Understanding the dynamics, patterns, and evolutionary processes observed in natural eco-systems is key to ecological science and to strategic measures directed at the preservation of biological diversity. For many years, predictions of these phenomena have rested on a suit of simplifying assumptions. These prerequisites were believed to be met in many ecological systems and allowed for convenient mathematical analysis. Today, however, it is becoming increasingly evident that this traditional approach has led to negligence of a variety of central features shared by ecosystems in the real world. This concerns, among other issues, the importance of individual discreteness, spatial heterogeneity, and rapid adaptive change. Field studies as well as computer simulations have demonstrated convincingly that the negligence ingrained in the traditional view does not only result in serious quantitative problems of predicative accuracy but may even give rise to qualitative discrepancies between ecological models and the corresponding processes in nature.

This binational research project seeks to bring together two leading groups of biomathe-maticians and theoretical biologists with demonstrated expertise in systematically overcoming such confines of traditional ecological theory. Already working at the forefront of adaptive dynamics research and of spatial ecological theory, the two research teams from Japan and Austria are ideally suited to synthesize recently achieved progress in their fields and to make a strong contribution to the development of an improved modeling framework for evolutionary ecology. Targeting a range of timely research problems in (a) spatial ecology and evolution, (b) multispecies dynamics, coevolution, and hierarchical selection, and in the study of (c) altruism and the evolution of cooperation, the proposed collaborative project is expected to result in scientific output of high international standard. To maximize the efficiency of scientific cooperation between the research teams, several orchestrated means of collaboration - work-shops, exchange visits, and the systematic involvement of young scientists - are foreseen.


Background Myocardial damage is a common complication in patients with Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD) that occurs due to myocardial replacement by fat and fibrosis. In recent years, efforts have been made toward finding new pharmacological agents with fewer complications which can be used as prophylactic before the symptoms. Coenzyme Q10 plays a central role in production of bioenergy in heart muscle and antioxidant in reperfusion condition of myocardial damaged muscle and leads to membrane stability and prevents cell death. Objective This study aimed at comparing the Effectiveness of coenzyme Q10 on echocardiographic parameters of pediatric patients with Duchenne muscular dystrophy. Methods This randomized clinical trial study (RCT) was carried out on 25 pediatric patients with pre-diagnosed DMD who attended the Children's Medical Center (CMC), Tehran, Iran from February 2013 to 2015. The patients were randomly divided into two groups. Group-1; (n=12) was treated with coenzyme Q10 for six months and group-2 ;(n=13) received placebo for the same time. The primary aim was to compare the myocardial performance index (MPI), between the two groups at the end of six months. Data were analyzed by SPSS software (ver-16) and using T-Test. Results Twenty-five patients under study were divided into two groups of (Q10=12) and (placebo=13). Mean ages were 8.9±1.7 and 8.6±1.4 in Q10 and placebo groups (P=0.66). No significant difference was detected in MPI at all three views of mitral and tricuspid and septum respectively in two groups after the end of treatment (0.41±0.13, and 0.43±0.6; P=0.59), (0.45±0.12, and 0.46±0.1; P=0.05), and (0.45±0.06, and 0.45±0.1; P=0.31). Conclusion According to the results obtained from this study, coenzyme Q10 had no significant effect on improving the performance of echocardiographic parameters in patients with DMD. Trial registration The trial is registered at the Iranian Clinical Trial Registry (IRCT.ir) with the IRCT identification number IRCT2015070223018N1. Funding This research has been financially supported by the Research Council of Tehran University of Medical Sciences.


Seasonal variation in nutrient (nitrogen: N, and phosphorus: P) limitation of phytoplankton biomass growth was studied in the eutrophic estuary, Hjarbaek Fjord, Denmark, by use of 4 different types of bioassays. These were (1) long-term (2 d) nutrient addition bioassay, (2) long-term dilution bioassay, (3) short-term (2 h) nutrient addition bioassay, and (4) short-term dilution bioassay. Types 1 and 2 were conducted as field incubations where increases in chlorophyll a (chl a) were used as a growth indicator, while Types 3 and 4 were laboratory incubations with measurement of 14 C-uptake rates. Bioassays were compared with seasonal variations in carotenoid:chl a pigment ratio (480:665 nm), nutrient pools (C:N:P ratios) in seston, concentrations of dissolved nutrients (N and P) in the water, and with the supply of nutrients (N and P) to the phonic zone. P-limited growth dominated from May to August according to most bioassays, whereas N limitation was only significant in the long-term nutrient addition bioassay in August. Estimates of nutrient loading to the phonic zone included external input from freshwater and marine sources and nutrients regenerated from the sediment. The molar nutrient loading ratio (N:P) decreased through the summer from values of 290 and 110 for inorganic and total N:P, respectively, in April to a minimum value of 21 and 24 for inorganic and total N:P, respectively, in August. The minimum value coincided with the lowest inorganic N:P ratio in the surface water (3.5) and with a low ratio (15) of particulate N:P in the water column. Both short- and long-term nutrient addition bioassays corresponded well with the type of nutrient limitation that could be predicted from the seasonality in the N:P loading ratio and the inorganic N:P ratio in the surface water. The dilution bioassays gave less clear results, but may still provide information on possible nutrient limitation in a situation where the external loadings of both N and P are decreased. The carotenoid:chl a ratio varied between 1.4 and 2.6 with the lowes values in April and October, where nutrient limitation was less evident, and with the highest value in August. The 480:665 ratio always decreased during long-term bioassays when nutrient addition stimulated growth, which implies that it may be indicative of P- as well as N-limited growth.


Because human land uses tend to expand over time, forests that share a high proportion of their borders with anthropogenic uses are at higher risk of further degradation than forests that share a high proportion of their borders with non-forest, natural land cover (e.g., wetland). Using 1-km advanced very high resolution radiometer (AVHRR) satellite-based land cover, we present a method to separate forest fragmentation into natural and anthropogenic components, and report results for all inhabited continents summarized by World Wildlife Fund biomes. Globally, over half of the temperate broadleaf and mixed forest biome and nearly one quarter of the tropical rainforest biome have been fragmented or removed by humans, as opposed to only 4% of the boreal forest. Overall, Europe had the most human-caused fragmentation and South America the least. This method may allow for improved risk assessments and better targeting for protection and remediation by identifying areas with high amounts of human-caused fragmentation.


In rigid body dynamic simulations, often the algorithm is required to deal with general situations where both reference point and inertia matrix are arbitrarily defined. We introduce a novel Lie group variational integrator using dual quaternion for simulating rigid body dynamics in all six degrees of freedom. Dual quaternion is used to represent rigid body kinematics and one-step Lie group method is used to derive dynamic equations. The combination of these two becomes the first Lie group variational integrator for rigid body dynamics without decoupling translations and rotations. Newton-Raphson method is used to solve the recursive dynamic equation. Our method is suitable for rigid body simulations with high accuracy under large time step. The entire dynamics-control system can now be established based on dual quaternions without re-projection from Cartesian frame. A numerical example of spacecraft-cargo separation process proves that our method respects the symplectic structure of the system with excellent long-term conservation of geometry structure, momentum and energy. In instants where separation happens, reference point transformation is no longer required.


A range of heterolithic facies, comprising thinly interbedded (millimetre–decimetre scale) sandstones and mudstones, characterizes the heterogeneous Lower Jurassic Cook Formation, including the productive Cook-3 reservoir in the Gullfaks Field. These heterolithic facies were deposited in a tide-dominated estuarine to deltaic setting and show up as massive 'shaly-sands' on conventional wireline logs. This makes the recognition and discrimination of different heterolithic facies types virtually impossible, which severely limits detailed reservoir geological and petrophysical predictions. This problem has been addressed by undertaking a high resolution electrofacies analysis using core facies as a 'training set' and applying this, through multivariate statistical techniques, to the interpretation of the conventional logs. An electrofacies database was created comprising five genetically linked rock types (ranging from lenticular-wavy bedding, through flaser bedding and into clean/massive sandstones). This electrofacies scheme was validated with reference to c. 125 m of cored section from five wells using gamma-ray, density and neutron logs. Multivariate statistical techniques have enabled probabilistic discrimination of the different types of heterolithic facies down to intervals of only 0.25 to 0.5 m thick, which is considerably greater than could be achieved using conventional well-log evaluation techniques alone.


Pascal's wager attempts to provide a prudential reason in support of the rationality of believing that God exists. The wager employs the idea that the utility of theistic belief, if true, is infinite, and in this way, the expected utility of theism swamps that of any of its rivals. Not surprisingly the wager generates more than a good share of philosophical criticism. In this essay I examine two recent objections levelled against the wager and I argue that each fails. Following this, I argue that a transfinite version of the wager – one using the idea of an infinite utility – is incompatible with standard axiomatic constructions of decision-theory and, as a consequence, the Pascalian would be well-advised to give up the idea of an infinite utility and employ only a finite version of the wager. The consequences of limiting the wager to finite utilities are also explored.


The mean inner potential of a solid is known to be proportional to its diamagnetic susceptibility. Superconductors exhibit giant diamagnetism. What does this say about the connection between superconductivity and mean inner potential? Nothing, according to the conventional theory of superconductivity. Instead, it is proposed that a deep connection exists between the mean inner potential, diamagnetism, and superconductivity: that they are all intimately linked to the fundamental charge asymmetry of matter. It is discussed how this physics can be probed experimentally and what the implications of different experimental findings would be for the understanding of superconductivity.


