In the past few decades, the impact of explosions on buildings has been the area of research, mainly because buildings worldwide are increasingly facing the risk of deliberate explosion attacks, accidental explosions, and other forms of related explosion failure. The magnitude of the explosive load generated by most explosions is much higher than the design load of conventional structural engineering. As a result, with the intensification of global terrorist attacks, building owners, government departments, and design professionals have become more aware of the vulnerability and survivability of structures to explosive loads. Although much work on the impact of explosions on infrastructure continues, especially in India, numerical work to test explosives has been restricted. In addition, there are few computational tests for reinforced concrete beam-column joint to withstand explosive loads within a close range with a ruler spacing of less than as mentioned in IS: 1449. This may be due to the unreliable accuracy and relatively low survivability of most tools in this area.


Study Design. A cross-sectional study to compare the kinematics and muscle activities during trunk flexion and return task in people with and without low back pain (LBP). Objective. To characterize the lumbopelvic rhythms during trunk flexion and return task in a group of healthy persons and 2 different subgroups of patients with LBP, identifying the flexion-relaxation (FR) responses in each group. Summary of Background Data. The lumbopelvic rhythm is the coordinated movement of the lumbar spine and hip during trunk flexion and return and is a clinical sign of LBP. However, the reported patterns of lumbopelvic rhythm in patients with LBP are inconsistent, possibly because previous studies have examined a heterogeneous group of patients with LBP. To clarify the lumbopelvic rhythm patterns, it is necessary to study more homogeneous subgroups of patients with LBP. Methods. The study involved the following subjects: control group of healthy subjects (N = 16); lumbar flexion with rotation syndrome (LFRS) LBP subgroup (N = 17); and lumbar extension with rotation syndrome (LERS) LBP subgroup (N = 14). The kinematic parameters during the trunk flexion and return task were recorded using a 3-dimensional motion capture system, and the FR ratio of the erector spinae muscle was measured. Results. The flexion angle of the lumbar spine was larger in the LFRS subgroup than in the control group and the LERS LBP subgroup, and the hip flexion angle was larger in the LERS LBP subgroup than in the control group and LFRS subgroup. The FR response of the erector spinae muscle disappeared in the LFRS and LERS LBP subgroups. Conclusion. These results show that the lumbopelvic rhythms are different among healthy subjects and patients assigned to 2 specific LBP subgroups. These results provide information on the FR response of the erector spinae muscle. Level of Evidence: N/A


T cell clones recognizing the sperm whale myoglobin (SpWMb) epitope 110- 121 in association with H-2d major histocompatibility complex class II molecules display a very limited heterogeneity of T cell receptor (TCR) V beta usage in DBA/2 mice. All clones previously tested used the same V beta 8.2 gene segment and very restricted junctional regions. To investigate the significance of this observation in vivo, we immunized DBA/2 mice with the intact SpW Mb protein or peptide 110-121. Only the V beta 8+ T cells showed any significant response to the 110-121 epitope. The response to peptide 110-121 was then analyzed in mice which, either as a consequence of antibody depletion or through genetic deletion of TCR V beta genes, lacked V beta 8+ peripheral T cells. DBA/2 mice depleted of V beta 8+ T cells by antibody treatment responded poorly to the 110-121 peptide, and only at high antigen concentrations. In contrast, DBA/2V beta a mice (homozygous for a deletion of multiple V beta gene segments including the V beta 8 family) made a response at least as great as that made by DBA/2 mice, even though the DBA/2V beta a mice had a very restricted TCR V beta repertoire compared with DBA/2 mice. Mechanisms which might determine differences in the 110-121 specific response of DBA/2, DBA/2V beta a and F23.1-treated DBA/2 mice are discussed.


This study discusses the influence of intellectual capital and its disclosure to the firm performance for the current year and one-year ahead. The preceding research merely analyzed the influence of intellectual capital to the firm performance as well as the influence of the intellectual capital disclosure in a separate model. Intellectual capital consists of human capital and structural capital. Intellectual capital will be measured through its efficiency by the method of Value Added Intelectual Coefficient or VAICTM, while the firm performance will be measured by the accounting-based performance and market-based performance. The sample consists 31 large companies which are listed in Indonesian Stock Exchange in the year of 2007. Hypothesis will be tested by Ordinary Least Square. There are two kinds of data sources, downloaded Financial Statement and Osiris database. The result shows that intellectual capital does not bring significant influence to the current and one-year ahead firm performance in Indonesia, as well as its disclosure. Indonesian companies are still relying on its value added enhancement through the physical capital efficiency and not the intellectual capital one.


Mpagi Edward Edmary from Uganda spent over 18 years on death row, accused of killing a man who was later found to be alive.
Mr. Mpagi's family successfully campaigned for his release, providing evidence that the alleged victim was still alive. Sentenced to death for murder in 1982, the Attorney General proved that the man Mr Mpagi was accused of murdering was still alive in 1989. However it was not until 2000 when a nine member presidential committee released Mr Mpagi, deciding he was innocent.
Held for many years in the Luzira Upper Prison, Mr. Mpagi taught his fellow inmates to read and write. He became one of the longest serving inmates and a prison elder. Mr. Mpagi is now an advocate for the abolition of the death penalty and is a committed religious leader. A graduate from a Catholic Diocese he regularly tours prisons providing inspiration and hope to prisoners.


Epigenetic mechanisms of histone acetylation/deacetylation play an important role in the regulation of gene expression associated with the cell cycle and apoptosis. Recently, sodium butyrate, a histone deacetylase (HDAC) inhibitor, has been shown to exhibit anticancer effects via differentiation and apoptosis of cancer cells. Sodium butyrate may be a potential anticancer chemotherapeutic drug; however, the precise mechanism underlying the anticancer effects of sodium butyrate has not been clearly elucidated. In the present study, we investigated the role of death-associated protein kinase (DAPK) on the apoptosis of human gastric cancer cells induced by sodium butyrate. We observed that sodium butyrate induced apoptosis in human gastric cancer cells. Treatment with the HDAC inhibitor sodium butyrate increased the expression of caspase-3 and DAPK1/2 genes but decreased the expression of Bcl-2 in human gastric cancer cells. The expression of DAPK3, p53 and p21 were not altered by sodium butyrate treatment. Analysis of the general expression patterns revealed that sodium butyrate increased the expression of DAPK1/2 but decreased the expression of FAK and induced changes in the proliferation of apoptosis-related genes in human gastric cancer cells. These data suggest that DAPK expression prompts apoptosis by reducing the FAK protein level in sodium butyrate-induced apoptosis of human gastric cancer cells.


The contribution of the Deccan Traps (west-central India) volcanism in the Cretaceous-Paleogene (KPg) crisis is still a matter of debate. Recent U-Pb dating of zircons interbedded within the Deccan lava flows indicate that the main eruptive phase (>1.1 × 106 km3 of basalts) initiated ∼250 k.y. before and ended ∼500 k.y. after the KPg boundary. However, the global geochemical effects of Deccan volcanism in the marine sedimentary record are still poorly resolved. Here we investigate the mercury (Hg) content of the Bidart (France) section, where an interval of low magnetic susceptibility (MS) located just below the KPg boundary was hypothesized to result from paleoenvironmental perturbations linked to the paroxysmal Deccan phase 2. Results show Hg concentrations >2 orders of magnitude higher from ∼80 cm below to ∼50 cm above the KPg boundary (maximum 46.6 ppb) and coincident with the low MS interval. Increase in Hg contents shows no correlation with clay or total organic carbon contents, suggesting that the Hg anomalies resulted from higher input of atmospheric Hg species into the marine realm, rather than organic matter scavenging and/or increased runoff. The Hg anomalies correlate with high shell fragmentation and dissolution effects in planktic foraminifera, suggesting correlative changes in marine biodiversity. This discovery represents an unprecedented piece of evidence of the nature and importance of the Deccan-related environmental changes at the onset of the KPg mass extinction.


This research utilises a comprehensive survey to ascertain the level of social networking site personal information disclosure by members at the time of joining the membership and their subsequent postings to the sites. Areas examined are the type of information they reveal, their level of knowledge and awareness regarding how their information is protected by SNSs and the awareness of risks that over-sharing may pose. Additionally, this research studies the effect of gender, age, education, and level of privacy concern on the amount and kind of personal information disclosure and privacy settings applied. A social experiment was then run for 3 months that tested SNSs users' reaction to a profile access request by a stranger. The research focused on four different social networks: Facebook, Twitter, Instagram,and Snapchat. The results of the survey and experiment found that there is a significant amount of personal information disclosure, but that the level differs between social networks. It is reveals that gender, age, and education have significant influences on information disclosure and user's privacy settings and that on most sites over 50% of friend requests were readily accepted. These results are a selection from a comprehensive study of some of the more revealing facts about SNS user ship covering 3 months of data collection and almost 500 responses.


