A Reformational social philosophy: systematic exposition, critical evaluation and practical application The problem to be discussed in this contribution is that many Christians, churches and theologians are often guided by no or merely a very vague (worldviewish) perspective on social life. Sometimes they are even inspired by unbiblical methods (e.g. earlier Marxism and contemporary neocapitalism or postmo- dernism) in their social analysis. This may be an important con- tributing factor for the sad fact that Christians often have very little impact on the broader social domain (the "public square") outside their personal and church life. Therefore this article looks at a possible solution in the following steps: It begins with a comparison between the three basic philosophies of society, viz. individualism, collectivism and pluralism. Then it provides a systematic exposition of a Christian-reformational, pluralistic social philosophy as a possible candidate. To indicate that a reformational social philosophy neither wants to pretend, nor wants to be regarded as a static dogma or ideology, the next section reviews some points of critique voiced by its sym- pathetic proponents. The fourth section investigates how this social view may inspire social change. Following the preceding, more theoretical exploration, it discusses possibilities for its practical application. In this way a complete answer (both theoretical and practical) is given to the urgent problem indicated at the beginning, viz. the little influence of Christians on the so-called public sphere.


Allopatric processes of speciation have routinely been presented to explain the extraordinary radiation of the East African Great Lakes cichlid fish species flocks. The 21 or more species of pelagic cichlids within the Lake Malawi flock appear to have lake–wide distributions that challenge such a concept. Data from six microsatellite DNA loci indicate single, panmictic populations across the lake of three Diplotaxodon species. Levels of variability at these loci suggest that populations have been large and stable. Mitochondrial DNA sequence data (872 bp of control region + 981bp of the NADH–2) from 90 species, representing all major clades within the Lake Malawi flock, indicate reciprocal monophyly of the pelagic clade. We suggest that these data support a hypothesis that speciation in sympatry is more plausible (and widespread) within the cichlid species flocks than previously thought.


The oxygen dynamics in the rhizosphere of Zostera marina was studied by use of planar optodes. Oxygen leakage to the rhizosphere was restricted to the root tip and extended only up to ~8 mm up along the root. The oxic sediment volume around the roots increased linearly with irradiance in the interval of 0–250 µmol photons m−2 s−1, but the leakage rate saturated at the maximum irradiance of 500 µmol photons m−2 s−1. Oxygen leakage decreased by ;60% from light to darkness and Z. marina was able to maintain an oxic zone around the root tip even in darkness as long as oxygen in the overlying water was at 100% air saturation (280 µmol L−1). O2 leakage from the root tips stopped at 25% air saturation (70 µmol L−1) and the oxic microniche rapidly disappeared. Increasing the oxygen concentration above 100% air saturation induced oxygen leakage from zones that otherwise appeared impermeable to oxygen. The roots on average grew by 8.7 mm d−1, and a series of O2 images documented the high spatial and temporal dynamics of the oxic microniches around the root tips. The estimated total oxygen release to the rhizosphere of Z. marina beds was 2.3 mmol m−2 d−1, which only corresponded to 12% of the diffusive oxygen uptake at the primary sediment‐water interface. Rhizospheres of seagrass are thus probably of minor importance for total benthic O2 uptake rates.


Reverse engineering has many important applications in computer security, one of which is retrofitting software for safety and security hardening when source code is not available. By surveying available commercial and academic reverse engineering tools, we surprisingly found that no existing tool is able to disassemble executable binaries into assembly code that can be correctly assembled back in a fully automated manner, even for simple programs. Actually in many cases, the resulted disassembled code is far from a state that an assembler accepts, which is hard to fix even by manual effort. This has become a severe obstacle. People have tried to overcome it by patching or duplicating new code sections for retrofitting of executables, which is not only inefficient but also cumbersome and restrictive on what retrofitting techniques can be applied to.

In this paper, we present UROBOROS, a tool that can disassemble executables to the extent that the generated code can be assembled back to working binaries without manual effort. By empirically studying 244 binaries, we summarize a set of rules that can make the disassembled code relocatable, which is the key to reassembleable disassembling. With UROBOROS, the disassembly-reassembly process can be repeated thousands of times. We have implemented a prototype of UROBOROS and tested over the whole set of GNU Coreutils, SPEC2006, and a set of other real-world application and server programs. The experiment results show that our tool is effective with a very modest cost.


There is increasing concern among parents, coaches, and officials about injury risk in youth ice hockey, particularly in light of recent evidence suggesting that incidence of serious injury is considerably under reported. However, an adequate method for ascertaining injury risk for concussion does not yet exist. The purpose of this study was to examine the relationships among variables measuring exposure and head impact forces in a group of representative level bantam aged hockey players. Across an entire hockey season, trained research assistants attended games and recorded the duration of time spent on the ice for each player (i.e., exposure time) and total number of body contacts using time-on-task software designed specifically for this study. A body contact included any intentional or incidental contact between two players. Collectively, these variables provide a simple, easily administered measure of head injury risk for researchers collecting data in this area. However, their relationship to actual brain trauma is unknown. To this end, head acceleration data were also collected using helmet-based accelerometers that provide measures of linear accelerations experienced by each player. These data were collected by telemetry methods and represent data that are likely very useful for injury researchers but not without sufficient costs. Results demonstrated low associations among the data sources. A method based on combining data sources (through an examination of their potential relationships) is proposed to maximize the potential to identify at-risk youth in minor hockey.


The Libor Market Model describes the evolution of a discrete subset of all interest rates quoted in the market. Generation of the complete yield curve from a simulated set of rates (the so-called "Libor rate interpolation") is one of the basic challenges which are faced by a practical user of LMM. Incorrect implementation can lead to arbitrage in the model and render generated prices invalid. In this paper, we present a rate interpolation scheme which not only is arbitrage-free, but also generates a natural-looking, smooth term structure of interpolated rates' volatilities. It is conceptually simple and computationally efficient.


Authored by Robert N Proctor. Published by University of California Press, 2011, hardback, 779 pages, £34.95. ISBN 9780520270169.

Robert Proctor is an American historian and the author of Cancer Wars and The Nazi War on Cancer . In the latter book, published in 1999, he discussed pioneering research in the Third Reich on the connection between smoking and lung cancer and the strong Nazi emphasis on antismoking policies, a precursor of the wider focus on antismoking postwar. Prior to Proctor's work, the Nazi interest in antismoking had been discussed in the UK by historically minded epidemiologists writing in the Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health in 1994.

Proctor's tone in his earlier book was measured. He was at pains to stress at the outset that discussion of Nazi antismoking interests did not imply approval of other Nazi policies. The fact that he was drawing our attention to a 'good' Nazi policy did not mean that he approved of their other actions. That approach, a typically historical one, has changed in the intervening years. The tone of this book, and its title, is quite different. This is advocacy history. Proctor is part of the antismoking action with a clear policy agenda promoted through historical research. Cigarette smoking is a 'Golden Holocaust' and the book aims to show how the cigarette became an item of mass culture, how its risks were revealed by research, and then hidden by manufacturers. Proctor sets out a political agenda for the future, one where the aim is prohibition and the elimination of the cigarette.

The methodology of the current book differs from the historical norm. Proctor has acted as an expert witness in one of the many US legal cases against the tobacco industry and has used material from the online industry archives released as part of legal settlements and now available …


The release of organic anions from roots can protect plants from aluminum (Al) toxicity and help them overcome phosphorus (P) deficiency. Our previous findings showed that Al treatment induced malate and citrate efflux from rape (Brassica napus) roots, and that P deficiency did not induce the efflux. Since this response is similar to the malate efflux from wheat (Triticum aestivum) that is controlled by the TaALMT1 gene, we investigated whether homologs of TaALMT1 are present in rape and whether they are involved in the release of organic anions. We isolated two TaALMT1 homologs from rape designated BnALMT1 and BnALMT2 (B. napus Al-activated malate transporter). The expression of these genes was induced in roots, but not shoots, by Al treatment but P deficiency had no effect. Several other cations (lanthanum, ytterbium, and erbium) also increased BnALMT1 and BnALMT2 expression in the roots. The function of the BnALMT1 and BnALMT2 proteins was investigated by heterologous expression in cultured tobacco (Nicotiana tabacum) cells and in Xenopus laevis oocytes. Both transfection systems showed an enhanced capacity for malate efflux but not citrate efflux, when exposed to Al. Smaller malate fluxes were also activated by ytterbium and erbium treatment. Transgenic tobacco cells grew significantly better than control cells following an 18 h treatment with Al, indicating that the expression of BnALMT1 and BnALMT2 increased the resistance of these plant cells to Al stress. This report demonstrates that homologs of the TaALMT1 gene from wheat perform similar functions in other species.


Time-resolved diffuse optical methods have been applied to detect hemodynamic changes induced by cerebral activity. We describe a near infrared spectroscopic (NIRS) reconstruction free method which allows retrieving depth-related information on absorption variations. Variations in the absorption coefficient of tissues have been computed over the duration of the whole experiment, but also over each temporal step of the time-resolved optical signal, using the microscopic Beer-Lambert law.Finite element simulations show that time-resolved computation of the absorption difference as a function of the propagation time of detected photons is sensitive to the depth profile of optical absorption variations. Differences in deoxyhemoglobin and oxyhemoglobin concentrations can also be calculated from multi-wavelength measurements. Experimental validations of the simulated results have been obtained for resin phantoms. They confirm that time-resolved computation of the absorption differences exhibited completely different behaviours, depending on whether these variations occurred deeply or superficially. The hemodynamic response to a short finger tapping stimulus was measured over the motor cortex and compared to experiments involving Valsalva manoeuvres. Functional maps were also calculated for the hemodynamic response induced by finger tapping movements.


