Background: Although inconclusive, previous work demonstrates an association between maternal smoking and off-spring cardiovascular-related biomarkers. Whether maternal smoking is associated with off-spring cardiovascular-related behaviors (e.g., physical activity) has yet to be examined, which was this study's purpose. Methods: Data from the 2003-2006 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey were employed. Adolescent participants (N=1,033; 12-15 yrs) completed a survey assessing their biological mother's smoking behavior during gestation and also wore an accelerometer for up to 7 days. Three mutually exclusive groups were created, including Group 1) mother did not smoke during participants pregnancy; Group 2) mother smoked during entire pregnancy; and Group 3) mother quit smoking during pregnancy. Results: After adjustments, moderate-to-vigorous physical activity was not different in adolescents who belonged to Group 2 vs. 1 (RR = 1.12; 95% CI: 0.94-1.34; P=0.18) or Group 3 vs. 1 (RR = 0.96; 95% CI: 0.75-1.22; P=0.74). Conclusions: Maternal smoking was not associated with their off-springs physical activity during adolescence.


The photosensitive properties of a centrosymmetric gadolinium gallium garnet crystal doped with calcium are investigated at room temperature. Elementary holograms can be recorded over a wide range of wavelengths in the visible spectral range. The photosensitive properties are studied experimentally using beam coupling and angular response experiments. Mixed absorption and refractive-index gratings are observed and their amplitudes and relative phases determined. Moreover, the candidate centers that are responsible for the photorefractive effect are discussed.


Digital marketing has made significant progress in recent years, in all countries, both developed and developing. Many local and international companies have largely placed their marketing activities in the digital environment. Now, the COVID-19 pandemic has made it even more important for many companies and consumers to conduct marketing, buying and selling activities through social media. Like companies, consumers are changing their buying behaviors by focusing more on social media, from which they are providing the necessary and sufficient information about all the products and services that are marketed online. This paper is of particular importance because it addresses the issue of digital marketing activities in the Western Balkans region, specifically the behavior of consumers from countries of this region on social media. From the results of the paper it can be concluded that consumers from these countries are quite engaged in social media, where they receive the necessary information for different products and services, follow the activities of different companies, etc.


Policy-based management is typically used to manage large and complex systems, e.g. the management of telecommunications networks. When collaborating multi-disciplinary managers try to create policies from their own viewpoint they are hindered by a lack of a common vocabulary and an inability to understand how the complex system currently operates and how it is constrained. For example, modern telecoms networks must be constrained by many different types of policies, including: operational policies, legal policies, billing and provision polices etc.. As the policy-set grows, and more cross-domain managers write policies, the system becomes unwieldy, static and stale. This is due to a lack of overall understanding of how the system is currently operating in a constrained manner. We propose to empower collaborating managers by building user-centric semantically informed visualisations of the managed system's dynamic state and constraints. These visualisations and control adaptation mechanisms will be tailored to each manager's context and domain thereby facilitating ongoing cooperative management and communication between collaborating managers.


Estimating the mass of a supermassive black hole in an active galactic nucleus usually relies on the assumption that the broad line region (BLR) is virialized. However, this assumption seems to be invalid in BLR models that consist of an accretion disk and its wind. The disk is likely Keplerian and therefore virialized. However, beyond a certain point, the wind material must be dominated by an outward force that is stronger than gravity. Here, we analyze hydrodynamic simulations of four different disk winds: an isothermal wind, a thermal wind from an X-ray-heated disk, and two line-driven winds, one with and the other without X-ray heating and cooling. For each model, we determine whether gravity governs the flow properties by computing and analyzing the volume-integrated quantities that appear in the virial theorem: internal, kinetic, and gravitational energies. We find that in the first two models, the winds are non-virialized, whereas the two line-driven disk winds are virialized up to a relatively large distance. The line-driven winds are virialized because they accelerate slowly so that the rotational velocity is dominant and the wind base is very dense. For the two virialized winds, the so-called projected virial factor scales with inclination angle as 1/sin 2i. Finally, we demonstrate that an outflow from a Keplerian disk becomes unvirialized more slowly when it conserves the gas specific angular momentum, as in the models considered here, than when it conserves the angular velocity, as in the so-called magneto-centrifugal winds.


Traffic monitoring or crowd management systems produce large amounts of data in the form of events that need to be processed to detect relevant incidents. Rule-based pattern recognition is a promising approach for these applications, however, increasing amounts of data as well as large and complex rule sets demand for more and more processing power and memory. In order to scale such applications, a rule-based pattern detection system needs to be distributable over multiple machines. Today's approaches are however focused on static distribution of rules or do not support reasoning over the full set of events. We propose Cloud PARTE, a complex event detection system that implements the Rete algorithm on top of mobile actors. These actors can migrate between machines to respond to changes in the work load distribution. Cloud PARTE is an extension of PARTE and offers the first rule engine specifically tailored for continuous complex event detection that is able to benefit from elastic systems as provided by cloud computing platforms. It supports fully automatic load balancing and supports online rules with access to the entire event pool.


Measurements of isoprene concentration and flux were made at a mixed deciduous forest in southern Canada during 1995 to characterize diel and seasonal emissions and thus deduce annual inventories. Isoprene inventories are necessary for inputs to modeling systems to study atmospheric chemistry and carbon budgets. Despite adequate environmental conditions to promote emissions, the onset of isoprene emission occurred two weeks after full leaf expansion, and two additional weeks were required for plants to emit isoprene at the maximum capacity. Such maximum isoprene emission was measured during July when canopy isoprene fluxes reached 40–60 nmol (isoprene)·m−2 (ground area)·s−1. Isoprene emission precipitously declined in concert with autumnal leaf senescence, with fluxes reaching the detection limit before the forest became leafless. In addition to plant development controls on emissions, temperatures below 10°C strongly modulated isoprene emission. After plants were exposed to low temperatures, isoprene emission remained suppressed and did not correspondingly increase in the manner that temperature is known to influence isoprene biosynthesis. Using a one-dimensional model to vertically adjust temperature and visible solar radiation with depth in the canopy, coupled with a seasonally adjusted emission rate, we estimated that the forest produced 71 mmol isoprene/m2 during 1995. For a deciduous forest with final leaf-area index of 4.1 and active isoprene biomass of 75 g (dry mass)/m2, on average such isoprene source accounted for 2% of the carbon fixed through photosynthesis. The percentage of carbon entering the atmosphere in the form of isoprene became as high as 10% during warm (>30°C) and dry conditions. The data set reported here demonstrates that constant emission rates are inadequate to characterize emission rates for the entire growing season. Improved isoprene-emission inventories can be achieved if emission factors are seasonally adjusted. In this study we adopted a method to express the emission rates as a function of degree days.


ABSTRACT Beach segments (0.5-3 km in length) enriched in heavy minerals (20-100% by weight abundance) are located south of six prominent headlands that interrupt the 175-km coastline between Cape Lookout and Cape Perpetua, Oregon. Beach-face retreat in the winter of 1982-83 exposed underlying placers containing the economic minerals garnet, zircon, ilmenite and chromite. In each case, the highest concentration of placer minerals occurs in an area of maximum shoreline curvature at a distance south of the north bounding headland that is proportional to seaward extent of the headland. Cross-sections and magnetic surveys of one 8-km coastal section, Otter Rock to Yaquina Head, define a small placer body (heavy minerals > 50%) some 0.75 km in length and 80 103 m3 in volume that comprises 10% of the total beach sand between the bounding headlands. Mineral grain-size analyses of winter beach samples along this coastal section confirm earlier models of mineral segregation by entrainment processes; the light minerals are more susceptible to fluid shear stress than the heavy minerals. Maximum segregation and heavy mineral enrichment occur in the backshore and at shoreline inflection points where decreasing flow velocities produce gradients of fl id shear stress, allowing light minerals to be winnowed from more stable, heavy minerals. Development of placer deposits is "controlled" by shoreline configuration as the first-order factor and seasonal variations of wave climate, and longshore currents as second-order factors that delineate shape and concentration of heavy minerals in placer bodies.


[1] Fourier spectra of crustal guided Lg waves are collected to study seismic attenuation, or Q, along the INDEPTH profiles. The 1 Hz Lg Q (Q0) values are measured between many pairs of two stations and input to a back projection algorithm to obtain laterally varying Q0 models. Along the INDEPTH III profile in central Tibet, the Q0 model consists of low and nearly constant values of ∼90. These low values are consistent with abnormally high temperature as well as partial melts in the crust. Along the INDEPTH II profile in southern Tibet the Q0 values increase southward. They are extremely low (∼60) over the northernmost segment but increase by a factor of 2 over a distance of ∼100 km between the Indus-Yalong Suture and the Kangmar Dome. Farther south and into the high Himalayas, Q0 values are higher than 300. Regional Rayleigh waves observed along the northern INDEPTH II profile are used to infer a low-velocity, low-Q layer at midcrustal depths (between ∼15 and 30 km) in southern Tibet. The aqueous fluid trapped in the upper crust and a midcrust partial melting zone, associated with the underthrusting of the Indian lithosphere, are the likely causes of the high Lg attenuation in southern Tibet. Low Q, rather then a systematic Lg conversion along a dipping Moho, is the main cause of the previously observed Lg blockage over paths crossing the southern Tibetan boundary.


PURPOSE
To determine whether a relationship exists between water diffusion coefficients or diffusion anisotropy and MR-defined regions of normal or abnormal brain parenchyma in patients with cerebral gliomas.

