasing tendency in downstream direction. This anthropogenic impact is due to agricultural use, settlements, commerce and industry areas, and discharges of waste water. The hydrological monitoring will be continued in the future to give the possibility to assess long-term variations on different spatial and temporal scales.


General relativity (GR) is the standard physical theory describing gravitational interactions. All astrophysical and cosmological observations are compatible with its predictions, provided that unknown matter and energy components are included. These are called dark matter and dark energy.In addition, GR describes the nonlinear self-interaction of a massless spin-2 field. In particle physics, there are both massless and massive fields having spin 0, 1 and 1/2. It is then well-justified to ask whether a mathematically consistent nonlinear theory describing a massive spin-2 field exists.The Hassan–Rosen bimetric relativity (BR) is a mathematically consistent theory describing the nonlinear interaction between a massless and a massive spin-2 field. These fields are described by two metrics, out of which only one can be directly coupled to us and determines the geometry we probe.Since it includes GR, BR is an extension of it and provides us with new astrophysical and cosmological solutions. These solutions, which may give hints about the nature of dark matter and dark energy, need to be tested against observations in order to support or falsify the theory. This requires predictions for realistic physical systems. One such system is the spherically symmetric gravitational collapse of a dust cloud, and its study is the overarching motivation behind the thesis.Studying realistic physical systems in BR requires the solving of the nonlinear equations of motion of the theory. This can be done in two ways: (i) looking for methods that simplify the equations in order to solve them exactly, and (ii) solving the equations numerically.The studies reviewed in the thesis provide results for both alternatives. In the first case, the results concern spacetime symmetries (e.g., spherical symmetry) and how they affect particular solutions in BR, especially those describing gravitational collapse. In the second case, inspired by the success of numerical relativity, the results initiate the field of numerical bimetric relativity. The simulations provide us with the first hints about how gravitational collapse works in BR.


Strain rate histories and strain magnitude are two crucial factors governing the evolution of dynamic recrystallized grain size and crystallographic preferred orientation (CPO) in rocks and ice masses. To understand the effect of cyclic variations in strain rate or non-steady-state deformation, we conducted two-dimensional, coaxial plane strain experiments with time-lapse observations from a fabric analyzer. There is a continuous reequilibration of microstructure and CPO development associated with constant and oscillating strain rate cycles. These can be correlated with c -axis small circle distributions, diagnostic of dynamic recrystallization involving new grain nucleation and grain boundary migration (GBM) as observed in the high-temperature deformation of ice and quartz. Inhomogeneous stress distribution can lead to grain size reduction for relatively slower strain rates and GBM for relatively faster rates within a long-interval cycling event, a behavior that contradicts the classic view for dynamic recrystallization processes. Where there is a rapid short-term cycling of strain rate, GBM is hampered and nucleation dominates, accompanied by a marked reduction of grain size and no new CPO development. During such short-term cycling, GBM and crystallographic change is impeded not by impurities, but by an inability of newly nucleated grains to grow.


Analysis of the 2003 Australian Survey of Social Attitudes verifies claims that Australia is a share-owning democracy. We show that higher income earners are most likely to own shares and to own shares in a large number of companies, and that the 45–54 and 54–56 year age groups are the peak for ownership. We also investigate ethical issues relating to shareownership by examining scenarios under which owners would sell their shares. Ethical concern is highest on the issue of child labour. Yet there is surprisingly little concern amongst shareowners over racial discrimination, which was less likely to lead to the sales of shares than investment in genetically modified crops or foods, paying large bonuses to executives or the production of military weapons. Women are more likely than men to adopt an "ethical" stance on share ownership across all scenarios, although high income earners are less likely to sell shares in the face of racial discrimination or the production of military weapons by their companies. Postmaterialists are just as likely as materialists to own shares, but much more likely to sell them for ethical reasons, while those on the "left" of politics appear to be more ethical than the "right". Finally, owning shares in several companies reduces the likelihood of ethical behaviour, with those owning shares in six or more companies least likely to sell for any ethical reason.


