Background: The development of clinical expertise depends not only on abundant practice but also on guidance through good feedback. Clinical teachers can improve learners' skills by providing specific, performance-based feedback. In Taiwan, evidence-based practice (EBP) education has been taught through workshops, hands-on practice and small group discussion. However, the impact of feedback in EBP is still unknown. Aim: The aim of this study was to determine the effectiveness of structured assessment stations with immediate feedback in EBP education among nurses. Methods: The study was a quasi-experimental with repeated measures. Convenience sampling was used in two university hospitals. The intervention involved four immediate feedback structured assessment stations one week after a four-hour EBP workshop. The outcomes were measured by Taipei Evidence-Based Practice Questionnaire (TEBPQ), which contains 26 self-report questions, completed three times to evaluate learning efficiency of EBP. At the end of the program, qualitative data on the learners' feelings, perceptions, and experiences toward the training process were also collected for analysis. Results: Sixty-one of the seventy participants (87.1%; 61/70) completed the study. In this research, the mean scores of Taipei Evidence-Based Practice Questionnaire (TEBPQ) for 'Ask', 'Acquire', 'Appraisal', 'Apply', and 'Attitude' domains all increased significantly after the participants attended the four assessment stations with immediate feedback (all p<. 05). After the EBP 4 workshop, the standardised TEBPQ scores improvement reached 20%. Furthermore, structured assessment stations with immediate feedback may improve overall learning efficiency by 35%. Conclusions: This study demonstrated that structured assessment stations with immediate feedback may improve overall learning efficiency over an EBP workshop alone. As a result, small group discussion, hands-on practice and additional immediate feedback structured assessment stations may be considered by educators who are interested in enhancing EBP ability among healthcare professionals.


Abstract This paper describes a semi-analytical model of spatially-developing turbidity flows, and concentrates on two particular aspects: (i) the possible conditions for ignitive autosuspension in a particular submarine channel (the Kaikoura Canyon–Hikurangi Channel System, east of New Zealand); and (ii) the relationship between the internal Richardson number of the flow, and the possibility of ignitive autosuspension. The results confirm that autosuspension is promoted by a steep channel gradient, a large flow thickness, and fine grain size. The model, as applied to the Kaikoura Canyon–Hikurangi Channel system in New Zealand, indicates that ignition is possible in the Kaikoura Canyon and the proximal reaches of the Hikurangi Channel. From analysis of the turbulent-energy balance within the flow, it emerges that ignition is impossible in subcritical flows (Ri > 1). Our work implies that turbidity currents that are depositing significant volumes of sediment are subcritical rather than supercritical. This may have significant implications for architectural development in natural systems.


Behind the wholesome image of the world's most popular drink lies a strangely murky and often violent past. When tea began to be imported into the West from China in the seventeenth century, its high price and heavy taxes made it an immediate target for smuggling and dispute at every level, culminating in international incidents like the notorious Boston Tea Party. In China itself the British financed their tea dealings by the ruthless imposition of the opium trade. Intrepid British tea planters soon began flocking to India, Ceylon and Africa, setting up huge plantations; often workers were bought and sold like slaves. Roy Moxham's account of this extraordinary history begins with his own sojourn in Africa, managing 500 acres of tea and a thousand-strong workforce. His experiences inform the book and led him to investigate the early history of tea - and the results of his researches reflect little credit on the British Empire, while often revealing a fascinating world story.


West Antarctica combines one of the largest active rift systems with one of the largest ice sheets on Earth. Complete melting of the West Antarctic Ice-Sheet (WAIS) would result in a global sea level rise of about 5 m. Understanding ice-sheet dynamics is of major importance for predicting future deglaciation processes in Antarctica. Generally, it is assumed that the geodynamic activity of Western Antarctica as the cradle of the WAIS exerts a strong influence on ice sheet dynamics, but coupling and feedback mechanisms are poorly understood. This project aims to apply geophysical and thermochronological methods for unravelling the geodynamic evolution of Marie Byrd Land (West Antarctica) in terms of crustal structure, exhumation and erosion rates, fault activities, and (paleo-)geothermal gradient. Furthermore, we will use cosmogenic nuclide analysis for reconstructing thinning rates and glacial retreat in Marie Byrd Land. The combination of both data sets provides information on spatial and temporal correlations of geodynamic activity and ice-sheet evolution. Here, we show first results of apatite dating from samples collected in Pine Island Bay during RV Polarstern expedition ANT-XXVI/3 (2010).


...................................................................................................................................................... 3 Chapter 1: Introduction to the Controversies Surrounding GE Agriculture ..................................... 4 Definitions ............................................................................................................................................... 4 What is GE (GMO)? .............................................................................................................................. 4 What is Sustainable Agriculture? ............................................................................................................. 4 What is GE Restrictive Legislation? ........................................................................................................ 5 Controversies Surrounding GE Agriculture (GMO) ......................................................................... 5 Crop Yield .............................................................................................................................................. 5 Environmental Concern ........................................................................................................................... 5 Health Implications ................................................................................................................................. 6 Economic Concerns .................................................................................................................................. 6 Solutions Proposed................................................................................................................................. 7 World-Wide ........................................................................................................................................... 7 United States .......................................................................................................................................... 7 Industry Influence .................................................................................................................................... 8 Dependent Variables ............................................................................................................................ 11 Political Characteristics ...................................................................................................................... 12 Socioeconomic ...................................................................................................................................... 12 Industry Related ................................................................................................................................... 13 Chapter 3: Results and Discussion ......................................................................................................... 14 State Level ............................................................................................................................................. 14 County Level ......................................................................................................................................... 17 Chapter 4: Conclusions ............................................................................................................................ 19 Validity Concerns ...................................................................................................................................... 20 Tables and Figures ................................................................................................................................... 21 References ................................................................................................................................................. 28 Abstract The safety and sustainability of genetically engineered (GE) crops is an ardently debated topic. Serious concerns have surfaced regarding environmental impacts and health implications (VanHosen, 2015; Diamanti-Kandarakis et al., 2009; Gasnier et al., 2009), as well as many other controversial issues discussed in this study. Although these concerns have been dismissed by industry and scientists as the result of consumer inexperience and lack of understanding of genetic engineering (Sarich, 2014), there have been many restrictive GE legislation attempts, such as mandatory labeling of products that contain GE ingredients so consumers can make informed choices when making purchases, cultivation bans to protect non-GE farmers from cross contamination, and a range of other proposals, such as no GE food in vending machines (Oregon Secretary of State, 2014; Illinois General Assembly, 2015; Sarich, 2014). All of these efforts are similar in seeking some form of restriction of GE products in our food systems. At the close of this study, 36 states (5 passed), 13 counties (11 passed) and a handful of cities have proposed GE restrictive legislation. The purpose of this study is to understand which socioeconomic, political, or industry factors are correlated with states having considered or passed GE restrictive legislation, as well as the percent of vote in favor of proposed GE restrictive legislation at the county level for states that have proposed such legislation through ballot initiatives. This is a mixed methods, comparative cross-sectional design with data gathered from publically available sources utilizing cross-tabs, bi-variate correlation, and multiple linear regression to determine if any relationships exist that correlate to either the formal proposal of GE legislation or the passage or failure of such legislation once proposed. Generally, the most powerful explanatory variable was the outcome of the 2012 Presidential election: States or Counties with higher percentage vote for President Obama were most likely to have proposed or passed GE restrictive legislation. In addition, states in the northeast of the US all have considered such legislation and some have passed such legislation, while states in the southeast are the least likely to have considered such legislation and none have passed. A comparison of those states that have considered GE restrictive legislation showed no difference between those states that passed and those that did not pass the proposed legislation in any of the variables considered apart from their vote in the 2012 Presidential election. The only states to pass GE restrictive legislation are those in which the proposal came from within the legislature, while those states that have held ballot initiative processes have all failed. However, a county-level examination of the ballot states showed that counties in which a greater proportion of the electorate voted for President Obama, also had a greater proportion that supported GE restriction.The safety and sustainability of genetically engineered (GE) crops is an ardently debated topic. Serious concerns have surfaced regarding environmental impacts and health implications (VanHosen, 2015; Diamanti-Kandarakis et al., 2009; Gasnier et al., 2009), as well as many other controversial issues discussed in this study. Although these concerns have been dismissed by industry and scientists as the result of consumer inexperience and lack of understanding of genetic engineering (Sarich, 2014), there have been many restrictive GE legislation attempts, such as mandatory labeling of products that contain GE ingredients so consumers can make informed choices when making purchases, cultivation bans to protect non-GE farmers from cross contamination, and a range of other proposals, such as no GE food in vending machines (Oregon Secretary of State, 2014; Illinois General Assembly, 2015; Sarich, 2014). All of these efforts are similar in seeking some form of restriction of GE products in our food systems. At the close of this study, 36 states (5 passed), 13 counties (11 passed) and a handful of cities have proposed GE restrictive legislation. The purpose of this study is to understand which socioeconomic, political, or industry factors are correlated with states having considered or passed GE restrictive legislation, as well as the percent of vote in favor of proposed GE restrictive legislation at the county level for states that have proposed such legislation through ballot initiatives. This is a mixed methods, comparative cross-sectional design with data gathered from publically available sources utilizing cross-tabs, bi-variate correlation, and multiple linear regression to determine if any relationships exist that correlate to either the formal proposal of GE legislation or the passage or failure of such legislation once proposed. Generally, the most powerful explanatory variable was the outcome of the 2012 Presidential election: States or Counties with higher percentage vote for President Obama were most likely to have proposed or passed GE restrictive legislation. In addition, states in the northeast of the US all have considered such legislation and some have passed such legislation, while states in the southeast are the least likely to have considered such legislation and none have passed. A comparison of those states that have considered GE restrictive legislation showed no difference between those states that passed and those that did not pass the proposed legislation in any of the variables considered apart from their vote in the 2012 Presidential election. The only states to pass GE restrictive legislation are those in which the proposal came from within the legislature, while those states that have held ballot initiative processes have all failed. However, a county-level examination of the ballot states showed that counties in which a greater proportion of the electorate voted for President Obama, also had a greater proportion that supported GE restriction. Chapter 1: Introduction to the Controversies Surrounding GE Agriculture In rece


