Doping of ferroics is often intended to generate new functionalities or enhance the already existing properties but it comes at the expense of local structural distortions around dopants in the lattice. We have reported on the effect of A-site doping and their effect on the phase transition temperatures of sol-gel synthesized Bi1-xAxFeO3 (A: Gd, Sm, La) powders as a function of dopant type and concentration. A clear direct correlation between structural parameters and transition temperatures was noted as a function of ionic radii of dopants for any given concentration, implying the effect of inhomogeneous lattice strains around dopants. There is a dramatic reduction in the phase transition temperatures of BiFeO3 upon doping determined with differential thermal analyses. This is accompanied by a partial volume of the grains gradually shifting from the bulk rhombohedral towards a higher symmetry one evidenced by X-ray diffraction and Raman Spectroscopy for Sm and Gd doped powders while this effect is minimal in La doped powders. We find that a phase mixture forms in powders whose fraction is a strong function of dopant radius for a given concentration. Moreover, there is a direct correlation between the ionic radius and the extent of reduction in the transition temperature of the polar phase in the mixture for a given dopant concentration. We suggest a mechanism to explain the inhomogeneous nature of the transition of the sol-gel synthesized powders where the dramatic reduction in the transition temperatures of Sm and Gd doped BiFeO3 is due to local lattice strains around unit cells containing dopant ions that create gradients in polarization leading to internal depolarizing fields, possibly stabilizing non-polar phases. We conclude that local disappearance of stereochemical activity of Bi+3 due to lone pairs is not sufficient to explain dramatic changes in phase transition temperatures because of strong dependence on ionic radii of dopants.


We study the collaborative PAC learning problem recently proposed in Blum et al.~\cite{BHPQ17}, in which we have $k$ players and they want to learn a target function collaboratively, such that the learned function approximates the target function well on all players' distributions simultaneously. The quality of the collaborative learning algorithm is measured by the ratio between the sample complexity of the algorithm and that of the learning algorithm for a single distribution (called the overhead). We obtain a collaborative learning algorithm with overhead $O(\ln k)$, improving the one with overhead $O(\ln^2 k)$ in \cite{BHPQ17}. We also show that an $\Omega(\ln k)$ overhead is inevitable when $k$ is polynomial bounded by the VC dimension of the hypothesis class. Finally, our experimental study has demonstrated the superiority of our algorithm compared with the one in Blum et al. on real-world datasets.


Instability of the proximal tibiofibular joint (PTFJ) is a rare clinical condition that presents unique challenges to treatment. We present the case of an active 26-year-old woman with a 4-year history of recurrent PTFJ subluxations, treated surgically at our institution using a split biceps femoris tendon graft for PTFJ reconstruction. She underwent several attempts at nonoperative management until we decided to proceed with surgical intervention. A split biceps femoris graft was used to restore stability of the PTFJ. Approximately 5 years postoperatively, she achieved full range of motion as well as functional and clinical Knee Society Scores of 94 and 90 points, respectively. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first case report of PTFJ instability treated surgically with long-term follow-up. Future studies should focus on the long-term satisfactory outcomes of soft tissue stabilization of a chronically unstable PTFJ.


Abstract We studied the impact of restrictions by the thermal environments on body temperatures (Tbs) and microhabitat use of the lacertid lizards Podarcis melisellensis and Podarcis muralis in a Mediterranean area (Croatia) during autumn. The thermal conditions at available microhabitats were assessed with copper models that measured the operative temperatures (Te) at different sites. We estimated the thermal suitability of microhabitats by quantifying the extent of similarity between the Tes and the range of selected temperatures (i.e., the Tbs that lizards maintain in zero-cost conditions in a laboratory thermogradient; Tsel). Both species maintained, throughout most of day, Tbs that were on average 2–4 C below both Tsel and the Tbs recorded in the field during summer. Nevertheless, the Tbs measured during autumn were in the upper range of available Tes and were much closer to the Tsel than were the Tes. In addition, lizards were most often observed in the warmest microhabitats and were often seen basking. These results indicate that lizards were actively thermoregulating. The Te measurements show that lizards encounter suitable thermal conditions (i.e., where Tes is within Tsel) in only a restricted subset of the available microhabitats and during only a relatively short period of the day. Thus, lizards are constrained to maintain relatively low Tbs during autumn by the generally low available Tes. Although lizards were clearly thermoregulating, they appeared to accept lower Tbs during activity in autumn than in summer. A possible reason for this seasonal shift in activity Tbs is that achievement of higher Tbs during autumn is only feasible by confining activities to some specific microhabitats, which may severely constrain other behaviors, such as foraging.


Quality of the buildings is often considered just as a mix of financial variables and objective characteristics. The main problem of this approach is that price is supposed to well reflect the quality of the property. However, real estate markets are not transparent, goods are complex and the information on the characteristics is difficult to obtain. The informational content of price might also reveal others aspects such as rarity, or just willingness to pay in an imperfect world. It suggests that, for market participants, price is less a mirror of the quality, than the origin of the idea of quality itself. For instance, transaction prices are often based on similar properties prices, more than on in-depth studies of the quality of the buildings. This situation can lead to disconnections with the reference value.To address this issue, we develop a methodology directly based on the dimensions of the quality. Certifications or labels already provide indications of that kind, but these approaches are often normative, with arbitrary weights explicitly decided by experts committees. Specific approaches also exist (Breeam, HQE, Wired…) but they are partial and oriented toward a goal (environmental, connectivity). Here, we propose a new approach where the levels of quality for each characteristics are judged by market participants themeselves. More precisely, this approach consists in making explicit market quality judgments.In the first phase, an experimental experience is realized. It is asked to a group of market participants to formulate global quality judgements on buildings of the Paris office market, described by their characteristics. Then an econometric procedure is applied to identify what are the most valued characteristics. This approach allows different buildings to be positioned relatively to a benchmark and provide an alternative way to consider quality, i.e. the reference value of the building. It also makes possible to track what are the evolutions in the quality judgements in the market across time.


A method for the measurement of arbitrary pretilt angles in liquid crystal displays is proposed and demonstrated. The cell gap can also be determined accurately in the same experiment as well. This method makes use of a photo-elastic modulator and is capable of measuring pretilt angles from 0 to 90deg precisely.


The article analyses macro-occurrences of the administrative law. Implementation of macro-normative legal regulation is based on systematic evaluation of the phenomena in macro-environment and using of possibilities presented by this evaluation in legislation. Macro-norms are created by the Parliament of the Republic of Lithuania, on the basis of legislative powers that are legitimate to this subject of the law. It is considered that the Lithuanian Parliament takes use of the social legal technologies insufficiently. Voluntarism is practiced in parliamentary legislative process; marginal provisions of drafting legislation and a ruling behavioural nihilism prevents the legislators from applying the scientific legal doctrines. It is underlined in the article that macro-administrative law devotes its main attention to defining the legal models of social behaviour and social position of the people belonging to certain social classes and structures, large social groups, and state institutions. The author of this article claims that it is necessary to use the macro-administrative law as a tool for construction of social structures. If this is not being considered, disabled law is being created, which can destroy the modern economic and social life system. In this regard, it is necessary to apply the provisions on micro-administrative legal procedures.


ABSTRACT Despite the growing importance of entrepreneurship as a subject, researchers and practitioners still do not agree about what precisely entrepreneurship is. Instead of offering another definition or taxonomy, we propose a data based methodology, grounded in principal components analysis, which seeks to clarify the issue by thinning out the field of existing theories. We suggest that our approach may be capable of identifying the salient aspects of entrepreneurship in an objective way by discarding those aspects that are not central to the concept. We briefly illustrate the methodology using a large sample of British survey data. INTRODUCTION What is entrepreneurship? Despite the dramatic increase over the last 20 years in research dedicated to answering this important question, we appear to have made relatively little progress towards understanding the essence of the concept. The current state of the literature is characterised by a proliferation of theories, definitions and taxonomies which often conflict and overlap, resulting in confusion and disagreement among researchers and practitioners about precisely what entrepreneurship is. The contribution of this paper is to propose a different approach to the problem of trying to understand entrepreneurship. Unlike previous contributions that have been mainly theoretical in nature, we do not seek to enlarge the set of theories about entrepreneurship. Instead, we propose a data based methodology designed to thin out the field of existing theories, by identifying (1) Whether an empirical representation of entrepreneurship exists, (2) If so, what its composition is (i.e., what theories receive empirical backing), and (3) What theories do not seem to be central to the entrepreneurship concept. We do this by using principal components analysis to identify coherent representations of entrepreneurship within a rich data set that contains proxies for many of the aspects of entrepreneurship that have been highlighted in previous research. We argue that the new approach possesses several potential advantages over the common practice of advancing new theories or combining existing ones into new taxonomies or typologies. One advantage is that it does not presume that entrepreneurship is a coherent concept to start with. That is treated as a testable hypothesis in the present context. Second, it is useful to be able to discard as well as to support particular theories. By cutting through the chaff, a clearer representation of the entrepreneurship concept might come into view. If so, future researchers would be enabled to economise on effort by focusing on the salient aspects of entrepreneurship identified by applications of the methodology. Third, the approach can be applied irrespective of how a researcher defines the sample group. Thus, although our empirical illustration of the approach utilises a sample of self-employed business owners, this is not a necessary assumption of the approach. Indeed, we go on to apply it to a sample of employees as well. The key point is that entrepreneurship principal components are only likely to be observed in sample groups where entrepreneurship is practised. And that is precisely what we find in our empirical application. The remainder of the paper is set out as follows. The next section provides some background about defining entrepreneurship. The one after contains the principal contribution of the paper, namely the proposed methodology. The penultimate section provides the illustrative application of the methodology using a large data set from Britain. The final section concludes. BACKGROUND There are many theories of and views about what entrepreneurship entails. For example, consider the following illustrative and abbreviated set of viewpoints about what entrepreneurship involves: 1. Exercising leadership, motivation, and the ability to resolve crises (Leibenstein, 1968). …


Toxicity evaluation of water treated with polymeric ferric sulphate (PFS), an aluminium-free coagulant, was conducted in this research. Six-week old male F344/N rats exposed to PFS-treated water for three months did not show any obvious pathology as observed histologically or in clinical chemistry compared to rats given tap water. There was no significant difference in body weight gain in the rats drinking PFS-treated water compared with rats drinking tap water between five and eight weeks of treatment. Prolonged exposure to PFS-treated water is warranted to elucidate further the possible toxicity of aluminium-free coagulant.


