Preoccupied with sovereign control of access to their territories, states are devoting increasing energy and resources to intercepting and turning back migrants before they arrive at their borders. Interception measures, however, rarely include adequate procedures to distinguish those who need protection from those who do not. As a result, desperate people are left with no option but to resort to ever more dangerous and disruptive methods of migration. This article surveys the main types of interception measures and their effects, and examines the international refugee and human rights law issues raised by these practices. It then reviews recent developments at the level of UNHCR's Executive Committee with regard to interception and concludes with some suggestions for building compliance with principles of refugee protection in the context of interception measures.


The relation of hemostatic factor levels to the occurrence of cardiovascular disease is incompletely established. The Atherosclerosis Risk in Communities Study measured fibrinogen, factor VII, factor VIII, von Willebrand factor, antithrombin III, protein C, activated partial thromboplastin time, and other cardiovascular risk factors in nearly 15,000 men and women aged 45 to 64. This analysis assessed the relations of these hemostatic factors with prevalent cardiovascular disease and asymptomatic carotid artery intimal-medial thickness measured by B-mode ultrasound. Compared with participants without cardiovascular disease, those with cardiovascular disease had higher levels of fibrinogen, factor VIII, and von Willebrand factor in both sexes. The other hemostatic factors were less consistently associated with prevalent cardiovascular disease. Only fibrinogen was associated with carotid intimal-medial thickness. Adjusted for age, race, and field center, the odds ratio for carotid wall thickness in the 90th percentile or greater, compared with < 50th percentile, for each SD higher fibrinogen concentration (65 mg/dL) was 1.42 (95% confidence interval, 1.25, 1.62) in men and 1.43 (1.25, 1.64) in women. This population-based study provides further evidence that fibrinogen and possibly factor VIII and von Willebrand factor are risk factors for cardiovascular disease.


We report herein our interesting case series of 15 infants admitting with neurological symptoms who were found to have vitamin B12 deficiency. Infants who were admitted to our hospital between 2004 and 2007 with neurological symptoms and were found to have vitamin B12 deficiency were included in this study. Data regarding clinical and laboratory features were obtained. Of 15 infants, 9 were boys (60%) and 6 were girls (40%). The mean age was 11.7 months. Anorexia, pallor, hypotonia, and neurodevelopmental retardation were present in all infants. Seizures and tremor were observed in 46.6% (7/15) and 33% (5/15) of patients, respectively. Seizures were generalized tonic-clonic in 4 patients, generalized tonic in 1 patient and focal in 2 patients. Four patients had tremor on admission and 1 patient had occurrence after vitamin B12 treatment. Vitamin B12 deficiency may lead to serious neurological deficits in addition to megaloblastic anemia. Persistent neurological damage can be prevented with early diagnosis and treatment. We believe that a thorough clinical and neurological assessment might prevent failure to notice rare but possible vitamin B12 deficiency in infants with neurological deficits and neurodevelopmental retardation.


ABSTRACT Previous work has shown that heat shock factor (HSF) plays a central role in remodeling the chromatin structure of the yeastHSP82 promoter via constitutive interactions with its high-affinity binding site, heat shock element 1 (HSE1). The HSF-HSE1 interaction is also critical for stimulating both basal (noninduced) and induced transcription. By contrast, the function of the adjacent, inducibly occupied HSE2 and -3 is unknown. In this study, we examined the consequences of mutations in HSE1, HSE2, and HSE3 on HSF binding and transactivation. We provide evidence that in vivo, HSF binds to these three sites cooperatively. This cooperativity is seen both before and after heat shock, is required for full inducibility, and can be recapitulated in vitro on both linear and supercoiled templates. Quantitative in vitro footprinting reveals that occupancy of HSE2 and -3 by Saccharomyces cerevisiae HSF (ScHSF) is enhanced ∼100-fold through cooperative interactions with the HSF-HSE1 complex. HSE1 point mutants, whose basal transcription is virtually abolished, are functionally compensated by cooperative interactions with HSE2 and -3 following heat shock, resulting in robust inducibility. Using a competition binding assay, we show that the affinity of recombinant HSF for the full-length HSP82promoter is reduced nearly an order of magnitude by a single-point mutation within HSE1, paralleling the effect of these mutations on noninduced transcript levels. We propose that the remodeled chromatin phenotype previously shown for HSE1 point mutants (and lost in HSE1 deletion mutants) stems from the retention of productive, cooperative interactions between HSF and its target binding sites.


In this paper, we study sleeping control (SC) and power matching (PM) for a single cell in cellular networks with bursty traffic. The base station (BS) sleeps whenever the system is empty and wakes up when N users are assembled during the sleep period. The service capacity of the BS in the active mode is controlled by adjusting its transmit power. The total power consumption and average delay are analyzed, and based on this, the impact of parameter N and transmit power on the energy-delay tradeoff is studied. It is shown that, given the average traffic load, the more bursty the traffic is, the less total power consumed, although the delay performance of more bursty traffic is better only under certain circumstances. The optimal energy-delay tradeoff is then obtained through joint SC and PM optimization. The relationship between the optimal control parameters and the asymptotic performance are also provided. Moreover, the influence of the traffic autocorrelation is explored, which shows less impact on the system performance compared with that of the burstiness. Numerical results show the energy saving gain of the joint SC and PM scheme, as well as the impact of burstiness on the optimal energy-delay tradeoff.


When anything goes and nothing fits together this can be euphemized as pluralism. Lacking a common point of reference, discussions between various schools of economic thought proceed in the 'hyperspace of assumptions' (Mc Closkey). The incoherency of perspectives is due to self-chosen foundational assumptions. The present paper submits three structural axioms as formal core that is neutral with regard to assumptions about behavior. The objective is to clarify the interrelation of four elementary concepts and to eliminate some logical inconsistencies. Neither neoclassicals nor Keynesians came to grips with the relation between profit and the distribution of the real product.


Abstract. A two dimensional scavenging model is used to investigate the patterns of sediment 231Pa/230Th generated by the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation (AMOC) and further advance the application of this proxy for ocean paleocirculation studies. The scavenging parameters and the geometry of the overturning circulation cell have been chosen so that the model generates meridional sections of dissolved 230Th and 231Pa consistent with published water column profiles and an additional 12 previously unpublished profiles measured in the North and Equatorial Atlantic. The processes that generate the meridional sections of dissolved and particulate 230Th, dissolved and particulate 231Pa, dissolved and particulate 231Pa/230Th, and sediment 231Pa/230Th are discussed in detail. The results indicate that the relationship between sediment 231Pa/230Th at any given site and the overturning circulation is very complex. They clearly show that constraining past changes in the strength and geometry of the AMOC requires an extensive data set and they suggest strategies to maximize information from a limited number of samples.


ABSTRACT: Ongoing theoretical explorations of and experimental research on the origins of life focus predominately on the details of how life evolved. But there remains an intriguing second-order question one step removed from these focused investigations. That is: Why is there life? Exploring the forces, mechanisms, and physical laws (and their interactions) that define the creation of animate out of inanimate matter is both theoretically interesting and useful to understanding the biological and philosophical nature of life. Defining the key factors ("effectors") behind the creation of life opens a fertile field of possibilities that is as yet incompletely explored. This paper's discussion of these effectors helps to advance our understanding of what life is by elucidating the motive force behind the creation and evolution of life throughout the universe and by giving insight into life's apparent teleonomy and other unique characteristics. The results of these effectors, working in conjunction with the electromagnetic force, are summarized. Similarities in the evolution of animate and inanimate complex matter are explored to explain why life evolves in the universe. Characteristics considered unique to life (creation, metabolism, growth, reproduction, evolution, self and the logic of the metabolic machinery, together "teleonomy") are explained employing an expanded definition of complexity applicable to both sides of the animate-inanimate divide.


Pathological gambling has been sparsely studied from a sociological point of view, the phenomenon having usually been apprehended by psychologists and other specialists of mental disorders. The present study aims at testing the empirical validity of social theories on addiction, in particular the notions of weakness of will and time-discounting. Is the pathological gambler rational or irrational? This work hypothesizes that in a context of strong habit and of depreciation of themselves and their future gamblers may have good reasons to keep playing. Excessive players evolve in a social context that favors a strong attachment to the activity, despite their frequent desire to stop. Empirical evidences rely on semi-structured interviews with gamblers and ethnographic observations in Parisian horse-race betting shops (France) as well as on reports of interviews of pathological gamblers consulting at an addiction treatment centre. Results show that rational mechanisms partly explain excessive gambling behavior.


Text describes action on various war fronts: Italy, USSR, Germany, Central Pacific, Southwest Pacific, China, Plans.

Inset maps: central Italy, northeast New Guinea, Action areas in central and southwest Pacific, Truk Is., Nauru, Wotje, Jaluit, Makin, Tarawa.

Photographs: Australian Air Force Beaufighter, Sgt. Ben Kuroki of Hershey, Nebraska, Captured Soviet equipment, Rescued blindfolded Nazi. German built road in Isernia.

Back: Text and 11 illustrations highlight the 11 general orders that must be known by sentinels.


The study aimed to examine symptoms of hypochondriasis in relation to obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), by investigating the prevalence of hypochondriacal symptoms in OCD, the effect hypochondriacal symptoms has on OCD treatment outcome, and how OCD treatment affects hypochondriacal symptoms. Another objective of the study was to explore the role of metacognition in symptoms of hypochondria. A sample of 313 patients with a primary diagnosis of OCD and 382 community controls were compared on the Whiteley Index of hypochondriasis, the Metacognitions Questionnaire, and the Yale-Brown Obsessive- Compulsive Scale. Results showed that the prevalence of hypochondriasis symptoms was 30.7% in the OCD sample, significantly higher than in the control group. Furthermore, symptoms of hypochondria did not have a significant effect on OCD treatment outcome. Hypochondriacal symptoms improved moderately following OCD treatment. Finally, symptoms of hypochondriasis were found to be moderately correlated with metacognition and improvement in hypochondriasis was associated with changes in metacognitive beliefs. Implications for treatment and future research is discussed.