with a Postcript coauthored by Michael W. GoheenIn print for two decades and translated into eight languages, Albert Wolters's classic formulation of an integrated Christian worldview has been revised and expanded to reach new readers beyond the generation that has already benefited from this clear, concise proposal for transcending the false dichotomy between sacred and secular. Wolters begins by defining the nature and scope of a worldview, distinguishing it from philosophy and theology. He then outlines a Reformed analysis of the three basic categories in human history -- creation, fall, and redemption -- arguing that while the fall reaches into every corner of the world, Christians are called to participate in Christ's redemption of all creation. This Twentieth Anniversary edition features a new concluding chapter, coauthored with Michael Goheen, that helpfully places the discussion of worldview in a broader narrative and missional context.


Probabilistic model checking is a formal verification technique for the modelling and analysis of stochastic systems. It has proved to be useful for studying a wide range of quantitative properties of models taken from many diffierent application domains. This includes, for example, performance and reliability properties of computer and communication systems. In this paper, we give an overview of the probabilistic model checking tool PRISM, focusing in particular on its support for continuous-time Markov chains and Markov reward models, and how these can be used to analyse performability properties.


We analyze estimators and tests for a general class of vector error correction models that allows for asymmetric and nonlinear error correction. For a given number of cointegration relationships, general hypothesis testing is considered, where testing for linearity is of particular interest. Under the null of linearity, parameters of nonlinear components vanish, leading to a nonstandard testing problem. We apply so-called sup-tests to resolve this issue, which requires development of new(uniform) functional central limit theory and results for convergence of stochastic integrals. We provide a full asymptotic theory for estimators and test statistics. The derived asymptotic results prove to be nonstandard compared to results found elsewhere in the literature due to the impact of the estimated cointegration relations. This complicates implementation of tests motivating the introduction of bootstrap versions that are simple to compute. A simulation study shows that the finite-sample properties of the bootstrapped tests are satisfactory with good size and power properties for reasonable sample sizes.


Six hundred thousand lives were lost between 1861 and 1865, making the conflict between North and South the nation's deadliest war. If the "War Between the States" was the test of the young republic's commitment to its founding precepts, it was also a watershed in photographic history, as the camera recorded the epic, heartbreaking narrative from beginning to end-providing those on the home front, for the first time, with immediate visual access to the horrors of the battlefield. Photography and the American Civil War features both familiar and rarely seen images that include haunting battlefield landscapes strewn with bodies, studio portraits of armed Confederate and Union soldiers (sometimes in the same family) preparing to meet their destiny, rare multi-panel panoramas of Gettysburg and Richmond, languorous camp scenes showing exhausted troops in repose, diagnostic medical studies of wounded soldiers who survived the war's last bloody battles, and portraits of both Abraham Lincoln and his assassin, John Wilkes Booth. Published on the occasion of the 150th anniversary of the battle of Gettysburg (1863), this beautifully produced book features Civil War photographs by George Barnard, Mathew Brady, Alexander Gardner, Timothy O'Sullivan, and many others.


The purpose of thie paper is to assess the marketing management capabilities of SMEs producing traditional food products in the EU through thge development of a self-evaluation tool. SMEs represent the greater part of European food firms and they find it very difficult to adapt to market changes, and to compete with big enterprises. In this context, marketing management capabilities play a key role in good SME performance in the market. The self-evaluation tool is developed in the innovative form of an interactive questionnaire published on the web. At the moment, the sample is composed by 60 traditional food producers located in three member states (Belgium, Italy, and Hungary) belonging to different sectors (cheese, beer, dry ham, sausage and white pepper). The data were analysed with cluster analysis. The results of the survey revealed that most of the firms analysed show weaknesses in marketing management capabilities. Nevertheless, cluster analysis pointed out a group of firms (22% of the sample) with high performances in all the stages of marketing management process, which can be defined market oriented in terms of MARKOR approach. Most firms showed difficulties in analysing the competitive environment in which they operate, and in controlling the achievement of the marketing objectives. Moreover, the survey showed that, generally, micro sized firms perform worse than small and medium enterprises. Nevertheless, in some cases micro firms achieved high performances revealing that the firm size is not a so insuperable constraint to reach good results in marketing.


OBJECTIVE
Higher than normal cellular levels of the phospholipid catabolic intermediate glycerophosphocholine have been found in postmortem brain tissue of persons with Alzheimer's disease. Proton magnetic resonance spectroscopy (1H-MRS) can detect a choline resonance that is largely due to glycerophosphocholine. The authors tested the hypothesis that treatment with xanomeline, an M1 selective muscarinic cholinergic agonist, would be associated with a decrease in the 1H-MRS choline resonance.

METHOD
Patients with mild to moderate Alzheimer's disease received placebo or xanomeline for 6 months. 1H-MRS spectra were collected at baseline and after treatment discontinuation for 12 patients, two taking placebo and 10 taking xanomeline at a dose of 25 mg t.i.d. (N = 4), 50 mg t.i.d. (N = 3), or 75 mg t.i.d. (N = 3).

RESULTS
For the combined group of patients taking xanomeline, there was a significant decrease in the choline/creatine ratio from baseline to endpoint.

CONCLUSIONS
Treatment of Alzheimer's disease with a cholinergic agonist is associated with a decrease in the MRS choline resonance. Xanomeline may reduce breakdown of cholinergic neuron membranes by reducing the cellular requirement for free choline for acetylcholine synthesis.


Abstract This study simulates with two dynamic models the macroeconomic and public finance outcomes of a reduction in the corporate income tax rate in Finland. FOG-model is a dynamic CGE model, which is calibrated to the Finnish economy. NiGEM is a multi-country macroeconometric model. The results show that a surprising cut in the corporate income tax rate falls after all adjustments both on new investments and the yield of existing capital. The losses in the tax revenues are capitalized in the market value of the firms, of which many are partly foreign-owned. Investments increase, but the influence in production is mitigated by low reaction of labour supply. Wages increase as well as the public expenditure relates to wages. Gross profits do dot change much. The dynamic effects on tax bases compensate for 30–50 per cent of the losses in the corporate income tax revenues, depending on the model used. If also the increased public expenditure is considered, the compensation rate falls to 25–30 percent. If the tax rate cut is announced well in advance, both the macroeconomic and the public finance results are more favourable. The simulations do not consider the positive effects of profit shifting on corporate income tax revenues.


Field and laboratory studies were conducted in 2000 and 2001 to determine the feasibility of mass marking western corn rootworm adults, Diabrotica virgifera virgifera LeConte, with RbCl in the field. Results showed that application of rubidium (Rb) in solution to both the soil (1 g Rb/plant) and whorl (1 g Rb/plant) of corn plants was optimal for labeling western corn rootworm adults during larval development. Development of larvae on Rb-enriched corn with this technique did not significantly influence adult dry weight or survival. Rb was also highly mobile in the plant. Application of Rb to both the soil and the whorl resulted in median Rb concentrations in the roots (5,860 ppm) that were 150-fold greater than concentrations in untreated roots (38 ppm) 5 wk after treatment. Additionally, at least 90% of the beetles that emerged during the first 3 wk were labeled above the baseline Rb concentration (5 ppm dry weight) determined from untreated beetles. Because emergence was 72% complete at this time, a significant proportion of the population had been labeled. Results from laboratory experiments showed that labeled beetles remained distinguishable from unlabeled beetles for up to 4 d postemergence. The ability to efficiently label large numbers of beetles under field conditions and for a defined period with virtually no disruption of the population provides an unparalleled opportunity to conduct mark-recapture experiments for quantifying the short-range, intrafield movement of adult corn rootworms.


Finland as a whole would benefit from redesigning its policy combination in order to foster the reallocation of its resources to their most productive uses. In redesigning the policy combination due attention should be paid to creative accumulation and creative destruction. It is important that different policies clean up their acts following a sound division of labour. Innovation policy should celebrate firms that endeavour to move the current technology frontier forward no matter where they are actually located, even when they happen to locate in 'advantaged' regions. Innovation policy should also foster the diffusion of knowledge by helping inefficient firms adopt more efficient production methods. Product and labour market policies should be used to grease the wheels of creative destruction. In particular, competition policy should be used to promote the entry of new innovative players. It should also stimulate the reallocation of market shares from less to more efficient competitors. Regional imbalances should not be of any concern for innovation related policies, no matter whether promoting knowledge diffusion contributes to regional convergence or peddling creative destruction increases regional disparities. Any regional agenda may lead to slower productivity growth and cumulative losses in value added. Social equity should be targeted through traditional redistributive tools by targeting 'disadvantaged individuals' rather than 'disadvantaged regions'.


