ABSTRACT Dutch national planning has acquired an international reputation because it provides strong planning guidance while simultaneously being responsive to the particular spatial and political circumstances of different regions and areas. Spatial concepts, like the Randstad, are important vehicles for sustaining this approach. Such concepts incorporate select spatial planning rationales that justify operational decisions. Concepts can, however, also be ambiguous, and this can allow for different interpretations and deliberations about how guidance should take effect in different situations. In this paper we assess the degree of ambiguity contained in concepts outlined in Dutch national plans between 1988 and 2012. By focusing on the dimensions of spatial concepts, and the room for interpretation these create, we demonstrate how concepts were modified to accommodate a shifting appreciation of deliberation and, as a result, collaboration and governance. On a theoretical level, we propose a method that analyses in detail the ambiguity ("fuzzyness" or "softness") of spatial concepts. We argue that such sophisticated understandings contribute to explaining the variety of governance responses that these geographies produce in practice. On an empirical level we seek to increase understanding of change in recent Dutch national planning.


OBJECTIVE Transcranial motor evoked potential (tMEP) monitoring is popular in neurosurgery; however, the accuracy of tMEP can be impaired by craniotomy. Each craniotomy procedure and changes in the CSF levels affects the current spread. The aim of this study was to investigate the influence of several craniotomies on tMEP monitoring by using C3-4 transcranial electrical stimulation (TES). METHODS The authors used the finite element method to visualize the electric field in the brain, which was generated by TES, using realistic 3D head models developed from T1-weighted MR images. Surfaces of 5 layers of the head (brain, CSF, skull, subcutaneous fat, and skin layer) were separated as accurately as possible. The authors created 5 models of the head, as follows: normal head; frontotemporal craniotomy; parietal craniotomy; temporal craniotomy; and occipital craniotomy. The computer simulation was investigated by finite element methods, and clinical recordings of the stimulation threshold level of upper-extremity tMEP (UE-tMEP) during neurosurgery were also studied in 30 patients to validate the simulation study. RESULTS Bone removal during the craniotomy positively affected the generation of the electric field in the motor cortex if the motor cortex was just under the bone at the margin of the craniotomy window. This finding from the authors' simulation study was consistent with clinical reports of frontotemporal craniotomy cases. A major decrease in CSF levels during an operation had a significantly negative impact on the electric field when the motor cortex was exposed to air. The CSF surface level during neurosurgery depends on the body position and location of the craniotomy. The parietal craniotomy and temporal craniotomy were susceptible to the effect of the changing CSF level, based on the simulation study. A marked increase in the threshold following a decrease in CSF was actually recorded in clinical reports of the UE-tMEP threshold from a temporal craniotomy. However, most frontotemporal craniotomy cases were minimally affected by a small decrease in CSF. CONCLUSIONS Bone removal during a craniotomy positively affects the generation of the electric field in the motor cortex if the motor cortex is just under the bone at the margin of the craniotomy window. The CSF decrease and the shifting brain can negatively affect tMEP ignition. These changes should be minimized to maintain the original conductivity between the motor cortex and the skull, and the operation team must remember the fluctuation of the tMEP threshold.


Acute Coronary Syndrome (ACS) is a cardiovascular disease that is one of the main causes of death worldwide. Nurse collaboration in Indonesia is still very complex and inadequate. Positive collaboration in providing care for patients with ACS is essential in the practice of nursing services.

 This study aims to explore the barriers in the implementation of nurses-physicians collaboration for the care of patient with ACS in Emergency Departments (EDs).

 This research is a qualitative survey using purposive sampling. It was conducted on 16 nurses who worked in emergency departments from four general hospitals in East Java, Indonesia. Research data were collected using open-ended questions in semi-structured interviews.

 There were three themes obtained from the data analysis, which include the difference of confidence between senior and junior nurses in ACS actions, limitations in performing professional nursing, and unclear job responsibilities.

 Collaboration of nurses and physicians in emergency departments still faces many problems. It is important to carry out interprofessional education initiations for nursing and medical students, apply peer-mentoring to increase the self-confidence of junior nurse, develop and train the clinical pathway of collaboration between physicians and nurses for the care of ACS patients in EDs.


ABSTRACT As smart technologies such as artificial intelligence (AI), automation and Internet of Things (IoT) are increasingly embedded into commercial and government services, we are faced with new challenges in digital inclusion to ensure that existing inequalities are not reinforced and new gaps that are created can be addressed. Digital exclusion is often compounded by existing social disadvantage, and new systems run the risk of creating new barriers and harms. Adopting a case study approach, this paper examines the exclusionary practices embedded in the design and implementation of social welfare services in Australia. We examined Centrelink's automated Online Compliance Intervention system ('Robodebt') and the National Disability Insurance Agency's intelligent avatar interface 'Nadia'. The two cases show how the introduction of automated systems can reinforce the punitive policies of an existing service regime at the design stage and how innovative AI systems that have the potential to enhance user participation and inclusion can be hindered at implementation so that digital benefits are left unrealised.


Japan has experienced stagnation, deflation, and low interest rates for decades. It is caught in a liquidity trap. This paper examines Japan's liquidity trap in light of the structure and performance of the country's economy since the onset of stagnation. It also analyzes the country's liquidity trap in terms of the different strands in the theoretical literature. It is argued that insights from a Keynesian perspective are still quite relevant. The Keynesian perspective is useful not just for understanding Japan's liquidity trap but also for formulating and implementing policies that can overcome the liquidity trap and foster renewed economic growth and prosperity. Paul Krugman (1998a, b) and Ben Bernanke (2000; 2002) identify low inflation and deflation risks as the cause of a liquidity trap. Hence, they advocate a credible commitment by the central bank to sustained monetary easing as the key to reigniting inflation, creating an exit from a liquidity trap through low interest rates and quantitative easing. In contrast, for John Maynard Keynes (1936; reissued 2007) the possibility of a liquidity trap arises from a sharp rise in investors' liquidity preference and the fear of capital losses due to uncertainty about the direction of interest rates. His analysis calls for an integrated strategy for overcoming a liquidity trap. This strategy consists of vigorous fiscal policy and employment creation to induce a higher expected marginal efficiency of capital, while the central bank stabilizes the yield curve and reduces interest rate volatility to mitigate investors' expectations of capital loss. In light of Japan's experience, Keynes's analysis and proposal for generating effective demand might well be a more appropriate remedy for the country's liquidity trap.


The furniture sector is a major industry in Malaysia in terms of value
of the products made and number of people employed. It plays an important
role in increasing export earnings and contributes to the development of
Malaysia in economy. This study was carried out to determine the trend of
wooden furniture exported from Malaysia to major world regions and
countries from year 1990- 1999. The trend in export was analysed using shares
structure analysis on trade data of export value published by Malaysian
Timber Industry Board (MTIB). Market percentages by regions and countries
were calculated. Then exponential smoothing forecasting model was used to
analyze the export trend of wooden furniture in year 2000. Results of the study
showed that USA, Japan and Singapore were the most important trade partners
with Malaysia during the period of 1990 to 1999. The world countries were
classified into eight major regions according to their world geographical
location. America, East Asia and ASEAN regions appeared as top three major
importing regions from year 1990 to 1997. But later from year 1998 to 1999,
European Union become the third important trade partners with Malaysia. The
total trade value of wooden furniture is forecasted to inerease by 18.37% to the
export value of RM3,776.8 million in year 2000. Generally, Malaysia's export
of wooden furniture to the world market had been increasing over the last 10
years. The trend analysis of export values show that West Asia has the highest
increase followed by Oceania/Pacific and Africa. If analysed on individual
Country basis, UK is forecasted to have the highest increment followed by
Netherlands, Australia and Korea. Local manufacturers should make efforts to
maintain and increase export to the existing market. Besides that, they should
concentrate on the regions and countries which show high increment in the
forecasting export. It is suggested that the producers and relevant marketing
agencies need to regular trend forecast the future export value. Further studies
can be done on the internal and external factors that may affect the buying
behaviour of foreign importers.


Abstract. Mapping software refers to a type of computer software that allows the user to graphically represent, analyze, and model large quantities of data in either a static or dynamic format, allowing the user to convey a geographical information. It is also a visual tool that allows specialists to communicate and share spatial information easily. The researcher found that the three most significant aspects of successful map creation were those that were visual, spatial, and those that allowed for effective communication. Within the context of this study, mapping software is explored within the context of the benefits of different mapping software choices as they pertain to the benefits that those who are blind or visually impaired may receive from the software itself. The main purpose of the study was to explore the extent to which persons with low vision, visual impairment, or blindness found mapping software to be useful. Moreover, the researcher investigated the existing advantages and disadvantages of using different mapping software options and compared the features of those programs with the features of the programs that have been considered to be the best for use with Braille. The results show that ArcGIS offers a powerful way to visualize data and gain understanding and insights that may have been hidden or less accessible in other software choices.


When causal quantities cannot be point identified, researchers often pursue partial identification to quantify the range of possible values. However, the peculiarities of applied research conditions can make this analytically intractable. We present a general and automated approach to causal inference in discrete settings. We show causal questions with discrete data reduce to polynomial programming problems, and we present an algorithm to automatically bound causal effects using efficient dual relaxation and spatial branch-and-bound techniques. The user declares an estimand, states assumptions, and provides data (however incomplete or mismeasured). The algorithm then searches over admissible data-generating processes and outputs the most precise possible range consistent with available information -- i.e., sharp bounds -- including a point-identified solution if one exists. Because this search can be computationally intensive, our procedure reports and continually refines non-sharp ranges that are guaranteed to contain the truth at all times, even when the algorithm is not run to completion. Moreover, it offers an additional guarantee we refer to as $\epsilon$-sharpness, characterizing the worst-case looseness of the incomplete bounds. Analytically validated simulations show the algorithm accommodates classic obstacles, including confounding, selection, measurement error, noncompliance, and nonresponse.