Non-destructive testing results of civil infrastructure have so far been presented on a case-related basis. To enable comprehensive quality management over the entire life cycle of a structure, it would be desirable to combine the various results, monitor their development over time, and use them for on-site maintenance tasks. In this contribution, prospects are developed for the integration of non-destructive testing results into digital building models within the framework of building information modeling (BIM). As an example of integrated utilization of planning and measurement data, an innovative visualization approach using augmented reality (AR) is presented. An AR application has been implemented that superimposes the camera image of a tablet viewing a concrete specimen with ultrasonic and radar images of the interior of the specimen (actual data) and the three-dimensional planning geometry of the built-in parts (target data). When the tablet is moved or rotated, the geometric relationship between the camera image and the inner views is maintained. The display of the tablet thus opens a window into the interior of the concrete structure. Steps necessary for the preparation and interpretation of non-destructive testing results are compiled, and possibilities for implementing markers for coupling the virtual world with the real world are discussed. The goal is to evaluate the condition and facilitate model-based inspection and maintenance tasks directly on the structure by presenting planning data and measurement results in their real context and enriching them with additional information.


Strontium titanate catalysts and titania were synthesized by the sol–gel method. 1 mol% nickel/ruthenium was doped on the strontium titanate catalyst to shift its optical response to the visible region. UV-diffuse reflectance spectral analysis confirms the red shift with the band gap of 1.9 eV and 2.13 eV for the Ni and Ru doped strontium titanate catalysts, respectively. The catalysts were characterized using various instrumental techniques such as X-ray diffraction (XRD), UV-diffuse reflectance spectroscopy (UV-DRS), BET surface area analysis, Raman spectroscopy, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), Scanning Electron Microscopy with Energy Dispersive Spectroscopy (SEM-EDS), Transmission Electron Microscopy (TEM), and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). The photocatalytic activities of bare TiO2, bare strontium titanate and metal doped strontium titanate catalysts were evaluated towards the decolourisation/degradation of congo red under UV, visible and solar irradiation and monitored by a UV-visible spectrophotometer and TOC analyser. Among the catalysts nickel doped strontium titanate completely decolourised CR in the shortest reaction time (300 min), and hence it was subjected to decolourise textile effluent. It was found to be very effective in the degradation of textile effluent as it showed a significant reduction in the TOC. Kinetic studies indicate that the degradation of congo red followed pseudo first order kinetics. The recycling test confirmed that the most active nickel doped strontium titanate catalyst is highly photostable.


Phosphate glasses containing rare earth ions have important apllications in laser and optoelectronics technology. A wide range of rare earth metaphosphate glasses (REMG) of the type $(R_2O_3)_0_,_2_5(P_2O_5)_0_,_7_5$, where R represents one of the rare earth elements Ce, Pr, Sm, Nd, Eu, Gd, Tb, Dy, Ho, and Er or La or Y, and the mole fraction x is close to 0,25, have been made. Employment of the complementary structural probes EXAFS and X-ray diffraction has shown that these glasses have a network built up from $PO_4$ tetrahedral units, confirming indications from Raman spectra. Systematic studies of the elastic, anelastic, and non-linear acoustic properties, usign ultrasonic techniques, Raman, optical absorption spectra, laser induced fluorescence and specific heat, involving intemational collaboration between groups at the Universities of Bath, Messina, Trento, Southampton, Edinburgh, Kent, and the Witwatersrand, are reviewed here.
These REMG display a plethora of unusual physical properties. Ultrasonic wave velocity measurements under pressure show that the acoustic modes, especially the longitudinal ones, of the Sm and Eu phosphate glasses soften under pressure: these glasses become easier to squeeze when subjected to high pressure, an extraordinary effect. For a $(Sm_20_3)_0_,_2_2(p_20_5)_0_,_7_8$ glass the thermal expansion is small and below 110KL becomes negative - at low temperatures the contributions from the soft long wavelenght acoustic modes dominate. The REMG show the excess specific heat at low temperature characteristic of a glass. The vibrational modes responsible also influence the low frequency Raman spectra: both a "boson peak" and the strongly temperature dependent, light scattering excess (LSE) are observed. The ultrasonic attenuation shows a plateau below 15K, due to pho-non-assisted tunnelling in two-level system, and at heigher temperatures rises to the broad peak typical of oxide glasses, whose maximum shifts to heigher temperatures as the ultrasonic driving frequency is raised. An important question under discussion is whether the physical properties of these REMG can be accounted for within the framework of recent theoretical advances, in particular the Soft Potential Model (SPM), which in principle could provide a unified explanation of the universal complex of their anomalous thermal, acoustic and optical vibrational properties.


Abstract The current trajectory of India–US relations is encouraging, but needs to be sustained by optimising their maritime-strategic convergence. In the maritime-configured Indo-Pacific region, the two countries could undertake substantive 'transactions' in the domain of geopolitics and military-strategic cooperation. In this context, the article examines four key aspects: the 'restrictiveness' and 'permissiveness' of India's cornerstone policy of 'strategic autonomy'; the emerging imperative for their navies to go beyond 'combined exercises' to 'combined operations'; their joint efforts to uphold established norms and tenets of international law, while also recognising their nuanced differences on the interpretation of the law; and to progress defence trade and defence-industry cooperation. The article concludes with specific recommendations on each of these key aspects.


Alpine meadow is one of the most widespread grassland types in the permafrost regions of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, and the transmission of coupled soil water heat is one of the most crucial processes influencing cyclic variations in the hydrology of frozen soil regions, especially under different vegetation covers. The present study assesses the impact of changes in vegetation cover on the coupling of soil water and heat in a permafrost region. Soil moisture (theta(nu)), soil temperature (T(s)), soil heat content, and differences in theta(nu)-Ts coupling were monitored on a seasonal and daily basis under three different vegetation covers (30, 65, and 93%) on both thawed and frozen soils. Regression analysis of theta(nu) vs. T(s) plots under different levels of vegetation cover indicates that soil freeze-thaw processes were significantly affected by the changes in vegetation cover. The decrease in vegetation cover of an alpine meadow reduced the difference between air temperature and ground temperature (Delta T(a-s)), and it also resulted in a decrease in T(s) at which soil froze, and an increase in the temperature at which it thawed. This was reflected in a greater response of soil temperature to changes in air temperature (Ta). For Delta T(a-s) outside the range of -0.1 to 1.0 degrees C, root zone soil-water temperatures showed a significant increase with increasing Delta T(a-s); however, the magnitude of this relationship was dampened with increasing vegetation cover. At the time of maximum water content in the thawing season, the soil temperature decreased with increasing vegetation. Changes in vegetation cover also led to variations in theta(nu)-T(s) coupling. With the increase in vegetation cover, the surface heat flux decreased. Soil heat storage at 20 cm in depth increased with increasing vegetation cover, and the heat flux that was downwardly transmitted de-creased. The soil property varied greatly under different vegetation covers, causing the variation of heat conductivity and water-heat hold capacity in topsoil layer in different vegetation cover. The variation of heat budget and transmitting in soil is the main factor that causes changes in soil thawing and freezing processes, and theta(nu)-T(s) coupling relationship under different vegetation fractions. In addition to providing insulation against soil warming, vegetation in alpine meadows within the permafrost region also would slow down the response of permafrost to climatic warming via the greater water-holding capacity of its root zone. Such vegetation may therefore play an important role in conserving water in alpine meadows and maintaining the stability of engineering works constructed within frozen soil of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau.


This is a brief preview of a forthcoming study of members of the Divorce Cooperation Institute (DCI), a group of Wisconsin lawyers who use a "Cooperative" process to provide a constructive and efficient negotiation process in divorce cases. The study involved in-depth telephone interviews and several surveys of DCI members. Although DCI members use this process only in divorce cases, it can be readily adapted for other types of cases.DCI's approach generally involves an explicit process agreement at the outset, based on principles of: (1) acting civilly, (2) responding promptly to reasonable requests for information, (3) disclosing all relevant financial information, (4) obtaining joint expert opinions before obtaining individual expert opinions, (5) obtaining expert input before requesting a custody study or appointment of a guardian ad litem, and (5) good-faith negotiation sessions, including four-way sessions where appropriate, to reach fair compromises based on valid information. The study describes how Cooperative Practice differs from traditional litigation-oriented process as well as Collaborative process. DCI members report that Cooperative Practice provides greater predictability and confidence than negotiation in litigation.Unlike Collaborative Practice, in Cooperative Practice, there is no "disqualification agreement" and thus Cooperative lawyers are not disqualified from representing clients in litigation if needed. Although Cooperative lawyers use many of the same procedures as in Collaborative Practice, they report using them selectively which they believe generally produces good outcomes as efficiently as possible.The complete results of the study will be published in "Practical Insights From an Empirical Study of Cooperative Lawyers in Wisconsin," 2008 Journal of Dispute Resolution (forthcoming).