The Central and Southern Florida Comprehensive Review Study (Restudy, 1992-2000) is recognized for its innovative approach to water management planning. The Restudy is a policy development process for the greater Everglades ecosystem that integrates natural sciences, simulation models, and an unusually broad-based commitment to stakeholder engagement. It led to authorization of the Comprehensive Everglades Restoration Plan (CERP) through the federal Water Resources Development Act of 2000, despite significant conflict between different stakeholder groups. The thesis deploys a grounded theoretical approach to analyze a range of empirical data. These data include transcripts of semi-structured interviews with 77 actors representing a spectrum of stakeholder interests that includes scientists, federal and state level public servants, environmentalists, farmers. Native Americans and local citizens. Interviews were conceptualized through participant observation at various public meetings over the period 1999-2001, and further supported through extensive archival research. The nature and quality of communications between actors, the building of new institutions, and the mobilization of different forms of scientific knowledge throughout the process are identified as critical factors in achieving an agreed outcome. The analysis highlights the profound importance of a small number of actors who had the capability and credibility to move between different policy arenas in brokering the process. The agency of these actors created a number of new institutional structures that enabled stakeholders to achieve a negotiated outcome that fell within the range socio-political acceptability. The CERP met the requirements of nature while accommodating anticipated growth in demand for water supply and flood control with the expansion of the South Florida population. The thesis contributes to a growing literature on questions of environmental governance for sustainability. It offers conclusions that may be relevant in many different geographical contexts where there is currently conflict about how to achieve more equitable allocation of water.


The church of Hagios Nikolaos at Sofronis gorge, Laconia At the southwest slopes of mount Parnon, on t he lower part of the Tzitzina gorge, lays the church of Hagios Nikolaos, the catholicon of an old monastery, today in ruins. Close to the church there is a spring of clear water, known to the locals as the Sofronis spring; the gorge itself, from that level until the point that it reaches the Kelefina river, some kilometers lower, is known by the name "Sofronis gorge". The catholicon is a cross-in-square church of the variant with shorter west arm, with a narthex and an exonarthex at the west part of the nave. The west arm of the cross and the lateral corner bays are much shorter than the corresponding east parts, which makes the west corner bays look like blind arches. Above the central square bay of the nave lays a peculiar dome, whose drum is cylindrical inside, while outside it has a rectangular shape ending in triangular gables at its east and west side. The esonathex was initially cross-vaulted, completely unified with the main church. Its central bay was covered by a longitudinal barrel vault at the same level as the arch of the west cross arm of the nave. The west sides of its corner bays are articulated by two blind arches, of which the north one might have been used as a burial arcosolium. A small niche is formed at the east wall of its south corner bay, either for liturgical function or to be used for the service of the holy water. The exonarthex has a complicated structural history. Initially was timber-roofed, while in a later phase it was covered by a transverse barrel vault, for whose support blind arches were constructed at its west side, now in ruins. The external surfaces of the church are plain, without any kind of articulation, as was the rule in monuments of southern Greece. The walls were constructed by roughly hewn stones with plenty of brick fragments in the joints. At least one level of wooden ties strengthens the walls in the springing line of the vaults. The cross arms of the nave were covered by saddle tile roofs, as was the rule in cross-in-square churches of the byzantine periphery. The east corner bays where roofed at a lower level with lean-to roofs with north and south direction respectively. The west corner bays on the other hand, were so much thinner that it was rather impossible to have independent roofing. In that case, the roofs of the lateral compartments of the esonarthex gave externally the impression of west corner bays. This peculiar arrangement, emphasizing the unification between the nave and the esonathex, is very rarely attested among the known examples of cross-in-square churches with shorter west arm, relating the church at the Sofronis Gorge with a small group of relevant monuments (Fraggavilla, Klesa-Porti). The form of the dome of the church in question must not be confused with the similarly shaped raised central bays in transverse barrel vaults. Thought there are a few similarities with a small number of byzantine and post byzantine domes, it seems that the dome of Hagios Nikolaos at Sofronis Gorge is unique in the ecclesiastical architecture of Byzantium, most likely the result of an improvisation of a local group of masons. Hagios Nikolaos was initially decorated with frescoes, fragmentarily preserved. Three different phases can be distinguished due to stylistic and iconographic criteria. The first one is very difficult to be studied because of its poor condition of presentation. The second one can be dated to the late thirteenth century, while the last one might be placed in the fifteenth century. It is difficult to conclude to an exact dating for the church of Hagios Nikolaos, because of the lack of documentary and epigraphic evidence. Based on its morphological and typological features a rather broad dating between the eleventh and twelfth centuries seems possible for the monument in examined. Hagios Nikolaos at the Sofronis Gorge, though not an impressive building, provides valuable input to the study of the ecclesiastical architecture in Laconia during the Middle Byzantine Era, a period whose surviving monuments in this part of the Peloponnese are very scarce. Hagios Nikolaos is valuable for another reason as well: it seems to be the oldest monument at the Sofronis Gorge and its adjacent area, where a great number of monastic foundations are gathered, still inadequately studied.


Because of the presence of oil refineries and significant tanker and barge traffic in the bay and delta region, the possibility of a moderate or major spill in the area must be considered. We have constructed a general model that calculates a Lagrangian element solution for an oil spill in this region. Surface currents are simulated using output from the U.C. Davis RMA-2V model. We combine the surface current fields with real time sequences of wind speed and direction collected at eight sites in the bay and delta areas during 1990 and 1991 interpolated to form a smooth spatially varying wind field. A random diffusive component is added to simulate spreading. The magnitude of the diffusive component and the number of Lagrangian elements are adjusted to simulate spills of varying sizes. Characterization of intertidal substrates in this area is based on 1:24,000 scale digital maps and the National Wetlands Inventory. Oil particles are not permitted to cross exposed mud or marsh, or they are assumed to strand if they are already over these substrates as the tide ebbs. The model is written in ANSI FORTRAN77 and runs in protected mode on a 486 based PC. It includes high resolution runtime graphics and an interactive interface that permits the user to pause and query the model.


Efforts to disentangle the mechanisms underlying large-scale spatial patterns need to rely on multi-scale approaches. We illustrate this key issue by analyzing the spatial consistency across scales of the effects of abiotic constraints on the regeneration of English yew Taxus baccata in Europe. We hypothesized that the recruitment rates in a given population would be strongly affected by water availability, which should result in a predictable pattern of regeneration success at regional and continental scales. Accordingly, we predicted: 1) at the regional scale water availability should be higher in sites occupied by yew populations than in random locations; 2) at the regional scale regeneration success should decrease when water availability is lower; and 3) at the continental scale, regeneration success should also decrease where water availability is lower, resulting in decreasing regeneration southwards. To test these predictions we first monitored seedling emergence and survival in two central Spanish populations over two years, and confirmed that yew recruitment is limited by water availability. Additionally, our analysis supported predictions 1 and 2: water availability strongly affected yew presence and regeneration success. At the continental scale (prediction 3), our results confirmed lower regeneration in southern European populations. Assessing the effect of climatic constraints across scales in key population parameters can help to improve large-scale assessments of impacts of climate change on biodiversity.


Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to examine the inter-relationship between target setting, racial categories and racism via the case of a race employment target set for the police. Drawing on and extending public administration and governmentality perspectives, the work explores the shifting politics of enumeration and categorisation within a set of organisational manoeuvres.

Design/methodology/approach – The data are qualitative and mainly based on interviews with senior figures involved in managing the organisational response to the target, as well as some documentary sources.

Findings – The discussion reveals that both racial enumeration and categorisation are contested rather than fixed, but that debates about it ebb and flow in variable and uneven ways. They are the subject of manoeuvring around the number itself and of what counts as race. This indicates the complexity of governing race targets, which appear set but are made fluid in various ways.

Research limitations/implications – The research is based on interviews with senior and prominent figures involved in governance who spoke "off the record", as described in the paper. These conversations are not in the public domain and the justification for using them is that they reveal the thinking behind the public debate about the black and minority ethnic (BME) target, as well as a process of negotiation and manoeuvring.

Originality/value – The BME target has been the subject of considerable media and political attention, plus some academic research. The paper presents a new and unique account of the target as it was implemented. It is of value to researchers interested in racism and policing interested in the organisational background that shaped the public debates about the target.


Although courting males are under intense selection to recognize the sex of potential partners, mistakes sometimes occur. Using descriptive and experimental data on garter snakes, Thamnophis sirtalis parietalis, from courting aggregations around a communal den in Manitoba, we tested two previously proposed hypotheses that suggest evolutionary significance to such mistakes. One idea, that female mimicry enables a 'she-male' to confuse his rivals within a mating ball, predicts that many mating balls will concurrently contain both she-males and females; where both types of sexual targets are present, males will frequently align their bodies with she-males rather than females. The second idea, that small body size confers a selective advantage to males because it facilitates sex recognition and thus reduces misdirected courtship by other males, predicts that larger males will receive more courtship than their smaller rivals within mating balls. Our results falsify these predictions. Natural courting groups rarely contained both females and female-mimicking males. When both potential sexual targets were present, males essentially ignored she-males. Similarly, male snakes rarely attracted courtship even when they were larger than females. The sensitive chemosensory apparatus of male garter snakes enables these animals to focus their courtship on females, ignoring males that resemble females either physically (body size) or chemically (pheromones). The degree to which a male garter snake resembles females thus has little or no significance for his mating success within a communal mating ball; further work is needed to evaluate the generality of this conclusion for other snake species.