Fulfilling the UC Irvine mission to prepare students for the practice of law at the highest levels requires providing every UCI Law student opportunities to learn, as part of their formal legal training, what it means to be a lawyer by actually practicing law. The most important of these opportunities is a student's participation in a substantial clinical course, in which the student, under the close supervision of a member of the UCI Law faculty and, as appropriate, another supervising attorney, represents real clients, addressing their legal problems in an environment that includes continual feedback, skills practice, and time for learning and reflection. This essay describes the UCI Law School blueprint for the development of a well-coordinated experiential learning program that begins in the first year and continues through all three years of the Law School's curriculum. The essay describes how experiential learning is a central goal of the UCI Law School mission and explains how it is implemented through real-world, live client work in each of the three years of law school.


Upgrading has been a main policy focus of the development literature for the past two decades. The predominant model has firms with low capabilities moving up the value chain through learning in global production networks and support of robust local institutions. Time after time when upgrading efforts fail, the recommended solution is to pour in more resources: new investments, more subsidies and more training. Yet little has changed. Using a critical case study of the Penang semiconductor cluster, this paper proposes an alternative set of hypotheses about upgrading in emerging economies.

The real challenge for upgrading is volatility. The problem is not that there are only firms with low capabilities, but rather there are plenty of firms with high capabilities. These firms, by leveraging local policy, have developed sophisticated capabilities to meet the increasingly volatile production demand of global industries, in this case electronics. Contrary to conventional wisdom, they do not compete away profits or solely rely on cheap labor. The challenge is that these firms -- the prime set of candidates to upgrade -- have become sufficiently successful in this specialty that under the present policy regime, they have no incentive to do otherwise. They have created a sustainable niche, but one with no upward pathway. Firms that upgrade take a different route, avoiding volatile markets altogether. The case of Penang shows that volatility increasingly determines the international division of labor in emerging economies, not the search for low wages.


A polymeric-based colorimetric gas sensor with its associated electronics targeting ammonia detection at low-cost and low-power is presented. The gas sensitive layer was inkjet printed on a plastic foil used as an optical waveguide. The planar configuration of the sensor makes it compatible with large scale fabrication techniques, such as roll-to-roll processes. Its power consumption and noise level were measured. The sensor exhibited a good sensitivity to ammonia with a theoretical limit of detection of 104 ppb in a constant operation mode. The power consumption was reduced to the sub-mW range when operating in pulsed mode. It foresees applications in the field of wireless systems, for environmental and safety monitoring.


We conducted a 3C seismic survey, using vibrators, over a 5 km line in the Sibbald Flats area some 40 km west of Calgary. The line, shot in October 2003, is intended to image a Triangle Zone structure that can contain hydrocarbon reservoirs. In addition, we acquired data to test the "dragged array" concept. In these tests, we recorded numerous individual vibrators shaking at various parts of the shot interval as well as simultaneous shaking. The 3C data acquired look promising for both PP and PS analysis. Another dynamite line will be acquired at the same location in late November, 2003. This additional line should provide data to compare dynamite versus vibrators as sources for the generation of PS sections.


A subset X of the vertex set of a graph G is a secure dominating set of G if X is a dominating set of G and if, for each vertex u not in X, there is a neighbouring vertex v of u in X such that the swap set (X-v)∪u is again a dominating set of G. The secure domination number of G is the cardinality of a smallest secure dominating set of G. A graph G is p-stable if the largest arbitrary subset of edges whose removal from G does not increase the secure domination number of the resulting graph, has cardinality p. In this paper we study the problem of computing p-stable graphs for all admissible values of p and determine the exact values of p for which members of various infinite classes of graphs are p-stable. We also consider the problem of determining analytically the largest value ωn of p for which a graph of order n can be p-stable. We conjecture that ωn=n-2 and motivate this conjecture.


Abstract From our desk chairs it may be tempting to work up an idea, build a quick prototype, test it in a lab, and say, "Our work here is done; the rest is merely details." More scholarly knowledge awaits discovery, however, by researchers who shepherd an information systems (IS) solution through the last research mile, that is, through successful transition to the workplace. Going the last research mile means using scientific knowledge and methods to address important unsolved classes of problems for real people with real stakes in the outcomes. The last research mile proceeds in three stages: proof-of-concept research to demonstrate the functional feasibility of a solution; proof-of-value research to investigate whether a solution can create value across a variety of conditions; and proof-of-use research to address complex issues of operational feasibility. The last research mile ends only when practitioners routinely use a solution in the field. We argue that going the last research mile negates the assumption that one must trade off rigor and relevance, showing it to be it a false dilemma. Systems researchers who take their solutions through the last research mile may ultimately have the greatest impact on science and society. We demonstrate the last research mile with cases from our own work and the work of others spanning more than forty years.


Background: Volume estimation of brain is important for many neurological applications. It is necessary in measuring brain growth and changes in brain in normal/abnormal patients. Thus, accurate brain volume measurement is very important. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is the method of choice for volume quantification due to excellent levels of image resolution and between-tissue contrast. Stereology method is a good method for estimating volume but it requires to segment enough MRI slices and have a good resolution. In this study, it is desired to enhance stereology method for volume estimation of brain using less MRI slices with less resolution. Methods: In this study, a program for calculating volume using stereology method has been introduced. After morphologic method, dilation was applied and the stereology method enhanced. For the evaluation of this method, we used T1-wighted MR images from digital phantom in BrainWeb which had ground truth. Results: The volume of 20 normal brain extracted from BrainWeb, was calculated. The volumes of white matter, gray matter and cerebrospinal fluid with given dimension were estimated correctly. Volume calculation from Stereology method in different cases was made. In three cases, Root Mean Square Error (RMSE) was measured. Case I with T=5, d=5, Case II with T=10, D=10 and Case III with T=20, d=20 (T=slice thickness, d=resolution as stereology parameters). By comparing these results of two methods, it is obvious that RMSE values for our proposed method are smaller than Stereology method. Conclusion: Using morphological operation, dilation allows to enhance the estimation volume method, Stereology. In the case with less MRI slices and less test points, this method works much better compared to Stereology method.


Background Anomalous left coronary artery from the pulmonary artery (ALCAPA syndrome) is a rare congenital abnormality, which, if untreated, can cause complications such as myocardial infarction, heart failure and death; only few untreated patients survive to adulthood. We sought to determine long-term outcomes of these patients in our Adult Congenital Heart Disease service. Methods A retrospective review of case notes of patients with ALCAPA was performed, reviewing clinic letters, operation details, cardiac imaging and exercise tests. Results We identified 8 patients (6 female) with mean age 26.3±6.2 years. Mean follow-up was 4.1 years (range, 18 months to 12 years). All patients have had surgical repair; one patient required concomitant mitral valve repair. Mean age at operation was 9.7 years (range, 3 months to 34 years old); 3 patients (38%) were operated as adults. At last clinic review, one patient had NYHA III symptoms, the rest were well (NYHA I). Mean peak oxygen consumption on cardiopulmonary exercise testing was 36±2.4 ml/kg/min (range 33.4 to 38.8 ml/kg/min, mean 93%±15.9% predicted, range 78% to 112%). All patients were in sinus rhythm and no ischaemia or arrhythmias were identified. 7 patients (88%) had good left ventricular function (mean EF 61%); 1 patient had mildly impaired function (EF 50%) due to an apical transmural infarction. Moderate mitral regurgitation was seen in 3 patients (38%) and all had normal aortic root size. Conclusion We describe long-term outcomes of patients with ALCAPA syndrome. Postoperatively, the majority remain asymptomatic with good exercise capacity. Their left ventricular systolic function is good. Life-long follow up is warranted.


In north‐central Florida the potential risk for movement of nitrate into the aquifer is high due to the large extent of well‐drained marine‐derived quartz sand overlying porous limestone material coupled with high precipitation rates. Our objective was to estimate spatio‐seasonal distributions of soil NO3–N across the Santa Fe River Watershed in north‐central Florida. We conducted spatially distributed synoptic and seasonal sampling (September 2003—wet summer/fall season, January 2004—dry winter season, May 2004—dry spring season) of soil NO3–N. Prior distributions of probability for NO3–N were inferred at each location across the watershed using ordered logistic regression. Explanatory variables included environmental spatial datasets such as land use, drainage class, and the Floridian aquifer DRASTIC index. These prior probabilities were then updated using indicator kriging, and multiple realizations of the spatial distribution of soil NO3–N were generated by sequential indicator simulation. Cross‐validation indicated that smaller prediction errors are obtained when secondary information is incorporated in the analysis and when indicator kriging is used instead of ordinary kriging to analyze these datasets characterized by the presence of extreme high values and a nonnegligible number of data below the detection limit. The NO3–N values were lowest in September 2003 as a result of excessive leaching caused by large, intense tropical storms. Overall the NO3–N values in January 2004 were high and could be attributed to fertilization of crops and pastures, low plant uptake, and low microbial transformation during the winter period. Despite seasonal trends reflected by the values of observed and estimated NO3–N, we found areas that showed consistently high soil NO3–N throughout all seasons. Those areas are prime targets to implement best management practices.