METHODS
In 40 patients with cerebral gliomas, diffusion was characterized in a single column of interest using a motion-insensitive spin-echo sequence that was applied sequentially at two gradient strength settings in three orthogonal directions. Apparent diffusion coefficients (ADCs) were derived for the three orthogonal axes at 128 points along the column. An average ADC and an index of diffusion anisotropy (IDA = diffusion coefficientmax-min/diffusionmean) was than calculated for any of nine MR-determined regions of interest within the tumor or adjacent parenchyma.

RESULTS
In cerebral edema, mean ADC (all ADCs as 10(-7) cm2/s) was 138 +/- 24 (versus 83 +/- 6 for normal white matter) with mean IDA of 0.26 +/- 0.14 (versus 0.45 +/- 0.17 for normal white matter). Solid enhancing central tumor mean ADC was 131 +/- 25 with mean IDA of 0.15 +/- 0.10. Solid enhancing tumor margin mean ADC was 131 +/- 25, with IDA of 0.25 +/- 0.20. Cyst or necrosis mean ADC was 235 +/- 35 with IDA of 0.07 +/- 0.04.

CONCLUSION
In cerebral gliomas ADC and IDA determinations provide information not available from routine MR imaging. ADC and IDA determinations allow distinction between normal white matter, areas of necrosis or cyst formation, regions of edema, and solid enhancing tumor. ADCs can be quickly and reliably characterized within a motion-insensitive column of interest with standard MR hardware.


Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) is an incurable neuromuscular disease that leads to a profound loss of life quality and premature death. Around 10% of the cases are inherited and ALS8 is an autosomal dominant form of familial ALS caused by mutations in the vamp-associated protein B/C (VAPB) gene. The VAPB protein is involved in many cellular processes and it likely contributes to the pathogenesis of other forms of ALS besides ALS8. A number of successful drug tests in ALS animal models could not be translated to humans underscoring the need for novel approaches. The induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSC) technology brings new hope, since it can be used to model and investigate diseases in vitro. Here we present an additional tool to study ALS based on ALS8-iPSC. Fibroblasts from ALS8 patients and their non-carrier siblings were successfully reprogrammed to a pluripotent state and differentiated into motor neurons. We show for the first time that VAPB protein levels are reduced in ALS8-derived motor neurons but, in contrast to over-expression systems, cytoplasmic aggregates could not be identified. Our results suggest that optimal levels of VAPB may play a central role in the pathogenesis of ALS8, in agreement with the observed reduction of VAPB in sporadic ALS.


The central objective of this thesis is to investigate, understand and explain the conditions under which the administrative problem known as potentially avoidable failure induced demand (PAFID) arises in UK public services and might be prevented. PAFID is defined as "customer contacts that appear to be precipitated by earlier failures, such as failures to do things right first time, which cause additional and potentially avoidable demands to impinge upon public services". A secondary objective of the thesis is to establish how, and under what better conditions, the public sector could successfully exploit the management paradigm called Lean thinking, as an alternative to the current New Public Management method, in order to address the PAFID problem. An analysis of the results from three case-studies conducted in UK local authority settings confirms that nearly half of all customer contacts in high-volume services such as housing benefits are potentially avoidable. The extrapolation of this finding to the contact volumes and handling costs in one UK council alone suggests possible savings of more than £1 million a year. The potential benefits that are available to the case-study councils and nearly 500 other local councils, together with numerous other providers of UK public services, are also very substantial. A variety of conceptual lenses are applied to the PAFID problem in order to generate alternative explanations and policy options. This thesis makes a number of contributions to public sector management theory and practice, including the finding that councils might reduce principal-agent problems that add to PAFID by espousing more supportive and enabling environments, and by adopting systems-oriented approaches that acknowledge the complex and subjective nature of real-world problems. The findings also suggest that, while the deployment of Lean 'tools' can result in short-term savings and performance improvements, the adoption of Lean thinking as a comprehensive management approach is more likely to bring about fundamental changes.


H ope is crucial to most political activism, but when the situation is dire, watch out for the "hope industry." It's made up of institutions and people who send out messages of false hope, stoking collective ignorance, soothing consumers' consciences, and revving up the climate change engine. In the age of climate change, false hope is everywhere. It takes two main forms: denial and necessary illusions. The denial message is spouted and funded by the core of the U.S. hope industry: the big energy companies and the Republican Party. Some peddlers of denial say climate change is not happening. Others acknowledge its existence but say humans did not cause it. And yet others within the corporate hope industry say climate change is real but deny its gravity, telling us that smart companies can solve the problem. Hey, no worries. Because the problem doesn't exist or will resolve itself. According to polls, about 40 percent of Americans buy into this corporate false hope. The mass denial is devastating to real hope. Some liberals tend to believe that the problem can be solved within the existing economic and political system. The liberal false hope is that conventional politics can deal with the problem — or that personal changes in lifestyle (recycling, driving hybrids, going to farmer markets) will do the trick. Along with liberal citizens, selfproclaimed "environmentally friendly" companies — whether Exxon and Chevron or Bank of America and McDonalds — promote this denial. Hopepeddling corporations make money off their "greenwashing," a word invented to describe the acts of companies that lie to persuade consumers that their products are environmentally safe. This goes beyond "clean coal" companies and oil corporations fracking for natural gas. A 2010 report called "The Sins of Greenwashing: Home and Family Edition" conducted by the environmental marketing agency TerraChoice showed that 95 percent of consumer products claiming to be green were lying or obfuscating in some way, and the annual Greenwash Academy Awards have exposed some of the worst offenders. Whole industries profit deceitfully on individuals' efforts to live green. False hope also takes the form of "necessary illusions" — corporatemanufactured messages that justify corporate rule. Noam Chomsky has identified several of the necessary illusions in circulation within our society: the virtues of the market, the benign invisible hand of capitalism, the morality of American militarism, and American exceptionalism. In the context of climate change, these translate into the following false hopes:


This study examined the use of Social Media/Web 2.0 for research support and it is guided by three objectives namely:  a) to ascertain the uses social media in academic institutions; b) to identify the challenges associated with social media use for research purposes and c) to provide experiences of social media application in selected African academic institutions. The study makes use of literature analysis in combination with personal and professional work experiences on the use of social media from librarians in four different countries. Institutional experiences by the four librarians showed that it is only Rhodes University Library that uses social media in its library, which is as a result of a formal social media strategy. For the other three universities, University of Education, Winneba Library in Ghana, Makerere University Library in Uganda and the University of Nigeria Library, the use of social media is not encouraging. They use it mostly for communication and interaction with colleagues. It was also discovered that there is no social media strategy available in these university libraries. Based on these findings, the study recommended the implementation of social media strategy, appointment of social media librarians in these libraries, and continuing professional development of librarians to keep abreast with current trends. Web 2.0/Social Media is a new technology offering new options for African academic librarians in their research support role.


Background—Up to 15% of colorectal cancers are characterised by DNA microsatellite instability (MIN), shown by the presence of DNA replication errors (RERs). Aims—To identify pathological features that are discriminating for colorectal cancer (CRC) showing extensive MIN. Subjects—A prospective series of 303 patients with CRC and no family history of either familial adenomatous polyposis or hereditary non-polyposis colorectal cancer. Methods—DNA was extracted from fresh tissue samples and the presence of MIN was studied at nine loci that included TGFβRII, IGFIIR, and BAX. The 61 cases showing RERs were compared with 63 RER negative cases with respect to a comprehensive set of clinical and pathological variables. Predictive utility of the variables was tested by decision tree analysis. Results—Twenty seven patients with CRC showed extensive RERs (three loci or more) (RER+) and 34 had limited RERs only (28 = one locus; 6 = two loci) (RER+/−), yielding a bimodal distribution. RER+ cancers differed from RER− and RER+/− cases. Tumour type (adenocarcinoma, mucinous carcinoma, and undifferentiated carcinoma) (p=0.001), tumour infiltrating lymphocytes (p=0.001), and anatomical site (p=0.001) were the most significant of the discriminating variables. Algorithms developed by decision tree analysis allowed cases to be assigned to RER+ versus RER− and +/− status with a global sensitivity of 81.5%, specificity of 96%, and overall accuracy of 93%. Conclusion—Pathological examination of CRC allows assignment of RER+ status; assignment is specific and relatively sensitive. Conversely RER− and RER+/− CRC are indistinguishable.


We present zircon and monazite U-Pb data from ultrahigh-temperature (UHT) metamorphosed orthogneisses and paragneisses collected from key areas of the Eastern Ghats Belt, India. The results show contrasting tectonothermal histories in different isotopic domains of the Eastern Ghats Belt that were identified by previous workers. Of particular importance is the discovery of a ca. 1760 Ma event (concordia age) in the southern domain 1A, which is interpreted to be the age of an early UHT metamorphism event. This was followed by a second granulite-facies metamorphism event and partial melting at ca. 1600 Ma. This domain was presumably cratonized with India at around 1600 Ma. The record of the ca. 1760–1600 Ma events in domain 1A of the Eastern Ghats Belt allows us to speculate on modeling the Paleoproterozoic–Mesoproterozoic transcontinental correlation. The accretionary orogenic processes in the supercontinent Columbia encompassed Australia, Antarctica, Laurentia, and parts of India. The central part of Eastern Ghats Belt (isotopic domain 2), on the other hand, contains zircons showing inherited ages of ca. 1880–1700 Ma, with a concordant age group of ca. 1760 Ma. Moderately to strongly discordant ages in the time span of ca. 1600–1100 Ma in domain 2 are interpreted to be mixing ages as a result of strong overprint of a ca. 1030–900 Ma tectonothermal event(s) that affected this domain. An early UHT metamorphism event in this domain is inferred to have occurred at ca. 1030–990 Ma (chemical dating of included monazite grains). Zircon records the most pervasive tectonothermal event in this domain at ca. 980–900 Ma, which is correlative with the Rayner orogeny in East Antarctica as a part of the formation of Rodinia.