Does a simple, observable indicator exist that reveals whether a firm's corporate governance structure can be improved? To clear this question, a procedure for testing the U-shaped relationship of shareholding ratios and financial performance is employed. From two hypotheses concerning the relationship between financial performance and ownership structure, the convergence-of-interest hypothesis (Jensen and Meckling, 1976; Jensen, 1993) and the entrenchment hypothesis (Jensen and Ruback, 1983; Jensen, 2005), the extreme point of the nonlinear relationship clarifies sense about the two hypotheses of corporate governance. The lower extreme point of shareholding, the easier it is for the convergence-of-interest hypothesis is accepted. To examine the influence of board composition on financial performance, the test for U-shaped relationship of Lind and Mehlum (2010) is utilized to find the optimal shareholding structures in Chinese and Taiwanese markets. The results are consistent with the hypothesis that corporate performance is a U-shaped function of the shareholding ratios. This study observes the sensitivity of the related variables about corporate governance, such as education level, board seats, leverage, and firm size, affecting the movement of extreme value in U-shaped relationship. As the results show, the education level of directors and supervisors, board size, firm size, and leverage are negatively correlated with the quantity of the extreme points. Increasing the education level of directors can lower the extreme value of the shareholding ratio of the directors, the empirical shareholding ratio is more likely to be in a range in which the convergence-of-interest applies.


This paper illustrates the cost advantage of a space transportation system that uses pressure-fed technology and describes pertinent aspects of scaling the propulsion technology for light-lift through mediumand heavy-lift vehicles. Microcosm has used this approach of scaling the propulsion system to support the design and development of a number of lowcost, pressure-fed launch vehicles for various defense, scientific, and commercial applications, particularly the Scorpius family of launch vehicles. The application of this innovative and low-cost propulsion approach to various pressure-fed space transportation systems, including those for thrust augmentation boosters and upper stages, will be discussed. In addition, the enabling propulsion technologies, their development status and the results of trade studies associated with deriving the optimum propulsion parameters will be discussed. The paper discusses our approach to achieving higher reliability from our simple but robust, light-weight and scalable critical technologies such as the low-cost ablative combustion chambers, all-composite propellant tanks, the High Performance Pressurization System (HPPS) that also provides for an innovative RCS/ACS systems for the upper stages, a low-cost TVC, and a GPS-based GN&C system. The results of trade studies will be presented to demonstrate our approach to providing a balance between costs and performance. Pressure-fed, liquid rockets have the potential to significantly lower the cost of delivering payload to orbit. While pressure-fed propulsion Systems result in higher stage dry mass fractions and slightly lower specific impulse, their very low costs more than offset the weight penalties, resulting in lower cost as measured by cost per pound of payload over the life cycle of the vehicle system. Therefore, for a given payload, gross weight and size of a pressure-fed, expendable vehicle will be somewhat larger than those of a pump-fed vehicle, but cost per pound of stage will be much lower. In addition, because pressure-fed stages are relatively inexpensive, more stages can be employed for the pressure-fed system, partially offsetting the effect of high dry mass fraction. Finally, pressure-fed stages are inherently more robust during manufacture and ground handling, providing another means for reducing cost. Moreover, as the vehicle is scaled up, development costs for a pressure-fed system do not rise as fast as those for a pump-fed system because of the complexity of the latter system's engine design and its cost of development. This implies that pressure-fed vehicles become more cost-effective as the propulsion systems and vehicles are scaled to progressively larger configurations.


Preeclampsia is a pregnancy-specific condition that leads to increased cardiovascular risk in later life. A decrease in cholesterol efflux capacity is linked to CVD. We hypothesized that in preeclampsia there would be a disruption of maternal/fetal plasma to efflux cholesterol, as well as differences in the concentrations of both placental sterol 27-hydroxylase (CYP27A1) and apoA1 binding protein (AIBP). Total, HDL-, and ABCA1-mediated cholesterol effluxes were performed with maternal and fetal plasma from women with preeclampsia and normotensive controls (both n = 17). apoA1 and apoE were quantified by chemiluminescence, and 27-hydroxycholesterol (27-OHC) by GC-MS. Immunohistochemistry was used to determine placental expression/localization of CYP27A1, AIBP, apoA1, apoE, and SRB1. Maternal and fetal total and HDL-mediated cholesterol efflux capacities were increased in preeclampsia (by 10–20%), but ABCA1-mediated efflux was decreased (by 20–35%; P < 0.05). Maternal and fetal apoE concentrations were higher in preeclampsia. Fetal plasma 27-OHC levels were decreased in preeclamptic samples (P < 0.05). Placental protein expression of both CYP27A1 and AIBP were localized around fetal vessels and significantly increased in preeclampsia (P = 0.04). Placental 27-OHC concentrations were also raised in preeclampsia (P < 0.05). Increased HDL-mediated cholesterol efflux capacity and placental CYP27A1/27-OHC could be a rescue mechanism in preeclampsia, to remove cholesterol from cells to limit lipid peroxidation and increase placental angiogenesis.


One of the greatest challenges in information retrieval is to develop an intelligent system for user and machine interaction that supports users in their quest for relevant information. The dramatic increase in the amount of Web content gives rise to the need for a largescale distributed information retrieval system, targeted to support millions of users and terabytes of data. To retrieve information from such a large amount of data in an efficient manner, the index is split among the servers in a distributed information retrieval system. Thus, partitioning the index among these collaborating nodes plays an important role in enhancing the performance of a distributed search engine. The two widely known inverted index partitioning schemes for a distributed information retrieval system are document partitioning and term partitioning. In this thesis, we introduce the Document over Term inverted index distribution scheme, which splits a set of nodes into several groups (sub-clusters) and then performs document partitioning between the groups and term partitioning within the group. As this approach is based on the term and document index partitioning approaches, we also refer it as a Hybrid Inverted Index. This approach retains the disk access benefits of term partitioning and the benefits of sharing computational load, scalability, maintainability, and availability of the document partitioning. We also introduce the Document over Document index partitioning scheme, based on the document partitioning approach. In this approach, a set of nodes is split into groups and documents in the collection are partitioned between groups and also within each group. This strategy retains all the benefits of the document partitioning approach, but reduces the computational load more effectively and uses resources more efficiently. We compare distributed index approaches experimentally and show that in terms of efficiency and scalability, document partition based approaches perform significantly better than the others. The Document over Term partitioning offers efficient utilization of search-servers and lowers disk access, but suffers from the problem of load imbalance. The Document over Document partitioning emerged to be the preferred method during high workload.


In this groundbreaking study, Joyce Hoffmann examines a critical twenty-five-year period in the work of one of the most influential journalists of the twentieth century. Theodore H. White was already a celebrated reporter when Jacqueline Kennedy summoned him for an exclusive interview in the aftermath of her husband's assassination. With her help, White would preserve what the First Lady claimed had been John F. Kennedy's vision of the New Frontier as an incarnation of that wistful, romantic kingdom--Camelot. Over the years, friends and advisers to Kennedy declared that they had never heard the president speak of Camelot. But White's article, which ran in Life magazine, created a myth that still endures in the popular consciousness. That story was just one of many by Theodore White that had a lasting impact on the nation. As a correspondent for several of the country's most popular magazines, he covered the crucial events of the 1940s, '50s, and '60s. His best-selling book The Making of the President 1960 changed political reporting forever. A gifted and likable man with a remarkable skill for ingratiating himself with others, White earned the confidence of key political, military, and diplomatic leaders. First in the Far East, later in Europe, and finally in Washington, D.C., he became a confidant and adviser rather than an adversary to the figures he covered for the news, following a pattern set by elite journalists. Even as he played the impartial reporter, White kept secrets in order to maintain access to his important sources, and he occasionally allowed his subjects, including John F. Kennedy and Nelson Rockefeller, to make changes in his work before publication. Clinging to the illusion of objectivity, White--like other leading journalists in the postwar years--wrote about the world not as it was but as he believed it ought to be. Hoffmann relates the little-known episode in White's career when he intentionally obscured the truth about Chiang Kai-shek's corrupt and inept Nationalist government because he believed that undermining China's cause would be "a disservice to democracy." No other book so thoroughly documents how a first-rank journalist can become a political insider and distort the news without losing the gloss of impartiality that is supposed to accompany the profession. Impressively researched, skillfully written, Theodore H. White and Journalism as Illusion is an unflinching look at a key figure in the history of American journalism and at the profession itself.


A comprehensive genomic and proteomic, computational, and physiological approach was employed to examine the (previously unexplored) role of microRNAs (miRNAs) as regulators of internal anal sphincter (IAS) smooth muscle contractile phenotype and basal tone. miRNA profiling, genome-wide expression, validation, and network analyses were employed to assess changes in mRNA and miRNA expression in IAS smooth muscles from young vs. aging rats. Multiple miRNAs, including rno-miR-1, rno-miR-340-5p, rno-miR-185, rno-miR-199a-3p, rno-miR-200c, rno-miR-200b, rno-miR-31, rno-miR-133a, and rno-miR-206, were found to be upregulated in aging IAS. qPCR confirmed the upregulated expression of these miRNAs and downregulation of multiple, predicted targets (Eln, Col3a1, Col1a1, Zeb2, Myocd, Srf, Smad1, Smad2, Rhoa/Rock2, Fn1, Tagln v2, Klf4, and Acta2) involved in regulation of smooth muscle contractility. Subsequent studies demonstrated an aging-associated increase in the expression of miR-133a, corresponding decreases in RhoA, ROCK2, MYOCD, SRF, and SM22α protein expression, RhoA-signaling, and a decrease in basal and agonist [U-46619 (thromboxane A2 analog)]-induced increase in the IAS tone. Moreover, in vitro transfection of miR-133a caused a dose-dependent increase of IAS tone in strips, which was reversed by anti-miR-133a. Last, in vivo perianal injection of anti-miR-133a reversed the loss of IAS tone associated with age. This work establishes the important regulatory effect of miRNA-133a on basal and agonist-stimulated IAS tone. Moreover, reversal of age-associated loss of tone via anti-miR delivery strongly implicates miR dysregulation as a causal factor in the aging-associated decrease in IAS tone and suggests that miR-133a is a feasible therapeutic target in aging-associated rectoanal incontinence.