Light scattering in a participating medium is responsible for several important effects we see in the natural world. In the presence of occluders, computing single scattering requires integrating the illumination scattered towards the eye along the camera ray, modulated by the visibility towards the light at each point. Unfortunately, incorporating volumetric shadows into this integral, while maintaining real-time performance, remains challenging. In this paper we present a new real-time algorithm for computing volumetric shadows in single-scattering media on the GPU. This computation requires evaluating the scattering integral over the intersections of camera rays with the shadow map, expressed as a 2D height field. We observe that by applying epipolar rectification to the shadow map, each camera ray only travels through a single row of the shadow map (an epipolar slice), which allows us to find the visible segments by considering only 1D height fields. At the core of our algorithm is the use of an acceleration structure (a 1D minmax mipmap) which allows us to quickly find the lit segments for all pixels in an epipolar slice in parallel. The simplicity of this data structure and its traversal allows for efficient implementation using only pixel shaders on the GPU.


Introduction: Failures might occur at metal‒ porcelain interfaces as a problem with metal‒ceramic restorations even with the application of airborneparticle abrasion technique. This study was undertaken to evaluate the effect of Nd:YAG laser treatment on the bond strength of porcelain fused to metal. Methods: Twenty-four cylindrical specimens (4 mm in diameter and 4 mm in height) were made of a commercially available nickel‒chromium alloy by lost-wax technique. Half of the specimens were surface-treated by air-borne particles and the other half was irradiated with Nd:YAG laser beams (wavelength of 1064 nm, energy and frequency of 120 mJ and 10 Hz, respectively, and a power setting of 6 kW). All the specimens (air-abraded and laser-treated) were covered with a 4-mm layer of opaque porcelain in two-stage baking and subjected to shear bond strength test (a 10-kgf at 1 mm/min) until fracture occurred. A fractured specimen from each group was evaluated using scanning electron microscopy. T-test was used for statistical analysis and statistical significance was set at P<0.05. Results: Shear bond strength was higher in the sandblasted group compared to the laser-etched group (P<0.05). Conclusion: It can be concluded that Nd:YAG laser irradiation increases the shear bond strength of Ni-Cr alloy to porcelain, but further studies should be carried out to evaluate the effect of different parameters of Nd:YAG laser treatment on shear bond strength.


Mobile edge clouds (MECs) bring the benefits of the cloud closer to the user, by installing small cloud infrastructures at the network edge. This enables a new breed of real-time applications, such as instantaneous object recognition and safety assistance in intelligent transportation systems, that require very low latency. One key issue that comes with proximity is how to ensure that users always receive good performance as they move across different locations. Migrating services between MECs is seen as the means to achieve this. This article presents a layered framework for migrating active service applications that are encapsulated either in virtual machines (VMs) or containers. This layering approach allows a substantial reduction in service downtime. The framework is easy to implement using readily available technologies, and one of its key advantages is that it supports containers, which is a promising emerging technology that offers tangible benefits over VMs. The migration performance of various real applications is evaluated by experiments under the presented framework. Insights drawn from the experimentation results are discussed.


Supporting multi-language linking such as linking C and handwritten assembly modules in the verified compiler CompCert requires a more compositional verification technique than that used in CompCert just supporting separate compilation. The two extensions, CompCertX and Compositional CompCert, supporting multi-language linking take different approaches. The former simplifies the problem by imposing restrictions that the source modules should have no mutual dependence and be verified against certain well-behaved specifications. On the other hand, the latter develops a new verification technique that directly solves the problem but at the expense of significantly increasing the verification cost. In this paper, we develop a novel lightweight verification technique, called RUSC (Refinement Under Self-related Contexts), and demonstrate how RUSC can solve the problem without any restrictions but still with low verification overhead. For this, we develop CompCertM, a full extension of the latest version of CompCert supporting multi-language linking. Moreover, we demonstrate the power of RUSC as a program verification technique by modularly verifying interesting programs consisting of C and handwritten assembly against their mathematical specifications.


Private food safety standards (PFSS) are widely adopted by firms in the agro-food system, as they meet an increasing consumer demand for safety and quality. Yet, recent economic literature found that PFSS might serve other purposes than just ensuring food safety. Our paper contributes to this literature, framing PFSS within a contract-theory model. We conclude that PFSS can be used to lower the coordination costs along the supply chain and that their effects go beyond ensuring the production of quality and safety attributes. The model shows that PFSS can reduce the cost of solving moral hazard problems for non-discriminating buyers facing heterogeneous suppliers. Noticeably, the opportunism may concern any of the many dimensions of the transaction, without being limited to the production of quality or safety attributes that are normed by the standard. The optimal strategy requires that the supplier's adoption cost of the standard must be a non-negligible specific investment. This condition explains why we observe PFSS that are heterogeneous (i.e., the certification cannot be used in other transaction freely) and much more rigorous than public regulations (i.e., they require incremental costs).


There are two main approaches to binary classification problems: the loss function approach and the uncertainty set approach. The loss function approach is widely used in real-world data analysis. Statistical decision theory has been used to elucidate its properties such as statistical consistency. Conditional probabilities can also be estimated by using the minimum solution of the loss function. In the uncertainty set approach, an uncertainty set is defined for each binary label from training samples. The best separating hyperplane between the two uncertainty sets is used as the decision function. Although the uncertainty set approach provides an intuitive understanding of learning algorithms, its statistical properties have not been sufficiently studied. In this paper, we show that the uncertainty set is deeply connected with the convex conjugate of a loss function. On the basis of the conjugate relation, we propose a way of revising the uncertainty set approach so that it will have good statistical properties such as statistical consistency. We also introduce statistical models corresponding to uncertainty sets in order to estimate conditional probabilities. Finally, we present numerical experiments, verifying that the learning with revised uncertainty sets improves the prediction accuracy.


This paper is placed in the context of a growing number of social and political crit iq ues of blockchain technologies. We focus on the supposed potential of blockchain technologies to transform political institutions that are central to contemporary human societies, such as money,  property right s regimes , and systems of democratic governance. Our aim is to examine the way blockchain technologies can bring about - and justify - new models of governance . To do so, w e draw on  the philosophical works of Hobbes , Rousseau , and Rawls , analyzing blockchain governance in terms of contrasting  social contract theories .  We begin by comparing the justifications of blockchain governance offered by members of the blockchain developers ' community with the justifications of governance presented with in social contract theories . We then  examine  the extent to which the model of governance offered by blockchain technologies  reflect s key governance themes and assumptions located within social contract theories , focusing on the notions of sovereignty, the initial situation, decentralization and distributive justice .


How can you bring out MySQLs full power? With High Performance MySQL, youll learn advanced techniques for everything from designing schemas, indexes, and queries to tuning your MySQL server, operating system, and hardware to their fullest potential. This guide also teaches you safe and practical ways to scale applications through replication, load balancing, high availability, and failover. Updated to reflect recent advances in MySQL and InnoDB performance, features, and tools, this third edition not only offers specific examples of how MySQL works, it also teaches you why this system works as it does, with illustrative stories and case studies that demonstrate MySQLs principles in action. With this book, youll learn how to think in MySQL.Learn the effects of new features in MySQL 5.5, including stored procedures, partitioned databases, triggers, and views Implement improvements in replication, high availability, and clustering Achieve high performance when running MySQL in the cloud Optimize advanced querying features, such as full-text searches Take advantage of modern multi-core CPUs and solid-state disks Explore backup and recovery strategiesincluding new tools for hot online backups


Ethiopia upholds unique cultural heritage and diverse music history in entire African continent. The traditional music heritage of Ethiopia has been globally recognized with its distinct music culture and symbolic manifestation. The traditional songs and music of the country revolves around core chord of their life and culture. The modern music of Ethiopia has been blended with combination of elements from traditional Ethiopian music and western music which has created a new trend in the music world. The music tradition of the country not only maintains the cultural identity but also maintains social cohesion through cultural expression at different social occasions and resists cultural changes infused through globalization. The globalization has brought a series of transformation and changes in the world of Ethiopian music through commercialization, commodification and digitalization of cultural expressions apart from hijacking the cultural rights of traditional musicians. The younger generations have been attracted towards western music undermining the aesthetic and cultural value of music tradition of the country. The international enactments relating to protection and safeguarding of cultural rights of people are yet to be appropriately translated into reality. The emergence of culture industries and entertainment houses has posed serious threats to local culture and led to disappearance of local traditions, musical heritage and their replacement by popular global music. The cultural homogeneity and commodification has replaced the multiplicity of cultures in this globalized era. This paper based on review of published articles and content analysis critically unfolds sensitive areas of cultural shock and violation of cultural rights exposed to traditional musicians and traditional singers of Ethiopia during last couple of decades. Int. J. Soc. Sci. Manage. Vol-2, issue-4: 315-326


As more and more actor training conservatoires become subsumed into university structures there is a growing pressure on practice based teachers of voice to become active researchers. At the same time there is a growing area of scholarly research within Voice Studies. This article examines the shifting patterns of research and practice within Voice Studies and uses, as a case study, the author's experiences of teaching at the Royal Central School of Speech and Drama (RCSSD). The author examines tensions between practice and research within a conservatoire setting and explores potential research methodologies in relation to this. The author proposes Practice as Research (PaR) as a suitable methodology for research within practice based Voice Studies and draws on current discourses relating to PaR within Theatre and Performance. The author proposes a model for Voice Studies PaR, which is based on the work of Robin Nelson, and demonstrates how this is being applied within Voice Studies research at RCSSD. The author addresses issues of dissemination of PaR and briefly relates the work in the UK to growing research agendas internationally.