This paper investigates the performance of two candidates for software radio WLAN, reconfigurable OFDM modulation and antenna diversity, in an indoor environment. The scenario considered is a room with two base units and one mobile unit. The two base units use omnidirectional antennas to transmit and the mobile unit uses either a single antenna with equalizer, a fixed beamformer with equalizer, or an adaptive beamformer with equalizer to receive. The modulation constellation of the data is QPSK and-QAM. The response of the channel at the mobile unit is simulated using a three-dimensional indoor WLAN propagation model that generates multipath components with realistic spatial and temporal correlation. An underlying assumption of the scenario is that existing antenna hardware is available and could be exploited if software processing resources are allocated. The results of the simulations indicate that schemes using more resources outperform simpler schemes in most cases. This implies that desired user performance could be used to dynamically assign software processing resources to the demands of a particular indoor WLAN channel if such resources are available.


The unionized share of the work force changed markedly in the United Kingdom between the 1970s and 1980s. In the 1970s density rose steadily, making the United Kingdom the most heavily organized large OECD country. In the 1980s, by contrast, density fell by 1.4 percentage points per annum -- a faster drop than in the rapidly de-unionizing U.S. or in Japan. What explains this turnaround - the severe recession of the 1980s? Shifts in the composition of employment from unionized manufacturing to services? The Thatcher government's industrial relations legislation? In this paper we investigate these questions with a quantitative analysis of 1945-1986 changes in British union density. In contrast to studies that concentrate on cyclical determinants of unionism (Bain and Elshiekh, Carruth and Disney, Booth (1983)) we focus on industrial relations legislation. We develop an index of the favorableness of labor laws to unionism and relate it to changes in density in time series regressions that control for inflation, unemployment, and the manufacturing share of employment, among other variables. As a further test, we develop an analogous labor law index for Ireland, whose industrial relations system is similar to the U.K.'s and which experienced a similar severe 1980s recession but which did not pass new laws to weaken unions, and contrast changes in density between the countries with differences in industrial relations law. Our major finding is that the Thatcher government's labor laws caused much of the 1980s fall in British union density. We present the evidence for this claim in three stages. Section 1 lays out the facts of changing union density in the U.K. and Ireland and examines structural explanations of the U.K. changes. Section 2 discusses the 1980s U.K. labor laws and develops an index of their likely impact on unionism. Section 3 presents our econometric analysis of the U.K. time series data.


Monetary valuation of ecosystem services enables more accurate accounting of the environmental costs and benefits of policies, but this has rarely been applied in developing countries. In such contexts, there are particular methodological and epistemological challenges that require novel valuation methodologies. This paper introduces a new participatory, deliberative choice experiment approach conducted in the Solomon Islands. The research aimed to determine the value people placed on ecosystem services and whether participatory interventions to elicit deeper held values influenced the preferences expressed. Results found that the initial willingness to pay for a number of tropical forest ecosystem services amounted to 30% of household income. Following deliberative intervention exercises, key ecosystem services effectively became priceless as participants were unwilling to trade them off in the choice experiment scenarios, regardless of financial cost. The group based deliberative approach, combined with participatory interventions, also resulted in Kenter et al.. The importance of deliberation in valuing ecosystem services in developing countries – evidence from the Solomon Islands. Global Environmental Change Human and policy dimension, 21 (2), 505-521, DOI 10.1016/j.gloenvcha.2011.01.001. 2 significant learning for participants. This included a more sophisticated view of ecologicalcultural linkages, greater recognition of deeper held values, and greater awareness of the consequences of human actions for the environment. The use of a group-based participatory approach instead of a conventional individual survey helped to overcome many of the practical difficulties associated with valuation in developing countries. Given the impact of learning on valuation outcomes, participation and deliberation should be integrated into valuation of any complex good, both in developing and developed economies. However, such a methodology raises questions about how valuation can deal with unwillingness to trade-off key ecosystem services, which results in the breakdown of monetary valuation methods. Evaluation of the appropriateness of valuation processes and methodologies for assessing deeper held values and use of mixed-method approaches will be essential to ensure policies take into account the extent to which human life is dependent on ecosystem services.


Minimum cost optimization for multicast with network coding has attracted great research interests. In this paper, based on an information model that differentiates intermediate nodes in a multicast network into network coding, routing or replicating nodes, a method is developed to solve the minimum energy cost multicast problem in wireless networks. Besides transmission energy, many other important parameters can be conveniently optimized as well, such as the number of packets undergoing network coding, the number of network coding nodes, as well as node classification. Some simulations results are shown to verify that the proposed method is promising, especially since network coding may be expensive or impossible for certain wireless nodes.


Because of the significant increase in size and complexity of the networks, the distributed computation of eigenvalues and eigenvectors of graph matrices has become very challenging and yet it remains as important as before. In this paper we develop efficient distributed algorithms to detect, with higher resolution, closely situated eigenvalues and corresponding eigenvectors of symmetric graph matrices. We model the system of graph spectral computation as physical systems with Lagrangian and Hamiltonian dynamics. The spectrum of Laplacian matrix, in particular, is framed as a classical springmass system with Lagrangian dynamics. The spectrum of any general symmetric graph matrix turns out to have a simple connection with quantum systems and it can be thus formulated as a solution to a Schr¨odinger-type differential equation. Taking into account the higher resolution requirement in the spectrum computation and the related stability issues in the numerical solution of the underlying differential equation, we propose the application of symplectic integrators to the calculation of eigenspectrum. The effectiveness of the proposed techniques is demonstrated with numerical simulations on real-world networks of different sizes and complexities.


This paper considers opportunistic primary-secondary spectrum sharing when the primary is a rotating radar. A secondary device is allowed to transmit when its resulting interference will not exceed the radar's tolerable level, in contrast to current approaches that prohibit secondary transmissions if radar signals are detected at any time. We consider the case where an OFDMA based secondary system operates in non-contiguous cells, as might occur with a broadband hotspot service, or a cellular system that uses spectrum shared with radar to supplement its dedicated spectrum. It is shown that even fairly close to a radar, extensive secondary transmissions are possible, although with some interruptions and fluctuations as the radar rotates. For example, at 27% of the distance at which secondary transmissions will not affect the radar, on average, the achievable secondary data rates in down- and upstreams are around 100% and 63% of the one that will be achieved in dedicated spectrum, respectively. Moreover, extensive secondary transmissions are still possible even at different values of key system parameters, including cell radius, transmit power, tolerable interference level, and radar rotating period. By evaluating quality of service, it is found that spectrum shared with radar could be used efficiently for applications such as non-interactive video on demand, peer-to-peer file sharing, file transfers, automatic meter reading, and web browsing, but not for applications such as real-time transfers of small files and VoIP.


This article was originally presented at the VALA2020 Focus on the Future Conference in February 2020. It focuses on a school library's approach to using existing online platforms and services to scaffold learning by enabling students to directly curate content into the library's portal. The goal of this pilot project is a student co-designed and blended learning program to teach students how to: use collections and the literature, cite and reference, and introduces the peer review process. This enables the library to move from a passive role, being the source of quality curated collections, to a more strategic partner and collaborator role that is directly involved in delivering value by improved student learning outcomes.


There is general consensus among sanitary engineering professionals that municipal wastewater and wastewater sludge is not a "waste", but a potential source of valuable resources.

Energy and Resource Recovery from Sludge provides essential knowledge on energy and resource recovery from sludge and focuses on:

International cases studies of established technologies existing at full-scale with commercial applications, as well as those that can potentially be commercialized are provided Emerging technologies that have been demonstrated only at pilot-scale or bench (laboratory) scale are included.

Energy recovery technologies can be classified into sludge-to-biogas processes, sludge-to-syngas processes, sludge-to-oil processes and sludge-to-liquid processes. The technologies available for resource recovery include those to recover phosphorus, building materials, nitrogen, volatile acids, etc. Technical, capital cost, operating and maintenance (O&M) costs information available are documented to the extent possible for each technology. Possibilities of upgrading biosolids pellets produced from sludge as renewable source of inoculum for bio-hydrogen gas production and also recovering of bio-pesticides from sludge are new research areas.