Resampling (typically, but not necessarily, bootstrapping) is a well-known stochastic technique for improving estimates in particular for small samples. It is known very efficient in many cases. Its drawback is that resampling leads to a compromise computational cost / stability through the number of resamplings. The computational cost is due to the study of multiple randomly drawn resam- ples. Intuitively, we want some more properly distributed resamples to improve the stability of resampling-based algorithms. Quasi-random numbers are a well- known technique for improving the convergence rate of data-based estimates. We here consider quasi-random version of resamplings. We apply this technique to BSFD, a data-mining algorithm for simultaneous-hypothesis-testing, to cross- validation, and to (su-)bagging, an ensemble method for learning. We present quasi-random numbers in section 2. We present bootstrap and a quasi-random version of bootstrap-sampling in section 3. We present experimental results in section 4.


&NA; Breast hypertrophy creates a functional disability, adversely affecting quality of life because of disproportionate upper body weight. No study to date has prospectively shown or statistically proved (using validated questionnaires) the functional benefits of breast reduction surgery. Moreover, no study has quantified the physical findings seen in these patients. A prospective trial was designed to illustrate objectively the functional benefits of breast reduction surgery and answer the question, Does surgically removing breast tissue in symptomatic patients (regardless of amount of tissute removed) improve their physical disabilities related to breast hypertrophy, and in turn, improve their quality of life? Fifty‐five consecutive patients with an average age of 38 years (range, 18 to 73 years) undergoing breast reduction surgery by the senior surgeon (L.A.C.) were recruited for this study. The North American Spine Society (NASS) Lumbar Spine Outcome Assessment Instrument was used to assess patients' disability, expectations for treatment, and satisfaction with treatment. The visual analogue scale was used to quantify pain intensity. Muscle strengths of the pectoralis major, pectoralis minor, rhomboid, middle trapezius, and lower trapezius muscles and postural measures were obtained. Information was collected preoperatively and 6 months postoperatively for comparison. The mean cumulative preoperative NASS Lumbar Spine Outcome Assessment Instrument disability score was 1.94 ± 0.68, and the mean cumulative postoperative disability score was 1.16 ± 0.35 (p = 0.0001); 96.1 percent of patients met expectations to a certain degree and, of these patients, 96 percent were very satisfied with their surgery. The mean cumulative baseline preoperative visual analogue score for all participants was 6.2 ± 2.06, and their mean cumulative postoperative score was 0.53 ± 0.88 (p = 0.0001). There was statistically significant improvement of muscle strength in the rhomboids, middle trapeziuts, and lower trapezius muscles (p < 0.001). All postural measures showed improvement postoperatively, with head translation and cranial rotation showing statistical improvement (p < 0.05). This single‐center, single‐surgeon breast reduction outcome study showed that the signs and symptoms of breast hypertrophy are definable in a consistent manner. By standardizing and quantifying preoperative and postoperative evaluations with validated questionnaires, validated pain scoring, and standardized muscle and posture testing, it was shown that breast reduction for symptomatic breast hypertrophy can effect a statistically significant improvement in these objective measures of pain, disability, muscle weakness, and poor posture. (Plast. Reconstr. Surg. 110: 1644, 2002.)


Sickle cell disease affects more than 100,000 individuals in the United States, among whom disease severity varies considerably. One factor that influences disease severity is the sickle cell disease genotype. For this reason, clinical prevention and treatment guidelines tend to differentiate between genotypes. However, previous research suggests caution when using a claimsbased determination of sickle cell disease genotype in healthcare quality studies. The objective of this study was to describe the extent of miscoding for the major sickle cell disease genotypes in hospital discharge data. Individuals with sickle cell disease were identified through newborn screening results or hemoglobinopathy specialty care centers, along with their sickle cell disease genotypes. These genotypes were compared to the diagnosis codes listed in hospital discharge data to assess the accuracy of the hospital codes in determining sickle cell disease genotype. Eighty-three percent (sickle cell anemia), 23% (Hemoglobin SC), and 31% (Hemoglobin Sβ+ thalassemia) of hospitalizations contained a diagnosis code that correctly reflected the individual's true sickle cell disease genotype. The accuracy of the sickle cell disease genotype coding was indeterminate in 11% (sickle cell anemia), 12% (Hemoglobin SC), and 7% (Hemoglobin Sβ+ thalassemia) and incorrect in 3% (sickle cell anemia), 61% (Hemoglobin SC), and 52% (Hemoglobin Sβ+ thalassemia) of the hospitalizations. The use of ICD-9-CM codes from hospital discharge data for determining specific sickle cell disease genotypes is problematic. Research based solely on these or other types of administrative data could lead to incorrect understanding of the disease.


Forensic psychology has developed and extended from an original, narrow focus on presenting evidence to the courts to a wider application across the whole span of civil and criminal justice, which includes dealing with suspects, offenders, victims, witnesses, defendants, litigants and justice professionals. This Handbook provides an encyclopedic-style source regarding the major concerns in forensic psychology. It is an invaluable reference text for practitioners within community, special hospital, secure unit, prison, probation and law enforcement forensic settings, as well as being appropriate for trainees and students in these areas. It will also serve as a companion text for lawyers and psychiatric and law enforcement professionals who wish to be apprised of forensic psychology coverage. Each entry provides a succinct outline of the topic, describes current thinking, identifies relevant consensual or contested aspects and alternative positions. Readers are presented with key issues and directed towards specialized sources for further reference.


This research studies the values of m-commerce using a qualitative means-ends approach, called Value-Focused Thinking. The conceptual foundation for this research is the Work System Framework. By interviewing both current and potential m-commerce users, we captured the values of m-commerce and develop a means-ends objective network to illustrate the relationships among these values. As one of the first empirical research to assess the values of m-commerce, this research contributes to an increased understanding of m-commerce. The means-ends objective network also serves as a theoretical foundation for future research in m-commerce. For practitioners, our findings highlight the concerns and issues of customers, which are valuable for strategy formulation in m-commerce.


This book covers all aspects of the roles and responsibilities of middle managers in all types of schools and is divided into two parts. Part 1 is based on all the elements contained in the National Standards for Subject Leaders, published by the Teacher Training Agency. Part 2 complements this, covering the practical aspects, including checklists and training exercises, for the professional development of middle managers and their teams. By covering the generic issues of middle management, the book can be used in primary, secondary and special schools, by heads of department, subject coordinators and by those aspiring to such positions. Senior managers should find value in the book in establishing agreed roles for their middle managers, and for use in school-based in-service training. The scarcity of existing publications in the area of middle management in schools means that the book should also be of value to others involved in the training and development of existing and aspiring middle managers.


Despite widespread acceptance of the spatial structure of ecosystems and the
spatial nature of processes acting within them, critical tests of the importance of
spatial phenomena to the structure and dynamics of ecosystems have not been
forthcoming. In most marine epibenthic communities, the single limiting resource is
space. Here I investigate the spatial dynamics of an epibenthic community in a
shallow subtidal system in Tasmania and a spatial model of this community to
examine how spatial process influences invasion resistance, stability, interactions
among species and the growth rates of individuals.
In Chapter 2 I examine the relationship between invasion resistance and species
richness in the natural community. The rate of invasion increases with local species
richness by two distinct mechanisms. Opportunistic colonisers invade species rich
patches at higher rates because speciose patches are dominated by small colonies and
mortality rates of small colonies are greater than that of large ones. Thus, mortality
provides bare space for opportunists to colonise more frequently in speciose patches.
However, some species avoid colonising free space but preferentially associate with
established colonies of particular other species. In this case, a given preferred
associate is more likely to occur in more species rich patches, and so colonisation
rates are greater in more speciose patches. In Chapter 3 the importance of spatial context on the outcomes of pair-wise
species interactions and neighbour-specific growth rates is examined. The outcomes
of competitive (overgrowth) interactions among species and neighbour-specific
growth rates in experimentally contrived pair-wise interactions are often dissimilar to
their counterparts in the non-manipulated natural community. I use a spatial model and its non-spatial equivalent to demonstrate that these differences in outcomes and
growth significantly affect predicted community dynamics.
In Chapter 4 I develop a spatial simulation model parameterised by empirical
observations of the recruitment, growth, interaction outcomes and mortality of the
natural community. I compare the model dynamics to the dynamics of manipulated
and non-manipulated natural communities. The model self-organises to form distinct
colonies and adequately captures many features of the short-term dynamics of
manipulated communities observed over a 16 month period, although some model
behaviours are not reflected in the natural community. When compared to the longerterm
dynamics of the non-manipulated communities (ca. 12 years), the model
accurately predicts the species evenness, diversity, size structure and multivariate
variance of these communities. None of these emergent features is evident from
equivalent non-spatial (mean field) models. In Chapter 5 I use the model developed and tested in chapter 3 to examine the
relationships between species richness, area, persistence stability of total cover,
resilience stability and invasion resistance. Communities occupying small areas are
less stable and less resilient than those in larger areas. While richness is positively
correlated with persistence stability in small landscapes (<900 cm 2), in larger
landscapes richness is negatively correlated with stability. Moreover, the stability of
landscapes is a strong determinant of invasibility. Thus, in landscapes .900 cm2 the
number of invasions increased with species richness. The underlying mechanisms are
emergent in the model and are the same as shown in Chapter 1. None of these features
arise in equivalent mean field models.
In conclusion, marine epibenthic communities have strong spatial dynamics and
processes. These can be represented accurately by spatial models which self-organise to form colonies. The dynamics of these models and of the natural communities are
contrary to much of established ecological theory. For example, the relationships
between richness and persistence stability, and between richness and invasion
resistance, depend on patch size, largely because patch size determines the extent of
spatial self-organising. For large patches (?_ 900 cm2) of a given size, both persistence
stability and invasion resistance decrease with species richness. This is an important
demonstration that community level properties such as stability and invasion
resistance are determined by the properties of the component species and the
emergent dynamics of each particular community, and are not an intrinsic function of
richness or any other aggregate property.