About a thousand species of insects have been associated with stored products in different parts of the world. A few pests are considered as pests causing severe damage to the stored grains. This paper gives an overview of damage symptoms and biology of some of the major pests of stored grains viz., Sitophilus oryzae, Rhyzopertha dominaca, Trogoderma granarium, Tribolium castaneum, Lasioderma serricorne, Stegobium paniceum, Callosobruchus spp., Sitotroga cereallela, Corcyra cephalonica, Oryzaephilus surinamensis, Plodia interpunctella Latheticus oryzae, and Cadra cautella. The stored grain insect pests can be categorized on the basis of their feeding behaviour as internal and external feeder or as major and minor pests based on the severity of damage. These systems are developed insect management decisions.


Rapid expansion of dairy herds in the southwestern USA has increased the need for high-quality alfalfa (Medicago sativa L.) forage in the region. Enhancing mineral balance in alfalfa forage could benefit both plant and animal production. The objective of this study was to survey four ancestral alfalfa germplasms (representing the range in fall dormancy) for variability in shoot mineral concentration and for phenotypic associations among mineral concentrations. African, Chilean, Flemish, and Ladak germplasms, and the check cultivar Moapa 69, were evaluated in a 2-yr irrigated field study near Las Cruces, NM. Plots consisted of 12.2-m-long raised beds spaced 1.2 m apart. Plant spacing within plots was 0.26 m. Ten plants per plot were randomly sampled in the early-bud stage in 1993 and the late-bnd stage in 1994 and evaluated for P, Ca, S, Mg, K, Na, B, Cu, Fe, and Mn concentration using an inductively-coupled plasma spectrometer. Years were a significant source of variation for all minerals except Mn, while the population × year interaction was significant for P, Ca, Mg, S, and Mn. The more dormant germplasms, Flemish and Ladak, generally had the highest P and K concentration and the lowest Ca concentration in both years. Flemish germplasm also possessed relatively high concentrations of S, Na, Fe, and Mn. A greater proportion of significant phenotypic correlations between minerals were observed in this study than in previous reports. These results suggest that Flemish-based parental populations should provide useful genetic materials for enhandng mineral concentration in alfalfa forage.


The present study describes the structural and floral composition of the vegetation of Sikre Village Development Committee (VDC) at Shivapuri National Park. Systematic sampling technique was used to analyze the vegetation of the forest. A quadrat size of 10mx10m was plotted at respective point for tree study and within 5mx5m plots for shrubs and 1mx1m for herbs analysis. The study recorded a total of 18 tree species from 13 families in the forest area. Among the trees, Uttis ( Alnus nepalensis D. Don) and Chilaune [ Schima wallichii (DC.) Korth.] were the most dominant species. The major shrubs of the forest areas comprised of Yurilo ( Hypericum uralum Buch.-Ham. ex D. Don), Chutro ( Berberis aristata DC.) and Angeri ( Melastoma melabathricum L.). Among the herbs Bhui Amala ( Phyllanthus freternus Webster), Unyu [ Dryopteris filix -mas (L.) Schott.] and Banmara ( Eupatorium adenophorum Spreng.) were dominant ones in forest ground. The aboveground biomass of tree species was found to be 4021.41kg/ha in which Dhalne katus [ Castanopsis indica (Roxb.) Miq.] constituted the large percent of biomass of the forest. The estimated resources demand and supply showed the annual deficit of 112.038t/yr and the carbon stock was calculated to be 2.01t/ha. The Shannon Index of diversity was highest for tree (2.33) followed by shrub (2.22) and herb (2.17) respectively. The density of cut stumps and the density of lopping were 184/ha and 216/ha respectively, which showed that the anthropogenic pressure on community forest was prominent. Key words: basal area; biomass; species diversity; systematic sampling DOI: 10.3126/njst.v11i0.4135 Nepal Journal of Science and Technology 11 (2010) 133-138


An approach to motivation in the contemporary world of work is the implementation of Quality-of-Worklife (QWL) programmes, which is aimed at easing the pressures faced at work by employees. Quality-of-Worklife is a relatively new concept in human resource management. It is a philosophy of improving productivity by providing workers with the opportunities required to put in their best at work, without jeopardizing their personal self improvement and responsibilities at home. This study, investigated the organisational pressure on Quality-of-Worklife of academic and non - academic women in tertiary institutions in Lagos State, Nigeria. The study was a survey of the ex-post facto type. 3,640 senior cadre women working in the four purposively selected degree awarding institutions in Lagos State (University of Lagos, Lagos University Teaching Hospital, Lagos State University and Lagos State University Teaching Hospital) and their managers formed the population. Out of these, 250 women were selected as sample from each institution using the stratified random sampling technique. Three instruments were used for the study: Quality-of-Worklife survey of Women Workers (QWLSWW) r= .815, Head of Department Check List (HODCL) and Structured Interview Questions (SIQ). A research question and 3 research hypotheses were tested at 0.05 significance level. Data were analysed using frequency counts, percentages, t-test. Significant differences were found between academic and non-academic female members of staff in their sources of pressure (t=2.43, P<0.05). The factors included: salary, health-care benefits, day-care services on workplace premises and workload. However, no significant differences were found between academic and non-academic female members of staff on sources of satisfaction which included, daily workload, salary, fairness in performance assessment, special recognition for high performance, internet facilities at work and health- care benefit and organisational pressure factors. Factors such as salary, health-care benefit, day-care services, recognition, workload and others influenced QWL of women. Government and management committees of the tertiary institutions should ensure the reduction of organisational pressure and promote high QWL. This would enable the women workers contribute to the productivity of their organisation.


Citrus is an economically important world tree fruit crop with production in more than 146 countries. The center of origin for citrus is considered to be Southeastern Asia including southern China, northeastern India, and Malaysia, with secondary centers in surrounding areas. Novel and commercially significant scion and rootstock cultivars originating by natural mutation or directed hybridization were introduced during the past century. Significant genetic resource collections exist in many countries. A global citrus germplasm network was developed in 1997. Now that the International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture (ITPGR) has recognized Citrus as an Annex 1 crop, a global conservation strategy needs to be established. The objective of this workshop was to plan the development of this strategy. More than 60 delegates attended with representation from Argentina, Australia, Bhutan, Brazil, China, Columbia, France, Iran, Israel, Italy, Japan, Mexico, Morocco, Portugal, Spain, Turkey, UAE, US, and Vietnam. Nine oral presentations were given describing multiple aspects of genebank operations, technologies and gaps in Brazil, China, France, Australia, Spain, and the US. A draft genebank survey questionnaire was presented to the group and comments and suggested changes for improvement were received. Citrus curators and genebank managers throughout the world will be surveyed for the status and health of their collections. The surveys will be received and compiled by collaborators at the University of California, Riverside, and at the USDA ARS Riverside. This information will be compiled and reported. The strategy will include background and history of the development of Citrus as a cultivated crop, conservation protocols, vulnerabilities, and recommendations for safeguarding Citrus germplasm. This strategy will be implemented through the Global Crop Diversity Trust with collaboration from the International Society for Horticultural Science and the international Citrus research community.


This Article reports the results of the Law School Wellness Survey, which representatives from 103 law schools completed in spring 2018. In 2017, the National Task Force on Lawyer Well-Being issued a groundbreaking report pronouncing a call to action for the legal community and proposing a slate of recommendations for various stakeholders. The recommendations included nine proposed strategies for law schools to implement in order to counter the harmful aspects of legal education and better support law student well-being. Inspired by the Task Force report, the ABA CoLAP Law School Assistance Committee surveyed law schools nationwide to assess the landscape of well-being initiatives currently underway across the country and evaluate the extent to which law schools are heeding the Task Force's recommendations. Taken as a whole, the results of the CoLAP Survey are confidence inspiring. Many law schools have made great strides in areas such as orientation programming, mindfulness and physical fitness offerings, and collaboration with Lawyer Assistance Programs. Moreover, a handful of schools have emerged as trailblazers in this arena, developing innovative courses and programs designed to promote holistic well-being, and devising creative strategies for engaging all members of the law school community in these endeavors. Nevertheless, shifting the culture around law student well-being is a formidable undertaking, and some law schools still have considerable work to do. To support such efforts, this Article draws on the CoLAP Survey data to highlight best practices as well as areas for improvement, and recommends a number of actions that members of the legal education community can take to move the ball forward. The Appendix to this Article contains a compendium of resources cited in the survey responses, which may serve as a roadmap or toolkit for students, faculty, and administrators who seek to further develop the well-being offerings at their law schools.


The United Nations Democracy Agenda is a critical, conceptual-historical analysis of democracy at the United Nations, detailed in four 'visions' of democracy: civilization, elections, governance and developmental democracy.
"I know it when I see it" were the famous words of US Supreme Court Justice Potter Stewart on defining obscenity. It is with the same conviction and (un)certainty with which liberal peacebuilders and democracy promoters have used democracy to achieve both the immediate goals of peacekeeping and the broader, global mission of the United Nations. Today democracy may have gained an international dimension, yet its success as an organizational practice depends on how democracy has been defined. Drawing on political theory and democratization scholarship, The United Nations Democracy Agenda questions the meaning of this well-'known' idea.
The book analyses the way in which the UN, through its Secretary-General, relevant agencies and organizational practices, have thought about, conceptualized and used democracy. The United Nations Democracy Agenda shows that while the idea of democracy's 'civilizing' nature has played a prominent part in its use by the UN, an early focus on sovereignty and self-determination delayed the emergence of the democracy agenda until the 1990s. Today, a comprehensive democracy agenda incorporates not only elections but a broad range of liberal democratic institutions. Despite this, the democracy agenda is at an impasse, both practically and philosophically. The United Nations Democracy Agenda questions whether an extension of the UN democracy agenda to include 'developmental democracy' is feasible.