Nonprofits are increasingly present in industries with a large for-profit sector, raising questions about their competitive advantage afforded by the nonprofit tax exemption. We estimate an equilibrium model of market structure for recreation/fitness centers to assess whether nonprofit and for-profit firms compete directly for the same customer base. Our results suggest that the two ownership types serve independent markets. Consequently, nonprofits do not meaningfully crowd out for-profit competitors. We find that local property taxes, as a proxy for a firm's tax burden, significantly affect for-profit entry and that nonprofit entry would fall by 25%, without affecting for-profit entry, if the same property tax liability was imposed.


Computer-assisted scheduling and dispatch (CASD) systems have been implemented in many paratransit systems in the United States to improve the effectiveness and efficiency of operations. This paper contributes to the limited literature of studies documenting the impact of such systems on paratransit operations based on the implementation of such a system in a small city in Illinois. The analysis provides evidence of small but measurable efficiency and effectiveness gains. This paper also provides evidence that proper CASD evaluation efforts should allow enough time after implementation so that not only familiarity with the system has been established, but also most or all of the necessary organizational changes related to the new technology have been completed.


Background: Puberty is a milestone in child and adolescent development, yet a feasible tool to accurately assess pubertal stage in community context has not been validated in Vietnam.

Aim: This study was conducted to validate pubertal self-report among Ho Chi Minh City children and adolescents in comparison with paediatrician's assessment.

Methods: 80 girls and 76 boys aged from 6 to 17 years old from 5 schools in Ho Chi Minh City were recruited. Self-administered questionnaires about sexual maturation were distributed to participants and results were compared with physician's pubertal examination. Kappa statistic and Kendall's τ b were used to evaluate validity of the questionnaire.

Results: Boys tended to overestimate their development stages while girls tended to underestimate. Fair to almost perfect agreement between students' reports and paediatricians' evaluation, along with high concordance was recorded, however younger boys (aged 6-11) showed limited evaluation of their own sexual maturation.

Conclusion: This method was inaccurate to evaluate younger boys' sexual maturation; however, acceptable accuracy in sexual maturation estimation among younger girls and adolescents could allow it to serve as an effective screening tool in community context.


In this article the broad emphasis is on the significance of revisiting past thinking, especially from academia and in research reports of 20th century History teaching at the Further Education and Training level (FET), so as to invest in present-day youth who take History as a subject. The study is mainly qualitative, but also relies heavily on quantitative reports and the interpretation of their value regarding selective issues such as curriculum content, textbooks and teaching methodologies. In no other study so far in South Africa, has the status of the youth and History up to the present, been pinned down historically or been reviewed critically in such a way. Therefore the objective of this article is to i) record and ii) review some past thinking on teaching History to the youth with the intention of iii) learning from yesterday's thinking and accounts. Although an effort has been made to add to the existing historiographical repertoire on the youth and History, particularly in a teaching environment, a complete historiographical review of past research contributions is beyond the scope of this article. As far as it is achievable, key moments and contributors are recalled with the intention of bringing to the reader's attention this past historiographical repertoire as anchor for current thinking on ways of teaching History to the youth.


Athletes who squeezed a ball with their left hand immediately prior to execution of sports activities did not show performance deterioration under severe pressure (Beckmann, Gröpel, & Ehrlenspiel, 2013). This result has been explained by priming of the dominant right hemisphere. However, it remains unclear what variables have the greatest effect on asymmetrical brain activity (e.g., duration and strength of ball squeezing). We hypothesized that squeezing a ball harder for a longer period might lead to stronger asymmetrical activity because motor-related areas would have increased activation due to the more forceful movement. We used electroencephalograms (EEGs) to investigate the hemispheric asymmetry of brain activity produced by squeezing a ball with a unilateral hand. EEGs were assessed during a baseline period as well as in eight experimental conditions wherein the strength and duration of the ball squeeze were manipulated. Our results showed that right-hemispheric-dominant brain activation was maximized when participants squeezed with their left hand a ball that had an internal pressure of 100 hPa for 90 s or 20 hPa for 30 s. Moreover, squeezing the ball with 100 hPa internal pressure for 90 s created a prominent interhemispheric asymmetry of cortical activity. We suspect that squeezing a ball strongly for a long period might be helpful in dealing with "choking" under pressure by producing greater right-hemispheric activation. This result could help improve simple methods for competitive athletes to reduce the likelihood of exhibiting choking behavior that could be practiced with minimal effort, even during short breaks during a game.


A new vegetable oil-based polyol has been successfully functionalized for polyurethane fabrication. Starting with the crude jatropha oil, the double bonds are functionalized by introducing epoxy groups and followed by ring opening step to produce hydroxyl groups. This method effectively produced solvent-free epodixidized jatropha oil at rapid reaction kinetic with maximum oxirane oxygen content of 4.3%. This chemical synthesis scheme provides low viscosity and moderate functionality polyol with easier route to produce flexible film of vegetable-based polyurethane at reasonable material properties with hydroxyl number of 171 - 180 mg KOH/g, viscosity of 0.92 - 0.98 Pa.s and functionality of 5. The jatropha oil-based polyol is then reacted with aromatic diisocyanate to produce jatropha oil-based polyurethane in the present of catalyst dibutyltin dilaurate. Three distinct regions have been observed in the reactivity test of polyurethane formation corresponding to reaction of hydroxyl and isocyanate groups and branching processes. The glass transition temperature of -55 to -45 oC suggested that existence of majority flexible/soft segments and exhibited rubber-like behavior in stress-strain measurement with tensile stress at break between 2 - 6 MPa and elongation at break of 110 - 193%. Fractography evidence by SEM showed relatively flat surface with ridges and V-shaped "chevron" marking. Jatropha oil-based polyurethane is thermally stable with the onset for thermal degradation is in the range of 233 - 277 oC followed by char formation. Pseudo-plastic flow behavior with index of 0.09 - 0.24 is observed in dynamic mechanical analysis. However high amount of acid (> 0.1 mg KOH/g) in the polyol is detrimental to the branching processes with evidence of relatively low glass transition temperature (-50 oC) and mechanical strength (2 MPa).


Background: Chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS) is a disorder characterized by prolonged physical and mental fatigue that cannot be explained by another established medical diagnosis. The anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) and putamen are two regions involved in frontal-striatal neural circuitry, which may be related to the pathophysiology of CFS. The aim of this study was to investigate the concentrations of neurometabolites, including glutamate, gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA) and glutathione, in the ACC and putamen, using magnetic resonance spectroscopy (MRS) at 7 Tesla (7T). In addition, this study also aimed to evaluate resting-state functional connectivity in CFS with functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI). Methods: This study involved 12 patients who met the Oxford criteria for CFS and 25 healthy controls. Participants rated themselves on the Chalder Fatigue Questionnaire (CFQ) and the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI). All participants had a single proton (1H) MRS and resting-state fMRI scan with a 7T Siemens MAGNETOM scanner (Siemens, Erlangen, Germany) with a Nova Medical 32 channel receive array head coil. Spectra were measured from voxels in the ACC (20 × 20 × 20 mm), putamen (10 × 16 × 20 mm) and occipital cortex (20 × 20 × 20 mm). Spectra were analysed with LCModel to obtain absolute concentrations of the neurochemicals. Differences in functional connectivity between CFS and healthy participants were tested using multivariate exploratory linear optimized decomposition into independent components (MELODIC) and dual regression. Results: Concentrations of putamen glutamate and glutamate+glutamine (Glx) were increased in CFS while that of ACC GABA was decreased. Putamen Glx and ACC glutamine were negatively associated with the severity of self-reported fatigue. There were main effects of CFS diagnosis on glutathione (GSH) and total creatine, indicating decreases of these neurometabolites in all the regions studied in CFS patients. In addition, the CFS patients demonstrated elevated functional connectivity between the default mode network and right supracalcarine cortex, precuneus cortex and dorsolateral prefrontal cortex. Conclusions: The increased putamen glutamate, decreased ACC GABA and elevated resting state functional connectivity of the default mode network suggest a hyperactive brain status in CFS. The global decrease of GSH and total creatine also suggest that CFS patients may have an abnormal bioenergetic status with higher oxidative stress.


Natural killer (NK) cells have been recognized as a next-generation therapy for cancer as they are less likely to trigger adverse events (e.g., cytokine storm or graft-versus-host disease) than T cell-based therapeutics. Although NK cell activation strategies through genetic engineering and cytokine treatment have been actively studied for successful cancer treatment, the approaches are inefficient, expensive, and involve complex processing. Here, we developed a facile and efficient method of activating NK cells using cationic nanoparticles (cNPs). The cytotoxic activity of cNP-treated primary NK and NK-92MI cells against triple-negative breast cancer cells was over 2-fold higher than that of control NK cells in vitro. Molecular biological analyses confirmed that cNPs altered the expression of CCR4 and CXCR4 of NK cells that function as chemokine receptors. In vitro live cell imaging showed that the NK cells treated with cNPs were better than control NK cells at interacting with cancer cells. Consistent with these in vitro results, cNP-treated NK cells effectively inhibited tumor growth in an in vivo tumor animal model of triple-negative breast cancer. Additionally, NK cells treated with cNPs were tracked effectively in vivo by magnetic resonance imaging. Thus, cNP-mediated activation of NK cells has great potential as an NK cell-based cancer immunotherapy. Most of all, activating NK cells using cNPs has a great advantage over conventional methods in that immune cells can be activated by a one-step facile process with exogenously charged nanomaterials, without the need for genetic engineering or cytokine treatment.


