Abstract Cholinesterase inhibitors are frequently used to treat cognitive symptoms in Lewy body dementias (Parkinson's disease dementia and dementia with Lewy bodies). However, the selectivity of their effects remains unclear. In a novel rivastigmine withdrawal design, Parkinson's disease dementia and dementia with Lewy bodies patients were tested twice: once when taking rivastigmine as usual and once when they had missed one dose. In each session, they performed a suite of tasks (sustained attention, simple short-term recall, distractor resistance and manipulating the focus of attention) that allowed us to investigate the cognitive mechanisms through which rivastigmine affects attentional control. Consistent with previous literature, rivastigmine withdrawal significantly impaired attentional efficacy (quicker response latencies without a change in accuracy). However, it had no effects on cognitive control as assessed by the ability to withhold a response (inhibitory control). Worse short-term memory performance was also observed when patients were OFF rivastigmine, but these effects were delay and load independent, likely due to impaired visual attention. In contrast to previous studies that have examined the effects of dopamine withdrawal, cognitively complex tasks requiring control over the contents of working memory (ignoring, updating or shifting the focus of attention) were not significantly impaired by rivastigmine withdrawal. Cumulatively, these data support that the conclusion that cholinesterase inhibition has relatively specific and circumscribed—rather than global—effects on attention that may also affect performance on simple short-term memory tasks, but not when cognitive control over working memory is required. The results also indicate that the withdrawal of a single dose of rivastigmine is sufficient to reveal these impairments, demonstrating that cholinergic withdrawal can be an informative clinical as well as an investigative tool.


The term 'customer service' is not new to the academic library community. Academic libraries exist to serve the needs of their community, and hence customer service is essential. However, the term can be applied in a variety of ways, from a thin veneer of politeness, to an all-encompassing ethic focussing organisational and individual attention on understanding and meeting the needs of the customer. For customers, the library's Front Line team is the ?human face' of the library. How well they do their job can have a massive impact on the quality of the learning experience for many students, and can directly impact upon their success. The importance of their role, and the quality of the services they offer, should not be underestimated - but in an increasingly digital world, and with potentially several thousand individuals visiting every day (whether in person or online), each with their own agendas and requirements, how can the library's Front Line team deliver the personal service that each of these individuals need? Customer Service in Academic Libraries contributes to what academic libraries, as a community, do really well - the sharing of best practice. It brings together, in one place, examples of how Front Line teams from libraries across a wide geographical area - Hong Kong, Australia, Turkey and the United Kingdom - work to ?get it right for their customers'. Between them, they cover a range of institutions including research-intensive, mixed HE/FE, private establishments and shared campuses. All have their own tales to tell, their own emphases, their own ways of doing things - and all bring their own examples of best practice, which it is hoped readers will find useful in their own context.Discusses ?customer service' in a library settingTranslates ?management theory' into useful practice informationExamines building relationships, meeting customer needs, and marketing and communicationProvides examples of practical experience grounded in recent, transferable experience


Design and study of mixed animal-robot societies are the fields of scientific exploration that can bring new opportunities for research into the group behavior of social animals. Our goal is to develop a Chicken Robot – an autonomous mobile robot, socially acceptable by a group of chicks and able to interact with them using appropriate communication channels. One of the basic requirements to such a robot is the safety of its motion with respect to the chicks, so it has to be endowed with an efficient real-time collision avoidance system. In this paper we present a fuzzy obstacle avoidance system that was designed for the Chicken Robot using the theory of fuzzy relation equations. This approach allows to easily check a consistency of a used rule base and provides a more systematic approach to design of fuzzy control systems comparing with the classical techniques. The experimental results demonstrate that a mobile robot equipped with the presented system is able to successfully avoid obstacles and safely navigate on an experimental arena.


Marseille, the most important port of the Mediterranean Sea, represents a challenging case study for source apportionment exercises, combining an active photochemistry and multiple emission sources, including fugitive emissions from industrial sources and shipping. This paper presents a Chemical Mass Balance (CMB) approach based on organic markers and metals to apportion the primary sources of organic aerosol in Marseille, with a special focus on industrial emissions. Overall, the CMB model accounts for the major primary anthropogenic sources including motor vehicles, biomass burning and the aggregate emissions from three industrial processes (heavy fuel oil combustion/shipping, coke production and steel manufacturing) as well as some primary biogenic emissions. This source apportionment exercise is well corroborated by 14 C measurements. Primary OC estimated by the CMB accounts on average for 22% of total OC and is dominated by the vehicular emissions that contribute on average for 17% of OC mass concentration (vehicular PM contributes for 17% of PM 2.5 ). Even though industrial emissions contribute only 2.3% of the total OC (7% of PM 2.5 ), they are associated with ultrafine particles ( Dp <80 nm) and high concentrations of Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons (PAH) and heavy metals such as Pb, Ni and V. On one hand, given that industrial emissions governed key primary markers, their omission would lead to substantial uncertainties in the CMB analysis performed in areas heavily impacted by such sources, hindering accurate estimation of non-industrial primary sources and secondary sources. On the other hand, being associated with bursts of submicron particles and carcinogenic and mutagenic components such as PAH, these emissions are most likely related with acute ill-health outcomes and should be regulated despite their small contributions to OC. Another important result is the fact that 78% of OC mass cannot be attributed to the major primary sources and, thus, remains un-apportioned. We have consequently critically investigated the uncertainties underlying our CMB apportionments. While we have provided some evidence for photochemical decay of hopanes, this decay does not appear to significantly alter the CMB estimates of the total primary OC. Sampling artifacts and unaccounted primary sources also appear to marginally influence the amount of un-apportioned OC. Therefore, this significant amount of un-apportioned OC is mostly attributed to secondary organic carbon that appears to be the major component of OC during the whole period of study.


We present theoretical and experimental studies of the elastic response of fibrous networks subjected to uniaxial strain. Uniaxial compression or extension is applied to extracellular networks of fibrin and collagen using a shear rheometer with free water in/outflow. Both axial stress and the network shear modulus are measured. Prior work [van Oosten et al., Scientific Reports, 2015, 6, 19270] has shown softening/stiffening of these networks under compression/extension, together with a nonlinear response to shear, but the origin of such behaviour remains poorly understood. Here, we study how uniaxial strain influences the nonlinear mechanics of fibrous networks. Using a computational network model with bendable and stretchable fibres, we show that the softening/stiffening behaviour can be understood for fixed lateral boundaries in 2D and 3D networks with comparable average connectivities to the experimental extracellular networks. Moreover, we show that the onset of stiffening depends strongly on the imposed uniaxial strain. Our study highlights the importance of both axial strain and boundary conditions in determining the mechanical response of hydrogels.


Industries are transforming their business strategy from a product-centred to a more service-centred nature by bundling products and services into integrated solutions. Such systems are commonly termed Product-Service Systems (PSS) and they are seen as an appealing strategy due to the possibility to augment profitability while at the same time become more sustainable. In order to articulate such strategies, proper business models are required. A business model describes the logic of the firm, the way it operates and how it creates value for its stakeholders. The scope of this work is to design a Business Model Framework (BMF) proposal for PSS under a sustainability approach, which means the involvement of several stakeholders and the consideration of the three sustainability pillars (economic, environmental and social). Afterwards, a group of supporting tools (toolkit) is given to allow companies and interested people to develop a real business model based on the BMF for PSS. The first step of the used methodology has been to do an extensive literature review on the state of the art of related concepts: sustainability, business ecosystem, PSS, business models, business model frameworks, services, value, value co-creation… Then, all these concepts have been merged to design the suitable elements for the BMF for PSS. Finally, in order to choose the most suitable tools to build the toolkit, a classification of a wide range of tools has been done with indicators and aggregated criteria. A presentation of each of the studied tools is included in the work. Even the scope of this work has been somehow a novelty, a concise and clear BMF for PSS has been designed, dealing with all the most current trends of the issues reviewed; e.g.: life-cycle thinking, sustainable value, stakeholders' involvement, customer-centred approach… Then, in reference to the presented toolkit, it is practical and easy to use; but a need of more tools has been detected in the literature to properly develop some aspects of the BMF. Globally, the result has been satisfactory and the objectives have been properly achieved.


The presence of hazards to human health in chemical process plant and nuclear waste stores leads to the use of robots and more specifically manipulators in unmanned spaces. Rapid and accurate performance of robotic arm movement and positioning, coupled with a reliable manipulator gripping mechanism for variable orientation and a range of deformable and/or geometric and coloured products, will lead to smarter/intelligent operation of high precision equipment. The aim of the research is to design a more effective robot arm manipulator for use in a glovebox environment utilising control kinematics together with image processing / object recognition algorithms and in particular the work is aimed at improving the movement of the robot arm in the case of unresolved kinematics, seeking improved speed and performance of object recognition along with improved sensitivity of the manipulator gripper mechanism
 A virtual robot arm and associated workspace was designed within the LabView 2009 environment and prototype gripper arms were designed and analysed within the Solidworks 2009 environment. Visual information was acquired by barrel cameras. Field research determines the location of identically shaped objects, and the object recognition algorithms establish the difference between them. A touch/feel device installed within the gripper arm housing ensures that the applied force is adequate to securely grasp the object without damage, but also to adapt to any slippage whilst the manipulator moves within the robot workspace.
The research demonstrates that complex operations can be achieved without the expense of specialised parts/components; and that implementation of control algorithms can compensate for any ambiguous signals or fault conditions that occur through the operation of the manipulator. The results show that system performance is determined by the trade-off between speed and accuracy. The designed system can be further utilised for control of multi-functional robots connected within a production line. The Graphic User Interface illustrated within the thesis can be customised by the supervisor to suit operational needs.


