A survey of the existing state-of-the-art of turbine blade manufacture highlights two operations that have not been automated namely that of loading of a turbine blade into an encapsulation die, and that of removing a machined blade from the encapsulation block. The automation of blade decapsulation has not been pursued. In order to develop a system to automate the loading of an encapsulation die a prototype mechanical handling robot has been designed together with a computer controlled encapsulation die. The robot has been designed as a mechanical handling robot of cylindrical geometry, suitable for use in a circular work cell. It is the prototype for a production model to be called `The Cybermate'. The prototype robot is mechanically complete but due to unforeseen circumstances the robot control system is not available (the development of the control system did not form a part of this project), hence it has not been possible to fully test and assess the robot mechanical design. Robot loading of the encapsulation die has thus been simulated. The research work with regard to the encapsulation die has focused on the development of computer controlled, hydraulically actuated, location pins. Such pins compensate for the inherent positional inaccuracy of the loading robot and reproduce the dexterity of the human operator. Each pin comprises a miniature hydraulic cylinder, controlled by a standard bidirectional flow control valve. The precision positional control is obtained through pulsing of the valves under software control, with positional feedback from an 8-bit transducer. A test-rig comprising one hydraulic location pin together with an opposing spring loaded pin has demonstrated that such a pin arrangement can be controlled with a repeatability of +/-.00045'. In addition this test-rig has demonstrated that such a pin arrangement can be used to gauge and compensate for the dimensional error of the component held between the pins, by offsetting the pin datum positions to allow for the component error. A gauging repeatability of +/- 0.00015' was demonstrated. This work has led to the design and manufacture of an encapsulation die comprising ten such pins and the associated computer software. All aspects of the control software except blade gauging and positional data storage have been demonstrated. Work is now required to achieve the accuracy of control demonstrated by the single pin test-rig, with each of the ten pins in the encapsulation die. This would allow trials of the complete loading cycle to take place.


Although mainstream psychology has received numerous critiques for its traditional approaches to disability-related research, proposals for alternative theory that can encompass the social, cultural, political, and historical features of disability are lacking. The social identity approach (SIA) offers a rich framework from which to ask research questions about the experience of disability in accordance with the critical insights found in disability studies (DS), the source for many of the most compelling critiques of disability psychology research. We review existing research considering the complementary social identity (Tajfel & Turner, 1979) and self-categorization (Turner, Hogg, Reicher, & Wetherell, 1987) theories to support our contention that the disability social category is a significant driving force in the psychological experience of disability and to demonstrate the theoretical utility of the SIA. We suggest that a bridge between the critical epistemological perspectives found in disability studies and the methodological rigor and theoretical breadth and parsimony of a social identity approach is essential for examining the social psychological experience of disability in the 21st century. To conclude we explore the emergent possibilities for research in psychological science that can follow from a social identity approach to disability.


In this paper, a thorough numerical analysis of the confinement loss in kagome and tube lattice fibers is presented. The results show that the confinement loss strongly depends on the shape of the struts composing the core boundary and the cladding. This explains why confinement loss in kagome fibers is much higher than in tube lattice ones. In fact, the closer to a perfectly circular arc the struts, the lower the confinement loss. For this reason, struts shape must be carefully controlled during the fabrication process.


Present research intends to investigate the effectiveness of imagery rescripting and reprocessing therapy (IRRT) on insomnia, nightmare and suicidal ideation in depressed persons with suicide attempt history. The study population includes 45 persons who had referred to RashtRazi Hospital during 2 months. These persons answered the Beck Depression Inventory(BDI-II) as screening instrument.40 of them were depressed. These persons answered the Insomnia Severity Index(ISI),Disturbing Dreams and Nightmare Index(DDNSI) and Beck Scale for suicide Ideation(BSSI).30 of them who had the highest scores of insomnia, nightmare and suicide ideation, were selected. Then they were randomly assigned to experimental and control groups. For each of 15 persons of experimental group, IRRT was carried out weekly(7 sessions).Then both groups answered the ISI,DDNSI and BSSI inventories With use of MANCOVA by SPSS 18. The findings indicated that Imagery Rescripting and Reprocessing Therapy(IRRT) decreased measure of insomnia, measure of nightmare and measure of suicide ideation on suicide attempters. Also there were statistically significant differences between corresponding measures in experimental and control groups. These results suggest that IRRT can be useful to successfully reduce insomnia, nightmare and suicide ideation. Associated with depressed persons with suicide attempt history.


Global fall-out from atmospheric testing of thermonuclear weapons produced horizon markers corresponding to the initiation of testing in 1953 and the maximum fall-out in 1963. The radioactive isotope 137CS associated with these events has a half-life of 30.2 years. Therefore, with the appropriate radiation detectors, this fall-out can be used as a long-term temporal indicator in glaciers and snowpack. A prototype ,),-ray detector system was successfully tested and was used to make in-situ measurements of the 137CS marker in a borehole at Summit, Greenland. The system consisted of a 7.6 cm by 7.6 cm N aI (Tl) scintillation crystalJphotomultiplier detector, commercial pre-amplifier, amplifier and power supplies, and a microcomputer-based pulse-height analyzer. The measurements were made in boreholes of 25.4 cm and 12.7 cm diameter to depths of 22 m. Based on the results reported here, the ,),-ray detection technique promises to be a powerful way to locate quickly horizon markers in the field .


The internet is playing a very important role in communication and sharing knowledge today. Users of the Internet use web for different kinds of tasks. The current web mostly restricts processing of information to manual keyword searching and becomes the reason for irrelevant information retrieval. This problem can be overcome by using semantic web. Semantic web is intelligent and meaningful web. It describes the things in a way that the computer can understand. Ontology plays a vital role in achieving goal of semantic web i.e. how to use and reuse knowledge that can be communicated across applications systems. For the development of ontology, the most important thing is classes and the resulting class and subclass relationships. Classification schemes have been used persistently to represent various kinds of human knowledge. Dewey Decimal Classification (DDC) scheme provides list of classes for all kind of books. It was invented by Aristotle in the 4th century BC. Currently, this scheme is used by most of libraries in the world. In our work we are extracting the classes from DDC scheme for building ontology and converting the classes into ontology. We developed a hierarchical structure comprised of a class-subclass relationship as well as relation among hierarchy levels and properties. This paper presents the potential of ontologies applicable to semantic web. The proposed ontology has been used to develop a library management system (LMS) and produce excellent results in terms of efficiency and ease of use.


Age, education and parity are interrelated with energy equation and body weight in women, however independent relation of parity with weight and fat distribution is not clear. In this cross sectional study, the relation of parity and level of education were investigated with body mass index (BMI) and waist to hip ratio (WHR) among 403 Iranian women, between 22-45 years old. Findings revealed, by controlling the age, women with higher education (12 years>) in compare with women with lower level of education (12 years<) had lower BMI (24.8±4.3 vs. 28.3±4.9, P<0.01), Lower WHR (0.83±0.06 vs. 0.88±0.08, P<0.01) and Lower Parity (0.19±0.59 vs. 0.59±1.03, P>0.01). Any significant relation was not observed between parity and body mass index by controlling the age and education, however there was significant relation between parity and WHR by controlling age, education and body mass index (P<0.005, r=0.14). In multiple regression analysis also, age and education explained 43% of BMI variation and parity, BMI and education explained 51.2% of WHR variation. Present study indicated that high parity might be as a risk factor in increasing upper body fat, while it was not related to body mass index after controlling the age and education.


Background: Exposure to solar UV rays has deleterious
effects on skin appearance through physiological and structural alterations
that eventually lead to skin photo-damage. Aims: To test the photo-protective effect of a novel preparation,
Dead Sea Osmoter Concentrate (DSOC), containing
high concentration of Dead Sea water. Methods:
Human skin organ culture was used as a model to assess the biological effects
of UVB irradiation and the protective effect of topical application of DSOC
preparation. Skin pieces were analyzed for mitochondrial activity by Alamar
blue (resazurin) assay, for apoptosis by caspase 3 assay, for detoxification by
proteasome 20S sub-unit activity and for skin hydration by aquaporin 3 (AQP3)
membrane channels expression. Human subjects were tested to evaluate the effect
of DSOC Serum, a topical formula for facial skin, on skin hydration by a corneometer.
Results: UVB irradiation induced
cell apoptosis in the epidermis of skin organ cultures and decreased their
proteasome activity and AQP3 expression. Topical application of DSOC
significantly attenuated all these effects. In human subjects, an elevation in
the intense skin moisture, which was higher relatively to subjects' regular
moisturizer, was observed. Moreover, DSOC Serum boosted the hydration effect
together with regular moisturizer. Conclusions:
The results clearly demonstrate that DSOC preparation can significantly improve
the skin capability in coping with UVB rays stress in different cellular
functions such as anti-apoptotic properties as well as detoxification and
hydration recovery that can attenuate biological effects of skin photo-damage.
Topical application of DSOC Serum had contributed to skin appearance by a
strong hydration impact, also as a booster.


The Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act ("GINA"), enacted in May 2008, protects individuals against discrimination by insurance companies and employers on the basis of genetic information. GINA is not only the first civil rights law of the new millennium, but it is also the first preemptive antidiscrimination statute in American history. Traditionally, Congress has passed retrospective antidiscrimination legislation, reacting to existing discriminatory regimes. However, little evidence indicates that genetic-information discrimination is currently taking place on a significant scale. Thus, unlike the laws of the twentieth century, GINA attempts to eliminate a new brand of discrimination before it takes hold. This Article provides a detailed look at this unprecedented new statute, beginning with its initial introduction in 1995. Next, the Article examines the justifications for passing preemptive genetic-information discrimination legislation, concluding that Congress had twin objectives: a research justification and an antidiscrimination justification. Lastly, the Article explores the implications of passing antidiscrimination legislation absent a history of discrimination. It concludes that GINA's preemptive nature may be both its greatest attribute and its deepest flaw.