A new calix[4]pyrrole compound bearing an electropolymerizable EDOT substituent (1) was synthesized, and its electrochemical behavior was investigated. The anion sensor ability of 1 was also studied in solution and in the solid state. Compound 1 interacts with halide ions selectively in solution, which illustrates its possible application as an anion sensor. To test possible practical applications, 1 and EDOT were electropolymerized on an ITO electrode, and this electrode was used as an effective fluoride anion sensor in the solid state.


Traditional radio-based localization technologies all require the target object to carry a transmitter (e.g., active RFID), a receiver (e.g., 802.11x detector), or a transceiver (e.g., sensor node). In practice, however, such requirements can not be satisfied in many applications, such as security and surveillance, intrusion detection, outdoor asset protection, and location-aware applications. In this dissertation, I propose a new localization scheme called transceiver-free localization. The basic idea of transceiver-free localization is to utilize the change of wireless signals of different wireless links to locate the target object. I prove that the object detection behavior of each wireless link can be described by two models. They are called Signal-Dynamic (S-D) Model and Transmitter-Receiver (T-R) model. The former one is a deterministic model and the later one is a probabilistic model. T-R model presents many unique features and new requirements. Although it is derived from transceiver-free object localization, it presents promising generality which enable it be applied in a much broader scope of application, calling a revisit for most of coverage problems. Moreover, in order to serve different localization requirements and address the problem in centralized or distributed environments, I propose five localization algorithms called Midpoint, Intersection, Best-cover, Dynamic Clustering and RASS. The former 3 algorithms are based on centralized environment. Dynamic Clustering and RASS are able to locate multiple objects. I prove that RASS guaranteed tracking accuracy is bounded by only about 0.26s without sacrificing the accuracy and scalability. Experimental results show that these algorithms can have remarkable high accuracy up to 0.85m. At Last, our transceiver-free localization approaches can also be utilized to improve the accuracy of traditional transceiver-based approaches. Cocktail is a hybrid approach by using WSN and RFID technologies. Experiment results show that it can improve the accuracy of traditional pure RFID system by 75% in a large indoor area.
Keywords: wireless sensor networks, transceiver-free, RSSI, dynamic clustering, SVM, multi-channel, signal dynamic, T-R model, object detection probability


In a university introductory physics laboratory, the measurement of time constants in RC and LR circuits usually employ a conventional oscilloscope. The standard oscilloscope with its many knobs and switches often intimidate first-time users and can cause anxiety especially among non-physics and non-engineering majors. On the other hand, an iPad has a more familiar, less intimidating and friendlier touch-pad interface. We report our experience in using the iPad as a virtual oscilloscope in an introductory algebra-based physics laboratory course. We used a commercial electronic accessory called Oscium iMSO that turns the iPad into a virtual oscilloscope. Using blind surveys and direct observation, we report student responses to this pedagogical tool.


Contents: Introduction Part I Cross-Cultural Management: Expatriate Management: An extension of the U-curve hypothesis, John T. Gullahorn and Jeanne E. Gullahorn Serving 2 masters: managing dual allegiance of expatriate employees, J. Stewart Black and Hal B. Gregersen Selecting expatriates for personality characteristics: a moderating effect of personality on the relationship between host national contact and cross-cultural adjustment, Paula M. Caliguiri Think international manger, think male: why are women not selected for international management assignments?, Hilary Harris Expatriates and the impact of cross-cultural training, Nick Forster An exploratory assessment of the purpose of performance appraisals in North and Central America and the Pacific Rim, John Milliman, Stephen Nason, Cherrie Zhu and Helen De Cieri Rethinking international compensation, George T. Milkovich and Matt Bloom Identifying international assignees at risk for premature departure: the interactive effect of outcome favourability and procedural fairness, Ron Garonzik, Joel Brockner and Phyllis A. Siegel The persistent myth of high expatriate failure rates, Anne-Wil K. Harzing. Managing Cross-Culturally: Cross-cultural management research: the ostrich and the trend, Nancy J. Adler Adapting and adjusting to other cultures: what we know but don't always tell, Allan Bird, Joyce S. Osland, Mark Mendenhall and Susan C. Schneider Cross-cultural preparation of Australian expatriates in organisations in China: the need for greater attention to training, Kate Hutchings. Part II Comparative HRM: The cultural diversity of western conceptions of management, AndrA(c) Laurent Convergence or divergence: human resource practices and policies for competitive advantage worldwide, Paul Sparrow, Randall S. Schuler and Susan E. Jackson A cross-national comparative study of work-family stressors, working hours and well-being: China and Latin America versus the Anglo world, Paul E. Spector, Cary L. Cooper, Steven Poelmans, Tammy D. Allen, Michael O'Driscoll, Juan I. Sanchez, Oi Ling Siu, Phil Dewe, Peter Hart, Luo Lu, LA * cio FlA!vio Renault de Moraes, Gabrielle M. Ostrognay, Kate Sparks, Paul Wong and Shanfa Yu. Part III Internationalising HRM: Strategic Focus: The relationship between the global strategic planning process and the human resource management function, Edwin L. Miller, Schon Beechler, Bhal Bhatt and Raghu Nath An integrative framework of strategic international human resource management, Randall S. Schuler, Peter J. Dowling and Helen De Cieri Conceptualizing the global competency cube: a transitional model of human resources, Allen D. Engle Sr, Mark E. Mendenhall, Richard L. Powers and Yvonne Stedham. Diversity Management: Strategic human resource management: employee involvement, diversity, and international issues, Gary C. McMahan, Myrtle P. Bell and Meghna Virick Strategies for managing human resource diversity: from resistance to learning, Parshotam Dass and Barbara Parker. Global Teams: Use transnational teams to globalize your company, Charles C. Snow, Scott A. Snell, Sue Canney Davidson and Donald C. Hambrick Are virtual international assignments feasible?, Denice E. Welch, Verner Worm and Marilyn Fenwick. Global Integration: Converting global presence into global competitive advantage, Anil K. Gupta and Vijay Govindarajan HR issues and activities in mergers and acquisitions, Randall Schuler and Susan Jackson HRD in multinationals: the global/local mix, Olga Tregaskis, Noreen Heraty and Michael Morley Toward the boundaryless career: a closer look at the expatriate career concept and the perceived implications of an international assignment, GA nter K. Stahl, Edwin L. Miller and Rosalie L. Tung Creating and sustaining ethical capability in the multi-national corporation, Paul F. Buller and Glenn M. McEvoy Think global act local: from naive comparison to critical participation in the teaching of strategic international human resource management, Helen De Cieri, Julie Wolfman Cox and Marilyn S. Fenwick Index.


Protease/antiprotease imbalance is implicated in the pathogenesis of emphysema and may also lead to vessel wall weakening, aneurysm development, and rupture. However, it is unclear whether emphysema is associated with cerebral and aortic aneurysm rupture.

 We performed a retrospective cohort study using outpatient and inpatient claims data from 2008 to 2014 from a nationally representative sample of Medicare beneficiaries ≥66 years of age. Our predictor variable was emphysema, and our outcome was hospitalization for either aneurysmal subarachnoid hemorrhage or a ruptured aortic aneurysm. All predictors and outcomes were defined using previously reported
 International Classification of Diseases, Ninth Revision, Clinical Modification
 diagnosis code algorithms. Survival statistics and Cox regression were used to compare risk between patients with and without emphysema.

 We identified 1 670 915 patients, of whom 133 972 had a diagnosis of emphysema. During a mean follow-up period of 4.3 (±1.9) years, we identified 4835 cases of aneurysm rupture, 433 of which occurred in patients with emphysema. The annual incidence of aneurysm rupture was 6.5 (95% CI, 6.4–6.8) per 10 000 in patients without emphysema and 14.6 (95% CI, 13.3–16.0) per 10 000 in patients with emphysema. After adjustment for demographics and known risk factors for aneurysmal disease, emphysema was independently associated with aneurysm rupture (hazard ratio, 1.7; 95% CI, 1.5–1.9). Emphysema was associated with both aneurysmal subarachnoid hemorrhage (hazard ratio, 1.5; 95% CI, 1.3–1.7) and ruptured aortic aneurysm (hazard ratio, 2.3; 95% CI, 1.9–2.8).

 Patients with emphysema face an increased risk of developing subarachnoid hemorrhage and aortic aneurysm rupture, potentially consistent with shared pathways in pathogenesis.


SummaryHoney flavonoids were isolated by disposable C18 solid state extraction columns and determined by reversed phase HPLC. The main flavonoid in four samples of Swiss honeys (two of floral, and two of honeydew origin) was pinocembrin. Its concentration in honey varied between 2 and 3 ppm. The main flavonoid in two propolis samples of Swiss origin was pinocembrin and its average concentration was 10%.