In this study, an experimental methodology is presented to separate various components of the power loss of a gearbox. The methodology relies on two separate measurements. One is designed to measure total power loss of a gearbox housing a single spur gear pair under both loaded and unloaded conditions such that load-independent (spin) and load-dependent (mechanical) components can be separated. With the assumption that gear pair and rolling element bearings constitute the bulk of the gearbox power loss, a second measurement system designed to quantify rolling element bearing losses is proposed. With this setup, spin and mechanical power losses of rolling element bearings used in the gearbox experiments are measured. Combining the sets of gearbox and bearing data, power loss components attributable to the gear pair and rolling element bearings are quantified as a function of speed and torque. The results indicate that all gear and bearing related components are significant and a methodology such as the one proposed in this study is warranted.


Genetic diversity of Helicobacter bizzozeronii and H. salomonis, two recently identified canine gastric Helicobacter spp., was studied by pulsed-field gel electrophoresis (PFGE). All 15 Finnish H. bizzozeronii strains collected between 1991 and 1996 from pet dogs produced different PFGE patterns with all restriction endonucleases studied (AscI, ApaI, SpeI, NotI and PacI) suggesting significant genetic diversity. The five independent H. salomonis strains produced four different patterns with these enzymes; two strains showed identical patterns with all the enzymes. Three separate isolates from one dog had identical patterns, suggesting long-lasting infection with the same strain. H. salomonis strains had several small fragments common for all strains, suggesting relatedness. The PFGE method was shown to be useful for epidemiological studies of canine gastric helicobacter infection. Hybridisation of the DNA digests with digoxigenin-labelled ureB or 16S rRNA gene probes generated by PCR indicated conservation in the localisation of these genes in the H. salomonis genome, because the probes hybridised with similar size fragments of different strains. In contrast, the probes hybridised with different size fragments of H. bizzozeronii strains. Comparison of Southern blots of PFGE patterns digested with SpeI, ApaI and AscI indicated that each species has two 16S rRNA genes and one urease gene. Genome sizes of 11 H. bizzozeronii strains estimated from SpeI and NotI patterns were c. 1.6-1.9 Mb and those of five H. salomonis strains estimated from NotI and PacI patterns were c. 1.7-1.8 Mb.


Abstract Solid expandable tubular technology has gained wide acceptance in the petroleum industry due to its operationally simplified and cost-effective solution in well drilling. The down-hole hydraulic expansion results in forward motion of a mandrel until it pops out of the tubular. The pop-out phenomenon, which occurs at the end of the tubular expansion process, leads to a sudden release of stored energy within a fluid-tubular system, causing unnecessary vibration. These vibrations can become severe and may cause permanent damage to the tubular. Hence, a complete understanding of the dynamics of the fluid-tubular system is essential to avoid premature failure. This paper focuses on the development of a mathematical model describing the dynamics of a fluid-tubular system due to pop-out phenomenon. The coupling between tubular, fluids, and formation is incorporated. An analytical solution for the propagation of displacement, stress, and pressure waves, originating due to the excitation caused by pop-out, is obtained. The model also identifies the potential failure locations along the tubular. The coupling effect is more prominent if the tubular material is elastic as compared to elastic-perfectly plastic material. A sensitivity analysis showed that the coupling effects vanish with increase in tubular stiffness and reach an asymptotic value with an increase in formation stiffness. The quantification of coupling effects is important in order to see the effects of pressure waves on the other subsystems present down hole.


With an increasing Muslim student population on college campuses across the United States it is important to understand the experiences of these students. This study addresses a lack of research about Muslim students on college campuses, specifically in the residence hall environment. Adapting the campus racial climate framework of Hurtado, Milem, Clayton-Pendersen, and Allen (1998), researchers conducted qualitative interviews with Muslim students about their experiences living in a residence hall. Themes from the data include: pre-residence hall experiences, perceptions of the residence hall physical environment, relationships with roommates, and positive reflections on the residence hall experience. Implications for this study explore the significance of expectations between Muslim and non-Muslim roommates prior to arriving to college and suggests practices in the residence halls that promote the inclusion of Muslim students.


No handset-based data on mobile subscriber behavior has been available earlier. The new monitoring software developed for Symbian smartphones provides a possibility for the fist time to obtain accurate usage-level data, making both descriptive comparisons and strict statistical analyses on various usage-level factors viable. The study finds that the WCDMA technology has positive effects on the usage of packet data services. In addition, it seems that the usage of new advanced services is best explained by demographic factors, whereas the conventional service usage can be predicted by simply measuring earlier usage activity. In addition, 3rd party application usage seems promising. From the business perspective the study suggests that advanced handsets have an effect on the data usage patterns, and that smartphone customization with e.g. 3rd party applications is perceived very important among subscribers. The monitoring platform also supports regulatory studies.


In its control programmes on maximum residue level compliance and exposure assessments, EFSA requires the
participating countries to submit results, from specific numbers of food item samples, analyzed in the countries.
These data are used to obtain estimates such as the proportion of samples exceeding the maximum residue limits,
and the mean and maximum residue concentration per food item to assess exposure. An important consideration
is the design and analysis of the programmes. In this report, we combine elements of survey sampling
methodology, and statistical modeling, as a benchmark framework for the programmes, starting from the
translation of research questions into statistical problems, to the statistical analysis and interpretation. Particular
focus is placed on the issues that could affect the representativeness of the data, and remedial procedures are
proposed. For example, in the absence of information on the sampling design, a sensitivity analysis, across a
range of designs, is proposed. On the other hand, weighted generalized linear mixed models, and generalized
linear mixed models combining both conjugate and normal random effects, are proposed, to address selection
bias. Likelihood-based analysis methods are also proposed to address missing and censored data problems.
Suggestions for improvements in the design and analysis of the programmes are also identified and discussed.
For instance, incorporation of stratified sampling methodology, in determining both the total number, and the
allocation of samples to the participating countries, is proposed. All through the report, statistical analysis
models which properly take into account the hierarchical (and thus correlated) structure in which the data are
collected are proposed.


The relationship of music to emotions is intricately linked to the fundamental shift in the conception of the emotions themselves from physical to mental states at the beginning of the century. The commonplace that music is the language of the emotions is cemented as emotions become a cognitive entity. This chapter outlines the last vestiges of a musical emotionology still rooted in physiologial effects in theories propounded in the late eighteenth century before tracing music's transfiguration into the metaphysical realm. The myriad aesthetic and scientific approaches to music's powerful effects that characterise nineteenth-century engagement with music share one common objective: they herald a canonisation of particular musical repertoires by arguing for their powers independent of external, "interested" factors. Music as social practice is relegated to a lower status; context aesthetically compromises true art if emotion is foregrounded as music's manipulative rather than universal power. Dance is thus separated from "pure music" and aestheticised separately as a theatrical more than a musical art.


Gases released from polymers placed near a burning electric arc are known to influence the behavior of the arc. In switching equipment, such ablation materials can be used to improve the interrupting capability. Current interruption experiments have been carried out with the purpose of comparing the arc-quenching capabilities of four common polymers. The test setup has static electrodes and two ablation polymer plates placed in parallel on both sides of the arc. Each ablation material is tested according to an "up-and-down" procedure that determines the current magnitude giving 50% probability for successful interruption. Current is supplied from a capacitor unit, and a sinusoidal waveform is created by means of a damped RLC circuit. The electrodes and the ablation materials are replaced after each interruption test. Polypropylene shows the best arc-quenching performance among the tested materials and interrupts about 2.7 times as high current as polyetetrafluoroethylene (PTFE), which is used as a reference material due to its low gassing. Polycarbonate and poly(methyl methacrylate) also greatly improve the current interrupting properties, interrupting a 2.2-2.3 times higher current compared to PTFE. As also pointed out by others, the arc-quenching capabilities of the polymers seem to increase with an increasing content of hydrogen in the ablation polymer.


December 19, 2019 – Tax-Free Savings Accounts (TFSAs) have had great success over the past decade, but could use a tune-up, says a new report from the C.D. Howe Institute.

In "TFSAs: Time for a Tune-Up," author Alexandre Laurin argues that after a decade in existence, there is now enough data and empirical analysis on TFSA use to assess the extent to which the product is reaching its policy objectives, and how it can be made even more useful.


OBJECTIVE
To examine the complementarity between what is taught in Masters of Public Health courses and real world expectations of practitioner organisations.

METHODS
The online survey of academic institutions and health-related organisations from high- and low-/middle-income countries was conducted between May 16 and August 1, 2011. A combination of snowballing and purposive sampling was used to recruit the respondents. The survey questionnaire was devised using a validated competencies framework.

RESULTS
A total of 45 organisations responded to the survey. They were evenly distributed between academic institutions and practitioner organisations, high-income countries and low/middle income ones. There was marked disparity in rating for 14 (22%) of the 63 competencies examined. Practitioner organisations valued practical competencies such as contracting and negotiation skills, whereas academic institutions favoured research-based elements such as critical thinking and data-collection skills. Practitioner organisations also rated less highly course modules such as the dissertation component and research methods.