Abstract. Small-scale thematic maps help to visualize world-wide data, yet small nations can be difficult to discern or are omitted completely. This occurs for small island developing states (SIDS), a group of more than fifty states recognized by the United Nations for their social, economic and environmental vulnerabilities. Through this study we proposed and evaluated alternative maps to increase the perceptibility of SIDS using indicator data of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). These goals link social, economic and environmental objectives to achieve globally by 2030. Five cartographic solutions were refined to one based on input from two focus groups of geoinformation scientists and cartographers as well as an interview with a SIDS resident. The selected map was evaluated by a larger audience in an online survey. Most survey participants had some experience with SIDS, worked in international organizations and/or had graduate-level degrees in a geographic-related science. While recommendations for improvement were provided, nearly seventy percent of the participants agreed the presented design was appropriate to represent SIDS in choropleth world maps.


Abstract. Ecosystems in alpine mountainous regions are vulnerable and easily disturbed by global environmental change. Alpine swamp meadow, a unique grassland type in the eastern Tibetan Plateau that provides important ecosystem services to the upstream and downstream regions of international rivers of Asia and other parts of the world, is undergoing severe degradation, which can dramatically alter soil hydraulic properties and water cycling processes. However, the effects of alpine swamp meadow degradation on soil hydraulic properties and the corresponding influencing mechanisms are still poorly understood. In this study, soil moisture content (SMC), field capacity (FC) and saturated hydraulic conductivity (Ks) together with several basic soil properties under lightly degraded (LD), moderately degraded (MD) and severely degraded (SD) alpine swamp meadow were investigated; the variations in SMC, FC and Ks with alpine swamp meadow degradation and their dominant influencing factors were analysed. The results showed that SMC and FC decreased consistently from LD to SD, while Ks decreased from LD to MD and then increased from MD to SD, following the order of LD  >  SD  >  MD. Significant differences in soil hydraulic properties between degradation degrees were found in the upper soil layers (0–20 cm), indicating that the influences of degradation were most pronounced in the topsoils. FC was positively correlated with capillary porosity, water-stable aggregates, soil organic carbon, and silt and clay content; Ks was positively correlated with non-capillary porosity (NCP). Relative to other soil properties, soil porosity is the dominant factor influencing FC and Ks. Capillary porosity explained 91.1 % of total variance in FC, and NCP explained 97.3 % of total variance in Ks. The combined effect of disappearing root activities and increasing sand content was responsible for the inconsistent patterns of NCP and Ks. Our findings suggest that alpine swamp meadow degradation would inevitably lead to reduced water holding capacity and rainfall infiltration. This study provides a more comprehensive understanding of the soil hydrological effects of vegetation degradation. Further hydrological modelling studies in the Tibetan Plateau and similar regions are recommended to understand the effects of degraded alpine swamp meadows on soil hydraulic properties.


This paper provides descriptive research about a successful collaborative vision development process undertaken for a regional United Way. The entire process from learning about the client to achieving a new strategic vision is reviewed. Among the techniques used were basic research, interviews, and focus groups. The process ended with a decision event involving the United Way board of directors. The process centers around the creation of a "shared space" - a model - and a unique lexicon that together focus participants on the same goal and keep them talking the same language. The importance of understanding the challenges prompting a change in vision is stressed as well as uncovering the concerns of all stakeholders. The paper describes how "games" can be used to solicit data and prioritize goals. The role and value of facilitators is discussed. It concludes with lessons learned that confirm many of the functional theories of group collaboration.


We develop a parameterised model for liquidity effects arising from the trading in an asset. Liquidity is defined via a combination of a trader's individual transaction cost and a price slippage impact, which is felt by all market participants. The chosen definition allows liquidity to be observable in a centralised order-book of an asset as is usually provided in most non-specialist exchanges. The discrete-time version of the model is based on the CRR binomial tree and in the appropriate continuous-time limits we derive various nonlinear partial differential equations. Both versions can be directly applied to the pricing and hedging of options; the nonlinear nature of liquidity leads to natural bid-ask spreads that are based on the liquidity of the market for the underlying and the existence of (super-)replication strategies. We test and calibrate our model set-up empirically with high-frequency data of German blue chips and discuss further extensions to the model, including stochastic liquidity.


In an English as a Foreign Language (EFL) classroom, most of the time the teacher cannot avoid the use of mother tongue in teaching and learning activities. This happens in some countries whose English is not their native language, including Indonesia. This paper examines the influence of first language used by a teacher in an Indonesian EFL classroom. The teacher and six tenth graders from a science classroom were involved in this study. Semi-structured interviews were conducted to gather in-depth data. The data were then analysed qualitatively based on the steps by Miles and Huberman (1984): data reduction, data display and data conclusion or verification. The findings indicate the teacher's and the students' perspectives on the use of first language in EFL classroom. Most of the students agreed the teacher includes the first language in their English classroom as it positively helps them in learning the target language. In addition, the teacher supports the students' view because the inclusion of the first language in EFL classroom is considered a way to solve the students' problem in learning the target language


Population genetic study of nine aboriginal ethnic groups of Taiwan(Ami, Atayal, Bunun, Paiwan, Puyuma, Rukai, Saisiat, Tsou, and Yami) wascarried out. Twelve red cell enzymes (AcP, AK, CA1, CA2, EsD, GLO, GPT, GOT, LDH, MDH, PGD, and PGM1) were analyzed by isoelectric focusingmethod and starch gel electrophoretic method. Six loci (AcP, EsD, GLO, GPT, PGD, and PGM1) were polymorphic. Three alleles (PGM1*6, GPT*6, andEsD*7) were in relatively higher allele frequencies in Taiwan aboriginalpopulations, and we found homozygotes for those alleles. Phylogenetic relationshipbased on genetic distances among those ethnic groups more or less fit to theirgeographical distribution, but not to linguistic classification.


The tyrosine kinase Src couples activation of multiple pattern recognition receptors to the production of type I interferon. Src and interferon Cells are armed with multiple pattern recognition receptors (PRRs) that sense viral infection. Although PRRs mediate signaling through different adaptor proteins, they mostly converge on activation of the kinase TBK1, which phosphorylates and activates the transcription factor IRF3 to promote expression of genes encoding type I interferons (IFNs). Li et al. found that TBK1, which undergoes serine autophosphorylation to become activated, was also tyrosine-phosphorylated, which was dependent on the kinase Src. Although Src did not directly associate with and phosphorylate TBK1, it was recruited to multiple PRR-associated adaptor-containing complexes that contained TBK1. Furthermore, loss of Src or inhibition of its activity impaired the production of type I IFNs by virally infected macrophages, suggesting that Src acts as a central regulator of the innate immune response to viruses. Various pattern recognition receptors (PRRs) are activated in response to viral infection to stimulate the production of type I interferons (IFNs). However, central to the responses of all of these receptors is their activation of the kinase TBK1, which stimulates transcription by IFN regulatory factor 3 (IRF3). We investigated the mechanism by which the kinase activity of TBK1 is stimulated in response to viral infection. We found that the tyrosine kinase Src promoted the phosphorylation of TBK1 on Tyr179 upon viral infection of RAW264.7 macrophages. Mutation of Tyr179 to alanine resulted in impaired autophosphorylation of TBK1 at Ser172, which is required for TBK1 activation. The TBK1 Y179A mutant failed to rescue type I IFN production by virally infected RAW264.7 macrophages deficient in TBK1. Pharmacological inhibition of Src with AZD0530 and clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats/Cas9–mediated knockout of Src demonstrated that Src was critical for activating the TBK1-IRF3 pathway and stimulating type I IFN production. However, Src did not directly bind to recombinant TBK1 in vitro but instead bound to the proline-X-X-proline motifs within key PRR adaptor proteins, such as TRIF, MAVS, and STING, which formed complexes with TBK1 after PRR engagement. Together, our data suggest that Src is the major tyrosine kinase that primes TBK1 for autophosphorylation and activation, thus providing mechanistic insights into the regulation of TBK1 activity by various PRRs as part of the innate antiviral response.


This volume provides a synopsis of current research on volcanic processes, as gained through the use of palaeomagnetic and rock magnetic techniques. Thermoremanent magnetization information provides a powerful means of deciphering thermal processes in volcanic deposits, including estimating the emplacement temperature of pyroclastic deposits, which allows us to understand better the rates of cooling during eruption and transport. Anisotropy of magnetic susceptibility and anisotropy of remanence are used primarily to investigate rock fabrics and to quantify flow dynamics in dykes, lava flows, and pyroclastic deposits, as well as identify vent locations. Rock-magnetic characteristics allow correlation of volcanic deposits, but also provide means to date volcanic deposits and to understand better their cooling history. Because lava flows are typically good recorders of past magnetic fields, data from them allow understanding of changes in geomagnetic field directions and intensity, providing clues on the origin of Earth's magnetic field.


The Drosophila eye is composed of several hundred ommatidia that can exist in either of two chiral forms, depending on position: ommatidia in the dorsal half of the eye adopt one chiral form, whereas ommatidia in the ventral half adopt the other. Chirality appears to be specified by a polarizing signal with a high activity at the interface between the two halves (the 'equator'), which declines in opposite directions towards the dorsal and ventral poles. Here, using genetic mosaics, we show that this polarizing signal is decoded by the sequential use of two receptor systems. The first depends on the seven-transmembrane receptor Frizzled (Fz) and distinguishes between the two members of the R3/R4 pair of presumptive photoreceptor cells, predisposing the cell that is located closer to the equator and having higher Fz activity towards the R3 photoreceptor fate and the cell further away towards the R4 fate. This bias is then amplified by subsequent interactions between the two cells mediated by the receptor Notch (N) and its ligand Delta (Dl), ensuring that the equatorial cell becomes the R3 photoreceptor while the polar cell becomes the R4 photoreceptor. As a consequence of this reciprocal cell fate decision, the R4 cell moves asymmetrically relative to the R3 cell, initiating the appropriate chiral pattern of the remaining cells of the ommatidium.