Abstract. To quantify the contribution of autotrophic microorganisms to organic matter (OM) formation in soils, we investigated natural CO2 vents (mofettes) situated in a wetland in northwest Bohemia (Czech Republic). Mofette soils had higher soil organic matter (SOM) concentrations than reference soils due to restricted decomposition under high CO2 levels. We used radiocarbon (Δ14C) and stable carbon (δ13C) isotope ratios to characterize SOM and its sources in two mofettes and compared it with respective reference soils, which were not influenced by geogenic CO2. The geogenic CO2 emitted at these sites is free of radiocarbon and enriched in 13C compared to atmospheric CO2. Together, these isotopic signals allow us to distinguish C fixed by plants from C fixed by autotrophic microorganisms using their differences in 13C discrimination. We can then estimate that up to 27 % of soil organic matter in the 0–10 cm layer of these soils was derived from microbially assimilated CO2. Isotope values of bulk SOM were shifted towards more positive δ13C and more negative Δ14C values in mofettes compared to reference soils, suggesting that geogenic CO2 emitted from the soil atmosphere is incorporated into SOM. To distinguish whether geogenic CO2 was fixed by plants or by CO2 assimilating microorganisms, we first used the proportional differences in radiocarbon and δ13C values to indicate the magnitude of discrimination of the stable isotopes in living plants. Deviation from this relationship was taken to indicate the presence of microbial CO2 fixation, as microbial discrimination should differ from that of plants. 13CO2-labelling experiments confirmed high activity of CO2 assimilating microbes in the top 10 cm, where δ13C values of SOM were shifted up to 2 ‰ towards more negative values. Uptake rates of microbial CO2 fixation ranged up to 1.59 ± 0.16 μg gdw−1 d−1. We inferred that the negative δ13C shift was caused by the activity of autotrophic microorganisms using the Calvin–Benson–Bassham (CBB) cycle, as indicated from quantification of cbbL/cbbM marker genes encoding for RubisCO by quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qPCR) and by acetogenic and methanogenic microorganisms, shown present in the mofettes by previous studies. Combined Δ14C and δ13C isotope mass balances indicated that microbially derived carbon accounted for 8–27 % of bulk SOM in this soil layer. The findings imply that autotrophic microorganisms can recycle significant amounts of carbon in wetland soils and might contribute to observed radiocarbon reservoir effects influencing Δ14C signatures in peat deposits.


This article presents findings from a qualitative study of family group conferences (FGCs) in Wales, UK. The study examined the process of seventeen FGCs involving twenty-five young people, using semi-structured interviews, analysis of documents and collection of data on welfare outcomes. Young people were re-interviewed after six months. The article focuses on the data concerning reported communications between family members during the family meetings. These data are discussed in relation to similarities and differences between FGCs and family therapy sessions. The authors conclude that each method of intervention presents potential lessons and challenges to the other. FGC co-ordinators might wish to reflect on how to manage and prepare family members for the potential for expressions of emotion and disclosures of confidential information that might arise in a family meeting. Family therapy has a long history of successfully working with such processes. Additionally, family therapists may wish to reflect on the successful management of intra-familiar conflict and disclosure by many families acting without a therapist or other professional present in a FGC.


As part of a programme of cooperation between the Ground Engineering Division of the Transport and Road Research Laboratory (TRRL) and the Soils Division of the Laboratoire Central des Ponts et Chaussees (LCPC), TRRL is publishing edited translations of several papers on soil nailing. This report is an edited translation of the first of these papers (see IRRD 119393). This report gives examples of studies that, over the years have enabled the LCPC to acquire a wider experience and propose a design methodology (see IRRD 815371). The nailing of unstable slopes is mainly used in cases where traditional earthworks or drainage methods require large-scale operations or impose constraints unacceptable for existing structures. Examples of embankments and cuttings illustrate, in particular, the possibility of working within the width of existing rights-of-way without disturbing initial stability conditions. Two studies of unstable slopes are presented in this report. (TRRL)


In this paper, we present a hybrid indoor MIMO channel model for predicting the performance of multiple-element antenna system. The model incorporates the wave clustering phenomena and combines the statistical characteristics of clusters with deterministic ray tracing method. The capacity of the MIMO channel is expressed as a function of spatial correlation at both the transmitter and the receiver. The results obtained by using the channel model are compared with measurement results available in the literature. Simulation results verify that the MIMO technique effectively exploits multipath fading. The paper also presents a comparison between MIMO and beamforming techniques in indoor environments.


This study was conducted with the objectives of assessing the level of awareness on zoonotic diseases among residents of Makurdi Metropolis. Questionnaire was structured into 3 sections namely, socio- demographic characteristics of residents, Awareness on domestic animals, and wild animals transmission of zoonotic diseases.  Simple and systematic random sampling was used to select sample locations in which a total of 250 questionnaires were administered; Descriptive statistics, Students t-test and chi-square analysis were used to analyzed data. Field result showed that 144 respondents male were interviewed while 106 respondents were female. Residents of Makurdi Metropolis were quite aware of zoonotic diseases in both domestic and wild animals. The commonest domestic animal zoonotic diseases known to residents were: the Mad Dog disease, Bird Flu and Swain Flu. While the commonest wild animal zoonotic diseases known to residents were: Monkey Pox disease, Ebola disease, and Lassa fever, the awareness of residents on these zoonotic diseases could be associated with the recent outbreak of these diseases and in the area . It was therefore recommended that more awareness campaigns on other types of zoonotic diseases and they preventive measures should be given to residents of Makurdi metropolis to forestall future public health hazards.Keywords: Makurdi metropolis, zoonotic diseases transmission, Awareness, domestic and wild animals.


Background: Gradual nuclearization of the joint family, changes in the value system, migration of youth to urban areas for work and increasing participation of women in the workforce are important factors responsible for the marginalization of older people. The old age homes, which were uncommon, have recently spread across the country, indicating the growing rift between the generations. Method: The study assesses health status and examines types of health problems based on knowledge, awareness and perception of the inmates' two old age homes in Vadodara city. A total of 50 inmates from two old age homes were interviewed. The questions were so designed that they explore health status. The primary data thus generated have been analyzed and presented in form of frequency distribution table converted into percentage Result: It is observed from table that major health problems found among inmates are Blood pressure 54%; weakness 44% followed by pain/ tingling in lower limbs 38%, disturbed sleep 36%, and breathlessness 32%, back pain and gastric problem. Thyroid, heart attack, arthritis and hysteria problem was observed in one-one respondent Two inmates were suffering from paralysis. There were four diabetic. Two inmates had T.B in past. Conclusion: It is observed that majority of inmates were suffering from health problems associated with ageing. The elderly comprise a very important vulnerable group is ignored but needs urgent attention.


Mitochondrial deoxyribonucleic acid (mtDNA) has been important in understanding the evolutionary histories of both modern humans and archaic hominins, especially the Neanderthals. mtDNA to date (2012) has been successfully extracted from 13 specimens recovered from the geographical range of the Neanderthals. Primer extension capture along with next generation sequencing has been used along with standard shotgun sequencing to determine the entire mtDNA genome of six specimens: two from Kleine Feldhofer Grotte in Germany, one from El Sidron cave in Spain, two from Vindija Cave in Croatia and one from Mezmaiskaya Cave in Russia. New mtDNA sequences have enhanced the data available from earlier studies that analysed the hypervariable regions of several specimens. The Neanderthal mtDNA pool is distinct from modern human mtDNA and forms a separate phylogenetic clade; genetic diversity of Neanderthals is estimated to be approximately one-third of extant modern human populations. In addition to analysis of the mtDNA, next generation sequencing has allowed the first insights into the Neanderthal nuclear genome.

Key Concepts:

The mtDNA genomes of six Neanderthals from four countries have been fully sequenced. The hypervariable regions of several other specimens have also been analysed.

The Neanderthals form a distinct genetic clade from modern humans; the two lineages diverged approximately 500 000 years before the present.

Genetic diversity in the Neanderthal population appears to be considerably reduced in comparison to the modern human populations.

Based on the mtDNA analysis, the Eurasian Neanderthal population appeared to be fragmented into subpopulations with separate demographic histories.

The likelihood of admixture between Neanderthals and modern humans is so low that either behavioural or biological barriers to interbreeding may have existed.

Keywords:

Neanderthal;
ancient DNA;
PCR;
mitochondrial DNA


Thresholds were measured for the discrimination of a click reference stimulus from a similar stimulus with a group delay in a specific frequency region, introduced using an all-pass filter. For headphone presentation the thresholds were about 1.6 ms, were independent of the center frequency of the delayed region (1, 2, or 4 kHz), and did not differ significantly for monaural and binaural listening. For presentation via loudspeakers in a low-reverberation room the thresholds were only slightly higher than with headphones and did not differ significantly for distributed-mode loudspeakers (DMLs) and cone loudspeakers. For presentation via the same loudspeakers in a reverberant room the thresholds were larger than the corresponding thresholds measured in the low-reverberation room, and this effect increased with decreasing center frequency for both loudspeaker types. For monaural listening the thresholds for discriminating group delay were significantly larger for the DML than for the cone loudspeaker, probably due to the higher ratio of reverberant-to-direct sound for the former, associated with its lower directivity. However, for binaural listening the difference between DML and cone loudspeakers became nonsignificant.