American public education faces increasing pressure to carry out its mission of preparing youths with the skills to compete in today's global economy and to participate constructively in a democratic society. As part of this pressure, policymakers have developed increasingly sophisticated accountability and support systems to steer schools towards improved performance. These "new accountability" approaches emphasize student performance over system inputs, focus on schools rather than school districts as units of improvement, and use public reporting of student outcomes and rewards and sanctions as ways to motivate schools to alter their curriculum and instructional practices (Fuhrman, 1999). These strategies embody two key assumptions: (a) that accountability systems can be made powerful enough to influence the behavior of schools; and (b) that schools have or will develop the capacity to identify, select, and implement policies and practices that will improve their performance. Working under these assumptions, state and national policymakers have set academic goals, defined incentives, and provided supports, expecting that these actions would motivate schools to expend resources on improving organization, curriculum, and practice, and that schools' responses would improve educational programs and instruction and, in turn, improve student outcomes. State and national assessment results show that student performance in many elementary schools has improved over the last decade. Some researchers have argued that a portion of these gains can be attributed to the pressures generated by state accountability systems that have set standards, focused attention, and created stronger incentives for improved performance (Carnoy & Loeb, 2004; Grissmer & Flanagan, 1998; Grissmer, Flanagan, Kawata, & Williamson, 2000; Hanushek & Raymond, 2002). High schools, however, have not experienced the same positive effects, and we know little about how high school staff respond to new external accountability pressures. The study (Gross & Goertz, 2005) reviewed in this issue of CPRE Policy Briefs provides insight into how teachers and administrators in American public high schools are influenced by and attempt to address the problems posed by standards based state accountability systems. Our analysis builds upon earlier studies that used smaller and less representative samples of secondary schools (e.g., Carnoy, Elmore, & Siskin, 2003), sometimes agreeing with and sometimes challenging their conclusions about the effects of increased accountability and high schools.


We conducted an online survey to assess the potential effects of herbicide-tolerant (HT) and insect-resistant (IR) crops on integrated pest management (IPM) practices in the Western United States For HT crops, participants perceived a decrease in several IPM practices, including crop and herbicide rotations and the combined use of multiple weed control strategies. The most serious potential consequences were considered to be a shift in weed species composition and development of herbicide-resistant weeds. For IR crops, respondents perceived a beneficial reduction in application of both broad-spectrum and selective insecticides. The most significant issues for IR crops were believed to be potential development of target pest resistance and difficulties with management of insect refuges. The survey results support the need for continued emphasis on comprehensive strategies in IPM education programs to prolong the usefulness of HT and IR crops.


Abstract Many elderly people in Finland could increase they standard of living and receive more freedom of choice regarding long-term care by releasing part of their housing equity. The possibility to purchase reasonably priced life annuities and long-term care insurance would increase the benefits of housing equity release. However, there is virtually no market for such insurance in Finland. This report illustrates the benefits of life annuities and long-term care insurance, provides example of actuarially fair insurance pricing, and describes the conditions for this market to emerge. It argues that the government should support the emergence of an insurance market by clarifying the public welfare promise related to old age care and by promising not to seize private pension and long-term care insurance payouts e.g. via higher user fees for publicly provided long-term care.


Cheney Reservoir, the primary water supply for the city of Wichita in south-central Kansas, and its main source of inflow, the North Fork Ninnescah River, were sampled between 1997 and 2003 for sediment, nutrients, and the taste-and-odor-causing compounds geosmin and 2-methylisoborneol (MIB). It is believed that objectionable tastes and odors in Cheney Reservoir result from cyanobacteria (blue-green algae), and there is concern with proliferation of algal growth. Both nutrients and suspended solids affect algal growth and may be a concern for taste-and-odor issues. The transport of nutrients and suspended solids from the North Fork Ninnescah River to Cheney Reservoir was monitored as part of an effort to understand and thereby mitigate algal proliferation. The regression-estimated concentrations of total phosphorus in water entering the reservoir from the North Fork Ninnescah River during 2001–03 exceeded the base-flow, runoff, and long-term goals established by the Cheney Reservoir Task Force. Total suspended-solids concentrations in water from the North Fork Ninnescah River during 2001–03 generally exceeded long-term goals only during periods of runoff. Water samples from Cheney Reservoir were analyzed for geosmin and MIB, the two most common taste-and-odor causing compounds produced by cyanobacteria. MIB was rarely detected in samples, indicating that geosmin is likely the primary source of objectionable tastes and odors. Anabaena, a cyanobacterial genera often linked to taste-and-odor occurrences, was not statistically related to geosmin in Cheney Reservoir, which indicates that Anabaena abundance is not linearly related to geosmin concentration or that other cyanobacteria are producing geosmin. Regression models were developed between geosmin and the physical property measurements continuously recorded by water-quality monitors at each site. The geosmin regression model was applied to water-quality monitor measurements, providing a continuous estimate of geosmin for 2003. The city of Wichita will be able to use this type of analysis to determine the probability of when concentrations of geosmin are likely to be at or above the human detection level of 0.01 microgram per liter.


Pulsatile brain motion is considered to be an important mechanical link between blood and cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) dynamics. Like many severe brain diseases, different types of hydrocephalus are associated with impairment of these dynamics. In this work a cine displacement‐encoded imaging method employing stimulated echoes (DENSE) and a three‐dimensional (3D) segmented echo‐planar imaging (EPI) readout for brain motion measurements in all three spatial directions is presented. Displacement‐encoded data sets of 12 healthy volunteers were analyzed with respect to reproducibility, periodicity, and intra‐ as well as intersubject physiological consistency. In addition, displacement values were compared with data derived from phase‐contrast (PC) velocity measurements in a subset of all measured subjects. Using DENSE, displacements as low as 0.01 mm could be detected and observation of the 3D pulse pressure wave propagation was possible. Among other parameters, peak displacements in the central brain regions were measured: feet–head (FH): thalamus (0.13 ± 0.01 mm); right–left (RL): thalamus (0.06 ± 0.01 mm); and anterior–posterior (AP): caudate nucleus (0.05 ± 0.01 mm). Magn Reson Med 61:153–162, 2009. © 2008 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.


Receptor endocytosis, once thought to be primarily a mechanism for terminating receptor signaling, is now known to be required for certain signals propagated by the epidermal growth factor receptor and some G protein-coupled receptors. Penheiter et al. examined the role of endocytosis in signaling from the transforming growth factor-β (TGF-β) receptor. The authors used incubation at low temperature, depletion of potassium, or expression of a dominant negative mutant of dynamin 2ab to inhibit endocytosis in mink lung epithelial cells. They found that phosphorylation of the activated type 1 TGF-β receptor and recruitment of SARA (Smad anchor for receptor activation) and Smad2 occurred normally in response to ligand binding, even when endocytosis was blocked. However, phosphorylation of Smad2, translocation of Smad 3 to the nucleus, and activation of gene transcription (which are all normally consequences of receptor activation) did not occur when endocytosis was inhibited. Thus the later events in Smad signaling appear to occur only after vesicles are pinched off from the membrane into endosomes. S. G. Penheiter, H. Mitchell, N. Garamszegi, M. Edens, J. J. E. Doré Jr., E. B. Leof, Internalization-dependent and -independent requirements for transforming growth factor β receptor signaling via the Smad pathway. Mol. Cell. Biol. 22, 4750-4759 (2002). [Abstract] [Full Text]


Electrical resistivity tomography (ERT), during the past few years, has emerged as a potentially cost‐effective, noninvasive tool for imaging changes of moisture content in the vadose zone. The accuracy of ERT surveys, however, has been the subject of debate because of its nonunique inverse solution and spatial variability in the constitutive relation between resistivity and moisture content. In this paper, an integrative inverse approach for ERT, based on a stochastic information fusion concept of Yeh and Šimůnek, was developed to derive the best unbiased estimate of the moisture content distribution. Unlike classical ERT inversion approaches, this new approach assimilates prior information about the geological and moisture content structures in a given geological medium, as well as sparse point measurements of the moisture content, electrical resistivity, and electric potential. Using these types of data and considering the spatial variability of the resistivity–moisture content relation, the new approach directly estimates three‐dimensional moisture content distributions instead of simply changes in moisture content in the vadose zone. Numerical experiments were conducted to investigate the effect of uncertainties in the prior information on the estimate. The effects of spatial variability in the constitutive relation were then examined on the interpretation of the change in moisture content, based on the change in electrical resistivity from the ERT survey. Finally, the ability of the integrative approach was tested by directly estimating moisture distributions in three‐dimensional, heterogeneous vadose zones. Results show that the integrative approach can produce accurate estimates of the moisture content distributions and that incorporating some measurements of the moisture content is essential to improve the estimate.


Gregory Bateson construes mental process as the flow and transform of differences in a system whether the system be a single human or a complex ecology. Stuart Kauffman uses NK Boolean systems to model the self-organization of order in biological evolution. Because the Boolean base (0, 1) maps to Bateson's idea of difference, we are able explore new implications of Bateson's epistemology using a Boolean system. This paper will map Bateson's difference-based epistemology to nonlinear dynamic systems theory (NDS); more specifically we will use a Boolean simulation model (E42) to examine and extend his deep epistemological insight that the relations between double (multiple) descriptions generate new knowledge where, following Bateson's definition of mental process, a "description" is a specific flow of differences in a network. This connects Bateson to mathematical developments in NDS theory and makes explicit implications derived from Bateson's work. We will present perceptual demonstrations of how the relations between double descriptions generate knowledge in two very different realms: Form perception and hierarchies of knowledge. In the first realm, we will propose a perceptual model in which dynamic visual form self-organizes from the phase relations between two such descriptions. Using Java applets generated by the freely available, open-source E42 simulation software, we will demonstrate perceptually how dynamic form perception emerges from the phase relations between what can be called systemic processes (the flow of differences in the system itself) and representational processes (the flow of differences that generate perceptual experience of the system's behavior). Moreover the relations between systemic and representational processes will be of two kinds: visual forms that code fundamental characteristics of the system itself versus visual forms that arise solely from the relationship of systemic process and representational process; the latter are not map-able to any characteristics of the system per se. We will call the first kind of form "fundamental forms" and the second "derivative forms." Regarding the second realm, Bateson proposes that differences themselves differ and that categorizing the differences in differences produces a hierarchy of knowledge. We will demonstrate that taking differences in differences in the flow of differences in a Boolean system results in perceptual hierarchies in visual perception. In this second realm, the first description is defined as any flow of differences in a system while the second description is defined as the flow of differences that are generated by taking the differences in the differences in the first flow. The perceptual hierarchies (in the context of the Boolean model) will allow us to define precisely the distinction between ideas about the evolutionary processes that generate the emergence of biological forms in evolution and ideas about the mental processes that generate the hierarchies we use to categorize those biological forms (e.g. Chordata, Aves, Corvidae, Ravens).