Of the many challenges that society faces today, possibly none is more acute than the security of ordinary citizens when faced with a variety of natural or man-made disasters arising from climate and geological catastrophes, including the depletion of natural resources, environmental degradation, food shortages, terrorism, breaches of personal security and human security, or even the global economic crisis. States continue to be faced with a range of security issues arising from contested territorial spaces, military and maritime security and security threats relating to energy, infrastructure and the delivery of essential services. The theme of the book encompasses issues of human, political, military, socio-economic, environmental and energy security and raises two main questions. To what extent can international law address the types of natural and man-made security risks and challenges that threaten our livelihood, or very existence, in the 21st Century? Where does international law fall short in meeting the problems that arise in different situations of insecurity and how should such shortcomings be addressed?


The EU now faces an existential dilemma in the apparent choice to be made between over-extending the enlargement process to the point of destroying its own governability, versus denying one of its founding values to be open to all European democracies and possibly generating negative effects from the exclusion of countries in its neighbourhood. The newly emerging European Neighbourhood Policy (ENP) seeks a way out of the dilemma. This policy seems to pass through a familiar three-stage process for major EU initiatives: first the important idea enters political discourse, second the EU institutions take modest initial actions that are not up to the task and third, the EU accepts the need for credible action at a level commensurate with the challenge. The ENP has passed rapidly from the first to the second stage, with potential to move to the third stage, without it yet being clear whether the institutions will now go on to sufficiently develop their proposals. This issue presents itself as one of the most precise and significant challenges facing the new Commission presided by Mr Barroso. The new member states represent the EU's newest resource, which could greatly contribute to a successful ENP.


New footnotes have been added, based on discoveries by the leading Soviet Dostoevsky scholar, Sergei Belov. "Backgrounds and Sources", highly praised in the Second Edition, remains unaltered. Included are a detailed map of nineteenth-century St. Petersburg, selections from Dostoevsky's notebooks and letters, and a crucial passage from an early draft of his novel. Noteworthy among the several new "Essays in Criticism" are a little-known but important passage by Leo Tolstoy on Raskolnikov; an essay by Sergei Belov; observations by the Russian literary theoretician and scholar Mikhail Bakhtin; and an essay by the Nobel laureate Czeslaw Milosz. A Chronology of Dostoevsky's Life and a Selected Bibliography are also included.


Background: Home care was previously included in healthcare centers in county councils in Sweden. Today, home care is the responsibility of municipalities. Consequently, the work of district nurses from healthcare centers has changed, and they face a new mission and new challenges. The aim of this study was to explore district nurses' experiences of working in home care after the municipalization. Methods: The design was descriptive with an inductive approach. Five district nurses working in different municipalities were interviewed. Qualitative content analysis was used. Results: The district nurses experienced their work through the following themes: organization, local environment and leading the team, and defined the themes in terms of inadequacy, collaboration, control, comfort, continuity and own competence. Their work was free and pleasant with more time for the patients. At the same time they at time had difficulties to carry out their work. Recipients' condition in municipality home care experienced as better as a consequence of cross‐border cooperation, compared to earlier organisation of home care. District nurses work involved a great nursing responsibility and required leadership. They experienced losses of competence as well as new competence. Conclusions: District nurses' work was at times difficult because of organisational barriers. There is need of improvements and tools for district nurses to carry out their work and to promote their competence development. The organisation is not functioning optimally in municipal home care. Cooperation between municipality, primary care and inpatient care needs improvement.


Wetting properties of polyethylene terephthalate (PET) and low-density polyethylene polymers have been investigated after treatment with a microwave (MW) plasma discharge at low pressure and a dielectric barrier discharge at atmospheric pressure. Experiments have also been carried out in situ with an atom source installed in an x-ray photoemission spectrometer (XPS). The water contact angle measured on both polymers experienced a significant decrease after activation, but a progressive recovery up to different values after ageing. Standard chemical analysis by XPS showed that the plasma and oxygen beam treatments produced an increase in the concentration of –C(O)x functional groups at the outermost surface layers of the treated polymers. Besides, the oxygen distribution between the topmost surface layer and the bulk has been obtained by non-destructive XPS peak shape analysis. Atomic force microscopy analysis of the surface topography showed that, except for PET treated with the MW plasma and the atom beam, the surface roughness increased after the plasma treatments. Wetting angle variations, oxygen content and distribution, surface roughness and evolution of these properties with time are comparatively discussed by taking into account the basic processes that each type of activation procedure induces in the outmost surface layers of the treated polymers.


Teachers faced with integrating computers into a second language curriculum will appreciate this helpful, straightforward resource. Unlike the existing scholarly and theoretical texts on computer-assisted language learning (CALL), "A" "Practical Guide to Using Computers in" "Language Teaching" gives context and meaning to the computer environment with immediate classroom needs in mind. The text introduces teachers to CALL, offering tips for getting started, and providing an overview of current CALL pedagogy. The author also describes a variety of CALL exercises that teachers can use, including: " Writing activities" Internet activities" Audio/video activities" Project activities" Text-based activities" Content activities Appendices with useful terminology, software tips, and suggestions for further research are also included in the final section of the book. This textbook applies to a broad spectrum of users and computing environments, and deals with capabilities commonly available on both Macs and PCs. John de Szendeffy is Director, Multimedia Language Lab, Boston University.


There are many railway crossings which are unmanned due to lack of manpower, needed to fulfill the demands. Hence, many accidents occur at such crossings, since there is no one to take care of the functioning of the railway gate when a train approaches the crossing.The objective of this paper is to manage the control system of railway gate using the microcontroller. The proposed model has been designed using 8052 microcontroller to avoid railway accidents occurring at unattended railway gates, if implemented detection of train approaching the gate can be sensed by means of two sensors placed on either side of the gate. This work utilizes two powerful magnetic sensors; one of these magnetic sensors is fixed at upside (from where the train comes) and similarly the other magnetic sensor is fixed at down side of the train direction. Sensors are fixed on both sides of the gate. We call the sensor along the train direction as 'foreside sensor' and the other as 'after side sensor'. When foreside sensor gets activated, the sensed signal is sent to the microcontroller and the gate motor is turned on in one direction by relay driver and the gate is closed and stays closed until the train crosses the gate and reaches after side sensors. When after side sensor gets activated and the signal about the departure is sent to the microcontroller, motor turns in opposite direction and gate opens and motor stops.


Agrostis species are mainly used in athletic fields and golf courses. Their integrity is maintained by fungicides, which makes the development of disease-resistance varieties a high priority. However, there is a lack of knowledge about resistance (R) genes and their use for genetic improvement in Agrostis species. The objective of this study was to identify and clone constitutively expressed cDNAs encoding R gene-like (RGL) sequences from three Agrostis species (colonial bentgrass (A. capillaris L.), creeping bentgrass (A. stolonifera L.) and velvet bentgrass (A. canina L.)) by PCR-based motif-directed RNA fingerprinting towards relatively conserved nucleotide binding site (NBS) domains. Sixty-one constitutively expressed cDNA sequences were identified and characterized. Sequence analysis of ESTs and probable translation products revealed that RGLs are highly conserved among these three Agrostis species. Fifteen of them were shown to share conserved motifs found in other plant disease resistance genes such as MLA13, Xa1, YR6, YR23 and RPP5. The molecular evolutionary forces, analysed using the Ka/Ks ratio, reflected purifying selection both on NBS and leucine-rich repeat (LRR) intervening regions of discovered RGL sequences in these species. This study presents, for the first time, isolation and characterization of constitutively expressed RGL sequences from Agrostis species revealing the presence of TNL (TIR-NBS-LRR) type R genes in monocot plants. The characterized RGLs will further enhance knowledge on the molecular evolution of the R gene family in grasses.


Room-temperature quantum emitters in gallium nitride (GaN) are reported. The emitters originate from cubic inclusions in hexagonal lattice and exhibit narrowband luminescence in the red spectral range. The sources are found in different GaN substrates, and therefore are promising for scalable quantum technologies.


This study examines the campaign issues, demographic factors, and voting trends that helped Republican John Paul Hammerschmidt defeat incumbent Democratic congressman James W. Trimble in Arkansas's third congressional district in 1966. Much of the historiography addressing this election largely neglects the historic significance of Hammerschmidt's successful campaign and the factors contributing to his victory. Instead, historians primarily write about the election of Republican Winthrop Rockefeller to the governor's office that year. This thesis pieces together several theories on how Hammerschmidt defeated Trimble, including the effect of Winthrop Rockefeller's coattails, the demographic changes taking place in the Ozarks beginning in the 1960's, the region's traditional and increasing Republicanism, and the growth of industrialization and urbanization in parts of the district. Meanwhile, this study incorporates the unpopularity of Lyndon B. Johnson's expensive Great Society programs in the district and the impact mid-decade redistricting in 1965 had on the political and geographic makeup of the district. Overall, this study suggests that Hammerschmidt's victory cannot be traced to one particular issue or factor; instead, several factors helped him win. That said, the study also suggests that Hammerschmidt's focusing on national issues and campaigning against Johnson's Great Society programs likely benefitted his campaign the most, along with the highenergy campaigning tactics he implemented. Meanwhile, this thesis acknowledges Trimble's vulnerabilities in elections prior to 1966, and that northern and western sections of Arkansas had been gradually trending toward Republicans at the federal level since 1952. Finally, this study suggests that it is difficult to gauge how much demographic changes (primarily retirees moving to northern Arkansas) and the controversy surrounding the Buffalo River impacted the race due to a lack of comprehensive data. ©2017 by Jesse Sims All Rights Reserved


Previous research has reached inconsistent, if not paradoxical, conclusions regarding the impact of conservation easements on farmland prices. Expectations of price reductions, strongly grounded in economic theory, are not always observed.We develop a hedonic model to examine the sale prices of 325 New Jersey preserved farms. We find strong evidence that residual development options retained under farmland deeds of easement have significant and positive effects on preserved farmland prices. This suggests that appraisals are undervaluing deed-restricted farmland, resulting in possible overpayment for conservation easements. This may explain the limited price differentials researchers have observed between preserved and unpreserved farmland.