Background— Cardiac catheterization is routinely performed in patients with single ventricle before bidirectional Glenn operation (BDG). There is interest in noninvasive evaluation alone before BDG, but concern for echocardiography successfully imaging the relevant anatomy persists. We evaluated the accuracy of echocardiographic imaging of vascular anatomy. Methods and Results— Diagnostic images of 130 patients who had echocardiography and catheterization before BDG were reviewed; diameters of the pulmonary arteries (PAs) and aortic arch were measured, and stenoses were recorded. Patient and procedural factors associated with echocardiographic imaging were analyzed. Median age at echocardiography was 4 months; the most common diagnosis was hypoplastic left heart syndrome (55%). The left PA was imaged by echocardiography in 83 patients (64%), with 4 of 21 stenoses (19%) diagnosed by catheterization identified; similarly, the right PA was imaged in 81 (62%), and 3 of 17 stenoses (18%) were identified. The distal aortic arch was visualized in 104 (80%), with successful identification of 21 of 27 (78%) of coarctations diagnosed by catheterization. Complete vascular echocardiography (visualization of PAs and aortic arch) occurred in 43% and was not obtained more frequently with sedation. Conclusions— In a large cohort of patients presenting for BDG, evaluation by echocardiography frequently failed to image the PAs and missed the majority of PA stenoses. Sedation did not appear to improve the performance of echocardiography for evaluation of the PAs. Echocardiography cannot be relied on as the sole investigation before BDG.


The recent availability of quasi-simultaneous multispectral and multidirectional measurements from space, as provided by the Multi-angle Imaging SpectroRadiometer (MISR) on board the Terra platform, offers new and unique opportunities to document the anisotropy of land surfaces at critical solar wavelengths. This paper presents simple physical principles supporting the interpretation of the anisotropy of spectral radiances exiting terrestrial surfaces in terms of a signature of surface heterogeneity. The shape of the anisotropy function is represented with two model parameter values which may be mapped and interpreted in their own right. The value of one of these parameters also permits identifying geophysical conditions where the surface heterogeneity becomes significant and where three-dimensional (3D) radiation transfer effects have to be explicitly accounted for. This paper documents these findings on the basis of results from a number of 3D radiation transfer model simulations. The latter are used to perform an extensive sensitivity study which includes issues related to the scale of investigation. A preliminary validation of these results, conducted with a dataset collected by the AirMISR instrument over the Konza prairie, is also discussed.


Music is a familiar presence in the story of early American popular politics. But what motivated its political use? And how was its political function understood? To answer these questions I highlight a distinctively conservative strain of American musical thought and action and trace its development from the early national period through to the end of the Civil War. Doing so runs against the grain of an existing literature that typically explains political music in the United States as an inevitable by-product of democratisation. Here I show instead that conservative elites also used music specifically to militate against the dangers of a mass political party system. A string of conservative Americans – from Federalist elites to Whig party politicos, social reformers, and Confederate women – all shared both scepticism of unchecked popular democracy and belief in music's capacity to mitigate its excesses. To their minds, music could inject a sense of propriety and refinement into public life, cast an air of patriotism and respectability over partisan political participation, and harmonise a fractious society in support of elite values. The identification of this trend challenges modern notions of music's inherently emancipatory or democratising qualities and complicates recent attempts to promote political and patriotic songs as unproblematic entry points into the early American popular mind. It suggests, I argue, that the impetus for music's political presence in early American political culture was driven as much from above as it was from below, and that elitist ideals were central to the popular practices of American politics.


Scholars in fields such as Computer-Supported Collaborative Learning (CSCL) have extensively covered the general theme of distributed collaboration in the past few decades. Recent advances in web technologies have pushed forward the boundaries of what is possible to create on the web, aiding the development of various types of collaborative software. Standing on the shoulders of previous research, and in the light of the new web technologies, we here outline the development of what we label a "synchronous shared workspace". The purpose of the system is to serve as a web-based collaboration tool for small groups of geographically and/or temporally dispersed persons within a learning context. Designing this type of system presents interesting challenges on how to graphically visualize the presence of others and their activities, i.e. awareness information. Further, the system provides other types of functionalities such as visualizing previous activities and real-time manipulation of media objects that provides challenges for designers. Utilizing a "design pattern" approach, this paper explores visualization patterns for collaboration in shared workspaces in order to support mutual awareness and coordination activities. Five design patterns were implemented in the system and evaluated by a small group of online learners. The results support the notion that visualization of awareness information is a complex issue and that the work to provide effortless coordination of collaboration is a research interest that needs more attention.


PURPOSE/OBJECTIVES
To evaluate the effectiveness of exercise interventions on overall health-related quality of life (HRQOL) and its domains among adults scheduled to, or actively undergoing, cancer treatment.

DATA SOURCES
11 electronic databases were searched through November 2011. In addition, the authors searched PubMed's related article feature, trial registries, and reference lists of included trials and related reviews.

DATA SYNTHESIS
56 trials with 4,826 participants met the inclusion criteria. At 12 weeks, people exposed to exercise interventions had greater improvement in overall HRQOL, physical functioning, role functioning, social functioning, and fatigue. Improvement in HRQOL was associated with moderate-to-vigorous intensity exercise interventions.

CONCLUSIONS
Exercise can be a useful tool for managing HRQOL and HRQOL domains for people scheduled to, or actively undergoing, cancer treatment. More methodologically rigorous trials are needed to examine the attributes of exercise programs most effective for improving HRQOL.

IMPLICATIONS FOR NURSING
Evidence from this review supports the incorporation of exercise programs of moderate-to-vigorous intensity for the management of HRQOL among people scheduled to, or actively undergoing, cancer treatment into clinical guidelines through the Oncology Nursing Society's Putting Evidence Into Practice resources.


The purpose of this study, requested by the South African Society for Cultural History, was to draw attention to written and pictorial sources concerning the Anglo Boer War, located in Cultural History Museums in South Africa. Questionnaires were sent to more than eighty Cultural History Museums throughout the country. In spite of a somewhat disappointing response, it was discovered that valuable information about the Anglo Boer War is to be found in unpublished diaries and reminiscences, letters, narratives, and diverse documents such as maps, telegrams, proclamations, permits, notices, testimonials and programmes, and also in contemporary local newspapers, scrap-books from prisoner-of-war camps, songs and poems, rare Africana books, unpublished research projects, contemporary works of art and thousands of photographs. A number of the sources mentioned are investigated more closely.


Both geomorphic setting and dynamic environmental variables influence riverine wetland vegetation distributions. Most studies of species distributions in riverine systems emphasize either hydrological variability or geomorphic controls, but rarely consider the interaction between the two. It is unknown whether and to what extent the relationship between the geomorphic template and species distribution is modified by fluctuating environmental conditions. This study examines how spatial patterns of riverine wetlands in a desert stream change in response to environmental shifts brought about by interannual variability in the hydrologic regime. We surveyed wetland spatial distribution and measured its abundance every June over 5 years (2009–2013) by recording patch size and presence/absence of five wetland plant species along the 12‐km main stem of Sycamore Creek, Arizona, U.S.A. The study period encompassed a very large flood in January 2010, a wet year (2010), two average years (2009 and 2013) and two extremely dry years (2011 and 2012). We used a Bayesian statistical approach to analyse the relationship between geomorphic variables and wetland distribution under different hydrological conditions. The geomorphic variables provided much greater explanatory power in dry years than in average to wet years. Hydrological conditions modified the interactions between geomorphic template and species distribution. Annual hydrological conditions affected the direction (i.e. positive or negative effect) and magnitude (i.e. the size and significance level of an effect) of these interactions, both of which gave rise to spatial patterns of wetlands. Ecosystem temporal variability, such as inter‐annual and multi‐year hydrological variability and longer‐term ecosystem state changes, triggered complex species responses. Synthesis. The effect of geomorphic setting on stream wetland plant distribution in this desert system is conditioned on the temporal variability in hydrology among years. Temporal transferability of the relationship between geomorphology and species distributions is therefore questionable.


The state of built-up features after their destruction, as well as the process of their rehabilitation, are assessed through the analysis of conflict and postconflict very high spatial resolution Ikonos images using a pixel-level support vector machine (SVM) learning classification approach. Different input vectors of the supervised SVM classifier are tested in order to assess the discrimination power of structural and spectral image descriptors: the use of spectral information only with (a) the panchromatic images at time t0 and t1, (b) the pan-sharpened images with the multispectral bands at time t0 and t1, (c) the iteratively re-weighted multivariate alteration detection (IR-MAD) variates derived from dataset (b); the use of structural information only with image series resulting from the decomposition by the derivative of the morphological profile (DMP) of the panchromatic (d) and pan-sharpened (e) data; finally, the use of spectral and structural information simultaneously (f) and (g) by stacking up (a) and (d), and (b) and (e), respectively. The results show that the SVM performs better with feature vectors based on the simultaneous use of spectral and structural information rather than with those formed by the grey-level information or the DMPs only. Moreover, approach (f) requiring only two panchromatic data as input compete well with approaches (b), (e), and (g), which instead necessitate ten spectral channels as input.


