BACKGROUND AND AIMS
Cannabinoid receptor (CB) activation can attenuate inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) in experimental models and human cohorts. However, the role of the microbiome, metabolome, or the respective contributions of hematopoietic and non-hematopoietic cells in the anti-colitic effects of cannabinoids has yet to be determined.

METHODS
Female C57BL/6 mice were treated with either cannabidiol (CBD), Δ 9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), a combination of CBD and THC or vehicle, in several models of chemically induced colitis. Clinical parameters of colitis were assessed by colonoscopy, histology, flow cytometry and detection of serum biomarkers; single-cell RNA sequencing and qRT-PCR were used to evaluate the effects of cannabinoids on enterocytes. Immune cell transfer from CB2 knockout mice was used to evaluate the contribution of hematopoietic and non-hematopoietic cells to colitis protection.

RESULTS
We found that THC prevented colitis, and that CBD, at the dose tested, provided little benefit to the amelioration of colitis, or when added synergistically with THC. THC increased colonic barrier integrity by stimulating mucus, tight junction and antimicrobial peptide production, and these effects were specific to the large intestine. THC increased colonic gram-negative bacteria, but the anti-colitic effects of THC were independent of the microbiome. THC acted on both immune cells via CB2 and on enterocytes to attenuate colitis.

CONCLUSIONS
Our findings demonstrate how cannabinoid receptor activation on both immune cells and colonocytes is critical to prevent colonic inflammation. These studies also suggest how cannabinoid receptor activation can be used as a preventive and therapeutic modality against colitis.


We live in a highly volatile technological environment, in which the generation of new data and information access tools has increased the level of specialization of the users' information needs. In this changeable scenario, standards and the role of librarians must also evolve along with the services provided to users. The lack of specialization in standards is leading librarians to improvise local solutions when cataloguing specialized resources, thus failing to benefit global interoperability among libraries, and with other institutions and initiatives. As different cataloguing standards, as well as many conceptual models, point out the necessity to deal with the specific users' needs, the main goal of this paper is to advocate for meeting those needs through the development of metadata standards. In particular, our methodology consists in showing and explaining the needs of a particular type of users (astronomers and astrophysicists) and proposing the inclusion in the standards of elements important for the description of historical astronomical resources. Through an example, we show not only the feasibility of application of these elements, but also how the enhancement of the level of specialization of the standards, and therefore of the records made under their rules, can definitely contribute to a global solution for a much improved scientific information retrieval.


Traditional geological mapping may be hindered by rough terrain and dense vegetation resulting in obscured geological details. The advent of airborne Light Detection and Ranging (LiDAR) provides a very precise three-dimensional (3D) digital terrain model (DTM). However, its full potential in complementing traditional geological mapping remains to be explored using 3D rendering techniques. This study uses two types of 3D images which differ in imaging principles to further explore the finer details of sedimentary terrain. Our purposes are to demonstrate detailed geological mapping with 3D rendering techniques, to generate LiDAR-derived 3D strata boundaries that are advantageous in generating 2D geological maps and cross sections, and to develop a new practice in deriving the strike and dip of bedding with LiDAR data using an example from the north bank of the Keelung River in northern Taiwan. We propose a geological mapping practice that improves efficiency and meets a high-precision mapping standard with up to 2 m resolution using airborne LiDAR data. Through field verification and assessment, LiDAR data manipulation with relevant 3D visualization is shown to be an effective approach in improving the details of existing geological maps, specifically in sedimentary terrain.


Abstract. Landslide erosion is a serious land management problem in many parts of the world. In New Zealand, a combination of steep erodible hill country, frequent and intense rainstorms, and recent forest clearance for pastoral farming has led to extensive landslide erosion in many parts of the country. Effective mitigation measures against landslide erosion and its consequences require a detailed understanding of the history, location, extent, and severity of landsliding. Consequently, the preparation and availability of comprehensive and meaningful landslide inventories and spatial representation using advanced cartographic techniques can support mitigation of landslide erosion, risk communication, decision making and land management.Remote sensing and new geospatial technologies have significantly increased objectivity and efficiency of geomorphological mapping, while at the same time recent developments in GIScience allow different theoretical perspectives on space, time, processes, and systems to be merged (Bishop et al., 2012; Napieralski et al., 2013). The complexity of natural phenomena such as landslides requires advanced and innovative image analysis methods for adequate and effective landslide inventory mapping (Guzzetti et al., 2012). Remote sensing data is well suited for detecting landslides and for deriving spatio-temporal landslide patterns. Manually or semi-automatically mapped landslides from optical satellite images or aerial photographs can be used as input for creating landslide pattern or hotspot maps, which constitute an easy-to-grasp visual representation of the worst landslide-affected areas following landslide triggering events such as heavy rainstorms.For analysing and visualizing spatio-temporal landslide patterns we use historical and recent aerial photography from five different dates, ranging from 1944 to 2011, for a study site near the town of Pahiatua, New Zealand. Landslide hotspots are identified from the distribution of semi-automatically detected landslides using object-based image analysis (OBIA) (cf. Hölbling et al., 2016). The development of semi-automated image classification techniques such as OBIA offers the potential to considerably improve existing manual landslide mapping techniques, in particular the time needed for landslide detection can be significantly reduced while achieving acceptable mapping accuracies. The semi-automatically identified landslide polygons are rasterized at 1 m cell size and aggregated to 25 m pixel resolution by calculating the sum of 1 m landslide pixels per 25 m cell. The resulting map is a landslide cover or density map which displays the proportion of landslide area covering each pixel (625 m2) in percent. Figure 1 shows an example of the identified landslide hotspots based on the OBIA mapping using the aerial photograph from 2005. The comparison of the landslide hotspots based on the OBIA mapping with those based on manually mapped landslides shows very similar results for all periods. Advanced visualization techniques and cartographic representations are finally used to illustrate the evolution of the landslide hotspots over space and time. Such a space-time and multidimensional representation of landslide patterns can reveal relevant new information about past and recent landslide activity and can be valuable for risk communication and targeted mitigation of landslide erosion.


An intermediate target for axons leaving the cerebral cortex in embryonic mammals is the ganglionic eminence (GE), the embryonic precursor of the basal ganglia. The cues that direct these axons over the initial portion of their trajectory are not well understood, but could include both short-range and long-range attractants and repellents. In the present study, we provide evidence that corticofugal axons might be guided at least partly by a diffusible factor or factors originating in the lateral GE and the sulcus between the lateral and medial ridges of the GE (ISS), as well as evidence implicating the axonal chemoattractant netrin-1 in mediating these effects. Explants of lateral GE and ISS obtained from E12.5 and E13.5 mouse forebrain have a strong effect on both the outgrowth and orientation of corticofugal axons when cultured at a distance with explants of embryonic cortex in collagen gels. Netrin-1 mRNA is detected in these target tissues by in situ hybridization, and both netrin-1 protein and heterologous cells secreting netrin-1 can mimic the outgrowth-promoting effect of these target tissues in vitro. Furthermore, the growth of corticofugal axons is oriented toward an ectopic source of netrin-1 in vitro, and a function blocking anti-netrin-1 antiserum specifically abolishes the cortical axon outgrowth elicited by explants of lateral GE and the ISS in collagen gel cocultures. Taken together, these results suggest a role for netrin-1 in the attraction at a distance of early cortical axons by the GE. Thus in mammals -- as is also observed in nematodes -- the development of non-commissural projections in anterior regions of the embryo might be directed by mechanisms similar to those involved in directing the development of commissural projections in more posterior regions of the central nervous system.


In this work is used the two‐dimensional discrete wavelet transform as a feature extractor of time responses from a porous silicon optical gas sensor for gas identification. The wavelet decomposition allows us to have a more in‐deep sight of the sensor response. In addition, using a linear support vector machine (SVM) as classifier we evaluate our approach for a six‐analyte discrimination problem.


The ferroelectric properties in the liquid-crystalline smectic C* phase of the chiral mesogenic azobenzene (S)-4-(4-decyloxy-phenylazo)benzoic acid 4-(1-methylhexyloxy)-3-nitro-phenyl ester ('W470') were studied and found to be strongly dependent on the intensity of incident light. The light-induced trans to cis isomerization of the azobenzene chromophore which is an intrinsic constituent of this SmC* mesogen leads to a pronounced photoferroelectric effect since the ferroelectric SmC* ordering is considerably disturbed by the presence of bent-shaped cis-isomer molecules: At increasing light intensity a strong decrease of both SmC* order parameters, spontaneous electric polarization Ps and director tilt angle θ, is observed. It is further seen that even the nature of the ferroelectric transition is affected by the photoisomerization which leads to a crossover from the nearly tricritrical transition observed in the absence of light to a typical second-order transition. This result is interpreted theoretically taking into account a coupling between the director tilt and the biaxial order parameter which is strongly affected by the light-induced generation of the bent-shaped cis-isomers. The dynamics of the intrinsic photoferroelectric effect in W470 was studied by time-resolved measurements of spontaneous polarisation and director tilt.