This title belongs to GWRC Report Series .

ISBN: 9781780404653 (eBook)


We ask our students to read cases in law school for a purpose other than simply learning the doctrine. We want them to learn how to analyze legal problems. By reading cases, they learn to see patterns in how courts resolve like problems and develop rules from those patterns that can be applied to future scenarios. Because many students do not read cases with this broad goal in mind, law faculty, particularly first-year professors, need to be explicit about the purpose of reading cases in law school. Students might then approach their reading in a more deliberate and efficient way.


In late 2002, Qatar established key elements of educational reform, known as "Education for a New Era", including curriculum standards, emphasis on problem-solving through student-centered teaching; standards-based assessment; and extensive professional development for teachers. Qatari education reform emphasizes student-centered teaching and learning where teachers are facilitators and students actively engage in learning through systematic inquiry and problem solving. Classrooms characterized by these elements should emerge as more successful on Qatari standards-based assessments, but little research has been done to determine whether these elements can be promoted though specifically designed professional development programs. The purpose of this study was to examine the effect of learner-centered professional development on teaching behaviors in math/science classrooms in Qatari independent elementary schools. The present study is a part of a three year QNRF funded research project which involved two major phases. The first phase of the research project was primarily descriptive and involved a sample of 67 teachers and approximately 1150 students randomly selected from 17 independent schools. The research in this baseline phase depicted the classroom instructional strategies implemented in response to Qatari educational reform goals, and described the extent to which students in Qatari Independent elementary schools engaged in self-regulated learning. The second phase of the research which is the focus of the present study used a quasi-experimental design to investigate the effect of specifically designed learner-centered professional development modules, which were developed based on the initial baseline data, targeting improvement of student-centered teaching behaviors (including perceived teaching efficacy). The study sample consisted of 47 math and science elementary teachers whose classroom teaching practices were assessed, pre and post intervention, using the teacher Attributes Observation Protocol (TAOP), teachers were also administered the Teacher Efficacy Scale (TES) pre and post professional development training. Overall, the results in this study show that student-centered teaching behaviors increased significantly post intervention for both intervention and control groups. The implications of the study findings for the implementation of reform and provision professional development training for teachers in Qatar were discussed.


Objective: To review reports on the use and effects of traditional intravaginal substances and practices. Method: The medical and social science literature of the past 50 years regarding use and effects of traditional intravaginal substances and practices is reviewed. Results: Traditional intravaginal practices have been described in 11 countries of sub‐Saharan Africa, and also in Qatar, Indonesia, Thailand, Haiti, the Dominican Republic, and the United States. Women's reasons for the practices include personal hygiene, disease prevention or treatment, and enhancement of sexual experience. Few studies document damage to the vaginal epithelium or changes in vaginal flora due to these practices. No prospective studies link these practices to disease transmission. Conclusion: The determination of how these practices affect disease transmission will require precise definition of independent variables, which is difficult because of the diversity of the practices. It is appropriate to search for intervening variables; specifically, the effects on the vaginal pH, flora, and epithelium.


Two isomeric layered carbon nitride phases in a trigonal crystal system with 1 : 1 stoichiometry, NCCN and NCNC (space group P3m1), are studied using first principles calculations and quantum theory of atoms in molecules (QTAIM) analysis, where the latter phase is predicted for the first time. Comprehensive characterization of these materials is performed to determine their thermodynamic, elastic and spectral (vibrational, UV-vis and NMR) properties. High-throughput scheme for band structure calculations along with the accurate hybrid functional HSE06 provide the indirect band gaps of 3.142 eV (NCNC) and 5.021 eV (NCCN). Phonon dispersion calculations prove that the studied materials are dynamically stable at ambient pressure. The NCCN phase demonstrates a poor spectral pattern on infrared (IR) intensities and Raman activities, whereas the NCNC polymorph is expected to be effectively detectable by both spectral techniques. The UV-vis spectra of the studied phases display absorption bands between ca. 50–150 nm, which indicates that these isomers are transparent to visible light. Elastic constant calculations indicate strong anisotropy of their Young's moduli. In the [1 0 0] ≡ [0 1 0] plane directions the modulus values are 914.6 GPa (NCNC) and 865.1 GPa (NCCN). In the [0 0 1] direction, which is perpendicular to the layer plane, the Young's moduli are much smaller and equal to 73.3 GPa and 58.4 GPa for NCNC and NCCN, respectively. The exfoliation energies are expected to be about 3 (NCNC) and 2 (NCCN) times higher than those of graphite.


The main motivation for sustainable development, as defined in the Brundtland report, is to care for other humans - for the world's poor and for unborn people. Traditional economic models use the motivation to increase one's own well-being as the main motivation for action. Efficiency-improvements, as the main focus of the economics-based models have largely shown to be ineffective, due to rebound effects etc. We assume that efficiency or consistency improvements can only be effective when accompanied by a more fundamental value shift. A shift including altruistic motivations for behaviour, as they are part of sufficiency strategies for sustainable development. Models that reduce motivations for actions to self-centred ones cannot account for such change. The Capability Approach as an alternative to neo-classical approaches, distinguishes between interests in own well-being and other-regarding interests. Yet it has seldom been applied to address the latter. Tested psychological models that encompass both motivations, on the other hand, have no scope for analysing wider societal effects of policies. This paper therefore integrates psychological knowledge in a capability framework, to be used as a basis for empirical analyses. The developed model should allow the design and assessment of efficiency, consistency, and sufficiency strategies for sustainability transitions.


Churches, Communities and Children: Italian Immigrants in the Archdio cese of New York, 1880-1945. By Mary Elizabeth Brown. (Staten Island, New York: Center for Migration Studies. 1995. Pp. vi, 219. Paperback.) Italian mass migration to the United States began in earnest during the decade following the Risorgimento and the political unification of the Italian Peninsula. General political confusion, plummeting economy, increased taxation, a burgeoning military establishment and extended mandatory service, as well as a government that encouraged and, in some instances, forced emigration, all contributed to the massive movement of the poor from the various provinces, cities, and towns of Italy to the Americas from the 1880's to the first decades of the present century. New York City, even then the symbol of American economic and political prosperity, became the goal and dreamed-for haven for millions of the dispossessed, especially after the opening of Ellis Island. The largest single religious group represented during these years among the arriving immigrants was Roman Catholic, at least in name; the largest single national group among these was the Italian. They were also the neediest, "the most pitiable," as Archbishop Corrigan once described them, with no single language, only various dialects, no national identity, only loyalty to the local town or province of birth, and a strong mutual disdain between those hailing from Northern and Southern Italy. Many were mere slave labor, indentured to "padroni" who had paid their passage to America in return for years of servitude. The Archdiocese of New York found itself host to hundreds of thousands of newly arrived Roman Catholics, among whom were the Italians, most in need of every imaginable form of assistance, not least of which was the spiritual guidance and comfort of their Church. Mary Elizabeth Brown's book describes the Church's response and pastoral plan for the Italians living within the Archdiocese of New York from 1880 until the eve of Vatican Council II. Beginning with the administration of John Cardinal McCloskey, during which time the number of Italian immigrants arriving in New York began to rise, Brown continues in detail her study through 1945, during the rule of Francis Cardinal Spellman. She then paints a general view of the Italians up until the council. She traces the life of Italian Catholics in New York and the Church's response to them and their needs throughout these years. …


The current era of privatization, conceived and begun by Britain's Thatcher government, was borne of a political movement opposed to statism. For over a decade, privatization has been a critical ingredient of the free market agenda that assumed the private sector would create more efficient companies than the government. Not surprisingly, the potential for corruption in privatization was ignored in the ideological zeal of the times and, for a variety of political and economic reasons, has continued to be downplayed in the very countries where it is so rampant. Now, however, a surge in corruption in many, if not all, of the privatization programs in the developing economies of countries like Russia and the former Soviet satellites has forced the issue to the forefront. The high costs of corruption are both economic and political. Unscrupulous privatizations have cost countries such as Russia, India and Mexico billions of dollars in bailouts and other state-absorbed losses, which have contributed to inflation and have slowed, if not halted, on-going economic transformation. Communists and extreme nationalists around the world exploit the rampant corruption in their countries to win converts and attempt to unseat governments. In the end, corruption in privatization threatens to undermine the very market economics that privatization programs were designed to promote. To illustrate the issues raised by corruption in privatization, this essay will first address some of the reasons why privatization is so susceptible to corruption, then look at a variety of countries--including Russia and the former communist bloc countries, along with India and Mexico--to show some of the corrosive economic effects of corruption in privatization and the political dangers accompanying it. One of the biggest problems developing countries face is pressure from multilateral institutions, such as the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank, to privatize as part of their market transformation and as a prerequisite for financial support, long before they have the independent regulatory, legal or judicial framework in place to effectively stop corruption. Only after serious problems surfaced in countries such as Mexico and Russia have multilateral institutions finally begun to recognize that these structural reforms are critical to the economic transformation to capitalism.(1) The absence of governmental regulatory systems makes the privatization process a hotbed for corruption. Because state enterprises do not practice the same type of rigorous commercial accounting and valuation of assets as do private companies, transforming their books to meet the standards of the marketplace--where the value of assets is likely to decline when competition is introduced--is always a complicated process that leaves great room for interpretation.(2) This difficulty in determining the market value of state assets creates a margin that can easily be filled by bribes. Moreover, even if governments engage in a competitive bidding process for the sale of their assets, as is often required by the multilateral institutions, bids are generally confidential, and the power to make the final decision usually lies in the hands of an individual minister.(3) Thus, the rules are only as good as the political environment in which they exist. Countries with a long history of corrupt governments will also be likely to engage in corrupt privatizations. To compound the problem, in many instances, even those countries where anti-corruption laws exist, deeply ingrained customs legitimize practices such as bribe-taking or insider dealing. Pakistan, for example, has anti-bribery laws, but they are routinely ignored. Before the recent fall of the government of Benazir Bhutto on corruption charges, World Bank consultants reported being stymied in their attempt to bring competitive bidding practices to the country, because paying bribes was seen as an extension of the tradition of giving presents to tribal chiefs to "make sure things get done. …