This study examines relationship between emotional intelligence, social intelligence and creativity among young adults with high education and the problem of the study is stated as "Psychosocial correlates of young adult students". The sample size was determined by purposive sampling method (n=100). In this study three standard questionnaires of emotional intelligence, social intelligence and creativity respectively were used. The reliability and validity of these three instruments were reported to be significant in different studies. The findings indicated that there was a significant moderate and negative correlation between emotional intelligence and social intelligence, no significant correlation between emotional intelligence and creativity, and significant moderate positive correlation between social intelligence and creativity of the participants.


Selaroides leptolepis, Aristichthys llobilis and Alutera monoceros were used
to develop frozen fish product aimed at fast food outlets and households. At the idea
generation stage, 24 product ideas were generated. The 24 product ideas were
reduced to three using a series of scoring techniques for screening. Fishburgers were
chosen for furthur development. The formulation for fishburger was established
using a sensory panel A final consumer testing of the product was carried out in a
nearby housing area. A sample size of 60 households was used. Results showed that
the market potential for this product is expected to be very good as 75% of the
respondents are willing to buy this product if it is in the market. The acceptable price
range is RM 5.50 to RM 6.50. Fishburgers packed in LDPE bags, PP semi rigid
containers and PS tray over wrapped with LDPE cling flim were acceptable after 18 weeks of storage at -20°C. The storage quality in terms of thiobarbituric acid no
(TBA), trimethylamine (TMA) and total volatile basic nitrogen (TVBN) showed
significant (P<0.05) increases. There were decreases in salt soluble protein, pH,
moisture content and microbial counts. Fishburgers in PP semi rigid containers had
the best stability followed by samples in LDPE bags and PS + LDPE. The effects of
washing and storage on the quality of S.leptolepis and A. nobilis surimi kept at -20°C
for 24 weeks were studied. Surimi was prepared from unwashed, once-washed and
twice-washed minces. The storage quality in terms of texture, colour, elasticity,
moisture content, pH and SSP values for all samples showed significant (P<0.05)
decreases during storage. There were increases in expressible moisture, TMA, TVBN
and TBA. Results also showed that twice-washed mince of both species were
generally more stable than once-washed and unwashed minces.


The development of nanoelectromechanical systems (NEMS) is likely to open up a broad spectrum of applications in science and technology. In this paper, we demonstrate a novel double-transduction principle for silicon nanowire resonators, which exploits the depletion charge modulation in a junctionless field effect transistor body and the piezoresistive modulation. A mechanical resonance at the very high frequency of 100 MHz is detected in the drain current of the highly doped silicon wire with a cross-section down to ~ 30 nm. We show that the depletion charge modulation provides a ~ 35 dB increase in output signal-to-noise compared to the second-order piezoresistive detection, which can be separately investigated within the same device. The proposed junctionless resonator stands, therefore, as a unique and valuable tool for comparing the field effect and the piezoresistive modulation efficiency in the same structure, depending on size and doping. The experimental frequency stability of 10 ppm translates into an estimated mass detection noise floor of ~ 60 kDa at a few seconds integration time in high vacuum and at room temperature. Integrated with conventional semiconductor technology, this device offers new opportunities for NEMS-based sensor and signal processing systems hybridized with CMOS circuitry on a single chip.


The continuous growth of energy needs and the fact that unpredictable energy demand is mostly served by unsustainable (i.e. fossil-fuel) power generators have given rise to the development of Demand Response (DR) mechanisms for flattening energy demand. Building effective DR mechanisms and user awareness on power consumption can significantly benefit from fine-grained monitoring of user consumption at the appliance level. However, installing and maintaining such a monitoring infrastructure in residential settings can be quite expensive. In this paper, we study the problem of fine-grained appliance power-consumption monitoring based on one house-level meter and few plug-level meters. We explore the trade-off between monitoring accuracy and cost, and exhaustively find the minimum subset of plug-level meters that maximize accuracy. As exhaustive search is time- and resource-consuming, we define a heuristic approach that finds the optimal set of plug-level meters without utilizing any other sets of plug-level meters. Based on experiments with real data, we found that few plug-level meters - when appropriately placed - can very accurately disaggregate the total real power consumption of a residential setting and verified the effectiveness of our heuristic approach.


Predictable and unpredictable challenges continually confront the policy settings and policy frameworks of governments. They provide a constantly changing dynamic within which policy-making operates. Governments at all levels are asking their public services to identify innovative and workable reforms to anticipate and address these challenges. Public service leaders around the world are struggling not only to better anticipate emerging demands but also to address reform backlogs. However, time and time again, major policy reforms can prove tough to implement – especially in turbulent environments – and even tougher to anchor over time. This leads to considerable uncertainty and inefficiency as governments and policy communities try to keep pace with change. Policies that unravel or are dismantled are costly and represent wasted opportunities. They lead to cynicism about the effectiveness of governments and public service advice more generally, making it more difficult to deal with other emerging challenges.

This volume of proactive essays on delivering policy reform offers an intriguing blend of strategic policy advice and management insight. It brings together a diverse range of highquality contributors from overseas as well as from Australia and New Zealand – including national political leaders, public service executives, heads of independent agencies, and leading international scholars.


In this work, we present the SmartBridge, a novel bridge section model equipped with actively controlled arrays of flaps aiming at mitigating wind-induced vibrations of long-span bridges. The active model, as well as its support structure, is described in detail and the key design choices are motivated. Finally, the capabilities of the system and the active control of the bridge section model with moving flaps was validated by wind tunnel experiments. In spite of the relative simplicity of a, manually tuned, control law, the results are encouraging and show a significant damping of the pitch vibration of the deck.


This thesis examines the social construction of disability in Australian national cinema throughout the 1990s. During that decade, disability was an issue that remained in the background of many film narratives and is (still) under-theorised in academic scholarship. Disability continues to be tangential to many social critiques, particularly in relation to cultural diversity and national identity. When it is foregrounded, as in Liz Ferrier's (2001) work, its theoretical premise is chiefly located in a damaged body, rather than examined through the lens of cultural construction.

The growing number of culturally diverse filmmakers in the Australian film industry during the 1990s initiated a critical focus on diversity, multiculturalism and minority group interests. However, an examination of the social construction of disability is conspicuously absent. I argue that a disability identity that focuses attention away from the body and onto society should be incorporated into notions of diversity concerning Australian national cinema. In this thesis I investigate both thematic and stylistic representations of disability with reference to socio-political contexts and influences. A disability identity - as it is included or excluded from Australian national identity - is explored through a variety of close readings of local films. I examine the methods filmmakers employ to problematise diversity in relation to the limitations of dominant representations of disability.

This thesis recognises the historical lack of scholarship in relation to disability as a diversity issue in Australian national cinema of the 1990s and is an attempt to open up this field to new modes of criticism.


This paper explores the links between gradual capital account liberalization and the exchange rate regime in Morocco where the process of economic and financial openness is relatively advanced. Using a game theory model with two economic agents, that are monetary authorities and domestic firms, we explore the best choice concerning the exchange rate regime for Morocco in a context characterised by increasing openness especially of capital account. The results show that welfare under a flexible exchange rate regime is higher compared to welfare under a fixed exchange rate regime. The analysis also shows that the flexible exchange rate will improve competitiveness. However, flexibility will undermine price stability.


Lina Lee University of New Hampshire The current study explores closely how using a combined modalities of asynchronous computer-mediated communication (CMC) via blogs and face-to-face (FTF) interaction through ethnographic interviews with native speakers (L1s) supports autonomous learning as the result of reflective and social processes. The study involves 16 American undergraduate students who participated in blogs to develop their intercultural competence over the course of one-semester study abroad. The results show that blogs afforded students the opportunity to work independently (e.g., content creation) and reflect upon cross-cultural issues. Critical reflection, however, relied on the teacher's guidance and feedback, as most of the students were cognitively challenged by not being able to clearly articulate different points of view. It is likely that students were not accustomed to reflecting. The findings also indicate that task type fostered autonomy in different ways. While free topics gave students more control of their own learning, teacher-assigned topics required them to critically think about the readings. Lack of access to Internet at the host institution and family also contributed to a limited level of social interaction. The study concludes that well-designed tasks, effective metacognitive and cognitive skills, and the accessibility to Internet are essential to maximize the potentials of blogs for learner autonomy and intercultural communication.


Algae are very simple, photosynthetic organisms ranging in size from microscopic unicellular fOlms to large seaweeds. They are an incredible primitive life form that can thrive almost anywhere. While their mechanism of photosynthesis is similar to that of higher plants, they are generally more efficient converters of solar energy due to their simple cellular structure. For its structural and functional
simplicity, the algae have become a versatile model organism. This lecture describes the multifaceted uses of algae in providing solutions to various problems. In water resource management, algae are reliable bioindicators of river water quality, where local species were identified and found to inhabit only pristine or polluted waters. Studies on the relationships between phytoplankton and its fluctuating environment in Pansoon Reservoir and Kenyir
Dam have resulted in an understanding of the main driving forces behind temporal and spatial patterns of its existence in lakes and reservoirs. Cochlodinium po likriko ides and Pyrodinium bahamense var compressum are two causative dinoflagellates of harmful algal blooms (RAB) in Sabah, with the latter producing algal toxins. Researches on RAB are concerned with understanding factors triggering bloom initiation for the management and control of red tides and characterization of algal toxins for the development of a biosensor for rapid identification of the toxin-producing species. A molecular approach to the study of algae is taken to understand biogeographical distribution and dispersion of the species, to determine phylogenetic relationships between similar strains, to
develop a species-specific molecular probe for rapid identification and for varietal identification of the commercial seaweed Eucheuma spp. Future uses include harvesting algae for biofuel and for the isolation of novel compounds .