In the budding yeast Kluyveromyces lactis, the β subunit of the G protein can function without the γ subunit in the mating response. The dogma states that heterotrimeric G proteins have two active parts: the guanine nucleotide-binding Gα subunit and a dimeric subunit Gβγ composed of two proteins, the Gβ and Gγ subunits. Additionally, most evidence suggests that the Gαβγ complex with Gα bound to GDP is inactive and that GTP binding to Gα triggers the dissociation of the Gα subunit from Gβγ, allowing each subunit to then regulate the activity of downstream effectors. The study of the mating response of the budding yeast Kluyveromyces lactis by Navarro-Olmos et al. challenges two of these established paradigms in G protein signaling. In the budding yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae, mating pheromone triggers the conventional pathway of GTP binding to Gα and separation of Gβγ from the activated complex, and Gβγ then activates the mitogen-activated protein kinase cascade to mediate the mating response. Despite structural similarities and sequence conservation and the ability to interact in a yeast two-hybrid system, the K. lactis Gβ (KlGβ) and Gγ (KlGγ) failed to suppress the sterile phenotype of S. cerevisiae, which suggests that the pathway may be different. Knocking out KlGβ alone abolished mating. Unexpectedly, knocking out KlGγ in K. lactis failed to compromise mating as long as the KlGα subunit was present, but if both KlGα and KlGγ were knocked out, then mating was compromised. Thus, mating appears to require Gβ and either Gα or Gγ, which suggests that either a Gαβ or a Gβγ complex may function in this pathway. The ability of KlGγ and KlGβ and for KlGα and KlGβ to interact was confirmed by yeast two-hybrid assay. One role of the γ subunit in the function of Gβγ complexes is recruitment of the β subunit to membranes, and in S. cerevisiae mutation of the cysteine residue that is farnesylated in Gγ (GγS) behaves as a dominant-negative Gγ. However, the equivalent mutation in K. lactis KlGγ failed to inhibit mating. KlGβ was associated with the membrane fraction in cells lacking KlGγ but was completely cytosolic in cells lacking both KlGγ and KlGα. Adding a farnesylation motif to KlGβ partially targeted the protein to the membrane and partially rescued the mating defect in cells deficient in both KlGγ and KlGα. Thus, it appears that in K. lactis, Gβ can signal without Gγ as long as it has a mechanism to reach the membrane. R. Navarro-Olmos, L. Kawasaki, L. Domínguez-Ramírez, L. Ongay-Larios, R. Pérez-Molina, R. Coria, The β subunit of the heterotrimeric G protein triggers the Kluyveromyces lactis pheromone response pathway in the absence of the γ subunit. Mol. Biol. Cell 21, 489–498 (2010). [Abstract] [Full Text]


Encyclopedia of Sensors is the first encyclopedia ever published in the field of sensors. The multivolume encyclopedia will provide a complete coverage of most recent advances and emerging new sensor technologies in the fields of science, engineering and medicine. Although there are many books focused on sensors however no encyclopedic reference work has been published as of today. This encyclopedia will cover all aspects of sensor science and technology dealing with all types of sensor materials, their synthesis and spectroscopic characterization, sensor designs, fabrication and manufacturing techniques, sensor probes, features, physical, chemical and biosensors, their applications in electronics, photonic and optoelectronic industries, medicine, surface sensing, food industry, environmental engineering and nanotechnology. It is written for a wide range of audience from non-scientists to active scientists and engineers, professionals and experts working in the field of sensors.


The assessment of the indigenous organic matter in returned lunar samples has been a primary scientific goal of the Apollo program. The levels of such indigenous organic material were expected to be and found to be small.The pristine integrity of the lunar samples, however, could only be realized by carefully controlling the collection, processing, and analyzing of lunar samples so they might remain free of any significant levels (average laboratory detection limit of 10 - 9 g/g) of terrestrial contamination. The primary purpose of this paper is to describe the contamination control procedures adopted to meet these requirements, to present briefly the analytical evidence obtained throughout the program on potential contamination sources, and to summarize the types and levels of organic contaminants actually found in the lunar samples. The control of potential organic contamination of the lunar samples has consisted of: (a) severe limitations on materials which "see" or contact the lunar samples, (b) isolation of the sample in controlled environments at all times, (c) development of procedures to clean all surfaces which come into direct contact or may "see" the samples, and (d) strict controls on fabrication, processing, and handling of all lunar sample hardware. Materials actually contacting the lunar sample have been limited to stainless steel, aluminum alloy, and Teflon. Samples were handled under clean vacuum or nitrogen environments whenever possible. Cleaning methods capable of achieving total organic contamination levels on surfaces of less than 10 - 9 g/cm 2 were implemented for all surfaces contacting lunar samples. A contamination monitoring scheme was put into effect to assist in the evaluation of cleaning procedures and to assess the quantity and type of organic contamination that finds its way into the samples despite the controls discussed. This consisted of the analysis of: (1) York mesh samples or aluminum foil processed with the flight Apollo lunar sample return containers (ALSRC); (2) the analysis of solvent wash samples used to clean all Lunar Receiving Laboratory (LRL) sample processing tools, cabinets, equipment, and containers; (3) the analysis of lunar module (LM) exhaust gas products; and (4) the analysis of sintered samples of Ottawa sand exposed to the various processing cabinets in the LRL. various Monitoring of the processing activities in the Lunar Receiving Laboratory during simulations prior to Apollo 11 indicated that organic contamination levels as high as 1000 ppm might be introduced to the lunar samples. Procedural and handling improvements reduced this level to less than 1 ppm during processing of Apollo 11 lunar material. Further controls, more thorough cleaning and greater attention to potential sources of contamination reduced the level to less than 0.1 ppm during Apollo 12 sample processing. Preliminary data indicate the levels for the Apollo 14 and 15 sample processing were also less than 0.1 ppm. The major contaminants found in the lunar samples (mainly, Apollo 11 and 12) consisted mainly of hydrocarbons, phthalate esters, LM exhaust products, plastics-Teflon, Mylar, etc., and some silicones. It can be concluded that a contamination control plan has been successfully developed and implemented, providing investigators with lunar samples containing less than 0.1-ppm total organic contamination, which is as low or lower than the experimental blanks obtained in organic geochemical research laboratories.


Biomass burning releases a vast amount of aerosols into the atmosphere, often leading to severe air quality and health problems. Prediction of the air quality effects from biomass burning emissions is challenging due to uncertainties in fire emission, plume rise calculation, and other model inputs/processes. Ensemble forecasting is increasingly used to represent model uncertainties. In this paper, an ensemble forecast was conducted to predict surface PM2.5 during the 2018 California Camp Fire event using the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) HYSPLIT dispersion model at 0.1° horizontal resolution. Different combinations of four satellite‐based fire emission data sets (FEER, FLAMBE, GBBEPx, and GFAS), two plume rise schemes (Briggs and Sofiev), various meteorology inputs, and model setup options were used to create the forecast ensemble, for a total of 112 experiments. The performance of each ensemble member and the ensemble mean were evaluated using ground‐based observations, with four statistical metrics and an overall rank. The ensemble spread of the 112 members reached 1,000 μg/m3, highlighting the large uncertainty in wildfire forecast. The ensemble mean displayed the best performance. Each fire emission product contributed to one or more members among the top 10 performers, revealing the forecasting dependence on both the quality of fire emissions data and model representation of emission, transport, and removal processes. In addition, an ensemble size reduction technique was introduced. With the help of this technique, the ensemble size was reduced from 112 to 28 members and still produced an ensemble mean that yielded comparable or even better performance to that of the full ensemble.


Various authors explain differently the mechanism of action of waves on the_ sediment movement. Some authors consider that the waves are raising the soil fractions from the bottom and water currents transfer them along the seaboard. The other authors suppose that each wave shears some soil in the bottom in littoral zone of the waves and wind is oblique to the shoreline. Beach currents catch and transport the sediment particles along the seaboard. These authors suppose when the wind is in the direction of seaboard /from sea/ then the bottom currents move in the opposite direction. These currents transport the ground particles in the direction of sea and thus the seaboard erosion arises. When the wind direction is opposite, the botto currents arise in the direction of seaboard and they cause the transportation of ground and the accumulation of seaboards. These reasons show that the action of waves would cause only the separation of ground particles and their asoeading. Our last investigations and observations of the sediment movement have led the conclusion that the waves may cause the raise of the sediment partciles and also their transport. The character of this transport depends on the wave kind and on the height and length of waves. General quantity of the lifted particles by means of waves increases as the power of waves or height and length of waves increases. If the power of waves decreases these particles fall. The waves are able to transport the bed load and detritus load without cooperation of the water current in spite of horizontal or inclined bottom. Under the action of waves the sediment moves the oscillatory movement. The waves move the bed load in the shallow exterior zones with the horizontal bottom only, towards the wave propagation. This material may be moved perpendicular the slope, according to the wave direction or in the opposite on< If the approaching wave creates the acute angle to the shoreline then the bed load moves near the seaboard. The transport of the bed load and of detritus loai change if the water current and waves appear simultaneously. The water current acts generally on the detritus load because the water moves this material easier than the bed load which rolls on the bottom.


South Korea has been held out as an economic miracle as a country that successfully completed the transition from underdeveloped to developed country status and as an example of how a middle-income country can continue to move up the technology ladder into the production and export of more sophisticated goods and services. But with these successes have come challenges, among them poverty, inequality, long work hours, financial instability, and complaints about the economic and political power of the country s large corporate conglomerates, or chaebol."The Korean Economy" provides an overview of Korean economic experience since the 1950s, with a focus on the period since democratization in 1987. Successive chapters analyze the Korean experience from the perspectives of political economy, the growth record, industrial organization and corporate governance, financial development and instability, labor and employment, inequality and social policy, and Korea s place in the world economy. A concluding chapter describes the country s economic challenges going forward and how they can best be met. The volume also serves to summarize the findings of companion volumes in the Harvard-Korean Development Institute series on the Korean economy, also published by the Harvard University Asia Center."


This volume understands itself as an invitation to follow a fundamental shift in perspective, away from the self-contained 'I' of Western conventions, and towards a relational self, where development and change are contingent on otherness. In the framework of 'Dialogical Self Theory' (Hermans & Hermans-Konopka, 2010; Hermans & Gieser, 2012), it is precisely the forms of interaction and exchange with others and with the world that determine the course of the self's development.