CONCLUSIONS
The lack of congruence between what is taught and what is required could result in public health practitioners being ill-prepared for the demands of the real world. Greater engagement between academic institutions and practitioner organisations is necessary to ensure that Masters of Public Health courses are appropriate and up-to-date.


This mixed methodology study investigated the effects of a ten session mindfulness-based intervention on a women's collegiate basketball team's (n = 13) perceived stress, athletic coping resources, and perceptions of the mindfulness intervention. Quantitative results showed a progressive decrease in stress and an increase in athletic coping skills over the course of the intervention. Qualitative results indicated the mindfulness intervention was beneficial in various aspects of the athletes' lives in the form of improved awareness, control, focus, presence and relaxation. These results suggest that mindfulness training may be an effective approach in assisting college athletes attain benefits in both sport and life.


The purpose of this research is to generate cash- and value-flow-related indicators of business sustainability. In order to facilitate a meaningful generation of such indicators, an understanding of business sustainability with reference to cash and value flow is articulated through a conceptual analysis. The research is conducted within an interpretive accounting research paradigm in which the social context of accounting is considered. A literature analysis demonstrates that business sustainability is found to encompass balanced stakeholder engagement, transparency, economic efficiency, creativity and adaptability to change. An analytical study is conducted on four sustainability and valuation models which are currently used by practitioners. The purpose of the analytical study is to explore and generate cash- and value-flow-related indicators of business sustainability within key business focus areas that are informed by fundamental financial and corporate governance principles. The research therefore makes a strong case for a holistic approach to achieving and measuring business sustainability.


We present an algorithm for minimizing a sum of functions that combines the computational efficiency of stochastic gradient descent (SGD) with the second order curvature information leveraged by quasi-Newton methods. We unify these disparate approaches by maintaining an independent Hessian approximation for each contributing function in the sum. We maintain computational tractability and limit memory requirements even for high dimensional optimization problems by storing and manipulating these quadratic approximations in a shared, time evolving, low dimensional subspace. This algorithm contrasts with earlier stochastic second order techniques that treat the Hessian of each contributing function as a noisy approximation to the full Hessian, rather than as a target for direct estimation. Each update step requires only a single contributing function or minibatch evaluation (as in SGD), and each step is scaled using an approximate inverse Hessian and little to no adjustment of hyperparameters is required (as is typical for quasi-Newton methods). We experimentally demonstrate improved convergence on seven diverse optimization problems. The algorithm is released as open source Python and MATLAB packages.


The aetiology of SA is complex; its onset is impacted on by several factors and their interaction including genetic (e.g., temperament), environmental risk (e.g., maternal overprotection) and cognitive risk. This review examined research that explores the impact of acute and chronic environmental risk and resilience factors (e.g., parenting style, SES, parental separation experiences, paternal absence and traumatic experiences) on the aetiology of SA symptoms and SAD, specifically for school-aged children and adolescents (aged 2-18). The review used three electronic databases for the literature search, a combined search in Psychinfo and Medline via EBSCO and ERIC. Following a systematic method, 18 papers were selected for analysis. Eight risk factors in school-aged children and adolescents were identified. These linked to themes of parenting styles, parent separation, traumatic experiences, socioeconomic status and early risk. Three potential resilience factors were also identified through the process of this review: parent-offspring relationship, access to therapeutic support and planned separation experiences. Findings are discussed in relation to theory and research to inform intervention for SA and SAD in educational settings and Educational Psychologist's (EPs) practice. Limitations are explored and future research is discussed.Cognitive models of anxiety propose a cognitive-behavioural representation of information processing biases, demonstrating the inter-relationship between the thoughts and actions of an individual. Theoretical models highlight family and parenting factors that contribute to intergenerational transmission of anxiety (parent to offspring) and cognitive processes. Little research has focused on the emergence of specific anxiety disorders in high-risk groups and investigated these interrelationships. Military families have been described as being at greater risk to threat exposure due to unique family and environmental factors (e.g., transitions and deployments). The present research explored the association between parent and offspring anxiety, interpretation biases and parenting variables in a military family population. Twenty-nine mother/child dyads (8-11 years) completed a word interpretation bias task of threatening (general and separation themes) and neutral words and reported their negative affects via questionnaires. Parenting was measured via the Five-Minute Speech Sample, which assesses expressed emotion (e.g., warmth and relationship). Positive and significant correlations between parent- and children's- self-reported negative affects were found (ps<.50). Child cognitive interpretation bias was associated with children's reports of anxiety. No associations for parent cognitive biases were found. Parent reports of child separation anxiety were positively and significantly correlated with number of deployments (ps<.50). Parenting variables were not associated with increased reports of negative affect in mothers or offspring. Mediation models explored the association with mothers' own anxiety and the development of biases in offspring via increases in the child's reports of their own anxiety. Two indirect effects approached significance. Findings are discussed in relation to the development of anxiety and explore the mechanisms involved in the transmission of anxiety from parent to offspring.


Trusts throughout England have this week been sent statistics from the Department of Health, which show the most and least productive doctors in five surgical and five medical specialties in their hospital.

The potentially controversial data have been compiled by academics at the University of York's department of health sciences. In an article published in this week's He alth Service Journal (2006;116(6013):18-19) researchers Karen Bloor and Alan Maynard point out that, between 2001 and 2005, the basic starting salary for NHS consultants increased by almost 50%.

"In most industries, employers would expect pay increases to be accompanied by improvements in 'productivity,'" they state. "Although this is less usual in public services, the Department of Health must demonstrate to the Treasury and to voters that the new contract has delivered value for money, and in the case of consultants that the potential benefits of the contract are realised."

But Jonathan Fielden, deputy …


Ophiolite slivers have been described recently in the core of the External zones of the Central Rif belt. The present work aims at illustrating new ophiolite slivers further east and discussing the structural position and tectonic emplacement of all these oceanic floor remnants. Their basement consists of gabbros previously dated at 166±3 Ma and their cover includes mafic breccias, micrites and radiolarites. These oceanic slivers are located within the Mesorif nappe stack at the bottom of the Senhadja nappe that roots beneath the Intrarif Ketama unit and was thrust over the more external Mesorif and Prerif units during the Cenozoic inversion of the North African paleomargin. These oceanic crust (OC) slivers belong to the same Mesorif suture zone as the Beni Malek serpentinites and Ait Amrâne metabasites from eastern Rif that also include marbles with ophiolitic clasts and derive from an ocean-continent transition (OCT) domain. After examination of the varied hypotheses that have been suggested to account for the emplacement of these units in the External Rif, we propose that obduction sampled an oceanic corridor opened between the Mesorif and Intrarif domains at the emplacement of the Rif Triassic evaporite basin. The Intrarif block should have been then separated from the African passive margin and connected with the Flysch domain south of the passive margin of the Alboran domain. The pre-collision structure of the Rif transect would involve two hyper-extended passive margins separated by a narrow oceanic transform fault corridor. Therefore the Tethys suture in the western Maghrebides would be split by the Intrarif block and would involve the Flysch zone in the north and the ophiolite bearing Mesorif suture zone in the south.


This paper presents and analyzes data collected from United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) reports and a series of FOIA requests for the period from 1996 to 2016. The data and analyses is set forth in three parts — the number, types, and disposition of patent applications being examined by the USPTO (the USPTO's "input"); the number of applications allowed and patents issued by the USPTO (the USPTO's "output"); and the number of pending applications and the average pendency for an application (the "difference" or commonly referred to as the USPTO's "backlog").
The data shows that the backlog of patent applications awaiting examination has continued to decline even though patent applications are increasing. However, the growing percentage of these applications continues to be requests for continued examination (RCEs). For example, there were 285,144 Refiled Continuing Applications (192,002 RCEs, 81,893 continuations, and 11,249 continuations-in-part) in Fiscal Year 2016, a record high, and they comprised nearly half (47%) of the applications filed. And we continue to experience a return to the rising allowance rates of the late 1990s, which presumably is facilitating the USPTO's drop in backlog. Patent application allowances have doubled since Fiscal Year 2008 and reached a record high 332,281 in Fiscal Year 2016. This empirical information is relevant to the health of the U.S. patent system and the performance of the USPTO.


Most of the world's free population lives in states that are "federal democracies." Such states select leaders and steer policy decisions through elections, but also divide power among two levels of government that enjoy some degree of mutual autonomy. Yet it is by no means obvious why this hybrid form of government organization should thrive. Federalism and democracy arose from different historical roots, rest on fundamentally distinct conceptions of politics, and proceed by very different and largely incompatible methods, which often causes them to become operationally entangled in ways that impair the efficacy of both systems.
A theoretical account of federal democracy may be constructed that explains its success as resulting from its incorporation, in a pragmatically useful format, of two very different mechanisms of social and political dispute resolution that are activated on different occasions, and in response to different kinds of problems. On this account, the success of federal democracy rests primarily on its ability successfully to assign issues for resolution to the forum – democracy or federalism – for which they are best suited. In practice, however, evolving political and social circumstances may change which forum is best suited to resolution of any particular issue. Federal democracies, however, have not in general devised any particularly effective or systematic method for adjusting the assignment of issues from one forum to another. As a result, mismatches between issues and the forums to which they are assigned are typically resolved in the crucible of constitutional politics, an environment that is not necessarily conducive to sound and lasting solutions to problems implicating the long-term stability of the state. An account of federal democracy as a dual system therefore does not solve the puzzle of its success but at best allows the question to be recharacterized as a better-known, longstanding puzzle about how federal states survive at all for any length of time.