Background and Purpose: In some patients, invasive radiology procedures by using anesthetics and contrast may lead to certain reaction. Therefore, consent must be obtained from patients. At the moment, some radiology centers obtain the consent from the patient in some of invasive radiology procedures in Iran. Due to the importance of consent and its position in patients' ethics, and because of lack of national order, and by considering the effect of individual attitude on the execution of each process; therefore, in this study, the attitude of radiologists as supervisors of the executive policies of a radiology center has been investigated. Methods: This cross-sectional descriptive study was done in Mazandran province in Iran. The study population consists of all radiologists (66 radiologists) from 83 radiology centers. A questionnaire with alpha 0.8 designed at 5 axes and self-administration was used. The data were analyzed by descriptive analysis indices and using SPSS software. Results: from 83 radiology centers with 66 radiologists, only 51(77%) filled in the study questionnaire. The number of images taken per day was 45 on average and the invasive images were 2±2.The participants under study had positive attitudes towards obtaining consent form. Conclusion: Considering the positive attitudes of participants under study, it seems that the radiologists would agree to get consent form of the patients undergoing the invasive procedure of imaging.


Though numerous disciplines are cultivating pedagogical relationships with the emerging field of digital humanities, philosophy appears to be among the least interested in what digital humanities has to offer. This is a missed opportunity. Through a proper pedagogical framing of both fields, I argue that philosophy educators would benefit from building a pedagogical relationship with digital humanities. First, I outline digital humanities methods and teaching practices, then I identify several core educational aims and teaching methods in philosophy, which I conceptualize in terms of a creative art. Ultimately, I argue that digital humanities practices would enhance philosophy's education aims by making philosophy more relevant and accessible to students' needs, by fostering active learning, by establishing more equitable, collaborative participation, and by balancing skill-development with philosophical creation. The goal of this essay is not to replace traditional philosophy pedagogy, but rather to supplement it to better support modern students' needs.


Introduction
Electronic cigarette use is rapidly gaining in popularity. However, little is known about correlates and reasons for electronic cigarette use by women of reproductive age, a group for which the safety and efficacy of electronic cigarette use is of particular interest.

Methods
As part of a clinical trial for smoking cessation, we surveyed pregnant smokers about their lifetime use of electronic cigarettes, previous use of any adjunctive treatments for smoking cessation, and use of electronic cigarettes during pregnancy. We examined associations between electronic cigarette use and participant characteristics.

Results
Fifty-three percent (55/103) of participants had previously tried electronic cigarettes. Ever users smoked more cigarettes per day before pregnancy (p = .049), had a greater number of previous quit attempts (p = .033), and were more likely to identify as being Hispanic or non-Hispanic white than never users (p = .027). Fifteen percent of participants (15/103) reported previous use of electronic cigarettes for smoking cessation, which was more common than the use of any specific FDA-approved smoking cessation medication. Fourteen percent of participants (14/103) reported electronic cigarette use during pregnancy, most commonly to quit smoking. A history of substance abuse (p = .043) and more previous quit attempts (p = .018) were associated with electronic cigarette use during pregnancy.

Conclusions
Use of electronic cigarettes to quit smoking may be common in women of reproductive age, including those who are pregnant. More research is needed to determine the risks and benefits of electronic cigarette use in this population of smokers.

Implications
This study shows that electronic cigarettes are used by women of reproductive age, including pregnant smokers. The implications of this finding are that there is an urgent need to examine the risks and benefits of electronic cigarette use, especially by pregnant women. The study also shows that electronic cigarettes are commonly used as a smoking cessation aid in women of reproductive age. The greater likelihood of electronic cigarette use compared to proven adjunctive smoking treatments suggests that electronic cigarettes should be examined as a potential aid to cessation in this population.


This thesis deals with the problems of modelling, interpretation and estimation of `non-stationary' processes with particular reference to acoustic problems. A common assumption in the modelling and analysis of a random process is that the process is `stationary'. Such an assumption may be a satisfactory approximation in many instances, but there are situations in which the processes are obviously non-stationary. In particular many physical non-stationary processes exhibit a `frequency-modulated' structure. An important example of such processes is the sound perceived by an observer due to a moving source emitting a random signal. In the thesis two methods are studied for the characterisation of such non-stationary processes; i) `time-frequency' spectral characterisation and ii) time-varying filter modelling. Two major candidates for `time-frequency' (time-varying) spectral characterisation of non-stationary processes are the Wigner-Ville spectrum and Priestley's evolutionary spectrum. Properties, prediction and estimation of the two time-frequency spectra and the relation between them are discussed. The time-frequency spectra of the sound field due to a moving source are predicted and these spectra are used as the basis for estimation of the acoustic directionality pattern of the source. As to the time-varying filter modelling of such non-stationary processes, a technique called the `covariance-equivalent' method is discussed. The covariance-equivalent technique is used to model the sound field due to a moving source emitting a random signal in single-path/single-sensor cases. The covariance-equivalent method, which has only been applicable to single-component processes, is extended to include the sound field in multi-path/multi-sensor cases by using the concept of the complex envelope (complex process). Finally estimation problems of practical importance, including that of (i) the source acoustic directionality pattern and (ii) time-varying delay estimation problems, are formulated and solved in terms of the covariance-equivalent models, and simulation studies are also performed. The simulation results justify that the covariance-equivalent method is an effective characterisation of such non-stationary processes.


Fuel injection system influences the spray characteristics to achieve faster combustion and better control over emissions. The combination of orifice number, diameter, injection duration, and rotation is suggested for better emission control and efficiency. In the present work, a novel self-rotating injector is designed and fabricated. Simulation is performed in three-dimensional closed-cycle geometry of a 661cc diesel engine for static as well as rotating fuel injection having 3, 5, and 9-holes by varying the rotational speed of 1500 and 2500rpm, orifice diameter, and injection duration to ensure the same injection velocity. The 3-hole rotating cases were studied and compared with static numerical simulation. The results found that due to the rotational effect, the engine's thermal efficiency improved by 3.82% and 5.11% while the NOx emissions decreased by 2.34% and 5.57% for 1500 and 2500rpm respectively at the cost of CO and soot emissions. Increasing the rotational speed was found to improve temperature uniformity at higher speeds thus increases the efficiency and lower NOx. By increasing the number of orifice holes, it was observed that both thermal efficiency and NOx increased. Controlling the primary and diffusion combustion, it is possible to improve the efficiency without increasing NOx emissions. This was possible with a combination of rotating injectors and varying the start of injection. The fabricated self-rotating nozzle based on the above simulations was found to perform better than the static injector under no-load conditions.


Author's Address: Nancy C. Bernardy, Ph.D., is affiliated with the National Center for PTSD, Department of Veterans Affairs, White River Junction, VT 05009, and the Department of Psychiatry, Geisel School of Medicine at Dartmouth, Lebanon, NH. Email Address: firstname.lastname@example.com. Benzodiazepines were introduced in the 1960's to replace barbiturates, which were effective as sedatives but were dangerous in overdosage and often abused. The stress-reducing and sedating properties of benzodiazepines made them seemingly an ideal drug to manage anxiety and insomnia symptoms and they became useful in addressing other clinical states such as epilepsy, spasmodic disorders, alcohol withdrawal, and anesthesia. Benzodiazepines rapidly became the most widely used of all psychotropic drugs; during the last 25 years it has been estimated that over 500 million people have taken a course of benzodiazepine treatment. Historically benzodiazepines were the primary posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) treatment agent and their anxiety-reducing properties made them seem to be a model medication for the management of symptoms related to PTSD. Soon after the development of benzodiazepines, however, reports began to appear about potential withdrawal symptoms and risks of tolerance and dependence, which contributed to the continued controversy surrounding their use (for a historical review, see Lader, 2011).