The volume hence addresses dialogical processes in human interaction from a psychological perspective, bringing together previously separate theoretical traditions about the 'self' and about 'dialogue' within the innovative framework of Dialogical Self Theory. The book is devoted to developmental questions, and so broaches one of the more difficult and challenging topics for models of a pluralist self: the question of how the dynamics of multiplicity emerge and change over time. This question is explored by addressing ontogenetic questions, directed at the emergence of the dialogical self in early infancy, as well as microgenetic questions, addressed to later developmental dynamics in adulthood. Additionally, development and change in a range of culture-specific settings and practices is also examined, including the practices of mothering, of migration and cross-cultural assimilation, and of 'doing psychotherapy'.


We introduce an algorithm of morphological filters and propose its use to classic polarization metrics for applications requiring passive longwave-infrared, polarimetric remote sensing and real-time anomaly detection. The approach significantly augments the daytime and nighttime detectability of weak-signal manmade objects immersed in a predominant natural background scene. A tailored sequence of signal-enhancing filters is featured, consisting of basic and higher level morphological operators to achieve a desired goal. Qualitatively, the goal is to effectively squeeze the variance of pixel values representing the natural clutter background, while simultaneously spreading the pixel variance within the manmade object class and separating the pixel mean averages between the two classes of objects. Using real data, the approach persistently detected with a high confidence level three mobile military howitzer surrogates (targets) from natural clutter, during a 72-h coverage. Targets were posed at three aspect angles (range 557 m), yielding a negligible false alarm rate. Performance was invariant to diurnal cycle and mild atmospheric changes.


The British Economy in Transition: From the Old to the New? examines attempts at economic regeneration in areas that have experienced the decline in 'traditional' industry of recent years. The contributors also look at the impact of techno and managerial modernization strategies in industries that have survived, but have had to adapt rapidly to do so. Coverage includes: * Coal * Steel closure and economic regeneration * Defence conversion * Modernizing textiles * Modernizing motor vehicles * Trading ports in Merseyside * From manufacturing to sevice industries in the Midlands * the Engineering industry - prospects in the South East * Deindustrialization and regeneration in the North East Each industry is discussed by an expert in this area. The book will be a valuable guide to all those interested in change in British industry and business.


The previous paper ( Wm. G. Fastie J. Opt. Soc. Am.42, 641 ( 1952)) described a plane grating monochromator optical system which apparently has not been used since Ebert described it in 1889. The high resolution obtained has inspired the design of an f/6 spectrometer of that type for the infrared region. This paper describes the results of preliminary tests and calculations which show that the Ebert system is capable of near theoretical resolution at f/6 even when very long slits are used. Both slits must be curved in order to remove the effect of astigmatism and to avoid wavelength errors at the exit slit which arise from curvature of spectrum when a plane grating is employed. That the same curvature of slits simultaneously corrects these two image errors is a fortunate coincidence which makes the Ebert system appear to be superior to currently employed spectrometer optical systems. Comparison with other systems and discussion of the limitations of the Ebert system are presented.


In bacterial genomes a fraction of transcribed sequences do not code for proteins or structural RNAs, but have been shown to be involved in fundamental processes, such as regulation of gene expression, mRNA processing and stability or structural RNA maturation. In this thesis a systematic procedure to identify and classify families of repeated sequences sharing a common RNA secondary structure was applied to the study of 40 bacterial genomes. Sequences able to fold in a stable stem loop structure were clustered according to sequence similarity, and grouped within homogeneous families. The study led to the identification of 57 families of repeated sequences, sharing a common secondary structure and potentially coding for structured RNAs. All previously known such families have been detected by the used procedure, and are listed within the final set, together with 37 novel ones. Their location in relation to protein coding genes was evaluated, and a correlation was found between structure and positioning within intergenic regions.
A new software tool is also described, Scaffolder, designed to help in high-throughput de novo genome sequencing by finding connections between contigs produced by random shotgun sequencing, and assisting the researcher in the whole process. The software, accessible both as a command line tool and as a web application, can guide all the final phases of genome assembly by storing the current assembly status, displaying networks of connected contigs and untangling multiply connected ones by a combination of computational and experimental procedures.


Little is known about the cardiac expression of different thyroid hormone receptor (TR) isoforms. The aim of the study was to investigate such patterns of TR expression at the protein level in different species and in some human tissues. Western blot analysis with specific polyclonal rabbit antibodies to each TR isoform was performed with samples from myocardium of the left ventricle from man, dog, guinea pig, rat and mouse, as well as with samples from several human tissues such as heart, skeletal muscle, brain, liver and thyroid. The TR alpha 1 isoform was present in all of the species examined. The TR alpha 2 was recognized in human, dog and guinea pig heart, while no such band was recognized in rat and mouse hearts. TR beta 1 was not detected in the human heart but in the other species. Similarly to TR alpha 1, TR beta 2 was detected in all of the species examined. In the human tissues studied, TR alpha 1 was detected in heart and skeletal muscle, whereas TR alpha 2 was found only in the heart. TR beta 1 was not detected in any of the examined human tissues, while TR beta 2 was found in all of them. These results revealed unique distributions of TR variants and they demonstrate common epitopes in TR in the different species. For the first time, the presence of a TR beta 2 isoform has been shown in human tissues. TR isoforms may have a tissue and species specific role in the regulation of gene expression and may in part explain variable tissue effects of thyroid hormones.


Moving to a lower-poverty neighborhood can have a lasting effect on individual well-being. Twenty-five years ago, William J. Wilson drew widespread attention to increases in the concentration of poverty in the United States and the diminished life chances of "the truly disadvantaged" (1). The hypothesis that growing up in a severely deprived neighborhood threatens well-being is rooted in a long scientific tradition. From Victorian London to present-day America, research has shown links between neighborhood poverty and outcomes such as crime, economic dependency, poor physical health, teenage pregnancy, and school dropout (2). But could the characteristics of individuals living in deprived neighborhoods explain these observed associations rather than the characteristics of the neighborhood itself (3)? On page 1505 of this issue, Ludwig et al. (4) address this question by analyzing the results of a policy project that supported neighborhood relocation.


We make the case for cloud-enabled mobile sensing services that support an emerging application class, one which infers near-real time collective context using sensor data obtained continuously from a large set of consumer mobile devices. We present the high-level architecture and functional requirements for such a mobile sensing service, and argue that such a service can significantly improve the scalability and energy-efficiency of large-scale mobile sensing by coordinating the sensing & processing tasks across multiple devices. We then focus specifically on the problem of energy-efficiency and provide early exemplars of how optimizing query execution jointly over multiple phones can lead to substantial energy savings.


Abstract Direct observation of health professionals is recognised as the 'gold standard' for monitoring hand hygiene compliance. Trained and validated auditors directly observe health professionals' hand hygiene behaviours, and assess their compliance with standard guidelines. In June 2010, a hand hygiene program that coincided with the adoption of the National Hand Hygiene Initiative (NHHI), including the Five Moments for Hand Hygiene, was introduced into a rural health service district in Australia. Infection prevention and control representatives from each inpatient facility within the district attended hand hygiene auditor training during a 2-day face-to-face workshop using standard models and training materials. The district infection control practitioner and a representative from the jurisdiction's infection prevention and control unit conducted the workshop. The success of the program has been variable, particularly at the institutional level. In part, this has been due to a lack of administrative leadership and refusal by Directors of Nursing in some facilities to site the alcohol-based hand hygiene product at the point of care. At the individual level, not all representatives have achieved the benchmark set by the NHHI for validation of auditors, with some reporting difficulty grasping the definitions and methodology of auditing. The subsequent process of re-training auditors has been resource-intensive due to the significant physical distance between facilities and limited on-site resources. These challenges and difficulties have brought into question the sustainability of the NHHI model for a geographically vast health service district. This paper examines the implementation of a nationally sanctioned hand hygiene program in a rural and remote health service district, and proposes a novel model for monitoring hand hygiene compliance in such settings.


An increasing number of investors are recognizing the many benefits of a multi-asset approach, including the potential for improved diversity, greater liquidity, and reduced volatility. Also advantageous is their ability to fit readily alongside a variety of investment approaches and asset class categories. That said, multi-asset strategies come with challenges. This article addresses a particularly problematic area—how to evaluate multi-asset strategy outcomes. Relying on only one or two measures for evaluation can lead to misinterpretation of the historical investment results achieved. Instead, the author advises using a variety of evaluation techniques. One of these—correlation—is discussed in depth, because the author believes it is misunderstood in many dimensions of multi-asset investing. The author also examines some of the more useful performance and risk analytics, both historical and predictive, that can help to understand what drives multi-asset investment outcomes.


Hydrologic sciences depend on data monitoring, analyses, and simulations of hydrologic processes to ensure safe, sufficient, and equal water distribution. These hydrologic data come from but are not limited to primary (lab, plot, and field experiments) and secondary sources (remote sensing, UAVs, hydrologic models) that typically follow FAIR Principles (Findable, Accessible, Interoperable, and Reusable: (go-fair.org)). Easy availability of FAIR data has become possible because the hydrology‐oriented organizations have pushed the community to increase coordination of the protocols for generating data and sharing model platforms. In addition, networking at all levels has emerged with an invigorated effort to activate community science efforts that complement conventional data collection methods. However, it has become difficult to decipher various complex hydrologic processes with increasing data. Machine learning, a branch of artificial intelligence, provide more accurate and faster alternatives to better understand different hydrological processes. The Integrated, Coordinated, Open, Networked (ICON) framework provides a pathway for water users to include and respect diversity, equity, and inclusivity. In addition, ICONs support the integration of peoples with historically marginalized identities into this professional discipline of water sciences. This article comprises three independent commentaries about the state of ICON principles in hydrology and discusses the opportunities and challenges of adopting them.