Software systems supporting networked, transaction-oriented services are large and complex; they comprise a multitude of inter-dependent layers and components, and they implement many dynamic optimization mechanisms. In addition, these systems are subject to workload that is hard to predict. These factors make monitoring these systems as well as performing problem determination challenging and costly. In this thesis we tackle these challenges with the goal of lowering the cost and improving the effectiveness of monitoring and problem determination by reducing the dependence on human operators. Specifically, this thesis presents and demonstrates the effectiveness of an efficient, automated monitoring approach which enables detection of errors and failures, and which assists in localizing faults. Software systems expose various types of monitoring data; this thesis focuses on the use of management metrics to monitor a system's health. We devise a system modeling approach which entails modeling stable, statistical correlations among management metrics; these correlations characterize a system's normal behaviour This approach allows a system model to be built automatically and efficiently using the monitoring data alone. In order to control the monitoring overhead, and yet allow a system's health to be assessed reliably, we design an adaptive monitoring approach. This adaptive capability builds on the flexible nature of our system modeling approach, which allows the set of monitored metrics to be altered at runtime. We develop methods to automatically select management metrics to collect at the minimal monitoring level, without any domain knowledge. In addition, we devise an automated fault localization approach, which leverages the ability of the monitoring system to analyze individual metrics. Using a realistic, multi-tier software system, including different applications based on Java Enterprise Edition and industrial-strength products, we evaluate our system modeling approach. We show that stable metric correlations exist in complex software systems and that many of these correlations can be modeled using simple, efficient techniques. We investigate the effect of the collection of management metrics on system performance. We show that the monitoring overhead can be high and thus needs to be controlled. We employ fault injection experiments to evaluate the effectiveness of our adaptive monitoring and fault localization approach. We demonstrate that our approach is cost-effective, has high fault coverage and, in the majority of the cases studied, provides pertinent diagnosis information.


We present a general framework for classification of sparse and irregularly-sampled time series. The properties of such time series can result in substantial uncertainty about the values of the underlying temporal processes, while making the data difficult to deal with using standard classification methods that assume fixed-dimensional feature spaces. To address these challenges, we propose an uncertainty-aware classification framework based on a special computational layer we refer to as the Gaussian process adapter that can connect irregularly sampled time series data to any black-box classifier learnable using gradient descent. We show how to scale up the required computations based on combining the structured kernel interpolation framework and the Lanczos approximation method, and how to discriminatively train the Gaussian process adapter in combination with a number of classifiers end-to-end using backpropagation.


A new HPLC method that is based on zwitterionic hydrophilic interaction liquid chromatography (ZIC-HILIC) coupled with ultraviolet detection was developed, optimized and validated for the simultaneous determination of amprolium hydrochloride, sulfaquinoxaline sodium, and Vitamin K3 (as menadione sodium bisulfite) in A.S.K powder. The separation was carried out using ZIC-HILIC column (250 mm × 4.6 mm, 5 mm) and a mobile phase of 0.2 M Ammonium acetate (NH4AC) buffer and acetonitrile (15:85; v/v) with pH adjusted to 5.7 by glacial acetic acid at a flow rate of 0.5 ml/min. The analytes were monitored by UV detection at 263 nm. The effects of the operational chromatographic conditions on retention and resolution were tested. Different concentrations of the organic solvent in the mobile phase, the ionic strength of the NH4AC buffer and pH of the mobile phase were investigated. The optimized method was subjected to validation by examining specificity, accuracy, precision, linearity, range, ruggedness and robustness. The results were evaluated as per the International Conference on Harmonization (ICH) and United States Pharmacopoeia (USP33/NF28) guidelines and it fulfilled the validation criteria. The method is sensitive, specific, fast, accurate, and requires minimum sample manipulation. It was applied on commercial A.S.K batches, to which all the active ingredients were separated from their excipients.


Abstract Regional economic integration in the post-Soviet space stands in a complex relation with the European Union's integration process. Multiple competing internal logics of integration, as well as the EU model are drivers of Eurasian regionalism. The Eurasian Economic Union illustrates how bureaucracies mobilise their technocratic authority in a process of mimesis that reconciles multiple internal and external integration logics: selective learning from the EU and successful incorporation of internal integration logics produce an organisational design and output that member states support to varying extents.


INTRODUCTION Let me start by pledging allegiance, at least for the purposes of this exchange, to several principles of constitutional interpretation that I suspect command widespread support among a group of Federalist Society members such as this. First, I proceed on the premise that the basic interpretive methodology applied to constitutional foreign affairs questions should be the same as to domestic affairs. I therefore decline the invitation to indulge in what has been termed "foreign affairs exceptionalism." (1) Second, and perhaps with greater personal pain, I decline the invitation to indulge in any number of progressive, avant-garde, or unconventional constitutional theories, regardless of what merit they may otherwise have. Thus, I will not defend my positions based upon unconventional views about constitutional higher lawmaking, (2) representation reinforcement or other process-based theories, (3) morally inflected interpretivism, (4) or natural law. (5) Rather, I proceed based upon good old Federalist Society-style text, history (in the sense of original understanding and ongoing custom), and structure. (6) However conventional, this hoary methodology compels only one conclusion: rejection of even the laudably moderate version of the executive foreign affairs authority theory espoused by Professor Ramsey. In Professor Ramsey's view, the term "executive Power" in Article II includes at least some residual foreign affairs authority. (7) Therefore, according to Professor Ramsey, the default position under the Constitution is that the text does not allocate a foreign affairs power within the government, it falls, without more, to the President. (8) Elsewhere, Professor Curtis Bradley and I have termed this position the "Vesting Clause Thesis," or more broadly, "executive essentialism," (9) because it is premised on the view that a general foreign affairs power is an essential, inherent component of the "executive Power" and that the Executive Vesting Clause allocates this subcategory of executive authority to "a President of the United States of America." (10) Now, there are stronger and softer versions of this view. Used in the wrong hands--such as those of John Yoo--the Vesting Clause Thesis, in its most potent form, could be applied not just to supplement presidential power in areas in which there is no clear grant of authority to the other branches, but as a way to foil attempts by Congress to exercise even clearly specified authority in "executive foreign affairs" areas. Accordingly, Professor Yoo has argued that the Executive's foreign affairs power is not merely residual but, in broadly defined areas, nothing short of exclusive. (11) It therefore follows that the President's general executive foreign affairs authority provides one basis for the Executive to ignore conflicting federal statutes--even and including, to take one notorious example, acts of Congress prohibiting torture (12)--should the President deem that mistreatment of detainees might yield valuable information in the "Global War on Terrorism." (13) Professor Ramsey does not go that far, and I commend him for that. Indeed, his full theory puts forward a robust vision of what legislative power in the foreign affairs domain is, and further provides that Congress should generally prevail when acting in its domain. (14) Indeed, the irony in all of this is that doctrinally, Professor Ramsey and I actually are not that far apart. Yet, even in its kinder, gentler form, the Vesting Clause Thesis cannot and should not pass constitutional muster. As argued below, the thesis fails on the grounds that conventional methods of constitutional interpretation do not sustain it. Ordinarily, that would be reason enough to oppose what would prove to be a fairly radical constitutional innovation. Executive power essentialism, however, presents a further set of practical considerations that counsel its rejection. Simply put, it offers a simple rhetorical trope so powerful that it can and does fall into the wrong hands too readily. …


Coffee rust is having a serious impact on the livelihoods of hundreds of thousands of poor people in Central America who earn their income from growing coffee or working on coffee farms. Rising temperatures due to climate change have encouraged the fungus to spread, however the fundamental problem is the underlying vulnerability of the sector, as coffee growers struggle with poverty, low prices and lack of government support. Oxfam and partners undertook research on the impacts of the fungus on the livelihoods of workers and growers in six areas in Honduras, Nicaragua and Guatemala. This issue briefing presents key findings and suggestions on how to revive the sector and diversify livelihoods to reduce vulnerability in coffee growing areas of Central America.


We analyze the minimax regret of the adversarial bandit convex optimization problem. Focusing on the one-dimensional case, we prove that the minimax regret is $\widetilde\Theta(\sqrt{T})$ and partially resolve a decade-old open problem. Our analysis is non-constructive, as we do not present a concrete algorithm that attains this regret rate. Instead, we use minimax duality to reduce the problem to a Bayesian setting, where the convex loss functions are drawn from a worst-case distribution, and then we solve the Bayesian version of the problem with a variant of Thompson Sampling. Our analysis features a novel use of convexity, formalized as a "local-to-global" property of convex functions, that may be of independent interest.


