Summary Cladribine acts as an antineoplastic, immunosuppressive and anti-inflammatory agent. The aim of this study was to examine the possible impact of this drug on the epidermis of Wistar rats. The control group received standard feed and water. The experimental group I was treated with cladribine in a schema corresponding to the treatment of multiple sclerosis in humans. The material for microscopic and immunohistochemical evaluation was obtained 24 h after administration of the last dose of the drug. The drug in experimental group II was administered in the same way as experimental group I, but test material was downloaded following a 4 week break after the administration of the last dose of the drug. After the completion of the experiment, skin samples were taken from all rats for histomorphological and immunohistochemical studies. An analysis of experimental group I H&E samples showed visible changes in epidermis patterns, and the.tissue layer was found to be much thinner compared to the analogous structures in the control group. The difference in p53 expressions between the control and both experimental groups was found to be statistically significant (P<0.0001). Cladribine administration induces changes in the images of the epidermis of experimental animals. Based on morphological analysis and p53 protein expression, it can be concluded that the 4-week break in drug administration contributed to the regeneration of the rats' skin epithelial tissue.


Three types of restorative justice standards are articulated: limiting, maximizing, and enabling standards. They are developed as multidimensional criteria for evaluating restorative justice programmes. A way of summarizing the long list of standards is that they define ways of securing the republican freedom (dominion) of citizens through repair, transformation, empowerment with others and limiting the exercise of power over others. A defence of the list is also articulated in terms of values that can be found in consensus UN Human Rights agreements and from what we know empirically about what citizens seek from restorative justice. Ultimately, such top-down lists motivated by UN instruments or the ruminations of intellectuals are only important for supplying a provisional, revisable agenda for bottom-up deliberation on restorative justice standards appropriate to distinctively local anxieties about injustice. A method is outlined for moving bottom-up from standards citizens settle for evaluating their local programme to aggregating these into national and international standards.


The Transport Layer Security (TLS) protocol (RFC 2246) includes features to negotiate selection of a lossless data compression method as part of the TLS Handshake Protocol and to then apply the algorithm associated with the selected method as part of the TLS Record Protocol. TLS defines one standard compression method which specifies that data exchanged via the record protocol will not be compressed. This document describes an additional compression method associated with a lossless data compression algorithm for use with TLS, and it describes a method for the specification of additional TLS compression methods.


Phytophthora ramorum Werres, de Cock & Man in't Veld, causal agent of sudden oak death (SOD) and ramorum leaf blight, is comprised of four clonal lineages in its invasive ranges of North America and Europe (Grünwald et al. 2012, Van Poucke et al. 2012). Of these, three - the NA1, NA2, and EU1 lineages - are found in U.S. nurseries, but only two, the NA1 and EU1 lineages, have been found infecting trees in North American forests (Grünwald et al. 2012, 2016). In the spring of 2021, tanoak (Notholithocarpus densiflorus Manos, Cannon & Oh) displaying symptoms consistent with SOD were detected north of Port Orford (Curry County, Oregon). Symptoms were canopy dieback and blackened petiole and stem lesions on tanoak sprouts. The pathogen isolated on PAR (CMA plus 200 ml/L ampicillin, 10 mg/L rifamycin, 66.7 mg/L PCNB) selective media was determined to be P. ramorum based on characteristic morphology of hyphae, sporangia, and chlamydospores (Werres et al. 2001). Positive identification as P. ramorum was obtained with a lineage-specific LAMP assay targeting an NA2 orphan gene, indicating the presence of the NA2 lineage. NA2 was confirmed by sequencing a portion of the cellulose binding elicitor lectin (CBEL) gene using CBEL5U and CBEL6L primers (Gagnon et al. 2014). Sequences (GenBank accessions MZ733981 and MZ733982) were aligned against reference sequences for all lineages (Gagnon et al. 2014) confirming the presence of NA2. Lineage determination as NA2 was further confirmed at eleven SSR loci (ILVOPrMS145, PrMS39, PrMS9C3, ILVOPrMS79, KI18, KI64, PrMS45, PrMS6, ILVOPrMS131, KI82ab, and PrMS43) using the methods of Kamvar et al. (2015). We completed Koch's postulates using potted tanoaks, wound-inoculated at the midpoint of 1-year old stems with either hyphal plugs or non-colonized agar (n=4 per treatment). Tanoaks were maintained in a growth chamber (20°C-day / 18°C-night temperatures) with regular watering and an 18-photoperiod using F32T8 fluorescent bulbs (Phillips, Eindhoven, The Netherlands). After 7 days, brown to black lesions 1.2 to 2.9 cm in length were observed on the inoculated stems, from which P. ramorum was subsequently re-isolated; no symptoms were observed on the controls, and no pathogens were recovered when plating the wound sites in PAR. This is the first detection of the NA2 lineage causing disease in forests worldwide. The outbreak was found on private and public lands in forests typical to the SOD outbreak in Oregon (mixed conifer and tanoak), and was 33 km north of the closest known P. ramorum infestation. Follow-up ground surveys on adjacent lands have identified over 100 P. ramorum-positive tanoak trees, from which additional NA2 isolates have been recovered from bole cankers. NA2 is thought to be more aggressive than the NA1 lineage (Elliott et al. 2011), which has been present in Curry County since the mid-1990s (Goheen et al. 2017). Eradication of the NA2 lineage is being pursued to slow its further spread and prevent overlap with existing NA1 and EU1 populations. The repeated introductions of novel lineages into the western United States native plant communities highlights the vulnerability of this region to Phytophthora establishment, justifying continued monitoring for P. ramorum in nurseries and forests. References • Elliott, M, et al. 2011. For. Path. 41:7. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1439-0329.2009.00627.x • Gagnon, M.-C., et al. 2014. Can. J. Plant Pathol. 36:367. https://doi.org/10.1080/07060661.2014.924999 • Goheen, E.M., et al. 2017. For. Phytophthoras 7:45. https://doi: 10.5399/osu/fp.7.1.4030 • Grünwald, N. J., et al. 2012. Trends Microbiol. 20:131. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tim.2011.12.006 • Grünwald, N. J., et al. 2016. Plant Dis. 100:1024. https://doi.org/10.1094/PDIS-10-15-1169-PDN • Kamvar, Z.N. et al. 2015. Phytopath. 105:982. https://doi.org/10.1094/PHYTO-12-14-0350-FI • Van Poucke, K., et al. 2012. Fungal Biol. 116:1178. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.funbio.2012.09.003 • Werres, S., et al. 2001. Mycol. Res. 105: 1155. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0953-7562(08)61986-3.


Extracted from text ... ANC African National Congress
Assault GBH Assault with intent to do grievous bodily harm
CBD Central Business District
COP Community policing
NCCS National Crime Combating Strategy
NNP New National Party
POP Problem-oriented policing
RDP Reconstruction and Development Plan
SAPS South African Police Service
SCF Sector Crime Forum
LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS
In December 2003 SAPS National Commissioner Jackie Selebi issued a Draft
National Instruction on sector policing. This monograph examines how sector
policing has been interpreted and implemented on the West Rand. Sectors in
the three station precincts are studied - Randfontein, Roodepoort and Kagiso.
Sector policing - international and domestic ..


Countershading is a common technique for local image contrast manipulations, and is widely used both in automatic settings, such as image sharpening and tonemapping, as well as under artistic control, such as in paintings and interactive image processing software. Unfortunately, countershading is a double‐edged sword: while correctly chosen parameters for a given viewing condition can significantly improve the image sharpness or trick the human visual system into perceiving a higher contrast than physically present in an image, wrong parameters, or different viewing conditions can result in objectionable halo artifacts. In this paper we investigate the perception of countershading in the context of a novel mask‐based contrast enhancement algorithm and analyze the circumstances under which the resulting profiles turn from image enhancement to artifact for a range of parameters and viewing conditions. Our experimental results can be modeled as a function of the width of the countershading profile. We employ this empirical function in a range of applications such as image resizing, view dependent tone mapping, and countershading analysis in photographs and works of fine art.


The paper presents the European ACTS project "M2VTS" which stands for Multi Modal Verification for Teleservices and Security Applications. The primary goal of this project is to address the issue of secured access to local and centralised services in a multimedia environment. The main objective is to extend the scope of application of network based services by adding novel and intelligent functionalities, enabled by automatic verification systems combining multimodal strategies (secured access based on speech, image or other information). The objectives of the project are also to show that limitations of individual technologies (speaker verification, frontal face authentication, profile identification...) can be overcome by relying on multi modal decisions (combination or fusion of these technologies).


. Ontological metamodeling has a variety of applications yet only very restricted forms are supported by OWL 2 directly. We propose a novel encoding scheme enabling class-based metamodeling inside the domain ontology with full reasoning support through standard OWL 2 reasoning systems. We demonstrate the usefulness of our method by applying it to the OntoClean methodology. En passant, we address performance problems arising from the inconsistency diagnosis strategy originally proposed for OntoClean by introducing an alternative technique where sources of conflicts are indicated by means of marker predicates.