We report data on patent litigation activity initiated by patent assertion entities and discuss the tactics used by these entities to monetize the patents they acquire. We develop a simple economic model to evaluate the effect of enhanced patent monetization on innovation and on consumers. We then study the economic effects of several different categories of patent acquisitions based on the type of seller, the type of buyer, and the patent portfolio involved.


The DarkWeb represents a hotbed for illicit activity, where users communicate on different market forums in order to exchange goods and services. Law enforcement agencies benefit from forensic tools that perform authorship analysis, in order to identify and profile users based on their textual content. However, authorship analysis has been traditionally studied using corpora featuring literary texts such as fragments from novels or fan fiction, which may not be suitable in a cybercrime context. Moreover, the few works that employ authorship analysis tools for cybercrime prevention usually employ ad-hoc experimental setups and datasets. To address these issues, we release VeriDark: a benchmark comprised of three large scale authorship verification datasets and one authorship identification dataset obtained from user activity from either Dark Web related Reddit communities or popular illicit Dark Web market forums. We evaluate competitive NLP baselines on the three datasets and perform an analysis of the predictions to better understand the limitations of such approaches. We make the datasets and baselines publicly available at https://github.com/bit-ml/VeriDark


The main purpose with this paper is to compare the frequency of liquidation bankruptcies in Sweden with the frequency of bankruptcies in countries (Germany, U.S., Finland, Norway, U.K. and Denmark) that have a similar economic structure and there by are we able to investigate the legal influence on bankruptcies and costs associated with bankruptcies. When one judges the frequency of bankruptcy in different countries, the main issue is to decide which frequency of bankruptcy is the optimal one (the efficient one). A country is classified as having "too many" bankruptcies when firms that have a positive net present value (in financial distress but not in economic distress) are closed or if many of the bankruptcies are due economically related crimes. A country is classified as having "too few" bankruptcies when firms that are in both in financial and economic distress continues to operate. Relating bankruptcies to number of employees in the respective country makes it possible to compare frequency of bankruptcies between countries. We compare frequency of bankruptcy between countries for the period 1985 to 1996. Sweden, Norway and Finland have on average a significant higher frequency of bankruptcies than the other countries. In Germany, Finland, Great Britain and Sweden is the use of a reorganisation procedure not a real option to the liquidation procedure, in contrast to U.S. The construction industry and the industry wholesale and retail, repairs, Hotels and restaurants are the industries in every country that either has the highest frequency of bankruptcy or belongs to the industries with the highest frequency of bankruptcy. In Sweden there are four years that deviate in the period of investigation (both in total number of bankruptcies but also with respect to the individual industry bankruptcies) due to an extremely high frequency of bankruptcies (1991 to 1994) and this is the case also for the other countries (at least for the total number of bankruptcies) except for Germany and U.S. Norway is the country with the highest proportion of bankruptcy firms with no employees in relation to total number of bankruptcies. There is no indication that shell-companies are the driving force behind the frequency of bankruptcies in Sweden during the time period investigated. In Sweden, for the period 1991 to 1994, there is an indication that companies ended up earlier than normally in liquidation bankruptcy and also that these companies are in better financial condition than normally. For Sweden, it seems as though the banks do not explicitly file for bankruptcy.


Sowthistles, Sonchus arvensis, S. asper and S. oleraceus (Asteraceae), are serious weeds that impact on crop production in many regions of the world. A recently described eriophyid mite, Aceria thalgi from Sonchus species found in southern Australia, was assessed for its potential as a biological control agent for these weeds. Glasshouse host range testing and field observations of 11 species from seven genera from the Lactuceae tribe of Asteraceae showed that A. thalgi survived only on plants within the Sonchinae subtribe (S. asper, S. oleraceus and S. hydrophilus) and not on the closely related Actites megalocarpus, Reichardia tingitana or other test plants. Under glasshouse conditions and varying plant ages, A. thalgi infestation caused significant growth reduction of the exotic species S. oleraceus (up to 97%) and, to a lesser extent, the Australian native S. hydrophilus (up to 33%). Six temperatures from 9.1 to 33.7°C were used to determine population growth parameters for A. thalgi. The range of temperatures suitable for population growth was used to modify a CLIMEX model based on its host S. oleraceus. The projected world distribution of the CLIMEX model indicates that the mite could establish in some areas of North America, making it a possibility for an augmentative approach to biological control of Sonchus spp. in that region. The model confirms the potential for a widespread distribution of A. thalgi in southern Australia where it could be considered for a conservative approach to biological control of Sonchus spp. in cropping systems.


A wide range of discrete planning problems can be solved optimally using graph search algorithms. However, optimal search quickly becomes infeasible with increased complexity of a problem. In such a case, heuristics that guide the planning process towards the goal state can increase performance considerably. Unfortunately, heuristics are often unavailable or need manual and time-consuming engineering. Building upon recent results on applying deep learning to learn generalized reactive policies, we propose to learn heuristics by imitation learning. After learning heuristics based on optimal examples, they are used to guide a classical search algorithm to solve unseen tasks. However, directly applying learned heuristics in search algorithms such as A∗ breaks optimality guarantees, since learned heuristics are not necessarily admissible. Therefore, we (i) propose a novel method that utilizes learned heuristics to guide Focal Search A∗, a variant of A∗ with guarantees on bounded suboptimality; (ii) compare the complexity and performance of jointly learning individual policies for multiple robots with an approach that learns one policy for all robots; (iii) thoroughly examine how learned policies generalize to previously unseen environments and demonstrate considerably improved performance in a simulated complex dynamic coverage problem.


Parallel job schedulers have mostly been evaluated/compared using performance metrics. The deductions, however, can be misleading due to selective starvation. This calls for studies in scheduler fairness. Most studies have studied performance and fairness independently. We make a simultaneous study of performance and fairness for space slicing schedulers to deduce effectiveness. We show that measurements of fairness based on measures dispersion can contradict them selves for a similar set of schedulers. We also show that implied unfairness may not be a result of job starvation. Unfairness, derived from some of the current measures, is not always an implication of scheduler ineffectiveness. We use intuition to propose heuristics that determine scheduler effectiveness. We compare deductions from the combination of performance and fairness with those of effectiveness.


The first chapter of Alison Ravenscroft's The Postcolonial Eye: White Australian Desire and the Visual Field of Race begins with a description of a photograph, property of the South Australian Museum, series AA346. This photograph is one of thousands taken during the Board for Anthropological Research's Harvard and Adelaide Universities' 1938 expedition. In it, two Murri girls stare at us, one with a shaved head, the other wearing a card marked 'N1474'. What we see in this photograph, the violence of colonial history, is striking, but equally (perhaps more) striking, Ravenscroft suggests, is what we fail to see. "Who were these girls and what happened to them after the camera closed its eye and the photographer turned away?" she asks (7). Although we can see signs of colonial subject formation—exemplified by the name 'N1474'—no matter how closely we look, we cannot see the girls' fate, nor the fate of the researcher behind the camera, the one "who looked upon an image from which he excluded himself but in which he was implicated nevertheless" (7). Furthermore, "How [are we] to bring such a scene into writing?" Ravenscroft asks, implicating herself (as well as us, as readers of cultural studies and co-viewers of this photograph) in the categorical violence perpetrated by the invisible photographer (7).


This article is a reprint of Pouillon, Jean. 1982. "Remarks on the verb 'to believe.'" In Between belief and transgression: Structuralist essays in religion, history, and myth, edited by Michel Izard and Pierre Smith, translated by John Leavitt, 1–8. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.


This paper scrutinizes 12 development managers' (i.e. teachers and principals) and two researchers' practice of continuing professional development in a research circle. A research circle is based on an epistemology whit roots in a Nordic tradition of folkbildning (folk enlightment). This tradition is built on a notion of pedagogy wherein the participants' knowledge and experiences are valued and provide the point of departure for further knowledge production. The aim of the paper is to highlight tensions and issues in the practice of the research circle and to examine whether this practice develops a 'communicative space' where a sustainable democracy can increase, or not. We explore how the practice is constrained and enabled by using practice architectures as a theoretical frame. Foucault's notion of power as productive is adopted as an analytical tool, to scrutinize the relatings among the participants. The methodological approach is action research. The project is running over one year (10 sessions/3 hours once a month) and started in February 2014. Hence, we do not have results at this particular moment. All the sessions will be audio recorded, individual interviews and parts of the participants' and researchers' diaries from the sessions will be used as sources of data. Following questions are of interest and will be followed up in the paper presentation: What kind of critical aspects can be found in the practice of research circles? What are the benefits of such collaboration for the practitioners and the researchers?


It's time to rethink the way we think about China. In this thought-provoking book, noted China experts from Harvard Business School and the Wharton School assert that while China has experienced remarkable economic growth in recent decades (nearly 10 percent for more than thirty years), it now faces major challenges--tests that could shift the country's political and economic trajectory. A lack of accountability, transparency, and ease of operating in China--combined with growing evidence of high-level corruption--has made domestic and foreign businesspeople increasingly wary of the "China model." These issues have deep roots in Chinese history and the country's political system. Regina M. Abrami of the Wharton School and William C. Kirby and F. Warren McFarlan of Harvard Business School contend that the country's dynamic private sector could be a source of sustainable growth, but it is constrained by political favoritism toward state-owned corporations. Disruptive innovation, research, and development are limited by concerns about intellectual property protection. Most significant of all is the question of China's political future: does a system that has overseen dramatic transformations in recent years now have the capacity to transform itself? Based on a new and popular course taught by the authors at Harvard Business School, this book draws on more than thirty Harvard Business School case studies on Chinese and foreign companies doing business in the region, including Sealed Air, China Merchants Bank, China Mobile, Wanxiang Group, Microsoft, UFIDA, and others. Can China Lead? asserts that China is at an inflection point that cannot be ignored. An understanding of the forces that continue to shape its business landscape is crucial to establishing--and maintaining--a successful enterprise in China.