Data science is the profession of the future, because organizations that are unable to use (big) data in a smart way will not survive. It is not sufficient to focus on data storage and data analysis. The data scientist also needs to relate data to process analysis. Process mining bridges the gap between traditional model-based process analysis (e.g., simulation and other business process management techniques) and datacentric analysis techniques such as machine learning and data mining. Process mining seeks the confrontation between event data (i.e., observed behavior) and process models (hand-made or discovered automatically). This technology has become available only recently, but it can be applied to any type of operational processes (organizations and systems). Example applications include: analyzing treatment processes in hospitals, improving customer service processes in a multinational, understanding the browsing behavior of customers using a booking site, analyzing failures of a baggage handling system, and improving the user interface of an X-ray machine. All of these applications have in common that dynamic behavior needs to be related to process models. Hence, we refer to this as "data science in action".


Abstract This paper argues that limited asset market participation is crucial in explaining U.S. macroeconomic performance and monetary policy before the 1980s and their changes thereafter. In an otherwise conventional sticky-price model, standard aggregate demand logic is inverted at low enough asset market participation: interest rate increases become expansionary, and passive monetary policy ensures equilibrium determinacy and maximizes welfare. This suggests that Federal Reserve policy in the pre-Volcker era was better than conventional wisdom implies. We provide empirical evidence consistent with this hypothesis and study the relative merits of changes in structure and shocks for reproducing the conquest of the Great Inflation and the Great Moderation.


Following proposals in 1987 and 1988, several medical journals have provided more informative abstracts ("structured abstracts") for articles of clinical interest. Structured abstracts for original studies require authors to systematically disclose the objective, basic research design, clinical setting, participants, interventions (if any), main outcome measurements, results, and conclusions; and for literature reviews the objective, data sources, methods of study selection, data extraction and synthesis, and conclusions. More informative abstracts of this kind can facilitate peer review before publication, assist clinical readers to find articles that are both scientifically sound and applicable to their practices, and allow more precise computerized literature searches. We review the feasibility, acceptability, and dissemination of structured abstracts, reassess the underlying strategy, and describe modifications of the approach. This innovation can aid communication from scientists to clinicians, and other clinical journals are invited to join this effort.


Abstract. National parks in the United States are protected areas wherein the natural habitat is to be conserved for future generations. Deposition of anthropogenic nitrogen (N) transported from areas of human activity (fuel combustion, agriculture) may affect these natural habitats if it exceeds an ecosystem-dependent critical load (CL). We quantify and interpret the deposition to Class I US national parks for present-day and future (2050) conditions using the GEOS-Chem global chemical transport model with 1/2° × 2/3° horizontal resolution over North America. We estimate CL values in the range 2.5–5 kg N ha −1 yr −1 for the different parks to protect the most sensitive ecosystem receptors. For present-day conditions, we find 24 out of 45 parks to be in CL exceedance and 14 more to be marginally so. Many of these are in remote areas of the West. Most (40–85%) of the deposition originates from NO x emissions (fuel combustion). We project future changes in N deposition using representative concentration pathway (RCP) anthropogenic emission scenarios for 2050. These feature 52–73% declines in US NO x emissions relative to present but 19–50% increases in US ammonia (NH 3 ) emissions. Nitrogen deposition at US national parks then becomes dominated by domestic NH 3 emissions. While deposition decreases in the East relative to present, there is little progress in the West and increases in some regions. We find that 17–25 US national parks will have CL exceedances in 2050 based on the RCP8.5 and RCP2.6 scenarios. Even in total absence of anthropogenic NO x emissions, 14–18 parks would still have a CL exceedance. Returning all parks to N deposition below CL by 2050 would require at least a 50% decrease in US anthropogenic NH 3 emissions relative to RCP-projected 2050 levels.


ABSTRACT Background: Previous studies suggest that there is a strong association between depression and cognitive decline, and that concurrent depressive symptoms in MCI patients could contribute to a difference in neurocognitive characteristics compared to MCI patients without depression. The authors tried to compare neurocognitive functions between MCI patients with and without depression by analyzing the results of neuropsychological tests. Methods: Participants included 153 MCI patients. Based on the diagnosis of major depressive disorder, the participants were divided into two groups: depressed MCI (MCI/D+) versus non-depressed MCI (MCI/D−). The general cognitive and functional statuses of participants were evaluated. And a subset of various neuropsychological tests was presented to participants. Demographic and clinical data were analyzed using Student t-test or χ 2 test. Results: A total of 153 participants were divided into two groups: 94 MCI/D+ patients and 59 MCI/D− patients. Age, sex, and years of education were not significantly different between the two groups. There were no significant differences in general cognitive status between MCI/D+ and MCI/D− patients, but MCI/D+ participants showed significantly reduced performance in the six subtests (Contrasting Program, Go-no-go task, Fist-edge-palm task, Constructional Praxis, Memory Recall, TMT-A) compared with MCI/D− patients. Conclusions: There were significantly greater deficits in neurocognitive functions including verbal memory, executive function, attention/processing speed, and visual memory in MCI/D+ participants compared to MCI/D−. Once the biological mechanism is identified, distinct approaches in treatment or prevention will be determined.


This article is an attempt of conceptual analysis of the prominent Russian thinker Vladimir Solovyov's undiscovered work, namely, his play "The White Lily", which genre he himself has defined as "mystery-joke". In spite of the seeming entertainment and unpretentiousness, the play presents definite stage in the evolution of Solovyov's thought, and expresses some principal points of his philosophical system albeit in a rather simplified and popular form. The text of the mystery (in both printed and handwritten versions) is considered in three main aspects. Firstly, we find out socio-empirical circumstances of its creation, the motives that guided the author of the mystery when he referred to the new unusual literary genre. The description of thinker's personality, which is represented in the text in one way or another, is given. Secondly, the textual analysis is presented, which reveals the richness and diversity of the sources used by Solovyov, and provides an interpretation of the fundamental mystical characters and symbols appearing in the play. Special attention is payed to the Bible, especially books of the Old Testament, which influence on Solovyov's work is underestimated by the researches. Thirdly, it is shown how the mystery text presents one of the fundamental concepts of Solovyov, namely, Sofia ("Wisdom of God"). In relation to this play, the author deals with such attributes of Sofia as completeness, materialization (spiritual physicality), ideality (transcendence), beauty, correlation with Eros. The thesis is substantiated that for the thinker Sofia and the Blessed Virgin Mary (Mother of God) are not antipodes but quite related concepts, and their ratio strives for full identity. In general, it is suggested to consider "The White Lily" as artistic expression of integral mystical-philosophical conception of the author, in which the earthly, everyday human life appears in the role of projections and transient modus of the Supreme transcendent reality.


Air-sea gas exchange plays a key role in the cycling of greenhouse and other biogeochemically important gases. Although air-sea gas transfer is expected to change as a consequence of the rapid decline in summer Arctic sea ice cover, little is known about the effect of sea ice cover on gas exchange fluxes, especially in the marginal ice zone. During the Polarstern expedition ARK-XXVI/3 (TransArc, August/September 2011) to the central Arctic Ocean, we compared 222Rn/226Ra ratios in the upper 50 m of 14 ice-covered and 4 ice-free stations. At three of the ice-free stations, we find 222Rn-based gas transfer coefficients in good agreement with expectation based on published relationships between gas transfer and wind speed over open water when accounting for wind history from wind reanalysis data. We hypothesize that the low gas transfer rate at the fourth station results from reduced fetch due to the proximity of the ice edge, or lateral exchange across the front at the ice edge by restratification. No significant radon deficit could be observed at the ice-covered stations. At these stations, the average gas transfer velocity was less than 0.1 m/d (97.5% confidence), compared to 0.5–2.2 m/d expected for open water. Our results show that air-sea gas exchange in an ice-covered ocean is reduced by at least an order of magnitude compared to open water. In contrast to previous studies, we show that in partially ice-covered regions, gas exchange is lower than expected based on a linear scaling to percent ice cover.


This thesis provides three essays in macroeconomics.
The first chapter analyzes trends in fertility and time allocation. Falling fertility rates have often been linked to rising female wages. However, over the last 30 years the US total fertility rate has been stable while female wages have continued to grow. Over the same period, women's hours spent on housework have declined, but men's have increased.
A model with a shrinking gender wage gap is proposed capturing these trends. While rising relative wages increase women's labour supply, they also lead to a reallocation of
home production from women to men, and a higher use of labour-saving inputs. Both are important in understanding why fertility did not decline further.
The second chapter presents a life-cycle model with heterogeneous households and incomplete financial markets to study the implications of a reform that eliminates capital
taxation. In the economy individuals differ in terms of their gender and marital status, and decision making within the couple is modelled as a contract under limited commitment. When capital taxes are set to zero, there is a strong increase in wealth accumulation that originates in dual earner households. Moreover, the policy change has important implications for the division of resources within the family and for households' insurance possibilities.
The third chapter is motivated by the dramatic reshuffling in relative positions between East Asian and Latin American economies. It studies the dynamic response of a two-
sector, manufacturing and agriculture, economy in the presence of import tariffs and export subsidies on manufacturing goods, similar to those that characterized government policy in these countries. It is shown that the response to these policies depends on the level of productivity in the agricultural sector. Quantitative work, however, finds that differences in agricultural productivities themselves are key in explaining the differential growth experiences.