The unsatisfactory competence level of English as a foreign language (EFL) among undergraduate students in Saudi Arabia remains one of the country's major concerns. Despite the tremendous projects that aim to develop EFL curriculum, textbooks, and a variety of professional development programs, learning English in Saudi Arabia plays a limited role as targeted learners rarely practice the language outside the classroom. The rapid growth of technology in education has led the Saudi Arabian government to take decisive steps towards blending traditional teaching approaches with technology to enhance language learning.
The purpose of this study is to explore EFL undergraduate students' perceptions concerning the strengths and weaknesses of blended learning as a technology-enhanced pedagogic tool on the development of their academic English skills (i.e., reading, listening, speaking, writing) as well as their recommendations for improving the skills using blended learning in the preparatory year in two contexts in Saudi Arabia: students at University A are required to attend 25% of the lectures in person and the remaining 75% virtually whereas students at University B are required to attend only 25% of the lectures virtually and the remaining 75% face-to-face. During the preparatory year in both universities, students complete an extensive English language program as a compulsory entry requirement into their colleges.
An explanatory, sequential, mixed methods research design was used, which consisted of gathering quantitative survey data from 310 Saudi students across the two universities, followed by the use of in-depth qualitative data from a focus group interview with 28 participants to explain the quantitative survey results and allow for deeper insights into the research problems from different points of view. The interpretation of results in this study primarily focused on how qualitative findings explained survey data in relation to the study's purpose.
The students in this study indicated that the use of blended learning in preparatory year has the potential to support EFL learning for students in Saudi universities. According to the findings, the students believed that blended learning could maximize EFL learners' opportunities to practise
English language freely, at their convenience. The study concludes the need to focus attention on Saudi universities' infrastructures, students' initial training, and blended learning knowledge as an institutional culture. Finally, a realistic plan to develop preparatory year to avoid any challenges that might occur before and during the implementation of blended learning would be useful for all students as a transitional step between completely different environments. Clearly, there are issues which need to be addressed and/or resolved, such as ensuring that the library facilities are capable of delivering this type of approach, online materials are suitably supportive of the students required to access them, and the design of blended learning approaches take account of the preferred learning methods of students, and the workload required to be successful. As blended learning is in its initial stages in the Saudi educational system, this study contributes to the existing research as it provides guidance for using blended learning to enhance English as a foreign language in Saudi Arabia. It can be concluded that the participation of Saudi EFL female students in blended learning is associated with a range of positive consequences, including a higher level of English proficiency, vocabulary knowledge, and better cultural connections.


In recent years, scholars have given much attention to the problem of charitable trust enforcement. Departing from the common law, section 405(c) of the Uniform Trust Code provides that "[t]he settlor of a charitable trust, among others, may maintain a proceeding to enforce the trust." This Article addresses the question of whether, and to what extent, a settlor's right to enforce a charitable trust should be assignable to third parties. Should the law permit the settlor of a charitable trust to assign her enforcement rights after the creation of the trust, or should assignments be recognized only if they are spelled out in the trust instrument? How many potential assignees may the settlor properly select? Once the right has been assigned to a third party, should that third party also retain the right of assignment, so that the right can potentially be passed from one individual to the next in perpetuity? What would be the ramifications of granting a right of assignment to the settlor's personal representative? Any resolution of these issues must protect the interests of charitable beneficiaries, but also be fair to trustees and not overwhelm the courts with frivolous litigation.


Background: Women have a worse outcome than men after percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI). However, in the drug-eluting stent (DES) era, limited data are available about the impact of gender-related differences on clinical outcome. Furthermore, many series have also included patients previously treated by coronary-artery bypass grafts or PCI, which may bias the evaluation of DES-related clinical events at follow up. We aimed to assess the impact of gender on clinical outcomes in a consecutive series of patients at first manifestation of coronary artery disease (CAD) undergoing PCI with mTOR-inhibitor DES. Methods and results: A total of 138 consecutive patients (age 64 ± 13 years, female gender 29%) undergoing successful mTOR-inhibitor DES implantation [sirolimus-eluting stent (SES); zotarolimus-eluting stent (ZES); and everolimus-eluting stent (EES)] for the treatment of stable chronic angina or an acute coronary syndrome, as their first clinical manifestation of CAD, were prospectively enrolled between February 2008 and May 2009. Major adverse cardiac events (MACE), defined as a combination of cardiac death, myocardial infarction (MI), and clinically driven target lesion revascularization (TVR) at 12-month follow up, constituted the endpoint of the study. Fifty-one (37%) patients received SES; 46 (33%) patients received ZES; and 41 (30%) patients received EES. At follow up, 21 (15%) patients experienced a MACE. Three (2%) patients had cardiac death, five (4%) had MI, while 13 (9%) patients underwent clinically driven TVR. MACE occurred more frequently in females than males [10 (25%) vs. 11 (11%), p = 0.05]. At Cox regression analysis, the only independent predictors of MACE were female gender and implantation of more than one stent [hazard ratio (HR) 3.70, 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.46–9.36, p = 0.006; HR 1.26, 95% CI 0.99–2.74, p = 0.01, respectively]. Conclusions: In conclusion, our finding suggests that women may have a worse outcome as compared with men after mTOR-inhibitor DES implantation.


This groundbreaking book takes us around the world in search of birth models that work in order to improve the standard of care for mothers and families everywhere. The contributors describe examples of maternity services from both developing countries and wealthy industrialized societies that apply the latest scientific evidence to support and facilitate normal physiological birth; deal appropriately with complications; and, generate excellent birth outcomes - including psychological satisfaction for the mother. The book concludes with a description of the ideology that underlies all these working models - known internationally as the midwifery model of care.


BACKGROUND
Surgical occlusion of the left atrial appendage has been hypothesized to prevent ischemic stroke in patients with atrial fibrillation, but this has not been proved. The procedure can be performed during cardiac surgery undertaken for other reasons.

METHODS
We conducted a multicenter, randomized trial involving participants with atrial fibrillation and a CHA2DS2-VASc score of at least 2 (on a scale from 0 to 9, with higher scores indicating greater risk of stroke) who were scheduled to undergo cardiac surgery for another indication. The participants were randomly assigned to undergo or not undergo occlusion of the left atrial appendage during surgery; all the participants were expected to receive usual care, including oral anticoagulation, during follow-up. The primary outcome was the occurrence of ischemic stroke (including transient ischemic attack with positive neuroimaging) or systemic embolism. The participants, research personnel, and primary care physicians (other than the surgeons) were unaware of the trial-group assignments.

RESULTS
The primary analysis population included 2379 participants in the occlusion group and 2391 in the no-occlusion group, with a mean age of 71 years and a mean CHA2DS2-VASc score of 4.2. The participants were followed for a mean of 3.8 years. A total of 92.1% of the participants received the assigned procedure, and at 3 years, 76.8% of the participants continued to receive oral anticoagulation. Stroke or systemic embolism occurred in 114 participants (4.8%) in the occlusion group and in 168 (7.0%) in the no-occlusion group (hazard ratio, 0.67; 95% confidence interval, 0.53 to 0.85; P = 0.001). The incidence of perioperative bleeding, heart failure, or death did not differ significantly between the trial groups.

CONCLUSIONS
Among participants with atrial fibrillation who had undergone cardiac surgery, most of whom continued to receive ongoing antithrombotic therapy, the risk of ischemic stroke or systemic embolism was lower with concomitant left atrial appendage occlusion performed during the surgery than without it. (Funded by the Canadian Institutes of Health Research and others; LAAOS III ClinicalTrials.gov number, NCT01561651.).


Introduction: Lumbosacral plexopathies are rare in patients who present to both primary care and the accident and emergency departments. Presenting symptoms are often non-specific, such as lower back pain, sciatica, or pelvic pain, making diagnosis difficult. Furthermore, there are numerous and diverse causes of lumbosacral plexopathy.Case Report: We present a case of a previously well 27-year-old female who presented to the accident and emergency department with hip pain, difficult walking, and altered sensation in her leg. She was referred to the orthopedic team, where magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) suggested that necrotizing fasciitis was a possible diagnosis because of abundant edema and muscle swelling and thus subsequently underwent surgical exploration. Following subsequent investigation, her symptoms and MRI features were determined to be a result of lumbosacral plexopathy secondary to immobility with rhabdomyolysis.Conclusion: This case highlights the importance of a robust initial clinical history accompanied with appropriate investigations to elicit an accurate diagnosis and also discusses lumbosacral plexopathies in general


Myelotoxicity is one of the most common treatment-related adverse events for patients receiving systemic antineoplastic therapy or radiotherapy to bone marrow–producing regions. Myeloid cytopenias, including neutropenia, thrombocytopenia, and anemia, are the most common manifestations of treatment-related myelotoxicity and one of the most common reasons for dose modifications, dose delays, or discontinuation of therapy, potentially limiting therapeutic benefit. Risk factors for myelotoxicity can be broadly categorized into three types: disease-related, host-related, and treatment- related. Familiarity with factors predictive of high-risk febrile neutropenia, bleeding due to thrombocytopenia, and cardiopulmonary compromise due to anemia will provide the advanced practitioner (AP) in oncology with critical tools for rapid identification of patients at risk, prompt implementation of established guidelines for management, and avoidance of clinical deterioration. The AP in oncology is often the primary point of contact for management of cytopenias, including administration of myeloid growth factors, transfusion of blood products, and management of acute events such as neutropenic fevers. Each of these interventions requires familiarity with the risk and benefits of treatment. This article will review the physiology of the bone marrow, risk factors for cytopenias, and current guidelines and recommendations for prevention and treatment of myeloid toxicity of cancer treatment.


This study aimed at investigating the influence of teaching listening comprehension strategies on the improvement of listening comprehension ability of Iranian EFL learners. In doing so, 80 upper-intermediate students were chosen to take Interchange Placement Test. The students were divided equally into two groups: experimental group and control group. They were given a strategy use questionnaire. According to the results of the study, the experimental group showed higher levels of proficiency in comparison with the control group after receiving instruction. Therefore, it was concluded that teaching listening comprehension strategies can play a major role in the improvement of listening comprehension ability. The implications of the finding are presented at the end of the study.