The oxygen isotopic composition of conodonts from the Pizzo Mondello section in the Sicani Basin (Sicily, Italy), on the northwestern Tethys margin, has been used to reconstruct regional paleoseawater conditions. The δ 18 O phos values (21‰–21.9‰) measured by sensitive high-resolution ion microprobe (SHRIMP II) are consistent with previously published δ 18 O phos data from the contemporaneous marginal Hallstatt-Meliata Basin (20.3‰–22.5‰) located farther north, but are distinctly higher than those previously reported from the open ocean setting of the nearby Lagonegro Basin (18.7‰–20.0‰). This ∼2‰ offset represents a temperature differential of ∼8 °C, suggesting that sea-surface temperatures along the northwestern margin (Sicani and Hallstatt-Meliata basins) of the Tethys Ocean were lower than in the open ocean (Lagonegro Basin) during the late Carnian (Tuvalian 2) to early Norian (Lacian). We interpret the cooler waters of the marginal basins to reflect coastal upwelling driven by strong monsoonal systems, as predicted by existing paleoclimate models for this region.


Coral bleaching events have occurred on the fringing reefs of Magnetic Island (Great Barrier Reef region), Australia. during the summers of 1979/80, 1981/82. 1986/87, 1991/92 and 1993/94. Continuous in situ water temperature recordings since 1991 suggest a close correlation between bleaching of corals and periods of average daily seawater temperatures approach~ng 32°C. Each of the bleaching events has occurred during periods of unusually high air temperatures, suggesting that 'heat waves' cause a warming of the inshore waters and are a contr~butory factor in the recurrent bleaching of corals at Magnetic Island There has been a significant increase in annual summer and wlnter air temperatures in the Magnetic Island area since the middle of the present century. Significant warming trends have also been observed in the nearby state of Queensland and in Eastern Australia over the same period. A I ~ temperatures similar to those present during the 5 bleaching events which occurred at Magnetic Island have not otherwise been experienced in this area since the 1930s.


The Prairie Pothole Region (PPR) of North America produces more than 50% of North America's upland-nesting ducks. With the recent increase in economic value of some cash-crops and the potential to lose productive nesting habitat enrolled in the Conservation Reserve Program (CRP), there has been interest in evaluating the efficacy of alternative farming practices to provide additional breeding habitat for waterfowl. We evaluated and compared daily survival rates (DSR) of duck nests (Anas spp.) in winter wheat with those in perennial cover. We also examined the number of hatched nests/ha in each habitat and compared them to estimates in spring wheat to put habitat-specific estimates of nest survival in perspective. We monitored 1,195 nests in winter wheat and 3,147 in perennial cover in North and South Dakota on 13–19, 10.36-km2 sites each year from 2010 to 2012. In 2010, we also monitored 75 nests in spring wheat. We used an information-theoretic approach to develop and evaluate a set of competing models based on plausible and previously established covariates affecting nest survival. Across all species, nest survival was at least as high in winter wheat as in perennial cover, and for northern pintails and mallards, estimated nest survival rates were greater in winter wheat. Nest survival also varied by year and study area, was positively related to nest age, and was negatively related to the number of wetland basins, the proportion of cropland in the landscape, and vegetation density. Density of hatched nests in perennial cover (0.14/ha) was on average twice as high as nests in winter wheat fields (0.07/ha), which was in turn 4 times higher than estimates for spring wheat fields (0.02/ha). Our results provide evidence that winter wheat could be a useful tool for wildlife managers seeking to add productive nesting habitat in landscapes under intensive crop production. © 2015 The Wildlife Society.


The objective of study was to investigate the efficiency of modified grease trap for domestic wastewater treatment. The study was focused on a media arrangement (5 cm diameter of Mon brick: 1 cm diameter of gravel: 3 cm diameter of Mon brick) with the different media ratios (1:1:1, 1:1:2, 2:1:1, 1:2:1, 2:2:1, 2:1:2 and 1:2:2) in a modified grease trap. Also, it was focused on the optimal factors; flow rate (2-5 L/min) and hydraulic retention time (HRT) (4-10 hrs) on treatment efficiency of grease trap. The result revealed that modified grease trap (1:1:2) for domestic wastewater treatment was generated in the highest efficiency. Suspended solid (SS), fat oil and grease (FOG) and biochemical oxygen demand (BOD) removals were up to 80%.  Moreover, it was found that the optimal flow rate and HRT for simple and modified grease (1:1:2) traps were at 2 L/min and 10 hrs. At the optimal condition; SS, BOD, and FOG removals were over 87, 70, and 87%, respectively. In a comparative study of treatment efficiency between simple and modified grease (1:1:2) traps, it showed that, under the same condition     (2 L/min, HRT varied at 4, 6, 8 and 10 hrs), a modified grease trap generated the higher efficiency of SS, FOG and BOD removal than that of a simple grease trap.


Report prepared for the Council of Europe (Directorate of Social and Economic Affairs, Population and Migration Division) and for European Commission (Directorate General V, Employment, Industrial Relations and Social Affairs, Unit E1, Analysis and Research on the Social Situation)
This paper reports on internal migration and regional population dynamics and to a lesser extend on international migration in Germany. It examines internal migration patterns and trends in two years, 1984, 1989 and 1993, and compares them. Germany has a particularly sophisticated population system with a large number of population categories behaving in a very different way. The indigenous population shows a pattern of urban deconcentration typical for affluent West-European countries, both in the forms of suburbanisation and counterurbanisation. All other groups of migrants, those coming from former East Germany, those of German origin coming from outside Germany (Aussiedler) and other international migrants, show a pattern of strong concentration in urban centres. As far as migrations from East to West Germany is concerned the pattern is changing, as the number of migrants declines rapidly. Also in East Germany itself there is a marked shift. The pattern of rapid concentration of population due mainly to rural to urban migration is moving, for the time being, to weak and fragmented deconcentration. This process will speed up with the economic development of Eastern Lander.
Medium density areas gain people, high and low density areas lose people. The relationship between net migration on the one hand and population density on the other was strongly negative for low density areas and for the less populated areas. The gainers were areas with a medium density of population.
The age of migrants has a profound impact on their behaviour. There are important variations in redistribution of population by life course stage. The dominant urban deconcentration was most characteristic of middle working and family ages and the pre-retirement and retirement ages. People in the young adult ages migrated in different directions, showing a unique shift to some dense neighbourhoods in big cities, those close to higher education institutions. Unemployment influences migration profoundly. People move between areas of differing unemployment in ways predicted by classical economic equilibrium theory, leaving areas of high unemployment and going to areas of lower unemployment.
German population dynamics depends on three factors: natural increase (persistently negative), internal migration and international migration. International migration is the only factor which maintains the size of population and even allows for a moderate growth. There is no direct threat that the population inhabiting German territory, will decline in the near future, but this may happen to the German population.


Edgard Varese, the pioneering composer of electronic music, formed the subject of a major exhibition in Basel in 2006; it displayed many previously unknown documents from the composer's estate, including manuscripts, letters, and other material. This volume contains detailed commentaries on all the items on display, as well as thirty-two essays by leading authors from Europe and America. Varese's life and music are discussed under the following headings: Influences - Points of Orientation; Conductor and Initiator in New York; Probing Uncharted Territory; Impact and Reception. Many previously unknown documents from the composer's estate, recently acquired by the Paul Sacher Foundation, form the basis of a nuanced picture of Varese's life, musical thought, and compositional output. The book is lavishly illustrated with facsimiles of manuscripts, letters, and other documents from the composer's collection, as well as reproductions of paintings, drawings and sculpture documenting Varese's close ties to the visual arts. Contributors: JONATHAN W. Bernard, Gianmario Borio, Diane Bouchard, Austin Clarkson, Hermann Danuser, Michel Duchesneau, Sabine Feisst, Kyle Gann, Fritz Gerber, Theo Hirsbrunner, Anne Jostkleigrewe, Matthias Kassel, Sylvia Kahan, Klaus Kropfinger, Ernst Lichtenhahn, Malcolm Macdonald, Guido Magnaguagno, Olivia Mattis, Ulrich Mosch, Helga De La Motte-Haber, Felix Meyer, Dieter Nanz, Robert Piencikowski, Wolfgang Rathert, David Schiff, Anne C. Shreffler, Heinz Stahlhut, Jurg Stenzl, Denise Von Glahn, Chou Wen-Chung, and Heidy Zimmermann. It is published in cooperation with the Paul Sacher Foundation.


This report provides an overview of the conservation status of chondrichthyans (sharks, rays, and chimaeras) in the Arabian Seas Region (ASR) and describes the results of a regional Red List workshop held in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, in February 2017. It identifies those species that are threatened with extinction at the regional level, so that appropriate conservation action can be taken to improve their status. A regional overview of chondrichthyan fisheries, management and conservation is also presented.


Abstract : The advancement in small unmanned aerial vehicle (SUAV) technology has brought a new revolution in the military domain. Their uses have become more synonymous with intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance missions. Concerns over their flight test safety and accountability have been addressed in multiple policies to mitigate mishaps and increase proper accountability. However, current DoD and FAA mandated regulations and policies concerning UAV flight tests are sometimes considered slow and time-consuming, which may lead to delays in UAV research and development. This study explores the quantitative and qualitative measure of benefits associated with an abbreviated flight test process for SUAVs. Specifically, it examines the current agreement between two major USAF research centers regarding the SUAV flight test approval process. This research utilized high-level multidisciplinary approaches and techniques including qualitative costbenefit analysis, interviews, value stream mapping (VSM) analysis, and heuristic risk analysis to evaluate the current-state process. The findings conclude that there is a slight economic cost and schedule savings in an abbreviated process. Additionally, this research finds no correlation between SUAV flight mishaps and system maturity. This research proposes using a streamlined process for additional safety reviews to eliminate non-value added process steps considered unnecessary due to the nature of the SUAV complexity. Furthermore, this study recommends using a decision rule matrix based on the total cost of the SUAV and its weight and energy at impact for choosing an abbreviated flight test safety review process.