This study aims to examine the performance of companies in the era of the industrial revolution 4.0 in achieving the 2030 Sustainable Development Goals through the sophisticated technology. The researchers focused on three main risen technologies that play an important role in improving the operational activities of the company using ERP, Big Data Analytics and Blockchain Technology. Beside it, these three technologies could have a really important role for companies in the communication of information related to green accounting for improving societies life better, helping companies to ensure a harmonious standard of living for the community and the environment. Finally, by carrying out Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) for areas that have not been reached by technology, companies could encourage public awareness to be opened to changes due to the presence of sophisticated technology so that people could live with technology, to realize Society 5.0 era.


BACKGROUND
Acquired immune responses to malaria have widely been perceived to be short-lived, with previously immune individuals losing immunity when they move from malaria-endemic areas. However long-lived Plasmodium falciparum-specific antibody responses lasting for an individual's lifetime are frequently observed.

METHODS
We fit mathematical models of the dynamics of antibody titers to P. falciparum antigens from longitudinal cohort studies of African children to estimate the half-lives of circulating immunoglobulin G (IgG) antibodies and IgG antibody-secreting cells (ASCs).

RESULTS
Comparison of antibody responses in the younger Ghanaian cohort and the older Gambian cohort suggests that young children are less able to generate the long-lived ASCs necessary to maintain the circulating antibodies that may provide protection against reinfection. Antibody responses in African children can be described by a model 15 including both short-lived ASCs (half-life range, 2-10 days), which are responsible for boosting antibody titers following infection, and long-lived ASCs (half-life range, 3-9 years), which are responsible for maintaining sustained humoral responses.

CONCLUSIONS
The rapid decay of antibodies following exposure to malaria and the maintenance of sustained antibody responses can be explained in terms of populations of short-lived and long-lived ASCs.


In archaeology it is very important to be able to identify the sex of biological remains. Morphological sexing is only possible in cases where whole skeletons survive. However most biological remains in the archaeological record are in the form of hair, faecal matter, bone fragments, mummified tissue, blood smears and residues. An alternative approach is to use a molecular test based on the polymerase chain reaction (PCR) for sexing such remains. Currently PCR-based tests exist for sex identification in single species such as humans or bovines, however in archaeological remains the species is usually uncertain. For this reason the aim of this project was to design a PCR-based test that is capable of sexing remains of any mammalian species. One of the major molecular differences between the sexes is the presence of the Y chromosome, which is present in males but absent in females. A test was devised based on a conserved region of the Y-linked sex determining gene (SRY). This test was first applied to a panel of modem DNA samples from a variety of mammalian species, of which the sex was known. Of eleven male samples shown to have amplifiable DNA, ten gave a positive result; no positives were observed on female samples. The test was subsequently applied to ten ancient samples from A‡ayA¶nA¼ Tepesi, a 9400-year-old archaeological site in the southeast of Turkey. While these samples had been morphologically sexed, the molecular sexing of these samples was performed as a blind test. Two of the four male samples were positive, while all female samples were negative. These ancient samples were retested with a second designed sex identification test. This second test was human specific and three of the four males were successfully identified. The fourth male sample was retested multiple times and still produced a negative result for the identification of the male specific markers. It is presently thought to be incorrectly identified morphologically. These results demonstrate that the test designed in this project is useful for sexing samples from a variety of mammalian species and is absolutely specific for males under the conditions used, but is not adequate in forensic detection of human males from old samples. This problem is overcome by employing the use of a second set of human male specific primers. Forensic identification of remains routinely utilises two or more tests to confirm their results, as adopted by this project.


The platform independent characteristic of the Unified Modeling Language (UML) makes it a powerful tool for software development. Models created at the analysis and design levels, with the UML, can be implemented in any programming language. The downside to these UML Platform Independent Models (PIMs) is their higher-level language constructs create a gap between the models and the source code implementations. One of the most prevalent gaps exists with the binary class relationships.

This, report presents a technique to establish continuity between the class relationships at the design and code levels that is a combination of the MDA and UML profile approaches. The Platform Specific Models (PSMs) developed during execution of a MDA methodology, are packaged as a UML profile. The PSM will share the same language semantics as the given platform. This work focuses on developing PSMs for the Java programming language.


Meta-level research – such as data-mining of published research – is associated with established fields of scientific inquiry. Anticipation, ascertaining an alternative perspective, suggests a new frontier in science. The realisation of the integrated nature of knowledge about anticipation will eventually supersede the current fragmentation of research in this new inquiry domain. The subject's inter- and cross-disciplinarity justifies the effort to document the breadth and depth of the anticipation research, even when the word anticipation is not spelled out. The identifier is clear: what happens before a possible outcome is even triggered? The aim is to assist those who are still not fully aware of the encompassing nature of anticipation, but interested in the subject, to formulate and test their own hypotheses. In some areas (such as computer-based applications), the expectation of reproducible results (characteristic of the nomothetic) is justified; in others, pertinent to the living (characteristic of the idiographic), anticipation proves rather difficult to define and probably impossible to emulate.


The Pulitzer Diaries: Inside America's Greatest Prize. John Hohenberg. Syracuse, NY: Syracuse University Press, 1997. 344 pp. $29.95 hbk. The Pulitzer Diaries draws on Hohenberg's service as administrator of the Pulitzer Prizes and secretary of the Pulitzer board from 1954 to 1976 at Columbia University. The author, who was a professor of journalism at Columbia for twenty-four years and a journalist in Europe and the United States, had already written three books on the Pulitzers but seems to have decided that he can now release his diaries of the Pulitzer period twenty-two years after his service as administrator ended and after several of the people he writes about have died. But the reader should not expect a whistleblowing, tell-all expose' from the evercourteous former Pulitzer administrator, who is now over ninety-two. Those who wish a more critical appraisal of these Academy Awards of journalism can consult the Pulitzer chapter in David Shaw's 1984 book, Press Watch, or the 1991 book, The Pulitzer Prize, by J. Douglas Bates. No journalist is reported to have had the audacity to refuse a Pulitzer and only two writers seem to have done so - novelist Sinclair Lewis and playwright William Saroyan who explained the Pulitzer was "consecration of the mediocre." Partly because most of it didn't happen on his watch, Hehenberg doesn't dwell much on why many of the greats didn't win the Pulitzer - people such as journalist I.F. Stone; novelists such as F. Scott Fitzgerald, Thomas Wolfe, Theodore Dreiser, Flannery O'Connor, Richard Wright, and James Baldwin; poets such as T.S. Eliot and Ezra Pound; composers such as George Gershwin and Leonard Bernstein. Even Watergate-exposing journalists Robert Woodward and Carl Bernstein didn't win individual prizes; the Washington Post was honored that year for their reporting. Like other analysts of the Pulitzer, Hohenberg seems to think the Pulitzer board does a better job awarding journalistic prizes than it does in the arts. He writes of his frequent frustration in having the board overrule the more expert juries he had asked to serve. Given the civil nature of Hohenberg's writing, it may be that he didn't have to wait so long to release his diaries. Three of the few men he seemed to have differed with were former Columbia journalism dean Elie Abel who he wrote was "obsessed" with getting on the Pulitzer board, board chairman Joseph Pulitzer Jr., and Ben Bradlee, a long-time board member and former editor of the Washington Post. One thing emerging from Hohenberg's experience is how controversial and political the Pulitzer Prize can be. As the Washington Post moved forward to win its prize for Watergate, the wounded President Nixon publicly argued that "People don't win Pulitzer Prizes by being for, they usually win them by being against. …


We propose an approach for measuring and analyzing the dynamics of the standard aggregate wage growth of macro statistics with micro data. Our method decomposes the aggregate wage growth into the wage growth of job stayers and into various terms related to job and worker restructuring. This method produces explicit expressions with clear interpretations for the various restructuring components. Using comprehensive longitudinal employer–employee data, we study how job and worker restructuring influence the aggregate wage growth and its cyclicality. The results highlight the importance of drawing a sharp distinction between job and worker restructuring in the analysis of aggregate wage growth dynamics.


In this paper, we propose an economic and mathematical model to protect the financial markets from speculative attacks, by introducing a tax on financial speculative transactions. By using Game Theory, we focus on the interaction between two general players: a real economic subject (we call Enterprise) acting with hedging scopes and a bank (we call Financial Institute) acting with speculative purposes. We find different equilibria of our game, by considering friendly, selfless, selfish, fearful or aggressive behavior of players; we note that no equilibrium is good for both players, and each of them prevent at least one of the two economic subjects to obtain profits. So, we propose two different transferable utility solutions, in order to achieve a result satisfying both economic subjects and, at the same time, to achieve a condition promoting the stability of the financial markets in which our two players are interacting.


The processing of metals in the semi-solid state is becoming an innovative technology for the production of globular structure with minimum microsegregation and high quality cast parts. This research is aimed to study the microstructure characterization andmicro-segregation of semi-solid processing gray cast iron. Increasing fraction of solid has significant effect on the primary particle morphology as well as micro-segregation of gray iron cast structure. Elements segregation decreases with increasing the fraction of solid up to 0.12. It is found that elements segregation starts to increase by increasing fraction of solid above 0.12. This change of behavior of elements segregation before and after 0.12 fraction of solid related to primary solid agglomeration. Processing window (fs = 0.02 to fs = 0.13) can be withdrawn for production of semi-solid gray cast iron casting combine higher strength, higher elongation and minimummicro-segregation compared with ordinary gray iron casting.