This paper uses multivariate extreme value theory to model the tail dependence as a measure of extreme contagion in emerging stock markets. Using the extreme value copulas, we determine the joint probabilities of simultaneous crashes between two emerging markets. The study is performed on a number of East-Asian emerging markets that have lived the well-known Asian flu. The results revealed the existence of a high contagion of crisis in the Asian emerging markets with a continuous high risk dependence structure in the aftermath of the Asian flu.


The 1983 U.S. Supreme Court decision in Commissioner u Tufts established the modern rule that requires a taxpayer to include the full amount of a nonrecourse note in the amount realized on the disposition of a property, notwithstanding the fair market value of the property. Although not fully understood at the time, this holding has had a large impact on the ability of a financially troubled debtor to defer cancellation of indebtedness income under § 108 of the Internal Revenue Code. Presently, § 108 allows a borrower who is insolvent or in a title 11 bankruptcy proceeding to defer the recognition of COD income, rather than recognize it as a gain. Under Tufts, when a property is transferred with a fairmarket value below the nonrecourse debt used to purchase the assPt, the taxpayer realizes a non-deferrable gain to the extent of the difference between the fair-market value of the property and the taxpayer's basis in the property. This Note argues that the Internal Revenue Service's treatment of nonrecourse debt and its application to § 108 is unworkable. By allowing an insolvent taxpayer to defer COD income while not allowing an identical taxpayer to defer gain from the discharge of indebtedness, the Service has disregarded the statutory purpose of § 108 and has violated the fundamental principles of equity and fairness in the administration of our tax system.


Flood quantile estimation is of great importance for several types of engineering studies and policy decisions. However, practitioners must often deal with the limited availability of data and with short‐length observation series. Thus, the information must be used optimally. During the last decades, to make better use of available data, inferential methodology has evolved from annual maxima modeling to peaks over a threshold. To mitigate the lack of data, peaks over a threshold are sometimes combined with additional information, mostly regional or historical information. However, the most important information for the practitioner remains the data available at the target site. In this study, a model that allows inference on the whole time series is introduced. In particular, the proposed model takes into account the dependence between successive extreme observations using an appropriate extremal dependence structure. Results show that this model leads to more accurate flood peak quantile estimates than conventional estimators. In addition, as the time dependence is taken into account, inferences on other flood characteristics can be performed. An illustration is given with flood duration data. Our analysis shows that the accuracy of the proposed models to estimate flood duration is related to specific catchment characteristics. Some suggestions to increase the flood duration predictions are presented.


Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) is a disease characterised by inflammation of the airways which accounts for the fourth highest cause of global death. The functional role of Muscarinic receptor antagonists such as Ipratropium Bromide (Atrovent) and Tiotropium Bromide (Spiriva) has been shown to successfully improve pulmonary function in COPD patients. Recent studies have associated an increased risk of cardiovascular events in COPD patients currently receiving treatment with Muscarinic receptor antagonists such as Ipratropium (Ogale et al, 2010). The study aimed to investigate the effects of Ipratropium on the myocardium subjected to ischaemia-reperfusion (I/R). Langendorff hearts were subjected to control or I/R in the absence or presence of Ipratropium (1 nM, 10 nM, or 100 nM). Hearts underwent triphenyl tetrazolium staining for infarct size assessment. In further studies cardiac myocytes were isolated and exposed to simulated I/R in the absence or presence of Ipratropium (1 fM–1 mM) and cellular injury was subsequently determined by measurement of live/death ratio and apoptosis using flow cytometry. Administration of Ipratropium (10 nM or 100 nM) throughout reperfusion significantly increased infarct size to risk ratio (%) compared with non-treated controls (62±2%, 74±4% vs 52±3%, control p<0.01, respectively). In isolated myocyte experiments, Ipratopium-treated groups were observed to significantly increase apoptosis and cell death compared to non-treated controls. This is the first pre-clinical study to show that Ipratropium significantly increases myocardial injury when administered during I/R. Further studies are being investigated to determine the mechanism of action of the cardiovascular events associated with certain bronchodilators.


This article examines efforts to reconcile capitalist and ecological values, focusing in particular on the instruments and ideologies that pervade the United Kingdom's developing renewable energy sector. In keeping with neoliberal models of economic knowledge and practice, renewable energy instruments target the motivations of individuals by using incentive programs to reach environmental policy goals. The argument focuses especially on the way newly implemented market devices shape and represent the motivations of energy producers, suppliers, and traders. The centerpiece of the U.K. government's initiative is the creation of an artificial market in renewability, bought and sold as a virtual commodity. Although the realities of economic motivation complicate the practical implementation of the renewable market, these are represented as isolated and self-interested "exchanges" by market devices, providing policymakers and their critics with partial yet authoritative accounts of renewable policy, premised on narrow and contested assumptions about economic motivation and action.


We describe the DeepMind Kinetics human action video dataset. The dataset contains 400 human action classes, with at least 400 video clips for each action. Each clip lasts around 10s and is taken from a different YouTube video. The actions are human focussed and cover a broad range of classes including human-object interactions such as playing instruments, as well as human-human interactions such as shaking hands. We describe the statistics of the dataset, how it was collected, and give some baseline performance figures for neural network architectures trained and tested for human action classification on this dataset. We also carry out a preliminary analysis of whether imbalance in the dataset leads to bias in the classifiers.


This thesis explores and links some of Plato's ideas on both language and understanding. There are close readings of the whole of the Cratylus and the Phaedrus from 257b7 to the end which conclude that: no knowledge can be found from etymology; Greek as a language is not perfect; and we must search for a knowledge outside language. Using various other texts, but particularly the Statesman, there are comments on the difference between the physical world we inhabit and the ideal world of abstracts that we must try to understand through using paradigms, a category in which I include myths. There is a broad conclusion that, despite language being imperfect and problematic, we must use it since it is our only tool with which we can create an approximation of the ideal in order to progress towards understanding.


Light-field cameras are now used in consumer and industrial applications. Recent papers and products have demonstrated practical depth recovery algorithms from a passive single-shot capture. However, current light-field capture devices have narrow baselines and constrained spatial resolution; therefore, the accuracy of depth recovery is limited, requiring heavy regularization and producing planar depths that do not resemble the actual geometry. Using shading information is essential to improve the shape estimation. We develop an improved technique for local shape estimation from defocus and correspondence cues, and show how shading can be used to further refine the depth. Light-field cameras are able to capture both spatial and angular data, suitable for refocusing. By locally refocusing each spatial pixel to its respective estimated depth, we produce an all-in-focus image where all viewpoints converge onto a point in the scene. Therefore, the angular pixels have angular coherence, which exhibits three properties: photo consistency, depth consistency, and shading consistency. We propose a new framework that uses angular coherence to optimize depth and shading. The optimization framework estimates both general lighting in natural scenes and shading to improve depth regularization. Our method outperforms current state-of-the-art light-field depth estimation algorithms in multiple scenarios, including real images.


Significance Iron limits marine production across one third of the surface ocean. The chemical form of iron in these regions is unknown, but it is well established that molecular speciation affects microbial competition for iron uptake. Here we show that the abundance and identity of siderophores, strong iron-binding compounds secreted by microbes to enhance iron uptake, changes across iron-replete and iron-deficient regions of the South Pacific Ocean. In low-iron regions, amphiphilic siderophores are particularly abundant, suggesting a microbial strategy designed to minimize diffusive loss of metabolically expensive compounds while facilitating iron acquisition. Phylogenetic analysis further suggests that the ability to produce amphiphilic siderophores has been transferred across multiple bacterial lineages, suggesting a possible mechanism of adaptation. Nearly all iron dissolved in the ocean is complexed by strong organic ligands of unknown composition. The effect of ligand composition on microbial iron acquisition is poorly understood, but amendment experiments using model ligands show they can facilitate or impede iron uptake depending on their identity. Here we show that siderophores, organic compounds synthesized by microbes to facilitate iron uptake, are a dynamic component of the marine ligand pool in the eastern tropical Pacific Ocean. Siderophore concentrations in iron-deficient waters averaged 9 pM, up to fivefold higher than in iron-rich coastal and nutrient-depleted oligotrophic waters, and were dominated by amphibactins, amphiphilic siderophores with cell membrane affinity. Phylogenetic analysis of amphibactin biosynthetic genes suggests that the ability to produce amphibactins has transferred horizontally across multiple Gammaproteobacteria, potentially driven by pressures to compete for iron. In coastal and oligotrophic regions of the eastern Pacific Ocean, amphibactins were replaced with lower concentrations (1–2 pM) of hydrophilic ferrioxamine siderophores. Our results suggest that organic ligand composition changes across the surface ocean in response to environmental pressures. Hydrophilic siderophores are predominantly found across regions of the ocean where iron is not expected to be the limiting nutrient for the microbial community at large. However, in regions with intense competition for iron, some microbes optimize iron acquisition by producing siderophores that minimize diffusive losses to the environment. These siderophores affect iron bioavailability and thus may be an important component of the marine iron cycle.