ABSTRACT In vitro experimental environments are used to study interactions between microorganisms, and to predict dynamics in natural ecosystems. This study highlights that experimental in vitro environments should be selected to match closely the natural environment of interest during in vitro studies to strengthen extrapolations about aflatoxin production by Aspergillus and competing organisms. Fungal competition and aflatoxin accumulation were studied in soil, cotton wool or tube (water-only) environments, for Aspergillus flavus competition with Penicillium purpurogenum, Fusarium oxysporum or Sarocladium zeae within maize grains. Inoculated grains were incubated in each environment at two temperature regimes (25 and 30°C). Competition experiments showed interaction between the main effects of aflatoxin accumulation and the environment at 25°C, but not so at 30°C. However, competition experiments showed fungal populations were always interacting with their environments. Fungal survival differed after the 72-h incubation in different experimental environments. Whereas all fungi incubated within the soil environment survived, in the cotton wool environment none of the competitors of A. flavus survived at 30°C. With aflatoxin accumulation, F. oxysporum was the only fungus able to interdict aflatoxin production at both temperatures. This occurred only in the soil environment and fumonisins accumulated instead. Smallholder farmers in developing countries face serious mycotoxin contamination of their grains, and soil is a natural reservoir for the associated fungal propagules, and a drying and storage surface for grains on these farms. Studying fungal dynamics in the soil environment and other environments in vitro can provide insights into aflatoxin accumulation post-harvest. Graphical Abstract


The Pants Lake Intrusion (PLI), located in northern Labrador, represents an early phase of the 1.34 to 1.29 billion-year Nain Plutonic Suite that is located amongst the 1.45 to 1.46 billion-year old Harp Lake Intrusive Suite, the 1.85 billion-year Nain-Churchill Province suture zone, and the 2.78 to 1.74 billion-year Churchill Province which actually hosts the intrusion. The early evolution of the Pants Lake Intrusion is similar to that described for the Voisey's Bay Intrusion. -- The PLI is composed of two separate intrusions termed the North and South Pants Lake Intrusion. A U/Pb zircon and baddeleyite igneous crystallization age of 1322.2 ± 2 million years was derived from the north intrusion, whereas a U/Pb baddeleyite igneous crystallization age of 1337 +4/-2 million years was derived from the south intrusion. Apart from geographical proximity, and common origin and host, the north and south intrusions do not share many characteristics; in fact, the north intrusion intrudes the south intrusion. -- The South Pants Lake Intrusion, located in the southern part of the study area, is a weakly layered mafic body that intrudes the Harp Lake Intrusive Suite. The south intrusion is characterized by olivine cumulate-textured peridotite and troctolite compositions, high MgO abundances (up to 21 wt %), elevated light rare earth elements, positive Eu anomalies (Eu/Eu* = 1.19), and Ce/Yb ratios that resembles the range reported for the troctolites of the Voisey's Bay Intrusion (Ce/Yb = 26-31). -- Disseminated, blotchy, net, and les abundant massive textured sulphides are widespread in the south intrusion and are dominated by pyrrhotite with lesser chalcopyrite and pentlandite. Nickel tenors of the sulphide minerals are slightly elevated compared to those in the north intrusion due to the greater percentage of nickel available to partition into the localized sulphide liquid (as indicated by the elevated modal olivine). Sulphur isotopic ratios of sulphide mineral separates from the south intrusion range from -5.25 to -1.99 ‰, indicating the influence of the local sedimentary sulphide source. Partially digested gneissic inclusions are widespread and closely resemble inclusions present in the north intrusion, as well as inclusions described from the Voisey's Bay Intrusion. -- The North Pants Lake Intrusion is spatially much larger (up to 60 km²) than the south intrusion (10 to 15 km²). The north intrusion is a layered, horizontal to sub-horizontal, mafic sill-like body that is divided into the Upper and Basal Gabbro Subdivisions. These two subdivisions are present only in the north intrusion. Collectively the two subdivisions range from 100 to 400 meters thick, with the thickest parts present in the north part of the intrusion. The footwall contact of the intrusion is undulating and locally brecciated which aided the deposition of semi-massive to massive sulphide. Not much is known about the upper contact of the north intrusion, only that there was very little assimilation with the country rock gneiss. -- Unlike the south intrusion, the north intrusion pooled in a secondary magma chamber located in the upper crust prior to its final ascension and lateral emplacement. While in the secondary magma chamber, the magma fractionated, producing a plagioclase and olivine cumulate silicate liquid. With increasing assimilation of the surrounding sulphide-bearing Tasiuyak paragneiss, as indicated by sulphur isotopic ratios of -3.33 to -1.99 ‰, sulphide saturation and subsequent production of an immiscible sulphide liquid was induced within the silicate liquid. This was followed by partitioning of nickel from the silicate magma into the available immiscible sulphide liquid (< 650 ppm Ni in olivines of the north intrusion). The first pulses of fractionated silicate liquid to enter the sill chamber formed the Upper Gabbro, followed by the denser olivine-rich liquid that formed the Basal Gabbro. The point of entry for the silicate liquid feeding the Upper and Basal Gabbro as it entered the sill was near the northwest mapped boundary of the north intrusion. Magma injection into the northern part of the intrusion continued well after the main volume of Basal Gabbro had flowed into the sill. -- As the name implies, the Upper Gabbro forms the uppermost part of the north intrusion and is the more voluminous of the two subdivisions. Variations in the mineralogy and texture of the Upper Gabbro allow for the designation of four primary subunits. These are the Altered Gabbro, Coarse- to Medium-Grained Gabbro, Pegmatitic Gabbro, and Olivine Gabbro. These subunits constitute variations in a medium- to coarse-grained gabbro, containing cumulate plagioclase with intercumulate olivine and clinopyroxene, which are typically void of visible foreign contaminants and sulphides. Chemically, the Upper Gabbro is less varied than its basal counterpart. The Upper Gabbro has slightly elevated SiO₂, Na₂O, A1₂O₃, CaO, Rb, and Sr contents, but much lower FeO, MgO, Ni, Cu, and S concentrations compared to the Basal Gabbro. Rare earth element patterns exhibit slightly decreasing light to heavy rare earth element patterns and an average Europium anomaly of 1.24 which is comparable to the Basal Gabbro. -- The Basal Gabbro, present at the base of the North Pants Lake Intrusion, is approximately 27 meters thick and is distinguished primarily by the presence of partially digested gneissic inclusions coupled with the occurrence of magmatic-textured sulphides similar to the varied textured troctolites and basal breccia sequences described from the Voisey's Bay deposits. The Basal Gabbro is further subdivided into four primary subunits. These constitute the Transition Gabbro, Gabbro Hybrid, Olivine Gabbro, and Leopard Gabbro that collectively forms a recurring sequence present throughout the entire north intrusion. Overall, the major, trace, and rare earth element chemistry of the Basal Gabbro subunits mimics the chemistry of the Upper Gabbro, and where variations are present, they are most typically a direct consequence of gneissic and sulphide influences. -- Magmatic sulphide textures observed in the Basal Gabbro vary from disseminated, blotchy, leopard, to semi-massive and massive. The leopard texture, not present in the northern part of the intrusion, indicates areas of less turbulent flow. The largest massive sulphide intersections discovered to date is 15.7 meters of 1.13 % Ni, 0.78 % Cu and 0.20 % Co. Typical massive sulphide intersections are much smaller (< 1 meter) but have similar to slightly higher grades. Pyrrhotite is the most common sulphide present in the intrusion followed by chalcopyrite and pentlandite. Pentlandite is present as small (< 1 cm) inclusions and exsolutions within the pyrrhotite. Sulphides observed in the footwall are of two types, that is, sulphides remobilized from the main sulphide mass in the Basal Gabbro and unrelated sedimentary sulphides. One remobilized footwall sulphide intersection assayed 11.75 % Ni, 9.70 % Cu and 0.43 % Co over 1.1 meters. -- The North Pants Lake Intrusion is the closest analogue to intrusive rocks at the Voisey's Bay deposits recognized to date in Labrador. The present lack of identification of Voisey's Bay-like mineralization may be a function of observation level within the magmatic system. The northwestern margin of the intrusion offers the best exploration potential due to the recognition of new magma pulses, the potential feeder entry-point, and of course, spatial proximity to the most significant sulphide intersections encountered to date.


Water mains stormwater sewers and tunnels may undergo processes of rapid filling, in which flow regimes transit from open channel into pressurized flows. In the process, air bubbles may be entrained, which may influence the resulting volume and distribution of air in the system upon priming. The amount of air that is entrained can have an effect on the the magnitude of the pressure wave celerities, an important parameter in the numerical simulation of unsteady tunnel filling or pipeline priming. However, air entrainment has not yet been studied in the context of rapid filling pipe flows. The purpose of this research is to study the nature of air entrainment and the effects on the celerity of pressure waves following episodes of rapidly filling pipes. Studies were conducted on a 10-m long, 1% and 2% slope, clear PVC pipeline using three diameters ranging from 50 mm to 152 mm. Inflow rates were systematically varied, and various repetitions (at least 10) were performed in each case to ensure consistency of results. Air entrainment is initiated by creating a backward moving, sometimes pipe-filling bore generated by a knife-gate valve closure at the down stream end. Upon complete pipe pressurization and air entrainment, a second pressure pulse was generated by maneuvering a solenoid valve. After each run the amount of air entrained is measured, as well as the speed of the acoustic wave and the speed of the bore. Research results include analyzing the relationship between the volume of air entrainment and various normalized parameters. The acoustic wave speed in these tests were also compared to baseline cases in which no air was entrained. These experiments hope to improve current understanding of unsteady flows following the rapid filling of closed pipes.