"The strength of this volume cannot be conveyed by an itemisation of its contents; for what it provides is an incisive commentary on the newly-recognised landmarks of Irish agrarian history in the modern period. . . . The importance, even indispensability, of this achievement is compounded by exemplary editing." Roy Foster, "London Times Literary Supplement" "As a whole, the volume demonstrates the wealth, complexity, and sophistication of Irish rural studies. The book is essential reading for anyone involved in modern Irish history. It will also serve as an excellent introduction to this rich field for scholars of other peasant communities and all interested in problems of economic and political developments." "American Historical Review" "A milestone in the evolution of Irish social history. There is a remarkable consistency of style and standard in the essays. . . . This is truly history from the grassroots." Timothy P. O'Neill, "Studia Hibernica""


Asymmetric amplification is a phenomenon that plays a key role in the emergence of homochirality in life. In asymmetric catalysis, theoretical and experimental models have been investigated for understanding how chiral amplification is possible, in particular through non-linear effect. In the most remarkable cases, the degree of enantio-induction from a non-enantiopure catalyst can be as high as with an enantiopure reference system. Interestingly, it has been proposed a quarter century ago that chiral catalysts, when not enantiopure may be more enantioselective than their enantiopure counterparts, though such a case has never been observed to date. We show here than such hyperpositive non-linear effect in asymmetric catalysis is absolutely possible. A depth study into the underlying mechanism was carried out and our conclusion differs from the proposed models.


According to the vicariant hypothesis proposed by Brakoniecki (1986) the closure of the Sea of Tethys and the opening of the Atlantic Ocean would play an important role in the history of squids of the family Loliginidae, which is reflected in its current neritic distribution. Our study evaluated this hypothesis and alternative ideas to understand the historical biogeography of loliginid squids. This work is based on a phylogenetic hypothesis rebuilt with mitochondrial and nuclear sequences that incorporates the estimation of divergence times and ancestral distribution. Our results sustain that the squids of the family Loliginidae would have originated in the Western Pacific during the Late Paleocene about 59 My, following, during their diversification, at least 20 dispersion and 6 vicariant events. The first vicariant event fragments the ancestral distribution, remaining the ancestor of Sepioteuthis in the south and the subfamily Loligininae in the north. Successive events of dispersion, and some of vicariance (unrelated with the movement of tectonic plates and opening of the Atlantic Ocean), modeled it distribution. Our inference suggest a different origin compared to proposed by Brakoniecki (Tethys Sea), consistent with a center of origin that supports the most diversity of the family, with a predominance of dispersion processes over vicariant events, which explain the present distribution pattern.


Three sovereign defaults in the past decade have each inflicted losses of at least 70% on bondholders: Argentina, Ecuador, and now Greece. In each case, creditor rights and the rule of law were trampled, setting troubling precedents that are worrying investors involved in vulnerable European countries. In Argentina (in default since 2002), numerous arbitrary measures were taken that damaged the interests of investors; the debt relief that was demanded bore little relation to the country's capacity to pay; and court judgments and arbitral awards against the sovereign have been routinely ignored. Ecuador (2008-2009) stands as the clearest example of sovereign unwillingness to pay. Investors were blindsided, bullied, and then sacrificed as part of a personal and ideological vendetta on President Correa's part. Investor confidence in Greece was destroyed by persistently negative attitudes coming out of Berlin. The huge losses imposed on creditors were based on questionable estimates and judgments, and various troubling, expedient means were used to achieve the dubious ends. Chances are that the road to perdition for investors will soon be extended to some other capital in Europe.


: uman beings are always exposed to varying doses of terrestrial ionizing radiation which may pose immediate or long – term health risk at radiation doses higher than the suggested safe limit by radiation protection and measurement agencies. Therefore, it is important to quantitatively measure and evaluate the radiological health risk due to gamma dose rates around salt lake environments. In situ measurement of gamma dose level around Okposi Okwu and Uburu salt lakes in Ohaozara Local Government Area of Ebonyi State had been conducted using two well calibrated nuclear radiation metres (Radalert – 100 and Digilert – 50) and geographical position system (GPS). Readings were taking randomly in thirty one sampling geographical locations each around the salt lakes at the gonad level of about one metre above the ground to determine the absorbed dose rate (D) nGyh -1 , annual effective dose equivalent (AEDE) mSvy -1 and the excess lifetime cancer risk (ELCR). Comparatively, the D, AEDE and ELCR values obtained for Uburu salt lake were higher than Okposi Okwu salt lake. The D and ELCR values recorded for the two salt lakes exceeded the suggested safe limit 84 nGyh -1 and 𝟎. 𝟐𝟗 × 𝟏𝟎 −𝟑 for general public respectively, while the AEDE for the two lakes were found to be in good agreement with the 0.48 mSv prescribed standard safe limit for the general public.In general, the results showed that terrestrial background ionizing radiation due to radionuclides in soil within the salt lakes is high and comparable to Abeokuta and Jos in Nigeria, some areas in South Africa and India cited in the literature.Therefore,chances of developing cancer by immediate populace over a long term exposure are very significant. Measurements have been taken as representing the baseline values for terrestrial outdoor gamma dose rate around the salt lakes. Length of time spent within the salt lakes and farming around the lakes should be minimized. There is also need to investigate the radionuclide content of food crop cultivated near the salt lakes.


Currently, AlN is the preferred material in electroacoustic applications but modern applications necessitate the synthesis of materials with a range of electroacoustic properties. Among the promising candidates are the wurtzite Boron-containing AlN alloys. In here we study theoretically some of the material properties of wurtzite B0.125Al0.875N. The results indicate that wurtzite B0.125Al0.875N exhibits a strong configurational dependence of the electromechanical coupling constant. It is further shown that the lattice parameters as well as the stiffness constants are less sensitive of the atomic configuration and comply well with the Vegard's rule.


Quantitative immunocytochemical assays of 1,200 breast carcinomas were assessed after construction of tissue microarrays. A total of 42 markers were evaluated for prognostic significance by univariate log rank test (mean follow‐up, 79 months), using quantitative scoring by an image analysis device and specific software. Complete data were obtained for 924 patients, for whom 27 of the 42 markers proved to be significant prognostic indicators. Analysis of these 27 markers by logistic regression showed that 18 (cMet, CD44v6, FAK, moesin, caveolin, c‐Kit, CK14, CD10, P21, P27, pMAPK, pSTAT3, STAT1, SHARP2, FYN, ER, PgR and c‐erb B2), and 15 when ER, PgR and c‐erb B2 were excluded, were 80.52% and 78.9% predictive of disease outcome, respectively. The immunocytochemical assays on 4 micron thick sections of fixed tissue are easy to handle in current practice and are cost‐effective. Quantitative densitometric measurement of immunoprecipitates by computer‐assisted devices from digitized microscopic images allows standardized high‐throughput "in situ" molecular profiling within tumors. It is concluded that this 15 marker immunohistochemical signature is suitable for current practice, since performed on paraffin sections of fixed tumor samples, and can be used to select patients needing more aggressive therapy, since this signature is about 80% predictive of poor clinical outcome. Also, the markers included in the signature may be indicative of tumor responsiveness to current chemotherapy or suggest new targets for specific therapies. © 2008 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.


Using linked private sector employer-employee panel data for Britain and Norway we explore the effects of unionization on workplace closure and employment growth over the period 1997-2004. Unions prolonged the life of low-wage workplaces in Britain, whereas Norwegian unions increased (reduced) closure hazards in high (low) waged workplaces. Contrary to earlier studies, unions had no effect on workplace growth in Britain. In Norway, union workplaces experienced 4 percent per annum lower growth. However, the estimation of a dynamic panel data model for Norway indicates positive long-term causal effects of union density on employment.


Based on the technique of the symmetry reduction, we find the asymptotic self-similarity analytical resolutions from the constant coefficient Ginzburg-Landau equation considering both influences of the third-order dispersion and gain dispersion on the evolution of pulses. We have obtained the self-similar pulse amplitude function, phase function, strict linear chirp function, and the effective temporal pulse width. Numerical simulations show qualitative agreement with these theoretical results.


Providing high quality and timely feedback to students is often a challenge for many staff in higher education as it can be both time-consuming and frustratingly repetitive. From the student perspective, feedback may sometimes be considered unhelpful, confusing and inconsistent and may not always be provided within a timeframe that is considered to be 'useful'. The ASSET project, based at the University of Reading, addresses many of these inherent challenges by encouraging the provision of feedback that supports learning, i.e. feedback that contains elements of 'feed-forward', is of a high quality and is delivered in a timely manner. In particular, the project exploits the pedagogic benefits of video/audio media within a Web 2.0 context to provide a new, interactive resource, 'ASSET', to enhance the feedback experience for both students and staff.
A preliminary analysis of both our quantitative and qualitative pedagogic data demonstrate that the ASSET project has instigated change in the ways in which both staff and students think about, deliver, and engage with feedback. For example, data from our online questionnaires and focus groups with staff and students indicate a positive response to the use of video as a medium for delivering feedback to students. In particular, the academic staff engaged in piloting the ASSET resource indicated that i) using video has made them think more, and in some cases differently, about the ways in which they deliver feedback to students and ii) they now see video as an effective means of making feedback more useful and engaging for students. Moreover, the majority of academic staff involved in the project have said they will continue to use video feedback. From the student perspective, 60% of those students whose lecturers used ASSET to provide video feedback said that "receiving video feedback encouraged me to take more notice of the feedback compared with normal methods" and 80% would like their lecturer to continue to use video as a method for providing feedback.
An important aim of the project was for it to complement existing University-wide initiatives on feedback and for ASSET to become a 'model' resource for staff and students wishing to explore video as a medium for feedback provision. An institutional approach was therefore adopted and key members of Senior Management, academics, T&L support staff, IT support and Student Representatives were embedded within the project from the start. As with all initiatives of this kind, a major issue is the future sustainability of the ASSET resource and to have had both 'top-down' and 'bottom-up' support for the project has been extremely beneficial. In association with the project team the University is currently exploring the creation of an open-source, two-tiered video supply solution and a 'framework' (that other HEIs can adopt and/or adapt) to support staff in using video for feedback provision. In this way students and staff will have new opportunities to explore video and to exploit the benefits of this medium for supporting learning.