There is strong evidence of a positive association between corporal punishment and negative child outcomes, but previous studies have suggested that the manner in which parents implement corporal punishment moderates the effects of its use. This study investigated whether severity and justness in the use of corporal punishment moderate the associations between frequency of corporal punishment and child externalizing and internalizing behaviors. This question was examined using a multicultural sample from eight countries and two waves of data collected one year apart. Interviews were conducted with 998 children aged 7–10 years, and their mothers and fathers, from China, Colombia, Italy, Jordan, Kenya, Philippines, Thailand, and the United States. Mothers and fathers responded to questions on the frequency, severity, and justness of their use of corporal punishment; they also reported on the externalizing and internalizing behavior of their child. Children reported on their aggression. Multigroup path models revealed that across cultural groups, and as reported by mothers and fathers, there is a positive relation between the frequency of corporal punishment and externalizing child behaviors. Mother-reported severity and father-reported justness were associated with child-reported aggression. Neither severity nor justness moderated the relation between frequency of corporal punishment and child problem behavior. The null result suggests that more use of corporal punishment is harmful to children regardless of how it is implemented, but requires further substantiation as the study is unable to definitively conclude that there is no true interaction effect.


The existence of Hesperian age (3.7–3.4 Ga) surface water bodies on Mars is a contentious issue, often conflicting with favored climate models. Extensive lakes are proposed to have filled parts of Valles Marineris during this period, yet evidence for their presence and temporal continuity is poorly constrained. Here we report geomorphic and chronologic evidence for the initiation and demise of a voluminous lake system within the basins of eastern Valles Marineris. We find that independent, kilometer-deep lakes were present here well after the wetter, global climate optimum that characterized the previous Noachian epoch (4.1–3.7 Ga). Relative and impact crater chronologies of flood channels emerging from lake basins indicate relatively late lake spillover in the Early Amazonian (ca. 3.0 Ga). Drawdown of the lake and cessation of interbasin sedimentation may be recorded by a similar Early Amazonian (ca. 3.1 Ga) crater retention age on the surface of Capri Mensa, a 4-km-tall, sulfate-bearing interior layered deposit. The topography data demonstrate that incision of the bedrock barriers between the basins during spillover was driven by a dramatic local base-level difference between the lake surface and downstream basin floors. We postulate that the lake spillover process created an integrated drainage routing system between a voluminous equatorial water supply and the northern plains basin.


Global warming is a universal problem nowadays. The recent United Nations Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen was partially successful because all participating countries realised the damages caused by greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and promise to mitigate in the future course of time. India has also promised to reduce 20% to 25% of these emissions up to the year 2020. To implement this, there is a need of solid policy formulation and alternative methodologies. This paper presents the introduction of carbon tax in Indian power sector to mitigate the GHG emissions. Three scenarios with different carbon taxes and various energy saving cases have been developed using MARKAL energy system model. The simulation results show that full exploitation of energy conservation potential with 30% carbon tax lead to a sustainable development. About 72% CO2 emission will be reduced in the year 2045 as compared to the base case scenario. Other scenarios also show significant reduction in atmospheric emission.


This work proposes a new kinetic model and a novel inception pathway for the flame synthesis of silica nanoparticles from tetraethoxysilane (TEOS). The kinetic model for the decomposition of TEOS is developed by generating reactions involving species that were reported in high concentrations at equilibrium. Flux and sensitivity analyses are then performed to identify the main reaction pathways. The parameters for these reactions are systematically fitted to experimental data using low discrepancy (LD) sequences and response surfaces. The main product of TEOS decomposition is deduced to be silicic acid (Si(OH)4). To increase computational efficiency, the kinetic model has been reduced by determining the level of importance (LOI) of each species and retaining only the important ones. This reduced kinetic model is then coupled to a detailed population balance model using an operator splitting technique. New particle inception and surface growth steps have been incorporated into the particle model in which particles form and grow by the interaction of Si(OH)4 monomers. Coagulation and sintering of particles are also included in the model and the material dependent sintering parameters have been determined by fitting the model to experimental values of collision and primary particle diameters using LD sequences. The particle size distributions and computer generated TEM-style images have been generated and good agreement with experiments is observed. The gas phase reactor composition and the temporal evolution of particle size at different temperatures are also presented.


In the mid-2000s, there was a dramatic increase in acquisitions of UK companies by private equity funds. The leverage on these buyouts, especially the larger ones, was high. The resulting increase in indebtedness makes those companies more susceptible to default, exposing their lenders to potential losses. This risk is compounded by the need for companies to refinance a cluster of buyout debt maturing over the next few years in an environment of much tighter credit conditions. From a macroprudential policy perspective it will be important to monitor the use of debt in acquisitions in future episodes of exuberance. But there is also a potential role for private equity to play in promoting recovery in a downswing, in particular at the current juncture, by restructuring companies in difficulty.


The growth of the Internet and e-commerce raises some interesting questions for those interested in the monetary system. Is a new Internet-based digital transactions medium likely to evolve and what would the consequences of this be for taxation, monetary and financial stability? This article reviews the problems that have so far prevented the adoption of digital money and the ways in which these are now being tackled. It concludes that take-off is likely in the near future and considers the consequences for policymakers.


Objective: To critically review the current literature on the efficacy of ankle bracing and taping in the prevention of secondary ankle sprains.
Data sources: A literature search was performed utilising MEDLINE and EMBASE for papers published between 1966 to July 2003. The citations from the retrieved articles were also reviewed and obtained. Keywords used in the search were "ankle", "ankle bracing," "ankle taping," "ankle injury," "ankle instability," and "ankle sprain." The search was further limited by using the terms "prevention" and "control", and "treatment".
Study selection: A study was included if (1) it contained a research question on the prevention of secondary ankle sprains; (2) it contained an analysis of ankle range of motion reviewing the effects of bracing or taping; (3) the results of the study contained data regarding the incidence of ankle sprains.
Data extraction and synthesis: Two reviewers analysed the retrieved articles for strengths and weaknesses in study design and methodology. Eight articles met the criteria for a detailed results review.
Conclusions: Biomechanical evidence strongly supports the mechanical superiority of semi-rigid orthoses for restriction of ankle inversion and eversion after brief and prolonged periods of exercise. The current experimental data demonstrates that any external orthotic support (taping or bracing) is effective in reducing the incidence of secondary ankle sprains. There exists a need for further research into this subject in order to provide a more concrete database from which to derive an evidence-based treatment plan. Future studies must directly compare the different semi-rigid orthoses to cloth braces and taping. The type of tape, method of application, and duration of wear of both tape and braces must be controlled, as length of time may affect the proprioceptive feedback of the subject and alter results. The controversy over which type of external support provides the highest margin of safety requires further investigation before a conclusion can be drawn.


Several studies have found an association between the physical environment and human health and wellbeing that resulted in the postulation of the idea of evidence-based and patient-centred design of healthcare facilities. The key challenge is that most of the underpinning research for the evidence base is context specific, the use of which in building design is complex, mainly because of the difficulties associated with the disaggregation of findings from the context. On the contrary, integrating patients' perspectives requires an understanding of the relative importance of design indicators, which the existing evidence base lacks to a large extent. This research was aimed at overcoming these limitations by investigating users' perception of the importance of key design indicators in enhancing their accommodation environments in hospitals. A 19-item structured questionnaire was used to gather inpatients' views on a 5-point scale, in two Chinese hospitals. A principal component analysis (PCA) resulted in five constructed dimensions with appropriate reliability and validity (Cronbach's alpha=0.888). The item, design for cleanliness, was ranked as most important, closely followed by environmental and safety design indicators. The item, entertainment facilities, was ranked lowest. The item, pleasant exterior view had the second-lowest mean score, followed by the item, ability to customise the space. Age, accommodation type and previous experience of hospitalization accounted for statistically significant differences in perceptions of importance of various constructed design dimensions.


Magnet-style characteristics are considered important to the recruitment and retention of nurses. Little is known about nurses' perceptions of these characteristics across public, private, and third sector health care organizations. The primary aim of this paper is to examine these characteristics across sectors to determine whether differences in key Magnet-style characteristics exist. Given the employee-level focus, demographic factors were also considered. Australian nurses (n = 459) were recruited using an online panel. No differences between sectors on work environment dimensions were found. Gender, age, employment type, and tenure revealed significant relationships with various work characteristics. Similarities in the work perceptions across sectors implies no specific sector will be differentially impacted by the increasing nurse shortages. An increasing emphasis on contemporary work environments will increase the presence of Magnet-like characteristics irrespective of sector. These results highlight the potential of practice permeability occurring, particularly in a system with common policy and operational drivers.