The study area consists of the Finnish part of a Landsat 5 TM image from 1990. Three independent field samples were measured during 1991–93 in the study area. The first sample was used to compile training areas for supervised maximum likelihood classification of the image. Classification accuracy was studied in the second sample. The spectral separability of the forest strata usable in practical forestry was poor. The extent of the damage area was estimated by the principle of stratified sampling. The estimate included considerable bias because the field sample had not been objectively selected from the image classes. The third field sample was measured as part of the National Forest Inventory of Finland. It is wholly objective, and about ten times larger than the two earlier field samples. The poor spectral separability of the forest strata was confirmed by the NFI sample. However, this sample could be used in stratified sampling with little or no bias in the estimation of the damage area estimate. 14 different damage types were separated according to specific damaging agent. A thematic map was produced which presents the spatial distribution of two damage-rich image classes. The study area comprises 18 300 sq.km, of which 38 % were damaged. At first sight it would appear that the proportion of damaged forest has tripled in ten years. However, this is not the case because now special attention was paid to forest health in the field work. Despite this, it is possible that some damage caused by unfavourable climatic phenomena in the '80s was still perceptible in 1993. No damage caused directly by air pollution has yet been verified in the study area.


Executive Summary

This report is the result of a study carried out for CTA on "ICT in Agricultural Extension and Marketing", in Malawi and Mozambique between August 2004 and March 2005. The study involved surveying agricultural and rural development stakeholders, as well as consultations among those stakeholders to bring out views on information needs and perceptions on the possible role of Information and Communication Technology (ICT). The state of development of the ICT industry in the countries concerned was reviewed as well. Below is a summary of findings.

Below is a summary of findings.

Adoption of ICT

The adoption of ICT by agricultural sector stakeholders shows results from headquarters level up to branch office level (provincial, regional offices). From branches further upstream to rural localities there is minimal adoption. In this study, we use the term 'ICT Readiness' to express the level of adoption and potential for rapid ICT-enabled service enhancements. Two ICT trends are relevant to the rural localities: easy adoption and spread of SMS (Short Message System of mobile telecommunications networks) and Community Radios. SMS is important as it represents keyboarding and datacommunication exposure to users. Survey participants operating at branch and rural level show SMS usage at above critical levels: 59% in Malawi and 50% in Mozambique, suggesting opportunities for service development targeting rural based actors. The SMS service providers are beginning to pursue introduction of value added services, such as SMS banking. The Community Radios are beginning to deploy Internet technology capable of supporting quality programming. At the same time, Community Radios are benefiting increasingly from favorable public policy expressions and regulation.

Internet activity

Internet activity is at a low level of technological sophistication, but widespread, with 84% of Mozambican participants using Internet at headquarters against 44% in Malawi. At branch level these figures drop to 55% and 26%, respectively. Updating websites is often poorly or not at all taken care of; and organisation's websites are rarely being used for service delivery which is only seen in very exceptional cases. Few stakeholders in this study have websites: 22% in Malawi and 34% in Mozambique. Beyond those in the public sector and parastatals, few of these sites target operators within the country.

ICT adoption disparities between branches (rural, province) and headquarters (capital city) are less marked in Malawi than in Mozambique. The explanation lies in the one hand in the challenge caused by great geographical distances in Mozambique in achieving high network coverage. In the other hand, Maputo scores relatively high in ICT, this being an economic centre attracting much activity from South Africa, Portugal and other developed countries. ICT services costs are relatively high in the countries under review. Indexed against service usage baskets, Malawi scores highest costs with index 84, Mozambique index 75 and Kenya 46.

Use of information and media

Stakeholders in agricultural and rural development, acknowledge that sharing of information and distribution of resources is underdeveloped in both countries, despite the obvious economic necessity. This concerns both sourcing of information and media productions, as well as distribution and dissemination networks. Sector statistics
are collected annually but parallel work is being done by various stakeholders. Most service providers develop their own materials (print, radio). Quality of information materials including broadcasts is often subject to criticism by stakeholders. The adaptation and packaging of information for extension (field) purposes is poor. Mozambique boasts more examples of service providers using mass media houses for information dissemination than Malawi. Operational collaboration between government extension services and NGO's is common in Mozambique, with some good examples in Malawi. Print extension materials often seem to have arbitrarily set circulation volumes, usually far from enough copies to occasionally far too many. The distribution of print news media is very low in both countries: our evidence suggests as little as 0.51% of rural population in Malawi and an optimistic 0.34% in rural Mozambique (few data available for Mozambique). In rural Malawi, there are 4 radio receivers per 100 population (Mozambique figure not available). Television broadcasting presently has relatively little potential for agricultural development, the main reason being network coverage. Even in a relatively small country as Malawi coverage is not higher than 20% of national territory. There are no signs that TV networks will expand soon.

Telecentres were surveyed on their usefulness for agriculture and rural development agents. We found hardly any evidence of visitors searching for agricultural information. This is in spite of many voices, again at the roundtables organized for this study, calling for the establishment of telecentres in rural areas. In addition, most telecentre visitors use the Internet almost exclusively for webmail. Web access tariffs charged by the operators are between two to three times higher in small rural based telecentres than in urban centers.
3.1.4 Outreach

The problem of quality and outreach of agricultural extension services is undisputed by any of the study's participants. The limited effectiveness of the extension services is most pertinent in Mozambique: the Ministry of Agriculture employs no more than 500 Frontline Extension Workers (FEW) in the entire country. Even with the collaborative programmes in place with NGO's and private sector, there is a large vacuum in service delivery. The challenge is confounded by lack of ICT access (see above), large distances to regional centres, lack of information materials and human resources education levels. In Malawi, high casualties of HIV-AIDS have an impact on the performance of the ca. 2,000 extension staff work-force. The distribution of extension materials appears not to be in line with demand and demographics. In both countries, the government creates agricultural statistics once per year, but with considerable time delays and limited depth and detail. Stakeholder's websites are often not targeting outreach functions, and if they do, they are not being used for this, judging from surfing habits of participants in this study. Email based bulletins are however being used already in reaching farmers and traders.

Annexed to this study is a searchable database Inventory of Agricultural Service Providers and Inventory of Telecommunication Operators (Telco's or TO's) and Internet Service Providers (ISPs), for Malawi and Mozambique, containing basic profile and contact data.


Two-dimensional responsive materials that change shape into complex three-dimensional structures are valuable for creating systems ranging from wearable electronics to soft robotics. Typically, the final 3D structure is unique and predetermined through the materials' processing. Here, we use theory and simulation to devise a distinctive approach for driving shape changes of 2D elastic sheets in fluid-filled microchambers. The sheets are coated with catalyst to generate controllable fluid flows, which transform the sheets into complex 3D shapes. A given shape can be achieved by patterning the arrangement of the catalytic domains on the sheet and introducing the appropriate reactant to initiate a specific catalytic reaction. Moreover, a single sheet that encompasses multiple catalytic domains can be transformed into a variety of 3D shapes through the addition of one or more reactants. Materials systems that morph on-demand into a variety of distinct structures can simplify manufacturing processes and broaden the utility of soft materials.


BACKGROUND
Antiretroviral therapy (ART) in pregnancy is a crucial intervention in the prevention of mother-to-child transmission (PMTCT) of HIV. It is recognised that mother-to-child transmission is reduced with each week on ART. However, in most South African settings, ART initiation is delayed owing to slow determination of treatment eligibility and separation of HIV and antenatal care services.

OBJECTIVE
The rapid initiation of an ART in pregnancy programme is a model of care designed to expedite treatment initiation in ART- eligible pregnant women. This study evaluated the performance of the programme.

METHODS
Participants enrolled in the ART programme in the same week as their first ANC visit throughout 2011, and had outcome data available by March 2012. Treatment eligibility was determined or confirmed via point-of-care CD4+ testing. Eligible women were offered ART immediately, with concurrent counselling and safety laboratory blood testing. Women attended until 6 - 8 weeks after delivery. Data were collected from clinical records with infant polymerase chain reaction (PCR) results at 6 weeks.

RESULTS
Of 134 ART-eligible (CD4+ count <350 cells/μl or WHO stage III/IV) pregnant women, 130 (97.0%) started ART, 118 (90.8%) initiating treatment the same day that treatment eligibility was determined. There were no abnormal laboratory blood results or adverse events that required medical intervention. Pre-delivery retention in care and infant mortality were comparable to those in similar settings. Of the 107 pregnancies with PCR outcomes available, there was 1 positive HIV result in an infant (0.9%). Maternal viral load suppression in this mother was not achieved by the time of delivery.

CONCLUSIONS
This pilot programme provides evidence that rapid ART initiation in pregnancy is safe, feasible and effective in reducing PMTCT. Further follow-up is required to monitor long-term outcomes.


Hydraulic parameters of the vadose zone at a spatial resolution typically larger than 1 km2 are a key input for land–atmosphere feedback schemes in soil–vegetation–atmosphere transfer (SVAT) models. Previous studies investigated the significance of first‐ and second‐order moments of soil hydraulic parameters on "effective" parameter estimation in heterogeneous soils at the landscape or remote‐sensing footprint/pixel scale. In this study, we examined the impact of the skewness (third‐order moment) of hydraulic parameter distributions on "effective" soil hydraulic parameter averaging schemes for steady‐state vertical flow in heterogeneous soils in a flat landscape. The effective soil hydraulic parameter of the heterogeneous soil formation is obtained by conceptualizing the soil as an equivalent homogeneous medium. The averaging scheme requires that the effective homogeneous soil will discharge the same ensemble moisture flux across the soil surface. Using three widely used unsaturated hydraulic conductivity functions and various types of probability distribution functions to represent spatial variability for the nonlinear shape factor in the hydraulic conductivity function, we derive the effective parameter values. Numerical and field experimental results show that distribution skewness is also important in determining the upscaled effective parameters in addition to the mean and variance. Negative skewness enhances heterogeneity effects, which make the "effective" α parameter deviate more significantly from the arithmetic mean. In the case of negative skewness, a few small α values make the heterogeneous soil more permeable (with larger flux), which hence causes the "effective" heterogeneous system to deviate more from the homogeneous formation with arithmetic mean parameters.