Why are some locations more attractive targets for transnational terrorism than others? Remarkably little is known about the local-level conditions and attributes that determine precisely where transnational terror attacks occur within targeted countries. To date, quantitative terrorism research identifies country- or region-level correlates of terrorism, neglecting possible local factors. In this study, we posit five local-level factors that increase the likelihood of a terror attack: security of a target, accessibility, symbolism, material harm, and exclusion. Using a variety of estimation strategies, including multilevel, negative binomial, and propensity score matching models, we regress new sub-national geographically coded transnational terrorism data on various sub-national measures that might theoretically increase the likelihood of a terror attack. The results demonstrate that although country- and region-level factors matter, numerous local-level conditions, including where civil violence occurs, sub-national economic activity, and proximity to capitals and urban areas, are equally, if not more, important. The results help to substantiate the analytical benefits of adopting the sub-national level of analysis in the study of transnational terrorism.


Why another paper on provocation when this partial defence to murder is already the subject of widespread criticism in the literature? The answer is because the defence is still available in five Australian jurisdictions. Furthermore, there is no consistency across jurisdictions that have reviewed the defence. Recently, Western Australia elected to abolish the defence but Queensland has decided to retain provocation. Internationally, New Zealand has removed the defence from the statute book but the United Kingdom, Canada and the United States continue to allow the defence. This paper identifies the heart of the problem as mandatory life sentencing for murder and seeks to argue that the partial defence of provocation is so flawed that it is the sentencing regime that needs to be adjusted especially as 'life' rarely actually means 'for the term of his natural life'. Nevertheless, given vested interests and the difficulty of introducing legal reform, the fallback position taken in this paper is that if the defence of provocation is to be retained then it is necessary to make the defence much more difficult to run by reversing the onus of proof and by narrowing the scope of the defence. It is contended that the Western Australian Government took the correct path by abolishing the partial defence of provocation and amending the mandatory life penalty for murder.


We show that ideal reflection filters can be designed by combining guided-mode resonance effects in waveguide gratings with antireflection effects of thin-film structures. Since the guided-mode resonance effect overrides the antireflection effect this filter provides a symmetrical line shape with near-zero reflectivity over appreciable wavelength bands adjacent to the resonance wavelength. In the single-layer filter the same layer functions as the waveguide grating supporting the resonance and as the antireflection layer suppressing reflection around the resonance. A multilayer design allows the filter resonance peak to have a wide surrounding region of low reflectance. The central resonance wavelength, the filter linewidth, the range of the low sidebands, and the resonance line shape are all under the control of the designer.


The distinctive trace element and Sr-Nd-Pb isotopic compositions of oceanic island basalts (OIB), believed to be related to the upwelling of deep mantle plumes from the core-mantle boundary, provide important constraints for models of mantle dynamics. Whilst the present-day plume flux is small compared to the plate-scale flow, during the Early Cretaceous there appears to have been a major phase of superplume activity which changed, rather drastically, the pattern of convection within the upper mantle, may have modulated the reversal frequency of the Earth's magnetic field, and considerably accelerated plate motions. Major foci of upwelling occurred in the Pacific and Indian Oceans and beneath Gondwana, along the site of the future South Atlantic rift. During such cycles of superplume activity outward flow from the axis of the plumes may provide an important driving force for plate tectonics. Early Cretaceous continental and oceanic flood basalts, possibly related to the initial impact of the superplume heads on the base of the lithosphere, have distinctive Nd-Pb isotopic signatures which suggest that the source of the super-plumes (? D" layer at the base of the lower mantle) was ancient (c. 2 Ga) recycled oceanic crust plus subducted pelagic sediment. In addition the Pacific super-plume may also have entrained lower mantle material with distinctive Nd-Pb isotopic characteristics. Within the Atlantic domain, the distinctive isotopic fingerprint of two plumes, St Helena and Tristan da Cunha, whose compositions are close to those of the HIMU and EM I end-members of the OIB spectrum respectively, can be recognized in the magmatic rocks generated throughout the 130 Ma history of opening of the South Atlantic Ocean.


The paper addresses the optimal design of parallel manipulators based on multi-objective optimization. The objective functions used are: Global Conditioning Index (GCI), Global Payload Index (GPI), and Global Gradient Index (GGI). These indices are evaluated over a required workspace which is contained in the complete workspace of the parallel manipulator. The objective functions are optimized simultaneously to improve dexterity over a required workspace, since single optimization of an objective function may not ensure an acceptable design. A Multi-Objective Evolution Algorithm (MOEA) based on the Control Elitist Non-dominated Sorting Genetic Algorithm (CENSGA) is used to find the Pareto front.


Web search engines have emerged as a ubiquitous and vital tool for the successful navigation of the growing online informational sphere. As Google puts it, the goal is to "organize the world's information and make it universally accessible and useful" and to create the "perfect search engine" that provides only intuitive, personalized, and relevant results. Meanwhile, the so-called Web 2.0 phenomenon has blossomed based, largely, on the faith in the power of the networked masses to capture, process, and mashup one's personal information flows in order to make them more useful, social, and meaningful. The (inevitable) combining of Google's suite of information-seeking products with Web 2.0 infrastructures -- what I call Search 2.0 -- intends to capture the best of both technical systems for the touted benefit of users. By capturing the information flowing across Web 2.0, search engines can better predict users' needs and wants, and deliver more relevant and meaningful results. While intended to enhance mobility in the online sphere, this paper argues that the drive for Search 2.0 necessarily requires the widespread monitoring and aggregation of a users' online personal and intellectual activities, bringing with it particular externalities, such as threats to informational privacy while online.


Discontinuous Galerkin (DG) and matrix-free finite element methods with a novel projective pressure estimation are combined to enable the numerical model- ing of magma dynamics in 2D and 3D using the library deal.II . The physical model is an advection-reaction type system consisting of two hyperbolic equations to evolve porosity and soluble mineral abundance and one elliptic equation to recover global pressure. A combination of a discontinuous Galerkin method for the advection equa- tions and a finite element method for the elliptic equation provide a robust and efficient solution to the channel regime problems of the physical system in 3D. A projective and adaptively applied pressure estimation is employed to significantly reduce the compu- tational wall time without impacting the overall physical reliability in the modeling of important features of melt and segregation, such as melt channel bifurcation in 2D and 3D time dependent simulations.


For decades, Lean has been viewed as an optimisation and process excellence philosophy that sets an organisation on the zenith in its industry through continuous process improvement and customer satisfaction when successfully implemented and sustained. However, attempts by some organisations to implement Lean has been fraught with overwhelming challenges due to the mode of implementation and the lack of understanding of the key drivers of the philosophy. This study investigates how different factors such as leadership, empowerment, motivation and organisational culture influence the successful implementation of Lean philosophy in organisations. The Soft Systems Methodology (SSM)in triangulation, an interactive, interpretive and systems based approach has been employed to analyse Lean as a system optimisation philosophy. This philosophy instils a culture of continuous commitment to waste elimination, process efficiency and effectiveness, consistent competency development, product improvement and customer satisfaction.

This Thesis presents the Lean 'Leadership, People, Process, Outcome' (LPPO)implementation model, that is flexible and easily adaptable. This model which shows measurable outcome and a drive for continuous improvement is system based, people driven and customer centred. The Lean LPPO model is theoretically built from existing models and practically tested in the fields through industrial based idiographic study. The model used for Lean implementation identifies committed leadership, competent, empowered and motivated people and an organisational culture of continuous learning and improvement as the driving force of the Lean philosophy. It shows that the success of Lean implementation and its sustenance in an organisation is based more on the social technical aspects and soft systems fabric of the organisation.

Using results from the industrial based study carried out with the Lean LPPO model within the soft system methodology in Triangulation from April 2010 to June 2011 in seven organisations: one in Europe, five in Nigeria and a cross-continental group; the relationships between the different identified factors were examined. The results revealed that the environment, leadership commitment, organisational culture, human resource competence, empowerment and motivation are directly related to the level of successful outcome from Lean implementation. These factors and the corresponding positive outcome also ensure the sustainability of Lean as a continuous improvement and optimisation philosophy in an organisation.


The fierceness of the Japanese warrior and his fighting arts has fascinated Westerners since Europeans first came into contact with Japan more than 450 years ago. Classical Fighting Arts of Japan: A Complete Guide to Koryu Jujutsu is the first comprehensive English-language book on traditional jujutsu. Author Serge Mol-working almost exclusively from original Japanese source materials-vividly outlines the history of the close-quarter fighting methods that warriors developed not only to prove themselves on the battlefield and in daily life, but also to the constantly ready to defend their feudal lords. A great number of jujutsu styles and techniques-armed and unarmed-have existed over the centuries, and many of the classical weapon schools also instructed in the use of jujutsu. The Classical Fighting Arts of Japan expertly guides readers through the rise and development of many of the major schools. The classical martial arts as practiced in the ancient ryuha were deeply interwoven. For this reason, this definitive guide to koryu jujutsu will not only be invaluable to practioners of traditional and modern jujutsu, but will be of great interest to enthusiasts of modern budo such as judo, aikido, kendo, and iaido. Mol explores the historical and cultural factors that helped shape jujutsu and the martial arts in general. He offers a detailed look at individual jujutsu ryuha, giving details on the school's history (where possible including illustrations of their founders and photos of ancient manuscripts). This book is richly illustrated with numerous photographs of rare documents and with many photos of exponents demonstration techniques, many of which have never before been shown outside Japan. In addition to his extensive research in original source material, Mol had regular access in conversation, over the course of years, to the insights of the grandmasters of several of the most important jujutsu schools that remain active today. Classical Fighting Arts of Japan will be a welcome addition to the personal collection of every serious student of Japanese martial arts.