We construct the covariant effective field theory of gravity as an expansion in inverse powers of the Planck mass, identifying the leading and next-to-leading quantum corrections. We determine the form of the effective action for the cases of pure gravity with cosmological constant as well as gravity coupled to matter. By means of heat kernel methods we renormalize and compute the leading quantum corrections to quadratic order in a curvature expansion. The final effective action in our covariant formalism is generally non-local and can be readily used to understand the phenomenology on different spacetimes. In particular, we point out that on curved backgrounds the observable leading quantum gravitational effects are less suppressed than on Minkowski spacetime.


In this paper, an analytical approach useful for predicting the current ripple in induction motor drives controlled by space-vector modulation (SVM) technique is presented. The analysis is applied to determine the optimal modulation technique that minimizes the rms value of the current ripple. The minimization procedure is based on the analysis of the locus described by the current ripple in the /spl alpha/--/spl beta/ reference frame. As a result, a simple equation has been obtained, which allows the online calculation of the optimal SVM switching pattern. It has been verified that it is possible to obtain a current ripple lower than that of symmetric modulation, and with a reduced number of commutations. Experimental results are provided to confirm the theoretical approach.


Since 1977, the importance of internal control evaluation (ICE) has increased due to passage of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation Improvement Act, and other regulatory initiatives. Traditional audit approaches structure the description and documentation of control systems, but do not provide systematic, precise evaluation of accounting information system (AIS) reliability. Although researchers have developed quantitative evaluation methods that provide precise AIS reliability evaluations, practitioners have not adopted them because they become intractable when applied in practice. This research develops an optimal, mathematical model of an ICE task, internal control testing plan selection, that maintains tractability by solving a part of the overall ICE task and by making simplifying assumptions based on field research. The model selects an optimal control-testing plan given a description of an AIS and the auditor's desired type of assurance in an account balance. The model was validated by comparing its testing plans to both experienced auditors and a professional benchmark. The results indicate that the model's testing plans test sufficient controls to provide auditors with their desired assurance but do so by testing fewer controls than either experienced auditors or the professional benchmark.


"Intensive Care" is an affecting view from the trenches, a seasoned doctor's minute-by-minute and day-by-day account of life in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) of a major inner-city hospital, San Francisco General. John F. Murray, for many years Chief of the Pulmonary and Critical Care Division of the hospital and a Professor at the University of California, San Francisco, takes readers on his daily ward rounds, introducing them to the desperately ill patients he treats as well as to the young physicians and medical students who accompany him. Writing with compassion and knowledge accumulated over a long career, Murray presents the true stories of patients who show up with myriad disorders: asthma, cardiac failure, gastrointestinal diseases, complications due to AIDS, the effects of drug and alcohol abuse, emphysema.Readers will come away from this book with a comprehensive understanding of what an ICU is, what it does, who gets admitted, and how doctors and nurses make decisions concerning life-threatening medical problems. Intensive care for critically ill patients is a new but well-established and growing branch of medicine. Estimates suggest that 15 to 20 percent of all hospitalized patients in the United States are treated in an intensive or coronary care unit during each hospital stay, so there is a real possibility that the reader will either be admitted to an ICU himself or herself or knows someone who will be.Murray not only offers a real-time account of the diagnosis, treatment, and progress of his patients over the course of one month but also conveys a wealth of information about various diseases and medical procedures in succinct and easy-to-understand terms. In addition, he elaborates on ethical dilemmas that he confronts on an almost daily basis: the extent of patient autonomy, the denial of ICU care, the withdrawal of life support, and physician-assisted suicide. Murray concludes that ICUs are doing their job, but they could be even better, cheaper, and - most important - more humane. His chronicle brings substance to a world known to most of us only through the fiction of television.


Holton Lee's mission is "... empowering and resourcing people, particularly carers and disabled people through creativity, environmental awareness and spirituality". We are a voluntary sector charity with longstanding Christian roots committed to be inclusive, non-discriminatory and provide equal opportunity. Our "research and development" need and question was "How can Holton Lee best establish and embed an informed, authentic spirituality within its praxis?" We first had to design an appropriate research approach with which to consider the new academic fields of spirituality and spirituality at work or organisational context. Since spirituality is understood through the lens of praxis, we started our Participative Action Research in the only place we could, the "here and now" of our current practice, committed to build affirmatively on the existing vision, mission and ethos with the fifty-seven year old roots of The Then, through The Now of the research process, for the sake of The Tomorrow. As researcher/worker 1st person ethnographer I worked with five 2nd person co-researchers in the organisation. We functioned as an informed reading group with mutual shared responsibility throughout our four year non-linear, cyclical iterative lived inquiry and process in which we were committed to resolve emerging conflict. We had monthly meetings and several half day events/workshops designed to facilitate 3rd person awareness/consciousness raising and dissemination within the organisation, which enabled us, as insiders, to become more fully informed and self-critical, and to guard against projection, manipulation, biases or prejudices. We were engaged in a bottom-up process of experiential and embodied learning rather than attempting to find a party line to impose top-down theory, doing to others as objects. Completing all the stages of the Leaming, Pastoral, Hermeneutical and Action Research cycles along with the Discernment Process, and Heuristic Approach resulted in the creation of further action, empowerment, liberation and the creation of knowledge, as we integrated intervening impacts and development which informed and shaped subsequent steps and future cycles. Data was continually cycled and re-cycled as we were able to be responsive, learning on the run, with enhanced understanding. The parallel process of on-going reflection and discernment helped us as we formulated more informed plans for action. In this way our practice was changed. As a Case Study we relied on extensive literature review in order not to be isolated but rather find interconnected solutions with research and action outcomes as by-products of our process to insure informed action. Second and third person interviews and writing contributed to the writing up of our story. Fruitful dialogue between critical reflection and participative engagement enabled spirituality to be woven throughout the organisation. The adequacy or worthwhileness of our participative research project was determined by the degree to which transformation and emancipation was achieved and lived out. Thus the research process, which connected power and knowledge, did contribute to the flourishing of those involved in our community of practice with the fruit and outcome of deep, connected and embodied triple loop learning, change, transformation and empowerment at individual, group and organisational levels with shared power and voice. As result of identifying and correcting gaps between the vision/theory and practice, our organisational system changed from a hierarchical to flat structure and deeper and more sound foundations were laid as theory and practice continually informed each other with resultant generalisable and transferable grounded living theoretical underpinnings extrapolated. A Personal Growth and Spirituality Statement and Policy and Job Description were written along with the development of a Basic Model of inclusive praxis as well as a Model for Understanding and Developing Spirituality Praxis. Guidelines and principles were identified to help Holton Lee and others understand how to appropriate spirituality praxis within their own local contexts, environments and milieu with consideration for our global home/community.


There is a debate among addiction specialists about the degree to which addicts can exert control over seeking and using substances and about other behaviors related to addiction. Some think that seeking and using are solely or almost solely signs of a disease and that addicts have little choice about whether to seek and use. In contrast are those who believe that seeking and using are constrained choices but considerably less constrained on average than the first group suggests. This group is also more cautious about, but does not reject, characterizing addiction as a disorder. There is evidence to support both positions. There is a third group who believe that addiction is simply a consequence of moral weakness of will and that addicts simply need to and can pull themselves up by their bootstraps. The empirical evidence for the moralizing third view seems weak, although such attitudes play a role in explaining the limited role the criminal law accords to addiction. This chapter demonstrates that existing Anglo-American criminal law is most consistent with the choice position. It also argues that this is a defensible approach that is consistent with current science and with traditional justifications of criminal blame and punishment.
The chapter first discusses preliminary issues to avoid potential objections that the discussion adopts an unrealistic view of addiction. It then provides a general explanation of the responsibility criteria of the criminal law and briefly addresses false or distracting claims about lack of responsibility. Then it turns to analysis of the criminal law's doctrines about addiction to confirm that the criminal law primarily adopts a choice model and that addiction per se plays almost no role in responsibility ascriptions. It concludes with a general defense of present doctrine and practice, but briefly suggests beneficial liberalizing reforms.


Development of the Decision Support System (DSS) used by the National Emergency Operations Centre in Switzerland began immediately after the accident at Chernobyl. The system will evaluate acceptable countermeasures following the accidental release of radioactivity in order to reduce ingestion dose. The DSS - not designed for the very early phase following the accidental release of radioactivity - contains four different modules: threat assessment, generation of countermeasures, specification and multi-criteria decision-making at a technical and political level. The project is now in a consolidation phase and the DSS is used mainly for generating exercise scenarios and for training the decision-makers. The Swiss DSS was developed with the help of all the responsible persons and organisations in Switzerland, especially the Army Staff who support the National Emergency Operations Centre in the event of an accidental release of radioactivity. Following intensive contacts with the various user groups during the development phase, suggestions and corrections have already been included at a very early stage of the project. An additional database for use by the Army Staff has been installed so that consequences with respect to the most important countermeasures and criteria can be generated automatically. One of the National Emergency Operations Centre's most important experiences with this kind of decision support was the need to integrate the system into its standard operating procedures. Integration is important not only for professional use, but also for the maintenance (new releases) and updating of databases. Without clearly defined responsibilities, such systems quickly lose their value and important knowledge and experience gets lost. Operational integration, maintenance and updating of databases are the main tasks which have to be guaranteed if a DSS is to be ready for use and effectively to support the decision-makers in crisis situations.