Using a ∼ 1000 lake data set that spans the entire continental United States, we applied empirical modeling approaches to quantify the relative strength of nutrients and water temperature as predictors of cyanobacterial biomass (CBB). Given that cyanobacteria possess numerous traits providing competitive advantage under warmer conditions, we hypothesized that water temperature, in addition to nutrients, is a significant predictor of CBB. Total nitrogen (TN), water temperature, and total phosphorus were all significant predictors of CBB, with TN explaining the most variance. Using multiple linear regression analysis, we found that TN and water temperature provided the best model and explained 25% of the variance in CBB. However, when the data set was divided according to basin type, these same variables explained a higher amount of the variation in deep natural lakes (33%, n = 253), whereas the least amount of variation was explained by these variables in shallow reservoirs (12%, n = 307). Competing path models on the full data set using the best variables selected by multiple linear regression show that nitrogen and temperature are indirectly linked to cyanobacteria by association with total algal biomass, which likely reflects changes in light climate and other secondary factors. Our models also indicated that temperature was linked to cyanobacteria by a direct pathway. Under a scenario of atmospheric CO2 doubling from 1990 levels (resulting in an estimated 3.3°C increase of the maximum lake surface water), we predict on average a doubling of CBB.


Although much has been written about how to manage individual projects, there is still little guidance on how to evaluate the "quality" of project portfolio management itself, that is, the degree of "accomplishment" of the process by which the project portfolio is formed and run. This study addresses this gap by employing a qualitative approach to uncover managerial perceptions about what is encompassed by project portfolio management and how the this construct should be evaluated. By building from a review of the scant literature on project portfolio management, conversations with expert scholars on project management, interpretations provided by managers, and theoretical reflection by the authors of this study, it was possible to identify main aspects that seem to tap how the degree of "accomplishment" of project portfolio management can be conceptually defined and operationally measured.


Rates of food uptake were measured for individually reared larvae of the spider crab Hyas araneus L. feeding on freshly hatched Artemia nauplii at constant 12 degree C. Feeding rates (FR) of crab larvae were given as number of nauplii and amounts of dry weight, carbon, nitrogen, hydrogen, and energy (estimated from C) consumed per day. In both zoeal stages FR increased during postmoult and intermoult, remained high during early and intermediate premoult, and decreased again during late premoult. No clear pattern was found in the course of daily FR of the megalopa. Gross growth efficiencies (K sub(1)) showed a dramatic decrease from postmoult to early premoult (> 60 to < 20%) in both zoeal stages. Daily consumption expressed as % body weight also decreased significantly in these instars. Average daily FR were highest in the zoea II, lowest in the megalopa, and intermediate in the zoea I. Since development of the megalopa took the longest time, the total amount of food consumed by this instar was equal to consumption in both zoeal stages combined.


This paper analyses the concepts of order and normality underlying the daily psychiatric practice of two Swiss mental health institutions between 1870 and 1970, based on a representative random sample of 1330 patient records from the two state institutions in the Canton of Zurich. The quantitative analysis covers the types of psychiatric measure taken in these cases, as well as the rationales behind them. It is concluded that the order of the institution, of society and, above all, the order of gender played an important role in the choice and implementation of various measures.


Growing evidence has shown that coffee consumption is inversely related with the risk of hepatocellular carcinoma. It is suggested that caffeine maintains strong antioxidative activity. With this property, coffee intake may lead to the inhibition of cell proliferation of liver cancer cells; also, some compounds contained in coffee can reduce the genotoxicity of aflatoxin B1 in vitro and lower the damage caused by some carcinogens. A computerized search was performed in PubMed to identify relevant articles published before August 2015. Eleven relevant studies were included with a total of 2,795 cases and 340,749 control subjects. According to the meta-analysis we performed, the pooled odds ratio (OR) from all included studies was 0.49 (95% confidence interval [CI] =0.46–0.52). The subgroup analysis indicated that the pooled ORs for Asian studies and other populations were 0.27 (95% CI =0.23–0.31) and 0.82 (95% CI =0.77–0.87), respectively. The overall pooled OR for high consumption was decreased to 0.21 (95% CI =0.18–0.25) and significance was observed. Among other populations, the pooled OR of subjects with high coffee consumption was 0.65 (95% CI =0.56–0.73) compared to the nondrinker. The corresponding OR of five Asian studies was 0.13 (95% CI =0.09–0.17). The findings from this meta-analysis further confirmed the inverse association between the coffee consumption and hepatocellular carcinoma risk with quantitative evidence. The protective effect can be detected among healthy population and patients with chronic liver diseases, and the consumption can also prevent the development of liver cirrhosis.


The very first definition of development communication (DevCom) was articulated in 1971 by Nora Cruz Quebral. Since then, DevCom has continually flourished in the Philippines and its Asian neighbours as a field of study and practice. Quebral, a Filipina, is now widely recognised as one of the pillars and leading scholars of DevCom in Asia and the whole world. But how exactly has Quebral invested the Filipinos and the Philippines with meanings in her discourse of DevCom as a field of study and practice purportedly grounded in the context of developing nations and communities, and what are its implications? Informed and guided by Laclau and Mouffe's Theory of Discourse, this paper identifies Quebral's key articulations of DevCom, the Filipinos and the Philippines in her discourse, and discusses some implications of the discourse for the scholarship and practice of DevCom. It concludes that Quebral's DevCom discourse argues that differences in socioeconomic experiences among nations have necessitated the rise of another field of communication more appropriate for and grounded in the realities of developing nations and communities. However, the discourse could have also articulated the field of DevCom more in relation to the historical, political, cultural and ethnolinguistic experiences of a developing nation and its people—in this study, IJAPS, Vol. 15, No. 2, 145–173, 2019 Nora Cruz's DevCom Discourse 144 that of the Philippines and the Filipinos. What has been barely articulated in the discourse has important implications for DevCom scholarship and practice.


The study presents a Leontief-Miyazawa model to study personal and regional income inequality in Brazil. The economy is divided into 31 sectors, in 5 macro regions; households are allocated into 10 income brackets. The study identifies the contribution of different sectors to inequality. The model is used to simulate the capacity of social policies to reduce personal and regional inequality in the country. The analysis is conducted using the pro-poor "Bolsa Familia" program which is a social program that provides direct income transfers to poor (with per capita income between BRL 60,01 and BRL 120,00) and extreme poor households (with per capita income below BRL 60,00). The results show that in the short run, the "Bolsa Familia" program has proven to produce positive results, both at the personal income level and at the regional concentration level, and has surely paid large dividends in electoral terms. Solving inequality problems, however, might need other mid and long run policies which could improve competitiveness of lagging regions.


In recent years, Teach for America (TFA) has invested in developing corps members as leaders. Although TFA asks corps members for a two-year commitment, TFA celebrates the achievements of alumni who have gone on to careers in politics, public policy, and advocacy. Thus, many community leaders see the arrival of TFA corps members as having a greater impact than just inside the classroom. While expectations for corps members are often high both from TFA and from the communities they serve, we seek to understand whether and how corps members become actively engaged in the broader political life of their placement city. Do corps members find the city fertile with opportunities to solve problems and engage in civic and political life? Or will these corps members leave their placements, viewing the political and educational challenges as intractable due to larger city politics? Using data from a panel study of 2012 corps members in four mid-sized city TFA placement sites, this study examines how attitudes towards and engagement with local politics shift as a result corps members' experiences. Our research indicates that commitments to local politics shift significantly. While some corps members report an increased commitment to local politics, a sizable group actually becomes less enthusiastic and involved. These shifts appear to be related to the perceived openness of the local political arena to newcomers, one's teaching placement and the local actions of TFA spin-off organization Leadership for Educational Equity (LEE).


Well field management in urban areas faces challenges such as pollution from old waste deposits and former industrial sites, pollution from chemical accidents along transport lines or in industry, or diffuse pollution from leaking sewers. One possibility to protect the drinking water of a well field is the maintenance of a hydraulic barrier between the potentially polluted and the clean water. An example is the Hardhof well field in Zurich, Switzerland. This paper presents the methodology for a simple and fast expert system (ES), applies it to the Hardhof well field, and compares its performance to the historical management method of the Hardhof well field. Although the ES is quite simplistic it considerably improves the water quality in the drinking water wells. The ES knowledge base is crucial for successful management application. Therefore, a periodic update of the knowledge base is suggested for the real-time application of the ES.