Depending on the modality of the argument, memory can be a source of influence from an indeterminate past or a means of reference to the historical conditions of human life. The historic perspective is strongly related to the Enlightenment. Based on recent contributions to the philosophy
 of technology, which describe thinking in terms of tools and machines as a general human activity, historic memory can be interpreted as a technical approach to the past. Similar to the determinate operations in technology, the references to the past though the exhibits of museums, the contents
 of archives, and similar means dominate reflection about the past. The mind has to move around them. Nevertheless, they require additional effort to become usable in their function for memory. Technicians illustrate this effort in their role as enablers of tools and machines. Similarly, curators
 and archivists can be understood as enablers of relation to the past, in museums, archives, etc. The efforts of technicians can be categorized according to different concepts of rationality. In the discussion about memory, the impact of museums, archives, and other enabling circumstances for
 memory is yet rather unclear. The comparison with technology can serve as an inspiration for further research in this direction.


Water quality assessment is an essential part of water resources management. Different methods, including the single factor (SF) method and multivariate analysis, employed in assessing water quality can give different results. In this study, SF methods and multivariate analysis – including discriminant analysis (DA) and the distance function model (DFM) – were used to assess the water quality of Xinlicheng Reservoir in Northeast China, and the advantages and disadvantages for each method are demonstrated. Results from the SF method show water quality to be Class 4, while results from the DA and DFM methods show it to be Class 3, according to the Surface Water Standard in China. The concentration of total nitrogen is most polluted amongst all the evaluating factors (as a result of human activities), leading to a Class 4 result with the SF method. The alteration of an individual factor has little impact on the results of the DA and DFM methods, since they integrate the features of the all of the evaluating factors. Because anthropogenic pollution generally alters only a few evaluating factors, DA and the DFM are more useful for polluted water quality assessment than SF is. But DA and DFM methods should be used with sufficient consideration of their mathematical requirements to prevent misinterpretation of the results.


Economic perspectives have raised growing attention in recent data quality (DQ) literature, as studies have associated DQ decisions with major cost-benefit tradeoffs. Despite the growing interest, DQ research has not yet developed a robust, agreedupon view for assessing and studying the link between DQ and economic outcome. As a contribution, this study proposes a framework, which links costs to the decisions made in managing the information process and improving the DQ, and benefits to the use of information-product outcomes by data consumers. Considering past research contributions, we develop this framework further into a high-level optimization model that permits quantitative assessment of cost-benefit tradeoffs, towards economically-optimal DQ decisions. We demonstrate a possible use of the proposed framework and the derived model, and highlight their potential contribution to an economics-driven view of DQ issues in both research and practice.


This paper explores the lived experiences of one group of dislocated workers in a hybrid advanced manufacturing training course in one large Midwestern city who became dislocated through the downsizing of a large manufacturing facility and who took advantage of Trade Adjustment Assistance. The research questions relate to these workers perceptions about the ease/difficulty of accessing the program, barriers to implementation of the program, and the effectiveness of the program in their own lives. Current adjustment policies for dislocated workers lend themselves to recreating and widening the wage inequality in the United States. By promoting policies that encourage rapid reintegration into the workforce and discouraging the education, training, and self-employment of dislocated workers, dislocated workers are forced into lower paying jobs in the service sector, which typically pay lower wages. Consequences of these policies are not only decreased standards of living for these workers, who are typically eligible for government transfer payments, but emotional, social, and mental and physical health problems as well. Serious consideration for policy changes should be deemed of utmost importance.


The increasing popularity of social media platforms and the Internet's increasing accessibility in developing countries establish a case for using social media in international development. This essay outlines the potential of social media to drive a dialogue for social change. I argue that social media posses an important potential that is grounded in the congruent philosophies of the two concepts 'social media' and 'social change.' Social media express a new mindset that distinguishes this evolved media species from the so-called traditional media. This social media mindset is expressed in six core ideas which I call the six Cs of social media: connectedness, community, content, conversation, collaborating crowd and collective action. Before elaborating on the theoretical underpinnings, I will first present the most important empirical findings of a case study: loveLife, South Africa's largest HIV-prevention initiative, which engages youth in vivid dialogues on Facebook about societal grievances. I applied a model of communication for social change (Figueroa et al., 2002) in a deductive content analysis to a sample of the dialogues. The results confirm that there are elements of a dialogue for change inherent in the analysed dialogue sample and emphasize the potential of social media dialogues to drive social change. In making societal grievances a topic of discussion and participating in the dialogues on loveLife's Facebook page, the young people become aware of the status quo in their society. Furthermore, they actively negotiate understandings of the presented situations, identify causes, and to a smaller extent outline visions for the future and more or less concrete solutions and actions to take. Therefore, the dialogues trigger thought processes and create mutual understanding about the societal situation. The study could confirm previous research (Junge, 2012; Sheedy, 2011) which pointed out the power of online dialogues in change processes by making topics being present in the minds of people and making them discussed. However, the research also reveals some challenges that the approach has to face.


Abstract The purpose of this article is to explore common myths that surround distance learning based on the authors' perceptions acquired through several years of teaching via interactive television. The article will refute the following myths based on a review of related research literature and the authors' experiences: Myth 1. Students at distance sites will not perform effectively. Myth 2. The equipment is a barrier to interaction. Myth 3. The number of sites and students does not influence learning outcomes. Myth 4. Students' attitudes toward distance learning tend to be negative. The four myths addressed are issues of concern and should be taken into consideration when preparing to teach a course using a distance learning system. Myths of Interactive Television "Distance Learning" Distance learning is not a new concept. It began over a hundred years ago with home learning programs and correspondence courses. Gibson and Gibson (1995) have observed, "With all the current hype and the rush to spend millions on new technology, we need to pause and reflect on lessons that we have learned from 100 plus years of distant learning" (p. 15). The ability of educators to reach out to students has escalated with advancements in technologies in the communications web. The networks now in place include two-way communications (real time) at multiple sites. Students now have the capability of interacting at will, through voice stimulation. This enables each site member to participate without having to have a monitor adjust the camera and thus take time from the learning process. The terminology of distance education has been recently realigned. Hopey and Ginsburg (1996) assert, "Clearly, we are no longer talking about distance education but rather beginning to envision distance learning" (p. 2). Dubois (1996) states, "To excel in the 21st century, higher education must undergo a paradigm shift from an environment and culture that defines learning as a classroom process, shaped by brick-and-mortar facilities and faculty centered activities, to an environment defined by learner-centered processes" (p. 3). "Distance learning is the conduct of classes when the students are physically separated from the instructor by any distance. All communications are mediated in synchronous or asynchronous time via audio, video, computing, print, or any combination of these" (Cyrs & Conway, 1997, p. 385). Interactive television, as defined by Cyrs and Conway (1997), is highly visualized, highly interactive (teacher/student, student/student, student/media), and highly student-centered. It is pertinent to educators to explore the avenues of research pertaining to common myths that surround distance learning. Myths are born out of a lack of tree understanding of a system. Distance learning myths are no exception. Myths have been engendered because distance teaching does require additional skills that must be learned by those wishing to use this vehicle as a teaching tool. Effective teaching used in the traditional classroom must be incorporated into the distance learning environment. However, additional competencies are required: engaging every student at all field sites, presentation skills for interactive television, projecting a professional television image, interactive television management techniques, etc. Myths Myth 1. Students at distance sites will not perform effectively. A review of research by Webster and Hackley (1997) entitled "Teaching Effectiveness in Technology-Mediated Distance Learning" reported that distant learners progress as well as learners in a face-to-face classroom environment: Effectiveness of educational television and face-to-face instruction has no or small differences in student achievement (Wetzel, Radtke, & Stem, 1994), and there was no difference between the performance of students given interactive video instruction and face-to-face instruction (Storck & Sproull, 1995). …


Accumulation and aggregation of amyloid β peptide 1–42 (Aβ42) in the brain has been hypothesized as triggering a pathological cascade that causes Alzheimer disease (AD). To determine whether selective targeting of Aβ42 versus Aβ40 or total Aβ is an effective way to prevent or treat AD, we compared the effects of passive immunization with an anti-Aβ42 mAb, an anti-Aβ40 mAb, and multiple Aβ1–16 mAbs. We established in vivo binding selectivity of the anti-Aβ42 and anti-Aβ40 mAbs using novel TgBRI-Aβ mice. We then conducted a prevention study in which the anti-Aβ mAbs were administered to young Tg2576 mice, which have no significant Aβ deposition, and therapeutic studies in which mAbs were administered to Tg2576 or CRND8 mice with modest levels of preexisting Aβ deposits. Anti-Aβ42, anti-Aβ40, and anti-Aβ1–16 mAbs attenuated plaque deposition in the prevention study. In contrast, anti-Aβ42 and anti-Aβ40 mAbs were less effective in attenuating Aβ deposition in the therapeutic studies and were not effective in clearing diffuse plaques following direct injection into the cortex. These data suggest that selective targeting of Aβ42 or Aβ40 may be an effective strategy to prevent amyloid deposition, but may have limited benefit in a therapeutic setting.


A student research project is an open-ended question or set of questions that is intended to give undergraduate students experience doing "junior" mathematical research. Readers are invited to share especially interesting and fruitful examples of such projects in this section. Manuscripts should describe the project in a form appropriate for presentation to the student investigator and should be no more than five double-spaced typed pages. Each manuscript should have a cover page upon which is provided a title for the project, a short list of the mathematical concepts involved in its investigation, and the affiliation of the proposer. To further assist the editor in the evaluation of a project, the proposer should provide (separate from the manuscript) an assessment of its difficulty and any information available about actual experience with the project, such as the directions taken by students on the topic, the results obtained, etc. While untried projects are welcome, some justification should be given that students can make genuine progress in their research. Please send all proposals, with appropriate references, to Irl C. Bivens.