What can you do with the Raspberry Pi, the inexpensive credit card-sized computer? All sorts of things! If you're learning how to program, or looking to build new electronic projects, this hands-on guide will show you just how valuable this flexible little platform can be. This book takes you step-by-step through fun and educational possibilities. Write programs in Scratch and Python. Use the Raspberry Pi with Arduino. Create Internet-connected projects. Play with multimedia. With Raspberry Pi, you can do all of this and more. Get acquainted with hardware features of the Raspberry PiLearn enough Linux to move around the operating systemDraw graphics, play sounds, and handle mouse events with the Pygame frameworkUse the input and output pins to do some hardware hackingDiscover how Arduino and the Raspberry Pi complement each otherIntegrate webcams and the Raspberry Pi Camera Module into your projectsCreate your own Pi-based web server with Python


With the intention to further promote the field of ecological engineering and the solutions it provides, a workshop on "Benefits of Ecological Engineering Practices" was held 3 Dec 2009. It was conducted by the International Ecological Engineering Society in Paris at the conference "Ecological Engineering: from Concepts to Application" organized by the Ecological Engineering Applications Group GAIE. This paper presents the results of the workshop related to three key questions: (1) what are the benefits of ecological engineering practices to human and ecosystem well-being, (2) which concepts are used or useful to identify, reference, and measure the benefits of ecological engineering practices, and (3) how and to whom shall benefits of ecological engineering practices be promoted. While benefits of ecological engineering practices are diverse, general conclusions can be derived to facilitate communication. Identifying benefits requires valuation frameworks reaching beyond the scope of ecology and engineering. A distinction between human and ecosystem well-being in this regard may not be easy or useful, but instead humans embedded in ecosystems should be addressed as a whole. The concepts of resource efficiency, ecosystem services, ecosystem health, and multifunctional land use could serve as suitable references to frame ecological engineering benefits, as well as referring to international political goals such as biodiversity protection, climate change mitigation and poverty reduction. Sector and application specific criteria of good practice could be worked out. Regional, area specific reference systems for sustainable development could provide comparative advantages for ecologically engineered solutions. Besides people with high decision making power and people with high motivation for change are good target groups to be addressed. © 2011 Published by Elsevier BV


This article is aimed at trying to get to know the main competitive factors within companies created by Colombian women for which are analyzed data collected by GEM Colombia 2009, but filtering the data base and allowing to use only the related to the female gender. Within the results will be able to obtain a model consistent with the literature on competitiveness, emphasizing human resources, innovation and internationalization. However, there is no evidence that explain each of these variables by gender and much less the relationship with competitiveness. For which, the authors pose a first approach and that can generate investigative trends in this regard. The methodology used in this article is a system of structural equations, through the statistical package SPSS Amos 18, which allows you to generate an outline of relations between the variables, and closer to the trends of models in the explanations of the social sciences.


Do spillover effects occur between siblings in sponsored families? With both the approach of human figure drawings and a survey, this paper aims at identifying the possible spillover effects to non-sponsored, younger siblings of sponsored children with regards to the child's confidence. Using the summary index method to create indices from the elements quantified in the child's drawings and an instrumental variable OLS with clustered standard errors, children from both families with sponsored children and families with waitlisted children are interviewed. The spillover effects are then tested by taking the difference between the younger and older siblings of the sponsored child then comparing the difference between the younger and older sibling of the waitlisted child. The results show that there exist only spillover effects with regards to the level of aggression in females.


A study was performed to optimize the production process of encapsulated
pandan powder using response surface methodology (RSM). The study was
inclusive of an evaluation of two types cf carbohydrates, namely maltodextrin and
gum arabic, in the production of encapsulated pandan powder as an encapsulator.
A product development of home made pandan ice cream was carried out to
evaluate the effectiveness of encapsulated pandan powder as an ingredient in
food.
An optimum condition for production of encapsulated spray dried pandan powder
was established. Inlet temperature of 170°C and speed rate of 6 rpm with constant
outlet temperature of 90°C were shown to be the optimum conditions to produce
encapsulated pandan powder. A combination of maltodextrin and gum arabic in
the formulation of spray dried encapsulated pandan powder in terms of physicochemical
properties and sensory scores was also carried out.A pandan flavored ice cream using encapsulated pandan powder as a colouring
and flavouring agent was successfully developed. The optimum condition for
formulation of pandan ice cream using spray dried encapsulated pandan powder
was established. Pandan p~wderc onsentration of 3.41% and sugar concentration
of 3.45% were shown to be the most acceptable conditions to proGuce pandan
flavored ice cream.


More than 200 vases from Late Archaic and Early Classical Athens show symposia where guests recline not on couches but on the ground. Although scholars have explored the ritual and Dionysiac dimensions of some of these images, the corpus as a whole remains poorly understood. This article connects the images to Athenian discourses about primitive life and shows how the act of reclining on the ground was suited not only to the conservative sphere of ritual but also to representations of the Golden Age, comic utopias, early Athens, and other primitive realms. The identification of the symposium on the ground as an activity associated with the earliest inhabitants of Greece suggests that the vase painters' contemporaries did not share our understanding of the reclining symposium as a luxurious orientalizing import; consequently, it calls into question the definition of the Late Archaic symposium as part of a countercultural tendency of an aristocratic elite that distinguished itself from common citizens by adopting customs and goods associated with the Near East. Rather, by representing the reclining symposium as an institution practiced in Greece since time immemorial, the vases define it as the common citizen's birthright.


In a multi-country general equilibrium economy with mobile capital and rigid-wage unemployment, countries may differ in capital endowments, production technologies and rigid wages. Governments tax capital at the source to maximize national welfare. They account for tax base responses to their tax and take as given the world-market interest rate. We specify conditions under which - in contrast to free trade with undistorted labor markets - welfare declines and unemployment increases in some countries (i) when moving from au-tarky to trade without taxation and/or (ii) when moving from trade without taxation to tax competition.


Professor Calhoun, in his Article around which this symposium is based, has asserted that it is permissible for citizens to publicly argue for laws or public policy solutions based on explicitly religious reasons. Calhoun candidly admits that he has "long grappled" with this question (as have I, though he for longer), and, in probably the biggest understatement in this entire symposium, notes that Professor Kent Greenawalt identified this as "a particularly significant, debatable, and highly complex problem." Is it ever. I have a position that I will advance in this article, but I wish to acknowledge at the outset that this is a difficult and complicated issue. It intersects with issues of constitutional law, theology, political theory, jurisprudence, philosophy, law and morality—and that's just off the top of my head. As soon as one issue is addressed, twelve others raise their head and confound. I am also mindful that Professor Calhoun has been grappling with this issue for far longer than I have. I respect him and his thoughtful treatment of this issue immensely. Part of my trepidation in addressing this subject is that, as will be seen in this response, Professor Calhoun once held a very similar opinion on this issue as me. However, he has evolved beyond it, whereas I (to date) have not. And my position is simply this. Arguing for laws based on their "Christian" nature sends a theological message to the public, that compliance with such laws will please the God of the Christian scriptures. But, in fact, law concerns behavior, or works, and Christian doctrine teaches that works do not please God, but only faith pleases Him. Therefore, arguing for such Christian "works" sends the wrong message about the Christian gospel, which should be concerning for all Christians (myself included).


In this article I utilise critical discourse analysis to investigate the discursive practices evident in the Gillard Government's 2011 'Closing the Gap' speech. The speech is interpreted as a performative activity which normalises the racialised privilege/disadvantage divide in contemporary Australia by framing this divide as meritocratic. Inherently contradictory discourses are used to position both the government and Indigenes in antithetical ways. The government is constructed as a benevolent authority, yet is excused from responsibility for 'closing the gap'. Indigenous peoples are framed as culturally deficient while simultaneously held responsible to 'close the gap'. The contentiousness of these discourses is minimised by their portrayal as hegemonic commonsense.