Amina Hemida Salem Arterial blood gas (ABG) analysis is a commonly and golden standard performed procedure that is often used to assess the acid-base status along with adequacy of ventilation and oxygenation among predominantly critically/acutely ill patients. Unfortunately, prolonged arterial catheterization or repeated direct blood sampling from the artery is associated with rare, but serious, complications to the patient as well as the health care providers. Patients who require frequent blood gas testing often have indwelling central venous catheters for the administration of intravenous medications or the monitoring of central vascular pressures, allowing for repeated central venous blood gas (VBG) analysis. Venous blood gas analysis requires fewer punctures, is a relatively safer procedure for both the patient and health care provider, and may be alternative to ABG analysis (Walkey et al., 2010), (Lorente et al., 2006), Scheer et al., 2002), (Valentine et al., 2005).This study was aimed to determine the correlation between arterial and central venous blood gas measurements for monitoring of acid-base balance & oxygenation in the critically ill patients. Prospective comparative study of 90 samples from 45 patients with diverse medical& surgical conditions was conducted. Arterial and venous values for pressure of hydrogen (pH), partial pressure of carbon dioxide (PCO2), bicarbonate (HCO3), partial pressure of oxygen (PO2), and oxygen saturation (SO2)were obtained simultaneously from each patient. Identity plot was used to check the perfect agreement between the paired measurements. The strength of the relationship between the arterial and venous gas values was assessed with the Pearson product–moment correlation coefficient test. Arterial pH and venous pH were found to be correlated significantly (Pearson correlation coefficient r = 0.93, 95% confidence limits of r = 0.90 to 0.96, P < 0.001). There was a strong correlation between the arterial and venous PCO2(r = 0.85, 95% confidence limits of r = 0.79 to 0.90, P < 0.0001), HCO3 (r = 0.96, 95% confidence limits 0.93 to 0.97, P = 0.0001). The correlation between the arterial and venous PO2 and SO2 were not statistically significant PO2 levels (r = 0.38, 95% confidence limits of r = 0.19 0.55, P>0.05) &(r = -0.08, 95% confidence limits of r = -0.28 0.13, P >0.05) respectively. Conclusion: there was a perfect correlation between the arterial and central venous measurements of acid – base (pH, PCO2, HCO3-) in the critically ill patients. While, it is difficult to conclude at least a basic agreement between the arterial and central venous measurements of oxygenation (PO2 & SO2).


Current approaches to the study of affective relations are over-determined in a way that ignores their radicality, yet abstracted to such an extent that the corporeality and differentially lived experience of power and resistance is neglected. To radicalize the potential of everyday affects, this article calls for an intensification of corporeality in affect research. We do this by exploring the affective trajectory of 'becoming-woman' introduced by Deleuze and Guattari. Becoming-woman is a process of gendered deterritorialization and a specific variation on becoming-minoritarian. Rather than a reference to empirical women, becoming-woman is a necessary force of critique against the phallogocentric powers that shape and constrain working lives in gendered organizations. While extant research on gendered organizations tends to focus on the overwhelming power of oppressive gender structures, engaging with becoming-woman releases affective flows and possibilities that contest and transgress the increasingly subtle and confusing ways in which gendered organization affects people at work. Through becoming-woman, an affective and affirmative politics capable of resisting the effects of gendered organization becomes possible. This serves to further challenge gendered oppression in organizations and to affirm a life beyond the harsh limits that gender can impose.


This month, in a cavernous laboratory 1.4 kilometers beneath Italy's Apennine Mountains, physicists will begin filling a cylindrical tank with frigid liquid xenon. The tank is the heart of XENON 1 Ton (XENON1T), the biggest detector so far to hunt for weakly interacting massive particles (WIMPs): hypothetical particles that may make up dark matter. But even as XENON1T gears up to begin taking data, researchers are starting to have doubts about the concept of WIMPs. A few years ago, when the biggest WIMP detector weighed a few kilograms, most thought a 1-ton experiment would either find WIMPs or stick a dagger in the idea. But generations of ever bigger detectors have come up empty, and physicists are rethinking the argument for WIMPs and what it might take to find them. They have bigger detectors in the works and are laying plans for the ultimate WIMP detector. But even avid dark matter hunters aren't sure that giant detector is worth pursuing.


The European Court of Human Rights' ECHR 370 Resolution  dated 17.12.2013, relating to the case of Mr. Dogu Perincek  versus Switzerland, received much  publicity worldwide.  The attention of 'scholars on international law' has been focused on this case, particularly when in mid- March 2014 Switzerland applied to the Higher Court for revision of the first verdict. The year 1921, like every year between World War I and Adolf Hitler's rise to power, was for Germany one of gloom, Political life had not yet recovered from the shock caused by the overthrow of a form of government deeply rooted in the history of the people. The newly empowered Reichstag was prey to wild party strife, which made the formation of a stable government difficult. The trial of the murder of Talat Pasha proved to be a most shameful comedy, because the killer Tehlarian was found innocent whilst the victim Talat Pasha was found guilty of killing Armenians previously in Turkey. The German Judges gave in to the Armenian and Victor's pressures. Liman Von Sanders and the German Protestant pastor Dr. Johannes Lepsius deposed in the court as experts. Liman Von Sanders did not mentioned anything about the German Ambassador of the era and also him being the Commander in Chief of the Ottoman Army. He did not testify against Talaat but he also did not tell the truth in full extend but a quarter of it only. Accordingly his testimony was against rather than pro. Although an appeal notice was sent to Bronsart Von Shellendorf, he wasn't called as a witness to the court. After the final verdict of the court, he published an article in a newspaper as a reaction to the court's verdict. This paper, based on information excerpted from the non Turkish or non Ottoman formal documents and/or official releases, tries to bring into life what happened actually during the trial and the effect of the heavy and irresistible pressures on the German judges.


We derive conditions for when having a "busy" director on the board is harmful to shareholders and when it is beneficial. Our model allows directors to condition their monitoring choices on their co-directors' choices and to experience positive or negative monitoring synergies across firms. Whether busyness benefits or harms shareholders depends on whether directors' effort choices are strategic substitutes or complements and on the sign of the cross-firm synergies. Our empirical analysis exploits plausibly exogenous shocks that make directors busier on one board and examines how this spills over to other boards. Our results suggest that monitoring efforts typically are strategic complements, except when a firm finds itself facing a crisis. Consistent with the model, we find that busy directors increase monitoring at spillover firms when synergies are positive (which we show increases expected firm value) and reduce monitoring at spillover firms when synergies are negative (which we show reduces expected firm value).


Abstract Social anxiety disorder (SAD) is a common, chronic psychiatric disorder characterized by a persistent fear of social or performance situations in which embarrassment can occur. This disorder typically appears during the mid-adolescent years and is unremitting throughout life if not properly treated. SAD presents as two subtypes: the more common and debilitating generalized form, and the nongeneralized form, which consists predominantly of performance anxiety. The majority of patients with SAD have comorbid mental disorders, including mood, anxiety, and substance abuse. No single development theory has been proposed to account for the origins of SAD, although current understanding of the etiology of SAD posits an interaction between psychological and biological factors. Risk factors include environmental and parenting influences and dysfunctional cognitive and conditioning events in early childhood. The neurobiology of SAD appears to involve neurochemical dysfunction, as evidenced by studies of neuroreceptor imaging, neuroendocrine function, and profiles of response to specific medications. Clinical trials have demonstrated that benzodiazepines and antidepressants are effective in the treatment of SAD. The selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors are emerging as the first-line treatment for SAD, based on their proven safety, tolerability, and efficacy. Goals for ongoing future research include development of approaches to achieve remission, to convert nonresponders and partial responders to full responders, and to prevent relapse and maintain long-term efficacy. This monograph explores the epidemiology, clinical presentation, and differential diagnosis of SAD, with a focus on neural circuitry of social relationships and neurochemical dysfunction. The prevalence, rates of recognition and treatment, patterns of comorbidity, quality-of-life issues, and natural history of SAD are discussed as well as pharmacologic and psychosocial treatment strategies for SAD.


As Review Editor for Contemporary South Asia, I invite academic colleagues, postgraduate research students and other suitably qualified persons to review one of the works listed below. Potential reviewers should send their full name, position, institutional affiliation (if applicable), full mailing address and mobile number, a brief summary of their published work, and the title of the book they would like to review to:


Agile requirements: discovering what your users really want. With this book, you will learn to: Flexible, quick and practical requirements that work Save time and develop better software that meets users' needs Gathering user stories -- even when you can't talk to users How user stories work, and how they differ from use cases, scenarios, and traditional requirements Leveraging user stories as part of planning, scheduling, estimating, and testing Ideal for Extreme Programming, Scrum, or any other agile methodology ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Thoroughly reviewed and eagerly anticipated by the agile community, User Stories Applied offers a requirements process that saves time, eliminates rework, and leads directly to better software.The best way to build software that meets users' needs is to begin with "user stories": simple, clear, brief descriptions of functionality that will be valuable to real users. In User Stories Applied, Mike Cohn provides you with a front-to-back blueprint for writing these user stories and weaving them into your development lifecycle.You'll learn what makes a great user story, and what makes a bad one. You'll discover practical ways to gather user stories, even when you can't speak with your users. Then, once you've compiled your user stories, Cohn shows how to organize them, prioritize them, and use them for planning, management, and testing. User role modeling: understanding what users have in common, and where they differ Gathering stories: user interviewing, questionnaires, observation, and workshops Working with managers, trainers, salespeople and other "proxies" Writing user stories for acceptance testing Using stories to prioritize, set schedules, and estimate release costs Includes end-of-chapter practice questions and exercisesUser Stories Applied will be invaluable to every software developer, tester, analyst, and manager working with any agile method: XP, Scrum... or even your own home-grown approach.ADDISON-WESLEY PROFESSIONALBoston, MA 02116www.awprofessional.comISBN: 0-321-20568-5