This paper examines the choice between revenue-raising and non-revenue-raising instruments for environmental protection in a second-best setting with pre- existing factor taxes. We find that interactions with pre-existing taxes influence the costs of regulation and seriously militate against pollution abatement policies that do not raise revenue. If the marginal environmental benefits from pollution reductions are below a certain threshold value, any amount of pollution abatement through non-revenue-raising (NRR) policies like emissions quotas is efficiency-reducing. Under conditions approximating S02 emissions from electric power plants in the U.S., efficiency gains vanish if marginal environmental benefits are below $109 per ton and an NRR policy is employed. These results are largely independent of the size of the regulated sector relative to the overall economy and stem from two underlying effects. The tax-interaction effect is the adverse impact in factor markets arising from reductions in after-tax returns to factors associated with the higher production costs caused by environmental regulation. This effect leads to significantly higher efficiency costs than what would apply in a first-best world with no pre-existing taxes. Revenue-raising regulations (taxes) enjoy a revenue-recycling effect that offsets much of the tax-interaction effect, but non-revenue-raising regulations (quotas) enjoy no such offset.For any target level of emissions reduction, the gross efficiency costs of quotas are higher than those of revenue-raising policies.. To the extent that government regulations of international trade or agricultural production raise the costs of output and thus reduce real factor returns, they generate much higher social costs than indicated by partial equilibrium analyses.


Notwithstanding the rich scholarly literature debating the proper roles of lawyers and the precise contours of lawyers' ethical conduct, as a descriptive matter, the American legal system operates as an adversarial system, premised in part upon clear demarcations between the functions of different lawyers within the system. Broadly speaking, prosecutors have the distinct role of serving justice, which includes the duty to try to convict criminal defendants who are deserving of punishment, in a way that is consistent with both substantive and procedural justice. In contrast, private attorneys have a duty to zealously represent the best interests of their clients, within ethical bounds, but without taking into account broader notions of pursuing a just outcome. In some ways, criminal defense attorneys have a greater license or duty to engage in zealous representation of the interests of their clients, permitting or requiring them to use tactics that are questionable or prohibited for other private attorneys.This Essay considers the rhetoric some judges have used to characterize the respective duties of prosecutors and criminal defense attorneys. The Essay suggests that, although this rhetoric often expresses admirable aspirations and ideals, it improperly blurs the lines between the roles different lawyers play within the adversarial system. Specifically, these judges have used language that would seem to place additional limitations on both the methods prosecutors employ in seeking to obtain just convictions and the tactics criminal defense attorneys employ in zealous advocacy of their clients' interests. This Essay concludes that judges should avoid such rhetoric, which has the potential to undermine basic principles of the American legal system.


Building a personalized model to describe the drug concentration inside the human body for each patient is highly important to the clinical practice and demanding to the modeling tools. Instead of using traditional explicit methods, in this paper we propose a machine learning approach to describe the relation between the drug concentration and patients' features. Machine learning has been largely applied to analyze data in various domains, but it is still new to personalized medicine, especially dose individualization. We focus mainly on the prediction of the drug concentrations as well as the analysis of different features' influence. Models are built based on Support Vector Machine and the prediction results are compared with the traditional analytical models.


Tibet, which had enjoyed de facto independence from 1911 to 1950, was resubordinated to China in late 1950 and 1951 through a combination of political pressure and military force. On 10 March 1959 a mass revolt broke out in Lhasa, the capital of Tibet. Amid growing turmoil, the 14th Dalai Lama fled the capital. After Chinese troops moved into Lhasa on 20 March to crush the rebellion, the Tibetan leader took refuge in neighboring India. The Chinese People's Liberation Army quelled the unrest and disbanded the local government. This article looks back at those events in order to determine how the rebellion was perceived in China and what effect it had on relations with India.


In this paper, the Fe-containing phases in BOF slag were identified before and after oxidized with atmospheric air. XRD and SEM with EDS results showed that The element Fe existed in slag in the form of calcium ferrite, wustite solid solution and hematite. Mg solid solute in wustite. After oxidized, magnetite became the major mineral phase in slag and Mg + replace the Fe2+ of magnetite crystal to form spinel.


Home-based care (HBC) programmes in low- and middle-income countries have evolved over the course of the past two decades in response to the HIV epidemic and wider availability of antiretroviral therapy (ART). Evidence is emerging from small-scale and well-resourced studies that ART delivery can be effectively incorporated within HBC programmes. However, before this approach can be expanded, it is necessary to consider the lessons learned from implementing routine HBC programmes and to assess what conditions are required for their roll-out in the context of ART provision. In this paper, we review the literature on existing HBC programmes and consider the arguments for their expansion in the context of scaling up ART delivery. We develop a framework that draws on the underlying rationale for HBC and incorporates lessons learned from community health worker programmes. We then apply this framework to assess whether the necessary conditions are in place to effectively scale up HBC programmes in the ART era. We show that the most effective HBC programmes incorporate ongoing support, training and remuneration for their workers; are integrated into existing health systems; and involve local communities from the outset in programme planning and delivery. Although considerable commitment has so far been demonstrated to delivering comprehensive HBC programmes, their effectiveness is often hindered by weak linkages with other HIV services. Top-down donor policies and a lack of sustainable and consistent funding strategies represent a formidable threat to these programmes in the long term. The benefits of HBC programmes that incorporate ART care are unlikely to be replicated on a larger scale unless donors and policymakers address issues related to human resources, health service linkages and community preparedness. Innovative and sustainable funding policies are needed to support HBC programmes if they are to effectively complement national ART programmes in the long term.


ABSTRACT
The interaction of the oceans and the land will influence of stabilization of beach area, Semarang Sea directly adjacent the open seas could potentially occur due to abrasion because wave energy on the inland. This study aims to determine the magnitude of potential abrasion occurs and effectiveness of prevention using coastal structures. Identify areas of abrasion and erosion control effectiveness level modelling using software CEDAS 2.01 while spatial analysis using ArcGIS 9.3 software, as input data model derived from the analysis of wind data from BMKG Meteorological Station A. Yani Semarang, Tidal data from BMKG Maritime Station Tanjung Emas Semarang and survey field data on coastal morphology and sediment conditions at location study. From the modelling results obtained that if no protective measures are carried out at the Beach in 2015 at the location of research would have amounted to 116,307 m2 abrasion and increased in 2020 to 174,593 m2, whereas if it is done by building coastal protection interventions Groin abrasion in 2015 amounted to 3876 m2 and in 2020 a large abrasion is 7656 m2, whereas if the abrasion Seawall/Revetment built in 2015 amounted to 567 m2 and in a 2020 large abrasion is 1435 m2, effective in reducing erosion caused Seawall Seawall/Revetment l able to reflect wave energy on the coast so the beach remains protected material..
Keyword: Prediction of abrasion, Coastal Protection, Semarang Coastal


Book reviews are still one of the more effective ways to garner attention for individual titles. But it is no secret that the rise of the digital publishing world over the past ten years has brought about hard times for the printed book review. Not only have many print venues for book reviews disappeared, it has become increasingly difficult to find financial models for those that remain to persist. Costs associated with printed book reviews include editing, layout, proofing, printing, mailing, and fees for reviewers. Eliminating printing and mailing reduces the associated costs for these processes, but leaves the editorial, layout, proofing, and reviewer fees. While digital book reviews may be less expensive to distribute, they are theoretically not any less expensive to produce. The economics of books reviews is further complicated by the rapid increase of books published annually each year. In 2002, around 250,000 books were published in the US. Ten years later, that number increased by nearly tenfold to over 2.35 million books. Moreover, during the same ten-year period, fiction publication doubled. In 2002, approximately 25,000 fiction titles were published in the US, whereas ten years later the number would rise to 50,000. It is important to note that this number represents titles released in print format with ISBN numbers. The number would be much greater if one also included non-print fiction and fiction without an ISBN number. As the number of books published in the US rises, so too does the competition for book reviews. Nevertheless, the marketing dollars and review opportunities for the vast majority of the new titles published each year is minimal. Only a small fraction of the millions of books published annually will receive promotion beyond a book catalogue or online sales listing. There will be no readings at bookstores and displays at trade conferences across the county, and no advertisements in magazines and journals. A smaller fraction still will be reviewed in respected venues that reach a wide-audience of potential readers. The situation for fiction is no different than that for any other publication. Only a fraction of the 50,000 works of fiction noted above are the products of publishers that have the financial resources to market and promote them. Given their special place in the publishing marketplace, these lucky works of fiction require a special name. We'll call them corporate fiction. Not because they are books about corporations or corporate life (that is, the other kind of corporate fiction), but rather because they are the products of companies with immense financial resources that can generate greater interest in and sales of these titles. Corporate fiction is fiction from a publisher which affords significant resources to marketing and promotion. It is fiction that also comes with a pre-publication advance. The world of corporate fiction is a special place. The chosen few who enter it are afforded financial considerations and market share for their fiction vastly different from the majority of US writers: a difference made possible through the massive financial gap between US publishers. Of the estimated 85,000 publishers in the US, only about 500 have sales revenues above 50 million dollars. Worldwide, only 50 publishers have sales revenues above 200 million dollars a year, and only 24 exceed 1 billion dollars per year in sales revenue. The most exclusive and powerful group of publishers in the world are the five companies who last year had sales revenue of 4 billion dollars or more. Sales revenue on the other side of the financial spectrum though is more representative of contemporary publishing in the United States. It has been estimated that in the US alone, there are about 59,000 publishers with annual sales revenues of less than one million dollars, and about 47,000 publishers with publishing revenues of less than $50,000. It is at this point where the economics of book reviews coupled with the relative financial powers of publishers begets one simple truth: corporate book reviews are the handmaidens of corporate fiction. Corporate book reviews are in venues that court advertising dollars from corporate publishers by favorably reviewing their titles. They exist both in print and online, though identifying them or proving this relationship can be tricky. The economy of venues that practice corporate book reviewing is largely hidden. No selfrespecting book review venue would ever admit a quid pro quo relationship with a publisher. But signs of its existence can be gleaned by focusing not so much on the books reviewed, but on the advertisements. Penguin Random House is the fifth largest book publisher in the world, one of the select few with revenues of over 4 billion dollars a year. They can afford to advertise in any publication in the world. Book review venues that are on the receiving end of Penguin Random House's advertising dollars are ones that review their titles favorably and have a wide reach and large audience. For these