Research has been conducted to convert waste lubrication oil into fuel oil. T his work is the second part of a bigger work entittled "Conversion of Waste Oil into Fuel Oil". The first part dealing with the production of catalyst and the effect of temperature, whilst this part studying the effect of catalyst ratio. This work was done with procedure similar with the first part of the work. Convertion of waste lubrication oil into fuel oil was done using hydrocracking process with catalyst of combination of c hromium and activated natural zeolith (Cr/ZAA). Controlled variables used for this researh were the type of waste oil (lubrication oil), feed volume (40 ml), temperature (500 ° C), and hydrogen gas rate (20 ml/sec). The weight ratio of the catalyst and waste oil feed was varied at 1/8, 1/4, 1/3, 1/2, an d 2/3 . The parameters used to analyse the results were the amount of hydrocracking product , per centage of cracking fraction (gasoline, keros ene and solar ) in the product and the heating value of the product. Analytic works were carried out with GC for cracking fraction and bomb calorimeter for heating value of the produced fuel oil. Result s showed that the amount of hydrocracking product decreases with the increase of catalyst ratio. Increasing catalyst ratio increases gasoline fraction lineary, decreases kerosene and solar fractions. The heating value of the product lineary increases with catalyst ratio. Best catalyst ratio for this work was 1/8 to get maximum amount of product (13.16 ml for 40 ml feed), and 2/3 to get maximum gasoline fraction (56.70%), and highest heating value (44.92 kJ/gr).


ABSTRACT Leprosy (or Hansen's disease) was a problem in the colonial Pacific. To control the disease, administrations there and elsewhere tried to isolate so-called 'lepers'. After a cure became available from the 1940s, this policy of segregation gave way; and by 2000 the World Health Organization's goal of 'eliminating' leprosy as a global health burden was declared met. Yet leprosy remains a challenge in many parts of the Pacific and the world. In the Pacific, the historiography of leprosy also raises questions. This article compares the extent of the published research and public awareness of the histories of leprosy relating to the Hawaiian island of Molokai and the Fijian island of Makogai. We further note contrasts between colonial and postcolonial perceptions of the disease. We scope the recent historiography of leprosy, which provides a context for the new research on leprosy in the southwest Pacific collected here. This new research addresses the themes of community formation in places of isolation and the subjective experiences of those affected by the disease. Finally, we offer readers two messages: the first of connection, the second, of humanity.


Purpose
The purpose of the paper is to investigate compensation and related welfare issues in the case of the expropriation of land for urban redevelopment in China.

Design/methodology/approach
A mixed methods quantitative and qualitative approach was selected to undertake the research. This involved a wide ranging qualitative review of the academic and policy literature to explore the relevant arguments and issues, combined with a quantitative regression analysis of survey data collected from research subjects.

Findings
The research identified the complex and changeable phenomena of urban village redevelopment in China, and the variable compensation arrangements used. The research found that monthly family income before land expropriation, monthly family expense before expropriation, the location of the housing expropriation and family unit size are important determinants for the property holders chosen methods of compensation. It also found that an increase in family size leads to a decreasing probability that the expropriated farmers choose the single monetary compensation relative to the alternative option of housing compensation. The degree of satisfaction with compensation, changes in monthly family income and expense are found to be significant determinants for changes in life satisfaction.

Research limitations/implications
The research made the following four recommendations based upon the qualitative and quantitative analysis: that local governments should pay closer governance/ political attention to changes in the welfare of the farmers/ villagers whose property has been expropriated; that central and local government should aim to improve the compensation system for rural land and property expropriation, to make the compensation policy be perceived as fairer and more reasonable by citizens; that a broad National standard of compensation be used within a pragmatic locally focussed regime; that the Chinese Central, Provincial and Local governments can devise improved policy tools and make more effective policy interventions by learning from the experiences (both successes and failures) of other countries approaches to this topic. It also suggested that further research be undertaken investigating the multitude of local level policy experiments, as a way of developing better National compensation standards based upon those compensation standards that appear to be working – and have citizen support – at the local level.

Originality/value
The literature review identified recent developments in Chinese urban studies and originally synthesised both recent and longstanding work on the issue of urban villages in China. The research also suggested changes to the National and Local legal and policy framework for compensation cases in urban redevelopment expropriation scenarios.


The tradition connected with the culture of the west shows the important problem of the determination of politics and social life as such by the nature of man and by the principles that result from man's nature. For this reason, we should conclude that the vision of man is the basic foundation for the formation of the order that exists in social life. The vision of man is also the criterion for the evaluation of social order and social life, which occurs within the framework ofsocial order. A proper and integral reading of man's nature is necessary for politics as such and for the formation of social order. As Aristotle indicated, this order not only must affirm the circles of man's that are natural to man (the family, small community, and state), natural human inclinations, but must also affirm certain ways of referring to man that coincide with various forms of friendship. The process in the middle ages whereby human nature was more deeply understood because it was understood in terms of the person had the result that society faced the necessity of the organization of life such that the human person not only could perfect himself but could also achieve the ultimate end proper to him, which is life in union with the Absolute.The crisis in knowledge, because of nominalism and other factors, not only contributes to the rise of reductionistic visions of man, but also causes politics to find its model and purpose not in man's nature, but in ideas. It then becomes an instrument of ideology, and social life as such is subjected to reform leading toward the achievement of a utopia. In this article, the author indicates the practical dimension of philosophical realism as a means to overcome the process ofideological transformation and utopian transformation of social life, and as a means to organize social life according to the measure of human nature and its destiny.


One of the mandates of Bangladesh Public Administration Training Centre (BPATC) is to develop human capital of senior level civil servants of Bangladesh. This study has identified the development needs of the Joint Secretaries of Bangladesh Civil Service in order to facilitate knowledge and skills through Senior Staff Course (SSC) organized by BPATC. This study has used quantitative research approach. Data were collected from different levels of respondents that include officers of the rank of Joint Secretary, Additional Secretary and Secretary. The results have yielded seven thematic areas, in respect of knowledge and skills where Joint Secretaries are required to develop and with these seven thematic areas course contents need to be developed to achieve present and future priorities of the Government of Bangladesh.


This paper examines the process of constructing modular EIFS (exterior insulation and finish system) panelized wall assemblies in a manufacturing environment. The research observed the preparation required, manufacturing procedures applied, measured task times at dedicated work stations and identified bottlenecks that factor into the comprehensive approach to planning and building the exterior envelope off-site. The paper summarizes the results of 70,000 SF of EIFS panels manufactured over 70 days in a 110,000 SF facility located in Tempe, AZ. The benefits (quality control, safety, labour efficiency) and challenges (transportation, hoisting, and cost) in relationship to the traditional construction requirements for in-place EIFS systems is also analysed in this paper.


Although some trace the phenomenon of Kawaii as far back as Japan's Taisho era, it emerged most visibly in the 1970s, when schoolgirls instigated a quiet calligraphic rebellion. From cute stationery to illustrations, followed by manga, Hello Kitty, Harajuku, and, ultimately, a pervasive culture of cute that touches every aspect of Japanese life: from the robotics industry to the postal service, architecture to food. As colourful as its subject matter, this book contains numerous interviews with illustrators, graphic artists, fashion designers, scientists, and scholars. It explores the phenomena of Harajuku, Sanrio, and girls' manga, and traces the roots of Kawaii from sociological and anthropological perspectives. It also looks at Kawaii's darker sides as it morphs into gothic and gloomy iterations. Best of all, this book illustrates the cultural movement through hundreds of colourful photographs that capture Kawaii's utter ubiquity: on the streets and inside homes, on lunchboxes and airplanes, in haute couture and street fashion, in cafes, museums, and hotels. Perfect for page-flipping or cover-to-cover reading, this entertaining and authoritative volume will leave readers with a deeper understanding of Japanese culture.


The first of these companion essays, Heller and the New Originalism, forthcoming in the Ohio State Law Journal, argues that the new originalism, as exemplified in Heller, does not avoid the general kinds of difficulties associated with the old originalism, at least to the extent that the new originalism is defended as providing, in Justice Scalia's terms, a solid, rock-hard Constitution. It describes several difficulties with the new originalism as displayed in Heller, including the assumption that meanings are stable over long periods of time, the possibility that meanings of constitutional terms are contested at the time the terms are inserted into the Constitution, and the difficulty that meanings are necessarily indexed to the conditions under which words are used. The second essay, Heller and the Perils of Compromise, forthcoming in the Lewis & Clark Law Review, describes the ways in which the absolutist rhetoric about the appropriate method of constitutional interpretation that predominates in Justice Scalia's majority opinion in Heller is in tension with the asserted presumptive constitutionality of numerous gun regulations, and argues that interest-balancing of the sort Justice Scalia criticizes is inevitable in constitutional interpretation, even within Justice Scalia's assertedly non-balancing approach. It speculates that the compromises embedded in Heller make it likely that the decision will unravel, leading either to quite robust restrictions on gun regulation or, more likely, a quite weak Second Amendment. I suggest that the Heller decision may be for the Second Amendment what early decisions were for the so-called Federalism and Takings Revolutions: decisions that promised real change in prevailing constitutional doctrine, but that failed to deliver on the promise.