This thesis describes the development of methodologies for lithiation-trapping and lithiation-arylation of N-Boc heterocycles in the position α to nitrogen as well as in situ infra-red spectroscopic monitoring of lithiation reactions and the application of lithiation-arylation in total synthesis.
 Chapter 2 details the use of in situ infra-red spectroscopy to monitor the lithiation of N-Boc pyrrolidine, N-Boc piperidine, N-Boc homopiperidine, an N-Boc acetal piperidine, N-Boc-Nʹ-benzyl piperazine, N-Boc-Nʹ-i-Pr imidazolidine and an O-alkyl carbamate in diethyl ether using s-BuLi and the diamines TMEDA, (–)-sparteine, or the (+)-sparteine surrogate.
 Chapter 3 describes the expansion of a previously reported two-ligand catalytic lithiation-trapping procedure for N-Boc pyrrolidine, discussing the optimisation of catalytic lithiation conditions, the use of new bispidine-derived diamine ligands and examples of two-ligand catalytic lithiation-arylation of N-Boc pyrrolidine.
 The application of stoichiometric and catalytic lithiation-arylation of N-Boc pyrrolidine in total synthesis is presented in chapter 4. Lithiation-arylation is used to complete the shortest and most efficient synthesis of (S)-nicotine to date, as well as the shortest synthesis of SIB1508Y and to attempt the first asymmetric synthesis of (R)-dihydroshihunine. Additionally, a protocol for the lithiation-vinylation of N-Boc pyrrolidine is developed and used to carry out the first asymmetric synthesis of (R)-maackiamine.
 Chapter 5 details the development of a new diamine-free racemic lithiation procedure for the lithiation-trapping and lithiation-arylation of N-Boc pyrrolidine, N-Boc-Nʹ-i-Pr imidazolidine and N-Boc-Nʹ-benzyl piperazine. Additionally, diamine-free lithiations are monitored using in situ infra-red spectroscopy.
 In chapter 6, benzylic lithiation-trapping of N-Boc-2-phenyl pyrrolidine is described. Lithiation-trapping of rac-N-Boc-2-phenyl pyrrolidine is first discussed, followed by lithiation-trapping of enantioenriched (R)-N-Boc-2-phenyl pyrrolidine, giving access to products bearing enantioenriched quaternary stereocentres. The use of in situ infra-red spectroscopic monitoring was integral to the development of this methodology.


This book aims to make available to the lay public a better understanding of one of the great tragedies of our times: the global crisis of internal displacement. As it draws to its close, the millennium finds some 25 million persons worldwide forcibly displaced from their homes by civil wars, internal strife, or gross violations of human rights--but still in their own countries. Were they to cross a border, many would have claim to protection and assistance by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees. But the internally displaced have no such rights and no address to which to turn. Based on Roberta Cohen's and Francis M. Deng's groundbreaking work, Masses in Flight: The Global Crisis of Internal Displacement (Brookings, 1998), this book offers, in summary and less technical form, the essential findings of that in-depth study: who and where the internally displaced are and what is being done for them, and how the international community can better organize itself to deal with a challenge that not only is humanitarian but also poses a threat to the security, stability, and economic well being of nations in all continents. And, Exodus within Borders offers one other important dimension. Through the powerful medium of photography, it shows just what it can mean to be driven from one's home with little but the clothes on one's back and no sure place of refuge. David A. Korn is a former United States foreign service officer and ambassador and author of books on the Middle East, Africa, and human rights. Several photographs were provided by the renowned Paris-based Brazilian photographer Sebastiao Salgado. Includes 33 photographs


An ongoing debate in political psychology is about whether small wording differences have outsized behavioral effects. A leading example is whether subtle linguistic cues embedded in voter mobilization messages dramatically increase turnout. An initial study analyzing two small-scale field experiments argued that describing someone as a voter (noun) instead of one who votes (verb) increases turnout rates 11 to 14 points because the noun activates a person's social identity as a voter. A subsequent study analyzing a large-scale field experiment challenged this claim and found no effect. But questions about the initial claim's domain of applicability persist. The subsequent study may not have reproduced the conditions necessary for the psychological phenomenon to occur, specifically the electoral contexts were not competitive or important enough for the social identity to matter. To address the first of these critiques, as well as other potential explanations for different results between the first two studies, we conduct a large-scale replication field experiment. We find no evidence that this minor wording change increases turnout levels. This research provides new evidence that the strategy of invoking the self does not appear to consistently increase turnout and calls into question whether subtle linguistic cues have outsized behavioral effects.


Two cases of feline leukaemia virus (FeLV)-associated dermatosis are described. The first cat was affected by an ulcerative dermatitis identified as a giant-cell dermatosis. The second case was a cutaneous lymphoma. In both cases, FeLV antigens and FeLV genome were demonstrated in the affected skin immunologically and with polymerase chain reaction, respectively. The first case suggests that, like other retroviruses, at least some strains of FeLV can induce syncytium formation. As FeLV antigens and genome were demonstrated in a serologically negative cat, the second case suggests that focal skin FeLV replication may occur. FeLV-associated dermatoses are rare skin conditions that may be under-diagnosed.


In this work, a number of mixture aqueous solutions of chitosan/agar (CS/AG) at different ratios (considering chitosan as the main component) were prepared. The rheological properties i.e. shearing viscosity and shear stress of the blend solutions as a function of shear rate as well as the thermal properties of the blend films were investigated. Among the parameters studied were temperature, shearing time and storage time. Results showed that almost Newtonian behavior was observed at temperatures from 40°C to 55°C for the ratios 100/0, 90/10, 80/20 and 70/30. However, the proportions 60/40 and 50/50 showed a clear shear thinning behavior (pseudoplastic non-Newtonian behavior). It was also found that all the blend solutions obeyed the Arrhenius equation. In addition, the effect of shearing time on the shearing viscosity of all blends did not show any significant differences at all shearing times applied in this study except the proportion 50/50 wherein decreasing in shearing viscosity and shear stress was observed as the shearing time increased. Furthermore, different behaviors were observed for the blend solutions when the period of storage was extended to three weeks. The FTIR results and the differential scanning calorimetery (DSC) curves showed that the interaction between chitosan and agar can occur.


ABSTRACT Floral sonication is a behaviour in which certain bees generate substrate-borne vibrations by contracting their flight muscles in order to extract pollen from poricidal anthers. Sonication vibrations, or 'buzzes', also contain a corresponding audible sound that results from vibrations radiating from the exoskeleton into the surrounding air. Acoustic recordings are often used as a proxy for analysis of floral sonication vibrations because they are more accessible to recording with conventional equipment such as microphones. However, the extent to which salient parameters of buzzes are reflected in the airborne components has not been experimentally verified. We examined correspondence in three properties (duration, frequency and amplitude) simultaneously recorded with acoustic and vibrational methods from freely foraging bumblebees. Duration and frequency are faithfully quantified from airborne recordings; however, two measures of acoustic amplitude (relative peak amplitude and sound pressure level) are not correlated with vibrational amplitude. Our findings validate acoustic recordings as a method to describe temporal and spectral components of floral sonication vibrations, but we caution against using acoustic measures of amplitude as proxies for the true vibrational power.


Cellular innate immune sensors detect foreign signals emanating from pathogens. Nallagatla et al. report that the pivotal sensing protein, double-stranded RNA-activated protein kinase (PKR), is finely tuned to recognize the 5′-triphosphate structures of single-stranded RNA molecules present in many bacteria and viruses. This recognition strategy is similar to the recently described detection of nucleic acid 5′-end signatures by another sensing protein, RIG-I. It remains unclear exactly how these key sensors go on to tailor the most appropriate cellular responses to intracellular pathogens. S. R. Nallagatla, J. Hwang, R. Toroney, X. Zheng, C. E. Cameron, P. C. Bevilacqua, 5′-triphosphate-dependent activation of PKR by RNAs with short stem-loops. Science 318, 1455-1458 (2007). [Abstract] [Full Text]


In mobile multimedia networks, the video flow usually operates in an end-to-end manner from Head-End to mobile terminals. However, measuring the energy consumption associated with a video flow is a sophisticated process due to the complexity related to this. In the paper, a theoretical measurement approach is suggested to estimate the energy consumption of a video flow through mobile multimedia networks enhanced with the support of OpenFlow switch. Two different power models are built up to compute the traffic related energy consumption at the network element side. The numerical derivation of these two theoretical models is presented.


Constructing ontology networks typically occurs at design time at the hands of knowledge engineers who assemble their components statically. There are, however, use cases where ontology networks need to be assembled upon request and processed at runtime, without altering the stored ontologies and without tampering with one another. These are what we call "virtual [ontology] networks", and keeping track of how an ontology changes in each virtual network is called "multiplexing".

Issues may arise from the connectivity of ontology networks. In many cases, simple flat import schemes will not work, because many ontology managers can cause property assertions to be erroneously interpreted as annotations and ignored by reasoners. Also, multiple virtual networks should optimize their cumulative memory footprint, and where they cannot, this should occur for very limited periods of time. We claim that these problems should be handled by the software that serves these ontology networks, rather than by ontology engineering methodologies.

We propose a method that spreads multiple virtual networks across a 3-tier structure, and can reduce the amount of erroneously interpreted axioms, under certain raw statement distributions across the ontologies. We assumed OWL as the core language handled by semantic applications in the framework at hand, due to the greater availability of reasoners and rule engines. We also verified that, in common OWL ontology management software, OWL axiom interpretation occurs in the worst case scenario of pre-order visit.

To measure the effectiveness and space-efficiency of our solution, a Java and RESTful implementation was produced within an Apache project. We verified that a 3-tier structure can accommodate reasonably complex ontology networks better, in terms of the expressivity OWL axiom interpretation, than flat-tree import schemes can. We measured both the memory overhead of the additional components we put on top of traditional ontology networks, and the framework's caching capabilities.