If you have hard copy, all the links can be found by searching www.pysch.utah.edu/dynamic_systems (there is an underscore between dynamic and systems). Preview dynamic form applets at:

www.psych.utah.edu/dynamic_systems/exemplar1

at: www.psych.utah.edu/dynamic_systems/exemplar2

and at: www.psych.utah.edu/dynamic_systems/exemplar3

Certain browsers in combination with certain operating systems require a Java plugin. (Click here to Get Java plugin or go to http://java.com/en/)


Reliability is considered the most important attribute of transit service by passengers. There are congested transit environments wherein even if a transit service is perfectly on schedule it is termed unreliable from a passenger's perspective when they are unable to board the first service of their choice set. The phenomenon 'failure to board' arises in congested transit networks having strict physical capacity constraints wherein the transit service cannot take in passengers beyond its capacity. This results in some of the passengers being left waiting for the next service at the transit stops.
The existing transit assignment models; be it hyperpath based effective frequency models, Bureau of Public Roads (BPR) based route section models or aggregate stochastic process models with strict capacity constraints, all assume that the passengers have perfect knowledge of the network seldom discussing the sources of such information. In the current thesis this assumption is renounced and a reliability based disaggregate stochastic process model with strict capacity constraints (R-DSPM) using route section approach is proposed such that each passenger in the absence of information updates his/her route choice based on their individual experience. Though the aggregate stochastic process model implements the strict capacity constraint for each transit service generated; the model along with the assumption of perfect knowledge of the network assumes that the passengers are risk neutral. The proposed R-DSPM implements a strict capacity constraint for each transit service generated thereby accounting for failure to board situation in congested network. The proposed model differs from the existing aggregate stochastic process model in its assumption of risk averse passengers. Risk aversion in R-DSPM considers variance associated with:- interarrival times of transit service at the transit stop; the waiting time of passengers due to the 'failure to board' condition; the in-vehicle travel times of routes comprising of route sections containing more than one attractive line section and the variable demand generated for each day's travel. The risk aversion of each passenger is accounted for in R-DSPM through the linear combination of mean total travel time and total travel variance (mean-variance) and a linear combination of mean total travel time and expected lateness (mean-lateness). A generic day to day framework is developed with markovian properties such that it enables the integration of both mean-variance and mean-lateness costs with ease and results in a unique stationary distribution of costs and flows for each route.
The proposed R-DSPM thus accounts for: strict capacity constraints of transit vehicle, passengers learning process, risk aversion of passengers, differences in passenger perceptions, day to day variability in demand and supply of transit network. The micro simulation framework shows through implementation on example networks that while accounting for passenger's risk aversion the R-DSPM is able to arrive at a unique stationary distribution irrespective of its initial conditions. The sensitivity of the proposed R-DSPM with strict capacity constraint under different parameter assumptions has been carried out .
A calibration of the parameters involved in the route section based BPR styled cost function and the hyperpath based effective frequency cost function using the proposed R-DSPM indicates that different congestion function parameters are required for different sections of a transit network. It is also shown through implementation on an example network that the proposed R-DSPM framework enables the passengers to learn about the reliability of routes and strategies. At higher dispersion values R-DSPM assign risk averse passengers such that the standard deviation of flows and experienced total travel time on various routes and strategies are lesser than that obtained by accounting for risk aversion using the aggregate stochastic process models.
The impact of accounting for risk aversion on various policy measures that could be carried out by the operators to improve the waiting time reliability of passengers is also assessed using the proposed R-DSPM with strict capacity constraints. It is shown that for certain parameter assumptions and for certain policy measures the assumption of risk aversion in transit assignment could result in an entirely different reliability profile from that of an assignment process assuming risk neutral passengers. The implementation of the proposed R-DSPM with strict capacity constraints on a real network has been carried out on a section of London underground and several possible policy measures have been evaluated. The evaluation of policies has further emphasised the need to consider the risk aversion in passengers especially to account for the number of passengers preferring to make a transfer (in absence of transfer penalty) at the transfer stops to minimise their risk aversion costs.


Utilizing ∼50 ks of Chandra X-Ray Observatory imaging, we present an analysis of the intracluster medium (ICM) and cavity system in the galaxy cluster RBS 797. In addition to the two previously known cavities in the cluster core, the new and deeper X-ray image has revealed additional structure associated with the active galactic nucleus (AGN). The surface brightness decrements of the two cavities are unusually large and are consistent with elongated cavities lying close to our line of sight. We estimate a total AGN outburst energy and mean jet power of ≈(3–6) × 1060 erg and ≈(3–6) × 1045 erg s−1, respectively, depending on the assumed geometrical configuration of the cavities. Thus, RBS 797 is apparently among the most powerful AGN outbursts known in a cluster. The average mass accretion rate needed to power the AGN by accretion alone is ∼1 M☉ yr−1. We show that accretion of cold gas onto the AGN at this level is plausible, but that Bondi accretion of the hot atmosphere is probably not. The brightest cluster galaxy (BCG) harbors an unresolved, non-thermal nuclear X-ray source with a bolometric luminosity of ≈2 × 1044 erg s−1. The nuclear emission is probably associated with a rapidly accreting, radiatively inefficient accretion flow. We present tentative evidence that star formation in the BCG is being triggered by the radio jets and suggest that the cavities may be driving weak shocks (M ∼ 1.5) into the ICM, similar to the process in the galaxy cluster MS 0735.6+7421.


The Americas Business Dialogue (ABD) is a private sector led initiative facilitated by the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) aimed at fostering a high-level public-private policy dialogue between business and government leaders of the Americas on the region's priorities, challenges, and opportunities for economic growth and development. In this report, the ABD makes 42 recommendations
across five key themes: strengthening transparency and integrity, digitizing growth, trading for tomorrow, powering development and upskilling for the future. These recommendations are made in the spirit of democratic governance against corruption and increased transparency in the region.


We examine various approaches to explaining ethnic enterprise, using a framework based on three dimensions: an ethnic group's access to opportunities, the characteristics of a group, and emergent strategies. A common theme pervades research on ethnic business: Ethnic groups adapt to the resources made available by their environments, which vary substantially across societies and over time. Four issues emerge as requiring greater attention: the reciprocal relation between ethnicity and entrepreneurship, more careful use of ethnic labels and categories in research, a need for more multigroup, comparative research, and more process-oriented research designs.


A fungal strain TL-12 was isolated from one hundred fifty fungal isolates obtained from oily soil samples. Initially fourteen isolates exhibited lipase activity and a promising strain TL-12 with extra-cellular lipase activity was identified as Aspergillus species and selected for further development. This strain was improved by physical and chemical mutagenesis to obtain a consistently high producer of extra-cellular lipase. UV, EMS and NTG methods were employed sequentially for the enhancement of extra cellular lipase production. Higher lipase producing UV mutants were subjected to EMS and then the higher lipase producing EMS mutants were further treated with NTG to obtain the high lipase yielding strain. The lipase activity increased up to 175%, 340% and 575% respectively, by UV, EMS and NTG treatments compared to the parent strain. The resulting improved strain labeled as Aspergillus TL-12(3) bears high potential for industrial applications. Lipase produced by this strain has a novel catalyzing activity to cleave the amide bond of penicillin G (benzyl penicillin) side chain to produce 6 amino penicillinic acid.


Background: Foot structure and range of motion have been linked to lower limb musculoskeletal injuries in sports medicine, 11,14,41 and recently there have been attempts to establish a connection between the foot and lower limb osteoarthritis (OA). 19,13 Considering the fact that OA of the knee and hip are the most important causes of pain and disability in older people, 12,25 it is surprising that there has been no research comparing the foot types of those with knee OA and those with hip OA. To evaluate an apparent difference in the feet and gaits of patients with hip OA and medial compartment OA of the knee that was noted during routine clinical assessment, a prospective observation study was undertaken. Methods: The study included patients with OA either of the hip or the medial compartment of the knee and a control group of healthy subjects. There were 60 in each group determined by sample size calculation. The groups were matched for age and gender. Dorsiflexion and plantarflexion of the ankle, calcaneal angle, and navicular height in both sitting and standing were measured. Results were analyzed by ANOVA and linear regression analysis. Results: There were significant differences among all three groups, particularly in ankle dorsiflexion (p >0.001) and calcaneal angle (p >0.001). Conclusions: Differences in foot type between patients with OA of hip and knee were confirmed. These two groups also were different from the control group of healthy subjects. The lack of ankle dorsiflexion and high arches of patients with OA of the hip contrasted with the ample dorsiflexion and flatfeet of patients with OA of the knee.


In this paper we propose a concept of rationalizable solution for two-player decision-form games: the solution by iterated elimination of non-reactive strategies. Several original theorems are proved about this kind of solution. We study the relations between solutions by iterated elimination of non reactive strategies and game equilibria. We present an existence theorem for bistrategies surviving the iterated elimination and an existence theorem for solution by iterated elimination in contracting games. We, also, show that an equilibrium of a game survives iterated elimination of non-reactive strategies. At the end we prove a characterization of solvability by iterated elimination of non-reactive strategies.