Synopsis High-pressure waterjet technology is proposed as an alternative tool for selective underground mining of high-grade ore sections in stratiform orebodies showing a preferred 'bottom' or 'top' enrichment such as the Witwatersrand reefs and the Bushveld Complex platiniferous reefs. This technique, utilizing known mining technology together with more advanced machinery and additives as used in industrial and cleaning applications, may lead to an increased life-of-mine (LOM) for mining operations. A series of experiments was successfully carried out in a laboratory on Witwatersrand quartzite material, indicating acceptable cutting performance. Mining volumes by selectively cutting of reef portions are considered to be comparable to traditional drilling and blasting. Economic advantages of waterjet mining include energy savings due to the lower quantity of gangue rock to be hoisted to surface, as well as savings by a decrease in the usage of blasting materials. Capital expenditure of waterjet cutting, if applied on a broad scale, could be lower in the long term than that of conventional drilling and blasting methods. Mining by the application of high-pressure waterjet technology could become a competitive 'green technology' improving the economics and safety of labour-intensive mining operations. This paper suggests that waterjet cutting at an industrial scale can become a routine hardrock mining technique in the future.


An inter-calibration method is developed to provide absolute radiometric calibration of narrow-swath imaging sensors with reference to non-coincident wide-swath sensors. The method predicts at-sensor radiance using non-coincident imagery from the reference sensor and knowledge of spectral reflectance of the test site. The imagery of the reference sensor is restricted to acquisitions that provide similar view and solar illumination geometries to reduce uncertainties due to directional reflectance effects. Spectral reflectance of the test site is found with a simple iterative radiative transfer method using radiance values of a well-understood wide-swath sensor and spectral shape information based on historical ground-based measurements. At-sensor radiance is calculated for the narrow-swath sensor using this spectral reflectance and atmospheric parameters that are also based on historical in-situ measurements. Results of the inter-calibration method show agreement on the 2-5% level in most spectral regions with the vicarious calibration technique relying on coincident ground-based measurements referred to as the reflectance-based approach. While the variability of the inter-calibration method based on non-coincident image pairs is significantly larger, results are consistent with techniques relying on in-situ measurements. The method is also insensitive to spectral differences between the sensors by transferring to surface spectral reflectance prior to prediction of at-sensor radiance. The utility of this inter-calibration method is made clear by its flexibility to utilize image pairings with acquisition dates differing in excess of 30 days allowing frequent absolute calibration comparisons between wide- and narrow-swath sensors.


OBJECTIVE
The 22-item Unidimensional Fatigue Impact Scale (U-FIS) provides an index of the impact of fatigue on patients with multiple sclerosis (MS). The objective is to produce eight new language versions of the U-FIS: Canadian-English, Canadian-French, French, German, Italian, Spanish, Swedish, and US-English.

METHODS
The U-FIS was translated via two translation panels. Cognitive debriefing interviews conducted with patients in each country assessed face and content validity. Scaling and psychometric properties were assessed via survey data with patients in each country completing the U-FIS, Nottingham Health Profile (NHP), and demographic questions.

RESULTS
Cognitive debriefing interviews demonstrated U-FIS acceptability. Analysis of postal survey data showed all new language versions to be unidimensional. Reliability was high, with test-retest correlations and internal-consistency coefficients exceeding 0.85. Initial evidence of validity was provided by moderate to high correlations with NHP scales. The U-FIS was able to discriminate between groups based on employment status, perceived MS severity, and general health.

CONCLUSION
The U-FIS is a practical new measure of the impact of fatigue. It was successfully adapted into eight new languages to broaden availability for researchers. Psychometric analyses indicated that the new language versions were unidimensional and reproducible with promising construct validity.


Why do states block some foreign direct investment on national security grounds even when it originates from within their own security community? Government intervention into foreign takeovers of domestic companies is on the rise, and many observers find it surprising that states engage in such behavior not only against their strategic and military competitors, but also against their closest allies. Ashley Thomas Lenihan argues that such puzzling behavior can be explained by recognizing that states use intervention into cross-border mergers and acquisitions as a tool of statecraft to internally balance the economic and military power of other states through non-military means. This book tests this theory using quantitative and qualitative analysis of transactions in the United States, Russia, China, and fifteen European Union states. It deepens our understanding of why states intervene in foreign takeovers, the relationship between interdependence and conflict, the limits of globalization, and how states are balancing power in new ways.


We present a schema to build one way functions from a family of Boolean gates. Moreover, we relate characteristics of these Boolean gate truth tables to properties of the derived one-way functions. We believe this to be the first attempt at establishing cryptographic properties from the Boolean cube spaces of the component gates. This schema is then used to build a family of compression functions, which in turn can be used to get block encryption and hash functions. These functions are based on reconfigurable gates. We prove cryptographically relevant properties for these function implementations. Various applications incorporating these one-way functions, specifically memory integrity in processor architecture, are presented.


In this paper, we proposed a new readout circuit in order to improve measurement output while reading the grouped resistive value in matrix array form. The purpose of having this circuit is to overcome the main problem in applying piezoresistive pressure sensor array for foot plantar application. This new approach is called Nodal Array Approach (NAA), a modified version of Wheatstone Bridge Circuit based on nodal analysis technique using Kirchcoff Current Law. The NAA calculates the sensors' resistance values by solving simultaneous equations from reading voltages of the proposed readout circuit. Therefore, it is found that the readout circuit connection is of low complexity as it only uses resistive element as the major component of reading technique with only four iterations involved for each voltage nodes. Through simulation results, it shows that NAA is able to achieve high accuracy in obtaining a sensor's resistance value by adhering to several limitations in order to avoid miscalculation (< 5% average calculation error).


Today's lifestyle puts an increasing accent on internet resources. In order to increase its efficiency, the educational process should also include internet resources. This work presents different internet resources (online courses and tutorials, social media, online games) and analyses their efficiency in training students.


Gravitational waves from neutron-star and black-hole binaries carry valuable information on their physical properties and probe physics inaccessible to the laboratory. Although development of black-hole gravitational-wave templates in the past decade has been revolutionary, the corresponding work for double neutron-star systems has lagged. Neutron stars can be well-modelled as simple barotropic fluids during the part of binary inspiral most relevant to gravitational wave astronomy, but the crucial geometric and mathematical consequences of this simplification have remained computationally unexploited. In particular, Carter and Lichnerowicz have described barotropic fluid motion via classical variational principles as conformally geodesic. Moreover, Kelvin's circulation theorem implies that initially irrotational flows remain irrotational. Applied to numerical relativity, these concepts lead to novel Hamiltonian or Hamilton-Jacobi schemes for evolving relativistic fluid flows. Hamiltonian methods can conserve not only flux, but also circulation and symplecticity, and moreover do not require addition of an artificial atmosphere typically required by standard conservative methods. These properties can allow production of high-precision gravitational waveforms at low computational cost. This canonical hydrodynamics approach is applicable to a wide class of problems involving theoretical or computational fluid dynamics.


The global competition for residents and investments inevitably transforms the very foundation of for countries' tax policy. It alters the way we (should) think of the classic normative goals of income tax policy. Efficiency, redistribution and even the concepts of community, national identity and democratic participation all pose significant new dilemmas due to the global competition perspective. Under competition tax ceases to be the compulsory tool used by the state to overcome collective action problems and becomes one of the instruments competing for residents and capital. By providing taxpayers with a viable alternative, tax competition gradually turns the decision making process on its head. Instead of making compulsory demands on its subjects in order to promote the collective goals of a given group, the state acts increasingly as a recruiter - to solicit investments as well as residents. The incentive to attract mobile residents and investments pushes policy-makers to limit tax's redistribution functions; to choose between their original constituents and others - possibly more attractive ones; to depend less on voice-based and more on exit-based practices; and it renders mobility a particularly significant factor for gaining economic rights and benefits. Under these conditions, tax policy does not only determine the level and distribution of tax, nor does it restrict itself to determining the kinds and level of the services being provided. Rather, the new key role of mobility puts tax policy to a large extent in charge of the size and the make of the national group. By providing higher incentives for some and lower ones for others - tax policy in fact participates in determining who belongs to us.


Location management is one of the most important aspects in the realization of mobility in wireless networks. Following developments of ATM (asynchronous transfer mode) technology, more core networks are becoming ATM-based. Therefore research into location management schemes for wireless networks with ATM cores is attracting more attention. Several location management schemes have been previously proposed for classical wireless ATM networks, which have end-to-end native ATM connections. Most of these proposals assume that a wireless ATM network is built using end-user mobile ATM switches (EMAS). However, current ATM networks only consist of normal ATM switches that are not mobility enabled. We present a location management scheme for hybrid wireless ATM networks, which have an ATM based core and IP based wireless tails. From a performance analysis, we show that the proposed scheme has a better cost performance than the conventional GSM/IS-41 based location management scheme.