Many simulation models that are used to assess the impact of mixed farming systems have a high level of complexity that is not suitable for teaching farmers about the impacts of their practices. In this paper, we present a model that was developed and used with farmers as a discussion support tool to address the impacts of farming management strategies on farm resources. We assumed that the characterization of biomass flows at the farm level would provide a simple framework for designing a discussion support tool for farmers. The study was carried out in the semi-arid region of Brazil, where areas of native vegetation of the Caatinga Biome have been reduced in recent decades due to population pressure. In this region, simulation models are not used to discuss the impact of practices. We decided that a model for this purpose should: (1) be simple enough to be used by farmers, (2) be consistent with existing data, and (3) take into account the three main biomass management strategies. The model we built simulates biomass exports (harvest, animal intake, clearing vegetation of Caatinga), imports (purchase of fodder), and returns (animal manure) for farms with different vegetation types (Cenchrus ciliaris, Sorghum bicolour, Opuntia sp. and Caatinga native vegetation). We used the model to compare three management strategies over a 15-year period and found that the strategy that allows for the preservation of Caatinga vegetation is less sensitive to bad years but results in a reduced herd size.We validated the use of this model by testing it with farmers. We found that farmers were interested in using the model as a learning (38%), management (33%), or prospective tool (24%). This study shows that the dynamic modeling of biomass flows provides a simple and operational framework to analyze the impact of farming systems on farm resources with farmers. Contrary to current dynamic biophysical models that are based on extensive experimental data, this model does not give accurate predictions but allows both farmers and researchers to learn the impacts of farming systems. The complexity of the model should be increased progressively as farmers improve their understanding of the underlying processes.


PURPOSE
To investigate the longitudinal changes in choroidal thickness of the eyes of diabetic retinopathy patients during 12 weeks after panretinal photocoagulation (PRP).

METHODS
This prospective, comparative study included 46 eyes undergoing four-session PRP. At baseline and 1, 4, 8, and 12 weeks after completion of the PRP treatments, subfoveal choroidal thickness (SFCT) was measured by using enhanced depth imaging optical coherence tomography. Also measured were central macular thickness (CMT) and best-corrected visual acuity (BCVA).

RESULTS
The mean SFCT at baseline was 309 ± 77 μm, changing to 323 ± 78 μm, 315 ± 75 μm, 299 ± 68 μm, and 289 ± 71 μm at 1, 4, 8, and 12 weeks, respectively. This constituted a statistically significant increase at 1 week and a significant decrease at 12 weeks. The mean baseline CMT was 294 ± 92 μm, which increased significantly 1 week after PRP to 344 ± 123 μm, remaining higher at 4 weeks (340 ± 117 μm) and 8 weeks (318 ± 100 μm), but subsiding to baseline at 12 weeks (311 ± 96 μm). The mean BCVA at baseline and the last visit were 0.63 ± 0.28 logMAR and 0.53 ± 0.42 logMAR, respectively. There was no significant difference in BCVA between eyes with and without central-involved diabetic macular edema at all time points. Compared with the baseline, the mean BCVA dropped at 1 week and 4 weeks but recovered by 12 weeks.

CONCLUSIONS
Choroidal thickness decreased 12 weeks after PRP, suggesting that PRP may reduce choroidal vascular permeability or cause atrophy of choroidal vessels over a 12-week period.


We present a system for decorating arbitrary surfaces with bidirectional texture functions (BTF). Our system generates BTFs in two steps. First, we automatically synthesize a BTF over the target surface from a given BTF sample. Then, we let the user interactively paint BTF patches onto the surface such that the painted patches seamlessly integrate with the background patterns. Our system is based on a patch-based texture synthesis approach known as quilting. We present a graphcut algorithm for BTF synthesis on surfaces and the algorithm works well for a wide variety of BTF samples, including those which present problems for existing algorithms. We also describe a graphcut texture painting algorithm for creating new surface imperfections (e.g., dirt, cracks, scratches) from existing imperfections found in input BTF samples. Using these algorithms, we can decorate surfaces with real-world textures that have spatially-variant reflectance, fine-scale geometry details, and surfaces imperfections. A particularly attractive feature of BTF painting is that it allows us to capture imperfections of real materials and paint them onto geometry models. We demonstrate the effectiveness of our system with examples. Index Terms—Bidirectional texture function, texture synthesis, interactive surface painting.


In January 1921, Sawyer met with Dr. Victor Heiser, the director of RF operations in the East. Heiser asked him to come along
 on a three-month tour of the RF public health sites in southeast Asia, and Sawyer agreed, though it meant missing the birth
 of his son (who arrived on March 23). His letters to his wife sometimes included his photos of places and people they visited,
 such as this tank for ceremonial rafts at Madurai.


The New Economic Model for Malaysia (NEM) 2010 defines inclusiveness as one of the three pillars of a developed society in the next decade and beyond. The underlying principle of the inclusiveness objective of the plan is to enable every Malaysian to have access to opportunities in order to contribute to the economy and to ensure that essential needs of the people are met. The question is to what extent does the present scenario support this objective of equalising opportunities? Also, in ensuring that essential needs of the people are met without marginalising any group, are the existing social safety nets policies adequate to support every Malaysian to sustain a decent living standard? This is of particular concern to the old age group that is getting bigger due to a very low population growth and an increasing average life span of 71.7 years for males and 75 years for females. Hence, this paper attempts to answer these questions and other related issues. It is divided into three parts: the first part defines the key concepts and framework employed in this paper; the second part examines the existing social protection schemes in Malaysia and analyses some case studies of NGOs working with the elderly and the final part offers some policy recommendations as a way forward.


This chapter discusses European Portuguese sentences where a finite verb occurs twice. Such sentences express emphatic affirmation and are either elliptic structures produced as replies to a yes/no question presupposing a negative answer or full declaratives which contradict a preceding negative statement. The approach to European Portuguese emphatic verb reduplication developed in this chapter views the two phonologically indistinguishable verb forms as copies of the same item from the numeration, i.e. as two links of a nontrivial chain. Martins' analysis relies on Nunes's (2001, 2004) idea that the phonetic realization of multiple links of a chain is permitted as far as linearization – understood as the application of Kayne's (1994) Linear Correspondence Axiom (LCA) – can still operate. In particular, multiple copies may be allowed when morphological reanalysis makes some copy invisible to the LCA. In the case of emphatic affirmation in European Portuguese, it is argued that verb reduplication results from the combination of verb movement to Σ [+aff] and (subsequent) verb movement to C [+emph] , followed by morphological reanalysis of C, which renders the adjoined verb copy invisible to the LCA and immune to deletion.


The purpose of this qualitative study is to explore the effects of identity supportive messages on nontraditional students in terms of facilitating identification with the student role. Identity support involves the extent to which an individual believes that others understand, accept, and/or provide instrumental support for valued social identities. Considering the lifechanging (identity altering) adjustment of resuming school in the middle of adulthood and assuming the new "student" role—especially in connection with other roles and responsibilities—the relationship between nontraditional students and identity support is particularly salient. Twenty-four in-depth interviews helped identify encouraging and discouraging messages students received from a variety of sources. The results indicated that identity support served as an essential resource during the identity work process because it promoted or restored a sense of competence. Consequently, identity encouraging messages (particularly from "credible others") helped motivate older adults to resume their educations, to persist through challenges and doubts, and to develop identity-preserving counter-discourses to cope with discouragement. Interestingly, counter-discourses were a type of identity work strategy utilized to counter negative identity messages and were co-constructed through a combination of personal agency and encouraging messages from supportive networks. From a practical standpoint, the results indicated that universities also play a role. They convey messages of support indirectly through the resources they provide to assist older learners. However, educational institutions can work to improve full recognition of nontraditional students on campus as valued members of the student body. iii NONTRADITIONAL STUDENTS & IDENTITY SUPPORT Table of


The intent of this work was to design an innovative robot to imitate inchworm locomotion. The prototype built demonstrates successful implementation of using only friction and variable masses to generate the motion. The theoretical model was simulated using working model and validated experimentally. The computer simulation shows the dynamic and kinetic effects on inchworm mobility, providing a complete understanding of the design concept. The experimental results compare well with the theoretical model, although the exact coefficient of friction during the experiment was not measured. Theoretical and experimental results both indicate a slight backward motion of the robot during the contractile phase of the cycle of motion. Although the results are similar, the theoretical model fails to include such phenomena as the friction in the revolute joints and the vibration produced by the pump and servos. The theoretical model will be used in future work to optimize the design of the robot for dynamic performance.


In 2007 Jerry Yang, CEO of Yahoo!, was lambasted by U.S. Representative Tom Lantos, chairman of the U.S. House Committee on Foreign Affairs, for Yahoo's role in the arrest and imprisonment of Chinese journalist and democracy advocate Shi Tao. The case describes the actions that Yahoo! had taken to grow its business in China, its handling of a government request for the identity of a Yahoo! user, and subsequent actions by the firm to respond to negative publicity and Congressional inquiry. The case raises broad questions about the challenge of complying with domestic law when operating in states that do not consistently respect human rights, and satisfy stakeholders across national boundaries. It allows students to consider the practical steps that a firm can take to protect itself and its stakeholders in states where the law is not always a reliable safeguard.


We propose and implement a common external cavity to narrow spectral linewidth of two broad-area laser diode arrays (LDAs) and align their center wavelengths. The locked center wavelength of two LDAs can be tuned in the range of ~10 nm by tuning the tilted angle of the diffraction grating. The output beams of two LDAs are spatially overlapped through the polarization beam splitter of the common external cavity, and the total output power equals the power of two LDAs. The center wavelength of each LDA can be independently tuned by shifting the corresponding fast-axis collimation lens. As a result, the high-power two-color LDA operation is demonstrated with the tunable wavelength difference of up to 2 nm (~1 THz).