Chlorine dioxide (ClO2) decay in the presence of typical metal oxides occurring in distribution systems was investigated. Metal oxides generally enhanced ClO2 decay in a second-order process via three pathways: (1) catalytic disproportionation with equimolar formation of chlorite and chlorate, (2) reaction to chlorite and oxygen, and (3) oxidation of a metal in a reduced form (e.g., cuprous oxide) to a higher oxidation state. Cupric oxide (CuO) and nickel oxide (NiO) showed significantly stronger abilities than goethite (α-FeOOH) to catalyze the ClO2 disproportionation (pathway 1), which predominated at higher initial ClO2 concentrations (56-81 μM). At lower initial ClO2 concentrations (13-31 μM), pathway 2 also contributed. The CuO-enhanced ClO2 decay is a base-assisted reaction with a third-order rate constant of 1.5 × 10(6) M(-2) s(-1) in the presence of 0.1 g L(-1) CuO at 21 ± 1 °C, which is 4-5 orders of magnitude higher than in the absence of CuO. The presence of natural organic matter (NOM) significantly enhanced the formation of chlorite and decreased the ClO2 disproportionation in the CuO-ClO2 system, probably because of a higher reactivity of CuO-activated ClO2 with NOM. Furthermore, a kinetic model was developed to simulate CuO-enhanced ClO2 decay at various pH values. Model simulations that agree well with the experimental data include a pre-equilibrium step with the rapid formation of a complex, namely, CuO-activated Cl2O4. The reaction of this complex with OH(-) is the rate-limiting and pH-dependent step for the overall reaction, producing chlorite and an intermediate that further forms chlorate and oxygen in parallel. These novel findings suggest that the possible ClO2 loss and the formation of chlorite/chlorate should be carefully considered in drinking water distribution systems containing copper pipes.


Kinda and gray-footed chacma baboons occupy opposite extremes of the body size distribution in extant baboons (genus Papio). In order to detect signatures of natural selection in these two species, we genotyped 24,790 genome-wide autosomal SNPs from populations of Zambian baboons using double digest RADseq. We scanned the genome for evidence of selection by identifying regions with extreme differentiation between populations. We find evidence of selection on body size influencing multiple genes in one or both species, including FGF1, ATXN2, and PRKCE. We also find an enriched signal of selection associated with biological processes involved in multicellular organism growth and development, cell proliferation and cell growth, nutrient metabolism, and chondrocyte differentiation. Finally, we find that selection has impacted components of the CCKR signaling pathway, which regulates food intake and metabolism, and the JAK/STAT signaling pathway, which mediates the effect of cytokine signals on processes including epiphyseal chondrocyte proliferation essential for longitudinal bone growth. Our findings highlight promising avenues for future studies disentangling the genetic architecture of body size in primates including humans.


Expansion of higher education (HE) into the further education (FE) sector has resulted in a renewed period of growth as colleges strive to create a culture and environment appropriate for HE. This article presents findings from interviews with lecturers delivering HE in FE within the University of Plymouth Partner College network and explores the perceived impact of HE expansion. Lecturers felt that expansion had a positive impact on their students, as raising the profile of HE within their colleges has encouraged internal progression. However, practitioners' own experiences have been mixed. They felt there was limited recognition or understanding of the needs of HE from many of their FE colleagues, suggesting the presence of structural, education and managerial processes that may need to be considered in light of the emerging culture of HE. In our study, the emerging HE culture within colleges appears to reflect a combination of the FE profile of the college, the non‐traditional nature of the student body, the HE processes instigated through collaboration with the university, and the emerging HE identity of lecturers.


Automated planning is a well studied research topic thanks to its wide range of real-world applications. Despite significant progress in this area many planning problems still remain hard and challenging. Some techniques such as learning macro-operators improve the planning process by reformulating the (original)
planning problem. While many encouraging practical results have been derived from such reformulation methods, little attention has been paid to the theoretical properties of reformulation such as soundness, completeness, and algorithmic complexity. In this paper we build up a theoretical framework describing reformulation schemes such as action elimination or creating macro-actions. Using this framework, we show that finding entanglements (relationships useful for action elimination) is as hard as planning itself. Moreover, we design a tractable algorithm for checking under what conditions it
is safe to reformulate a problem by removing primitive operators (assembled to a macro-operator).


This chapter examines Article 16 of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD). That disabled people experience higher rates of exploitation, violence, and abuse is an undisputed fact. Indeed, it is a significant problem globally which requires immediate redress and, on this basis, the framing of the issue as a specific human right with detailed attendant obligations is important. Article 16 calls for an awareness that measures put in place to care for or protect disabled people can be a significant cause of the harm that they experience, and that segregation and isolation from the community allow for abuses of power by those who are supposed to be caring for disabled people. Article 16 also extends state obligations beyond the narrow purview of institutions and into a wider variety of arenas, including family relationships and private homes.


Breast cancer is the most common invasive malignant condition affecting women in the United States; it is estimated to account for 32% of all cancers diagnosed in this population in 1994 [1, 2]. The most recent results from the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results program of the National Cancer Institute [1] documented a 5-year disease-specific survival rate of 80% for white women diagnosed with breast cancer between 1983 and 1989. The corresponding rate for black women was only 64%. Although improvements in the detection and treatment of breast cancer in the last 30 years have substantially increased the 5-year survival rates for both races, no evidence indicates that these advances have lessened the difference in rates. In fact, this difference may actually be increasing. To improve the survival of black women with breast cancer in the United States, the factors that contribute to the development of breast cancer and the poorer prognosis in this group must be understood. The purpose of this article is to review current knowledge about the risk factors for and the clinical manifestations and pathologic characteristics of breast cancer in black women and to use this information to identify areas in which intervention may improve survival rates. Methods The MEDLINE database (1966 to 1995) was searched to identify all English-language articles related to breast cancer in black women; the following medical subject headings were used: African American, black, negro, breast neoplasms, breast diseases, cancer screening, and mammography. In addition, the reference sections of all identified articles were reviewed for additional pertinent sources of information. In the review of the collected literature, results from large cohort and casecontrol studies were emphasized whenever such studies were available. Information from case series and case reports was used only when other data was not available. Epidemiology and Risk Factors The age-adjusted incidence of breast cancer in U.S. women has steadily increased over the past 50 years, and a particularly sharp increase was seen in the mid-1980s, partially because of increased use of mammography. During this period, white women have had a consistently higher risk for developing breast cancer, with an age-adjusted incidence in 1990 of 112.7 new cases per 100 000 women. The age-adjusted incidence for black women in 1990 was 95.8 new cases per 100 000 women [1]. Closer examination of incidence statistics shows that the 20% higher incidence rate in white women is not uniform among all age groups but has followed a crossover pattern in which the risk for breast cancer in young women is slightly but consistently greater in the black population and the risk of developing breast cancer in the middle-aged and elderly populations is substantially higher among white women (Figure 1). As the incidence of breast cancer in young black women has increased faster than the incidence in young white women, the age at which the crossover in incidence occurs has gradually increased over the past 20 years and is now between 45 and 49 years of age. By reviewing the acknowledged risk factors for the development of breast cancer, investigators have proposed several hypotheses to explain the racial variation in breast cancer incidence. Figure 1. Age-specific breast cancer incidence rates, 1986-1990. Large epidemiologic studies of the U.S. population have identified various potential risk factors for breast cancer. The factors most consistently found to alter the risk for breast cancer development include various fertility and reproductive measurements, family history of cancer, presence or absence of certain benign breast diseases, and several socioeconomic indicators. Three reports [3-5] have been published that examined risk factors for the development of breast cancer in black women (Table 1). These casecontrol studies have evaluated 1) factors that are known to contribute to the development of breast cancer in the general population and 2) various other conditions hypothesized to contribute to the differences in incidence rates seen between various population groups. Overall, risk factors for breast cancer in black women appear to be similar to those in the general population: early age at menarche, late age at menopause, nulliparity, late age at first full-term pregnancy, history of breast cancer in first-degree relatives, and a history of benign breast disease. In addition, the possibility that prolonged (> 10 years) use of oral contraceptives may adversely affect breast cancer risk in black women was raised by one large population-based study [5]. Higher level of education, higher socioeconomic status, and higher body mass indexcharacteristics often identified as associated with elevated risk for breast cancerhave not been as consistently documented to alter risk in black women [6-8]. Table 1. Odds Ratios of Breast Cancer Development in Black Women* These well-established risk factors have been examined for their possible contribution to the differences in rates of breast cancer incidence seen between black and white women. Early age at menarche, late age at menopause, late age at first full-term pregnancy, and nulliparity all appear to contribute to a higher risk for breast cancer [9]. The median age at menarche is slightly lower in black than in white girls: 12.5 years compared with 12.8 years [10]. Black women also have an earlier median age of natural menopause, 49.3 years compared with 50.0 years in white women, and are more likely than white women to have had surgical menopause [11]. Finally, the age at first full-term pregnancy is consistently about 2 years less in black women [12]. Although these differences in reproductive values seem small, it has been estimated that they can alter the risk for breast cancer enough to be clinically evident in large populations [13]. It is also interesting to note that the combination of reproductive factors seen in black women results in an expected risk pattern for breast cancer development similar to that documented in the actual incidence data. Early menarche increases the risk for cancer throughout a woman's life; early pregnancy results in a transient (10- to 15-year) increase in the risk for breast cancer, followed by a significant reduction in breast cancer risk [14]; and early menopause contributes to a decreased risk for breast cancer in older women. These factors contribute to higher than expected rates in young women and substantially lower rates after menopause. The use of oral contraceptives, particularly at a young age and for prolonged periods of time, is a less firmly established reproductive factor affecting the risk for breast cancer [15, 16]. Some studies have also suggested that use before the first pregnancy is a risk factor for breast cancer development. Many characteristics of oral contraceptive use in black women are similar to those seen in white women. Approximately 80% of women of childbearing age in either race have used oral contraceptives at some time in their reproductive life [17]. The average duration of use is similar in black and white women (5 years), and the proportion of long-term ( 10 years) users is also similar (15% to 20%). The only notable differences in usage patterns are a consistently earlier age at the start of oral contraceptive use by black women and a lower incidence of use before the first pregnancy by black women [17]. These two characteristics would have potentially opposite effects on the development of breast cancer. Currently, the actual influence of oral contraceptive use on the risk for breast cancer in black women compared with white women awaits further epidemiologic studies that more clearly define the importance of specific usage patterns on cancer risk. Hormone replacement therapy has also been associated with an increased risk for the development of breast cancer, especially in long-term users [18-20]. Demographic data on the patterns of use of postmenopausal hormone replacement therapy are not available, making it impossible to comment on racial differences in hormone use and their possible contribution to breast cancer risk. History of breast cancer in a first-degree relative increases a woman's risk for breast cancer 1.5- to 3.0- fold. This excess risk has been determined by studying groups of predominantly white women. Two casecontrol studies [21, 22] that analyzed black women with breast cancer (identified through the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results program of the National Cancer Institute) found an approximately twofold increase in the risk for breast cancer in black women who had a first-degree relative with breast cancer. This finding was consistent with what would be predicted in a similar group of white women. No further studies have been reported, and no racial or demographic information is yet available on the prevalence of germline mutations in the recently discovered genes associated with familial breast cancer (BRCA1 and p53) in black women [23, 24], although one black family with a high prevalence of breast cancer has been associated through linkage analysis with a probable mutation of the BRCA1 gene [25]. Finally, the presence of certain benign breast lesions has also been associated with an increased risk for the development of breast cancer in the general population. Specifically, proliferative disease without atypia is generally associated with a relative risk of 1.5 to 1.9 compared with the risk of control populations, and proliferative disease with atypical hyperplasia is associated with a relative risk of 2.5 to 4.5 [26, 27]. Unfortunately, little is known about the pattern of benign breast disease in black women. Fibroadenomas are diagnosed more frequently in black women and at an earlier age (15 to 30 years of age); the frequency of proliferative and nonproliferative benign breast disease in black women is unknown [28-31]. Early Detection Th