Aim: Vitamin D deficiency has been linked to impaired glucose metabolism. We investigated the relationship between serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D (25[OH]D) and glycaemic control in gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM). Methods: Retrospective analysis of prospectively collected data (Feb-2011 to Apr2013) on women diagnosed with GDM by ADIPS criteria: fasting blood glucose level (BGL) ≥5.5 mmol/L and/or 2-hour BGL ≥8.0 mmol/L on 75 g oral glucose tolerance test (oGTT) at 24-28 weeks, with glycated haemoglobin (HbA1c) and 25[OH]D collected shortly thereafter. Results: A total of 628 women from diverse ethnic backgrounds: (31.4% South-East Asian, 23.4% European, 23.2% Middle Eastern, 15.3% Indian/Pakistani, 6.7% Other), with GDM diagnosed at a mean±SD 24.6±6.1 (range 4-38) weeks gestation. Vitamin D deficiency prevalence (below 2013 ANZBMS guideline target of 50 nmol/L) was high: 48.2% (303 women); degree of deficiency 61%, 34% and 5% for mild (3049nmol/L), moderate (12.5-29nmol/L) and severe (<12.5nmol/L) respectively. 25[OH]D was negatively associated with fasting BGL (Spearman r =-0.22, p<0.001) and HbA1c (r =-0.20, p<0.001). Women with vitamin D deficiency had statistically significantly higher gravida, parity, pre-pregnancy BMI, number of GDM risk factors, were more likely to require insulin therapy (39.9% versus 26.8%), and had more LGA babies compared to vitamin D sufficient women. There were no differences in the women's age, gestation at GDM diagnosis, 2-hour BGL on oGTT, pregnancy weightgain, gestational age at delivery, caesarean delivery, or oGTT/HbA1c at 6-8 week post-partum follow-up, between vitamin D deficient and sufficient sub-groups. Conclusion: Our study identified a high prevalence of vitamin D deficiency in a multi-ethnic population of GDM women, and that the vitamin D level was inversely associated with fasting glucose and HbA1c. Apart from greater insulin requirement and more LGA babies, there were no other differences in birth outcomes or follow-up glucose tolerance in the sub-groups of vitamin D deficient or sufficient women. Further exploration of these findings is warranted. Reference 1. Serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D and glycated haemoglobin levels in women with gestational diabetes mellitus. SL Lau, JE Gunton, NP Athayde, K Byth and NW Cheung. MJA 4 April 2011; 194(7); 334-337.


In this paper the practical design of coastal mobile bed models is considered. The semi-theoretical approach expressed by the author in earlier publications (9,10,11,12) is extended and used to classify and design coastal models. Fixed bed coastal models are discussed first to form a basis for the argument. Subsequently, mobile bed models are classified according to criteria of dynamic similarity satisfied in their design and scale effects present in their operation. Basic scale laws are next derived for all classifications of coastal models. This is done for both inshore and offshore models, the distinction being brought about by adjusting the velocity scales for unidirectional (and long wave) motion. Time and sediment transport scales are next derived and some well known models are compared. The presence of bedform and model distortion is also treated. The work is compared with that of other authors.


A key host response to limit microbial spread is the induction of cell death when foreign nucleic acids are sensed within infected cells. In mouse macrophages, transfected DNA or infection with modified vaccinia virus Ankara (MVA) can trigger cell death via the absent in melanoma 2 (AIM2) inflammasome. In this article, we show that nonmyeloid human cell types lacking a functional AIM2 inflammasome still die in response to cytosolic delivery of different DNAs or infection with MVA. This cell death induced by foreign DNA is independent of caspase-8 and carries features of mitochondrial apoptosis: dependence on BAX, APAF-1, and caspase-9. Although it does not require the IFN pathway known to be triggered by infection with MVA or transfected DNA via polymerase III and retinoid acid-induced gene I-like helicases, it shows a strong dependence on components of the DNA damage signaling pathway: cytosolic delivery of DNA or infection with MVA leads to phosphorylation of p53 (serines 15 and 46) and autophosphorylation of ataxia telangiectasia mutated (ATM); depleting p53 or ATM with small interfering RNA or inhibiting the ATM/ATM-related kinase family by caffeine strongly reduces apoptosis. Taken together, our findings suggest that a pathway activating DNA damage signaling plays an important independent role in detecting intracellular foreign DNA, thereby complementing the induction of IFN and activation of the AIM2 inflammasome.


Clients of wealth management banks are usually informed about their portfolio through regular reporting. To maintain client trust, it is important that this reporting be both comprehensive and comprehensible. This reporting is grounded on complex mathematics in order to calculate myriads of profit and loss, performance and risk indicators. As the amount of information provided to clients increases so does the chance that certain elements will be confusing to them, at the risk of undermining their confidence in their wealth management bank. This risk is compounded by the general increase in portfolios of complex financial products involving different time horizons. The reporting is typically a decision aid tool for the client to monitor and control and make investment decisions. One example of such risk is that the calculated risk and performance indicators are delivered to the client with no explanation and can, in some cases, lead to incorrect perception due to misunderstanding of these numbers, even if calculations are correct. A typical example could be that the client is informed that the performance of the portfolio is 7% and in reality, the portfolio is losing money. In this paper, we want to address this kind of problem. As such we have identified a set of typical pitfalls that we are faced within the profession. Then, based on a rigorous reference to the scientific literature we have popularized these pitfalls and employed a series of simple and didactic illustrations to provide an appropriate toolbox in order to reduce the risk of financial reporting misunderstanding. In order to maintain client confidence, we highlight the importance of identifying areas of potential misunderstanding prior to providing reports to clients and of offering clear explanations for unusual numbers. We address the following themes: Profit and Loss Analysis, Performance Calculation, Performance Contribution, Realized and Unrealized Profits and Losses, and Bond Yields.


The research in urban hydrology in Switzerland does not result from a national organized and planned will, to solve hydrological problems (quantity and quality) due to urbanization. In that case, we understand by urban hydrology the study of the runoff directly related with the precipitations, excluding the study of domestic and industrial waters. The urban hydrology is not only studied for cities. In fact, if the main urbanization's factor is the soil's imperviousness, then, there is urbanization in the rural zones brought about by the simple fact of a fast evolution in the cultural practices and of a high density in the construction of rural roads and works against erosion. Due to the scale of Switzerland, which is a very small country, the study of the small rural watersheds presents a very great analogy with the study of the urban watersheds.


SEMI AUTONOMOUS VEHICLE INTELLIGENCE: REAL TIME TARGET TRACKING FOR VISION GUIDED AUTONOMOUS VEHICLES Jonathan D. Anderson Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering Master of Science Unmanned vehicles (UVs) are seeing more widespread use in military, scientific, and civil sectors in recent years. These UVs range from unmanned air and ground vehicles to surface and underwater vehicles. Each of these different UVs has its own inherent strengths and weaknesses, from payload to freedom of movement. Research in this field is growing primarily because of the National Defense Act of 2001 mandating that onethird of all military vehicles be unmanned by 2015. Research using small UVs, in particular, is a growing because small UVs can go places that may be too dangerous for humans. Because of the limitations inherent in small UVs, including power consumption and payload, the selection of light weight and low power sensors and processors becomes critical. Low power CMOS cameras and real-time vision processing algorithms can provide fast and reliable information to the UVs. These vision algorithms often require computational power that limits their use in traditional general purpose processors using conventional software. The latest developments in field programmable gate arrays (FPGAs) provide an alternative for hardware and software co-design of complicated realtime vision algorithms. By tracking features from one frame to another, it becomes possible to perform many different high-level vision tasks, including object tracking and following. This thesis describes a vision guidance system for unmanned vehicles in general and the FPGA hardware implementation that operates vision tasks in real-time. This guidance system uses an object following algorithm to provide information that allows the UV to follow a target. The heart of the object following algorithm is real-time rank transform, which transforms the image into a more robust image that maintains the edges found in the original image. A minimum sum of absolute differences algorithm is used to determine the best correlation between frames, and the output of this correlation is used to update the tracking of the moving target. Control code can use this information to move the UV in pursuit of a moving target such as another vehicle.


The Nigerian video film industry has done well in the last two decades. UNESCO (2012) reported the industry (also known as 'Nollywood') was the second largest in the world based on the quantity of films produced per year. In its most recent report UNESCO (2013) excluded Nollywood from its analysis of emerging film markets, widely attributed to the presence of semi-professional/informal productions and high levels of piracy. Piratical and informal economies are, however, syncretic with the formal economy of Nigerian film. It has both benefitted and suffered from their impact. The emergence of 'New Nollywood', has sought to deal with these challenges. Opportunities have arisen which provide positive markers for emergent local and global markets in the sector. By close empirical analysis of Cinema Kpatakpata's award winning feature Confusion Na Wa, this paper critically analyzes the role played by: digital disruption, day-and-date release, creative licensing, and Netflix expansion to African content. The findings show that: VOD and day-and-date have great potential to disrupt control of the value/distribution chain by infamous marketers. Independent filmmakers benefit from flexible and creative use of new distribution, and modernized IPR provisions capable of handling change.


Abstract This article examines the value of the African Union Convention for the Protection and Assistance of Internally Displaced Persons in Africa (Kampala Convention) in the general quest for the regional and global protection of internally displaced persons (IDPs). It contends that the absence of a globally binding legal instrument for the protection of IDPs underlines the importance of the Kampala Convention and the possible contribution it can make to global and regional efforts to create a binding legal framework for the protection of IDPs. While recognizing some challenges that may impact the full implementation of the Convention, the article concludes by noting its various positive elements that are invaluable in overall efforts to create a comprehensive global legal framework to enhance protection of IDPs.