Abstract In the Engineering Validation and Engineering Design Activities (EVEDA) on the International Fusion Materials Irradiation Facility (IFMIF), hydraulic stability of a liquid Li jet simulating the IFMIF Li target is planned to be validated in the EVEDA Li Test Loop (ELTL). This paper presents the engineering design of a contact-type liquid level sensor for use in ELTL. The sensor is going to be utilized to measure variation of jet thickness in the validation test on hydraulic stability of the Li jet, which is one of the major key tests to be performed in ELTL. A fundamental requirement for the engineering specification of the sensor is to ensure the position accuracy of the measurement probe against the pressure load of approximately 0.1 MPa between the inside and the outside of the test chamber. The calculation result on structural strength of the sensor with a Nastran code showed that the maximum displacement was 0.65 mm and that the sensor has adequate strength against the pressure load. The calculation result on the sensor temperature with an ABAQUS code showed that the probe tip's temperature can be heated up to approximately the operation temperature with no heaters installed on the sensor.


This collection of essays examines the interrelations between illness, disability, health, society, and culture. The contributors examine how "narratives" have emerged and been utilized within these areas to help those who have experienced d injury, disability, dementia, pain, grief, or psychological trauma to express their stories. Encompassing clinical case studies, ethnographic field studies and autobiographical case studies, Health, Illness and Culture offers a broad overview and critical analysis of the present state of "illness narratives" within the fields of health and social welfare.


To the Editor: Since 1996, avian influenza virus (H5N1) has spread to >65 countries (1). The disease represents a serious threat for the poultry industry and public health. Egypt has the highest human infection and fatality rates outside Asia (2). Some isolates of influenza virus (H5N1) in Egypt are resistant to oseltamivir (3), and in others, virulent mutations have developed, leading to case-fatality rates of 100% (4).

Pigs have the largest epidemiologic role in the evolution of new influenza viruses (5). Recombination between the newly emerged influenza virus subtypes H1N1 and H5N1 in pigs would have catastrophic results. We therefore investigated the seroprevalence of influenza virus (H5N1) in pigs in Egypt.

In May 2008, we collected 1 serum sample and 1 nasal swab from each of 240 pigs (11 herds) in Cairo slums. May was selected because it directly follows the season of bird migration and the seasonal storms usually accompanied by airborne diseases. Cairo slums were selected because 1) pigs there feed on organic remains, including dead birds, and thus have a higher chance of becoming infected; 2) Cairo is at the base of the Nile Delta, where most subtype H5N1 foci occurred; and 3) Cairo is near Fayum, the main stopover site for migrating birds.

To detect anti–avian influenza antibodies in the serum, we used hemagglutination inhibition (HI) assays with 2 inactivated antigens: subtype H5N2 from the Veterinary Laboratories Agency, UK; and a local subtype H5N1 prepared according to the protocol used in the central national laboratories. To detect viral RNA in the nasal swabs, we used real-time PCR, as was recommended for detection of influenza (H5N1) infection during outbreaks in Southeast Asia (6).

Although all nasal samples reacted negatively to influenza A/H5 by real-time PCR, only 4 serum samples showed positive results by HI when using subtype H5N2 antigen; titers were 32 for 3 samples and 64 for 1. Seven additional positive serum samples were detected when antigen prepared from local subtype H5N1 virus was used; titers ranged from 16 (6 samples) to 512 (1 sample). Also during this 2-week sampling period, titers of 32 for 3 samples and 128 for 1 were obtained. Seroprevalence rate of avian influenza for the 240 pigs was 1.67% and 4.6% when the nonlocal or local viral antigens, respectively, were used. Of the 11 positive pigs, 8 were from 1 herd and 3 were from 3 other herds.

Failure to detect viral RNA in the upper respiratory tract indicates the absence of acute infections in the investigated pigs. Inability of the virus to persist in the pigs was reported (7). Contrary to the HI results, results of routine examination of the 240 pigs found no abnormalities. Absence of clinical signs in infected pigs was reported (8) and was attributed to their low susceptibility to influenza (H5N1) (7). The results indicate that infection rate for pigs in Egypt is clearly higher than that for pigs in China and Vietnam (8,9). This increase may be attributed to different spatial and temporal factors leading to increased infection risk among sampled pigs, higher antigenicity of native isolates, or most probably to the disease situation in Egypt. The detection of 8 positive reactors from 1 herd indicates a subtype H5N1 focus there as was reported in Indonesia (8). The difference in the number of reactors when using different antigens indicates the difference in antigenicity. These data are supported by field observations regarding low protection level (≈35% in some reports) of imported vaccines (A. El-Sayed, unpub. data). The relatively low seroprevalence of avian influenza in pigs may be misleading because of the poor immunogenicity of some avian influenza lines and lack of sensitivity for detecting low titers of induced antibodies (10). It may be also explained by the use of a virus antigen other than that existing in the population, as was done in the present study.

Human risk for influenza (H5N1) infection in Egypt seems to be associated mainly with infected birds. It has not yet been associated with infected pigs.


This article presents 33 Greek inscriptions found at Aphrodisias between 1995 and 2001. They include an honorary decree, honorary inscriptions of other types, statue bases, dedications, building inscriptions, epitaphs, and a sundial. The most important new text is an honorary inscription on a statue base set up by the prominent philosopher Alexander of Aphrodisias for his father (4). An unusually early inscription is a posthumous honorary decree for a prominent local citizen (1), which records his achievements probably during the wars and diplomatic exchanges of the first century B.C. The other new texts provide information about cults (Thea Eleutheria: 8; Zeus Nineudios: 11; Hephaistos: 15), the date of the Civil Basilica (14; under Domitian?), gladiatorial competitions (21–22), the prosopography of the city, occupations (11: a bronze-smith; 28: an agent of Fulvia Cervidia Vestina, member of a senatorial family, who probably owned land near Aphrodisias), and the relations between Aphrodisias and the Roman provincial administration (23 and 26).


BACKGROUND
Diabetes mellitus (DM), together with its devastating complications, has a huge impact on both the patients it affects and the global economy as a whole. The economies of developing countries are already under threat from communicable diseases. More needs to be done to stem the tide of non-communicable diseases like DM. In order for us to develop new strategies to tackle this dread disease we need to obtain and analyse as many data as possible from the geographical area where we work.

OBJECTIVE
To describe the burden of DM in the public sector of the province of KwaZulu-Natal (KZN), South Africa (SA).

METHOD
Data on the number of diabetes visits, DM patients that were initiated on treatment, defaulters and DM-related amputations were accessed from the Department of Health records for the period 2010 - 2014 inclusive.

RESULTS
There was a decline in the number of patients initiated on treatment per 100 000 population from 2010 to 2014 inclusive (265.9 v. 197.5 v. 200.7 v. 133.4 v. 148.7). Defaulter rates for 2013 compared with 2014 were 3.31% v. 1.75%, respectively and amputation rates were 0.09% v. 0.05% for 2013 and 2014, respectively. There was a strong proportional relationship observed between the number of defaulters and number of diabetes-related amputations (r=0.801; p=0.000) (Pearson correlation). A notable percentage of DM patients ranging between 63% and 80% were commenced on pharmacological therapy at their local clinics rather than at hospitals in the province.

CONCLUSION
Strategies directed towards detection and treatment of DM, together with decreasing defaulter rates and thereby decreasing diabetes-related amputations, need to be addressed urgently. The majority of patients were initiated on therapy at the clinic level. This emphasises the need to strengthen our clinics in terms of resources, staffing, and nursing and clinician education, as this is where diabetes control begins. Although this study was based solely in KZN, the second most populous province in SA, it probably reflects the current situation regarding DM in other provinces of SA as well.


Forests have been declared important for the well-being of the poor because of the kinds of goods and services that they provide. We asked whether forests are important for the poor not only because of the kinds of goods and services they provide, but also because they tend to be located where the poor are. We conducted a spatial analysis to ascertain the degree of spatial association between poverty and forests in seven countries: Brazil, Honduras, Malawi, Mozambique, Uganda, Indonesia, and Vietnam. For most of these countries, there was a significant positive correlation between high natural forest cover and high poverty rate (the percentage of the population that is poor) and between high forest cover and low poverty density (the number of poor per unit area). We explain the findings and discuss policy implications and topics for future research.


The urge for firms to contribute positively towards the society and the environment is increasing significantly. Demands of employees, customers, governments, NGOs and many more are putting firms under pressure to respond accordingly. Thus, it is vital for firms nowadays to formulate effective corporate social responsibility (CSR) strategies which provide guidelines for the firm's commitment towards the challenges of the society and environment. Plenty of research exists on the components of CSR strategy formulation, particularly regarding stakeholders, organizational vision and the CEO's influence. However, it is important to consider the whole process of the strategy formulation and to link the components together. By means of a qualitative analytical approach, I show that the internal input provided by the CEO and the CSR team plays an important role in deciding on certain CSR initiatives. Furthermore, the strategic fit between the potential CSR issues and the core business is a significant criterion. Through assessing the potential value creation, and thus the expected impact scope, prioritizations of CSR issues take place. The continuous monitoring and evaluation of the stakeholders' needs form an iterative process which leads to a constantly changing CSR strategy focus of the firm. My aim in this paper is to contribute to the understanding of CSR strategy formulation through a CSR strategy formulation process model. The model provides insights into firms' CSR strategy formulation from which I derive implications for management and further research.
Keywords: Corporate Social Responsibility, Strategy Formulation, Sustainability


Political crises, which have a known impact on the choice of tourism destination, can also negatively affect the choice of second-home destination and purchase. The purpose of this study is to investigate why some Swedish-Iranian second-home buyers prefer Spain to Turkey for political
 reasons. More than 30 short dialogues were conducted with Swedish-Iranian buyers at the exhibition "Buying Properties Abroad" in Kista, September 2015, following the start of a series of political crises in Turkey. A simple question was asked: Why are you choosing Spain rather than Turkey?
 The most important category of reasons were political factors, followed by cultural reasons. Political anxiety, instability, and insecurity in Turkey, the risk of civil war, a police society, lack of democratic order, the fact that Turkey is not a member of the European Union, the government's
 negative attitudes towards Kurds, and the emergence of Islamic State were the political reasons most mentioned. One conclusion that can be drawn is that political crises affect second-home tourism/tourists in the same way that they do ordinary tourism/tourists. The research has some important
 implications for Turkish policymakers, tourism stakeholders at a macrolevel, their competitors, especially in Spain, and potential buyers. Based on this research, some suggestions for future studies are also given.