For the past seventeen years, the Internal Revenue Service (Service) and the U.S. Tax Court (Tax Court) have unfairly penalized unrepresented taxpayers by ignoring Congressional safeguards in reaction to widely reported Service abuses. Those safeguards were enacted when Congress passed the Internal Revenue Service Restructuring and Reform Act in 1998 (IRS Reform Act). While the IRS Reform Act stopped many of the more egregious abuses, it has thus far failed to provide the meaningful penalty protections Congress sought. Prior to passage of the IRS Reform Act, the Service routinely imposed tax penalties without indicating to taxpayers either the statutory basis for the penalty or how the penalty was calculated. In addition, many lower-tiered Service examiners assessed penalties against taxpayers without any supervisory approval, which led to the widespread belief that either the Service was penalizing taxpayers indiscriminately, or using the penalty to strengthen its negotiating position with taxpayers. In the time leading up to enactment, the Senate noted protections were needed because "taxpayers are entitled to an explanation of the penalties imposed upon them . . . [and] penalties should only be imposed where appropriate and not as a bargaining chip." The IRS Reform Act was intended to balance the playing field between the Service and taxpayers. To meet those goals, the IRS Reform Act added three new provision in two new sections of the Internal Revenue Code (Code) requiring the Service to: (1) include detailed information about the basis for penalties, as well as the penalty calculations, (2) have supervisors approve, in writing, all discretionary penalties, and (3) bear the burden of production with respect to tax penalties in court proceedings. While the Service has generally met the first provision, it has routinely avoided the second and ignored the third. Although the second requirement requires supervisory approval of non-discretionary penalties, the Service fails to provide taxpayers with any proof that such approval was obtained, and, in at least two recent cases discussed herein, has argued that taxpayers have no redress if such approval was not obtained. In addition, the Service has chosen to narrow the definition of discretionary penalties in order to avoid the law.


BRAC initiated an innovative programme known as Challenging the Frontiers of Poverty Reduction (CFPR) in 2002 to address the extreme poverty in Bangladesh. Impact assessment studies on the first phase of CFPR (2002-06) have shown that the programme had significant positive impacts on the livelihoods of the participant households. However, whether this impact on livelihoods is sustainable or not remained the key research question. Based on panel data from three rounds of survey (2002, 2005 and 2008), this study explores sustainability of livelihood impacts of the first phase of CFPR. The findings show that programme impacts on income, employment, food security and asset holding were mostly sustainable in the long-run. Magnitude of impact on per capita income was found to be increased over time. Livestock and poultry holding increased substantially among the programme participants due to mainly transfer of these assets by the programme and the increase sustained in the long-run. The findings of this study also show that although the programme did not have significant impact on education in the short-run, in the long-run it had a modest positive impact on boys' primary enrolment. Qualitative exploration reveals that determination, confidence, social network, asset management skill, and hard work of the participant women are the key factors for effectively using the supports provided by the CFPR programme. [CFPR Working paper No. 19]


Purpose of the article: The aim of this paper is to present the results of own research that demonstrates a part of the dissertation research project "Process management in higher education" (realized in the years 2010–2013). Presented 4th research phase is focused on a group of educational process external customers – employers of fresh graduates. This phase is called The research of the needs and experiences and summarizes suggestions for higher education optimization.
Methodology/methods: The Research methodology is built on principles of Business Process Management. The prime data are collected by questionnaire survey – the basic set of the 4th research phase contains 847 respondents.
Scientific aim: The scientific inference of presented research is a conversion of process management methodology into domestic university environment. Research identifies key external customers of educational processes and operates with their needs and expectations. Customers are segmented into five basic groups and each group is targeted to prior-year research. Each research phase is conditioned by cooperating partners, especially secondary schools, high schools, colleges, employers of graduates, etc.
Findings: The phases carried out in the years 2010–2012 were focused on direct participants in educational processes, ie candidates for higher education, college students and fresh graduates. The result of these phases shows that candidates often have no clear idea of what specific study outcomes they will obtain. During the bachelor or masters course are students usually not able to perspective the study process as a complex and most often are focused only on the performance of particular tasks without direct relation to the needs of potential future employers. Fresh working graduates gain the first reflection of their studies and 40% of them stated that they studied a field in which they can not find relevant job. Therefore the todays 4th phase identifies the needs of domestic employers and formulates their recommendation.
Conclusions: Domestic employers prefer to work with graduates, especially for their adaptability to the conditions of the corporate culture. The labor market do not discriminate any graduates of the monitored schools, entrepreneurs often selects a graduate due to his personal knowledge and skills (with an important role of foreign language and soft skills).


This book studies the contributions of Lorenzo Valla (1407-1457) and Rudolph Agricola (1444-1485) to rhetoric and dialectic. It analyses their influence on sixteenth century education, and on Erasmus, Vives, Melanchthon and Ramus. It provides an introduction to the renaissance use of language.


This paper presents an efficient "Phase-Lagged" method developed for turbomachinery applications. The method is based on the Generalized-Shape-Correction model. Moving averages techniques as well as double-passage domain formulation were adopted in order to reduce memory requirements and improve the model robustness. The model was used to evaluate the aerodynamic performance of the high pressure transonic turbine stage CT3, experimentally studied at the von Karm´ an Institute for Fluid Dynamics within the EU funded TATEF2 project. Results ´ are discussed and compared with both the available experimental data and the results obtained by means of both steady and unsteady scaled Full-Annulus approaches. Computational requirements of the GSC model are evaluated and presented showing that nowadays unsteady results can be reached at an affordable computational cost


In the antennae of the insect olfactory system, there exist two distinct chemical perception mechanisms. The so-called "generalist" system recognizes odorants from foods and plants and is made up of the olfactory receptor family, with many different genes. The second perception mechanism, the "specialist" system, detects pheromones from insects of the same species. Nakagawa et al. report that in the silk moth, coexpression of pheromone receptors with a receptor from the generalist insect olfactory receptor subfamily promotes the functional expression of pheromone receptors and confers ligand-stimulated nonselective cation channel activity. T. Nakagawa, T. Sakurai, T. Nishioka, K. Touhara, Insect sex-pheromone signals mediated by specific combinations of olfactory receptors. Science 307, 1638-1642 (2005). [Abstract] [Full Text]


Background The elderly population in Africa is unevenly distributed across the continent, with the highest percentage of elderly living in the Southern African region. In 1996, the elderly population of South Africa (65 years and older) was roughly 6.7%, and was calculated to be 10.4% by 2025. If the latter expectation is anywhere near realistic, it stands to reason that the Department of Health should make timely provision for the care of these future patients, as the prevailing disease patterns within a population change as that population ages. Thus, there is an urgent need for profiles of elderly patients in order for adequate training to be implemented and for beds and equipment to be ready when needed. Methods A retrospective study was undertaken of all data available from a clinical audit done at Universitas Hospital's Geriatric Unit. All patients aged 65 years and older who were admitted by Internal Medicine's Geriatric Unit over four years were analysed in order to compile a profile of geriatric patients hospitalised at Universitas Hospital. Results The study group consisted of 791 elderly patients. Their average age was 81 years (range: 65 to 101 years of age) and they were hospitalised for an average of 11 days, with an average use of five medications per patient. Women represented 66% of the patients and the mortality rate was 17% in the total study group. The main admitting clinical problems were hypertension, heart failure, ischemic heart disease and anaemia. Most of the patients did not smoke or use alcohol. Out of a group of 523(due to the fact that it was a retrospective study, data for this criteria were only available for 523 of the 791 patients), 235 (45%) were self-supporting and 32% were known to use living aids. The majority of the patients were single and an equal amount were living in old age homes and with their families. The main special examinations used in their treatment were chest X-rays, nuclear examinations of the liver, ECG, heart sonar and CT of the brain, and gastroscopies. Almost all of the patients had undergone full blood count analysis and U+E determinations, and in more than 50% of cases, creatine, albumin and glucose measurements were taken. Conclusion For successful geriatric care at Universitas Hospital there will be a need for at least 11 days hospitalisation, and a unit with good training in internal medicine, psychiatry, urology, orthopaedy and oncology. The main supporting services will be physiotherapy, occupational therapy and social welfare. Laboratory analyses will include full blood count, urea and electrolyte measurements, urine examination, and creatine and glucose measurements. Special investigations will mainly be radiology and cardiology sonar examination. How well we care for elderly patients in the future will be an indicator of the quality of our healthcare system in general. We need to redesign our social insurance and welfare systems to fit the realities of our current situation.


A computationally efficient numerical procedure to generate two-dimensional (2D) correlation spectra from a set of spectral data collected at certain discrete intervals of an external physical variable, such as time, temperature, pressure, etc., is proposed. The method is based on the use of a discrete Hilbert transform algorithm which carries out the time-domain orthogonal transformation of dynamic spectra. The direct computation of a discrete Hilbert transform provides a definite computational advantage over the more traditional fast Fourier transform route, as long as the total number of discrete spectral data traces does not significantly exceed 40. Furthermore, the mathematical equivalence between the Hilbert transform approach and the original formal definition based on the Fourier transform offers an additional useful insight into the true nature of the asynchronous 2D spectrum, which may be regarded as a time-domain cross-correlation function between orthogonally transformed dynamic spectral intensity variations.