Conventional literature, which analyzes potential factors to determine aid approaches, initially focused on donor interests rather than recipient needs. Recently, this analysis is being replaced with new understandings that emphasize the importance of identities and norms. Once aid actors internalize these concepts, these identities and norms can both help to determine approaches to aid. This paper argues that the intensity of both interests and identities/norms may differ between donors as well as within donors, and it can also take on a variety of roles at different times. Hence this paper focuses on the roles that both the interests and norms of stakeholders take in integrating aid administration. This paper analyses South Africa's international aid approach, focusing on how and why the integration of its aid administration has stagnated. South Africa is not only a salient emerging aid donor individually but, at the regional level, is the only major donor on the African continent and, in a global sense, is the one member of BRICS from Africa. South Africa has been attempting to centralize and integrate its currently decentralized aid administration. Drawing on the sense of shared African identity fostered by the president, ruling party and foreign ministry, South Africa initially attempted to establish a centralized aid co-ordination mechanism—the South African Development Partnership Agency (SADPA). However, the process of establishing SADPA has been stymied due to a number of factors: the change of president, corruption allegations against one president, the subsequent weakening of leadership, criticism by opposition parties, the economic recession and budget austerity, consistent economic interest in regional integration, and the indifference of the media and taxpayers. The idea of an African identity, which puts considerable faith in solidarity with other African countries, is accepted in different ways by domestic actors, and support for it may rise or fall according to changeable political and economic situations. At this moment, arguments for the promotion of national interests in aid approaches are more common among aid-related workers than those for an African identity. Therefore, the relative power balance of actors is favorable to actors for South Africa's domestic rather than external interests, causing the stagnation of integration of aid administration in South Africa. Therefore, it can be concluded that the integration of aid administration is a highly political process, although DAC recommends it be undertaken in a less politicized manner.


The Multicriteria Selection Methodology of the Decision Support System An issue of building a tool orientated to the support of selection process of decision support system (DSS) for the sector of small and medium enterprises is presented in the article. A group method of data handling (GMDH) whose application allows to objectives a search process of required DSS, with assumed costs and other existing resource limitations, is proposed for this purpose. The article is devoted to a problem of GMDH adjustment to solving the tasks related to the selection of a required system from among the information systems of DSS class, according to the criteria determined by a future user of this system. The GMDH takes into account among other things such assumptions as: a precise description of dependences between input and output data in a specified time horizon, independence of the user's knowledge (the values of observed data from the past registered in the base are the input data) and minimization of modelling errors (the selection of solutions takes place by means of a selected evaluation rule of quality estimation).


Meteors are an important source for (a) the metal atoms of the upper atmosphere metal layers and (b) for con- densation nuclei, the existence of which are a prerequisite for the formation of noctilucent cloud particles in the polar mesopause region. For a better understanding of these phe- nomena, it would be helpful to know accurately the annual and diurnal variations of meteor rates. So far, these rates have been little studied at polar latitudes. Therefore we have used the 33 MHz meteor radar of the ALOMAR observatory at 69 N to measure the meteor rates at this location for two full annual cycles. This site, being within 3 of the Arctic circle, offers in addition an interesting capability: The axis of its antenna field points (almost) towards the North eclip- tic pole once each day of the year. In this particular viewing direction, the radar monitors the meteoroid influx from (al- most) the entire ecliptic Northern hemisphere. We report on the observed diurnal variations (averaged over one month) of meteor rates and their significant alter- ations throughout the year. The ratio of maximum over min- imum meteor rates throughout one diurnal cycle is in Jan- uary and February about 5, from April through December 2.3±0.3. If compared with similar measurements at mid- latitudes, our expectation, that the amplitude of the diurnal variation is to decrease towards the North pole, is not really borne out. Observations with the antenna axis pointing towards the North ecliptic pole showed that the rate of deposition of me- teoric dust is substantially larger during the Arctic NLC sea- son than the annual mean deposition rate. The daylight me- teor showers of the Arietids, Zeta Perseids, and Beta Tau- rids supposedly contribute considerably to the June maxi- mum of meteor rates. We note, though, that with the radar antenna pointing as described above, all three meteor radi- ants are close to the local horizon but all three radiants were detected.


National identity and national interest are useful explanatory tools of explaining India-China relations. The thesis argues that the dynamics of national identity and national interest defined by the current international and domestic structures determine the formulation of their foreign policy strategies and thus their bilateral relations. In the current international structure and under the condition of globalization, their national identities as rising power and emerging power and their national interest of economic development have become dominant themes defining their international positions and guide the foreign policy-making in China and in India, which lay the ground for their cooperative approach towards each other. This explains their increasing cooperative behaviours in many issue areas. However, their identities as modern states and regional powers prescribe the importance of national security interest. In current international system, the realist understandings of self-help and balance of power are still dominant in the security related issues in their bilateral relations, and have spill-over effect on other issues. This explains competition part of their relations. Regarding the future of India-China relations, it concludes that the cooperation prospects of India-China relations should be wide and positive. However, still hampered by historical mistrust, India-China relations are moving at variable speeds, with some sections faster than the others, this will continue in the near future. The thesis suggests that both countries should continue to promote mutual understanding and practical cooperation in their relations. Both sides should consolidate the existing institutional mechanisms and explore the possibilities of new mechanisms, at the bilateral as well as multilateral level. Moreover, the leaderships of the two countries should take the initiative to foster a shared culture between them that is based on reciprocity and ideas of win-win. This is the fundamental path through which India and China can get out of their current strategic stasis and bring their relations to a new level.


Keeping in view the need for corporate communications in cancer research perspective, which means communications serves as the liaison between an organization and public. This editorial presents a view which is very different from commercial-marketing a product or laisoning with producer companies etc. It is all about developments in cancer research which leads one to understand - what is personalized medicine. As the scientific and medical communities begin to decipher the secrets locked in the human genome code, the way we approach the diagnosis, treatment and prevention of disease will change dramatically. With the detection of human genome, scientists have already created large databases filled with thousands of single nucleotide sequence changes. Some of these single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) could define the genetic basis of what keeps healthy or makes us sick. Currently the most common applications for SNP related research tools are gene-disease association studies, drug-gene interactions and drug target validation. Other popular applications are disease susceptibility studies or diagnostics, pharmacogenomic studies for clinical trials, drug target screening, and new technology development.


This paper addresses the problem of sensor management for a large network of agile sensors. Sensor management refers to the process of dynamically retasking agile sensors in response to an evolving environment. Sensors may be agile in a variety of ways, e.g., the ability to reposition, point an antenna, choose sensing mode, or waveform. The goal of sensor management in a large network is to choose actions for individual sensors dynamically so as to maximize overall network utility. Sensor management in the multiplatform setting is a challenging problem for several reasons. First, the state space required to characterize an environment is typically of very high dimension and poorly represented by a parametric form. Second, the network must simultaneously address a number of competing goals. Third, the number of potential taskings grows exponentially with the number of sensors. Finally, in low communication environments, decentralized methods are required. The approach we present addresses these challenges through a novel combination of particle filtering for nonparametric density estimation, information theory for comparing actions, and physicomimetics for computational tractability. The efficacy of the method is illustrated in a realistic surveillance application by simulation, where an unknown number of ground targets are to be detected and tracked by a network of mobile sensors.


Network Spinal Analysis TM (NSA) care has been transitioned from a health care system with the objective of correction of two types of vertebral subluxation, to a multi-component system of health care delivery with emphasis on wellness education for participating clients. NSA care is now delivered and communicated in discrete Levels of Care with emphasis on client participation through self-evaluation. Emphasis on wellness education will be introduced into NSA practice through training via a Certificate Program currently under development. This paper considers some hallmarks that delineate a wellness education, patient (client)-centered practice. The concepts presented relative to this wellness model of health care delivery are believed to be applicable to any approach with similar practice objectives. The perspective presented considers that the major aspects of a patient-centered, wellness education health care delivery system is multi-dimensional. Hallmarks include differentiating terms, and establishing a wellness mentality. Substantiation of the discipline must be established through credible published research regarding its efficacy and safety as well as a consistent and valid means of measuring progressive outcomes derived from the care received. The relationship of NSA to other disciplines is discussed.


In novel class discovery (NCD), we are given labeled data from seen classes and unlabeled data from unseen classes, and we train clustering models for the unseen classes. However, the implicit assumptions behind NCD are still unclear. In this paper, we demystify assumptions behind NCD and find that high-level semantic features should be shared among the seen and unseen classes. Based on this finding, NCD is theoretically solvable under certain assumptions and can be naturally linked to meta-learning that has exactly the same assumption as NCD. Thus, we can empirically solve the NCD problem by meta-learning algorithms after slight modifications. This meta-learning-based methodology significantly reduces the amount of unlabeled data needed for training and makes it more practical, as demonstrated in experiments. The use of very limited data is also justified by the application scenario of NCD: since it is unnatural to label only seen-class data, NCD is sampling instead of labeling in causality. Therefore, unseen-class data should be collected on the way of collecting seen-class data, which is why they are novel and first need to be clustered.