Most existing typology studies of intergenerational relations have used samples in North America and Europe. The present study expands on previous research by determining whether similar family relation typologies could be found using a sample of Chinese rural elders. The data were derived from a survey of 1,224 older adults in China's rural Anhui province in 2009. Latent class analysis revealed 5 types of intergenerational relations in rural Chinese families: (a) tight-knit, (b) nearby but discordant, (c) distant discordant, (d) distant reciprocal, and (e) distant ascending. The authors argue that the distant ascending ties reflect the strong filial obligations that Chinese adult children have toward their parents and that the distant reciprocal ties reflect collaborative and mutually beneficial parent – child relations in rural China in the context of massive rural-to-urban migration. The findings of this study demonstrate


Abstract. Earthquakes and tsunamis are the natural events that generate subsequent geomorphological land cover changes. The damage is usually of such importance and of such a diverse nature that it is imperative to have tools that allow quick and precise monitoring. Thus, know which classification methods have the best potential to obtain greater precision will improve natural disaster management. We analyze Tubul locality (37.21º S; 73.43º O) in Biobío region, Chile, in which greatest geomorphological changes were documented after the earthquake and tsunami occurred 27/February/2010. These changes can be analyzed using different machine learning methods. We investigate the Support Vector Machine (SVM) and Random Forest (RF), versus the Maximum Likelihood (ML) classification method of Landsat TM and ASTER satellite images. The comparison of the performance of the classifiers and certifying accuracy improvement shows that machine learning algorithms are superior to traditional classification methods in terms of overall accuracy and robustness. The general classification accuracy was approximately 97 %. We also visualize the land cover transformations, showing that 26 % of the region was altered. The results of performance testing of machine learning methodologies was consistent with other studies and presents a valid application in the visualization of land cover changes in areas of natural disasters.


Using the case study of the border between Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland, the following issues related to borders and tourism: attractivity and co-operation are addressed. Visitor data from 1994 to 1997, reveals that the border itself does not function as a tourist attraction, but rather there is sufficient attraction within what is identified in the paper as a border zone. Attention is given to examining heritage attractions (those receiving over 5000 per year, and those that are free) as the position taken in the paper is that heritage tourism best encapsulates the experience available to the visitor. Results show there to be no difference between attendance at attractions within the border zone and those outside it. The border is not key to influencing movement, but rather represents a barrier where tourism flows have been strongly influenced by the history of conflict that has characterized Northern Ireland over the last 30 years. Discussion is also presented on co-operation, particularly how the signing of the Good Friday peace Agreement (April 10, 1998) may create opportunities to develop formalized links with the Republic of Ireland, those specifically directed at tourism, helping to foster greater cross-border movement of visitors.


The primary aims of this study were to investigate the effects of an imagery intervention on the intensity and frequency of flow states and golf performance. A secondary purpose was to examine participants' experiences of the delivery of the intervention. Adopting a single subject ABA research design, individualized imagery interventions were delivered over a 12-week period to four high-performance amateur golfers (one female, three male, aged 20-23 years). Golf performance was assessed via a participant-selected golf skill. Flow experiences were measured by the Flow State Scale-2, and the Dispositional Flow Scale-2 (Jackson & Eklund, 2002). Results suggested that three of the four participants increased mean global flow intensity, and all four golfers increased mean global flow frequency and performance during the intervention and post intervention period in comparison to baseline. The participants also perceived that their imagery ability had improved because of the intervention.


PROBLEM/CONDITION
In the United States, influenza epidemics occur nearly every winter and are responsible for substantial morbidity and mortality, including an average of approximately 114,000 hospitalizations and 20,000 deaths/year.

REPORTING PERIOD
This report summarizes both actively and passively collected U.S. influenza surveillance data from October 1997 through September 2000.

DESCRIPTION OF SYSTEM
During each October-May in the period covered, CDC received weekly reports from 1) approximately 120 World Health Organization (WHO) and National Respiratory and Enteric Virus Surveillance System (NREVSS) collaborating laboratories in the United States regarding influenza virus isolations; 2) approximately 230, 375, and 430 sentinel physicians during 1997-98, 1998-99, and 1999-00, respectively, regarding their total number of patient visits and the number of visits for influenza-like illness (ILI); and 3) state and territorial epidemiologists regarding estimates of local influenza activity. WHO collaborating laboratories also submitted influenza isolates to CDC for antigenic analysis. Throughout the year, the vital statistics offices in 122 cities reported weekly on deaths related to pneumonia and influenza (P&I).

RESULTS
During the 1997-98 influenza season, influenza A(H3N2) was the most frequently isolated influenza virus type/subtype. Influenza A(H1N1) and B viruses were reported infrequently. The proportion of respiratory specimens testing positive for influenza peaked at 28% in late January. The longest period of sustained excess mortality (when the percentage of deaths attributed to P&I exceeded the epidemic threshold) was 10 consecutive weeks. P&I mortality peaked at 9.8% in January. Visits for ILI to sentinel physicians exceeded baseline levels for 7 weeks and peaked at 5% in mid-January through early February. A total of 45 state epidemiologists reported regional or widespread activity at the peak of the season. During the 1998-99 season, influenza A(H3N2) viruses predominated; however, influenza B viruses were also identified throughout the United States. Influenza A(H1N1) viruses were identified rarely. The proportion of respiratory specimens testing positive for influenza peaked at 28% in early February. P&I mortality exceeded the epidemic threshold for 12 consecutive weeks and peaked at 9.7% in early March. Visits for ILI to sentinel physicians exceeded baseline levels for 7 weeks and peaked at 5% in early through mid-February. Forty-three state epidemiologists reported regional or widespread activity at the peak of the season. During the 1999-00 season, influenza A(H3N2) viruses predominated, but influenza A(H1N1) and B viruses also were identified. The proportion of respiratory specimens testing positive for influenza peaked at 31% in mid- to late December. The proportion of deaths attributed to P&I exceeded the epidemic threshold for 13 consecutive weeks and peaked at 11.2% in mid-January. Visits to sentinel physicians for ILI exceeded baseline levels 4 consecutive weeks and peaked at 6% in late December. Forty-four state epidemiologists reported regional or widespread activity at the peak of the season.

INTERPRETATION
Influenza A(H1N1), A(H3N2), and B viruses circulated during 1997-2000, but influenza A(H3N2) was the most frequently reported virus type/subtype during all three seasons. Influenza A(H3N2) is the virus type/subtype most frequently associated with excess P&I mortality. Influenza activity during all three seasons occurred at moderate to severe levels, and excess P&I mortality was reported during > or = 10 weeks each year.

PUBLIC HEALTH ACTIONS
CDC conducts active national surveillance during each October-May to detect the emergence and spread of influenza virus variants and to monitor influenza-related morbidity and mortality. Surveillance data are provided weekly throughout the influenza season to public health officials, WHO, and health-care providers and are used to guide vaccine strain selection, prevention and control activities, and patient care. Influenza vaccination is the most effective means for reducing the yearly effect of influenza. Typically, one or two of the influenza vaccine component viruses are updated each year so that vaccine strains will closely match circulating viruses. Surveillance data will continue to be used to select vaccine strains and to monitor the match between vaccine strains and the currently circulating viruses.


Are nonprofit organizations 'different' from firms with owners? The accepted economic account holds that nonprofits are more trustworthy than business firms because nonprofits cannot distribute profits to owners. However, all firms, nonprofit or proprietary, have converged into similar patterns of behavior. Firms, whether nonprofit or proprietary (or even public), are subject to many of the same economic forces, such as resource dependency, institutional isomorphism, and organizational slack. Even in the absence of shareholders somebody still has to run the enterprise: to decide what objectives to pursue, and how; to manage its financial and human resources; and to span the boundaries of the organization in interacting with the key constituencies, other organizations, and the public. While nonprofits have shareholders privileged with rights of accountability, in most of the business sector shareholders have long lost effective control to firm management. In short, management in both sectors has decisional authority, whether de facto, as in the proprietary sector, or de jure, as in the nonprofit sector. Moreover, the 'nondistribution constraint' cannot guarantee that the nonprofit operates better or worse than a proprietary enterprise in overcoming information asymmetries. The absence of shareholders demanding profits enables the organization to relax into productive inefficiencies, or to cross-subsidize activities the patron would not want to pay for (could she only observe them). Such inefficiencies or cross-subsidization might 'cost' more than the profits the enterprise might otherwise distribute to shareholders if it operated in a proprietary form. Separately, in an industry with more than one nonprofit, the nondistribution constraint cannot help patrons choose between competing nonprofits. It might be difficult to find enough differences on other grounds to justify continued subsidies based on organizational form. Subsidies might need to be targeted to desired services, provided either in the nonprofit or for-profit sector.