In this work, the perovskite structured system Na0.5Bi0.5TiO3 (NBT) and its solid solutions (1-x)(Na0.5Bi0.5TiO3)-xBaTiO3 (NBT-BT), (1-x)(Na0.5Bi0.5TiO3)-xSrTiO3 (NBT-ST) and [(1-x)(1-y)(Na0.5Bi0.5TiO3)-yBaTiO3)]-xCaZrO3 (NBT-BT-CZ) have been investigated. In detail, the impact of A-site non-stoichiometry and B-site doping on the electrical, dielectric, ferroelectric and piezoelectric properties was discussed. The main aim was to reveal the defect chemical origin of extremely high oxygen ionic conductivity in NBT and to apply the gained knowledge to control and enhance the properties of NBT-based solid solutions. This could result in a large application range of NBT and its solid solutions from excellent solid ionic conductors to high-temperature dielectric materials.
High levels of oxygen ionic conductivity were rather unexpected in NBT and highlight that the already established defect chemical models for lead- or barium-based systems do not hold for this system. It was assumed that defect complexes form in NBT between a B-site defect and a generated oxygen vacancy, resulting in a non-linear increase of the effective oxygen vacancy concentration.
By performing temperature dependent impedance spectroscopy, the electrical properties of NBT have been investigated in more detail. With the help of density functional theory (DFT) calculations, an analytical model was established with regards to a possible defect complex formation in acceptor doped NBT. Further, the conducted work delivers proof that the association energy of the defect complex is dependent on the doping element (in particular mechanical contributions from the differing ionic radii, Coulomb interactions with concerning the valence state and covalent contributions), doping concentration and crystal phase. With a precise adjustment of the A-site and B-site defect chemistry, controllability of the ionic conductivity in NBT could be reached in such a way, that either high ionic conducting NBT or low, semiconducting NBT can be processed.
Based on the gained knowledge, the solid solution NBT-6BT was investigated for A-site non-stoichiometry and B-site acceptor doping to reveal similar defect chemical mechanisms as observed in NBT. B-site acceptor doping leads to similar electrical properties. The induction of high levels of oxygen ionic conductivity is, therefore, following the same mechanism in NBT-6BT. Based on this finding, acceptor doping was revealed to be not a valid approach to enhance the ferroelectric properties in NBT and NBT-based solid solutions. A-site non-stoichiometry featured a significant impact on the non-ergodic/ergodic relaxor transition on NBT-6BT which led to considerably different ferroelectric and piezoelectric properties at room temperature. Additionally, the presence of increased oxygen vacancy concentration is directly related to chemical diffusion during the processing.
This circumstance was utilized in the core-shell structured NBT-based solid solution NBT-25ST. In detail, B-site doping and A-site non-stoichiometry were simultaneously applied on NBxT-25ST to elucidate the origin of forming this particular chemical inhomogeneity which could either be facilitated by the occurrence of A-site vacancies or oxygen vacancies. With the help of a detailed SEM analysis, it could be confirmed that the oxygen vacancy concentration is mainly responsible for the formation of core-shell structures. Low oxygen vacancy concentration stabilized fine-grained, core-shell structures, larger concentrations result in grain growth and homogeneous elemental distribution. A remarkable impact on the resulting piezo- and ferroelectric properties could be revealed. As the NBT-rich core was attributed to being responsible for non-ergodic relaxor behavior, a core-shell structured composition should provide non-ergodic behavior. This assumption holds for A-site non-stoichiometry in NBxT-25ST. Acceptor doping with Fe (high vacancy concentration), however, leads to non-ergodic relaxor behavior, Nb-donor doping (low vacancy concentration results in ergodic relaxor behavior at room temperature irrespective on additional A-site non-stoichiometry. This result confirms that, besides changing the occurrence of core-shell microstructures, the ferro- and piezoelectric responses of the NBT-rich cores themselves are affected by the doping. This results in ergodic behavior in the case of Nb-donor doping.
The feature of relaxor behavior was utilized to further enhance the application range of NBT. Therefore, the solid solution NBxT-6BT-yCZ was investigated for its temperature-dependent dielectric properties. It could be confirmed that the stoichiometric NBT-6BT-20CZ composition exhibits an exceptionally large application temperature range where the criterion of temperature stable permittivity and low dielectric loss are fulfilled simultaneously. The almost temperature-independent permittivity was attributed to the presence and coexistence of two different kinds of polar nano regions, in the respective low temperature (LT) and high temperature (HT) form. The dielectric losses, however, limited the application range. By the addition of BiAlO3 (BA), a further decrease of the dielectric losses could be achieved. This resulted in an excellent high-temperature dielectric material that can by far outperform commonly used high-temperature capacitors for the given operation temperature window in which the permittivity and loss criterion are fulfilled simultaneously.
The here presented results elucidate the defect chemical origin of oxygen ionic conductivity in NBT. By applying the gained defect chemical knowledge, oxygen vacancy formation can precisely be controlled and the application range of NBT and its solid solutions could be enlarged towards tunable piezo- and ferroelectric properties as well as excellent temperature stable dielectric properties.


We describe the version of the GPT planner used in the probabilistic track of the 4th International Planning Competition (IPC-4). This version, called mGPT, solves Markov Decision Processes specified in the PPDDL language by extracting and using different classes of lower bounds along with various heuristic-search algorithms. The lower bounds are extracted from deterministic relaxations where the alternative probabilistic effects of an action are mapped into different, independent, deterministic actions. The heuristic-search algorithms use these lower bounds for focusing the updates and delivering a consistent value function over all states reachable from the initial state and the greedy policy.


This paper describes the project to provide a major new sewage pumping station in east London with a highly innovative design of utilising very large submersible pumps. It covers the historical background to the project and the extensive hydraulic modelling carried out to develop the concept. Details are given of the engineering and architectural elements of the project which have led to substantial cost reductions, while addressing the environmental and heritage aspects of the site.


The objective of this research was to explore the co-creation of person-centred records, to support memory, identity and personhood, with the person diagnosed with early stage dementia. This thesis describes the design of a second generation grounded theory methodology and applied archival research. With its postmodern, continuum and social constructionist influences second generation grounded theory sees a shift in how we understand the researcher's interaction with participants in a study. It highlights the way relationships between researcher, participant and research data are both inseparable and the product of their combined interactions. Hearing and knowing participant voices requires methods and techniques sensitive not only to researcher and participants' words, but also their inherent meaning and actions.

A unique repertoire of interview techniques was undertaken with participants, to understand their experiences of memory, identity and personhood, in the context of early stage dementia. The interview process facilitated co-creating vignettes of stories which were centred on the person and their perspectives of life. Reviewing the vignettes with the participants facilitated exploration of the stories and meaning captured in these records of self. The recorded stories and the processes for co-creating records of these stories were analysed using a social constructionist lens; to develop new theory and knowledge about the potential ways in which these records may support stories of self and personhood.

The main contribution of this research was the development of a social constructionist theory of the Experiential Model of the Person-Centred Record. This is an integrative theory which describes the person-centred records as a particular type of record informed by theories of personhood and person-centred practice. Other outcomes of this research include:

1 Contribution to research methodology and applied archival research
: Designing a second generation grounded theory and innovative methods and techniques suited to the needs of working with people and their data.

2 Contribution to archival theory
: Application of the social constructionist lens, drawn from psychology and social psychology, for the study of interpersonal and social processes.

3 Contribution to practice
: This research is significant to the archival discipline as it creates an exemplar of reflexive and ethical practice involved in working within new and emergent problem spaces. Additional material(s) submitted with thesis.


We determine the quality of randomized social choice mechanisms in a setting in which the agents have metric preferences: every agent has a cost for each alternative, and these costs form a metric. We assume that these costs are unknown to the mechanisms (and possibly even to the agents themselves), which means we cannot simply select the optimal alternative, i.e. the alternative that minimizes the total agent cost (or median agent cost). However, we do assume that the agents know their ordinal preferences that are induced by the metric space. We examine randomized social choice functions that require only this ordinal information and select an alternative that is good in expectation with respect to the costs from the metric. To quantify how good a randomized social choice function is, we bound the distortion, which is the worst-case ratio between expected cost of the alternative selected and the cost of the optimal alternative. We provide new distortion bounds for a variety of randomized mechanisms, for both general metrics and for important special cases. Our results show a sizable improvement in distortion over deterministic mechanisms.


Systems thinking renders complex realities of practical situations into conceptual constructs, with an underlying intention to improve the situations being conceptualized. Systems thinking involves thinking both systemically - going up a level of abstraction with an holistic understanding of the real world – and thinking systematically in terms of then implementing ideas in practice through engaging with different stakeholders. Together the two activities comprise praxis; theory-informed-practice for the purpose of helpful transformation. Praxis might be understood as a continual conversation between understanding and practice. One expression of such conversations is using the systems idea as both an epistemological device and as an ontological device, with the primary intent being on the former rather than the latter; systems thinking for learning in practice. This chapter describes the features of systems thinking in practice as praxis.

Praxis might be described as the process by which a theory, lesson, or idea is enacted, embodied, or realised. "Praxis" captures many of the notions of 'duality': dualities like thinking and practice; theory and action; planning and implementation. Praxis helps to move away from seeing such dualities as 'either/or' dualisms - for example, understanding "or" practice, thinking "or" acting, planning "or" implementing. Praxis is also mindful of the transformation or change in a situation that occurs.