The early Palaeogene represents a key interval in the evolution of modern marine fish faunas. Together with the first appearances of many familiar fish lineages characteristic of contemporary marine environments, early Palaeogene marine deposits worldwide feature the occurrence of osteoglossid bonytongues. Their presence in marine rocks is surprising, given that these fishes are strictly associated with freshwater environments in modern settings and in other parts of the fossil record. Despite its possible relevance to faunal recovery after the Cretaceous–Palaeogene (K–Pg) extinction, this marine osteoglossid radiation is relatively understudied. Here we describe an osteoglossid specimen from marine Danian deposits of western Greenland (Eqalulik Formation, northern Nuussuaq Peninsula). It consists of disarticulated cranial, pectoral and vertebral material belonging to a relatively large‐bodied predator, similar to the widespread †Brychaetus but with some distinctive features. This specimen expands the geographical range of extinct osteoglossids to the Arctic and represents one of the earliest records of this group in marine deposits. We review other fossil occurrences of marine osteoglossids, highlighting temporal and biogeographical patterns that characterize their rise, diversification and sudden disappearance in the middle Eocene. It is likely that the transition from freshwater to marine environments occurred around the K–Pg boundary, possibly related to ecological replacement of predatory fish lineages that went extinct at the end of the Cretaceous. Further study of the Eqalulik Formation fauna could yield additional insight into the consequences of the end‐Cretaceous extinction with regard to marine fish evolution and the assembly of modern marine faunas.


Just as a researcher's values and beliefs inevitably affect what topics are chosen for study and how those topics are studied, the same is true for any application of psychological research to a new domain. Because every psychological theory is subject to conditions and uncertainty about its coverage, every application of theory will require many judgments about which variables will be behaviorally potent and which will not be in any new setting. These judgments will inevitably draw on the researcher's own beliefs and values to inform the extrapolations required for the extension of research. The influence of these beliefs and values will rarely be made explicit, perhaps not even to the researcher herself, but such influence is inevitable. Until psychologists endorse a set of shared specific norms for evaluating construct and external validity (and concomitantly for when applications are appropriate and how applied advice is given), and until social scientists devote as much attention in post-publication review to construct and external validity critiques as to internal validity critiques, unsupportable and misleading extensions of psychological research will persist.


MPEER: A MOBILE HEALTH APPROACH TO MONITORING PTSD IN VETERANS Casey J. O'Brien, B.S. Marquette University, 2013 More than 2.2 million US service members have seen deployment to Iraq and Afghanistan over the past decade. As the number of veterans returning home has increased, the need for new and innovative approaches to the variety and severity of mental health issues experienced after deployment remains a national priority. Affecting between 15-20% of the veteran population and largely treatment resistant, Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) poses a challenging problem for the mental health community. Recent veteran related studies have suggested a paradigm shift in conceptualizing PTSD in terms of specific high-risk behaviors rather than traditional symptoms. Young and technology savvy, many veteran populations are uniquely poised to embrace mobile health (mHealth) approaches to monitoring and addressing health related issues. In this thesis, we document the design and implementation of a smartphone-based system that coordinates the collection of data potentially relevant for monitoring high-risk behavior in veterans. We describe the details of an unobtrusive smartphone application for the Android platform that collects data from a variety of smartphone sensors and administers daily self-report questionnaires. Finally, we confirm system performance with data from student volunteers.


A society's conceptualization of "human nature" determines both how its people behave and their perceptions about justice. This paper contrasts societies that see humans as naturally competitive and selfish and requiring behavioral training (Skinnerian approaches to social control) with societies that see humans as naturally pro‐social and cooperative, striving to contribute (the premise of the prophets of major religions). Whereas the former rely mainly on rewards and punishments, and utilize retributive forms of justice, the latter rely more on apology, forgiveness, and restitution, with restoration of harmony as the goal of justice. The paper evaluates these two approaches in light of an image of human nature (recently developed by the author) that identifies three evolutionarily selected psychological needs that we all share: for acceptance, autonomy, and meaning. When any are denied, we tend to respond in anti‐social ways. Societies where that happens – particularly punitive authoritarian hierarchies – serve human nature less well, and are inherently unstable. Smaller, more egalitarian communities tend to evolve dialogic processes for resolving social rupture, a psychologically preferable process to coercion and shame.


Surface moisture is an important supply limiting factor for aeolian sand transport, which is the primary driver of coastal dune development. As such, it is critical to account for the control of surface moisture on available sand for dune building. Optical remote sensing has the potential to measure surface moisture at a high spatio-temporal resolution. It is based on the principle that wet sand appears darker than dry sand: it is less reflective. The goals of this study are (1) to measure and model reflectance under controlled laboratory conditions as function of wavelength () and surface moisture () over the optical domain of 350–2500 nm, and (2) to explore the implications of our laboratory findings for accurately mapping the distribution of surface moisture under natural conditions. A laboratory spectroscopy experiment was conducted to measure spectral reflectance (1 nm interval) under different surface moisture conditions using beach sand. A non-linear increase of reflectance upon drying was observed over the full range of wavelengths. Two models were developed and tested. The first model is grounded in optics and describes the proportional contribution of scattering and absorption of light by pore water in an unsaturated sand matrix. The second model is grounded in soil physics and links the hydraulic behaviour of pore water in an unsaturated sand matrix to its optical properties. The optical model performed well for volumetric moisture content 24% ( 0.97), but underestimated reflectance for between 24–30% ( 0.92), most notable around the 1940 nm water absorption peak. The soil-physical model performed very well ( 0.99) but is limited to 4% 24%. Results from a field experiment show that a short-wave infrared terrestrial laser scanner ( = 1550 nm) can accurately relate surface moisture to reflectance (standard error 2.6%), demonstrating its potential to derive spatially extensive surface moisture maps of a natural coastal beach.


The present study is the third phase of a longitudinal, population-based study
investigating the cognitive and social developmental outcome of children at 3-5 years
of age whom developed epilepsy within the first two years of life. These children
underwent a neurological and neuropsychological assessment at initial seizure
presentation (baseline) and again at 1-year follow-up. The current thesis is an
account of the 3-year follow-up phase of this study. Once more these children
underwent a neurological assessment and a series of standardised
neuropsychological assessments looking at IQ/cognitive score, language, memory,
attention and social behaviour. The aim of this study was to establish the
neurological factors - structural abnormalities on neuroimaging, abnormal EEG, a
history of Infantile Spasms and abnormal neurological examination - that are
predictive of later cognitive outcome using regression analysis. Seizure freedom and
abnormal EEG predicted IQ/cognitive score, memory and attention performance,
baseline cognitive score also predicted IQ/cognitive score at 3-year follow-up. These
findings suggest: (a) children who are performing poorly at baseline continue to
display delayed development at follow-up, (b) these children are delayed across the
range of neuropsychological functions tested and (c) this delay is related to
continuing seizure activity. These findings permit earlier identification of those
children most at risk for poor developmental outcome with infant-onset epilepsy and
suggest that achieving seizure freedom should continue to be the focus of treatment.
From examining the literature there are currently no known studies, which, like this
study are prospective, longitudinal and focus solely on infant onset epilepsy, and
thus these findings make an important new contribution. A second aim of this study was to examine the early natural history of children with
infant-onset epilepsy who go on to develop atypical behaviour patterns.
Standardised questionnaires and a social observational assessment were used to
examine the social and behavioural development of these children, as was an
experimental Event Related Potential (ERP) study. 20% of the children assessed
demonstrated behaviours associated with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) and poor
language functioning at baseline differentiated these children from the non-ASD
children. Behaviours associated with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder were
seen in 30.7% of the children in this study and this appeared to be related to
structural abnormalities on imaging, however due to the limited group number the
significance of this finding could not be investigated. The ERP study was designed to
look at the neural correlates of facial emotion and eye gaze perception. By
comparing the neural activation in response to these social stimuli in our epilepsy
participants and an age-matched group of typically developing children and a
younger control group, we could identify differences in face processing and at what
stage of the perceptual and cognitive process these occurred. The epilepsy group
appeared to have certain delays in the processing of emotional face information and
this is proposed to stem from disruption to the neural circuits underlying the
subcortical face processing system in these children.


The theoretical construction of the fundamental ? NOR gate using two injection semiconductor laser diodes due to mutual coupling is presented. Two laser diodes that are commonly driven by a monochromatic light beam result in chaos; however, chaotic synchronization between the two lasers may be achieved by coupling them. The all-optical logic gate is finally implemented by synchronizing or un-synchronizing appropriately the two chaotic states under a phase modulator (PM) control. Numerical results validate the feasibility of the method.


Economists commonly express the concept of sustainability using economic growth models. These models allow exploration of the impacts of technological progress, different types of natural resources, degrees of resource substitutability and inter-temporal preferences on long-term economic growth. However since such models require perfect knowledge of technologies and preferences, they are institution-free, and provide no guide to actual implementation of sustainability. In particular, since changes in complex adaptive social-ecological systems are unlikely to be gradual or linear or predictable, models that aim at better control of environmental and social outcomes are unlikely to lead to sustainability. Alternative views of sustainability, springing from philosophy and systems analysis, suggest that institutional arrangements are likely to be better guides to implementation of sustainability. It may be better sought by creating flexible institutions that promote progressive learning and the incorporation of new knowledge into the institutions and organisations that guide human decisions.