Philosophical modeling is as old as philosophy itself; examples range from Plato's Cave and the Divided Line to Rawls's original position. What is new are the astounding computational resources now available for philosophical modeling. Although the computer cannot offer a substitute for philosophical research, it can offer an important new environment for philosophical research. – The authors present a series of exploratory examples of computer modeling, using a range of computational techniques to illuminate a variety of questions in philosophy and philosophical logic. Topics include self-reference and paradox in fuzzy logics, varieties of epistemic chaos, fractal images of formal systems, and cellular automata models in game theory. Examples in the last category include models for the evolution of generosity, possible causes and cures for discrimination, and the formal undecidability of patterns of social and biological interaction. The cross-platform CD-ROM provided with the book contains a variety of working examples, in color and often operating dynamically, embedded in a text that parallels that of the book. Source code of all major programs is included to facilitate further research. – Contents : Preface. Introduction. – 1. Chaos, Fractals, and the Semantics of Paradox; – 2. Notes on Epistemic Dynamics; – 3. Fractal Images of Formal Systems; – 4. The This Evolution of Generosity n a Hobbesian Model; – 5. Real-Valued Game Theory: Real Life, Cooperative Chaos, and Discrimination; – 6. Computation and Undecidability in the Spatialized Prisoners Dilemma. – Appendix A: Competitive Strategies Adequate for a Minsky Register Machine; – Appendix B: An Algebraic Treatment for Competitive Strategies. Afterword. Notes; Index.


In recent years, the tourism industry is developing rapidly in Nepal, due to political stabilisation and government policy. However, the rapid progress of tourism development and increase of tourists may destroy important tourist resources, such as rich nature, culture and species of wild animals. Sustainable development in the tourist industry is therefore, very important. This research aims to identify the consciousness of local people regarding the development of tourist businesses in their communities. The paper analyses regional characteristics between communities in Kathmandu, the capital city of Nepal, and communities in Chitwan district, well-known for Chitwan National Park. Through a questionnaire, regional characteristics are analysed, and the relevance between the three sectors of economy, society and environment are analysed. Additionally, the awareness of local residents regarding long-term influences of various factors on tourism development are identified, as well as polices and efforts they think local communities should make in the future.


Abstract Regenerative medicine (RM) in Japan lays strong emphasis on a specific trajectory of its development, which deploys human induced pluripotent stem (iPS) cells as the primary sources for the technology. The technique to create these stem cells was developed in 2006 by a Japanese stem cell scientist, Shinya Yamanaka, and since its applicability to human cells was established about a year later, this new type of cells has become to be considered as a potential substitute for human embryonic stem cells. While the clinical value of these cells are yet to be confirmed, the Japanese Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology decided to concentrate its support on iPS cells research and turned it into a national project. This decision reflected the state's vision of initiating the transition to a knowledge-based society, which was adopted in the 1990s to tackle the prolonged deflation in the country. As the research became intertwined with this policy vision, however, the Ministry came to see bringing its success as more important than ever, while other trajectories of RM were left underrated and largely unsupported. Industrial actors counteracted this situation and developed an initiative to recognize existing technical capability in the country, but its impact has been so far negligible. This indicates that the nation is locked in the particular trajectory of RM. Hence, this Japanese RM research enterprise presents an interesting case to understand how states' commitment may not only shape the course of scientific research but also reduce flexibility in technological development.


What are bar associations' responsibilities for law reform? Under what conditions do bar association committees act in the public interest? Do lawyers even believe in the 'public' interest as something that can be collectively defined? The lawyer-statesman is a powerful icon among American lawyers. Yet many observers are skeptical that lawyers, individually or collectively, can set aside their clients' interests, political leanings, and other biases to serve as purely public-interested members of the 'governing class.' The empirical literature on bar associations likewise invites a certain amount of cynicism - or at least pessimism - about the possibility of public-interested law reform. Research shows that representative bar groups tend to be politically ineffective due to internal division. Most examples of effective bar influence involve elite, ideologically homogenous groups. Recent research on the effects of group deliberation on decision making also suggests some reason to be skeptical about the benefits of democratic deliberation for public policy outcomes. This Article considers the implications of this research for the role and design of bar law reform committees. First, it argues that bar groups should be more explicit about the goals of law reform and the limits of legal expertise regarding contested political values. This does not mean that bar associations should avoid political engagement altogether, as some have suggested. Instead, bar associations should strive to set a public example of productive political debate by gearing their efforts toward research, fact finding, and the clear articulation of issues, rather than focusing primarily or exclusively on policy outcomes. The bar should also promote the associative and expressive benefits of civic debate. To the extent that law reform efforts raise divisive value questions, the bar should shift its attention from outcome to process, association, and expression. The Article also proposes that, in designing committees, bar leaders should be attentive to research on bar associations and the dynamics of group deliberation and should strive to contribute to this research by testing proposed innovations - for example, the use of a facilitator. Such self-study would have immense value for the profession, both academically and practically, and would further contribute to the design of deliberative institutions. Systematic self-study would also go a long way toward grounding discussions of lawyer 'professionalism' and providing practical strategies for improvement.


Placoid and polyodontode scales of stem chondrichthyans have been found in the early Lochkovian "Ditton Group" of the Brown Clee Hill district, Shropshire, England and at Talgarth, south Wales. One of the forms is assigned to a new species of Altholepis Karatajūtė-Talimaa, 1997, a genus already recognised from Lochkovian shallow marine deposits in Celtiberia, Spain and the Northwest Territories, Canada as well as the type locality in Podolia, Ukraine. Altholepis salopensis sp. nov. is based on small polyodontode scales with typically three to eight high odontodes; the scale form was previously considered to belong to acanthodian " Nostolepis "  robusta (Brotzen, 1934). The structure of other scales formerly assigned to " Nostolepis " robusta has led us to erect a new genus  Jolepis for this scale form, which differs from Altholepis in lacking an ordered layout of odontodes . Jolepis robusta  (Brotzen, 1934), originally (and possibly still) considered to be an acanthodian, is also known from the Baltic countries, Russia, and northern Germany (ex erratic limestones). Scales of acanthodian Parexus recurvus Agassiz, 1845, and/or possibly from the stem chondrichthyan Seretolepis elegans Karatajūtė-Talimaa, 1968 (scales of these two taxa are barely distinguishable), and of stem chondrichthyan Polymerolepis whitei Karatajūtė-Talimaa, 1968 are also present. Altholepis , Jolepis gen. nov., Seretolepis Karatajūtė-Talimaa, 1968 and Polymerolepis Karatajūtė-Talimaa, 1968 are found in marine deposits elsewhere; the British occurrence of these taxa adds to the debate on the sedimentological origins of the Lower Old Red Sandstone deposits in the Welsh Borderland. The geographic range of several early sharks is now known to extend around the Old Red Sandstone continent and beyond.


Heather Blair offers a correction to the politically centered paradigm for early medieval history. English-language historians have generally focused on the political and military history of the Genpei War (1180-1185), attending to the war's victors, the Minamoto, while defining Taira no Kiyomori (1118-1181) primarily as a failed warrior. Placing Kiyomori in the context of Heian court culture, Blair instead argues that ritual played an important role in the Taira family's rise. Formulating a new theoretical model of ritual regimes, she first outlines the regime piloted by Retired Emperor Go-Shirakawa (1127-1192), with whom Kiyomori interacted constantly, and then examines Kiyomori's ritual activities and their relation to his political career. Through a close analysis of Kiyomori's construction of a set of signature sites, rites, and texts—at both the ocean-side shrine Itsukushima and Fukuhara-Blair makes her case for the importance of ritual in twelfth-century politics.


Increases in government spending trigger substitution effects—both inter- and intra-temporal—and a wealth effect. The ultimate impacts on the econ- omy hinge on current and expected monetary and fiscal policy behavior. Studies that impose active monetary policy and passive fiscal policy typically find that government consumption crowds out private consumption: higher future taxes cre- ate a strong negative wealth effect, while the active monetary response increases the real interest rate. This paper estimates Markov-switching policy rules for the United States and finds that monetary and fiscal policies fluctuate between ac- tive and passive behavior. When the estimated joint policy process is imposed on a conventional new Keynesian model, government spending generates positive consumption multipliers in some policy regimes and in simulated data in which all policy regimes are realized. The paper reports the model's predictions of the macroeconomic impacts of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act's implied path for government spending under alternative monetary-fiscal policy combina- tions.


Biological drugs (tumor necrosis factor inhibitors, rituximab, tocilizumab, abatacept, and tofacitinib) are important treatment alternatives in rheumatology, particularly for resistant patients. However, they may cause hepatitis B virus (HBV) and hepatitis C virus (HCV) reactivation; for instance, HBV reactivation may occur in a patient who is an inactive hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg) carrier or who has resolved HBV infection. Therefore, the screening of patients before biological treatment and the application of a prophylactic treatment, particularly with respect to latent HBV infections, are recommended when necessary. This guideline covers pre-treatment screening and follow-up recommendations, if required, with respect to viral hepatitides in rheumatology patients who are planned to be given biological drugs. Although this guideline is prepared for biological disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs (DMARDs), it is recommended to be used also for target-oriented DMARDS and medium-high dose corticosteroids (>7.5 mg prednisolone/day equivalent). It should be considered that the reactivation risk is higher when more than one immunosuppressive drug is used.