: This paper presents results achieved within the AQUIFER project and from applying a remote sensing approach for regional scale water and vegetation monitoring in the Sahel. This area is characterized by important interaction between climate variability and socio-economic key factors like agriculture and water resources. The present study is focussing on surface water and vegetation monitoring over the Iullemeden Aquifer System. The groundwater of the Iullemeden Aquifer System (IAS) is composed by two major aquifers: the cretaceous Continental Intercalaire and the tertiary and quaternary Continental Terminal. This Aquifer system is affected by progressive over-extraction, water quality degradation human induced pollution, associated with soil degradation, and the impacts of variability and climatic change. The specific vegetation and the open surface water bodies in these arid regions are good indicators for environmental change. In many parts of the Sahel there are no continuous ground truth measurements available to allow statements about the extension of vegetation and open water bodies. Earth Observation data may provide the only approach to detect and analyse long-term changes and it allows to monitor the negative impacts of human activities and climatic change of the available water resources in this area. This study demonstrates the performance and suitability of ENVISAT MERIS and ASAR-WS data for this purpose. Land cover classification maps of four different points in time within one growth period were generated using a rule based (object oriented) classification approach. Additionally, the changes between the four different dates as well as the seasonal vegetation dynamics were analysed. ABSTRACT This paper presents results achieved within the AQUIFER project and from applying a remote sensing approach for regional scale water and vegetation monitoring in the Sahel. This area is characterized by important interaction between climate variability and socio-economic key factors like agriculture and water resources. The present study is focussing on surface water and vegetation monitoring over the Iullemeden Aquifer System. The groundwater of the Iullemeden Aquifer System (IAS) is composed by two major aquifers: the cretaceous Continental Intercalaire and the tertiary and quaternary Continental Terminal. This Aquifer system is affected by progressive over-extraction, water quality degradation human induced pollution, associated with soil degradation, and the impacts of variability and climatic change. The specific vegetation and the open surface water bodies in these arid regions are good indicators for environmental change. In many parts of the Sahel there are no continuous ground truth measurements available to allow statements about the extension of vegetation and open water bodies. Earth Observation data may provide the only approach to detect and analyse long-term changes and it allows to monitor the negative impacts of human activities and climatic change of the available water resources in this area. This study demonstrates the performance and suitability of ENVISAT MERIS and ASAR-WS data for this purpose. Land cover classification maps of four different points in time within one growth period were generated using a rule based (object oriented) classification approach. Additionally, the changes between the four different dates as well as the seasonal vegetation dynamics were analysed.


In psychiatry, few question the legitimacy of asking whether a given psychiatric disorder is real; similarly, in psychology, scholars debate the reality of such theoretical entities as general intelligence, superegos, and personality traits. And yet in both disciplines, little thought is given to what is meant by the rather abstract philosophical concept of "real." Indeed, certain psychiatric disorders have passed from real to imaginary (as in the case of multiple personality disorder) and from imaginary to real (as in the case of post-traumatic stress disorder). In this book, Peter Zachar considers such terms as "real" and "reality" -- invoked in psychiatry but often obscure and remote from their instances -- as abstract philosophical concepts. He then examines the implications of his approach for psychiatric classification and psychopathology. Proposing what he calls a scientifically inspired pragmatism, Zachar considers such topics as the essentialist bias, diagnostic literalism, and the concepts of natural kind and social construct. Turning explicitly to psychiatric topics, he proposes a new model for the domain of psychiatric disorders, the imperfect community model, which avoids both relativism and essentialism. He uses this model to understand such recent controversies as the attempt to eliminate narcissistic personality disorder from the DSM-5. Returning to such concepts as real, true, and objective, Zachar argues that not only should we use these metaphysical concepts to think philosophically about other concepts, we should think philosophically about them.


The heart is the first functioning organ to form during development. During gastrulation, the cardiac progenitors reside in the lateral plate mesoderm but maintain close contact with the underlying endoderm. In amniotes, these bilateral heart fields are initially organized as a pair of flat epithelia that move towards the embryonic midline and fuse above the anterior intestinal portal (AIP) to form the heart tube. This medial motion is typically attributed to active mesodermal migration over the underlying endoderm. In this model, the role of the endoderm is twofold: to serve as a mechanically passive substrate for the crawling mesoderm and to secrete various growth factors necessary for cardiac specification and differentiation. Here, using computational modeling and experiments on chick embryos, we present evidence supporting an active mechanical role for the endoderm during heart tube assembly. Label-tracking experiments suggest that active endodermal shortening around the AIP accounts for most of the heart field motion towards the midline. Results indicate that this shortening is driven by cytoskeletal contraction, as exposure to the myosin-II inhibitor blebbistatin arrested any shortening and also decreased both tissue stiffness (measured by microindentation) and mechanical tension (measured by cutting experiments). In addition, blebbistatin treatment often resulted in cardia bifida and abnormal foregut morphogenesis. Moreover, finite element simulations of our cutting experiments suggest that the endoderm (not the mesoderm) is the primary contractile tissue layer during this process. Taken together, these results indicate that contraction of the endoderm actively pulls the heart fields towards the embryonic midline, where they fuse to form the heart tube.


The whole of A Far- Off Place is charged with the power and magic and beauty of Africa. Driven with appalling violence from his home by "freedom fighters" Francois Joubert, a boy about to become a man, who is deeply learned in the life and ways of the bush, embarks on a long and terrible journey. He is accompanied by Nonnie, the young daughter of a retired colonial governor, murdered by the terrorists, Xhabbo, a dearly beloved Bushman whom Francois had once saved from death, and Xhabbo's wife, Nuin-Tara. Every effort is made by the attackers, swarming everywhere in the bush, to prevent the little foursome, sole survivors and witnesses of the brutal massacre of Europeans and their Matabele partners, from reaching the outside world. The sustained ferocity of the pursuit appears only too likely to overwhelm them, for Francois and Nonnie have only their own aristocratic spirit and faith in each other, the native skill of Xhabbo and Nuin- Tara and the courage and intelligence of the noble hunting dog, Hintza, to help them against the most fearful odds. Not only the bush but also a great desert of a thousand miles of sand and scrub lies between them and any hope of safety. Yet the manner in which this little band and one dog take on this great adventure, turns it into something of a pilgrimage. Through their physical suffering and almost unbearable agony of heart and mind, they achieve both an unimagined knowledge of the resources of their bodies, and far more important still, find an inner way to an understanding of man's proper place in the natural universe - an acceptance of the right of every living creature to exist alongside him. As a result, whatever the tragedy and disaster of the story, the travail and traffic of their young lives reach out beyond fear and darkness towards an intimation of concord and light. In contrast to the profound understanding of the land and its birds and animals implicit in the characters of each of the imperiled foursome, the "freedom fighters", promising life, bring only death and in the name of liberty do mortal injury to the innermost spirit of Africa. A Far-Off Place, though complete in itself, accomplishes with A Story Like the Wind, a unique voyage of discovery into a hidden and hitherto unrecorded core of Africa. Not least of its by-products is an insight into what is committed in that vast continent in the name of liberation and independence.


For the purpose of fabricating solution-processed quantum-dot light-emitting diodes (QLEDs) with high performance, the efficient hole–electron recombination at low current density is particularly pivotal. Herein, to enhance the charge balance of the QLED device, we employed lithium bis(trifluoromethylsulfonyl)imide (Li-TFSI) as a p-type dopant into the hole-transporting material (HTM) of poly(9-vinlycarbazole) (PVK). In the experiment, the increased conductivity and the enhanced charge mobility of the Li-TFSI-doped PVK layer were confirmed by the J–V curves of the hole-only devices and conductive atomic force microscopy (c-AFM). Furthermore, on combining ultraviolet photoelectron spectroscopy (UPS) and the absorption spectra, it was found that the highest occupied molecular orbital (HOMO) of the Li-TFSI-doped PVK layers gradually shifted closer to the Fermi level upon increasing the doping ratios from 0 to 4.5 wt%. Therefore, the hole-injecting barrier decreases from 1.17 eV to 0.64 eV. As a result, the maximum current efficiency and the highest external quantum efficiency (EQE) of our fabricated QLED devices can reach as high as 15.5 cd A−1 and 11.46%, respectively. It was demonstrated that the p-type dopant Li-TFSI in the HTM can contribute to the fabrication of high-performance solution-processed light-emitting diodes.


In teleconferencing systems, there are disturbing effects of acoustic echo which hinder the quality of the sound from the loudspeakers. This paper presents an optimization technique to attenuate the acoustic echoes generated due to coupling between the microphone and the loudspeaker. An optimal filter is designed based on a least squares technique. It uses Levinson algorithm to equalize the acoustic channel in an iterative manner by calculating the correlation coefficients needed for updating the iterations, in order to minimize the echo effect. The method calculates the optimal solution directly with less data recorded. The performance was validated and compared with adaptive filtering technique using a real time signal from a conference room.


The main objective of the study was to investigate the bioactive components, their effect on HL60 leukaemic and Caco-2 colon carcinoma cancer cell lines and their bioavailability from a decoction of a Chinese Herbal Remedy OldenIandia diffusa, using a Caco-2 monolayer as a mimic for intestinal absorption.