Earthquakes represent a major hazard for populations around the world, causing frequent loss of life, human suffering and enormous damage to homes, other buildings and infrastructure. The Technology Resources for Earthquake Monitoring and Response (TREMOR) Team of 36 space professionals analysed this problem over the course of the International Space University Summer Session Program and published their recommendations in the form of a report. The TREMOR Team proposes a series of space- and ground-based systems to provide improved capability to manage earthquakes. The first proposed system is a prototype earthquake early-warning system that improves the existing knowledge of earthquake precursors and addresses the potential of these phenomena. Thus, the system will at first enable the definitive assessment of whether reliable earthquake early warning is possible through precursor monitoring. Should the answer be affirmative, the system itself would then form the basis of an operational early- warning system. To achieve these goals, the authors propose a multi-variable approach in which the system will combine, integrate and process precursor data from space- and ground-based seismic monitoring systems (already existing and new proposed systems) and data from a variety of related sources (e.g. historical databases, space weather data, fault maps). The second proposed system, the prototype earthquake simulation and response system, coordinates the main components of the response phase to reduce the time delays of response operations, increase the level of precision in the data collected, facilitate communication amongst teams, enhance rescue and aid capabilities and so forth. It is based in part on an earthquake simulator that will provide pre-event (if early warning is proven feasible) and post-event damage assessment and detailed data of the affected areas to corresponding disaster management actors by means of a geographic information system (GIS) interface. This is coupled with proposed mobile satellite communication hubs to provide links between response teams. Business- and policy-based implementation strategies for these proposals, such as the establishment of a non-governmental organisation to develop and operate the systems, are included. © 2008 Lister Science. Keywords — Disaster management system, Earthquake forecasting, Earthquake mitigation, Earthquake monitoring, Earthquake precursors, Earthquake response, Earthquake simulation, Earthquake early warning, TREMOR


Does Iran, which is known in political science literature as a developing, oriental and ancient country, have specific, examinable and predictable models in a way that can be applied to foreign policy studies? In this study the author intends to analyze six models of Iranian foreign policy between the two revolutions (from the constitutional to the Islamic); these patterns have been fluctuating dialectically between an idealism embedded in the Iranian grieving ontology and realism as it relates to the international environment. At the beginning, the nostalgic worldview of Iranians that is a reflection of their subjective collective constructs is analyzed. Then counter-scientism and anti-positivism in Iranian epistemology is studies. The outcome of these two is the absence of realism as the most significant paradigm of foreign policy. In order to prove the assumption, six models of Iranian foreign policy will be briefly assessed with the aim of demonstrating how the unconsciousness of Iranian ancient civilization and mystical and severely anti-science and anti-reality covers have given life to an anti-reality which has caused Iranian foreign policy patterns to be infused with unwarranted idealism. The dialectic between the two different atmospheres, however, has given way to creative models; and the Iranian Ministry of Foreign Affairs has been efficient and taken the initiative in their design, implementation and assessment.


Almost 15 years after Congress passed the first contemporary anti-slavery legislation, the Trafficking Victims Protection Act, state anti-trafficking law and policy still lag far behind their federal counterparts in terms of prosecuting traffickers, protecting victims, and preventing trafficking. Regrettably, Arizona provides an ample case study in these inadequacies, from its prosecution of sex trafficking victims for prostitution to its inadequate victim assistance mechanisms. This Note maintains that the war on human trafficking will be won or lost at the state level. After a detailed analysis of federal and state law and policy, this Note argues that the Uniform Law Commission's new Uniform Act on Prevention of and Remedies for Human Trafficking provides states with a solid blueprint for comprehensive anti-trafficking reform. States should adopt the Uniform Act in its entirety, without delay, because nobody should be enslaved in the Land of the Free.


Responsible or sustainable investing is becoming an increasingly important theme across the world. More and more investors, whether they are institutions or individuals, are recognising that if they are investing for the long term, they need to invest in companies that have an equally long-term focus. There is a growing awareness that managing companies to the quarter or even half-year to meet short-term profit targets can be value-destructive in the longer term, and if an investor is putting money away for 30 or 40 years, three-monthly profits are not as relevant as sustainable profits over decades and through many market cycles.


This study analyzes the role of statistical significance testing (SST) in education. Although the basic logic underlying SST 一 a hypothesis is rejected because the observed data would be very unlikely if the hypothesis is true 一 appears so obvious that many people are tempted to accept it, it is in fact fallacious. In the light of its historical background and conceptual development, discussed in Chapter 2, the Fisher's significance testing, Neyman-Pearson hypothesis testing and their hybrids are clearly distinguished. We argue that the probability of obtaining the observed or more extreme outcomes (p value) can hardly act as a measure of the strength of evidence against the null hypothesis. After discussing the five major interpretations of probability, we conclude that if we do not accept the subjective theory of probability, talking about the probability of a hypothesis that is not the outcome of a chance process is unintelligible. But the subjective theory itself has many intractable difficulties that can hardly be resolved. If we insist on assigning a probability value to a hypothesis in the same way as we assign one to a chance event, we have to accept that it is the hypothesis with low probability, rather than high probability, that we should aim at when conducting scientific research. More important, the inferences behind SST are shown to be fallacious from three different perspectives. The attempt to invoke the likelihood ratio with the observed or more extreme data instead of the probability of a hypothesis in defending the use of р value as a measure of the strength of evidence against the null hypothesis is also shown to be misleading because it can be demonstrated that the use of tail region to represent a result that is actually on the border would overstate the evidence against the ทน11 hypothesis.Although Neyman-Pearson hypothesis testing does not involve the concept of the probability of a hypothesis, it does have some other serious problems that can hardly be resolved. We show that it cannot address researchers' genuine concerns. By explaining why the level of significance must be specified or fixed prior to the analysis of data and why a blurring of the distinction between the р value and the significance level would lead to undesirable consequences, we conclude that the Neyman-Pearson hypothesis testing cannot provide an effective means for rejecting false hypotheses. After a thorough discussion of common misconceptions associated with SST and the major arguments for and against SST, we conclude that SST has insurmountable problems that could misguide the research paradigm although some other criticisms on SST are not really as justified. We also analyze various proposed alternatives to SST and conclude that confidence intervals (CIs) are no better than SST for the purpose of testing hypotheses and it is unreasonable to expect the existence of a statistical test that could provide researchers with algorithms or rigid rules by conforming to which all problems about testing hypotheses could be solved. Finally, we argue that falsificationism could eschew the disadvantages of SST and other similar statistical inductive inferences and we discuss how it could bring education research into a more fruitful situation in which to their practices. Although we pay special attention to mathematics education, the core of the discussion in the thesis might apply equally to other educational contexts.


To be used as input in most simulation and modelling software, 3D city models should be geometrically and topologically valid, and semantically rich. We investigate in this paper what is the quality of currently available CityGML datasets, i.e. we validate the geometry/topology of the 3D primitives (Solid and MultiSurface), and we validate whether the semantics of the boundary surfaces of buildings is correct or not. We have analysed all the CityGML datasets we could find, both from portals of cities and on different websites, plus a few that were made available to us. We have thus validated 40M surfaces in 16M 3D primitives and 3.6M buildings found in 37 CityGML datasets originating from 9 countries, and produced by several companies with diverse software and acquisition techniques. The results indicate that CityGML datasets without errors are rare, and those that are nearly valid are mostly simple LOD1 models. We report on the most common errors we have found, and analyse them. One main observation is that many of these errors could be automatically fixed or prevented with simple modifications to the modelling software. Our principal aim is to highlight the most common errors so that these are not repeated in the future. We hope that our paper and the open-source software we have developed will help raise awareness for data quality among data providers and 3D GIS software producers.


Students entering university-based social work qualifying education are increasingly constructed in policy as lacking in quality. This article presents a genealogy of discourse examining major reports and policy documents in England from 2002 to 2018 in order to understand how the dominant
 discourse around these students has changed since the introduction of the social work degree as the minimum qualification for practice. Key findings from the genealogy are that the quality of students has increasingly been described in negative terms, and this is linked in the discourse to
 a lack of employer involvement and the poor public perception of the profession. Fast-track social work qualifying programmes are presented as the self-evident answer to these issues within this discursive formation. However, it is ultimately shown that the current discursive direction may
 actually be leading to a self-fulfilling prophecy that deters students from joining the social work profession through any qualifying route.


We study second-harmonic generation in a negative-index material cavity. The transmission spectrum shows a bandgap between the electric and magnetic plasma frequencies. The nonlinear process is made efficient by local phase-matching conditions between a forward-propagating pump and a backward-propagating second-harmonic signal. By simultaneously exciting the cavity with counterpropagating pulses, and by varying their relative phase difference, one is able to enhance or inhibit linear absorption and the second-harmonic conversion efficiency.


Typical personal fabrication using a laser cutter allows objects to be created from raw material and the engraving of existing objects. Current methods to precisely align an object with the laser is a difficult process due to indirect manipulations. In this paper, we propose a marker-based system as a novel paradigm for direct interactive laser cutting on existing objects. Our system, MARCut, performs the laser cutting based on tangible markers that are applied directly onto the object to express the design. Two types of markers are available; hand constructed Shape Markers that represent the desired geometry, and Command Markers that indicate the operational parameters such as cut, engrave or material.


Recently, a car employs various built-in sensors such as a speedometer, odometer, accelerometer and angular rate sensor for safety and maintenance. These sensory data can be provided in real time through a CAN (Controller Area Network) bus. In addition, image sequences can be provided from various cameras mounted to the car, such as built-in front and around view monitoring cameras. We thus propose an image based car navigation framework to determine car position and attitude using the built-in sensory data such as a speed, angular rate and images from a front view camera. First, we determine the two-dimensional position and attitude of a car using the velocity and angular rate provided in real-time through the CAN bus. We then estimate the three-dimensional position and attitude by conducting sequential bundle block adjustment using the two-dimensional position and attitude and tie points between image sequences. The sequential bundle adjustment can produce accurate results comparable to those from the conventional simultaneous bundle adjustment in real time. As the input to this process, it needs reliable tie points between adjacent images acquired from a real-time image matching process. Hence, we develop an image matching process based on the enhanced KLT algorithm using preliminary exterior orientation parameters. We also construct a test system that can acquire and store built-in sensory data and front camera images at the same time, and conduct experiments with the real data acquired by the system. The experimental results show that the proposed image matching process can generate accurate tie-points with about 0.2 second in average at each epoch. It can successfully meet the requirements from real-time bundle adjustment for image based car navigation.