Abstract. An important source of uncertainty in climate models is linked to the calibration of model parameters. Interest in systematic and automated parameter optimization procedures stems from the desire to improve the model climatology and to quantify the average sensitivity associated with potential changes in the climate system. Building upon on the smoothness of the response of an atmospheric circulation model (AGCM) to changes of four adjustable parameters, Neelin et al. (2010) used a quadratic metamodel to objectively calibrate the AGCM. The metamodel accurately estimates global spatial averages of common fields of climatic interest, from precipitation, to low and high level winds, from temperature at various levels to sea level pressure and geopotential height, while providing a computationally cheap strategy to explore the influence of parameter settings. Here, guided by the metamodel, the ambiguities or dilemmas related to the decision making process in relation to model sensitivity and optimization are examined. Simulations of current climate are subject to considerable regional-scale biases. Those biases may vary substantially depending on the climate variable considered, and/or on the performance metric adopted. Common dilemmas are associated with model revisions yielding improvement in one field or regional pattern or season, but degradation in another, or improvement in the model climatology but degradation in the interannual variability representation. Challenges are posed to the modeler by the high dimensionality of the model output fields and by the large number of adjustable parameters. The use of the metamodel in the optimization strategy helps visualize trade-offs at a regional level, e.g., how mismatches between sensitivity and error spatial fields yield regional errors under minimization of global objective functions.


The Twin Paradox is one of the most well known and debated paradoxes associated with Relativity theory. Opponents challenge Relativity theory on the grounds that the Twin Paradox reveals an underlying flaw in the theory. Such opponents feel that the existence of a paradox, in and of itself, is sufficient to disqualify the theory. Supporters explain the paradox by introducing the concept of acceleration into the theory, thus limiting the interpretation to the twin that was undergoing the force of acceleration. However, both interpretations fail to explain why Relativity requires the paradox, which is actually the result of using a length based model to interpret wavelength based observations. Here we show the proper use and interpretation of wavelength based observations using wavelength based equations, and how the mistaken use of length based equations results in time dilation, length contraction, and the Twin Paradox.


Abstract Patients with congenital cardiac disease require lifelong medical care. Current challenges that face practitioners who care for adults with congenital heart disease include identifying the best location for procedures, which could be a children's hospital, an adult hospital, or a tertiary care facility; providing appropriate antenatal management of pregnant women with congenitally malformed hearts, and continuing this care in the peripartum period; and securing the infrastructure and expertise of the non-cardiac subspecialties, such as nephrology, hepatology, pulmonary medicine, and haematology. The objectives of this review are to outline the common problems that confront this population of patients and the medical community, to identify challenges encountered in establishing a programme for care of adults with congenitally malformed hearts, and to review the spectrum of disease and operations that have been identified in a high volume tertiary care centre for adult patients with congenital cardiac disease. Three chosen examples of the fundamental problems facing the practitioner and patient in the United States of America in 2007 are the neglected patient with congenital cardiac disease, weak infrastructure for adults with congenital cardiac disease, and family planning and management of pregnancy for patients with congenital cardiac disease. Patients with adult congenital cardiac disease often do not receive appropriate surveillance. Three fundamental reasons for this problem are, first, that most adults with congenitally malformed hearts have been lost to follow-up by specialists, and are either receiving community care or no care at all. Second, patients and their families have not been educated about their malformed hearts, what to expect, and how to protect their interests most effectively. Third, adult physicians have not been educated about the complexity of the adult with a congenitally malformed heart. This combination can be fatal for adults with complications related to their congenitally malformed heart, or its prior treatment. Two solutions would improve surveillance and care for the next generation of patients coming out of the care of paediatric cardiologists. The first would be to educate patients and their families during childhood and adolescence. They would learn the names of the diagnoses and treatments, the problems they need to anticipate and avoid, the importance of expert surveillance, career and family planning information, and appropriate self-management. The second solution would be to encourage an orderly transfer of patients from paediatric to adult practice, usually at about 18 years of age, and at the time of graduation from high school. Clinics for adults with congenital cardiac disease depend upon multidisciplinary collaboration with specialties in areas such as congenital cardiac imaging, diagnostic and interventional catheterization, congenital cardiac surgery and anaesthesia, heart failure, transplantation, electrophysiology, reproductive and high risk pregnancy services, genetics, pulmonary hypertension, hepatology, nephrology, haematology, and others. None of these services are easily available "off the rack", although with time, experience, and determination, these services can develop very well. Facilities with experienced personnel to provide competent care for adults with congenital cardiac disease are becoming increasingly available. Parents and patients should learn that these facilities exist, and be directed to one by their paediatric caregivers when the time comes for transition to adult care. With the steady increase in the number of adults with congenital heart disease, an ever increasing number of women with such disease are becoming pregnant. Services are not widely available to assess competently and plan a pregnancy for those with more complex disease. It is essential to have a close interplay between the obstetrician, the adult congenital cardiologist, the fetal medicine perinatologist, and neonatologist. In both a community based programme and a tertiary care centre, the nuances and complexities of congenital cardiac anatomy, coupled with the high probability of previous operation during childhood, makes the trained congenital cardiothoracic surgeon best suited to deal with the surgical needs of this growing population. It is clear that the majority of adults with congenital heart disease are not "cured", but require lifelong comprehensive care from specialists who have expertise in this complex arena. There is a growing cadre of healthcare professionals dedicated to improving the care of these patients. More information has become available about their care, and will be improved upon in the next decade. With the support of the general paediatric and paediatric cardiologic communities, and of the Adult Congenital Heart Association, and with the persistence of the providers of care for adults with congenital cardiac disease currently staffing clinics, the care of these patients should become more secure in the next decade as we mature our capabilities.


The Collected Papers of Bertrand Russell, Volume 15 assembles Russell's writings on his experiences of visiting and reflecting on Russia and China. Having emerged from the Great War determined to prevent another armed conflict, Russell became a champion of international socialism as the antidote to the destructive forces of nationalism and capitalism. His quest for international reconstruction led to two enduring experiences, his trip first to Bolshevik Russia in 1920 and then to divided China in 1920-21. These letters describe those experiences which confirmed his emergence as a popular commentator on contemporary political issues. The volume includes two unpublished papers on Russell's trip to Russia.


Better mental health is observed among women with a partner, children, or employment as compared with women without a partner, children, or employment, respectively. Moreover, women who fulfill all three roles are generally healthier than those with fewer roles. Because of significant changes in work-family life constellations over age, understanding these health differentials requires a life course approach. We linked work-family trajectories to mental health in mid-life for Finnish women using longitudinal registry data. Panel data from an 11% random sample of the population residing in Finland in any year between 1987 and 2007 and followed up until 2013 were used. Work-family combinations were based on partnership status, motherhood status, and employment status. Purchases of prescribed psychotropic medication were used as a measure of mental health. We used sequence analysis to identify 7 distinct groups of women based on their work-family trajectories between ages 20 to 42 years. The associations of typologies of trajectories with mental health at age 43 years were estimated with logistic regression models. Compared to employed mothers with a partner, all other women were more likely to have purchased any psychotropic medication at age 43; especially women without a partner, children or employment and lone mothers had worse mental health. These disadvantages remained after controlling for psychotropic medication purchases earlier in life (to account for potential health selection). Adjusting for age at motherhood did not contribute to the better mental health of employed mothers with a partner. Women combining partnership, motherhood, and employment during early working ages had better mental health later in life than women with other work-family trajectories even after adjusting for mental health earlier in life. Interventions to improve the mental health of women living alone in mid-life, including lone mothers, and individuals without employment, may be needed. Keywords: Work-family life; Mental health; Finland; Life course approach; Sequence analysis; Psychotropic medication use


Several aspects of Orang-utan development were Followed from 7-63 weeks. Housing care and feeding are described. Deciduous, dentition and weight data are recorded, and compared with human and chimpanzee data. Physical development was in advance of Homo sapiens. Motor development was studied by (i) intercoordination of discrete limb/body movements. Ever-more complex behaviour stemmed from accretion or intercoordination of previously seen behaviour, or arose de novo, (ii) General motor development showed a gradual mastery of more complex actions, (iii) Gessel testing of motor development and comparison with other Hominoidea revealed this Orang-utan to be in advance of the human infant. Development was more similar to Gorilla than Chimpanzee, yet was in many respects more extended than the chimp. This is explained by the small Gorilla and Orang subject number, and variability within Primate species. Piagetian cognitive development was tested using a battery of sensorimotor tests. The Orang-utan was in advance of the human infant, except in the Stage VI Stick test, which was never achieved. An alternative to Piaget's explanation of certain sensorimotor behaviour is advanced. There was, generally, a shorter (though complete) sensorimotor period in the Orang. Contrary to human data, there was no synchronicity in achievement of the same stage over different tests. This is explained by the species' different ecological/evolutionary histories. A phylogenetic scale of Piagetian accomplishment is suggested. Visually directed grasping was achieved at 3 1/2 months, before H. sapiens, and after the chimpanzee. Several new grasping behaviours are described, many of Piaget's observations are confirmed, and several are not. Development of hand to mouth, visual following and visual-auditory coordination are charted.