This research focuses on generating aesthetically pleasing images in virtual environments using the particle swarm optimization (PSO) algorithm. The PSO is a stochastic population based search algorithm that is inspired by the flocking behavior of birds. In this research, we implement swarms of cameras flying through a virtual world in search of an image that is aesthetically pleasing. Virtual world exploration using particle swarm optimization is considered to be a new research area and is of interest to both the scientific and artistic communities. Aesthetic rules such as rule of thirds, subject matter, colour similarity and horizon line are all analyzed together as a multi-objective problem to analyze and solve with rendered images. A new multi-objective PSO algorithm, the sum of ranks PSO, is introduced. It is empirically compared to other single-objective and multi-objective swarm algorithms. An advantage of the sum of ranks PSO is that it is useful for solving high-dimensional problems within the context of this research. Throughout many experiments, we show that our approach is capable of automatically producing images satisfying a variety of supplied aesthetic criteria.


This thesis explicates and critically considers the various roles played by moral psychology within the work of John Rawls throughout his career. In the second half of the 20th Century, Rawls's development of a sophisticated theory of justice in the social contract tradition played a significant part in reviving the study of normative political philosophy in the western world. Rawls argued that any theory of justice must be closely integrated with our best contemporary understanding of human psychology. Moral psychology is hence widely recognised to play an important role in Rawls's overall theory. But the precise role played has not been adequately examined. In this thesis, I identify six roles which moral psychology plays within the structure of Rawls's theory. Moral psychology must defend the idea that the model for a just society which Rawls proposes is realisable and stable (role #1). Moral psychology is also employed to explain how persons now have acquired what sense of justice they have (role #2). By showing that Rawls's just society can be realised and is stable, moral psychology is then subsequently used in the justification of Rawls's theory of justice – first by showing that such a society is not futile (role #3), and second by showing that the society is comparatively more stable than leading rivals (role #4). The account of the psychological capacities of the moral person is used to place the limit on the scope of justice (role #5). And moral psychological facts are also likely to be, in some sense, constitutive of the nature of morality for Rawls (role #6). These roles are discussed throughout various chapters. What alterations occur to the overall place of moral psychology following Rawls's later embrace of political liberalism is also discussed. The overall aim of the thesis is to produce an accurate exegesis on these matters, and in doing so indicate just how important moral psychology is within Rawls's theory, but also to indicate, clearly and starkly, just how much more psychological and sociological investigation needs to be done in if the theory is to be substantiated, given Rawls's own criteria.


Eastern deciduous forests in the United States have supplied marketable non-timber forest products (NTFP) since the 18th century. However, trade is still largely informal, and the market scope and structure are not well understood. One exception is American ginseng (Panax quinquefolius L.). Ginseng's legal status as a threatened species requires that buyers apply for a license and keep sales records that are submitted to a state authority. Other marketable medicinal plants collected from the same forests, known colloquially as 'off-roots', are not similarly tracked. To study the characteristics of off-root trade in the eastern deciduous forests of the United States, registered ginseng buyers in 15 eastern states were surveyed in 2015 and 2016 about business attributes, purchase volume, and harvest distribution for 15 off-root species selected for their economic and conservation value. Buyers voluntarily reported harvesting 47 additional NTFP species. The most frequently purchased off-root species were the roots and rhizomes of two perennial understory plants: black cohosh (Actaea racemosa L.) and goldenseal (Hydrastis canadensis L.). Survey data were used to develop a buyer typology and describe the off-root market structure and material sourcing. The buyer typology included four distinct categories: side or specialty (small); seasonal venture (medium); large integrated or dedicated business (large); and dedicated bulk enterprise (regional aggregator). Market activity was mapped across the study area, demonstrating that most off-root trade is concentrated in central Appalachia, an area with extensive forests and a struggling economy. Study methods and data improve non-timber forest product market insights, are useful for forest management, and can support efforts to advance sustainable NTFP supply chains.