When multiple authors collaborate on an article, book, or report, the order in which they are listed is important. How this is done may vary by scientific discipline, with most determining the order according to the authors' respective contributions. But some fields continue to follow the convention whereby authors are listed in alphabetical order. Matthias Weber argues there is convincing evidence that ordering alphabetically discriminates against authors whose names appear late in the alphabet, and has real implications for the number of collaborations they are inclined to enter into.


Today, innovation in information communication technology has encouraged contribution among different fields to tackle large-scale scientific problems or introduce novel inventories that, in both cases, demand extensive sharing of information among collaborating organisations in order to achieve the overall goal. Sharing information across different physical organisations, working as a single virtual organisation, raises a number of information security issues that limit the effectiveness, dynamism, and potential of collaborative working. Although extensive research has been conducted to provide secure information-sharing solutions within a single organisation, little research has investigated multi- organizational information-sharing environments where information requires to be protected but there are variations in information security needs and, in some cases, conflicts in applied information security controls. A key obstacle, the majority of research conducted in this area has overlooked, is not only the ability to govern remote access of users from one organisation to sensitive information stored in another organisation, but also having persistent control over owned information even after access has been granted and the information is either disseminated electronically, transformed into paper format, or even shared verbally. In addition, research was tailored to meet only specific research needs and address particular issues. Therefore, there is a lack of comprehensive, systematic approaches for controls on information usage shared electronically, regardless of specific circumstances. This paper aims to present a novel information control model that could keep information self-protected in dynamic collaborative environments by communicating information security needs along with the exchanged information using an Information Labelling Scheme. Based on SPIDER solution and Protective Commons, this scheme uses nine labelling icons (reflecting the protection type and level) associated with different information security controls (representing the information security mechanisms used to provide the protection). The model is demonstrated in the Microsoft Word 2007 application and a prototype has been developed as a plug-in software named Information Labelling Palette. It displays the nine self-explanatory icons in order for an information owner/user to label any information range within a single document using any icon. This consequently enforces the information security controls associated with the selected icon only into that particular range of electronic information, and secondly, communicates the information security needs to the recipient in a human-readable format, which would help keep recipients informed about how this information should be managed if printed out or shared verbally. Finally, the wide range of information security controls used in this proposed solution makes it widely applicable to meet the considerable diversity of organisations' information security needs. Furthermore, it is believed to lay a solid foundation for future work in the area of information access control and control policy enforcement in collaborative environments.


This paper presents the SPMC topology which offers many advantages with unrestricted switch control or with minimal reactive device use, as an all silicon solution. It elucidates the implementation of SPMC as an inverter and as a Controlled Rectifier. Also, with proper switching control algorithm, a type of converter that can buck and boost with step-changed frequency called a Single-Phase Z-Source Buck-Boost Matrix Converter is proposed. It employs a safe-commutation strategy which results in the elimination of voltage spikes on switches without the need of a snubber circuit. The operating principles of this converter for all these configurations are described and the circuit behaviour is confirmed by MATLAB / Simulink simulation results.


This article, part of an annual series, weaves together Foreign Corrupt Practices Act and related developments from 2013 into a coherent narrative of value to anyone who seeks an informed base of knowledge regarding the FCPA, its enforcement, and related legal and policy issues. Specifically, this article uses FCPA enforcement action data to highlight perennial issues associated with this new era of FCPA enforcement and otherwise discusses top FCPA or related developments from 2013. Although this article focuses on one statute and its enforcement, reference is made throughout to other significant developments in 2013 relevant to the FCPA as such references best facilitate an appreciation for many of the controversial aspects of FCPA enforcement.Part I of this article highlights various FCPA enforcement statistics from 2013 and places the statistics in a proper and historical perspective.Part II of this article uses certain statistics to highlight perennial issues associated with this new era of FCPA enforcement. The following issues will be discussed: (i) the prominent role non-prosecution, deferred prosecution agreements, and administrative settlements have in corporate FCPA enforcement and how criticism of these resolution vehicles continues to mount; (ii) the wide gap between corporate and individual FCPA enforcement actions and a relevant data point that helps explain the gap; and (iii) how the financial consequences of corporate FCPA scrutiny and FCPA enforcement continue to rise, how FCPA settlement amounts have come a long way in a short amount of time, and how certain excesses have come to define FCPA scrutiny.Part III of this article highlights other top FCPA or related developments from 2013 and uses these developments to spotlight the following issues: (i) certain alarming enforcement actions and why anyone who values the rule of law should be concerned by these actions; (ii) actual judicial scrutiny of FCPA enforcement agency theories as well as how non-FCPA legal developments should cause pause as to certain FCPA enforcement theories; (iii) FCPA enforcement agency speeches and policy positions; and (iv) certain uncomfortable truths and double standards regarding the U.S. fight against bribery and corruption.


It is common, in hospice and palliative care settings, for family members, friends, or other caregivers to be offered resource material about what to expect from the dying process. The aim is to reassure caregivers that these developments are normal so that they don't feel alarmed or even responsible in some way. However, a gap existed in the available resource material. The dying process is, of course, psychological as well as physical, and often features subjective experiences. Caregivers deserve to be reassured that it is normal for them to occur. After consulting with hospice physicians and nurses, I discovered that the phenomena described regularly occur and can be viewed and described in a completely neutral way.


Mathematical models are commonly used in science and industry to simulate complex physical processes. These models are implemented by computer codes which are often complex. For this reason, the codes are also expensive in terms of computation time, and this limits the number of simulations in an experiment. The codes are also deterministic, which means that output from a code has no measurement error.
One modelling approach in dealing with deterministic output from computer experiments is to assume that the output is composed of a drift component and systematic errors, which are stationary Gaussian stochastic processes. A Bayesian approach is desirable as it takes into account all sources of model uncertainty. Apart from prior specification, one of the main challenges in a complete Bayesian model is integration. We take a Bayesian approach with a Jeffreys prior on the model parameters. To integrate over the posterior; we use two approximation techniques on the log scaled posterior of the correlation parameters. First we approximate the Jeffreys on the untransformed parameters, this enables us to specify a uniform prior on the transformed parameters. This makes Markov Chain Monte Carlo (MCMC) simulations run faster. For the second approach, we approximate the posterior with a Normal density.
A large part of the thesis is focused on the problem of integration. Integration is often a goal in computer experiments and as previously mentioned, necessary for inference in Bayesian analysis. Sampling strategies are more challenging in computer experiments particularly when dealing with computationally expensive functions. We focus on the problem of integration by using a sampling approach which we refer to as "GaSP integration". This approach assumes that the integrand over some domain is a Gaussian random variable. It follows that the integral itself is a Gaussian random variable and the Best Linear Unbiased Predictor (BLUP) can he used as an estimator of the integral. We show that the integration estimates from GaSP integration have lower absolute errors. We also develop the Adaptive Sub-region Sampling Integration Algorithm (ASSIA) to improve GaSP integration estimates. The algorithm recursively partitions the integration domain into sub-regions in which GaSP integration can be applied more effectively. As a result of the adaptive partitioning of the integration domain, the adaptive algorithm varies sampling to suit the variation of the integrand. This "strategic sampling" can be used to explore the structure of functions in computer experiments.


This volume continues the study of intertextuality in the 'Wisdom Literature' initiated in "Reading Job Intertextually "(Dell and Kynes, T&T Clark, 2012). Like that book, "Reading Ecclesiastes Intertextually" provides the first comprehensive treatment of intertextuality in this wisdom text. Articles address intertextual resonances between Ecclesiastes and texts across the Hebrew canon, along with texts throughout history, from Greek classical literature to the New Testament, Jewish and Christian interpretation, and existential and Modern philosophy. As a multi-authored volume that gathers together scholars with expertise on this diverse array of texts, this collection provides exegetical insight that exceeds any similar attempt by a single author. The contributors have been encouraged to pursue the intertextual approach that best suits their topic, thereby offering readers a valuable collection of intertextual case studies addressing a single text.


OBJECTIVE
To examine the state of the art in the field of medical practice guidelines, to identify limitations, and to suggest future directions.

DESIGN
Informal descriptive survey using a questionnaire administered by telephone, supplemented by comments, by opinions, and by examples solicited from the participating organizations.

PARTICIPANTS
Eight prominent organizations representing prototypic approaches to guideline development; these organizations included three medical societies, two health care organizations, two insurers, and one private health benefits management company.

RESULTS
Improving the quality of medical care was a stated goal of all eight surveyed organizations. However, their objectives have not been stated in operational terms, reflecting the lesser emphasis placed on methods and means for both implementing guidelines and evaluating their impact on health practices and outcomes. In contrast, several systematic methods for developing guidelines exist. They differ in the stress placed on formal literature reviews, reliance on local as opposed to national experts, and formal methods of group judgment, but no evidence exists on which approaches produce sounder and more usable guidelines.