This paper explains the emergence of the Energy Community of Southeast Europe with (1) the European Union's external energy policy, (2) the specific regional approach of the EU at the Western Balkans and (3) the neo-functionalist ideas of those European Commission officials that were crucially involved in the process. The guiding ideas of the Commission officials involved were directly drawn from a 'popular version' of neo-functionalism: the idea that peace can be established with integration starting in a highly technical area and with creating the institutional capacity for a possible spill-over into other areas. Through this export of the EU's rules and institutions in the energy sector the Energy Community represents an innovative new mode of governance in Southeast Europe.


OBJECTIVE To evaluate the effects of a 14-day intensive insulin therapy and short-term improvement of glycemic control on serum levels of soluble forms of adhesion molecules, i.e., intercellular adhesion molecule-1 (sICAM-1), vascular cell adhesion molecule-1 (sVCAM-1), and E-selectin (sE-selectin) in NIDDM patients with poor glycemic control. RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS A total of 16 NIDDM patients were compared with 23 healthy subjects (control group) and investigated before and after intensive insulin treatment. RESULTS On day 0, sE-selectin and sVCAM-1 levels were significantly higher in NIDDM patients than in nondiabetic control subjects (median 87, range 63–115; median 544, range 408–797 vs. 58, 43–80; 443, 395–573 ng/ml, respectively) (P < 0.008 in both cases). On day 15, the fall in sE-selectin levels was significant (P < 0.0001) and at a lesser extent in sVCAM-1 levels (64, 48–85; 506, 417–678 ng/ml, respectively); these levels reached values that no longer differed from those of control subjects (P = 0.23 and 0.15, respectively). Moreover, the fall in sE-selectin was positively associated with the change in LDL cholesterol and the improvement of glycemia. CONCLUSIONS In poorly controlled NIDDM patients, sE-selectin levels are increased and significantly fall to normal after short-term improvement of glycemic control. This suggests that assaying sE-selectin makes it possible to detect endothelium activation and to follow its reversal with euglycemia.


The article provides an analysis of the relationship of the proceedings of tax disputes with the administrative process, identifies its place in the latter. By relating the proceedings of tax disputes with the administrative process and tax administration, word combinations characterizing this procedural phenomenon are analyzed, the features of the proceedings of tax disputes as a phenomenon of legal proceedings are defined by comparative analysis. By comparing the opinions of different foreign and Lithuanian authors and the provisions of Lithuanian normative acts attempts are made to formulate the concept of the proceedings of tax disputes. The article also discusses the types of confirmation of inspection acts, as well as the relation of separate types of decisions with a taxpayer. This article is aimed at identifying the relationship and place of the proceedings of tax disputes in the administrative process and determining the limits of this procedural–legal phenomenon.


A successful application area of mobile technology for learning has been to provide location-based guides that inform students or tourists about their immediate surroundings. In this paper we extend this location-based learning to the distant landscape, so that a visitor to an unfamiliar area can ask "what can I see over there?", or can annotate the landscape by taking photos of distant features and adding text or audio notes that are the automatically located as points on a digital map. We describe a system, named Zapp, for learning about the distant landscape. It uses a line of sight algorithm computed over a digital surface model stored on a smartphone to determine which distant feature is showing in the centre of the smartphone camera screen. In 'query' mode the system can inform the user about pre-stored elements of a landscape such as names of rock formations. In 'capture' mode the user can store a note about a distant feature, linked to a photo and to its map coordinates. A trial of the system with university students has demonstrated its usability and usefulness in interpreting the geology of a rural landscape. BACKGROUND


Workplace deviance is becoming an increasingly important issue for organizations. Destructive deviant behaviors, such as theft, workplace aggression, and sabotage, can result in substantial economic and social costs for organizations. To date, employee deviance has generally been conceptualized as destructive. While deviant behavior may be harmful, employee deviance can be constructive and functional as well. Employees who engage in constructive deviance, such as innovative behaviors, can provide organizations with necessary creativity. Despite the importance of understanding employee deviance, little is known on the determinants of employee deviant behavior. In this study, the determinants of both destructive and constructive deviance were investigated. The relationship between deviance and individual, job, organizational, and cultural factors were examined. Furthermore, it was proposed that the extent to which people feel confident in performing their roles would have an impact on the relationship between job factors and workplace deviance. It was hypothesized that role breadth self-efficacy (RBSE) both moderates and mediates the relationship between job autonomy and deviant behavior. The hypotheses were tested using a total sample of employees (N = 668) from two organizations in Canada (n = 240) and three organizations in Mexico (n = 428). While self-reports of the employee were used as the primary source of data, the co-workers' perspective was also utilized to complement the research findings. The results of the study generally show support for the hypotheses relating to individual, job, and organizational factors. While RBSE mediated the relationship between job autonomy and innovative organizational constructive deviance in the total sample, the mediation model for destructive deviance was not supported. Similarly, the results suggested that RBSE moderated the relationship between job autonomy and constructive deviance but not destructive deviance in the total sample. While many of the hypothesized relationships were similar across cultures, country-specific differences in Canada and Mexico were also observed. By identifying the major factors relating to employee deviance, this study attempted to increase our understanding of the determinants of both destructive and constructive deviance. The findings can provide managers with new insights in finding ways to prevent destructive deviant behaviors, such as petty theft, and to enhance constructive deviant behaviors, such as role innovation. Future research directions are also discussed.


When collecting linguistic data using translation tasks, stimuli can be presented in written or in oral form. In doing so, there is a possibility that a systematic source of error can occur that can be traced back to the selected survey method and which can influence the results of the translation tasks. This contribution investigates whether and to what extent both of the aforementioned survey methods result in divergent results when using translation tasks. For this investigation, 128 informants provided linguistic data; each informant had to translate 25 Wenker sentences from Standard German into either East Swabian, Lechrain or West Central Bavarian dialect, as the case may be. The results show two tendencies. First, written stimuli lead to a slightly higher number of dialectal translation in segmental variables. Second, when oral stimuli are used, syntactic and lexical variables are translated significantly more often in such a manner that they diverge from the template. The results can be explained in terms of varying cognitive processing operations and the constraints of human working memory. When collecting data in the future, these tendencies should be taken into account.


Abstract. Here we investigate the vegetation history and peat accumulation at the eastern boarder of the West Siberian Plain, near the Yenisey River, south of permafrost. In this region, peat started to accumulate 15 000 years ago as gyttja of shallow lakes in ancient river valleys. This peat is older than previously reported, mainly due to separating particulate organic carbon (POC) from dissolved organic carbon (DOC), which was 1900–6500 years younger than POC. The probability of finding peat layers older than 12 000 years is about 2 %. Peat accumulated as fen peat at a constant rate of 0.2 mm yr−1 and 0.01 kg C m−2 yr−1. The accumulation was higher in ancient river valley environments. Over the last 2000 years these bogs changed into Sphagnum mires which have accumulated up to about 0.1 kg C m−2 yr−1 until present. The long-lasting fen stage, which makes the Yenisey bogs distinct from the western Siberian bogs, is discussed as a consequence of the local hydrology. The high accumulation rate of peat in unfrozen mires is taken as an indication that thawing of permafrost peat may also change northern peatlands into long-lasting carbon sinks.


Appropriate selection of the kernel function, which implicitly defines the feature space of an algorithm, has a crucial role in the success of kernel methods. In this paper, we consider the problem of optimizing a kernel function over the class of translation invariant kernels for the task of binary classification. The learning capacity of this class is invariant with respect to rotation and scaling of the features and it encompasses the set of radial kernels. We show that how translation invariant kernel functions can be embedded in a nested set of sub-classes and consider the kernel learning problem over one of these sub-classes. This allows the choice of an appropriate sub-class based on the problem at hand. We use the criterion proposed by Lanckriet et al. (2004) to obtain a functional formulation for the problem. It will be proven that the optimal kernel is a finite mixture of cosine functions. The kernel learning problem is then formulated as a semi-infinite programming (SIP) problem which is solved by a sequence of quadratically constrained quadratic programming (QCQP) sub-problems. Using the fact that the cosine kernel is of rank two, we propose a formulation of a QCQP sub-problem which does not require the kernel matrices to be loaded into memory, making the method applicable to large-scale problems. We also address the issue of including other classes of kernels, such as individual kernels and isotropic Gaussian kernels, in the learning process. Another interesting feature of the proposed method is that the optimal classifier has an expansion in terms of the number of cosine kernels, instead of support vectors, leading to a remarkable speedup at run-time. As a by-product, we also generalize the kernel trick to complex-valued kernel functions. Our experiments on artificial and real-world benchmark data sets, including the USPS and the MNIST digit recognition data sets, show the usefulness of the proposed method.