The United States needs a defense budget worthy of its name, one that protects Americans rather than wasting vast sums embroiling us in controversies remote from our interests. This paper outlines such a defense strategy and the substantial cuts in military spending that it allows. That strategy discourages the occupation of failing states and indefinite commitments to defend healthy ones. With fewer missions, the military can shrink its force structure — reducing personnel, the weapons and vehicles procured for them, and operational costs. The resulting force would be more elite, less strained, and far less expensive. By avoiding needless military conflict and protecting our prosperity, these changes would make Americans more secure. Our proposed cuts total more than $1.2 trillion over ten years. Because our strategy will make conventional and counterinsurgency warfare less likely, we recommend cutting the end-strength of the Army and Marine Corps by roughly one-third. Fewer missions, along with advances in strike technology, would also allow a reduction of six fighter wing equivalents from the Air Force. Similar technological advances have greatly increased the destructive capability of naval platforms, and restraint requires fewer of them. We therefore propose the elimination of four carrier battle groups, four expeditionary strike groups, and a commensurate number of ships from the Navy. For reasons of economy that would hold even under the current strategic posture, we recommend deep cuts in nuclear weapons and missile defense spending. Additional savings can be obtained by reducing administrative overhead and intelligence spending, cutting military construction costs, canceling several weapons systems, and reforming the provision of military pay and benefits. We view these cuts as a kind of initial harvest of the strategy of restraint. Our recommendations are not meant to preclude consideration of deeper cuts. Concern about deficits has prompted greater scrutiny of all federal spending. But the cuts here would be prudent even in an era of surpluses. The United States does not need to spend $700 billion a year—nearly half of global military spending — to preserve its security. By capitalizing on our geopolitical fortune, we can safely spend far less.


Government forbearance, support, and bailouts of banks and other financial institutions deemed "too big to fail" (TBTF) are widely recognized as encouraging large companies to take excessive risk, placing smaller ones at a competitive disadvantage and influencing banks in general to grow inefficiently to a "protected" size and complexity. During periods of financial stress, with bailouts under way, government officials have promised "never again." During periods of financial stability and economic growth, they have sanctioned large-bank growth by merger and ignored the ongoing competitive imbalance. Repeated efforts to do away with TBTF practices over the last several decades have been unsuccessful. Congress has typically found the underlying problem to be inadequate regulation and/or supervision that has permitted important financial companies to undertake excessive risk. It has responded by strengthening regulation and supervision. Others have located the underlying problem in inadequate regulators, suggesting the need for modifying the incentives that motivate their behavior. A third explanation is that TBTF practices reflect the government's perception that large financial firms serve a public interest-they constitute a "national resource" to be preserved. In this case, a structural solution would be necessary. Breakups of the largest financial firms would distribute the "public interest" among a larger group than the handful that currently hold a disproportionate concentration of financial resources. The Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act of 2010 constitutes the most recent effort to eliminate TBTF practices. Its principal focus is on the extension and augmentation of regulation and supervision, which it envisions as preventing excessive risk taking by large financial companies; Congress has again found the cause for TBTF practices in the inadequacy of regulation and supervision. There is no indication that Congress has given any credence to the contention that regulatory motivations have been at fault. Finally, Dodd-Frank eschews a structural solution, leaving the largest financial companies intact and bank regulatory agencies still with extensive discretion in passing on large bank mergers. As a result, the elimination of TBTF will remain problematic for years to come.


Background: Many medical schools have embraced small group learning methods in their undergraduate curricula. Given increasing financial constraints on universities, active learning groups like seminars (with 25 students a group) are gaining popularity. To enhance the understanding of seminar learning and to determine how seminar learning can be optimised it is important to investigate stakeholders' views. In this study, we qualitatively explored the views of teachers on aspects affecting seminar learning. Methods: Twenty-four teachers with experience in facilitating seminars in a three-year bachelor curriculum participated in semi-structured focus group interviews. Three focus groups met twice with an interval of two weeks led by one moderator. Sessions were audio taped, transcribed verbatim and independently coded by two researchers using thematic analysis. An iterative process of data reduction resulted in emerging aspects that influence seminar learning. Results: Teachers identified seven key aspects affecting seminar learning: the seminar teacher, students, preparation, group functioning, seminar goals and content, course coherence and schedule and facilities. Important components of these aspects were: the teachers' role in developing seminars ('ownership'), the amount and quality of preparation materials, a non-threatening learning climate, continuity of group composition, suitability of subjects for seminar teaching, the number and quality of seminar questions, and alignment of different course activities. Conclusions: The results of this study contribute to the unravelling of the 'the black box' of seminar learning. Suggestions for ways to optimise active learning in seminars are made regarding curriculum development, seminar content, quality assurance and faculty development.


Carbon-nanofiber-based (CNF-based) nonprecious catalysts and electrodes are essential components in next generation energy conversion and storage technologies. Moreover, porous architectures are highly desirable for active material embedded CNFs. Despite recent progress, controllable synthesis of porous CNFs with favorable mechanical properties is still challenging. Herein, we present a general and novel approach to prepare porous and channel-rich CNFs on a large scale through a free-surface electrospinning technique and subsequent carbonization of polyacrylonitrile (PAN)/cellulose acetate (CA) nanofibers. The resultant free-standing and flexible PAN/CA CNFs (CACNFs) possess abundant porous and channel-rich structures, which can be easily controlled by adjusting the weight ratio of PAN and CA. Based on the porous CACNFs, binder-free Fe3C embedded Fe/N doped CACNF films are successfully prepared. Combining the porous channel-rich structures and the high electrical conductivity of the carbon fibers, abundant accessible active sites and fast mass transport pathways are generated in the carbon fibers, leading to favorable catalytic activity and superior stability for ORR (half-wave potential 12 mV more positive than that of Pt/C) and HER (overpotential 440 mV@80 mV cm−2 and more than 100 000 s catalytic stability) in alkaline medium, demonstrating their promising potential for application in fuel cells, metal–air batteries and water splitting devices.


This study investigated the influence of peer group on the study habit of secondary school adolescents. A sample of two hundred and ninety two (292) students was randomly selected from nine schools in two Local Government Areas of Ogun State. Two instruments were used to collect data. They are: Adolescents' Peer Influence Questionnaire (APIQ) and Students' Study Habit Questionnaire (SSHQ). Data was analysed using Pearson Product-Moment correlation, regression and t-test analyses. Histogram was also used to further explain findings. There was no significant relationship between peer influence and study habit (r=-0.010). Also, peer influence did not significantly predict study habit. Peer influence accounted for 0.0% of the total variance in adolescents' study habit (R Square = 0.000). There was no significant difference between male and female adolescents both in the levels of peer influence and study habit. The low relationship between the two variables was probably due to the fact that most of the interactions among adolescents peer groups are not academic. IFE PsychologIA Vol. 13(2) 2005: 56-63


Infection remains a common cause of death in burn patients and is responsible for 75% of all deaths in patients with burns exceeding 40% total body surface area (TBSA). Current techniques of burn wound care and infection control measures have significantly reduced the incidence and mortality resulting from burn wound infection (BWI), changed the bacterial profile, and increased the time interval from injury to the onset of infection. Additional factors associated with improved outcome of infection include early burn eschar excision and grafting.


We examine the scattering properties of particles contained in absorbing media. Rather than consider energy fluxes through arbitrary integrating spheres, we examine the extinction from its fundamental definition: the energy removed from the plane wave, or incident beam. The resulting energy received by a detector contains two terms: one the result of the incident beam traversing through the medium that would have occurred if the particle were not present, and a correction term due to the presence of the particle. Both terms have the same dependence on the pathlength that the beam travels between two arbitrarily located parallel planes and are independent of where the particle is located within the medium. The result is that the definition of the extinction cross section is not dependent on a reference plane or the particle location within the medium.


In this conversation, Brazilian anthropologist, philosopher, and political activist Eduardo Viveiros de Castro offers an overview of his thinking, both past and present. After explaining why initially he argued that ontology should be a topic of anthropologists, he discusses his more recent conclusion that indigenous thought should be regarded instead as metaphysical. It is not that la pensée sauvage has an implicit ontology discoverable by the human sciences but, rather, that indigenous people themselves think about metaphysical issues as such. He explains the origins of this position in the ethnographic fieldwork that he undertook in the 1980s with the Awareté of northwestern Brazil and in his and the anthropologist Philippe Descola's parallel engagements with the structuralism of Claude Lévi-Strauss. Finally, Viveiros de Castro addresses the political stakes of ascribing metaphysics to alien and marginal peoples, clarifying what he means by the "permanent decolonization of thought."