Objective: Drug allergies are drug-hypersensitivity reactions that are assumed to be seen frequently in practice and affect quality of life considerably. The aim of this study is to investigate the effect of drugallergy on quality of life. Materials and Methods: A total of 100 patients, between 18-70 years of age, who referred to our center with drug allergy were evaluated prospectively. During assessment of patients, a questionnaire including socio-demographic characteristics and a Short Form-36 (SF-36) Quality of Life Scale were used. Results: Of our patients 76% were women, 24% were males and mean age was 38.56 ± 11.03 years. The physical, social and emotional role components of SF-36 were found to be decreased in all areas in women. When the score dispersion of quality of life subscale according to education level was examined, the "physical function" subscale was found lower only in elementary school and lesser education areas. Conclusion: In present study it was observed that drug allergy had affected the quality of life of both genders; however its influence over women was more prominent.


The purpose from this research is to know the strategy marketing be efficient to use for Grage Horizon Hotel Bengkulu in face competition inter inn service in Bengkulu With to analysis internal area and externals company. The tools analysis which use for to know the strategy which has made by this company are with can use tools analysis EFAS (External Factory Analysis Summary) and IFAS (Internal Factory Analysis Summary) and then interned to matrix Strength, Weakness, Opportunities, and Threat (SWOT) to get and know the strategy which can apply or make in this company. According the result of this research and discussion can be concluded that Grage
Horizon Hotel Bengkulu has score 2.90 in factor internal and 2.40 in factor external it means that the company there is on average position. Grage Horizon Hotel Bengkulu also must maintain and improve which has done. The increase of promotion activity, corporation with government by means of program which have made by government, increase of quality service, that all very good if will be the winner in competition. There is strategy appropriate with Grage Horizon Hotel Bengkulu is strategy penetration market. Service industry hotel grow up and many competitor cannot show certain and different superiority. From the research above can be concluded that competition in tourism industry especially service hotel management will more tight. Where ever the effort agent to compete take consumer with show the superiority which they have. Because of that, from Grage Horizon Hotel Bengkulu must straighten up in order have get many consumer with improve company resources, improve quality product and service and also can see the opportunity which not see yet by another competitor.


Specific cellular binding proteins for retinol and retinoic acid from mammalian and avian species may mediate the action of retinoids in the control of epithelial differentiation, growth and tumorigenesis. Parasite retinol-binding protein (PRBP) and parasite retinoic acid-binding protein (PRABP) isolated and characterized from parasitic worms of the family Filarioidea might be involved in some possible action of vitamin A compounds in these parasites. Ivermectin, a potent and widely used anti-parasitic drug, competes efficiently with retinol for retinol-binding sites on PRBP, but not for the host-tissue retinol-binding-protein sites. The drug has no affinity for retinoic acid-binding proteins from either parasite or host tissues. Binding studies using radiolabelled ivermectin and retinol reveal that ivermectin has a higher affinity than retinol for PRBP. A correlation exists between the binding affinities of ivermectin analogues and their anti-parasitic activities. A binding-protein-mediated interrelationship may exist between the actions of retinol and ivermectin in the parasites, but not in the host tissues.


The effect of Mach number on the growth of unstable disturbances in a boundary layer undergoing a strong interaction with an impinging oblique shock wave is studied by direct numerical simulation and linear stability theory (LST). To reduce the number of independent parameters, test cases are arranged so that both the interaction location Reynolds number (based on the distance from the plate leading edge to the shock impingement location for a corresponding inviscid flow) and the separation bubble length Reynolds number are held fixed. Small-amplitude disturbances are introduced via both white-noise and harmonic forcing and, after verification that the disturbances are convective in nature, linear growth rates are extracted from the simulations for comparison with parallel flow LST and solutions of the parabolized stability equations (PSE). At Mach 2.0, the oblique modes are dominant and consistent results are obtained from simulation and theory. At Mach 4.5 and Mach 6.85, the linear Navier-Stokes results show large reductions in disturbance energy at the point where the shock impinges on the top of the separated shear layer. The most unstable second mode has only weak growth over the bubble region, which instead shows significant growth of streamwise structures. The two higher Mach number cases are not well predicted by parallel flow LST, which gives frequencies and spanwise wave numbers that are significantly different from the simulations. The PSE approach leads to good qualitative predictions of the dominant frequency and wavenumber at Mach 2.0 and 4.5, but suffers from reduced accuracy in the region immediately after the shock impingement. Three-dimensional Navier-Stokes simulations are used to demonstrate that at finite amplitudes the flow structures undergo a nonlinear breakdown to turbulence. This breakdown is enhanced when the oblique-mode disturbances are supplemented with unstable Mack modes.


The Buen Retiro, a royal retreat and pleasure palace, was built for Philip IV on the outskirts of Madrid in the 1630s. With its superb display of paintings by Vel zquez and other contemporary artists, the palace became a showcase for the art and culture of Spain's Golden Age. "A Palace for a King", first published in 1980, provides a pioneering total history of the construction, decoration, and uses of a major royal palace, emphasising the relationship of art and politics at a critical moment in European history. In this extensively revised edition, the authors review the scholarship produced on different aspects of the history of the palace and its decoration since the 1970s. A number of new, unpublished illustrations have been added, and many of the plates are now reproduced in colour. The publication of this edition gains added importance from the fact that plans for the expansion of the Prado Museum include the restoration of the Hall of Realms to approximate its original appearance, as reconstructed in this volume.


Arabian Jazz deals with the family of the Jordanian immigrant Matussem Ramoud, a fan of jazz who lives with his two American-born daughters, Jemorah and Melvina, in a poor, white community in upper New York state. He struggles with his Arab background and the loss of his wife and finds momentary relief only in playing music. Fatima, Matussem's sister, works hard to make Jemorah and Melvina follow the conventions of their Arab background, her main goal being to get these girls married to fellow Arabs. The plot details the interactions of the Ramouds' extended family and also looks closely at how a small American town treats the Arab-American community. The novel focuses on Matussem's daughters' struggle with their mixed American and Arab identity, particularly Jemorah's ambivalence about her identity and role. The purpose of this essay is to attempt a feminist examination of Arabian Jazz as a major work of Arab-American women's literature, while recognizing in the meantime the mixture of Arab and American cultures in Abu-Jaber's work. Arabian Jazz, this essay will hopefully reveal, offers a hybridized feminist vision that criticizes patriarchal Arab and American cultural attitudes. The essay attempts to show how Abu-Jaber employs major feminist strategies as she deals with the stereotypes of women in masculine culture and, simultaneously, underlines how her feminist concerns respond to or deviate from mainstream feminist theory. The result is a dual feminist perception that constitutes a hybridizing Arab-American feminist stance approached in the light of major theories of cultural hybridity. Working in the shadow of postcolonial theory, Edward Said presented his conception of hybridity as a notion of "protective enclosure" and a reaction against the stigmatizing "imperial process" (xiv). Likewise, Roger Bromley argues that "hybridised discourses are writing very much against the idea of a melting pot or mosaic [...] and, if anything, are sites of cultural resistance and refusal," a matter Bromley relates to Gloria Anzaldua's concepts of borderland and the new mestiza, which represent the development of a context for "a tolerance for contradictions" or pluralities. These pluralities result in what are called "hyphenated identities, living hybrid realities which pose problems for classification" and raise "questions about notions of essential difference" (4-5). As regards Arab-American identity, Carol Fadda-Conrey argues that the hyphen in the term Arab-American "replicates this complexity of 'cultural realities,' instead of mirroring a 'well formulated synthesis'" (204). That is, the hyphen suggests that the word Arab is not a modifier for the word American but is instead an equal part, with the hyphen representing a bridge between the two words. While "the hyphen implies a well-formulated and/or single synthesis of the Arab and American," Mervat Hatem claims, it does not sort out the "complex realities of the community" ("Invisible" 386). Homi Bhabha, on the other hand, underlines the rise of "internationalism" and the establishment of a "middle passage" within which a new "imagined community" arises, a community in which cultures may interact and influence each other in a state of co-existence rather than opposition--that is, a "third space," defined as "the cutting edge of translation and negotiation, the in between space" that is rooted in "the politics of polarity" and leads people to "emerge as others of ourselves" (38-39). Writers with hyphenated identities, Bromley asserts, experience "contradictions and ambivalences, split between home and school languages, physically and racially marked as others" (104-05), an experience that is "marginal" or "between cultures" (115). Bromley's emphasis on location recalls The Location of Culture, in which Bhabha contends that "the social articulation of difference," or hybridity, takes place "in moments of historical transformation" (2), by which a "discourse of boundary" turns into "a matter of 'becoming' (negotiation, perhaps) as well as 'being' (maintenance, perhaps)" (9). …


Future flood frequency for the upper Truckee River basin (UTRB) is assessed using non-stationary extreme value models and design-life risk methodology. Historical floods are simulated at two UTRB gauge locations, Farad and Reno, using the Variable Infiltration Capacity (VIC) model and non-stationary Generalized Extreme Value (GEV) models. The non-stationary GEV models are fit to the cool season (November–April) monthly maximum flows using historical monthly precipitation totals and average temperature. Future cool season flood distributions are subsequently calculated using downscaled projections of precipitation and temperature from the Coupled Model Intercomparison Project Phase 5 (CMIP-5) archive. The resulting exceedance probabilities are combined to calculate the probability of a flood of a given magnitude occurring over a specific time period (referred to as flood risk) using recent developments in design-life risk methodologies. This paper provides the first end-to-end analysis using non-stationary GEV methods coupled with contemporary downscaled climate projections to demonstrate the evolution of a flood risk profile over typical design life periods of existing infrastructure that are vulnerable to flooding (e.g., dams, levees, bridges and sewers). Results show that flood risk increases significantly over the analysis period (from 1950 through 2099). This highlights the potential to underestimate flood risk using traditional methodologies that do not account for time-varying risk. Although model parameters for the non-stationary method are sensitive to small changes in input parameters, analysis shows that the changes in risk over time are robust. Overall, flood risk at both locations (Farad and Reno) is projected to increase 10–20% between the historical period 1950 to 1999 and the future period 2000 to 2050 and 30–50% between the same historical period and a future period of 2050 to 2099.