Safe driving involves obtaining and using required visual information. Recent studies have shown that this information acquisition is compromised as a driver performs other mental tasks. We conducted an experiment, inspired by Recarte and Nunes (2000), to investigate the effect of cognitive tasks on drivers' eye behavior and performance in a single monitor, PC-based driving simulator. The eye behavior (i.e., gaze direction and duration) and driving performance (i.e., lane keeping and speed control) of twelve college students were recorded as they drove in three environments (i.e., highway, rural, urban) under three secondary task conditions (none, verbal task, spatial-imagery task). The results confirmed Recarte and Nunes (2000) observation that such tasks greatly reduce the time and frequency of such safety-related behaviors as checking the speedometer and rear view mirrors, with the spatial-imagery task having the largest effect. Pupil diameter increases significantly when performing secondary tasks, confirming the usefulness of that measure as an indicator of processing load. In contrast, these secondary tasks have no effect on lane-keeping accuracy, though they do increase variation in speed. From the perspective of multiple resource theory (Wickens, 2002; Wickens & Hollands, 2000), this suggests that lane keeping, speed control and other safety-monitoring activities (i.e., checking mirrors and speedometer) all require attentional resources, and that when resources must be given to some new task, there is a prioritization of the remaining tasks. Lane-keeping, the failure of which would produce the most apparent driving failures, is given the highest priority, with other safetymonitoring activities given lower priority. The method employed here can be used to examine the effect of driver activities and devices on their monitoring of safety-related information.


How to cite this article: Cho W, Sim JS, Jun SL. Re: Technical issues in ultrasound-guided ethanol ablation for thyroid lesions. Ultrasonography. 2021 Oct;40(4):623624. We greatly appreciate your detailed and constructive comments. In our study, we defined a "low dose" as less than 5 mL [1]. However, we did not propose a precise amount of ethanol according to the nodule volume or the cystic nature of the thyroid nodule. This might be a limitation of our retrospective study. Further research is necessary. Although the exact dosage of ethanol has not been established yet, the concept of single-session low-dose ethanol ablation (EA) might be important in terms of the basic principle for drug injection, which is to obtain the maximum effect with the minimum amount. Using a small amount of ethanol has the advantages of being easy to handle during the procedure and minimizing the risk of procedure-related complications, including ethanol leakage and patient discomfort. As you pointed out, Park et al. [2] reported a higher therapeutic success rate in a retention group than in an aspiration group, especially in predominantly cystic nodules. However, the efficacy did not show statistical significance in either the volume reduction rate (P=0.761) or therapeutic success (P=0.070) [2]. In addition, Baek et al. [3] reported high effectiveness despite using an aspiration method after 2 minutes of ethanol retention, and Kim et al. [4] reported that the two techniques (retention only and aspiration after injection) showed similar therapeutic success rates (96.7% vs. 93.3%). Whether there is a statistically significant difference between the two techniques in predominantly cystic nodules also requires further investigation. We agree that our study includes cases with short-term follow-up, making it necessary to conduct a subsequent study with long-term results. Including your opinions on technical issues, we hope that these discussions and our study could provide basic data for future studies and the standardization of EA procedures.


We consider the long-run patterns of poverty in the United States from the early 1960s to 2010. Our results contradict previous studies that have argued that poverty has shown little improvement over time or that antipoverty efforts have been ineffective. We find that moving from traditional income-based measures of poverty to a consumption-based measure and, crucially, adjusting for bias in price indexes lead to the conclusion that the poverty rate declined by 26.4 percentage points between 1960 and 2010, 8.5 percentage points of which has occurred since 1980. Our consumption-based measure suggests considerably greater improvement than the income-based measures for single-parent families and the elderly, but relatively less for married-parent families. Changes in tax policy explain a substantial part of the decline in poverty; Social Security has also been important, but other transfer programs have played a small role. Changes in education have also contributed, but other demographic trends have had little impact. Measurement error in income likely explains some of the most noticeable differences between changes in income poverty and in consumption poverty, but saving and dissaving appear to play a modest role for most demographic groups.


Orientation: Followers' experiences of leadership in their organisations were qualitatively explored and described from a systems psychodynamic perspective. The findings revealed a very negative view on how leadership treats followership, and that leadership is seen as inconsistent. Research purpose: The purpose of the research was to describe followership's experiences of organisational leadership from a systems psychodynamic perspective. Motivation for the study: Organisational leadership is under tremendous pressure to perform and often under attack, especially if they do not appear to be caring and supportive. The research was planned to better understand the unconscious nature of this phenomenon. Research design, approach and method: Qualitative, descriptive research was used. Data was collected through psychodynamic Listening Posts and analysed using discourse analysis. Working hypotheses were formulated per theme and integrated into the research hypothesis. Main findings: Six themes manifested, namely a negative leadership view; idealisation of the past and blaming the present; obsession with race and gender; constantly changing identity; unfinished business and the future; and cope and hope. Practical/managerial implications: Leadership seem to focus more on business than followership issues which leads to followers feeling disregarded and de-authorised. As a result followers withhold authorisation from leadership which may be instrumental in leaderships' difficulties to manage change and transformation effectively. Leadership development needs to incorporate the self-authorisation of leaders as well as the invitation of authorisation by leaders. Contribution/value-add: The data would be useful to leadership towards understanding, repairing and optimising their relationships and organisational impact through people.


We report on the results of radical surgery performed on a 10-yr-old Chinese female with multiple echinococcosis lesions and the diagnosis of the infection by imaging, histology, serology, and DNA analysis. Molecular genotyping provided unequivocal proof that the patient was infected with Echinococcus granulosus, the cause of cystic echinococcosis.


This case recounts the announced terms of five prominent acquisitions of the late 1990s, and asks the student to suggest a preliminary strategy for integrating the target firm into the buyer. The five acquisitions are America Online/Time Warner, British Petro-leum/Amoco, Daimler-Benz/Chrysler, Union Pacific/Southern Pacific, and Warner-Lambert/Agouron Pharmaceuticals. The objectives of the case are: 1) to highlight the linkage of the post-merger integration approach with the strategic motives for the acquisition; 2) to consider the range of possible challenges to successful post-merger integration; 3) to explore the varieties of integration strategy, especially surrounding decisions about autonomy of the target company within the buyer, importance of interdependence between the buyer and target, and need for speed of integration.


Observing an action performed by another individual activates, in the observer, similar circuits as those involved in the actual execution of that action. This activation is modulated by prior experience; indeed, sustained training in a particular motor domain leads to structural and functional changes in critical brain areas. Here, we capitalized on a novel graph-theory approach to electroencephalographic data [1] to test whether variability in functional brain networks implicated in Tango observation can discriminate between groups differing in their level of expertise. We found that experts and beginners significantly differed in the functional organization of task-relevant networks. Specifically, networks in expert Tango dancers exhibited less variability and a more robust functional architecture. Notably, these expertise-dependent effects were captured within networks derived from electrophysiological brain activity recorded in a very short time window (2 s). In brief, variability in the organization of task-related networks seems to be a highly sensitive indicator of long-lasting training effects. This finding opens new methodological and theoretical windows to explore the impact of domain-specific expertise on brain plasticity, while highlighting variability as a fruitful measure in neuroimaging research.


Cities around the globe have experienced depopulation or population shrinkage at an acute level in the last half century. Conventional community development and planning responses have looked to reverse the process of depopulation almost universally, with little attention paid to how neighborhoods physically change when they lose population. This article presents an approach to study the physical changes of depopulating neighborhoods in a novel way. The approach considers how population decline creates different physical impacts (more or less housing abandonment, for example) across different neighborhoods. Data presented from a detailed case study of Flint, Michigan, illustrate that population decline can be more painful in some neighborhoods than in others, suggesting that this article's proposed approach may be useful in implementing smart decline.


IN A WAY, IT IS SURPRISING THAT THE Arkansas Constitutional Convention of 1979-80 took place at all. With the defeat of a proposed constitution in 1970 by a margin of 57 percent against and only 43 percent in favor, many observers predicted that it would be another fifty years before the chance for a new constitution came again.' Instead of a fifty-year wait, Arkansas held two more constitutional conventions within ten years. The first was declared illegal in 1975 by the Arkansas Supreme Court, but the next one convened less than five years later. Though unsuccessful and increasingly forgotten, the 1979-80 constitutional attempt might offer useful lessons for future constitution-makers. Surely, a study of the origins, content, and defeat of the proposed constitution provides further support for Michael Dougan's thesis that Arkansas's history has been characterized by a struggle between modernizers and traditionalists, with the traditionalists in this instance winning yet again.3 To place this constitutional convention in proper historical perspective, it is necessary to briefly consider earlier Arkansas constitutions and constitutional attempts.4 Arkansas to date has been governed by five state constitutions. Each of the five has been a response, as Ralph Barnhart noted, to "some kind of crisis-statehood, civil war, military occupation, reconstruction and reaction to reconstruction."5 Before statehood, when Arkansas was a territory (1819-1836), the governing legal authority was an act of Congress passed on March 2, 1819. The president of the United States, with the consent of the Senate, appointed the governor of the territory, the secretary, and the three judges of the Superior Court of Arkansas. The people of Arkansas Territory, at least those who could vote, elected a territorial legislature and a non-voting delegate to the U.S. Congress. The national government paid the salaries of the governor, secretary, superior court judges, and members of the territorial legislature, and funded roads, river improvements, army posts, and national troops. In fact, dependence on the national government was so great that on the eve of statehood there was real concern over whether Arkansas could afford to finance its own government. The 1836 constitution was created so that Arkansas could become a state. Modeled after the United States Constitution, it was both short (9,100 words) and flexible. A new constitution had to be written in 1861 for Arkansas to be admitted to the Confederacy, but, with the exception of the popular election of more officials, its major change from 1836 was to substitute the words "Confederate States" for "United States." Otherwise, the 1836 and 1861 constitutions were essentially identical. In 1864, another constitution was adopted after the Union conquest of a large portion of the state and the establishment of a loyal government. The words "United States" replaced "Confederate States," slavery was abolished, and the Constitution of 1861 was declared null and void. Except for enforcing emancipation, the 1864 constitution, like the 1861 document, differed little from the 1836 constitution. On the other hand, the 1868 constitution mandated by the federal Reconstruction acts of 1867 contained significant changes. It disenfranchised many ex-Confederates, extended the suffrage to black males, broadened the Declaration of Rights so that distinctions based on race or color were prohibited, and granted unparalleled appointive powers to the governor, including the naming, with consent of the Arkansas Senate, of most judges, tax assessors, and prosecuting attorneys. The six years of Reconstruction government came to an end in 1874 when voters approved another new constitution. Constitutional delegates had focused on preventing any repetition of what to their minds were the excesses and abuses of the Reconstruction regime, especially as regarded elections, executive patronage, martial law, the length of officials' terms, public finance, and taxation. …