This article examines whether the extra-fi nancial performance of countries on environmental, social and governance (ESG) factors matter for sovereign bonds markets. We propose an econometric analysis of the relationship between ESG performances and government bond spreads of 23 OECD countries over the 2007-2012 period. Our results reveal that ESG ratings signi ficantly decrease government bond spreads and this fi nding is robust for a wide range of model setups. We also find that the impact of ESG ratings on the cost of sovereign borrowing is more pronounced in bonds of shorter maturities. Finally, we show that extra-fi nancial performance plays an important role in assessing risk in the financial system. In particular, the informational content of ESG ratings goes beyond the set of quantitative variables traditionally used as determinant of a country's extra-fi nancial rating such as CO2 emissions, the share of protected areas, social expenditure and health expenditure per GDP, or the quality of institutions, and off ers an additional evaluation of governments' ESG performance that matters for government bond spreads.


Governments go to great lengths to attract foreign multinationals because they are thought to raise the wages paid to their employees (direct effects) and to improve outcomes at local domestic firms (indirect effects). We construct the first U.S. employer-employee dataset with foreign ownership information from tax records to measure these direct and indirect effects. We find the average direct effect of a foreign multinational firm on its U.S. workers is a 7 percent increase in wages. This premium is larger for higher skilled workers and for the employees of firms from high GDP per capita countries. We find evidence that it is membership in a multinational production network—instead of foreignness—that generates the foreign firm premium. We leverage the past spatial clustering of foreign-owned firms by country of owner- ship to identify the indirect effects. An expansion in the foreign multinational share of commuting zone employment substantially increases the employment, value added, and—for higher earning workers—wages at local domestic-owned firms. Per job created by a foreign multinational, our estimates suggest annual gains of 13,400 USD to the aggregate wages of local incumbents, two-thirds of which are from indirect effects. Our estimates suggest that—via mega-deals for subsidies from local governments—foreign multinationals are able to extract a sizable fraction of the local surplus they generate.


Using a Pesaran-Timmermann test of co-movement, Cook and Watson (Cook S and Watson D, 2015, A new perspective on the ripple effect in the UK housing market: Co-movement, cyclical subsamples and alternative indices. Urban Studies 53(14): 3048–3062) suggest they have highlighted the 'ripple' effect. Using reference series of the UK, London, Scotland and three deterministic-periodic series, regional prices are shown to have similar cyclical characteristics, with delays based on distance from London. With periodicities consistent with those revealed by spectral analysis, the deterministic-periodic series reference provides a means of establishing cyclical characteristics whilst avoiding issues concerning variable amplitudes. Although a ripple is revealed, using London as a reference poses problems empirically: its cycle is likely to be atypical as well as asynchronised.


Aims To describe the morphometric and geometric relationships of the medial orbital wall ethmoidal foramina and the orbital apex in a Caucasian population. Methods 47 orbits from 24 formalin-fixed cadavers were exenterated. Morphometric measurements were taken between anatomical landmarks located on the medial orbital wall and geometric values were calculated. Results The average distances from the anterior lacrimal crest to the anterior ethmoidal foramen, posterior ethmoidal foramen and optic canal were 25.61 mm (±2.25), 36.09 mm (±3.86) and 43.77 mm (±2.52), respectively. The average distances from the anterior ethmoidal foramen to the first posterior ethmoidal foramen, last posterior ethmoidal foramen and optic canal were 13.88 mm (±3.51), 16.60 mm (±2.19) and 21.65 mm (±2.59), respectively. The average distances from the first and last posterior ethmoidal foramen to the optic canal were 11.63 mm (±3.79) and 7.25 mm (±2.59), respectively. Conclusion The distance between the posterior ethmoidal foramen and optic canal is more than double the distance quoted in the surgical literature. This is due to a high incidence of ethmoidal foramina variation. Surgeons operating on the medial orbital wall of a Caucasian population must be aware of these variations as they are a source of haemorrhage and act as landmarks of proximity to the optic canal.


A large-scale optical switch array based on guided-wave technology using two-module-stage network architecture is proposed. Networks are derived from a generalized three-stage switch network. Two types of architecture are demonstrated. In the first, building blocks in each module are 1/spl times/n, n/spl times/m nonblocking switches or n/spl times/r switch that can route limited numbers of input signal. In the second, crossbar, Banyan, or four-stage wide-sense nonblocking network is used as building blocks. The interconnection is simpler than for the first type. Network architectures that use Banyan or wide-sense nonblocking network building blocks are classed as thinned-out Banyan networks.


Laboratory measurements of the depth of penetration at the end of each revolution of a 30-mm-diameter screw plate were made when the insertion was carried out with no vertical thrust applied to the screw plate. The tests were carried out to a depth of 150 mm in a dry, uniformly graded sand with a wide range of densities and two values of surcharge pressure. The results showed that, except for sand with a relative density less than about 30%, the penetration per revolution decreases significantly with increasing depth and decreases more rapidly as the density increases. After insertion, loading tests were carried out using the screw plate; the results show a large increase in apparent modulus at the higher values of density. Measurements of elastic modulus were also made when the screw plate was inserted under the control of a threaded rod having the same pitch as the screw plate and with a flat disk buried in the sand.


Air pollution is a serious problem in thickly populated and industrialized areas in Thailand, especially in Bangkok. The air pollution in Bangkok is abundant, especially in areas where pollution sources and the human population are concentrated. Economic growth and industrialization are proceeding at a rapid pace, accompanied by increasing emissions of air polluting sources. Furthermore, though the variety and quantities of polluting sources have increased dramatically, the development of a suitable method for monitoring the pollution causing sources has not followed at the same pace. Environmental impacts of air pollutants have impact on public health, vegetation, material deterioration etc. To prevent or minimize the damage caused by atmospheric pollution, suitable monitoring systems are urgently needed that can rapidly and reliably detect and quantify polluting sources for monitoring by regulating authorities in order to prevent further deterioration of the current pollution levels. Consequently, it is important that the current real-time air quality monitoring system, controlled by the Pollution Control Department (PCD), should be adapted or extended to aid in alleviating this problem. Nanotechnology has been applied to several industrial and domestic fields, for example, applications for gas monitoring systems, gas leak detectors in factories, fire and toxic gas detectors, ventilation control, breath alcohol detectors, and the like. Here we report an application example of studying air quality monitoring based on nanotechnology 'solid state gas sensors'. So as to carry out air pollution monitoring over an extensive area, a combination of ground measurements through inexpensive sensors and wireless GIS will be used for this purpose. This portable device, comprising solid state gas sensors integrated to a Personal Digital Assistant (PDA) linked through Bluetooth communication tools and Global Positioning System (GPS), will allow rapid dissemination of information on pollution levels at multiple sites simultaneously. The AQ report generated can be then published using Internet GIS to provide a real-time information service for the PCD, for increased public awareness and enhanced public participation. The local deterministic and geostatistical interpolation methods have been used for spatial prediction, and to find out the most suitable method for studying air pollution, based on observations at each monitoring site. q 2005 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.


Abstract. Long-term eddy covariance particle number flux measurements for the diameter range 6 nm to 5 μm were performed at the SMEAR III station over an urban area in Helsinki, Finland. The heterogeneity of the urban measurement location allowed us to study the effect of different land-use classes in different wind directions on the measured fluxes. The particle number fluxes were highest in the direction of a local road on weekdays, with a daytime median flux of 0.8×109 m−2 s−1. The particle fluxes showed a clear dependence on traffic rates and on the mixing conditions of the boundary layer. The measurement footprint was estimated by the use of both numerical and analytical models. Using the crosswind integrated form of the footprint function, we estimated the emission factor for the mixed vehicle fleet, yielding a median particle number emission factor per vehicle of 3.0×1014 # km−1. Particle fluxes from the vegetated area were the lowest with daytime median fluxes below 0.2×109 m−2 s−1. During weekends and nights, the particle fluxes were low from all land use sectors being in the order of 0.02–0.1×109 m−2 s−1. On an annual scale the highest fluxes were measured in winter, when emissions from stationary combustion sources are also highest. Particle number fluxes were compared with the simultaneously measured CO2 fluxes and similarity in their sources was distinguishable. For CO2, the median emission factor of vehicles was estimated to be 370 g km−1.


OBJECTIVES
To assess (a) the trend of MEDLINE citation of pediatrics articles associated with Brazilian institutions from 1990 through 2004; (b) the number of Brazilian pediatrics articles published in journals with the highest impact factor; and (c) the regional distribution of institutions.

METHODS
PubMed search limited to ages 0 to 18 years, English language, MEDLINE and humans subsets, Brazilian affiliation. For each year, we compared the articles retrieved to the whole of MEDLINE citations with the same search limits, except for affiliation, as well as to the total Brazilian scientific production cited in MEDLINE, without age limits. We made a descriptive analysis, and used the chi-square test for trend. Data concerning publication in journals with the highest impact factor were aggregated into three-year periods.

RESULTS
A total of 7,222 Brazilian pediatrics articles were listed in MEDLINE from 1990 through 2004, corresponding to 0.95% of all articles concerning the age group from 0 to 18 years. There was a fivefold increase in the absolute number of Brazilian articles along the study period. The ratio of Brazilian to total articles increased from 0.51 to 1.60% (p < 0.01). Scientific knowledge production remains strongly concentrated in the Southeast of Brazil.

CONCLUSION
Brazilian research activities in pediatrics have had a steady upward trend, which relates to the proportional growth of the Brazilian scientific production as a whole.