The HPLC separation method was set up by investigating parameters such as column type, mobile phase, isoeratic/gradient elution, flow rate, pH of buffer and detection wavelength. Using this method eleven fractions (F1-F11) were collected. Results from a cytotoxicity investigation using the CyQUANT NF, trypan blue and neutral red uptake assays showed that the decoction has a cytotoxic effect on HL60 (V=13.5±4.3%, n=3) and Caco-2 (V=50.0±1.4%, n=3) cancer cell lines. The most cytotoxic active fraction was F9 (V=62.2±7.3% (HL60) and V=32.l±7.9%, n=3 (Caco-Zj). DAPI staining and Western blotting (detection of cleaved-PARP) studies on the decoction and F9 fraction indicated that mode of cell death was apoptosis, which was mediated by a caspase cascade. Fraction F9 was separated into eight further fractions (compound- fraction-l to 8) by optimisation of the HPLC method. By using liquid-liquid extraction with ethyl acetate, eleven sub fractions (compound-fraction-l to 8 and ethyl acetate fractions (FEA-l to 3) were collected purely. All collected fractions were analysed by high resolution-MS and their MWs were determined as 268.07,238.07,242.24,280.38,256.24,282.25, 284.27, 456.36,550.17,328.22 and 330.24.

In the most cytotoxic fraction F9, oleanolic acid and ursolic acid were isolated and identified in concentrations of 0.068 mg/g and 0.166 mg/g, respectively. FEA-l to 3 also showed cytotoxic effects on these cancer cells (V=53.3±2.2%, 55.4±4.4% and 50.6±11.3% (HL60) and V=63.4±13.5%, 45.8±5.9%, and 59.5±9.7%, respectively (Caco-2), Fraction FEA-l was identified as E-6-0-p-coumaroyl seandoside methyl ester (MW 550.17). Cytotoxicity assessment results showed that it has a growth inhibition effect on both cancer cell lines.

Bioavailability after ingestion of the decoction was studied using 21-day grown Caco-2 monolayers. The post absorption sample (PAS) of the decoction and fraction F9 were shown to have a good permeability (P[sub]app=3.575xlO[sup]-6 cm/s). The PAS also has a cytotoxic effect on cancer cells (V=67.0±7.5%, n=3). When analysed by LC-MS, the most of the compounds that had previously been seen in the original fractions were again observed.


#1 best-selling guide to Southeast Asia* Lonely Planet Southeast Asia on a Shoestring is your passport to all the most relevant and up-to-date advice on what to see, what to skip, what hidden discoveries await you, and how to optimize your budget for an extended continental trip. Tune into nature everywhere from coral reefs to emerald forests, tap into the region's spirit in ancient cities and temples, and try everything from curry to dim sum; all with your trusted travel companion. Get to the heart of Southeast Asia and begin your journey now! Inside Lonely Planet Southeast Asia on a Shoestring Travel Guide: *Colour maps and images throughout *Highlights and itineraries show you the simplest way to tailor your trip to your own personal needs and interests *Insider tips save you time and money and help you get around like a local, avoiding crowds and trouble spots *Essential info at your fingertips - including hours of operation, phone numbers, websites, transit tips, and prices *Budget-oriented recommendations with honest reviews - including eating, sleeping, sight-seeing, going out, shopping, and hidden gems that most guidebooks miss *Cultural insights give you a richer and more rewarding travel experience - including customs, history, art, music, architecture, politics, landscapes, wildlife, food, drink, and more *Over 170 colour local maps *Useful features - including Responsible Travel, Month-by-Month (annual festival calendar), and Big Adventures, Small Budget *Coverage of Myanmar (Burma), Laos, Thailand, Cambodia, Vietnam, Malaysia, Singapore, Brunei Darussalam, Philippines, Indonesia, Timor-Leste, and more The Perfect Choice: Lonely Planet Southeast Asia, our most comprehensive guide to Southeast Asia, is perfect for those planning to both explore the top sights and take the road less travelled. * Looking for just a few of the destinations included in this guide? Check out Lonely Planet's Travel Guides to those particular destinations, our most comprehensive guides that cover both the top sights and take the roads less travelled, or check out Lonely Planet's Discover Guides, which are photo-rich guides to those destinations' most popular attractions. Authors: Written and researched by Lonely Planet, China Williams, Greg Bloom, Celeste Brash, Stuart Butler, Jayne D'Arcy, Shawn Low, Brandon Presser, Nick Ray, Simon Richmond, Daniel Robinson, Adam Skolnick, Iain Stewart, Ryan Ver Berkmoes, and Richard Waters. About Lonely Planet: Started in 1973, Lonely Planet has become the world's leading travel guide publisher with guidebooks to every destination on the planet, as well as an award-winning website, a suite of mobile and digital travel products, and a dedicated traveller community. Lonely Planet's mission is to enable curious travellers to experience the world and to truly get to the heart of the places they find themselves in. TripAdvisor Travelers' Choice Awards 2012 and 2013 winner in Favorite Travel Guide category 'Lonely Planet guides are, quite simply, like no other.' - New York Times 'Lonely Planet. It's on everyone's bookshelves; it's in every traveller's hands. It's on mobile phones. It's on the Internet. It's everywhere, and it's telling entire generations of people how to travel the world.' - Fairfax Media (Australia) *Bestselling guide to Southeast Asia Source: Nielsen Bookscan. Australia, UK and USA, March 2011 to February 2012.


Driven by sustainability and knowledge-based principles, the public policy at all levels requires innovative ways of strategic management, which in many countries, particularly those that are trying to catch up to better-developed economies, is still chaotic and unstable. Having the theoretical background of innovative development of public finances and the concept of sustainability in finances revealed in the first chapters of the present publication, it continues with the overview of the pension system in Lithuania. Finally, the theoretical aspects of the pension reform in Lithuania, through proposed precise quantitative methods of valuating reform, are supported. The aim of the present article is to propose the model of optimizing the strategic management of the public finance system via calculating the contributions from the income that changes wages and salaries, modifications in strategies for the investment of accumulated funds in pension funds as well as the increase in the level of pension contributions.


The aim of this study is to conduct a thorough theoretical study on mobile learning (mlearning) in order to achieve the primary objective of the study which is to develop a general framework to implement and manage mobile technologies in a higher education environment. The focus of the literature study was to research the state of mobile technologies and their relevance to teaching and learning. The literature study investigate the implications of mobile technologies for students, lecturers and thus for the institution and provided an overview of frameworks found in literature with the emphasis on the management of m-learning within the higher education institution. M-learning is part of a new mobile conception of society, with the mobility of the technologies impacting on the mobility of the students, the lecturers and ultimately on the mobility of higher education. Literature suggests that, while m-learning is proving to be innovative, the factors that most strongly impact on the ultimate success or failure of mlearning will depend on human factors, the balancing of technological ideals and pedagogical imperatives, and the successful management of the interface between human educational systems and technology systems. The proposed general framework focuses on addressing key issues related to m-learning from the perspective of the student, the lecturer and thus the institution. In order to remain competitive higher education needs to be diligent in maintaining the complex technology infrastructure that supports a thriving mobile culture that will meet and exceed the expectations of both lecturers and students. The empirical research conducted had as objectives to investigate the mobile technology assets of respondents with regard to the hardware and the software that they own, the iii mobile technology actions of respondents in regard to what they do with the mobile technology that they own and to investigate the respondent"s attitude towards mobile technologies. A survey was designed and distributed to a sampling of the academic staff and students of the North-West University (NWU) in South Africa, specifically the Potchefstroom Campus. There is ample proof from the empirical study that there is a gap with regard to the level of accessibility, usage, and attitude with regards to the different interest groups in the higher education environment. Higher education institutions should invest in investigating these gaps further and in leveraging off the benefits of the effective management of these technologies to improve teaching and learning. The final chapter concludes with a summary of the secondary objectives researched in the literature (Chapter two) and empirical research (Chapter three) chapters in order to support recommendations towards the primary objective of this study. The rapid pace of adoption and advancement of mobile technologies creates opportunities for new and innovative services provided through such mobile devices. Higher education finds itself in the early innings of the mobile Internet pulling both lecturers and students towards the same place: smaller, faster, cheaper devices working together in a web of connectivity. Recommendations were made in this final chapter on how higher education institutions can leverage the benefits of the effective management of mobile technologies to improve teaching and learning. M-learning has the potential to increase the capacity of higher education through improving efficiency and productivity of teaching and learning. Mlearning could address challenges related to quality of teaching such as continuous professional training, lifelong upgrading, connecting with academics worldwide and communicating effectively with students. Higher education is discovering the potential of mlearning to promote student engagement and improving the quality of learning. Management of higher education institutions and systems, management of policymaking including storage and analysis of data, construction and assessment of policy scenarios, and tracer studies or academic tracking systems can be improved through the use of m-learning. Mobile technologies will continue to increasingly become an integral part of students" and lecturers" private and day to day lives and m-learning will be integral in educational content delivery. Additional research is required to study the effective and optimal implementation of m-learning. A better understanding of the benefits and leverage thereof is required and additional research should provide answers to these questions.


For all their unquestionable importance, the Holocaust and the founding of the State of Israel now loom so large in modern Jewish history that we have mostly lost sight of the fact that they are only part of—and indeed reactions to—the central event of that history: emancipation. This book seeks to reorient Jewish history by offering the first comprehensive account in any language of the process by which Jews became citizens with civil and political rights in the modern world. Ranging from the mid-sixteenth century to the beginning of the twenty-first, the book tells the ongoing story of how Jews have gained, kept, lost, and recovered rights in Europe, North Africa, the Middle East, the United States, and Israel. Emancipation, the book shows, was not a one-time or linear event that began with the Enlightenment or French Revolution and culminated with Jews' acquisition of rights in Central Europe in 1867–71 or Russia in 1917. Rather, emancipation was and is a complex, multidirectional, and ambiguous process characterized by deflections and reversals, defeats and successes, triumphs and tragedies. For example, American Jews mobilized twice for emancipation: in the nineteenth century for political rights, and in the twentieth for lost civil rights. Similarly, Israel itself has struggled from the start to institute equality among its heterogeneous citizens. By telling the story of this foundational but neglected event, the book reveals the lost contours of Jewish history over the past half millennium.