Materials and photoelectrode architectures that are highly efficient, extremely stable, and made from low cost materials are required for commercially viable photoelectrochemical (PEC) water-splitting technology. A key challenge is the heterogeneous nature of real-world materials, which often possess spatial variation in their crystal structure, morphology, and/or composition at the nano-, micro-, or macro-scale. Different structures and compositions can have vastly different properties and can therefore strongly influence the overall performance of the photoelectrode through complex structure–property relationships. A complete understanding of photoelectrode materials would also involve elucidation of processes such as carrier collection and electrochemical charge transfer that occur at very fast time scales. We present herein an overview of a broad suite of experimental and computational tools that can be used to define the structure–property relationships of photoelectrode materials at small dimensions and on fast time scales. A major focus is on in situ scanning-probe measurement (SPM) techniques that possess the ability to measure differences in optical, electronic, catalytic, and physical properties with nano- or micro-scale spatial resolution. In situ ultrafast spectroscopic techniques, used to probe carrier dynamics involved with processes such as carrier generation, recombination, and interfacial charge transport, are also discussed. Complementing all of these experimental techniques are computational atomistic modeling tools, which can be invaluable for interpreting experimental results, aiding in materials discovery, and interrogating PEC processes at length and time scales not currently accessible by experiment. In addition to reviewing the basic capabilities of these experimental and computational techniques, we highlight key opportunities and limitations of applying these tools for the development of PEC materials.


The last years' financial situation has contributed to an increased willingness from the banks to handle risks. The most important risk to cope with is a risk that is related to a customer's ability to repay loans. Forecasts indicate that in the future, Swedish farmers will be facing profitability challenges, which points to a need to reconsider the banks procedures considering risk management in credit granting for agricultural businesses.

Today's risk management will be given two complements in this study. The first is a general risk assessment of two different branches of production. The second complement is an estimation of which factors that affect a farmer's risk assessment and how these factors affect a farmer's repayment ability. The aim of this study is to gather information from the risk analysis, which will form the basis of future credit granting.

The empirical data is gathered from four different case farms and from a group interview. These methods are selected to make sure that the problem is thoroughly investigated and also to be a basis for comparisons in the analysis chapter. The theories in this study are classical theories on risk, risk management and risk analysis. The study also sorts out which types of risks that affect agricultural business and which risk management tools a farmer can use. A conceptual model has been made to show how certain factors affect a farmer's risk proclivity, in order to describe how the perception of risk and the ability to repay loans are related.

Conclusions are categorized according to the questions in the opening chapter. The conclusions are based on the case studies about how grain businesses and dairy farms are exposed differently by different risks. Grain businesses have a difficult time predicting the weather, and therefore this risk is a serious source of problem. Dairy farms, on the other hand, have a difficult time predicting changes in the transfer price and therefore these farmers estimate this source of risk as more serious.

Farmers' risk proclivity and risk assessment is affected by different factors. Another conclusion is that it is almost impossible to see which factors that will affect the farmer's attitude to risk and to what degree, since the factors are closely related to each other. The experts' opinions about farmers' risk proclivity mostly correspond with the result from the case farms, which show that they know how the farmer's values and attitudes to risk have been created.

One main point of this study is to investigate risk profiles of different branches of production. Grain businesses and dairy farms certainly have different risk profiles, since they are affected by different sources of risks. However, the principal reason for differences between farmers is probably not which branch of production that they work in, but rather it is about the farmer's personality and mainly about the financial situation of the business.


Insights into the resting and active state structures of TNF superfamily receptors reveal opportunities for drug development. Gloss Tumor necrosis factor (TNF) superfamily pathways regulate cell proliferation, cell death, and morphogenesis. TNF superfamily receptors mediate various cancers and immune-mediated diseases. Understanding of the mechanisms of TNF superfamily signaling and the structure and geometry of ligands, receptors, and their interactions is essential to designing effective agonist and antagonist drugs. In this review, consisting of four figures, one table, and 96 references, we discuss our current understanding of TNF ligand-receptor conformations and how this informs signaling and the design of current and prospective therapeutics. The tumor necrosis factor (TNF) ligand and receptor superfamilies play an important role in cell proliferation, survival, and death. Stimulating or inhibiting TNF superfamily signaling pathways is expected to have therapeutic benefit for patients with various diseases, including cancer, autoimmunity, and infectious diseases. We review our current understanding of the structure and geometry of TNF superfamily ligands, receptors, and their interactions. A trimeric ligand and three receptors, each binding at the interface of two ligand monomers, form the basic unit of signaling. Clustering of multiple receptor subunits is necessary for efficient signaling. Current reports suggest that the receptors are prearranged on the cell surface in a "nonsignaling," resting state in a large hexagonal structure of antiparallel dimers. Receptor activation requires ligand binding, and cross-linking antibodies can stabilize the receptors, thereby maintaining the active, signaling state. On the other hand, an antagonist antibody that locks receptor arrangement in antiparallel dimers effectively blocks signaling. This model may aid the design of more effective TNF signaling–targeted therapies.


Many applications for microengineered devices can be envisaged for actuators capable of doing work or transferring power. Millimetre order turbines are considered in this study for the development of torque and the possibilities for the delivery of work. A prototype microturbine, with overall thickness of less than a millimetre, was studied for its torque capabilities. The initial prototype was realized using precision mechanics although implementation of the turbine is planned using microengineering techniques. A viscous braking method was developed to measure the shaft torque of the turbine, demonstrating shaft coupling and the possibilities for power transfer. In order to validate the viscous braking method for torque measurement, a mechanical friction brake (dynamometer) was developed to compare the measurements obtained for a miniature electric motor of known characteristics. The results from this series of calibration experiments were then used to evaluate the performance of a microturbine prototype. The dynamometer torque measurements were found to closely agree with the manufacture's stated stall torque for the miniature motor of 1.8*10-4 N m. The viscous brake torque measurements were found to underestimate the motor torque by around 20% with slight variation related to the angular velocity of the shaft. Shaft torque measurements for the prototype microturbine were possible using the viscous brake but not the dynamometer. It was felt that 10-5 N m represented the lower limit for the dynamometer torque measurement while the viscous brake could address torques down to 10-8 N m. The fluid brake produced measurements of torque in the range of 10-7 N m for the microturbine. At this level only an order of magnitude accuracy is claimed because of some uncertainties with the fluid model used for the viscous brake torque calculation. The shaft torque range for the viscous brake was from 10-4 N m down to 10-8 N m; this might be extended by optimizing the fluid model.


This thesis examines the growth and significance of private security in the United Kingdom. It details the broad commercial functions and lack of public accountability of the private security sector and draws out the implications for civil liberties and public policy.

This is a subject which has been seriously neglected in criminology, sociology and related disciplines in Britain. This thesis is the first (publicly available)
criminological study of private security in Britain to bring together such a range of material and concerns. It
draws upon original 'case-study' observational field-work and on interviews with a wide range of respondents, in private security, the police, Parliament, journalism, trade unions, civil liberties groups and academia. Extensive literature review and collaborative work with
various involved parties also support the research.

An introductory chapter provides background to the research and outlines the structure of the thesis. The second chapter presents two 'case studies' based upon the observational field-work, discusses aspects of methodology and draws out those points which broadened the nature of the research project and those which have particular
relevance for subsequent chapters. The next chapter discusses the range and activities of the private security sector.

The chapter on the issue of licensing examines 'causes for concern', present arrangements for self-regulation, the role of the professional associations and of the Home Office, considers the experience of other
jurisdictions and generally presents the case for public regulation and accountability.

A theoretical chapter charts the conditions conducive to the post-war growth of private security, takes issue with previous theoretical accounts and develops an analysis in which political relations with and within the state are forefronted. A concluding chapter offers cautionary comments on the limits and desirability of some possible
future developments and adds thoughts on one possible avenue for policy development.