Aims For a Swedish national sample of 12,833 individuals assessed for a substance use disorder (SUD) (2002-2008) in the Swedish welfare system, client self-report and clinical staff Addiction Severity Index (ASI) assessment data were used to assess mental health problem severity and needs. Methods Analysis of client self-report data using regression methods identified demographic characteristics associated with reporting significant mental health problems. Clinical staff assessment data from the ASI Interviewer Severity Rating (ISR) score were used to develop a K-means cluster analysis with three client cluster profiles: Narcotics (n=4795); Alcohol (n=4380); and Alcohol and Psychiatric Problems (n=3658). Chi-square and one-way ANOVA analyses identified self-reported mental health problems for these clusters. Results 44% of clients had a history of using outpatient mental health treatment, 45% reported current mental health symptoms, and 19% reported significant mental health problems. Women were 1.6 times more likely to report significant mental health problems than men. Staff assessed that 74.8% of clients had current mental health problems and that 13.9% had significant mental health problems. Client and staff results were congruent in identifying that clients in the Alcohol profile were less likely (5%) to report having significant mental health problems compared to the other two profiles (30% each). Conclusions About 19% of clients with SUDs reported significant mental health problems, need integrated addiction and mental health treatment, and these clients are clustered in two population groups. An additional 25% of the addiction treatment population report current mental health symptoms and have at some point used mental health treatment. This national level assessment of the extent and severity of co-occurring disorders can inform decisions made regarding policy shifts towards an integrated system and the needs of clients with co-occurring disorders.


When surveying immigrant populations or ethnic minority groups, it is important for survey researchers to consider that respondents might vary in their level of language proficiency. While survey translations might be offered, they are usually available for a limited number of languages, and even then, non-native speakers may not utilize questionnaires translated into their native language. This article examines the impact of language proficiency among respondents interviewed in English on survey data quality. We use data from Understanding Society: The United Kingdom Household Longitudinal Study (UKHLS) to examine five indicators of data quality, including "don't know" responding, primacy effects, straightlining in grids, nonresponse to a self-completion survey component, and change in response across survey waves. Respondents were asked whether they are native speakers of English; non-native speakers were subsequently asked to self-rate whether they have any difficulties speaking or reading English. Results suggest that non-native speakers provide lower data quality for four of the five quality indicators we examined. We find that non-native respondents have higher nonresponse rates to the self-completion section and are more likely to report change across waves, select the primary response option, and show straightlining response behavior in grids. Furthermore, primacy effects and nonresponse rates to the self-completion section vary by self-rated level of language proficiency. No significant effects were found with regard to "don't know" responding between native and non-native speakers.


Purpose: To investigate whether the trans-arachidonic acids (TAAs) change in diabetic conditions and the effect on capillary cells and its possible mechanism. Methods: Diabetes was induced by intraperitoneal injection of streptozotocin at 60 mg kg–1 body weight. The amount of TAAs and arachidonic acid (AA) in serum of diabetic rats was measured by the gas chromatography and mass spectrometry method and the ratio of the peak area of TAAs to AA with a selected ion of 79 was estimated by group t test. The expression level of thrombospondin-1 (TSP-1) in the retina was examined by Western blot. The pericyte apoptotic index was investigated by flow cytometry. Result: The ratio of TAAs to AA significantly increased in serum at the time points of 8, 12 and 16 weeks after streptozotocin induction (p < 0.05). The expression of TSP-1 in the retina of diabetic rats elevated with longer duration of diabetes (checking the time points of 2-, 4-, 8-, 12- and 16-week diabetic rats). The expression of TSP-1 tended to be physiologically elevated in relation to age but less significantly than in the diabetic group. TAAs could not induce the apoptosis of retinal pericytes (p > 0.05). Conclusion: TAAs were generated associated with nitrative stress in diabetic rats and a possible mechanism of microvascular injury exits in diabetic conditions.


Engineered Cementitious Composite (ECC) is an ultra ductile concrete with strain-hardening and multiple-cracking behaviour in tension and flexure. Fresh, mechanical and durability properties of different ECC mixtures are evaluated by incorporating supplementary cementitious materials (class F, CI fly ash and slag) and different aggregate type. Experimental studies demonstrated viability of producing greener, sustainable and cost-effective ECC using locally available aggregates (crushed sand) instead of microsilica sand and fly ash (Class CI or F) of up to 70% cement replacement having similar or better fresh, mechanical and durability properties. Structural validation by small scale tests on bridge decks with ECC link slab and by push out tests to evaluate stud shear connector-ECC interaction compared with self-consolidating concrete (SCC) proved feasibility and advantages of these ECC mixes. Based on research, recommendations are made for ECC mix design and their application in link slab construction in bridge structures.


Vascular epiphytes are non-parasitic plants that germinate and grow on trees without contact to the soil. Their arboreal life style implies a strong dependence on forest structure and dynamics. Tree architectures change constantly during ontogeny, and large and old branches of the inner crowns are generally more suitable for epiphyte colonization and survival than small branches of the outer crowns. In addition, microclimatic conditions within canopies, such as light, temperature or humidity, are directly influenced by forest structure. While the influence of such gradients within trees and forests on the vertical distribution of epiphyte species is undisputed, our understanding of the relationship between epiphyte distribution and functional traits is limited. Moreover, a causal relationship between the dynamics of trees and forests and the dynamics of epiphyte assemblages is obvious, but our quantitative knowledge on this topic is strikingly scarce.
In this thesis, I provide a detailed analysis of how forest structure and dynamics influence the structure and dynamics of epiphyte assemblages and their functional traits via both field studies (chapters 2 and 3) and modelling studies (chapters 4 and 5).
In chapter 2, I analyzed vertical gradients of ten leaf traits based on leaf samples of > 1100 individuals belonging to 83 epiphyte species in a Panamanian lowland forest. I found that community mean trait values of many leaf traits were significantly correlated with height above ground. Trait-height correlations were particularly strong for specific leaf area (SLA), leaf thickness, leaf chlorophyll concentration and carbon isotope ratio. Both linear and non-linear trends were observed, and while the leaf thickness, for instance, increased linearly, the SLA decreased non-linearly with height. Furthermore, intraspecific trait variability was pronounced and accounted for one-third of total observed trait variance. Intraspecific trait adjustments along the vertical gradient were common and seventy per cent of all species showed significant trait–height relationships. In addition, intraspecific trait variability was positively correlated with the vertical range occupied by species; however, this correlation was rather weak. I also observed significant trait differences between major taxonomic groups (orchids, ferns, aroids, bromeliads) that were linked to their vertical distributions. Orchids, for instance, had on average the thickest leaves and lowest SLA values, while in ferns the leaf dry matter content was almost twofold higher than in the other taxonomic groups. My study represents the most comprehensive study on vertical trait gradients of vascular epiphytes to date and demonstrates that leaf trait syndromes and intraspecific trait variability play important roles in explaining the vertical zonation of vascular epiphyte species and taxonomic groups.
In chapter 3, I addressed the role of forest dynamics on community structure and mortality patterns of epiphyte assemblages by exploring the forest floor as source of information. To this end, I surveyed fallen branches and epiphytes in 96 transects in rainforests in Brazil and Panama. I found that trends in epiphyte abundance, richness and composition over branch diameter on the forest floor reflected trends in the forest canopy. This finding suggests that forest floor surveys provide useful demographic information, particularly on epiphytes occurring on the thinnest branches which are least accessible with the most common techniques to access the forest canopy. Furthermore, the density of epiphytes on the forest floor was high, and I estimated mortality rates of at least 4% per year at the community level, and of ~13% per year when considering epiphytes on branches < 10 cm in diameter. The results of this study highlight the importance of tree and forest dynamics for the demography of vascular epiphytes.
In chapter 4, I developed a dynamic forest stand model in which trees are represented by their three-dimensional (3D) structure. In this model, tree species were characterized by a set of leaf traits under consideration of trade-offs and correlations among traits. Applying the principles of the pipe model theory, these leaf trait trade-offs were scaled to whole-tree growth. This approach reproduced fundamental life history variation between different functional tree groups with regard to their growth, survival, and light demand. For instance, species with high SLA values had high initial growth rates, but lower maximum heights and shorter life spans, i.e. characteristics associated with pioneer species. Tree growth patterns in my model were largely consistent with observations and support the notion that the growth-survival trade-off across tropical tree species is, at least partly, determined by leaf traits. Furthermore, I coupled the trait-based tree model with a forest stand model which simulates key demographic processes and integrates between-tree competition. This stand model successfully reproduced a number of important ecological patterns. A dynamic equilibrium state was reached after ~ 100 years, and in this equilibrium twelve important forest attributes (e.g. above-ground biomass, basal area, stem number, net-primary production or leaf area index) were within typical ranges of Neotropical lowland forests. Moreover, complex patterns like the vertical leaf area density or the diameter-height relationship closely matched observations, indicating that a structurally realistic forest can be simulated with my model. To my knowledge, the presented modelling approach allowing detailed 3D long-term simulations of forest dynamics is unique and paves the way for further model-based analyses of forest dynamics, or model-based studies of canopy-dwelling organisms requiring a detailed representation of forest structures and their dynamics.
In chapter 5, I developed the first mechanistic model for epiphytes which explicitly simulates population dynamics while being coupled with a structurally-realistic forest model. This epiphyte model is three-dimensional, spatially-explicit, and trait- and individual-based. After the model was validated by comparing model results with field data, I used simulation experiments to assess how differences in natural forest dynamics, logging strategies, and the size of forest patches influenced the long-term dynamics of epiphyte assemblages. Tree turnover rates in natural tropical rainforest typically vary between 1% and 3% per year, and such variations had a marked impact on epiphyte assemblages, i.e. forests with low tree turnover rates had considerably lower extinction rates and higher epiphyte abundances. It has been observed that even in mature forests with low tree turnover rates, epiphyte assemblages show no sign of saturation, and my simulations demonstrated that the saturation level was clearly influenced by forest dynamics. Furthermore, logging had the hypothesized negative effect on epiphyte diversity and abundance. Strikingly, a slight reduction in size of logged trees from 45 to 40 cm in diameter at breast height had a catastrophic effect on epiphyte assemblages and resulted in nearly complete extinction. In contrast, epiphyte extinction rates decreased with increasing forest patch sizes. The coupled epiphyte-forest model presented in this study provided valuable insights on how forests stand parameters influence epiphyte assemblages and has the potential to address pending question in the field of epiphyte ecology and conservation in future studies.
In summary, the findings of my thesis represent a major advance towards a better understanding of the relationship between forest structure and dynamics and (trait) structure and dynamics of epiphyte communities. My thesis constitutes the most comprehensive study on the community trait structure of vascular epiphytes to date and introduced complex mechanistic models to the field of epiphyte ecology. The modelling approaches open new avenues for future studies of spatial and temporal dynamics of vascular epiphyte assemblages while integrating epiphyte research in a more theoretical context.