Praxis is illustrated here using a powerful systems tool - critical systems heuristics (CSH). CSH is a reference system – a particular form of conceptualising, bounding, or representing a situation of interest - comprising twelve questions (boundary judgements) which might be asked either in the normative 'ought' mode and/or the descriptive analytic 'is' mode. The twelve questions are organised into four groups which respectively signal four generic questions that might be asked of any situation: (i) who gets what? (ii) who owns what? (iii) who does what? and (iv) who gets affected by what some people get in the process?

The case study exemplifying praxis explores natural resource-use appraisal (NRUA) in Botswana and how it is undertaken and how it might be improved. The inquiry focuses on two systems; one, an epistemological system of inquiry; the other, an ontological 'object system' as a subject of inquiry – NRUA in Botswana. The general parameters of praxis are dealt with in accordance with three stages of unfolding, each with a dialectical praxis component: (i) Boundary questions: contrasting 'practical' with 'conceptual'; (ii) Systems critique: contrasting 'actual' with 'ideal'; and (iii) Social critique: contrasting 'affected' with 'involved.' To reveal what these stages look like in relation to the NRUA inquiry a dual focus is undertaken on the epistemological use of 'unfolding' as applied during fieldwork, and the ontological parameters of 'unfolding' as they were subsequently used in the full study. It is argued that features of a critical systems approach can be used for developing resource-use appraisal as an agency for change and transformation rather than as an agency of control and stability. Systems thinking as praxis can contribute significantly to an improved level of debate on issues regarding development practice.


Analysis of karyotype, nuclear DNA content and RAPD markers were performed in four species of Bruguiera (Rhizophoraceae) of Bhitarkanika mangrove forests, Orissa, India. Detailed karyotype analysis revealing 2n=34 in B. cylindrica and 2n=36 in B. gymnorrhiza was reported for the first time and 2n=34 in B. parviflora and B. sexangula was confirmed. On the basis of the common types of chromosomes present among Bruguiera, two distinct groups were found; one consists of B. cylindrica and B. parviflora and the other of B. gymnorrhiza and B. sexangula. The symmetrical karyotype with same chromosome types grouped B. cylindrica and B. parviflora together and presence of Type E chromosomes placed B. gymnorrhiza and B. sexangula in a separate group, suggesting their closer affinity in their respective group. Analysis of chromosome length, volume, INV and 4C DNA content confirmed this division. Nuclear DNA content was two-fold higher (approximately 17.0 pg) in the second group than in the first (approximately 8.0 pg). The amplification products generated through RAPD revealed 1-9 amplicons with size variations from 600 bp to 2 500 bp with 49.31% genetic similarity between B. gymnorrhiza and B. sexangula and 47.10% in between B. cylindrica and B. parviflora. The high copy number marker band (approximately 1,100 bp) yielded in OPN-15 primer in B. parviflora the characteristic DNA marker, which was cloned and used as probes for assessment of genetic diversity, and demonstrated its close genetic affinity to B. cylindrica. B. gymnorrhiza and B. sexangula also produced similar marker bands of approximately 600 bp and approximately 2,200 bp in the same primer. All of the cytological, 4C DNA content and RAPD data confirmed the existence of two taxonomically distinct groups of Bruguiera: one consisting of B. cylindrica and B. parviflora and the other of B. gymnorrhiza and B. sexangula as placed earlier (1862) in the tribe Rhizophoreae by Bentham and Hooker, on the basis of the flowering habits ofBruguiera. Genetically, the B. sexangula and B. gymnorrhiza group was found to be very closely, rather than distantly, related to B. parviflora and B. cylindrica. Our results demonstrate that molecular markers together with cytological evidence provide an effective tool to access the existing interspecific genetic polymorphism in mangrove species, to solve the taxonomic problems and to design their conservation strategy.


This paper investigates the effect of the 2008 financial crisis on informational efficiency by carrying out a long-memory analysis of European corporate bond markets. We compute the Hurst exponent for fifteen sectorial indices to scrutinise the time-varying behaviour of long-range memory, applying a shuffling technique to avoid short-term correlation. We find that the financial crisis has uneven effects on the informational efficiency of all corporate bond sectors, especially those related to financial services. However, their vulnerability is not homogeneous and some nonfinancial sectors suffer only a transitory effect.


Study objective: To evaluate the effect of two forms of postnatal social support for disadvantaged inner city mothers on maternal and child health outcomes. Design: Randomised controlled trial with economic and process evaluations and follow up at 12 and 18 months. The two intervention groups received either the offer of a year of monthly supportive listening home visits by a support health visitor (SHV), or a year of support from community groups providing drop in sessions, home visiting and/or telephone support (CGS). Each was compared with a control group that received standard health visitor services. Setting: Two disadvantaged boroughs of London, United Kingdom. Participants: 731 women from culturally diverse backgrounds with infants. Main results: At 12 and 18 months, there was little impact for either intervention on the main outcomes: child injury (SHV: relative risk 0.99; 95% confidence intervals 0.68 to 1.45, CGS: 0.91; 0.61 to1.36), maternal smoking (SHV: 0.86; 0.62 to 1.19, CGS: 0.97; 0.72 to 1.33) or maternal depression (SHV: 0.86; 0.62 to1.19, CGS: 0.93; 0.69 to 1.27). SHV women had different patterns of health service use (with fewer taking their children to the GP) and had less anxious experiences of motherhood than control women. User satisfaction with the SHV intervention was high. Uptake of the CGS intervention was low: 19%, compared with 94% for the SHV intervention. Conclusions: There was no evidence of impact on the primary outcomes of either intervention among this culturally diverse population. The SHV intervention was associated with improvement in some of the secondary outcomes.


Taro is the fourteenth most important food crop by production in the world, yet in Australia it barely makes the top 100 and is relatively unknown by most of the population. Production of about 1000 t is predominantly from the wet tropical coast of north Queensland with small supplies from the Northern Territory, southern Queensland and northern New South Wales. Bun Long is the most widely produced variety and is preferred mainly by Asian consumers in Brisbane, Sydney and Melbourne. Lesser quantities of Pacific taro types are also produced. These are preferred mainly by Pacific Islanders in Australia. However, imports of Pacific taros, mainly from Fiji, are about treble the total Australian supply of all taro. Presently there are severe threats to the survival of the two major industries on the wet tropical coast - sugar and bananas. A range of alternatives is much needed. Taro is one crop that should be considered but its successful expansion depends on significant improvement in the efficiencies of production, connecting suppliers to consumers via strong supply chains and major awareness campaigns and education of consumers to properly appreciate the very special qualities of taro. Current developments include the establishment of a taro chip (crisp) factory at Babinda (Far North Queensland) with support from the Australian Government's New Industries Development Program (NIDP). Also the Australian Government's Rural Industries Research and Development Corporation (RIRDC) have been supporting research projects on aspects of industry mechanization, taro chip production feasibility and the investigation of export market potential of Japanese taro to Japan. A project funded by RIRDC to specifically assist in industry development has recently commenced.


The henna bush (Lawsonia inermis) is known the world over for the colour imbuing properties of its leaves. Henna leaves contain a dye that has been used in many cultures and religious traditions for medicinal, cosmetic and decorative purposes. The orange-reddish colour of henna comes from lawsone, a substance found in the leaves – henna tannic acid. To obtain the colour from the leaf cells, henna leaf powder is mixed with an acidic liquid. The paste is then applied to skin, hair, nails or animal fur, and the henna tannic acid binds with a keratinized protein molecule. The colour fades as hair, fur and nails grow out and as dead skin cells naturally slough off. Use of henna to adorn the skin has become popular and widespread around the world. Its popularity requires us to study the history, traditions and safety of the technique and to develop a scientific rationale. Although henna has been mentioned in various respects by cultural historians, botanists and anthropologists, scholarly research into the technique is yet in its infancy. In traditional henna cultures, some now consider the use of the plant oldfashioned – people prefer either ready-to-use commercial pastes made by the cosmetics industry or "black henna", which carries serious health risks. In the West, henna has become a separate art form in its own right: practitioners dispense know-how and place value on the fact that every henna artist mixes his or her own paste and is not afraid to share his or her knowledge. Knowledge as to what is used and why it is used ensures responsibility for both the outcomes and the customer's health. This requires at least a elementary knowledge of the history and traditions of the plant and of the body art techniques, and of the biochemistry and physiology of the human skin. Henna paintings are a visually appealing, safe, temporary body art form – something well within the means of any amateur with an interest in the subject. When using henna, it is important to remember that natural henna is always orange-red on the skin after the paste is removed, oxidizing to a darker colour within 24–48 hours. Maximum darkness and permanence depend on different factors, of which only the quality of the paste can be controlled by the henna painter.


The objectives of this research were to investigate surface characteristics and overlaying properties of medium density fiberboard (MDF) panels, as affected by thermal treatment of the fibers. MDF panels were manufactured from untreated rubberwood fibers and fibers treated at three different temperatures (120, 150, or 180°C) for 15 or 30 min. Contact angle measurements were obtained by using a goniometer connected with a digital camera and computer system. Roughness measurements, average roughness (Ra), mean peak-to-valley height (Rz), and maximum roughness (Ry), were taken from the sanded samples along and across the sandmarks using a fine stylus tracing technique. With the increasing thermal treatment temperature and time of the fibers, surface roughness of the panels decreased, while their wettability and adhesive bonding strength decreased. Statistical analyses showed significant differences in the surface roughness, contact angle, and adhesive bonding strength of the panels following thermal treatment. Based on the findings obtained from this study, the contact angle and surface roughness parameters of the MDF panels made from thermally treated rubberwood fibers can provide a good information on their ability to bond.