Results of computer simulations of the water motion in ship anti-roll tanks are compared with experimental data. The numerical computations are done with a Volume of Fluid (VOF) based Navier-Stokes solver. Both free-surface anti-roll tanks and U-tube anti-roll tanks are considered. Calculated and measured results for the local wave heights, the sway force and roll moment are presented for both regular and irregular tank motions. A simple but effective simulation model for the active control of U-tube anti-roll tanks is introduced. Finally, the fully nonlinear time-domain coupling of the ship motion and the tank water motion is established.


Computer programs often behave differently under different compilers or in different computing environments. Relative debugging is a collection of techniques by which these differences are analysed. Differences may arise because of different interpretations of errors in the code, because of bugs in the compilers or because of numerical drift, and all of these were observed in the present study. Numerical drift arises when small and acceptable differences in values computed by different systems are integrated, so that the results drift apart. This is well understood and need not degrade the validity of the program results. Coding errors and compiler bugs may degrade the results and should be removed. This paper describes a technique for the comparison of two program runs which removes numerical drift and therefore exposes coding and compiler errors. The procedure is highly automated and requires very little intervention by the user. The technique is applied to the Weather Research and Forecasting model, the most widely used weather and climate modelling code.


Draper, a receptor responsible for the phagocytosis of apoptotic cells in Drosophila, possesses atypical epidermal growth factor (EGF)-like sequences in the extracellular region and the two phosphorylatable motifs NPxY and YxxL in the intracellular portion. We previously suggested that Pretaporter, a ligand for Draper, binds to the EGF-like repeat and augments the tyrosine phosphorylation of Draper. In this study, we first tested the binding of Pretaporter to various parts of the extracellular region of Draper and found that a single EGF-like sequence is sufficient for the binding. We next determined roles of the two intracellular motifs by forcedly expressing Draper proteins, in which tyrosine residues within the motifs had been substituted with phenylalanine, in hemocytes of Draper-lacking flies. We found that Draper proteins with Y-to-F substitution in either motif still underwent tyrosine phosphorylation, suggesting the occurrence of phosphorylation at both motifs. The Draper protein with substitution in the YxxL motif rescued a defect of phagocytosis, as did intact Draper, but the Draper protein with substitution in the NPxY motif did not, indicating a role of the motif NPxY, but not YxxL, in Draper-mediated phagocytosis. This coincides with our previous finding that Ced-6, an NPxY-binding signaling adaptor, is required for Draper's actions in apoptotic cell clearance. In summary, we demonstrated that Draper binds to its ligand Pretaporter using EGF-like sequences, and that the NPxY motif in the intracellular region of Draper plays an essential role in its actions as an engulfment receptor.


This article reviews the clinical experience with tigecycline
in the treatment of infections caused by microorganisms
with prevalent resistance mechanisms among
nosocomial microbiota, as methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus
aureus, vancomycin-resistant enterococci, multidrug-
resistant Acinetobacter baumannii and enterobacteria
producing extended spectrum s-lactamases. Most
of articles found in the literature describe the use of tigecycline
in the treatment of severe infections (sepsis
and septic shock, nosocomial pneumonia and ventilador-
associated pneumonia...) produced by multidrug-resistant
microorganisms, in patients with multiple comorbidities
(admitted in ICU, with malignancies, transplants
and/or immunodepressed...) and in many occasions after
failures of previous antibiotic treatments. Favourable
outcomes with tigecycline are reported in most articles.
However, an accurate global assessment is difficult since,
in addition to the described confounding factors, there
are concomitant or sequential antibiotic treatments in
several communications, and lack of relevant clinical (as
comorbidities), microbiological (as susceptibility) and
outcome (different criteria by different authors) data in
others. More even, the described series are retrospective
and lack of control groups. Nevertheless the usefulness
of this revision is based on the fact that in daily clinical
practice the use of tigecycline will increase, since epidemiology
of specific hospital medical units shows multidrug
resistance among nosocomial isolates and tigecycline can be one of the scarce available compounds active
against multidrug-resistant strains/clones.


For most Anglophone countries, the history of grammar teaching over the past 50 years is one of contestation, debate and dissent: and 50 years on we are no closer to reaching a consensus about the role of grammar in the English/Language Arts curriculum. The debate has been described through the metaphor of battle and grammar wars (Kamler, 1995; Locke, 2005), frequently pitting educational professionals against politicians, but also pitting one professional against another. At the heart of the debate are differing perspectives on the value of grammar for the language learner and opposing views of what educational benefits learning grammar may or may not accrue. At the present time, several jurisdictions, including England and Australia, are creating new mandates for grammar in the curriculum. This article reviews the literature on the teaching of grammar and its role in the curriculum and indicates an emerging consensus on a fully-theorized conceptualization of grammar in the curriculum.


Olivia, an American-born model, married Count Ugo Brunamonti, a feckless, soon impoverished aristocrat. After his death, she supported her children by starting a fashion house which has prospered. When she is kidnapped, the crime is reported to Marshal Guarnaccia by her daughter, who may have been the intended victim. Kidnapping is almost a second business for the Sardinians nominally engaged in raising sheep in the Tuscan hills. They inhabit a vast wilderness where a victim can be hidden away forever, and where those searching for her will be quickly spotted. The government's official policy is not to permit the payment of ransom. But if the money isn't paid, the kidnappers cannot let their victim go free. It would set a bad example. In this case, Guarnaccia suspects another problem. Can it be that Olivia's children are unwilling to pay the ransom? Is this more than a random crime?


Abstract The benthic macroinvertebrate fauna of southern Saskatchewan, Canada, has received little attention relative to other regions of western North America. Therefore, little is known of the related aquatic ecosystem health and biogeography of regional aquatic insects. Here we present the results of an aquatic macroinvertebrate survey for the Pipestone Creek watershed in southeastern Saskatchewan. We qualitatively sampled aquatic macroinvertebrates in 5 sites on 4 dates through spring, summer, and fall 2006. Sampling produced 294 taxa of macroinvertebrates including 25 provincial range extensions to the southeast corner of the province. Presence/absence data of taxa grouped the sites into lentic and lotic sites. However, the relative proportions of the taxa varied greatly among sites, with no 2 sites having a community similarity greater than 50%. Functional feeding group analyses separated the sites into collector-dominated and scraper/grazer-dominated sites. However, the taxonomic make-up of the feeding groups varied among sites and also among dates. A modified Hilsenhoff Biotic Index of the site communities indicated that all were influenced by organic pollution. Results of this study suggest that although the watershed is enormously diverse, its biological communities are likely influenced by organic pollution. Further, range expansions of species found here, such as the stonefly Perlesta placida, have implications for invasion pathways and post-glaciation species islands in a prairie landscape.


In a standard narrative of Herman Melville's career, the author's initial tendency toward cultural nationalism-most famously displayed in his 1850 essay "Hawthorne and His Mosses"-gave way during the early 1850s to political misgivings and increasingly dark novels. The Democratic Party and the "Young America" movement seemed to take a sinister turn with the 1850 Fugitive Slave Law, and Melville grew disillusioned with Young America's literary side following the poor reception of Moby-Dick (1851). Melville's fourth novel, Redburn (1849), though regarded as one of his secondary works, merits greater attention as a counternationalist meditation on the origins of U.S. culture. Because it was written before the political events of the early 1850s and Melville's falling-out with the New York literary establishment, Redburn focuses our attention on a different context for the deepening and darkening of Melville's work: the apparent realization of U.S. "Manifest Destiny" in 1848, with a massive territorial conquest from Mexico. Hager explores the political implications of Redburn's spatial tropes, paying special attention to the architectural history of the New York customhouse and the way Melville expanded the novel itself. As this essay argues, Redburn suggests that excesses of space-architectural, textual, and territorial-obscure the origins and founding principles of the nation.


Marxism and the philosophy of science: a critical history was first published in 1985 by Humanities Press International. This is the introduction to the 2nd edition published in 1993.

The book attempts to give a historical account of the development of marxism as a philosophy of science as well as a philosophical account of the issues involved. It encompasses the 1st 100 years of the existence of marxism, beginning with the mid-1840s when the philosophical ideas of Marx and Engels began to emerge in mature form, and ending with the mid-1940s with the dissolution of the Comintern and the end of WW2. It deals with both the mainstream of the marxist tradition in the development of dialectical materialism as a philosophy of science and with diverging currents advocating alternative philosophical positions. It shows the marxist tradition to be far more complex and differentiated than is usually imagined, characterised by sharp and lively controversies for contending paths of development at every step of the way. Essentially this work is about the shifting nexus of science, philosophy and politics within marxism. It examines the multiplicity of factors coming into play, including the impact of new scientific discoveries, new philosophical trends and new political formations upon the overall process. Among the most important philosophical issues arising are: the formation of world view vis-a-vis the process of scientific discovery; the relationship between dialectical materialism and communism; the notion of proletarian science; the concept of the dialectics of nature. As the work is unique, insofar as there is no other history of marxist philosophy of science covering the whole period in question, it abounds in original research and original conclusions. Where there is a body of secondary literature in existence, with respect to specific authors or specific periods, it surveys this literature and takes a specific interpretive position. On a number of matters of ongoing controversy, such as the Marx-Engels relationship and the relationship of the Oparin-Haldane hypothesis on the origin of life to marxist philosophy, a definite position is argued. The overall conclusion reached by the book is that this is a rich and significant history, rooted in the impulse to work out a philosophical world view grounded in the most advanced science of its day and integrally connected to the struggle to revolutionise its social matrix and to create a socialist social order. An audacious enterprise, it generated not only impressive achievements, but also tragic disasters. It is a history with a dark side as well as a bright one. An effort is made to see both in proper perspective.