The classic New York Times bestseller that has helped millions of women cope with and heal from the grief of losing their mothers Although a mother's mortality is inevitable no book has discussed the profound lasting and far reaching effects of this loss until Motherless Daughters, which became an instant classic. More than twenty years later, it is still the go-to book that women of all ages look to for comfort, help, and understanding when their mother dies. Building on interviews with hundreds of mother loss survivors, Edelman's personal story of losing her mother, and recent research in grief and psychology, Motherless Daughters reveals the shared experiences and core identity issues of motherless women: Why the absence of a nurturing hand shapes a woman's identity throughout her lifespan How present day relationships are defined by past losses How a woman can resolve past conflicts and move toward acceptance and healing Why grief really is not a linear passage but an ongoing cyclical journey How the legacy of mother loss shifts with the passage of time


The genus Pleioplectron was first described by Hutton (1896) and included six New Zealand species. This genus has since had three species moved, one each to the genera Pachyrhamma Brunner von Wattenwyl, 1888, Miotopus Hutton, 1898 and Novoplectron Richards, 1958. Here we clarify the status and appearance of Pleioplectron simplex Hutton, 1896 (incl. P. pectinatum Hutton, 1896 syn. nov.) and P. hudsoni Hutton, 1896, as well as P. thomsoni (Chopard, 1923) comb. nov., which is transferred from the genus Weta Chopard, 1923. The genus Weta is newly synonymised with Pleioplectron. We also describe seven new species of Pleioplectron from South Island, New Zealand: P. auratum sp. nov., P. caudatum sp. nov, P. crystallae sp. nov., P. flavicorne sp. nov., P. gubernator sp. nov., P. rodmorrisi sp. nov and P. triquetrum sp. nov. We base these descriptions on morphology using fresh specimens of both male and female adults, and provide support for each with DNA sequence variation (mtDNA, partial COI).


Life cycle Erect, rhizomatous perennial. Leaves Opposite, eggto lanceshaped with a rounded base and pointed tip. Petiolated leaves have coarsely toothed margins, smooth surfaces to a few hairs beneath and long, stinging hairs on the lower surface. Contact with stinging hairs can cause a skin irritation. Stems Four-angled, herbaceous stems are usually erect and unbranched, up to 6 feet tall and covered with stinging hairs. Contact with stinging hairs can cause a skin irritation. Flowers and fruit Inconspicuous, green to yellow flowers are formed in clusters in the upper leaf axils. The seed is enclosed in a single-seeded, tan, egg-shaped fruit. Reproduction Seeds and rhizomes that form extensive colonies. Stinging nettle seedling.


Plexins comprise a family of transmembrane proteins (the plexin family) which are expressed in nervous tissues. Some plexins have been shown to interact directly with secreted or transmembrane semaphorins, while plexins belonging to the A subfamily are suggested to make complexes with other membrane proteins, neuropilins, and propagate chemorepulsive signals of secreted semaphorins of class 3 into cells or neurons. Despite that much information has been gathered on the plexin‐semaphorin interaction, the role of plexins in the nervous system is not well understood. To gain insight into the functions of plexins in the nervous system, we analyzed spatial and temporal expression patterns of three members of the plexin‐A subfamily (plexin‐A1, ‐A2, and ‐A3) in the developing mouse nervous system by in situ hybridization analysis in combination with immunohistochemistry. We show that the three plexins are differentially expressed in sensory receptors or neurons in a developmentally regulated manner, suggesting that a particular plexin or set of plexins is shared by neuronal elements and functions as the receptor for semaphorins to regulate neuronal development. © 2001 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.


We examine trends since 1980 in material extraction in China, India, Indonesia, and Japan—which together contain over 40% of the world's population—to assess the environmental consequences of modernization. Economic and population growth has driven rapid expansion of material extraction in China, India, and Indonesia since 1980. China and India exhibit patterns consistent with the Jevons paradox, where the economic intensity of extraction (extraction/GDP) has steadily declined while total extraction grew. In Indonesia, extraction intensity grew along with total extraction. In Japan, total extraction remained roughly constant, increasing somewhat in the 1980s and then slowly declining after 1990, while extraction intensity declined throughout the entire period. These different patterns can be understood to some degree by drawing on political-economic and world-systems perspectives. Japan is an affluent, core nation that can afford to import materials from other nations, thereby avoiding escalation of material extraction within its borders. China and India are rapidly industrializing nations that, although increasingly drawing on resources from beyond their borders, still rely on their own natural resources for growth. Indonesia, an extraction economy with less global power than the other nations examined here, exports its own natural resources, often unprocessed, to spur economic growth. The trends highlighted here suggest that in order to avert environmental crisis, alternative forms of development, which do not involve traditional economic growth, may need to be adopted by nations around the world.


The Arab Maghreb Union (AMU) comprising Algeria, Libya, Mauritania, Morocco, and Tunisia has established a framework to enhance regional cooperation on trade facilitation. It is doubtful whether the Arab Maghreb countries could achieve the goals of this regional cooperation or not. The objective of this study is to examine a long-run relationship between the trade and its determinants for a group of selected Arab Maghreb Union Countries.Using a data set consisting of a panel observation for the AMU countries for the
period of 1989-2009; a panel unit root test was done to investigate the possibility of panel
cointegration.Overall, the results are consistent with those found in Pedroni approach in all
cases, parameters for the variables are found to be correctly signed and highly significant. In
terms of trade openness, the results show that the trade barriers are found to be positively and significantly correlated with openness where their relationships within the AMU trade intensity ratios show a strong correlation.In other words, the trade barriers are fairly effective for increasing trade.


Despite social distancing and shelter-in-place policies, COVID-19 continues to spread in the United States. A lack of timely information about factors influencing COVID-19 spread and testing has hampered agile responses to the pandemic. We developed How We Feel, an extensible web and mobile application that aggregates self-reported survey responses, to fill gaps in the collection of COVID-19-related data. How We Feel collects longitudinal and geographically localized information on users' health, behavior, and demographics. Here we report results from over 500,000 users in the United States from April 2, 2020 to May 12, 2020. We show that self- reported surveys can be used to build predictive models of COVID-19 test results, which may aid in identification of likely COVID-19 positive individuals. We find evidence among our users for asymptomatic or presymptomatic presentation, as well as for household and community exposure, occupation, and demographics being strong risk factors for COVID-19. We further reveal factors for which users have been SARS-CoV-2 PCR tested, as well as the temporal dynamics of self- reported symptoms and self-isolation behavior in positive and negative users. These results highlight the utility of collecting a diverse set of symptomatic, demographic, and behavioral self- reported data to fight the COVID-19 pandemic.


Online min-max optimization has recently gained considerable interest due to its rich applications to game theory, multi-agent reinforcement learning, online robust learning, etc. Theoretical un-derstanding in this field has been mainly focused on convex-concave settings. Online min-max optimization with nonconvex geometries, which captures various online deep learning problems, has yet been studied so far. In this paper, we make the first effort and investigate online nonconvex-strongly-concave min-max optimization in the nonstationary environment. We first introduce a natural notion of dynamic Nash equilibrium (NE) regret, and then propose a novel algorithm coined SODA to achieve the optimal regret. We further generalize our study to the setting with stochastic first-order feedback, and show that a variation of SODA can also achieve the same optimal regret in expectation. Our theoretical results and the superior performance of the proposed method are further validated by empirical experiments. To our best knowledge, this is the first exploration of efficient online nonconvex min-max optimization.


New basis set methods are examined regarding quantum mechanical calculations of energy levels and wave functions of bound systems. The first method (I) involves compact orthogonal wavelets as the basis set which is subsequently truncated using the guidance of a classical phase space picture of the system. In this dissertation, the first application of this technique to a real molecular system (neon dimer) is presented, and many of the technical details are developed for its use on any arbitrary system. Although in many respects, neon dimer represents a "worst-case scenario" for the method, it is still competitive with another state-of-the-art scheme applied to the same system. The second method (II) greatly improves the computed accuracies of the first through the introduction of phase space region operators, which increase the efficiency K/N of the basis set, where N is the number of basis functions needed to calculate K energy eigenvalues to a given level of accuracy. For one model system, the absolute error of the computed energy levels is reduced by nearly 4 orders of magnitude, as compared to method I. Finally, a new parallel algorithm for matrix diagonalization (method III) is introduced, which uses a modified subspace iteration method. The new method exhibits great parallel scalability, making it possible to determine many thousands of accurate eigenvalues for sparse matrices of order N ≈ 10 or larger.


Real-time anomaly detection for streaming data is a desirable feature for mobile devices or unmanned systems. The key challenge is how to deliver required performance under the stringent power constraint. To address the paradox between performance and power consumption, brain-inspired hardware, such as the IBM Neurosynaptic System, has been developed to enable low power implementation of large-scale neural models. Meanwhile, inspired by the operation and the massive parallel structure of human brain, carefully structured inference model has been demonstrated to give superior detection quality than many traditional models while facilitates neuromorphic implementation. Implementing inference based anomaly detection on the neurosynaptic processor is not straightforward due to hardware limitations. This work presents a design flow and component library that flexibly maps learned detection network to the TrueNorth architecture. Instead of traditional rate code, burst code is adopted in the design, which represents numerical value using the phase of a burst of spike trains. This does not only reduce the hardware complexity, but also increases the results accuracy. A Corelet library, NeoInfer-TN, is developed for basic operations in burst code and two-phase pipelines are constructed based on the library components. The design can be configured for different tradeoffs between detection accuracy and throughput/energy. We evaluate the system using intrusion detection data streams. The results show higher detection rate than some conventional approaches and real-time performance, with only 50mW power consumption. Overall, it achieves 108 operations per watt-second.