CONCLUSIONS
Guidelines are being vigorously promoted as a means to improve the effectiveness of the health care system. Current initiatives show both strengths and weaknesses. In particular, the attention now paid to the development of guidelines needs to be matched by attention to implementation strategies and to the scientific evaluation of their effectiveness in real clinical settings. Also, more agreement is needed on acceptable methods for developing guidelines, assessing their content, and evaluating their impact on professional behavior, patient outcomes, and health care costs. Fortunately, several initiatives to bring greater order and quality to this field are under way.


Title of Document: THE ROLE OF MAMMALIAN ACTIN BINDING PROTEIN 1 IN COUPLING BCR SIGNALING AND ANTIGEN TRANSPORT FUNCTIONS Olusegun O Onabajo, Doctor of Philosophy, 2008 Directed By: Wenxia Song, Associate Professor, Department of Cell Biology and Molecular Genetics The B cell receptor (BCR) serves as both signal-transducer and antigen-transporter. Binding of antigens to the BCR induces signaling cascades and antigen-processing and presentation, two essential cellular events for B cell activation. BCR-initiated signaling increases BCR-mediated antigen-processing efficiency by increasing the rate and specificity of antigen transport. Previous studies showed a critical role for the actin cytoskeleton in these two processes. Here I found that actin-binding protein 1 (Abp1/HIP-55/SH3P7) functioned as an actin-binding adaptor protein, coupling BCR signaling and antigen-processing pathways with the actin cytoskeleton. Gene knockout of Abp1 and over-expression of the SH3 domain of Abp1 inhibited BCR-mediated antigen internalization, consequently reducing the rate of antigen transport to processing compartments and the efficiency of BCR-mediated antigen-processing and presentation. BCR activation induced tyrosine phosphorylation of Abp1 and translocation of both Abp1 and dynamin 2 from the cytoplasm to the plasma membrane, where they colocalized with the BCR and cortical F-actin. The inhibitory effect of a dynamin PRD deletion mutant on the recruitment of Abp1 to the plasma membrane and the internalization of the BCR, co-immunoprecipitation of dynamin with Abp1, and coprecipitation of Abp1 with GST fusion of the dynamin PRD, demonstrate the interaction of Abp1 with dynamin 2. In addition to its role in antigen transport and processing, Abp1 is also important for BCR signal transduction. Splenic B cells from Abp1 knockout mice and A20 B cell line with Abp1 knockdown displayed higher levels of protein tyrosine phosphorylation after BCR crosslinking when compared with wild type mice. BCRtriggered ERK phosphorylation in Abp1-deficient splenic B cells occurred sooner and for a much shorter duration than the wild type B cells, while both Abp1 knockout and knockdown significantly reduced BCR-induced phosphorylation of JNK. These results demonstrate that the BCR regulates the function of Abp1 by inducing Abp1 phosphorylation and actin cytoskeleton rearrangement, and that Abp1 facilitates BCRmediated antigen-processing by simultaneously interacting with dynamin and the actin cytoskeleton. My results further suggest a negative regulatory role for Abp1 in BCR signal transduction. THE ROLE OF MAMMALIAN ACTIN BINDING PROTEIN 1 IN COUPLING BCR SIGNALING AND ANTIGEN TRANSPORT FUNCTIONS


[1] Difficulties associated with reconstructing past changes in export production were highlighted recently by Averyt and Paytan (2004), who reported substantial disagreement among records developed using different paleoproductivity proxies extracted from two equatorial Pacific piston cores. Proxies included the accumulation rates of barite, excess Ba, and excess Al, as well as elemental ratios of Al/Ti and Ba/Ti. Here we build upon their work by presenting evidence for two factors that contributed to these discrepancies. First, elemental (Ba/Ti and Al/Ti) ratios are influenced by variability in space and time of the flux of Ti to equatorial Pacific sediments, so these proxies cannot be expected to hold a constant relationship to export production. Second, the late Holocene increase in CaCO3 dissolution has caused concentrations of barite, excess Ba, and excess Al to be enriched in surface sediments relative to the depth interval over which sediment accumulation rates were evaluated in developing the algorithms used by Averyt and Paytan (2004). This produces an error in the accumulation rates of these proxies that varies from core to core, ranging from a few tens of percent to as much as a factor of 3. These errors would have been propagated into the export production algorithms on the basis of fluxes of barite, excess Ba, and excess Al. Furthermore, this bias created by the late Holocene increase in CaCO3 dissolution will affect the development of any algorithm based on fluxes of sedimentary constituents. These factors must be taken into account in future paleoceanographic reconstructions.


Dual language educators and program planners rely on the concept of 'language as a resource' as a foundational principle of dual language education (DLE). Traditionally, the term has been juxtaposed to viewing language as a problem and treating students' home linguistic and cultural experiences as a deficit rather than an asset for teaching and learning in school. In this article, we argue that a "multilingualism as a resource" orientation is needed as a new or additional paradigm in order to re-imagine DLE within the current context and to respond to the increased diversity within DLE programs. We use Duverger's model that considers language allocation decisions at the macro, meso, and micro levels as a lens to examine the multilingualism-as-a-resource orientation. Drawing on examples at the program model, curricular, and interactional level, we illustrate both the importance as well as the challenging dynamics that emerge as sociopolitical context, language use, and status intersect in the context of two-way immersion programs.


With the growing number of systems that provide user-generated reviews the relationship between users and vendors, particularly unfamiliar vendors, is changing. Users are increasingly using online reviews for assessing vendors' services prior to purchasing them. However, users might be uncertain how much to trust reviews because most users are unfamiliar with reviewers and reviews might not be credible. Thus, it is becoming increasingly important to understand which reviews are trusted by users when they make purchase decisions and why.

 Previous work has suggested that factors of the review and reviewer - perceived review valence, quality, helpfulness, accuracy, perceived reviewer's expertise and bias - influence user trust. It has also suggested that interface signals, such as the total number of reviews posted by the reviewer, are employed by users when deciding to trust reviews and reviewers as part of their purchase decision-making.

 This research aims to advance knowledge regarding user trust in online reviews when making purchase decisions. It first explores how users employ interface signals in their perception of factors of the review and reviewer that influence trust. Second, it clarifies how these factors relate to one another and to trust. It explores the role of new factors - perceived reviewer's personality and personality similarity to the user - that have not been previously considered in trust in online reviews. Third, it demonstrates how the user's own background - dispositional trust, past experience and personality - shapes trust in online reviews. To do so, this research involved three empirical studies, two of which were lab-based studies that collected qualitative and quantitative data and one online study that collected quantitative data.

 The findings show that there are two categories of interface signals, reviewrelated and reviewer-related that matter in trust. Review-related signals seem more important not only in trust overall, but also are employed by users to perceive factors of both review and reviewer that influence trust more so than reviewer-related signals.

 Regarding the interplay between the factors that have been suggested to influence trust, it seems that user perception of these factors are related to one another. The perceived quality and helpfulness of the review seem to be most related to the perceived reviewer's expertise and the perceived review accuracy seems to be most related to perceived reviewer's bias. While all these factors relate to trust, factors of the review seem to have a more significant role. The findings also show that the perceived reviewer's personality relates to trust and factors that can influence trust. For instance, the reviewer's perceived high conscientiousness is related to high perceived review quality, high perceived reviewer's expertise and high trust. The perceived reviewer's personality similarity to the user seems to play a weaker role in trust than the perceived reviewer's personality.

 The user's own background seems to have a significant role in shaping trust in online reviews. High dispositional trust, extraversion and neuroticism are related to high perceived review quality, accuracy, high perceived reviewer's expertise and high trust. The user's positive past experience of using online reviews is related to high willingness of making a purchase based on reviews.

 This research makes several theoretical and practical contributions. It builds on previous work on user trust in online reviews and vendors, and the perception of personality. The findings point the way towards a framework of trust relationships in systems that provide user-generated reviews. Also, the findings have design implications because they show which and how interface signals can influence trust.


The sintering behavior of synthesized nanocrystalline hydroxyapatite (HA) powder was investigated in terms of phase stability and mechanical properties. A wet chemical precipitation method was successfully employed to synthesize a high purity and single phase HA powder. After shaping, HA powder compacts have been sintered over the temperature range of 1000 degrees C to 1300 degrees C. Two different sintering holding times of 1 minute and 120 minutes were investigated. The results revealed that the 1 minute holding time profile was effective in suppressing grain growth and producing a HA body with improved densification. Additionally, higher mechanical properties such as Young's modulus of 119 GPa, high fracture toughness of 1.41 MPa.m(1/2) and hardness of 9.5 GPa were obtained for this sample as compared to HA bodies when sintered using the 120 minutes holding time. The study revealed for the first time that HA could be sintered using a 1 minute holding time without compromising on HA phase stability and mechanical properties.


In the domain of safety and security specialized organizations often have to collaborate on an occasional basis with other organizations to head challenges that none of the partners can head (as easily) on its own. Such collaborations are temporal and often virtual in nature. One emerging perspective to study such collaborations is that of transactive memory systems (TMS). TMS are cognitive systems collaborating people develop to facilitate knowledge transfer and to contribute to people's abilities to coordinate specialized knowledge. Developing an effective TMS may result in new organizational capabilities and services, while failure to do so is a known barrier to distributed team success. Addressing several gaps in TMS literature, in this dissertation the structure, functioning, and emergence of TMS are being explored of temporary and geographically distributed collaborations at intra-organizational level.