The paper presents a simple, original method, using supervised learning and pattern matching, for frontal-view face detection. The raw method and algorithms, their refinements and optimizations, the experimental system, and the obtained results are described incrementally. A pyramid of several simplified representations for faces, with gradual complexity and dimensionality from coarser to more detailed ones, has been defined. These representations were used as a basis for structuring and organizing the knowledge base as a kind of hash tree, as well as to optimize the developed algorithms and their processing time, by applying a sequence of filters with gradual computational complexity in cascade at detection. Appropriate metrics have been defined and used to evaluate the similarity between two finite sets of binary values, of the same dimension, with a minimum of computational effort in these filters. Various thresholds of passage were empirically chosen and adjusted. An experimental system was developed and used for learning and detection tests. Public image databases and private images have been employed, and quite promising results have been obtained. Finally, comparative parallels with some reference methods are discussed.


The present thesis investigated Swedish nouns differing in concreteness, specificity and emotional content using linguistic, psycholinguistic and neurolinguistic methods. The focus of Paper I was a semantic analysis of discourse produced by a person with a lesion in visual (left occipital) cortex. The results showed that the lesion site was related to with problems processing concrete nouns related to visual semantic features, as well as nouns with high semantic specificity. Paper II compared Swedish ratings of the cognitive psychological parameters imageability, age of acquisition and familiarity to English ratings, showing correlations indicating that ratings can be transferred between the two languages. Suggestions for constructing a Swedish psycholinguistic database were also outlined. In Paper III, four noun categories differing in specificity and emotional arousal (SPECIFIC, GENERAL, EMOTIONAL, ABSTRACT) were compared using a dichotic listening paradigm and a concrete/abstract categorisation task. EMOTIONAL nouns were shown to be processed faster than the other noun categories when presented in the left ear, possibly indicating more right hemisphere involvement. In Paper IV, PSEUDOWORDS as well as SPECIFIC, GENERAL, EMOTIONAL and ABSTRACT nouns were compared during lexical decision and imageability rating tasks using electroencephalography (EEG), targeting the event-related potentials (ERPs) N400 and N700, previously shown to be modulated by concreteness. On the assumption that abstract nouns have a larger number of lexical associates than more concrete nouns, N400 amplitudes were predicted to be smaller for abstract nouns than for concrete nouns. This prediction was supported by the results. Notably, even SPECIFIC and GENERAL nouns were observed to elicit different N400 amplitudes, in accordance with their hierarchical relationship in lexical semantic models. Bringing together theories and methods from linguistics, cognitive psychology and neuroscience, the present interdisciplinary thesis provides insights into word semantics as regards differences related to the cognitive dimension of concreteness and its relation to sensory and emotional meaning features.


Among the many fine examples of film scores by Erich Wolfgang Korngold (1897-1957), the score for The Adventures of Robin Hood (1938) stands out the most. Winner of the Academy Award™ for best dramatic score in 1938, it is seen by many as the archetypal accompaniment to a Warner Brothers swashbuckler, and it established Korngold as one of the leading exponents of film score composition at a formative point in its history.

In Erich Wolfgang Korngold's The Adventures of Robin Hood: A Film Score Guide, author Ben Winters uses manuscript and archival research to challenge preconceived notions about the score's composer and its authorship. In the first two chapters, Winters examines Korngold's career on its own and in relation to the film, including his background in composing concert music and opera, his film scoring techniques, and his engagement with the Hollywood studio system. Chapter three focuses on the Robin Hood film while placing Korngold's music in a larger framework. It examines the film's treatment of the Robin Hood legend, its historical and critical contexts, and its place within the swashbuckler genre and the studio's anti-fascist agenda. While looking closely at the composer's work on this score, chapter four shows sources Korngold used, the music's production process, and the changes the score had undergone. The book concludes with a thematic analysis and reading of the score, identifying the various musical 'voices' that the listener weaves together as he or she experiences the film. This detailed consideration of Korngold's masterpiece will be continually turned to by film and music scholars alike.


This article presents an initial snapshot, based on an online survey of weblog authors, of bloggers' subjective sense of privacy, and of their perceptions of liability. The findings suggest that the social norms of bloggers are emergent and self-imposed. When confronted with questions of defamation and legal liability, respondents in the survey expressed contradictions between their actions and their knowledge of how the technology works. They generally believed that they were liable for what they published online, although they were not concerned about the persistence of their entries. In general, bloggers do not feel as if they know their audiences. For the most part, blog authors have no control over who accesses their entries, and this inability to define their audiences leads them to make a number of assumptions about who their readers are.


This paper presents a research methodology used to develop a novel framework for an investigation into how project managers acquire and exchange knowledge. The qualitative study was conducted with six experienced project managers based in Australia. Adopting and augmenting an action research methodology, the data were analyzed using grounded theory techniques. Data collection occurred through four sequential interventions that aligned to three action research cycles. Three additional spin-off cycles were utilized to ensure quality and validity of the research approach with an external reference group. The implications of this research approach are presented for application in future research.


Improvement of the power conversion efficiency and long term stability remains to be of crucial importance for the further development of polymer solar cells (PSCs). Herein, a donor–acceptor copolymer based on 4,8-di(thiophene-2′-yl)benzo[1,2-b:4,5-b′]dithiophene (DTBDT) and 4,7-di(thiophene-2′-yl)benzo[c][1,2,5]thiadiazole (DTBT), specifically selected because of its suitability for roll-coating in the ambient environment, is investigated in terms of operational stability via partial exchange (5 or 10%) of the alkyl side chain on either the donor or the acceptor monomer with a 2-hydroxyethyl or 2-phenylethyl group. It is shown that the exchange of the hexyl chain on the DTBT moiety has a negative impact on the stability of the polymer as well as on the performance of the resulting PSCs. On the other hand, partial exchange of the 2-hexyldecyl side chain of the BDT unit by a 2-hydroxyethyl group results in an improved photochemical stability of the polymer film and a higher efficiency of 5.6% for the spin-coated PSC. The stability of roll-coated devices also slightly increases with the incorporation of 10% of either the 2-hydroxyethyl or 2-phenylethyl side chain.