In this paper, we investigate the problem of compressed learning, i.e. learning directly in the compressed domain. In particular, we provide tight bounds demonstrating that the linear kernel SVMs classifier in the measurement domain, with high probability, has true accuracy close to the accuracy of the best linear threshold classifier in the data domain. Furthermore, we indicate that for a family of well-known deterministic compressed sensing matrices, compressed learning is provided on the fly. Finally, we support our claims with experimental results in the texture analysis application.


The policies adapted by the whites in different colonies were different. In imperialist setups the natives were subjugated, but in 'settler' colonies elaborate strategies were devised to break the native societies. One of the policies was to take the native children away from the families. These children were kept in state and church run institutes to nurture them in white culture. In the recent years a lot many narratives written by these 'stolen' children have been published in Canada, the United States of America and Australia. These narratives are the vehicles for articulation of pain and trauma these children had to undergo. The current paper is a study of Shirley Sterling's My Name is Seepeetza. The story in the novel is narrated by a twelve years old girl. The young girl's authentic narration shows how Christianity was used as a tool to oppress and torment the young children by the missionaries. The young narrator not only narrates the trials and tribulations faced by the children in such residential schools, but also shows how the transmission of culture to the next generation was interrupted.


Upper Devonian to Lower Carboniferous strata of the Campwyn Volcanics of east central Queensland preserve a substantial sequence of first-cycle volcaniclastic sedimentary and coeval volcanic rocks that record prolonged volcanic activity along the northern New England Fold Belt. The style and scale of volcanism varied with time, producing an Upper Devonian sequence of mafic volcano-sedimentary rocks overlain by a rhyolitic ignimbrite-dominated sequence that passes upward into a Lower Carboniferous limestone-bearing sedimentary sequence. We define two facies associations for the Campwyn Volcanics. A lower facies association is dominated by mafic volcanic-derived sedimentary breccias with subordinate primary mafic volcanic rocks comprising predominantly hyaloclastite and peperite. Sedimentary breccias record episodic and high energy, subaqueous depositional events with clastic material sourced from a mafic lava-dominated terrain. Some breccias contain a high proportion of attenuated dense, glassy mafic juvenile clasts, suggesting a syn-eruptive origin. The lower facies association coarsens upwards from a lithic sand-dominated sequence through a thick interval of pebble- to boulder-grade polymict volcaniclastic breccias, culminating in facies that demonstrate subaerial exposure. The silicic upper facies association marks a significant change in eruptive style, magma composition and the nature of eruptive sources, as well as the widespread development of subaerial depositional conditions. Crystal-rich, high-grade, low- to high-silica rhyolite ignimbrites dominate the base of this facies association. Biostratigraphic age controls indicate that the ignimbrite-bearing sequences are Famennian to lower-mid Tournaisian in age. The ignimbrites represent extra-caldera facies with individual units up to 40 m thick and mostly lacking coarse lithic breccias. Thick deposits of pyroclastic material interbedded with fine-grained siliceous sandstone and mudstone (locally radiolarian-bearing) were deposited from pyroclastic flows that crossed palaeoshorelines or represent syn-eruptive, resedimented pyroclastic material. Some block-bearing lithic-pumice-crystal breccias may also reflect more proximal subaqueous silicic explosive eruptions. Crystal-lithic sandstones interbedded with, and overlying the ignimbrites, contain abundant detrital volcanic quartz and feldspar derived from the pyroclastic deposits. Limestone is common in the upper part of the upper facies association, and several beds are oolitic (cf. Rockhampton Group of the Yarrol terrane). Overall, the upper facies association fines upward and is transgressive, recording a return to shallow-marine conditions. Palaeocurrent data from all stratigraphic levels in the Campwyn Volcanics indicate that the regional sediment-dispersal direction was to the northwest, and opposed to the generally accepted notion of easterly sediment dispersal from a volcanic arc source. The silicic upper facies association correlates in age and lithology to Early Carboniferous silicic volcanism in the Drummond (Cycle 1) and Burdekin Basins, Connors Arch, and in the Yarrol terranes of eastern Queensland. The widespread development of silicic volcanism in the Early Carboniferous indicates that silicic (rift-related) magmatism was not restricted to the Drummond Basin, but was part of a more substantial silicic igneous province.


Abrupt decadal climate changes during the last glacial‐interglacial cycle are less pronounced during maximum glacial conditions and absent during the Holocene. To further understand the underlying dynamics, we conduct hosing experiments for three climate states: preindustrial (PI), 32 kiloannum before present (ka B.P.), and Last Glacial Maximum (LGM). Our simulations show that a stronger temperature inversion between the surface and intermediate layer in the South Labrador Sea induces a faster restart of convective processes (32 ka B.P. > LGM > PI) during the initial resumption of the Atlantic meridional overturning circulation (AMOC). A few decades later, an AMOC overshoot is mainly linked to the advection of warmer and saltier intermediate‐layer water from the tropical Atlantic into the South Labrador Sea, which causes a stronger deep‐water formation than that before the freshwater perturbation. This mechanism is most pronounced during the 32 ka B.P., weaker during the LGM and absent during the PI.


There was a time when Hollywood and some American filmmakers were infatuated with images of Canada and The Royal Canadian Mounted Police. Of course, for many cinephiles, Hunt Stromberg's 1935 wilderness operetta Rose Marie is the most recognizable--but there were many more. The genealogy of the cinematic Mountie can be traced, via literary antecedents, to Hollywood's production of 575 films set in Canada between 1907 and 1956, most of which portrayed Canada in a stereotypical fashion (Gittings 1998). In these films, Canada was basically about moose, Mounties, snow and muskeg. Hollywood director Burt Kennedy's first feature film might be considered as an extension of that sub-genre. The Canadians (1961) is a film that seems at first glance to lack the usual Hollywood glitter. The opening sequence of Canadian landscapes and towns might suggest, to some, a National Film Board documentary. A low budget movie that loosely uses the background of the Cypress Hills massacre as its narrative foundation, Burt Kennedy's first feature length film (he wrote the story as well) is relatively short (under two hours), and with the exception of an aging Robert Ryan, has few name stars. What sets it apart from the usual Mountie fare is its effort at geographical authenticity and a link to an historical event that prompted the Canadian Government to provide a police mandate for the Mounties in the Canadian West. It suffers, as did other Mountie subgenre films, from a somewhat pedestrian script and an inability to divorce itself completely from the stereotypical American Western. The Canadians did, however, get the geography right--the film's introduction notes that it was shot in the Cypress Hills of Southern Saskatchewan. Although the hats were questionable (the fur hats look as if they had been rented from the Paramount Costume Department--shades of Northwest Mounted Police, 1940), the low keyed deportment of the police force towards the indigenous North American tribes provided some historical validity not seen in the other films. In spite of these attempts to provide historical accuracy for the film, The Canadians is, in the end, a seriously flawed representation of the history of the Canadian West. Because some of the film was being shot in Saskatchewan (which cost $400,000), there was pressure from the federal and provincial governments to have the RCMP give it their tacit approval (Berton 185). Deputy Commissioner George McClellan, who was made a senior technical advisor on the film, later recalled that although the film was supposedly based on the Hills massacre "Twentieth Century Fox weren't satisfied with that alone. They had to get Sitting Bull into Canada with his several thousand warriors ... Actually Sitting Bull didn't arrive until 1879 but for the purposes of this turkey of a picture, Twentieth Century-Fox made them contemporary for each other. The result was an absolute mishmash of history" (Berton 185). McClellan seems to be mistaken about the date of Sitting Bull's arrival, as both Robet Utley (1993) and Ian Anderson (2000) have the Sioux chief on Canadian soil in 1877. To compensate for the questionable history shown in the film, Kennedy must have felt compelled to connect with his Canadian audiences. The musical introduction to the film, called "This is Canada", might go down in the annals of film scores as the most preposterous piece of music ever foisted on film audiences. Dated film footage of the Canadian parliament buildings and other regional landscapes provided a visual curtain for Canadian opera star Teresa Stratus as she sings the rather bland "This is Canada." The film's story was questionable enough without this seemingly out-of-place musical sequence, but in retrospect, the lyrical introduction was more akin to a dirge than a film score. Stratus, who had a role in the film as a captured white woman living with the Sioux, blesses audiences with a "prairie aria" later in the film. It would be hard to imagine, with such melodic interludes during the film, that the Canadian West would ever be the same again. …


After the National Academy of Sciences issued a stunning report in 2009 on the unscientific state of many forensic science subfields, forensic science has undergone internal and external scrutiny that it had managed to avoid for decades. Although some reform efforts are underway, forensic science writ large has yet to embrace and settle upon an empirical research agenda that addresses knowledge gaps pertaining to the reliability of its methods. Our paper addresses this problem by proposing a preliminary set of 14 empirical studies for the forensic sciences. Following a brief discussion of the courtroom treatment of forensic science evidence, we sketch a series of studies that should be conducted to increase our understanding of what forensic examiners are doing, how accurately they are doing it, and how cognitive bias may affect the work product. We also propose several studies that examine how the specific questions examiners are asked might affect the validity and persuasiveness of examiners' responses. We conclude by affirming the importance of developing a research culture within the forensic sciences that includes a commitment to conducting, participating in, and relying upon high quality empirical research.