The influence of elongation on the strain inhomogeneity and shape change in twinning-induced plasticity steel rod is systematically investigated to understand the macroscopic shear band (MSB) formation mechanism and to decrease the strain inhomogeneity during the compression-type forming processes. Specimens fabricated by rod flat rolling with elongation (3D rod) and by plane compression without elongation (2D rod) are compared using both finite element analysis and experiment. Despite the similar final product shape, the 2D rod presents a lower effective strain at the surface region than the 3D rod, leading to a high strain inhomogeneity. The higher effective strain at the surface region of the 3D rod is mainly attributed to the elongation of the 3D rod during the rolling. In contrast, the 2D rod exhibits strong dead metal zones owing to the lack of elongation of the specimen. Therefore, the formation of MSBs or strain inhomogeneity of a specimen can be reduced by increasing the elongation of the specimens during the forming process. Both the contact width and lateral spread of the 3D rod are lower than those of the 2D rod because of the elongation of the 3D rod originating from the slip effect at the rod-roll interface during the rolling process. The small frictional effect at the rod and roll interface increased the elongation of the rod, leading to a decrease in the strain inhomogeneity and lateral spreading in the 3D rod.


Colorectal cancer (CRC) is the third most prevalent form of cancer, after lung cancer and breast cancer, with the second highest death incidence. Over the years, natural compounds have been explored as an alternative to conventional cancer therapies such as surgery, radiotherapy, and chemotherapy. Curcumin, an active constituent of turmeric has been associated with various health benefits. It has gained much attention as an anticancer agent due to its ability to regulate multiple cell signaling pathways, including NF-κB, STAT3, activated protein-1 (AP-1), epidermal growth response-1 (Egr-1), and p53, which are crucial in cancer development and progression. Nevertheless, the clinical application of curcumin is greatly restricted because of its low water solubility, poor oral absorption, and rapid metabolism. These issues have led to the development of curcumin nanoformulations to overcome the limitations of the compound. Nanotechnology-based delivery systems have been widely used in improving the delivery of poorly-water soluble drugs. Besides, these systems also come with the added benefits of possible cellular targeting and improvement in cellular uptake. An ideal improved formulation should display a greater anticancer activity compared to free curcumin, and at the same time be non-toxic to the normal cells. In this review, we focus on the design and development of various nanoformulations to deliver curcumin for use in CRC such as liposomes, micelles, polymer nanoparticles, nanogels, cyclodextrin complexes, solid lipid nanoparticles (SLN), phytosomes, and gold nanoparticles. We also discuss the current pre-clinical and clinical evidences of curcumin nanoformulations in CRC therapy, analyse the research gap, and address the future direction of this research area.


In 2009, the International Federation of Professional Accountants - IFAC initiated a process of reviewing reporting standards. The purpose of this process is to improve the auditor's way of communicating and to increase the relevance of the audit globally, meaning that the auditor's report is more informative by presenting more information about the entity and about the audit of the financial statements. Thus, reporting standards have been amended, a new standard has been published, and the impact of these changes on other standards used by the auditor has been reported. The most relevant aspects concern the introduction of new paragraphs in the auditor's report regarding key aspects of the audit and the assumption of business continuity. Also, the structure of the report has been modified.


There is mounting evidence of the physical therapist's role in hospice and palliative care (HPC) for optimizing quality of life and engagement in remaining life activities. The purpose of this clinical summary is to describe the variety of roles and clinical approaches that physical therapists are able to contribute to the care of patients with a life-threatening or terminal illness. In addition, culture, religion, and individual patient/family preferences tend to be contributing factors as they relate to physical therapy (PT) in HPC. Physical therapists have multiple practice patterns that they can use in HPC for a variety of clinical signs and symptoms, patient situations, and disease trajectories. Access to PT services is inconsistent and often depends on the understanding of the role of PT within HPC. In addition, providers must acknowledge varying levels of acceptance and integration of PT and HPC based on individual and contextual factors. In order to optimize remaining quality of life and optimize care and safety, PT and HPC should be integrated in a collaborative, prospective manner, and PT should be closely integrated with the entire interdisciplinary HPC care team.


The digestive system of Archegozetes longisetosus comprises the following components: the preoral cavity in front of the mouth and the digestive tract, which is composed of: 1) a cuticle lined foregut starting with the mouth and continuing with the pharynx and esophagus; 2) a midgut with ventriculus, one pair of preventricular glands, one pair of caeca, a colon, an intercolon, and a postcolon; 3) a cuticle lined hindgut composed of the anal atrium and terminating with the anus. A crop or ingluvies, i.e. a widened posterior portion of the esophagus, is not present. All regions of the digestive tract are provided with muscles that are all of the cross striated type. The pharynx is crescent shape in cross section and is activated by dilator and depressor muscles. In addition there are ventral muscles. The cuticle of the pharynx is specialized in a way that likely has functional implications. The ventral wall of the pharynx is fixed to the ventral wall of the infracapitulum in a peculiar way. A functional model of the pharynx is suggested. The esophagus is a slender tube that passes through the synganglion. It is capable of expansion by means of longitudinal folds in its wall. The esophagus is predominantly provided with ring muscles. However, within the same muscle cell are also myofibrils which run in longitudinal direction. The esophagus projects into the ventriculus with a pronounced esophageal valve. The peculiar termination of the esophageal valve intima is described. The ventriculus is composed of one type of epithelial cell that is mainly characterized by its distinct brush border and concentric inclusion bodies (spherites = type A granules). The ventriculus frequently contains a food bolus that is surrounded by an indistinct layer of secretion forming a premature peritrophic membrane. The preventricular glands are represented by two pouches formed by cells similar to those of the ventriculus, but are densely filled with very dense spherites. These glands approach the lateral parts of the synganglion, which form peculiar lamellated bodies (specialized neurons) that are likely photosensitive. The spherites in the ventriculus and caeca are usually less electron dense. The caeca distinctly show three types (or phases) of epithelial cells: 1) an ER cell, which is very richly provided with rough endoplasmic reticulum; 2) a digestive (= resorptive) cell showing pinocytotic activity and containing numerous vacuoles, and 3) a spherite cell, which contains many spherites. The caeca never contained food and their main functions are likely the secretion of digestive enzymes (ER cells) and resorption (digestive cells). The spherite cells may be end stages of a cell cycle starting with resorption and ending with extrusion of that part of the cell in which spherites had accumulated. It may be that parts of the spherite cells are discarded from the epithelium, as may also be suspected from the ventriculus cells and the cells of the preventricular glands. The colon is rather inconspicuous in contrast to the postcolon, which is mainly characterized by long microvilli. The main function of the postcolon seems to be compaction of the faecal pellet and completion of the peritrophic membrane. Material contributing to this membrane also appears to be added in a short transition zone between the colon and postcolon, called the intercolon. This region is provided with rather conspicuous muscles, suggesting a sphincter function. The region is capable of being distended during the passage of the food due to its peculiar epithelium, which shows deep crypts. Finally, the anal atrium is again provided with a cuticular lining that shows specific differentiations from proximal to distal. At the beginning of the anal atrium, the cuticle seems to function as an elastic cushion that helps to keep the postcolon closed, unless contraction of the postcolon pushes the faecal pellet out. However, there are also very thick sphincter muscles in this region. Since the epithelium of the anal atrium does not show any indicative peculiarities, it seems unlikely that further processing of the faecal pellet occurs in this region. The food bolus or faecal pellet, respectively, always shows some bacteria, fungi, and algae cells, which seem to be undigested and hence may pass through the digestive tract as intact cells. The haemocoel contains peculiar large cells, which are considered to represent a storage tissue and hence are termed fat body cells, as in other mites. These cells are connected to the midgut by small finger like processes that presumably form gap junctions with the midgut epithelial cells. The fat body cells show various supplies of different inclusions and organelles, probably related to the physiological state and/or their location in the mite s body.