Background The national prevalence of hearing impairment in South Africa is estimated to be four to six in every 1000 live births in the public health care sector. An undetected hearing impairment in childhood can lead to delayed speech and language development as well as put the child at risk of not achieving the necessary school readiness abilities that will enable them to achieve academic success. However, through early hearing detection and intervention services, children with hearing impairment can develop communication and school readiness abilities on par with children with normal hearing. Objective The aim of the study was to describe communication and school readiness abilities of children who were identified with hearing impairment and enrolled in early intervention (EI) preschools in Gauteng. Methods Within a descriptive research study design, a retrospective record review was conducted on files of eight children, ranging in age from 9 years and 7 months to 12 years and 7 months, identified with a hearing impairment and enrolled in EI preschools in Gauteng, South Africa. Descriptive statistics were used to analyse the data, using frequency distribution and measures of central tendency. Results Current findings revealed that children with hearing impairment who were enrolled in EI preschools in Gauteng were identified late. This consequently led to delayed ages at initiation of EI services when compared to international benchmarks and the Health Professions Council of South Africa's (HPCSA) guidelines of 2018. Consequently, participants presented with below average communication and school readiness abilities, which are characteristic of hearing impairment that is identified late. Conclusions Transference of current contextually relevant research findings into practice by both the Department of Health and the Department of Basic Education forms part of future directions from this study. This conversion of research findings into service delivery must be conducted in a systematic manner at all levels in these two sectors to facilitate achievement of Early Hearing Detection and Intervention (EHDI), resulting in better communication and school readiness outcomes.


The Internet is rapidly evolving towards a multimedia service delivery platform. However, existing Internet-based content delivery approaches have several disadvantages, such as the lack of Quality of Service (QoS) guarantees. Future Internet research has presented several promising ideas to solve the issues related to the current Internet, such as federations across network domains and end-to-end QoS reservations. This paper presents an architecture for the delivery of multimedia content across the Internet, based on these novel principles. It facilitates the collaboration between the stakeholders involved in the content delivery process, allowing them to set up loosely-coupled federations. More specifically, the Federated Resource Reservation (FedRR) algorithm is proposed. It identifies suitable federation partners, selects end-to-end paths between content providers and their customers, and optimally configures intermediary network and infrastructure resources in order to satisfy the requested QoS requirements and minimize delivery costs.


Researching children's and adolescents' emotions from their own perspectives possesses special requirements for the data collection tools used. In this study, children's and early adolescents' emotions were investigated using a mobile diary method. The article describes and evaluates this data collection method and presents empirical results on fluctuation in the emotions of children and adolescents (n = 60, aged 7–14 years). The data, in the form of short text messages, were collected over one week. Every evening, children received seven questions on their emotions. Multilevel modeling was used to analyze the data. The results illustrate the potential of the mobile diary method with children and early adolescents. The data showed a two-factor structure, indicating that the mobile diary method was able to reveal the underlying dimensions of positive and negative emotions. The study also showed that daily variation in emotions along with systematic differences between participants in their emotional experiences (related to, e.g., the form of the family) can be captured using the method.


A central task in many applications is reasoning about processes that change over continuous time. Recently, Nodelman et al. introduced continuous time Bayesian networks (CTBNs), a structured representation for representing Continuous Time Markov Processes over a structured state space. In this paper, we introduce continuous time Markov networks (CTMNs), an alternative representation language that represents a different type of continuous-time dynamics, particularly appropriate for modeling biological and chemical systems. In this language, the dynamics of the process is described as an interplay between two forces: the tendency of each entity to change its state, which we model using a continuous-time proposal process that suggests possible local changes to the state of the system at different rates; and a global fitness or energy function of the entire system, governing the probability that a proposed change is accepted, which we capture by a Markov network that encodes the fitness of different states. We show that the fitness distribution is also the stationary distribution of the Markov process, so that this representation provides a characterization of a temporal process whose stationary distribution has a compact graphical representation. We describe the semantics of the representation, its basic properties, and how it compares to CTBNs. We also provide an algorithm for learning such models from data, and demonstrate its potential benefit over other learning approaches.


Microelectrode arrays used for monitoring single and multineuronal action potentials often fail to record from the same population of neurons over a period of time likely due to micromotion of neurons away from the microelectrode, gliosis around the recording site and also brain movement due to behavior. We report here novel electrostatic microactuated microelectrodes that will enable precise repositioning of the microelectrodes within the brain tissue. Electrostatic comb-drive microactuators and associated microelectrodes are fabricated using the SUMMiT V/spl trade/ (Sandia's Ultraplanar Multilevel MEMS Technology) process, a five-layer polysilicon micromachining technology of the Sandia National labs, NM. The microfabricated microactuators enable precise bidirectional positioning of the microelectrodes in the brain with accuracy in the order of 1 /spl mu/m. The microactuators allow for a linear translation of the microelectrodes of up to 5 mm in either direction making it suitable for positioning microelectrodes in deep structures of a rodent brain. The overall translation was reduced to approximately 2 mm after insulation of the microelectrodes with epoxy for monitoring multiunit activity. The microactuators are capable of driving the microelectrodes in the brain tissue with forces in the order of several micro-Newtons. Single unit recordings were obtained from the somatosensory cortex of adult rats in acute experiments demonstrating the feasibility of this technology. Further optimization of the insulation, packaging and interconnect issues will be necessary before this technology can be validated in long-term experiments.


Abstract To investigate the extent of suspected hybridization between the brolga Antigone rubicunda and the Australian sarus crane Antigone antigone gillae, first noted in the 1970s, we analysed the genetic diversity of 389 feathers collected from breeding and flocking areas in north Queensland, Australia. We compared these with 15 samples from birds of known identity, or that were phenotypically typical. Bayesian clustering based on 10 microsatellite loci identified nine admixed birds, confirming that Australian cranes hybridize in the wild. Four of these were backcrosses, also confirming that wild Australian crane hybrids are fertile. Genetic analyses identified 10 times more hybrids than our accompanying visual field observations. Our analyses also provide the first definitive evidence that both brolgas and sarus cranes migrate between the Gulf Plains, the principal breeding area for sarus cranes, and major non-breeding locations on the Atherton Tablelands. We suggest that genetic analysis of shed feathers could potentially offer a cost-effective means to provide ongoing monitoring of this migration. The first observations of hybrids coincided with significantly increased opportunities for interaction between the two species when foraging on agricultural crops, which have developed significantly in the Atherton Tablelands flocking area since the 1960s. As the sarus crane is declining in much of its Asian range, challenges to the genetic integrity of the Australian sarus crane populations have international conservation significance.


Surface modified polymers are found in a variety of industrial applications ranging from highpower transmission line insulators to chromatographic packaging materials. Infrared spectroscopy has routinely been used to characterize the surface of these materials but often requires sample preparation which may alter the form of the polymer. By using a photoacoustic detector, the infrared spectra of surface modified polymers can be obtained. The polymeric material examined in this study, polystyrene(divinylbenzene), is routinely used as a chromatographic packing material for high performance liquid chromatography. The surface of the polymer was modified to produce surface functionalities more amenable to bonding with a liquid phase than the native copolymer. This paper describes the use of photoacoustic infrared spectroscopy to determine the molecular structure of this modified polymer surface.


In lastmonth's column, ''TheArt ofAuditingDocumentation,'' we discussed many important reasons for auditing documentation, including assessing the completeness of a medical record, determining the accuracy of documentation, and discovering lost revenues.When auditing amedical record, the documentation is examined to determine if it adequately substantiates the services billed and identifies medical necessity for the services rendered. If this process is not conducted on an ongoing basis, incorrect or inappropriate documentation and coding practices, potential risks to the organization, compliance with the organization's policies and procedures, and compliance with payer regulations may not be identified. Documentation components comprising the medical record provide the platform formedical necessity and continuity of care. Skin and wound care documentation can combine a variety of information-gathering tools reflecting the wound's status across the healing continuum. When assessing the patient with a skin or wound condition, the details of the documentation should reflect the following data points: chief complaint; history of present illness; medical, family, and social history; review of systems; physical assessment; risk assessment tools; manual assessment tools; skin and wound assessment tools; procedures; ordering supplies and tests; patient education details; plan of care; and discharge plan. In this column, we will spotlight chief complaint, history of present illness, and medical, family, and social history. The remaining areas of documentation listed above will be discussed in future columns. The chief complaint is the first step toward complete documentation for the skin and wound care patient. The chief complaint bridges the reason for the patient's visit to the detailed history and physical captured by the practitioner, thus capturing the medical necessity for the visit. The clinician should document the specific reason the patient is visiting the practitioner. This statement should be clearly written, describing the reason for the patient's visit in his/her own words. The history of present illness provides necessary subjective information for the practitioner to review in conjunction with the review of symptoms, physical examination, risk assessments, screening tools, and skin and wound assessments. The history of present illness should include a complete chronological account of the presenting problem to date. Themajority of this information is subjective based on interviewing the patient. If there is more than 1 chronic condition discussed (such as lower leg pain, headaches), make sure to document this in the history of present illness. This will assist in justifying the needed orders. There are many chronic illnesses or diseases, medications, allergies, diet, or activities of daily living that can lead to poor wound healing. A review of the patient's medical history, family events, and social activities should be captured. The clinician should pay particular attention to the following: & Chronic illnesses, such as accidents or injuries that lead to chronic insufficiencies, autoimmune disease, blood disorders, bowel disorders, cancer, cardiovascular disease, cerebral vascular disease, diabetes, heart disease, hypertension, kidney disease, liver disorders, malignancies and associated treatments, musculoskeletal disorders, neurological infections, ostomy surgeries, revisions, diversions, peripheral vascular disease, prior hospitalizations, renal failure, and venous insufficiency. &Medications, such as chemotherapeutic agents and steroids/corticosteroids & Allergies, such as dressings and securement products, medications, and other. & Vascular tests & Radiological tests &Dressing history, such as products used effectively in the past; and products that inhibited healing rate. &Ostomy history, such as products used effectively in the past; and products that were ineffective from the past. &Modality History, such as products used effectively in the past; and products that inhibited healing rate. & Laboratory values, such as nutritional values (albumin, prealbumin, transferrin, total lymphocyte count); chemistry values (blood urea nitrogen, creatinine, liver enzymes, hepatitis panel, HbA1c, lipid panel); hematologic values (complete blood count, sedimentation rate, C-reactive protein, protein S, protein C); immunologic values (rheumatoid factor, immune complexes); and microbiology values (biopsy, quantitative cultures). & Activities of daily living, such as alcohol use, illicit drug use, modality use, smoking, and eating patterns. This thorough documentation will provide complete information needed for the clinician to link any and all disorders to the patient with the chronic wound.&