Background Although iron deficiency is considered to be the main cause of anemia in children worldwide, other contributors to childhood anemia remain little studied in developing countries. We estimated the relative contributions of different factors to anemia in a population-based, cross-sectional survey. Methodology We obtained venous blood samples from 1111 children aged 6 months to 10 years living in the frontier town of Acrelândia, northwest Brazil, to estimate the prevalence of anemia and iron deficiency by measuring hemoglobin, erythrocyte indices, ferritin, soluble transferrin receptor, and C-reactive protein concentrations. Children were simultaneously screened for vitamin A, vitamin B12, and folate deficiencies; intestinal parasite infections; glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase deficiency; and sickle cell trait carriage. Multiple Poisson regression and adjusted prevalence ratios (aPR) were used to describe associations between anemia and the independent variables. Principal Findings The prevalence of anemia, iron deficiency, and iron-deficiency anemia were 13.6%, 45.4%, and 10.3%, respectively. Children whose families were in the highest income quartile, compared with the lowest, had a lower risk of anemia (aPR, 0.60; 95%CI, 0.37–0.98). Child age (<24 months, 2.90; 2.01–4.20) and maternal parity (>2 pregnancies, 2.01; 1.40–2.87) were positively associated with anemia. Other associated correlates were iron deficiency (2.1; 1.4–3.0), vitamin B12 (1.4; 1.0–2.2), and folate (2.0; 1.3–3.1) deficiencies, and C-reactive protein concentrations (>5 mg/L, 1.5; 1.1–2.2). Conclusions Addressing morbidities and multiple nutritional deficiencies in children and mothers and improving the purchasing power of poorer families are potentially important interventions to reduce the burden of anemia.


U-root is an embeddable root file system intended to be placed in a FLASH device as part of the firmware image, along with a Linux kernel. The program source code is installed in the root file system contained in the firmware FLASH part and compiled on demand. All the u-root utilities, roughly corresponding to standard Unix utilities, are written in Go, a modern, type-safe language with garbage collection and language-level support for concurrency and inter-process communication.

Unlike most embedded root file systems, which consist largely of binaries, U-root has only five: an init program and 4 Go compiler binaries. When a program is first run, it and any not-yet-built packages it uses are compiled to a RAM-based file system. The first invocation of a program takes a fraction of a second, as it is compiled. Packages are only compiled once, so the slowest build is always the first one, on boot, which takes about 3 seconds. Subsequent invocations are very fast, usually a millisecond or so.

U-root blurs the line between script-based distros such as Perl Linux[24] and binary-based distros such as BusyBox[26]; it has the flexibility of Perl Linux and the performance of BusyBox. Scripts and builtins are written in Go, not a shell scripting language. U-root is a new way to package and distribute file systems for embedded systems, and the use of Go promises a dramatic improvement in their security.


A real case study and characterisation of modern energy efficient windows allowing mobile communication is presented. An earlier study had shown that laser scribing of energy saving coatings allows highly reducing the microwave attenuation (from 30 to 1-3 dB) using a wide band-pass frequency-selective surface (FSS) while preserving the thermal quality of the window. To achieve large-scale production, the laser scribing technique has been further developed. The effect of laser scribing on the mechanical properties of a substrate has been determined through mechanical strength tests. Moreover, the insulating properties of the window have been analysed to ensure the reliability of this technology. As a real case demonstration, an entire train has been equipped with prototype windows. The signal quality has been controlled for a wide band of frequencies and for existing technologies such as long term evolution, universal mobile telecommunication system, multiple input multiple output and for different configurations such as a stationary and a moving train.


Judges generally begin their interpretive task by looking for the ordinary meaning of the language of the law. And they often end there — out of respect for the notice function of the law or deference to the presumed intent of the lawmaker.

Most everyone agrees on the primacy of the ordinary meaning rule. Yet scholars roundly bemoan the indeterminacy of the communicative content of the language of the law. And they pivot quickly to other grounds for interpretation.

We agree with the diagnosis of important scholars in this field — from Richard Fallon and Cass Sunstein to Will Baude and Steve Sachs — but reject their proposed cures. Instead of setting aside the threshold question of ordinary meaning we seek to take it seriously. We seek to do so through theories and methods developed in the scholarly field designed for the study of language — linguistics.

We identify theoretical and operational deficiencies in our law's attempts to credit the ordinary meaning of the law and present linguistic theories and tools to assess it more reliably. Our framework examines iconic problems of ordinary meaning — from the famous "no vehicles in the park" hypothetical to two Supreme Court cases (United States v. Muscarello and Taniguchi v. Kan Pacific Saipan) and a Seventh Circuit opinion of Judge Richard Posner (in United States v. Costello). We show that the law's conception of ordinary meaning implicates empirical questions about language usage. And we present linguistic tools from a field known as corpus linguistics that can help to answer these empirical questions.

When we speak of ordinary meaning we are asking an empirical question — about the sense of a word or phrase that is most likely implicated in a given linguistic context. Linguists have developed computer-aided means of answering such questions. We propose to import those methods into the law of interpretation. And we consider and respond to criticisms of their use by lawyers and judges.


Appliance load monitoring (ALM) systems are systems capable of monitoring appliances' operation within a building using a single metering point. As such, they uncover information on occupants' activities of daily living and subsequently an exploitable privacy leak. Related work has shown monitoring accuracies higher than 90 % achieved by ALM systems, yet requiring interaction with appliances for system calibration. In the context of external privacy intrusion, ALM systems have the following obstacles for system calibration: (1) type and model of appliances inside the monitored building are entirely unknown; (2) appliances cannot be operated to record power footprints; and (3) ground truth data is not available to fine-tune algorithms. Within this work, we focus on monitoring those appliances from which we can infer occupants' activities. Without appliance interaction, appliances' profiling is realised via automated capture and analysis of shapes, steady-state durations, and occurrence patterns of power loads. Such automated processes produce unique power footprints, and naming is realised manually using heuristics and known characteristics of typical home equipment. Data recorded within a kitchen area and one home illustrates the various processing steps, from data acquisition to power footprint naming.


Abstract Despite growing recognition that authoritarianism can be far more durable than transition theorists previously expected, transition theory assumptions continue to constrain attempts to understand authoritarian regimes. In particular, alternative avenues of political participation to opposition political parties and electoral contests are under examined. Singapore's authoritarian regime involves a range of such innovative institutional and ideological initiatives, one of the most significant being the Nominated Members of Parliament scheme. This promotes notions of representation different from democratic parliamentary representation that are not without appeal to targeted, emerging social forces. Singapore's political economy dynamics contribute to this responsiveness by obstructing independent power bases.


Abstract An individual's genetic information is possibly the most valuable personal information. While knowledge of a person's DNA sequence can facilitate the diagnosis of several heritable diseases and allow personalized treatment, its exposure comes with significant threats to the patient's privacy. Currently known solutions for privacy-respecting computation require the owner of the DNA to either be heavily involved in the execution of a cryptographic protocol or to completely outsource the access control to a third party. This motivates the demand for cryptographic protocols which enable computation over encrypted genomic data while keeping the owner of the genome in full control. We envision a scenario where data owners can exercise arbitrary and dynamic access policies, depending on the intended use of the analysis results and on the credentials of who is conducting the analysis. At the same time, data owners are not required to maintain a local copy of their entire genetic data and do not need to exhaust their computational resources in an expensive cryptographic protocol. In this work, we present METIS, a system that assists the computation over encrypted data stored in the cloud while leaving the decision on admissible computations to the data owner. It is based on garbled circuits and supports any polynomially-computable function. A critical feature of our system is that the data owner is free from computational overload and her communication complexity is independent of the size of the input data and only linear in the size of the circuit's output. We demonstrate the practicality of our approach with an implementation and an evaluation of several functions over real datasets.


From Byzantium to the Mongols to the Sultans of Rum, this acclaimed book offers an important insight into the evocative history of Turkey before the coming of Ottoman power. Turkey forms a historical bridge between Europe and Asia and as such has played a pivotal role throughout history. The rise of Constantinople and the later Ottoman Empire are well known: less well understood are developments in the three centuries in-between. What led to the decline of the Byzantine Empire and what happened in the intervening years before the rise of the Ottomans? Translated from the original French, this classic work examines the history of the Turkey that eventually gave rise to an imperial power whose influence spanned East and West.


The dominant view among policy-makers in Sarawak, a resource frontier state in Malaysian Borneo, is that the only viable way to involve smallholders in the oil palm boom that has transformed the agricultural economy of that island is to consolidate them into larger production entities with externally provided management and finance. However, despite lack of government support, the area of smallholder oil palm has increased dramatically in the past decade in those regions with access to roads and palm oil mills. We argue that, once processing infrastructure is in place, oil palm smallholders can readily take advantage of this infrastructure to pursue a profitable livelihood option, with lower cost and greater flexibility than large-scale operations. In this paper we explore the characteristics of oil palm smallholders in Sarawak and the complex and varied processes by which they have inserted themselves into the rapidly expanding landscape of large-scale plantation development. We develop a typology of oil palm smallholders and present a case study based on a questionnaire survey of 72 farm-households in five longhouse-communities in northern Sarawak. The analysis shows the economic viability of independent oil palm smallholders and identifies appropriate means of support that could raise incomes and spread benefits more widely.