Purpose/Objetives: Combinations of immunotherapy with radiation or radiochemotherapy are currently under investigation in several cancer types and clinical settings. In this survey, we solicited members of radiation oncology institutions in Germany to review the current status of research in this field, underline critical issues such as oncological benefit, treatment toxicity and obstacles in clinical research. Method: We surveyed radiation oncology institutions in Germany via an anonymous online questionnaire sent by e-mail to members of the German Radation Oncology Society and yDEGRO (working group of DEGRO e.V.). The questions were based on current studies at their institutions, clinical settings (cancer type, cerebral metastasized situation), emphasizing the oncologic benefit and obstacles of clinical research. Results: We received a total of 26 responses (61.90% response rate). Of which 23 were completed and returned, hence eligible for further evaluation. The responders represent 14 different departments of radiation oncology at German university hospitals. 14 (60.90%) responders perform radio-immunotherapy studies at their institutions and participate in multicenter studies. Radio-immunotherapy combinations were investigated mainly in head & neck tumors (95%), lung cancer (57%), malignant melanoma (48%) and tumors of the upper GI tract (8.7%). Combinations of radiochemotherapy with immunotherapy were only tested in head & neck cancers (52%), non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) (8.70%) and malignant melanoma (4%).The oncologic benefit of radio/radiochemotherapy with immunotherapy is assumed to be effective or very effective by >85% of all responders. Regarding possible obstacles to clinical research of radio/radiochemo-immunotherapy combinations, 21 (91.3%) responders mentioned lack of financial resources, 18 (78.3%) responders shortage of human resources, 10 (43.5%) responders lack of sufficient evidence and 6 (26.1%) lack of ethics committee approval. Conclusion: Radioimmunotherapy combinations are under investigation at >75% of all participating centers. Head & neck tumors, NSCLC and malignant melanoma are the most frequently tested cancer types. The treatment of intracranial metastatic disease by the combination of radiotherapy and immunotherapy is assumed to be very effective by the majority of responders. Several obstacles for clinical research were collated. The results ofongoing prospective trials are eagerly awaited and our survey shows great acceptance of new combinations of radio/radiochemo-immunotherapy.


Chromatin modifications are sensitive to environmental and nutritional stimuli. Abnormalities in epigenetic regulation are associated with metabolic disorders such as obesity and diabetes that are often linked with defects in oxidative metabolism. Here, we evaluated the potential of class-specific synthetic inhibitors of histone deacetylases (HDACs), central chromatin-remodeling enzymes, to ameliorate metabolic dysfunction. Cultured myotubes and primary brown adipocytes treated with a class I–specific HDAC inhibitor showed higher expression of Pgc-1α, increased mitochondrial biogenesis, and augmented oxygen consumption. Treatment of obese diabetic mice with a class I– but not a class II–selective HDAC inhibitor enhanced oxidative metabolism in skeletal muscle and adipose tissue and promoted energy expenditure, thus reducing body weight and glucose and insulin levels. These effects can be ascribed to increased Pgc-1α action in skeletal muscle and enhanced PPARγ/PGC-1α signaling in adipose tissue. In vivo ChIP experiments indicated that inhibition of HDAC3 may account for the beneficial effect of the class I–selective HDAC inhibitor. These results suggest that class I HDAC inhibitors may provide a pharmacologic approach to treating type 2 diabetes.


Pedagogues in the borderland of their social task: dealing with family law proceedings, threats and violenceDrawing upon an explorative study of family law proceedings from a school perspective, the aim of this paper is to examine the school staff's strategies for solving or coping with problematic situations in this context. Gendered conflicts between adults and violence are extreme cases for pedagogues in school and preschool. How do the staff cope with their own and the children's vulnerability? Based upon interviews with 22 informants, the staff's strategies are outlined and discussed in relation to organizational and professional circumstances and intersecting social relations of power. An analytical construction of six types of proactive and reactive strategies, ranging from distance keeping to normalization of own exposure, is utilized in the analysis. Findings suggest that the staff's strategies to handle challenging events in this context vary with the parent's gender, class position and ethnicity. Further, it is argued that creating a sense of safety and promoting learning among the children may be obstructed by lack of support from the school's organization, demands on staff to perform customer oriented attitudes towards parents and lack of clarity concerning the limits of the social task. Conflicts between the organization and profession on the one hand and the educational and the social task on the other hand, are thus illuminated. In conclusion, a further aim of this article is to contribute to broader discussions on men's violence against women and children – in families as well as in workplaces and in the intersection between these two areas.


In recent years there has been a growth in the literature seeking to determine how and why the European Parliament (EP) exercises legislative influence. However, much of the debate has focused either upon rational choice new institutionalist models of decision-making, or statistical analysis of the adoption of EP amendments. Consequently, the other key body of literature on EP influence, which focuses upon qualitative case studies, has become rather neglected. There has been a tendency for this latter work to be criticized and dismissed because it does not engage in systematic theoretical development and rigorous testing of hypotheses. As a result, the claims made by authors located in this branch of the literature have not been subject to the same scrutiny and testing as the work of authors such as Tsebelis and various collaborators. This paper seeks to redress this imbalance in the literature by testing the claims made by Shackleton that a key variable affecting the EP's ability to shape legislation is the type of policy under consideration--distributive or regulatory-and the distribution costs and benefits arising from it. Using data from several case studies, the paper explores the problems associated with trying to define such costs and benefits. It is argued that the key determinants of the EP's influence are the level and type of costs and the group of actors upon which they are imposed.


This paper presents a holistic methodology for the design of medical device software, which encompasses a new way of eliciting requirements, system design process, security design guideline, cloud architecture design, combinatorial testing process and agile project management. The paper uses point of care diagnostics as a case study where the software and hardware must be robust, reliable to provide accurate diagnosis of diseases. As software and software intensive systems are becoming increasingly complex, the impact of failures can lead to significant property damage, or damage to the environment. Within the medical diagnostic device software domain such failures can result in misdiagnosis leading to clinical complications and in some cases death. Software faults can arise due to the interaction among the software, the hardware, third party software and the operating environment. Unanticipated environmental changes and latent coding errors lead to operation faults despite the fact that usually a significant effort has been expended in the design, verification and validation of the software system. It is becoming increasingly more apparent that one needs to adopt different approaches, which will guarantee that a complex software system meets all safety, security, and reliability requirements, in addition to complying with standards such as IEC 62304. There are many initiatives taken to develop safety and security critical systems, at different development phases and in different contexts, ranging from infrastructure design to device design. Different approaches are implemented to design error free software for safety critical systems. By adopting the strategies and processes presented in this paper one can overcome the challenges in developing error free software for medical devices (or safety critical systems).


We linked a set of climate, hydrology, landscape, and fish population models to estimate the relative influence of freshwater habitat variables on the abundance of a population of endangered stream-type Chinook salmon Oncorhynchus tshawytscha responding to a warming climate. The hydrology models estimated that increases in annual air temperature and winter precipitation would lead to increases in water temperature and changes in discharge, including higher flows during the egg-incubation period and lower flows during the summer rearing period. The spatially explicit population model estimated a resulting decline of 0 to 7% in the number of spawners, with 3 of 4 global climate models estimating a decline of 4 to 7%. Increased water temperature during the summer spawning period was the most limiting among habitat variables modeled, but our modeling suggested that aggressive habitat restoration (increasing forested area and reducing impervious area) could mitigate some spawner abundance reductions. Better knowledge of the links between climate changes and habitat response, including increased streambed scour due to the larger and more frequent winter high-discharge events predicted by our hydrology models, would improve our ability to estimate climate effects on populations. Future limitation by elevated summer water temperature, and potentially egg-pocket scour, would further stress an endangered population currently limited by the percentage of fine sediment around egg pockets. Identifying such changes demonstrates the utility of models that consider climate and integrate life-stage-specific habitat influences over a species' life cycle, thereby indicating restoration actions with the potential to benefit sensitive life stages.


Returned lunar KREEP basalts originated through impact processes or endogenous melting of the lunar interior. Various methods have been used to distinguish between these two origins, with varying degrees of success. Apollo 15 KREEP basalts are generally considered to be endogenous melts of the lunar interior. For example, sample 15434,181 is reported to have formed by a two‐stage cooling process, with large orthopyroxene (Opx) phenocrysts forming first and eventually cocrystalizing with smaller plagioclase crystals. However, major and trace element analyses of Opx and plagioclase coupled with calculated equilibrium liquids are inconsistent with the large orthopyroxenes being a phenocryst phase. Equilibrium liquid rare earth element (REE) profiles are enriched relative to the whole rock (WR) composition, inconsistent with Opx being an early crystallizing phase, and these are distinct from the plagioclase REE equilibrium liquids. Fractional crystallization modeling using the Opx equilibrium liquids as a parental composition cannot reproduce the WR values even with crystallization of late‐stage phosphates and zircon. This work concludes that instead of being a phenocryst phase, the large Opx crystals are actually xenocrysts that were subsequently affected by pyroxene overgrowths that formed intergrowths with cocrystallizing plagioclase.