Background Societies are facing medical resource scarcities, inter alia due to increased life expectancy and limited health budgets and also due to temporal or continuous physical shortages of resources like donor organs. This makes it challenging to meet the medical needs of all. Ethicists provide normative guidance for how to fairly allocate scarce medical resources, but legitimate decisions require additionally information regarding what the general public considers to be fair. The purpose of this study was to explore how lay people, general practitioners, medical students and other health professionals evaluate the fairness of ten allocation principles for scarce medical resources: 'sickest first', 'waiting list', 'prognosis', 'behaviour' (i.e., those who engage in risky behaviour should not be prioritized), 'instrumental value' (e.g., health care workers should be favoured during epidemics), 'combination of criteria' (i.e., a sequence of the 'youngest first', 'prognosis', and 'lottery' principles), 'reciprocity' (i.e., those who provided services to the society in the past should be rewarded), 'youngest first', 'lottery', and 'monetary contribution'. Methods 1,267 respondents to an online questionnaire were confronted with hypothetical situations of scarcity regarding (i) donor organs, (ii) hospital beds during an epidemic, and (iii) joint replacements. Nine allocation principles were evaluated in terms of fairness for each type of scarcity along 7-point Likert scales. The relationship between demographic factors (gender, age, religiosity, political orientation, and health status) and fairness evaluations was modelled with logistic regression. Results Medical background was a major predictor of fairness evaluations. While general practitioners showed different response patterns for all three allocation situations, the responses by lay people were very similar. Lay people rated 'sickest first' and 'waiting list' on top of all allocation principles—e.g., for donor organs 83.8% (95% CI: [81.2%–86.2%]) rated 'sickest first' as fair ('fair' is represented by scale points 5–7), and 69.5% [66.2%–72.4%] rated 'waiting list' as fair. The corresponding results for general practitioners: 'prognosis' 79.7% [74.2%–84.9%], 'combination of criteria' 72.6% [66.4%–78.5%], and 'sickest first' 74.5% [68.6%–80.1%); these were the highest-rated allocation principles for donor organs allocation. Interestingly, only 44.3% [37.7%–50.9%] of the general practitioners rated 'instrumental value' as fair for the allocation of hospital beds during a flu epidemic. The fairness evaluations by general practitioners obtained for joint replacements: 'sickest first' 84.0% [78.8%–88.6%], 'combination of criteria' 65.6% [59.2%–71.8%], and 'prognosis' 63.7% [57.1%–70.0%]. 'Lottery', 'reciprocity', 'instrumental value', and 'monetary contribution' were considered very unfair allocation principles by both groups. Medical students' ratings were similar to those of general practitioners, and the ratings by other health professionals resembled those of lay people. Conclusions Results are partly at odds with current conclusions proposed by some ethicists. A number of ethicists reject 'sickest first' and 'waiting list' as morally unjustifiable allocation principles, whereas those allocation principles received the highest fairness endorsements by lay people and to some extent also by health professionals. Decision makers are advised to consider whether or not to give ethicists, health professionals, and the general public an equal voice when attempting to arrive at maximally endorsed allocations of scarce medical resources.


In March of 2021, the Santa Fe Institute hosted a workshop as part of its Foundations of Intelligence in Natural and Artificial Systems project. This project seeks to advance the field of artificial intelligence by promoting interdisciplinary research on the nature of intelligence. During the workshop, speakers from diverse disciplines gathered to develop a taxonomy of intelligence, articulating their own understanding of intelligence and how their research has furthered that understanding. In this report, we summarize the insights offered by each speaker and identify the themes that emerged during the talks and subsequent discussions.


A key challenge for reinforcement learning (RL) consists of learning in environments with sparse extrinsic rewards. In contrast to current RL methods, humans are able to learn new skills with little or no reward by using various forms of intrinsic motivation. We propose AMIGo, a novel agent incorporating a goal-generating teacher that proposes Adversarially Motivated Intrinsic Goals to train a goal-conditioned "student" policy in the absence of (or alongside) environment reward. Specifically, through a simple but effective "constructively adversarial" objective, the teacher learns to propose increasingly challenging---yet achievable---goals that allow the student to learn general skills for acting in a new environment, independent of the task to be solved. We show that our method generates a natural curriculum of self-proposed goals which ultimately allows the agent to solve challenging procedurally-generated tasks where other forms of intrinsic motivation and state-of-the-art RL methods fail.


Distortion or deprivation of vision during an early `critical' period of visual development can result in permanent visual impairment which indicates the need to identify and treat visually at-risk individuals early. A significant difficulty in this respect is that conventional, subjective methods of visual acuity determination are ineffective before approximately three years of age. In laboratory studies, infant visual function has been quantified precisely, using objective methods based on visual evoked potentials (VEP), preferential looking (PL) and optokinetic nystagmus (OKN) but clinical assessment of infant vision has presented a particular difficulty. An initial aim of this study was to evaluate the relative clinical merits of the three techniques. Clinical derivatives were devised, the OKN method proved unsuitable but the PL and VEP methods were evaluated in a pilot study. Most infants participating in the study had known ocular and/or neurological abnormalities but a few normals were included for comparison. The study suggested that the PL method was more clinically appropriate for the objective assessment of infant acuity. A study of normal visual development from birth to one year was subsequently conducted. Observations included cycloplegic refraction, ophthalmoscopy and preferential looking visual acuity assessment using horizontally and vertically oriented square wave gratings. The aims of the work were to investigate the efficiency and sensitivity of the technique and to study possible correlates of visual development. The success rate of the PL method varied with age; 87% of newborns and 98% of infants attending follow-up successfully completed at least one acuity test. Below two months monocular acuities were difficult to secure; infants were most testable around six months. The results produced were similar to published data using the acuity card procedure and slightly lower than, but comparable with acuity data derived using extended PL methods. Acuity development was not impaired in infants found to have retinal haemorrhages as newborns. A significant relationship was found between newborn binocular acuity and anisometropia but not with other refractive findings. No strong or consistent correlations between grating acuity and refraction were found for three, six or twelve months olds. Improvements in acuity and decreases in levels of hyperopia over the first week of life were suggestive of recovery from minor birth trauma. The refractive data was analysed separately to investigate the natural history of refraction in normal infants. Most newborns (80%) were hyperopic, significant astigmatism was found in 86% and significant anisometropia in 22%. No significant alteration in spherical equivalent refraction was noted between birth and three months, a significant reduction in hyperopia was evident by six months and this trend continued until one year. Observations on the astigmatic component of the refractive error revealed a rather erratic series of changes which would be worthy of further investigation since a repeat refraction study suggested difficulties in obtaining stable measurements in newborns. Astigmatism tended to decrease between birth and three months, increased significantly from three to six months and decreased significantly from six to twelve months. A constant decrease in the degree of anisometropia was evident throughout the first year. These findings have implications for the correction of infantile refractive error.


In recent years, immigration into the U.S. has increased because of growing economic problems around the world. Economic globalization and technological developments (internet access and the ability to move massive amounts of information and people in a short amount of time) have influenced the number of those seeking asylum. Accordingly, the U.S. school system continues to see an increase in students who are culturally diverse with greater educational deficiencies and limited English proficiency (LEP). In Texas there has been a 90% increase in the number of immigrants from 1990 to 2010 (National CE). This means that currently immigrants make up 14.4% of the total population of the state (see Table 2). Texas has the second largest population of LEP students and graduate students less than half the national average (39% versus 78%) (MPI, 2010). As the numbers suggest, school systems across the country are placed in a situation where these increased numbers must be educated at a higher cost with no increase to their revenue. In particular, AISD has one of the most daunting educational challenges in the region. The question that this work will attempt to answer is to what extent has AISD met those challenges over the past five years. The research will be a quantitative design using an exploratory analysis using preexisting data of the AISD LEP program and general student rates compared to the state overall numbers. All data is free of individual information and reviewable from public websites. All results are based on the information obtained and no additional interpretations are added to increase or decrease the averages obtained from the data provided. Initial findings from the data obtained show a rate difference in graduation rates between LEP students and general students in the AISD system as well as the Texas system. These rates are not comparable in differences but are consistent with the general rate being higher than the LEP rate. The results of the finding do indicate a high need for future research.


With the increasing importance of online shopping, it is crucial to better understand factors that influence customers' purchasing behaviour in an electronic commerce environment. In order to explore which factorsdetermine the propensity of customers towards online purchase a binary probit regression was used. The data was collected through survey questionnaire using the purposive sample of 426 Croatian customers from the Dubrovnik- NeretvaCounty. Research results show that customers who feel insecure are less likely to make an online pur-chase.Additionally, place and environment are proven to be significant factorsof electronic retailing.The results also indicate that the probability of actual online purchase increases with higher customers' purchase intentions.


In Multicast Virtual Private Networks (MVPNs), customer multicast
flows are carried in "tunnels" through a service provider's
network. The base specifications for MVPN define BGP multicast VPN
"auto-discovery routes" and specify how to use an auto-discovery route
to advertise the fact that an individual customer multicast flow is
being carried in a particular tunnel. However, those specifications do
not provide a way to specify, in a single such route, that multiple
customer flows are being carried in a single tunnel. Those
specifications also do not provide a way to advertise that a
particular tunnel is to be used by default to carry all customer
flows, except in the case where that tunnel is joined by all the
provider edge routers of the MVPN. This document eliminates these
restrictions by specifying the use of "wildcard" elements in the
customer flow identifiers. With wildcard elements, a single auto-
discovery route can refer to multiple customer flows or even to all
customer flows. [STANDARDS-TRACK]