The measurement of morphological variation in macroevolutionary studies is increasingly based on morphospaces constructed from discrete character data. This trend mostly results from the appropriation of phylogenetic data matrices as character spaces for carrying out disparity analyses. Phylogenetic matrices provide morphological descriptions of taxa as combinations of character states and thus appear, if not conceptually, at least mathematically, comparable to discrete character datasets found in numerical taxonomy or built for disparity purposes. Hence, phylogenetic matrices seem to constitute an abundant source of data readily available for morphospace analyses. Discrete character spaces have generally been described as more flexible than morphospaces capturing continuous shape variation. The discrete coding of morphology allows morphospaces to accommodate more disparate morphologies and the ability of discrete character schemes to handle missing data is also often emphasized. This flexibility comes at a cost, however. Multivariate ordinations of such spaces often provide deceptive visualizations and may invite the use of inappropriate methodologies for their exploration. The large amount of missing data that typifies many phylogenetic datasets is also problematic for the measurement of dissimilarity among taxa and can therefore be detrimental to the assessment of morphological disparity. Here, the properties of discrete character spaces are described and common pitfalls discussed. Graphical and methodological approaches are suggested to circumvent or limit their impact, and greater caution is recommended when using discrete character data for morphospace and disparity inferences.


This thesis is a collection of three empirical essays on growth, poverty and human capital inequality in a global panel. The objective of the first essay entitled: "Volatility and Growth: The Role of Education" is to examine whether the significance of volatility-growth relationship varies according to the average years of education. Unlike the focus of the previous literature on establishing the link between volatility and growth, we attempt to establish the channel through which volatility affects growth. The main contribution of our work is that while the level of volatility negatively affects growth, the effect is mediated via education. This is true even for countries with low as well as moderately high levels of volatility. The result of the interaction term, which is the key interest in this chapter, is robust to changes in definitions of variables and specification. This finding is consistent with Canton"s (2000) theoretical work. The second essay, "Does Education Reduce Poverty in Developing Countries?" investigates the direct effects of education on poverty in developing countries using dynamic panel estimation techniques. The results suggest that higher education, developed financial system along with growth lead to significant poverty reduction. On the other hand, unequal income distribution is associated with increases in poverty. The results are robust to alternative model specification and estimation techniques. The policy implication is that poverty reduction is more effective if we focus on developing the education system instead of relying on growth and other channels, for example foreign aid or health. The third essay deviates from the usual study of inequality and globalization. It analyzes the relationship between seven measures of globalization and education inequality using a panel of 112 countries covering the period 1970-2009. We use the KOF index of Globalization and its three different dimensions (economic, social, and political) as our main proxy for globalization. In addition, we also employ openness, Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) and freedom to trade internationally (EF Index) in our study. We find that globalization has a robust negative effect on human capital inequality, even when we control for other factors. Results suggest that education inequality increases with globalization in middle and high-income countries but the effect is the opposite in lowincome countries. This is the key contribution of our study where we find a variation of impact within the developing countries in contrast to the standard Hecksher-Ohlin Trade Theory. The result also holds when we restricted the sample to specific countries and add several other covariates. In contrast, the alternative measures of globalization have no such robust effects.


The paper focuses on signaling options for managerial talent under different higher education regimes. The educational paths in a sample of top managers of the 100 largest publicly traded companies in the U.S., France and Germany are consistent with our theoretical conjectures. For the singular role of the German doctorate, the traditional chair system in doctoral education and training is essential. The effects of higher education reforms are discussed. In Germany the doctorate is a powerful signal for managerial talent. Future signaling options are closely tied to German higher education reform.


[1] This paper presents results of validating the Collection 4 Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) leaf area index (LAI) product using LAI data collected in a 3 × 3 km agricultural (grasses and cereal crops) area near Avignon, France, and 30 m resolution Enhanced Thematic Mapper (ETM+) image. Estimates of the accuracy, precision, and uncertainty with which the ETM+ data convey information about LAI underlie the derivation of a 30 m resolution reference LAI map by accounting for both field measurement and satellite observation errors. The 30 m reference LAI was then extrapolated from sampling points to a 58 km2 area without loss in the quality and was degraded to a 1 km resolution LAI map. The latter was taken as a reference to assess the quality of the MODIS LAI product. Comparison of the reference and corresponding MODIS retrievals suggests that Collection 4 MODIS LAI is accurate to within an accuracy of 0.3 with a precision and uncertainty of 0.23 and 0.38, respectively. It was found that the Collection 3 MODIS land cover product, input to the Collection 4 operational LAI algorithm, misclassified the 58 km2 area as broadleaf crops. The use of correct biome type in the operational processing improves the accuracy in LAI by a factor of 2 with an almost unchanged precision and uncertainty. Our results also indicate that the retrieval of LAI from satellite data is an ill-posed problem; that is, small variations in input due to observation errors result in a very low precision of the desired parameter. Any retrieval technique based on a simple model inversion or empirical relationships is unable to generate stable retrievals. The use of information on input errors in the retrieval technique is necessary to generate solutions to the ill-posed problem. The MODIS operational LAI algorithm meets this requirement.


Abstract Responses to Hurricane Sandy consistently cluster into two types according to how the issues have been defined and understood. On one hand, the crisis was seen as an extreme weather event that created physical and economic damage, and temporarily moved New York City away from its status quo. On the other hand, Hurricane Sandy exacerbated crises which existed before the storm, including poverty, lack of affordable housing, precarious or low employment, and unequal access to resources generally. A Tale of Two Sandys describes these two understandings of disaster and discuss their implications for response, recovery, and justice in New York City. The white paper is based on 74 interviews with policymakers, environmental groups, volunteer first responders, and residents affected by the storm; ethnographic observation; analysis of public reports from government, community-based organizations, and other groups; qualitative analysis of canvassing forms and data; and a review of the academic literature on disaster response. As a framing document, A Tale of Two Sandys selects certain case studies for their exemplary nature, including how different groups identified vulnerable populations, timelines for aid and recovery, a case study of housing and rebuilding, and finally, urban climate change politics. The primary purpose of A Take of Two Sandys is to propose a sophisticated, accurate, and useful way of understanding the inequalities entwined with Sandy's aftermath and to enable ways to address them.


An in-depth observation of the historical beginnings of German literature in the Middle Ages reveals that the modern comprehension of the narrator is not as natural as is seems. In current medieval studies, there are even positions which make the case for avoiding the concept 'narrator' completely with respect to medieval literature. Nevertheless, in this chapter I apply the concept 'narrator' to German epic poetry of the 13th century. One necessary precondition is to systematically historicize its fundamental determinations. First of all, the 'narrator' as a personalized entity and the narrator's activity of perspectivization should be understood in a more literal sense. This is the consequence of the exceptional literary-historical position of courtly literature: German epic poetry of the 13th century is situated after one generation of written and many generations of oral storytelling. As the chapter will illustrate, the specific form of storytelling which has developed on this foundation implies a semi-theatrical narrative situation: the role of the narrator is manifested in form of a 'real' story-teller, who tells his or her story (from memory or a book) to a collective audience. Through this connection, perspectivization by the narrator initially entails directing an audience's attention to one specific point in a room, thereby turning the latter into a narrative space. On the one hand, the narrator in medieval epic poetry is comparable to that in modern epics – he or she perspectivizes the story and mediates it to the recipient. On the other hand, however, the existence of the medieval narrator between body and script, between the real person of a story-teller and a fictional concept leads to the fact that you cannot talk about the courtly narrator without talking about the space of narration.


Conjugated polyrotaxanes are conjugated polymeric semiconductors engineered at a supramolecular level by threading the conjugated moiety into molecular macrocycles, such as cyclodextrins (CD). CD-threaded rotaxanes thus provide a class of model compounds with reduced interchain interactions which enable us to explore the influence of such interactions on the fundamental photophysics of conjugated semiconductors. CD rotaxination also endows these materials with additional sites for functionalization, thus resulting in extremely versatile structures. Our current understanding of the photophysics of these materials is reviewed, both in solid/liquid solutions and in neat films, as a function of the relevant parameters, such as the threading ratio and the concentration, and with the help of rotaxanes incorporating a variety of different backbones.


This book is intended for use in a one- or two-semester course in environmental science, human ecology, or environmental studies at the college or advanced placement high school level. Because most students who will use this book are freshman or sophomore nonscience majors, the authors have tried to make the text readable and accessible without technical jargon or a presumption of prior science background. At the same time, enough data and depth are presented to make this book suitable for many upper-division classes and a valuable resource for students who will keep it in their personal libraries after their formal studies are completed. The goal of this book is to provide an up-to-date, introductory view of essential themes in environmental science along with emphasis on details and case studies that will help students process and retain the general principles.


New jacket edition of this classic herbal by internationally renowned herbalist David Hoffman. Easy to use, the herbal is hugely popular with herbalists and laypeople worldwide The Holistic Herbal covers everything you need to know about growing, gathering, preparing, using and taking herbal medicines to improve and maintain health. With simple b/w line drawn herb illustrations throughout, the book is extremely attractive and contains:- a simple introduction to health, well-being and how your body works. * a guide to specific health problems and concerns (you don't need to be sick to take a herbal cure!) and 'which herb' for a range of conditions. * A-Z herbal, covering over 200 different medicinal herbs and plants.This section comprises the main part of the book and is full of detailed information about each herb.