Symmetric positive definite (SPD) matrices are useful for capturing second-order statistics of visual data. To compare two SPD matrices, several measures are available, such as the affine-invariant Riemannian metric, Jeffreys divergence, Jensen-Bregman logdet divergence, etc.; however, their behaviors may be application dependent, raising the need of manual selection to achieve the best possible performance. Further and as a result of their overwhelming complexity for large-scale problems, computing pairwise similarities by clever embedding of SPD matrices is often preferred to direct use of the aforementioned measures. In this paper, we propose a discriminative metric learning framework, Information Divergence and Dictionary Learning (IDDL), that not only learns application specific measures on SPD matrices automatically, but also embeds them as vectors using a learned dictionary. To learn the similarity measures (which could potentially be distinct for every dictionary atom), we use the recently introduced αß-logdet divergence, which is known to unify the measures listed above. We propose a novel IDDL objective, that learns the parameters of the divergence and the dictionary atoms jointly in a discriminative setup and is solved efficiently using Riemannian optimization. We showcase extensive experiments on eight computer vision datasets, demonstrating state-of-the-art performances.


Abstract The present study explored several critical constructs related to environmentally responsible apparel consumption, which include environmentalism, materialism and knowledge of environmental issues pertaining to apparel products. The research focused on apparel merchandising and design students (n = 233) as future industry professionals who will soon be driving industry decisions in apparel production and consumption. A proposed research model was subject to confirmatory factor analysis and structural equation modeling. The model explained 58% of the variance in environmentally responsible apparel consumption behavior. Environmental apparel knowledge positively influenced environmentalism, and, in turn, environmentalism had a significant positive influence on environmentally responsible apparel consumption behavior. On the contrary, environmental apparel knowledge did not significantly influence materialism, and, in turn, materialism was not related to environmentally responsible apparel consumption behavior. Practical implications and limitations of the present study are also discussed.


The Romance languages are characterized by the existence of pronominal clitics. Third person pronominal clitics are often, but not always, homophonous with the definite determiner series in the same language. Both pronominal and determiner clitics emerge early in child acquisition, but their path of development varies depending on clitic type and language. While determiner clitic acquisition is quite homogeneous across Romance, there is wide cross-linguistic variation for pronominal clitics (accusative vs. partitive vs. dative, first/second person vs. third person); the observed differences in acquisition correlate with syntactic differences between the pronouns. Acquisition of pronominal clitics is also affected if a language has both null objects and object clitics, as in European Portuguese. The interpretation of Romance pronominal clitics is generally target-like in child grammar, with absence of Pronoun Interpretation problems like those found in languages with strong pronouns. Studies on developmental language impairment show that, as in typical development, clitic production is subject to cross-linguistic variation. The divergent performance between determiners and pronominals in this population points to the syntactic (as opposed to phonological) nature of the deficit.


A slave who represented his masters in court and negotiations, Aesop relied on allegorical animal stories, collected here in "The Complete Fables", to convey his key points. This "Penguin Classics" edition is translated from the Greek by Olivia and Robert Temple with an introduction by Robert Temple. In a series of pithy, amusing vignettes, Aesop created a vivid cast of characters to demonstrate different aspects of human nature. Here we see a wily fox outwitted by a quick-thinking cicada, a tortoise triumphing over a self-confident hare and a fable-teller named Aesop silencing those who mock him. Each jewel-like fable provides a warning about the consequences of wrongdoing, as well as offering a glimpse into the everyday lives of Ancient Greeks. All Aesop's fables, full of humour, insight and savage wit, as well as many fascinating glimpses of ordinary life, have now been brought together for the first time in this definitive and fully annotated modern edition. Little is known for certain about the life of Aesop (c.6 20-564 BC), though details of his life are scattered throughout the works of ancient Greek writers including Aristophanes, Xenophon, Aristotle and Herodotus, who give grounds for thinking that he was a slave, and Plutarch, who identifies him as an entertaining storyteller, executed by the Delphians by being thrown off a cliff. If you enjoyed "The Complete Fables", you might like Ovid's "Metamorphoses", also available in "Penguin Classics". "Ground-breaking...this version of the fables is a revelation...the translation is excellent". (Peter Jones, "Sunday Telegraph"). "Aesop remains a fundamental figure in Western literature". (Frederic Raphael, "Sunday Times").


Book synopsis: Much of the real value in the entertainment industry today lies in franchises – fictional universes, entertainment concepts, reinventions of cultural traditions and celebrity – that create an ongoing presence in the marketplace. The entertainment franchise now shapes the global cultural landscape. However, scholars have devoted little attention to how intellectual property law has changed or is being stretched in practice to accommodate this type of creativity and form of enterprise. Covering law and practice in jurisdictions such as the UK, the EU, the USA, Australia, Spain and the Caribbean, this collection explores the 'fit' of intellectual property laws with specific franchises and tracks the way creators and entrepreneurs work around law's limitations. Case studies include mega-film franchises, fan activity, hip-hop, the management of celebrity reputation, flamenco, 'Disneyfied' theatre, film and television funding, arts festivals and 'carnival in a box'.


The classical mean-variance optimization takes expected returns and variances and produces portfolio positions. In this paper we discuss the direction and the magnitude of the positions vector separately, and focus on the former. We quantify the distortions of the mean-variance optimization process by looking at the angle between the vector of expected returns and the vector of optimized portfolio positions. We relate this angle to the condition numbers of the covariance matrix and show how to control it by employing robust optimization techniques. The resulting portfolios are more intuitive and investment-relevant, in particular with lower leverage of the "noise" alphas at the expense of lower ex-ante Sharpe Ratio.


Recent studies on environmental regimes suggest that important lessons and policy recommendations may be drawn from the functioning of the multilateral trading regime. This brief compares the needs and goals of the trade and environment regimes, and discusses how insights from over sixty years of experience of the multilateral trading system might provide ideas for redesigning the architecture of the international environmental regime. It further calls for a better dialogue and improved complementarities between the two fields in order to enhance coherence within international law.


The African state has received numerous analyses in academic literature. The vast majority of these studies focus on the essence of the state rather than how it is experienced and lived by its citizens and therefore sacrifice empirical knowledge of state function in favour of abstract conceptualisation. Much academic literature, especially the neopatrimonial approach dominant in political science, examines African states through the prism of Weberian logic and suggests that, because states do not conform to a rational-legal ideal, they must therefore be deficient. These analyses also frequently downplay the impact of colonial rule and postcolonial state formation and politics on the character of contemporary African states, instead stressing the continuities between pre-colonial and modern patterns of rule. This thesis eschews a normative understanding of the state in favour of an approach grounded in everyday action through analysis of the workings of the Nigerian higher education sector. I argue that this sector is a microcosm of broader state-society relations. The thesis draws on primary data collected through ethnographic methods to analyse how providers and users of a university in south-eastern Nigeria negotiate their passage into, and through, a highly complex and flexible institution. The thesis argues that, among both students and staff, achieving success in Nigerian higher education is dependent on a combination of merit, personal connections and money. The importance of these three elements suggests a system in which norms rooted in bureaucracy (merit), patron-clientism (personal connections) and financial corruption (money) intersect. My empirical research suggests that characterisations of African states as wholly captured by society and functioning as little more than vehicles for particularistic advancement, both central elements of much neopatrimonial state literature, are therefore inaccurate. The thesis also places the Nigerian state in historical context, arguing that, while some patterns of pre-colonial behaviour remain important in contemporary Nigeria, they have been fundamentally altered by colonialism and its aftermath. This thesis offers an important corrective to the rather abstract and normative ideas that underpin the theory of the African neopatrimonial state. It argues that a better understanding of the state requires a stronger focus on the routine and real experiences of service providers and users and their daily interactions.


Background: Metabolic syndrome is a constellation of cardiovascular risk factors characterized by insulin resistance, prothrombotic and pro-inflammatory state. This study was an attempt to evaluate ECG changes as markers for metabolic syndrome before development of overt cardiovascular disease. Aims: We evaluated association between metabolic syndrome and ECG indices: QT dispersion, QTc dispersion, TpTe interval and TpTe/QT ratio. Settings and Design: Cross-sectional study Methods and Material: The study was conducted on 108 patients with metabolic syndrome and compared with age and sex matched 50 controls. Indices were measured from 12 lead ECG and data was compared. Statistical analysis used: SPSS Results: Metabolic syndrome was more common in females with most common criteria present being waist circumference followed by hypertriglyceridemia Metabolic syndrome group had higher levels of BMI, waist circumference, fat percentage, serum triglycerides and fasting glucose, systolic and diastolic pressure as well as lower HDL levels than control subjects. The QTc dispersion, QT dispersion, TpTe intervals and TpTe/QT ratio were significantly increased in Metabolic syndrome group compared to the control group. Increased Odd's ratio of the ECG parameters in comparison with the control group was also calculated. ROC curve revealed that QTc dispersion and TpTe/ QT ratio were better predictors for future metabolic syndrome. Conclusions: Hence ECG indices (QT dispersion, QTc dispersion, TpTe interval and TpTe/ QT ratio) can be used to predict cardiovascular risk in such patients.


New interactive equilibrium methods for the design and analysis of masonry structures have facilitated the construction of masonry structures with a formal language well beyond what is typically associated with compression-only architecture. These developments have also rekindled interest in tile vaulting, and led to a rediscovery of this traditional building technique. To ensure that tile vaults with new, complex shapes can still be built economically, the construction processes involved in the realisation of these structures have adapted. For example, cheaper and simpler falsework systems have been introduced. In addition, a wide variety of materials have been experimented with to be able to build more sustainable vaulted structures with local resources. This paper presents a review of the latest innovations in tile vaulting, based on the most representative works of the past few years with respect to shape, construction method and the use of materials.