Background In 2002, the Chinese government launched a new rural health financing policy to provide health insurance (New Cooperative Medical Scheme, NCMS) for its rural population. NCMS, jointly financed by governments and individual households, aims to protect households from impoverishment due to catastrophic health expenditure. In 2011, NCMS covered more than 96% of the rural population. We have systematically searched and reviewed available evidence to estimate the effects of NCMS on health outcomes and on alleviating catastrophic health expenditure. Methods PubMed, Web of Science with Conference Proceedings, ProQuest Digital Dissertations, CMCI, CNKI, and VIP were searched. We also obtained literature from colleague communications. Quasi-experimental studies regarding the effect of NCMS on health outcomes and catastrophic health expenditure were included. Two independent reviewers screened the literature, extracted the data, and assessed the study quality. Results Fifteen studies out of the 6123 studies in the literature fulfilled criteria and were included in this review. Twelve studies identified the relationship between NCMS and health outcomes, among which six studies measured sickness or injury in the past four weeks, four measured sickness or injury in the past two weeks, and five measured self-reported health status. Four studies focused on the relationship between NCMS and alleviating catastrophic health expenditure. However, the results from these studies were in conflict: individual studies indicated that NCMS had positive, negative, or no effect on health outcomes and/or the incidence of catastrophic health payments, respectively. Conclusions We still have no clear evidence that NCMS improves the health outcomes and decreases the alleviating catastrophic health expenditure of the China's rural population. In addition, the heterogeneity among individual studies reminds us that provider payment method reforms, benefit package and information systems around NCMS should be improved in the future.


Human beings love to fictionalize evil - to terrorize each other with stories of defilement, horror, excruciating pain, and divine retribution. Beneath the surface of bewitchment and half-sick amusement, however, lies the realization that evil is real and that people must find a way to face and overcome it. What we require, Carl Jung suggested, is a morality of evil - a carefully thought out plan by which to manage the evil in ourselves, in others, and in whatever deities we posit. This book is not written from a Jungian perspective, but it is nonetheless an attempt to describe a morality of evil. One suspects that descriptions of evil and the so - called problem of evil have been thoroughly suffused with male interests and conditioned by masculine experience. This result could hardly have been avoided in a sexist culture, and recognizing the truth of such a claim does not commit us to condemn every male philosopher and theologian who has written on the problem. It suggests, rather, that we may get a clearer view of evil if we take a different standpoint. The standpoint I take here will be that of women; that is, I will attempt to describe evil from the perspective of women's experience.


The purpose of this study was to explore and analyze the common traits and operational methods of Nonprofits in regions located outside of Armenia's capital, Yerevan. A comprehensive organizational analysis using The Six Practices Framework by Crutchfield and Grant (2012), along with additional frameworks and theories were utilized to assess Kapan Women's Resource Center Nonprofit Organization (KWRC NGO). From the analysis, a strategic plan was developed as well as the projected impact implementation of the plan would have on KWRC NGO, their partners, and their community. Nine other organizations were surveyed to gain a better understanding of prevailing operations and obstacles NGOs in the regions face. NGOs in the regions are often isolated and lack any form of sustainability due to scare resources and lower populations. A polarization exists amongst NGOs that deters collaboration and leads to the duplication of efforts. This inductive study uses a holistic approach to connect the Six Practices Framework to methods employed by the 10 NGOs in this study to see if it is a realistic framework that Armenian NGOs could utilize. The qualitative research methods utilized in this study are, one-on-one interviewing, visual analysis, and field research. The data analysis revealed numerous internal and external challenges as well as tactics used to address those challenges. The findings suggest inconsistencies between the self-reporting of the organization and the data collected. Recommendations for stronger NGOs in Armenia include, real collaborations, specific/well defined mission statements, community-based initiatives, and implementing Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic, and Timely (SMART) organizational goals. ARMENIA'S SOCIAL SECTOR 6


The paper examines some philosophical aspects of translation as a metaphor for education—a metaphor that avoids the closure of final definitions, in favour of an ongoing and tentative process of interpretation and revision. Translation, it is argued, is a complex process involving language, within and among cultures, and in the exercise of power. Drawing on Foucault's analysis of power, Nietzschean contingency, and the inversion of meaning that characterises the work of Heidegger and Derrida, the paper points towards Ricoeur's notion of linguistic hospitality as the ethical dimension to the inevitably inadequate representation of the 'other'. In this exploration, translation is posited as a creative and interpretive act—involving neither image nor copy, but poetic transposition. The power of language emerges in the close association between power and knowledge, in which the ability to define what is real generates the realm of future possibilities. From a Foucauldian perspective, language functions as a creative strategic relation—a form of power that structures the field of other possible actions. It is through the mediation of translation, the paper argues, that language communicates, leaving us with a world of difference (i.e. 'lost in translation'), as both our curse and our blessing as part of the human condition and as part of our ethical endeavour as educators. The contingent and arbitrary nature of language problematises what appears natural and necessary, generating the possibility of creative dialogue.


Background: Many antipsychotics elevate prolactin, a hormone implicated in breast cancer aetiology however no studies have investigated antipsychotic use in patients with breast cancer. This study investigated if antipsychotic use is associated with an increased risk of cancer-specific mortality among breast cancer patients. Methods: A cohort of 23,695 women newly diagnosed with a primary breast cancer between 1st January 1998 and 31st December 2012 was identified from the UK Clinical Practice Research Datalink linked to English cancer-registries and followed for until 30th September 2015. Time-dependent Cox proportional hazards models were used to calculate adjusted hazard ratios (HRs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) of breast cancer-specific mortality comparing use of antipsychotics with non-use, overall, and by prolactin elevating activitiy. Analyses were repeated restricting to patients with a history of severe mental illness to control for potential confounding by indication. Results: In total 848 patients were prescribed an antipsychotic and of which 162 died due to their breast cancer. Compared with non-use, antipsychotic use was associated with an increased risk of breast-cancer specific mortality (HR 2.25, 95%CI 1.90 – 2.67), but this did not follow a dose response relation. Restricting the cohort to patients with severe mental illness attenuated the association between antipsychotic use and breast cancer-specific mortality (HR 1.11, 95%CI 0.58 – 2.14). Conclusions: In this population-based cohort of breast cancer patients, while the use of antipsychotics was associated with increased breast cancer-specific mortality, there was a lack of a dose response, and importantly null associations were observed in patients with severe mental illness, suggesting the observed association is likely a result of confounding by indication. This study provides an exemplar of confounding by indication, highlighting the importance of consideration of this important bias in studies of drug effects in cancer patients.


\I Airfield Safety and Capacity Improvements: Case Studies on Successful Projects\N presents six case studies focused on the planning, engineering, and management of major construction projects at active airports. The construction or reconstruction of runways, aprons, ramps, or terminals while an airport is open for regular operations poses complex challenges, such as access to and from airport operating areas, logistics, staging, short-term lighting and signage, airline-airport communications, and staging and planning for short-term closures of taxiways and taxi lanes. Each case study describes the requirements, objectives, challenges, methodologies, and lessons learned from a recent project, offering unique insights into how complex projects can be managed successfully.


We study online aggregation of the predictions of experts, and first show new second-order regret bounds in the standard setting, which are obtained via a version of the Prod algorithm (and also a version of the polynomially weighted average algorithm) with multiple learning rates. These bounds are in terms of excess losses, the differences between the instantaneous losses suffered by the algorithm and the ones of a given expert. We then demonstrate the interest of these bounds in the context of experts that report their confidences as a number in the interval [0; 1] using a generic reduction to the standard setting. We conclude by two other applications in the standard setting, which improve the known bounds in case of small excess losses and show a bounded regret against i.i.d. sequences of losses.


The paper describes a new technique for extracting clock level finite state machines (FSMs) from transistor netlists using symbolic simulation. The transistor netlist is preprocessed to produce a gate level representation of the netlist. Given specifications of the circuit clocking and input and output timing, simulation patterns are derived for a symbolic simulator. The result of the symbolic simulation and extraction process is the next state and output function of the equivalent FSM, represented as Ordered Binary Decision Diagrams. Compared to previous techniques, our extraction process yields an order of magnitude improvement in both space and time, is fully automated and can handle static storage structures and time multiplexed inputs and outputs.


The MATLAB model is contained within the compressed folders (versions are available as .zip and .tgz). This model uses MERRA reanalysis data (>34 years available) to estimate the hourly aggregated wind power generation for a predefined (fixed) distribution of wind farms.

A ready made example is included for the wind farm distribution of Great Britain, April 2014 ("CF.dat"). This consists of an hourly time series of GB-total capacity factor spanning the period 1980-2013 inclusive.

Given the global nature of reanalysis data, the model can be applied to any specified distribution of wind farms in any region of the world.

Users are, however, strongly advised to bear in mind the limitations of reanalysis data when using this model/data. This is discussed in our paper:

Cannon, Brayshaw, Methven, Coker, Lenaghan. "Using reanalysis data to quantify extreme wind power generation statistics: a 33 year case study in Great Britain". Submitted to Renewable Energy in March, 2014.