In digital age in which a myriad of products is becoming connected through the Internet of Things (IoT), new business opportunities and challenges arise for organisations regardless of size and product/service offerings. The traits of digital technology and digital economy results in not only profound changes in the ways organisations create value and develop their IoT products and services, but also emergent and dynamic business models. It also opens new opportunities in terms of how organisations increase turnover, thus conventional theories and practices of how value is created in the design and development process is constantly being challenged. Although, academics and practitioners often critically debate these emergent opportunities and challenges to the adoption of the `Internet of Things', there is a paucity of established academic theories and industry practices to support and re-think traditional processes of product design and development to meet current needs and potential commercial opportunities in the era of IoT. This paper will offer a critical examination on how design processes have evolved with regard to the differences in value creation between goods-dominant logic and the service-dominant logic in order to identify an emergent design process feasible for IoT product and service development. In addition, factors that affect value creation, and design and development process in the IoT are reviewed. It concludes by offering key insights and observations as to where design can contribute to value creation in the internet of things.


The American writer, Paul Gallico, once commented: 'If there is any larceny in a man, golf will bring it out'. This case study deals with the theft of three golfing pamphlets from the printed collections of the National Library of Scotland in the autumn of 1993. Unusually, in the context of theft, it is a story with a happy ending, but my account deals with our experiences in dealing with the incident, and it illustrates some of the points that we will wish to discuss at this conference. The central character in this particular drama has since become known in other research libraries in Europe. His name was Perry, although as we discovered in the aftermath, he turned out to have a plethora of names and identities.


Solar adaptive optics (AO) simulations are a valuable tool to guide the design and optimization process of current and future solar AO and multi-conjugate AO (MCAO) systems. Solar AO and MCAO systems rely on extended object cross-correlating Shack-Hartmann wavefront sensors to measure the wavefront. Accurate solar AO simulations require computationally intensive operations, which have until recently presented a prohibitive computational cost. We present an update on the status of a solar AO and MCAO simulation tool being developed at the National Solar Observatory. The simulation tool is a multi-threaded application written in the C++ language that takes advantage of current large multi-core CPU computer systems and fast ethernet connections to provide accurate full simulation of solar AO and MCAO systems. It interfaces with KAOS, a state of the art solar AO control software developed by the Kiepenheuer-Institut fuer Sonnenphysik, that provides reliable AO control. We report on the latest results produced by the solar AO simulation tool.


This paper explores how the response of a temperate forest ecosystem to climate change might depend on species diversity and community change. In particular, we look at the dynamics of a model of temperate forest growth under doubled CO2. We combine a detailed, field-calibrated model of forest dynamics (Pacala et al 1993) with greenhouse data on the range of seedling biomass growth response to doubled CO2 concentrations (Bazzaz et al. 1990; Bazzaz & Miao 1993). Because total ecosystem response to climate change depends delicately on many environmental variables other than CO2, we isolate the effects of community change by comparing runs of the regular model, allowing dynamic community change, with runs of a reduced model that holds species composition static by using a single tree species with average parameters. Simulations that allowed community change instead of holding species composition constant showed a roughly 30% additional increase in total basal area over time scales of 50-150 years. Although the model omits many possible feedbacks and mechanisms associated with climate change, it suggests the large potential effects that species differences and feedbacks can have in ecosystem models and reinforces the possible importance of diversity to ecosystem function (Naeem et ai 1994; Tilman & Downing 1994) over time scales within the planning horizon for global change policy.


In this article, the investigation of the use of a rolling particle damper under sinusoidal excitation is described. A rolling particle damper is a type of ball vibration absorber and consists of a rotating cylinder placed on a curved track mounted on a primary system. The rotating cylinder is partially filled with granular materials. When the rotating cylinder rolls inside the curved track, the granular materials also move. The friction between the granular materials and the inside wall of the rotating cylinder results in some energy dissipation. A rolling particle damper can be adopted in a harsh environment because it can be operated in a wide temperature range. The effects of the mass ratio, the particle material, and the particle diameter on the damping performance were examined experimentally. To elucidate the behavior of the entire system in detail, a numerical solution using the discrete element method was established. The predicted damping results were compared with experimental results for various mass ratios. In addition, the effect of the frequency ratio on the highest displacement amplitude of the primary system was examined referring to the numerical results.


The multimodal transportation network includes a mix of inherently different modes. In addition to differences in price, range, and comfort of travel, these modes differ in mass and velocity, which correspond to different orders of magnitude in the kinetic energy carried. This discrepancy in kinetic energy affects both the level of protection of each mode, and the level of damage it can inflict on users of other modes. Unfortunately, accounting for both sides of a crash is often overlooked. While the quantities and variables of collected data continue to increase, the analyses conducted and the tools developed remain focused on the victims of crashes. The existing approach limits the ability to explore the underlying mechanism of traffic crashes since there are two sides to every crash. This manuscript proposes a framework for studying traffic safety that takes into account the interaction between all modes in a network. At the core of the framework is a square matrix, I. The rows and columns represent different modes such that element Iij is the number of injuries that were suffered by mode i, which were inflicted by mode j. The distinction between suffered and inflicted injuries is not related to the fault of the involved parties. The distinction lies in which of the two parties experienced the injury. For example, if two vehicles are involved in a crash that resulted in a single injury, the vehicle that experienced the injury is identified as the one that suffered the injury while the other vehicle is the one that inflicted the injury. If an injury is experienced in both vehicles then both vehicles suffered one injury and inflicted one injury. A relative vulnerability index can be calculated for specific mode-pairs, for individual modes, and for an entire geographical region. An empirical application using data from California reveals, amongst other things, that the relative vulnerability of pedestrian and bicyclist are orders of magnitude higher than motorized modes. Applying this methodology to different locations around the globe would provide insights the relative vulnerability of different modes under different mode-splits, different road designs, and different road user cultures.


OBJECTIVE To review the results of vaginal hysterectomies in patients without uterine prolapse. DESIGN Retrospective chart review. SETTING University affiliated hospital, Hong Kong. PATIENTS Patients who had vaginal hysterectomies in the absence of uterine prolapse, from 1999 to 2005 inclusive. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES The number, indications, operative procedures, and complications of such hysterectomies. RESULTS A total of 94 patients who underwent vaginal hysterectomy fulfilled the inclusion criteria. They accounted for 4.3 to 8.2% of all hysterectomies performed annually for benign diseases in the department, over the inclusive period 2000 to 2004. The incidences of complications, except bladder injuries, were comparable to those reported in other studies. The incidence of vault haematoma decreased as each surgeon's experience increased and more attention was paid to 'bleeders' at the 'four and eight o'clock areas' and more cephalic regions of the vaginal incision. Increased size of the uterus was an important determinant of the risk of complications. CONCLUSIONS Vaginal hysterectomy is an underutilised approach in Hong Kong. With more experience and better patient selection, complication rates can be further reduced. Further evaluation is suggested for the role of bleeders at 'four and eight o'clock regions' as potential causes of vault haematoma.


Postural Orthostatic Tachycardia Syndrome (POTS) is a debilitating disease with a commonly non-uniform and unspecific presentation that makes diagnosis difficult. A twelve-year-old girl, recently diagnosed with Addison's Disease, was referred to paediatric nephrology for Fludrocortisone-induced nocturnal hypertension. She had fallen off the growth curve for both height and weight from the 50th percentile at birth to below the 5th percentile at presentation. The severity and multitude of her symptoms, including muscle weakness, poor body control, dizziness, light headedness, persistent fatigue, excessive sweating, tachycardia, chronic constipation and recurrent infection hinted at the unusual nature of this case of Addison's. At the time of referral, she had been seen by more than a dozen specialists and subspecialists as well as undergone a number of tests including neurophysiological testing without sufficient explanation. With the help of tilt-table testing, we established the diagnosis of POTS. There is a lack of tested treatment options for POTS, and we established dosing of pyridostigmine in children, based on the emerging literature in adults. While pyridostigmine therapy substantially improved her quality of life, it took another 6 years and referral outside the country, before a final unifying diagnosis was made. Eventually, the patient was diagnosed with Ehlers Danlos Syndrome with associated autonomic dysfunction, including POTS, as well as primary adrenal insufficiency. The parents and the patient experienced considerable stress due to the lack of willingness of many physicians that the family encountered to search for a diagnosis and a treatment.


The presence of strong acoustic feedback degrades the convergence speed of the active noise control (ANC) filter, and in the worst case the ANC system may become unstable. A fixed feedback neutralization filter, obtained offline, can be used to neutralize the acoustic feedback. The feedback path, however, may be time varying, and we may need continual adjustments during online operation of the ANC system. This paper proposes a new method for online modeling of the acoustic feedback path in ANC systems. The proposed method uses three adaptive filters; a noise control filter, a feedback path modeling (FBPM) filter, and an adaptive noise cancelation (ADNC) filter. The objective of ADNC filter is to remove the disturbance from the desired response of FBPM filter. In comparison with the existing method, which works only for predictable noise sources, the proposed method can work, as well, with the broadband noise sources. The computer simulations are carried out for narrowband (predictable) (case I) and broadband (random) noise sources (case II). It is demonstrated that the proposed method performs better than the existing method in both cases