Significance While tobacco is one of the most heavily consumed (and abused) plant substances of the modern era, with profound global health consequences, its early use remains poorly understood. Here we report a substantial direct biomolecular record of ancient tobacco smoking by hunter-gatherers of interior northwestern North America. Nicotine-positive samples demonstrate deep time continuity of indigenous tobacco smoking in a place where tobacco has been depicted as being introduced by early Euro-American traders and explorers. The spread of domesticated trade tobacco seems to have overtaken and obscured ancient indigenous tobacco practices. The information—represented here by the longest continuous biomolecular record of tobacco use from a single region—informs programs designed to combat persistent commercial tobacco use rates among modern Tribal communities. Chemical analysis of residues contained in the matrix of stone smoking pipes reveal a substantial direct biomolecular record of ancient tobacco (Nicotiana) smoking practices in the North American interior northwest (Plateau), in an area where tobacco was often portrayed as a Euro-American–introduced postcontact trade commodity. Nicotine, a stimulant alkaloid and biomarker for tobacco, was identified via ultra-performance liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry in 8 of 12 analyzed pipes and pipe fragments from five sites in the Columbia River Basin, southeastern Washington State. The specimens date from 1200 cal BP to historic times, confirming the deep time continuity of intoxicant use and indigenous smoking practices in northwestern North America. The results indicate that hunting and gathering communities in the region, including ancestral Nez Perce peoples, established a tobacco smoking complex of wild (indigenous) tobacco well before the main domesticated tobacco (Nicotiana tabacum) was introduced by contact-era fur traders and settlers after the 1790s. This is the longest continuous biomolecular record of ancient tobacco smoking from a single region anywhere in the world—initially during an era of pithouse development, through the late precontact equestrian era, and into the historic period. This contradicts some ethnohistorical data indicating that kinnikinnick, or bearberry (Arctostaphylos uva-ursi) was the primary precontact smoke plant in the study area. Early use likely involved the management and cultivation of indigenous tobaccos (Nicotiana quadrivalvis or Nicotiana attenuata), species that are today exceedingly rare in the region and seem to have been abandoned as smoke plants after the entry of trade tobacco.


Chloroplast development in germinating seedlings initiates upon illumination. Whereas chloroplasts in true leaves develop directly from proplastids, chloroplasts in cotyledons of dark-grown seedlings develop from an intermediate type of plastid called an etioplast. During development, etioplasts accumulate carotenoids and protochlorophyllides in their prolamellar bodies. Once seedlings emerge from the soil into the light, de-etiolation occurs and protochlorophyllides are converted into chlorophylls. Subsequently, the photosystems assemble into thylakoid membranes with the incorporated chlorophylls to form functional chloroplasts (Sundqvist and Dahlin, 1997). Rapid chlorophyll synthesis can result in free chlorophylls that produce highly reactive singlet oxygen, resulting in photodamage. Sun et al., (2019) demonstrate that Arabidopsis thaliana (Arabidopsis) ORANGE (OR), a DnaJlike zinc finger domain-containing protein, interacts with the bHLH transcription factor TCP14 in the nucleus and regulates both chlorophyll biosynthesis and the development of thylakoid membranes in germinating cotyledons. Overexpression of OR in Arabidopsis significantly lowered the percentage of green cotyledons compared with wild type and ORsilenced plants (see figure). Overexpressing lines were delayed in chloroplast biogenesis, and had less chlorophyll, fewer stacks of grana thylakoids in the chloroplast, and accumulated more lutein (but less β-carotene). These mutants also had a weaker transcriptional induction and lower abundance of EARLY LIGHT-INDUCIBLE PROTEINS (ELIP1 and ELIP2). The genes encoding these proteins are upregulated when dark-grown seedlings are exposed to light and temporarily bind free chlorophylls (Casazza et al., 2005). In contrast, OR-silenced lines (RNAi silenced or the T-DNA knockout or-1) had a stronger induction of ELIP1 and ELIP2. This indicates that OR negatively regulates chloroplast biogenesis. OR is localized to both the chloroplast and nucleus (Sun et al., 2016). Two different antibodies were raised to detect and distinguish between the full-length protein (including chloroplast transit peptide) and the mature OR protein. The authors found that the abundance of full-length OR abundance in the nucleus decreased upon illumination. In the chloroplast, proteins of the inner (TIC) and outer (TOC) chloroplast envelope membranes accumulated 12-24 h post illumination, indicating there was assembly of the TIC/TOC machinery for chloroplast protein import. Fulllength OR was found in the plastids of cotyledons up to 12 h post-illumination but was absent in the late stages. By contrast, the mature protein accumulated over time, indicating that removal of the transit peptide from newly imported OR occurs during chloroplast biogenesis. Given the dual localization, the authors targeted OR to the nucleus of the or-1 mutant. The resulting transgenic plants had similar phenotypes as the overexpression mutant lines, indicating that overexpression of the nuclear targeted OR is sufficient to repress de-etiolation. By what mechanism does nucleuslocalized OR repress chloroplast biogenesis? OR interacts with the bHLH transcription factor TCP14 and represses its transcriptional activity. TCP14 binds to the Up1 element, which is overrepresented in the promoter regions of germination-related genes such as ELIP1 and ELIP2. Using an anti-OR antibody to precipitate chromatin samples, promoter fragments with Up1 were detected in darkgrown wild type seedlings. However, there was no enrichment of Up1-containing fragments of ELIP1 and ELIP2 in tcp14-1 knockout seedlings. These results together suggest that OR affects expression of ELIPs via its interaction with TCP14. When OR was overexpressed in the tcp14-1 knockout mutant (either by crossing the overexpression mutant with tcp14-1 or transforming tcp14-1 with the OR overexpression construct), seedlings showed greening rates similar to wild type, and accumulation of ELIPs was rescued. This suggests that the repression of cotyledon greening by OR requires TCP14. The OR-TCP14 interaction in the nucleus represses both ELIP expression and chloroplast biogenesis. When illuminated, the nuclear abundance of OR decreases and consequently, derepression of TCP14 transcriptional activity results in the etioplastto-chloroplast transition. This OR-TCP14 interaction helps elucidate the underlying regulatory network required for chloroplast development as plants respond to illumination.