Additional information about the model is contained in the model code itself, in the accompanying ReadMe file, and on our website:

http://www.met.reading.ac.uk/~energymet/data/Cannon2014/


Frequent changes in network topology and confined battery capacity of the mobile devices are the main challenges for routing in ad-hoc networks. In this paper, we propose a novel, Signal strength and Energy Aware routing protocol (SEA-DSR), which directly incorporates signal strength and residual battery capacity of nodes into route selection through cross layer approach. This model defines a metric called Reliability Factor for route selection among the feasible routes. It is simulated using ns2, under different mobility conditions. The simulation results shows better performance in terms of packet delivery ratio, control overhead and average end-end delay. The proposed model has extended the time to network partition and reduce the path breakages when compared with similar routing protocols DSR and SSA.


A number of benefits have been associated with discussing controversial topics in the classroom. In this article, the author provides an example of using classroom debates on controversial issues in sport as a learning method in an introductory sport management class. Students were assigned to a side of a topic on which they did not agree. This required them to critically think about their stance and seek information to understand why others might feel the way they do. After the debate, students completed a debate reaction paper in which they outlined their opinions not only about the topic but also about the process.


Seven genera of stegosaurian dinosaur have been named on the basis of material from the Upper Jurassic of China, and this represents a diversity of stegosaurs unparalleled around the world at this time. However, many of the original specimens used to diagnose and describe these species are currently unavailable, and the original descriptions and figures are often inadequate. The Chinese stegosaurs have proven 'unstable' in the few cladistic analyses of Stegosauria that have been carried out, causing a loss of resolution in cladograms. Supplementary data on previously described specimens are presented here along with a taxonomic revision. Only Tuojiangosaurus multispinus, Chungkingosaurus jiangbeiensis and Gigantspinosaurus sichuanensis are considered to be valid taxa, with autapomorphies pertaining to features of the ilio-sacral blocks and dermal armour in all cases. The holotype specimen of 'Chialingosaurus kuani' is a juvenile, bearing no diagnostic characters, and 'Monkonosaurus lawulacus' is based on fragmentary and undiagnostic material. 'Changtusaurus' and 'Yingshanosaurus' have never been described or figured and their whereabouts are unknown, so they are regarded as nomina nuda. This taxonomic revision significantly reduces known stegosaurian diversity worldwide, and shows that the Chinese diversity was similar to that of Europe and North America in the Upper Jurassic. Previously, it had been suggested that the diversity of Chinese stegosaurs indicated an Asian origin for the clade, a claim that cannot now be upheld.


Abstract In this research we studied the correlation between the level of students' online participation and their overall performances. We examined in this study, the participation level in different learning activities assigned to two large cohorts of learners, and compared them with their final grades at the end of the year. We defined the quality of their participation in the online course as being classified into the level of learning activities in which they participated. Learning activities were grouped into four levels which were identified namely at the knowledge, understanding, critical thinking skills and practical competencies. The findings revealed that participation in higher-order online learning activities, that is the higher ability to show critical skills and practical competencies, resulted in better grades of the learners in the module. However, the results also highlighted that overall students had a tendency to score more marks in the knowledge category as the activities required lower order cognitive skills. It was further observed that low performers demonstrated a tendency to obtain lower marks in all the four grouping levels and vice-versa for high performers. Two key elements can be concluded from the findings. The first aspect is about instructional design of such online courses where there is a need for the inclusion of learning activities targeted at the development of different types of skills, and second is the distribution and weighting given to these categories. The recommendation is that for first year students, a greater weighting of marks toward knowledge level activities will generally encourage good performances, and this could be gradually reviewed when they move on to level 2 onwards in their studies.


The aim of the present study was to evaluate the antimicrobial and antioxidant activity of crude extract or secondary metabolites of Endophytic actinomycetes species isolated from two mangrove plants collected from Cortalim, Goa, India. The plant parts were surface sterilized and plated on Oat meal agar supplemented with 10% sea water and actinomycetes isolates were obtained. Antimicrobial activity was studied by cross streak method and agar diffusion method by using six bacteria and four fungi. The potent isolates were subjected for Fermentation and the extracellular metabolites were extracted by using the ethyl acetate solvent and were subjected for antimicrobial screening. Isolate RO 7, RO 11 showed more inhibition against all the tested bacteria and Isolate RO 9 showed both antibacterial and antifungal activity. Antioxidant activity was done by DPPH radical scavenging assay. The results showed dose dependant antioxidant activity. The ethyl acetate extract RO 7 showed 94.11% inhibition at 100μg/ml followed by RO 11 and RO 9 showing 64.70% and 61.17% inhibition at 100μg/ml and the inhibition was compared with standard antioxidant ascorbic acid which showed 100% inhibition at 100μg/ml. The finding of the present study shows that endophytic actinomycetes could be potential natural source of antioxidants and antibiotics.


Natal dispersal (movement from the site of birth to the site of reproduction) is a pervasive but highly varied characteristic of life forms. Thus, understanding it in any species informs many aspects of biology, but studying it in most species is difficult. In the grey wolf Canis lupus, natal dispersal has been well studied. Maturing members of both sexes generally leave their natal packs, pair with opposite‐sex dispersers from other packs, near or far, select a territory, and produce their own offspring. However, three movement patterns of some natal‐dispersing wolves remain unexplained: 1) long‐distance dispersal when potential mates seem nearby, 2) round‐trip travels from their natal packs for varying periods and distances, also called extraterritorial movements, and often not resulting in pairing, and 3) coincidental dispersal by individual wolves from a given area in the same basic directions and over the same long distances. This perspective article documents and discusses these unexplained dispersal patterns, suggests possible explanations, and calls for additional research to understand them more clearly.


OBJECTIVE
To test the psychometric properties of an instrument for measuring psychological variables and adherence to treatment behaviors in persons with HIV infection or AIDS.

METHODS
A cross-sectional study was performed with 68 subjects who were seropositive for the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) and who were being treated in a health facility in the city of Hermosillo (Sonora), Mexico, at the time the study was carried out. Five consecutive statistical testing procedures were applied for data analysis: the Student t test for comparison of means, for assessing the comprehensibility of the questions; an exploratory factorial analysis with varimax rotation for determining construct validity; Cronbach's alpha coefficient for determining reliability; Pearson's correlation coefficient (r) for assessing concurrent validity; and multiple linear regression for determining predictive value.

RESULTS
In 25 out of a total of 30 questions, the Student t test for comparison of means gave statistical significance values of P < or = 0.05, P < or = 0.005, P < or = 0.01, and P < or = 0.001. A four-factor structure was found with the factorial analysis with varimax rotation: (1) current adherence behavior and treatment; (2) underlying reasons for adherence or lack of adherence; (3) psychological well-being and social competencies; (4) past adherence behavior with values above 1 that, taken as a whole, explain 65.50% of the variance. An overall alpha coefficient of 0.852 was obtained with the test for reliability. The test for concurrent validity showed correlations between factors 1 and 2 (r = 0.615; P < or = 0.01), between factor 2 and factors 3 and 4 (r = -0.178; P < 0.05 and r = 0.265; P < 0,05, respectively), and between factor 3 and duration of infection in months (r = 0.265; P < 0.05). Finally, multiple linear regression showed that psychological factors 2 and 4, which together explain 48.6% of the variance, predicted current adherence behavior (adjusted determination coefficient [R2] = 0.486).

CONCLUSION
According to the results obtained, the instrument has optimal reliability as well as construct validity, concurrent validity, and predictive validity.


The researchers want to learn how people in eastern North Carolina receive and use information regarding hurricanes. The researchers conducted face-to-face interviews with residents businesses and local government officials in six eastern counties; phone surveys were used in the 20 CAMA counties. They found that residents in coastal counties were more likely to have evacuated in the past than residents of other CAMA counties. All residents seek information to know how to respond to emergencies. Almost half of people never have evacuated during a hurricane but they do seek information on how to prepare and make that decision. Current research shows that more people are likely have a disaster plan and know the location of a nearby emergency shelter than in past studies. Coastal residents are more likely than others to know if their homes are covered by evacuation orders and 61% of residents said they were more likely to evacuate if an evacuation order was issued. Residents get most of their information from television but social networks and the Internet are becoming more important. Coastal residents rate the quality of information high for television and low for newspapers and social networks. In interviews and focus groups the researchers heard skepticism about television in terms of sensationalizing a storm. Future work will identify opportunities for using technologies already in residents' hands such as cell phones and the Internet. They also are looking at watch and warning text messages but they need to confront the problem that people don't understand the difference between a watch and a warning and they don't understand the cone of uncertainty in hurricane forecasting.


Victims of sexual assault are often advised to have a medical forensic exam and sexual assault kit (SAK; also termed a "rape kit") to preserve physical evidence (e.g., semen, blood, and/or saliva samples) to aid in the investigation and prosecution of the crime. Law enforcement are tasked with submitting the rape kit to a forensic laboratory for DNA (deoxyribonucleic acid) analysis, which can be instrumental in identifying offenders in previously unsolved crimes, confirming identify in known-offender assaults, discovering serial rapists, and exonerating individuals wrongly accused. However, a growing number of media stories, investigative advocacy projects, and social science studies indicate that police are not routinely submitting SAKs for forensic testing, and instead rape kits are placed in evidence storage, sometimes for decades. This review article examines the growing national problem of untested rape kits by summarizing current research on the number of untested SAKs in the United States and exploring the underlying reasons why police do not submit this evidence for DNA testing. Recommendations for future research that can guide policy and practice are discussed.