CONTEXT
The surgical management of benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) is evolving away from open surgery. In developing countries however majority of cases are managed by transvesical prostatectomy (TP).

AIMS
This study aims to describe our experience regarding the efficacy, complication profile and outcome of TP in the management of BPH in Nigeria.

SETTINGS AND DESIGN
A descriptive, retrospective study carried out in three tertiary centers.

SUBJECTS AND METHODS
Two hundred and ninety-seven patients were studied. Parameters examined included age, clinical features, investigations, type of postoperative bladder irrigation, prostate gland volume, duration of hospital stay, complications and outcome.

STATISTICAL ANALYSIS USED
Simple means and percentages with SPSS 16.

RESULTS
Mean age was 65.2 ± 6.8 years (range 47-93 years). Presentation with severe lower urinary tract symptoms only occurred in 76 patients (25.7%); acute urinary retention was seen in 106 patients (35.7%). Chronic urinary retention, impaired renal function and haematuria occurred in 47 (15.8%), 37 (12.5%), and 31 patients (10.4%) respectively. On comorbidity, 63 patients (21.2%) were hypertensive and 24 patients (8.1%) had diabetes mellitus. Two hundred and twenty three patients (75%) had indwelling catheters at the time of surgery. Preoperative urinary catheter duration was 1 week-35 months. Mean duration of hospital stay was 8.8 days. Complications were transient urinary incontinence 33 patients (11.1%), urinary tract infection 38 patients (12.7%), and acute epididymoorchitis 15 patients (5.1%). Clot retention occurred in 40 patients (13.5%). Mortality rate was 1%.

CONCLUSIONS
TP remains useful in developing climes. There is a need to emphasize effective preoperative workup so as to limit morbidity. Emphasis on variety of techniques for hemostasis is necessary.


Microstructural fracture processes in a BS4360 Grade 50D structural steel with lower sulphur content were studied in smooth tensile specimen tests and Charpy-size bend bar tests. Based on the experimental analysis, an experimental void growth relation with the plastic strain and stress triaxiality and multiplying factor on void growth were determined. Experimental results show that the void growth relation can be reasonably used to estimate the constraint in the specimens containing the notch or crack, also they can be used to evaluate the variations of the stress triaxiality in front of the notch and crack tip under general yielding condition. Side-grooves obviously increase the constraint of the CVN specimens. Strain hardening leads to increasing the stress triaxiality, and decelerating the net void growth. This is especially true for the values of stress triaxiality more than about one. Additionally, the effect of the stress triaxiality on the critical void growth corresponding to the onset of ductile tearing was preliminarily investigated. In this work, a large number of smaller specimens were tested to investigate the ductile-brittle transition behaviour of the structural steel. A void growth rate explanation was suggested for evaluating the temperature transition behaviour. The elastic-plastic fracture tough-ness values based on small specimen tests, such as pre-cracked side-grooved bending specimen and short bar tensile specimen, may give large overestimates of the plane strain fracture toughness.