Introduction: Chest trauma is the leading cause of morbidity and mortality. The most common cause of chest trauma is road traffic accident (RTA). The combination of chest trauma and other system injuries increases mortality. It is important for patients to be properly assessed after trauma because of the danger posed by trauma to the organs. Aim: The study aims to evaluate the pattern of findings in chest trauma in the Awka state of Nigeria. Method: This is a retrospective study among patients with chest trauma from May 2012 to March 2017, in Awka. Results: The key findings of the study show that 181 patients were included in the study, 68% were males and 32% were females. The male: female ratio was 2:1. The mean age of patients was 34.7 years. The age range of patients was between 3-79 years. The greatest cause of chest trauma was RTA (77.3%) and the least was gunshot (0.6%). Most of the patients involved in the study were found to be normal (60.36%). The most common traumatic finding was a fracture, with rib fracture being the commonest. Conclusion: The main finding that the youths are mostly involved in chest trauma and that majority of them are also males agrees with the studies done in other places. These youths form the economic backbone of the society and calls for stern preventive measures against chest trauma. A plain chest radiograph was also discriminatory enough to help in planning the treatment and further investigations.


This thesis explores the relationship between social capital and conflict in two different contexts, by answering the following two questions:
How does exposure to violence affect social capital in urban Maharashtra, India?
How does returning home affect social capital amongst internally displaced persons and returnees from Nahr el Bared camp in North Lebanon?
This thesis then goes on to look at the labour market implications of returning home to Nahr el Bared camp, exploring the role of social capital (amongst other mechanisms) in this relationship. The following paragraphs are abstracts from the three empirical chapters that address these questions.
The first empirical chapter explores the relationship between exposure to riots and social capital in urban Maharashtra. We exploit a panel dataset collected by the authors and apply a random effects model with lagged covariates to estimate an exogenous relationship between neighbourhood exposure to riots and four forms of social capital: membership in a group or organisation, trust in neighbours, participation in community discussions and participation in community festival preparations. Consistent with Bellows and Miguel's study of conflict and social capital (2009), we find that households living in neighbourhoods that experienced a riot are more likely to be members of groups and organisations. On the other hand, we find that these households are less likely to join community discussions, which lends more to the hypothesis of fragmented post-conflict societies with a damaged social fabric (Colletta and Cullen, 2000). We explore various mechanisms behind these results and find that the increased membership in organisations is greatest in diverse neighbourhoods that have not experienced recent changes in composition. However, riots reduce trust and the likelihood of participation in fragmented and polarised riot-affected neighbourhoods. Riots also decrease participation in festival preparations in neighbourhoods where out-migration has been low. Our analysis suggests that individuals and households instrumentally use social capital to their advantage, a type of insurance to protect against potential communal violence in the future. However, riots can have adverse affects on different forms of social capital that go beyond the surface level of social networking to feelings of trust and sense of community.

The second empirical chapter studies the effect of returning home after conflict induced displacement on social capital, compared to remaining displaced. I have collected a household survey of displaced Palestinians from a refugee camp in Lebanon, and this chapter assesses the impact of return on the different dimensions of social capital based on a diverse and rich set of questions. An instrumental variable is used to model the return decision in one part of the camp, and the exogenous nature of return is exploited in another section of the camp. Results show that return can improve social capital if households return within one year of the war ending and with their friends and family. If households have been displaced for too long, then social capital is decreased upon returning home. This indicates that social capital is not simply carried over from displacement to return, but is rebuilt in a process that takes time and effort.

The third and final empirical chapter studies the effect of returning home on labour market outcomes. Theoretically the effect of return is ambiguous, depending on changes in both the demand and supply of labour. I empirically study the effect of return on four labour market outcomes: participation in the labour force, working, wages and number of days worked. I analyse a dataset of individuals originally from Nahr el-Bared camp in North Lebanon, displaced within Lebanon after a war in 2007 between the Lebanese army and Fatah al-Islam. I use an instrumental variable and exploit the exogenous nature of the return process in order to estimate a causal effect of return. The results show that return increases the likelihood of working by 117 percentage points. This effect is greatest for those who have returned within two years, reaping the benefits of greater aggregate demand as the market increases. Women returnees are more likely to be working compared to the displaced, but there is no difference in employment between men who have been displaced and those who have returned. This could be because women possess skills that are adaptable in labour markets, working in cottage type industries from home, as opposed to the more specialised skills that men tend to possess.


Traditional techniques of signal processing in both the time domain and frequency domain are often not sufficient enough to characterize the complex dynamics of underwater sources that generated, radiate, and/or reflect sonar signals. The purpose of this paper is to analyze simulated signals by means of a nonlinear technique (based on mutual information), which is a completely new method that represents a revolutionary advance. Mutual information is a measure of the amount of information that one random variable contains about another random variable. It is also a reduction of uncertainty of one random variable, which is due to the knowledge of the other. Here the results of simulated sonar signal processing are presented based on mutual information and which is then compared to the traditional correlation technique. The results indicate that the mutual information is a more powerful tool compared to the correlation technique, and the results based on mutual information provide clues leading to source ide...


We analyzed the effect of ambient levels of visible and ultraviolet radiation (UVR) on picophytoplankton cell death by exposing natural communities of picophytoplankton (Prochlorococcus, Synechococcus, and picoeukaryotic cells) from the Atlantic Ocean to different levels of natural solar radiation, from that received just below the surface to 23% lower levels and dark conditions. Underwater oceanic levels of UVR and visible light can induce significant cell death in picophytoplankton communities. The decay rates of living cells induced by solar radiation was highest for Prochlorococcus sp., which showed an average decay rate of ‐0.24 ± 0.053 h−1 (mean ± SE) in the experiments, whereas Synechococcus sp. showed the lowest decay rate of ‐0.021 ± 0.008 h−1 (mean ± SE) in treatments ranging from the full incident irradiance to 23% of the irradiance incident below the ocean surface. Decay rates decreased significantly upon removal of UVR, demonstrating a major effect of UVR on cell death, although ambient levels of visible light alone still induced cell death in Prochlorococcus and picoeukaryotic populations, but not in Synechococcus sp. The high cell death of Prochlorococcus induced by total solar radiation resulted in short halflife values for this genus, ranging between 1.5 and 13.4 h across treatments. The half‐life times for Synechococcus sp. and eukaryotic picoplankton cells exposed to UVR were longer, varying from 8.8 to 14.7 h and from 2.1 to 31.7 h, respectively. The UVR doses required to reduce the picophytoplankton populations by 50% (LRD50) differed among the three groups, with considerably lower doses required for Prochlorococcus sp. Prochlorococcus sp. is highly sensitive to solar radiation, contrasting with the higher tolerance of Synechococcus sp. High, but taxonspecific, phytoplankton mortality induced by ambient UVR levels may act as a primary driver of the community structure of autotrophs and affect the dynamics of the microbial food web in clear, oligotrophic, oceanic waters.


The enzyme carbonic anhydrase mediates the taste sensation of carbonated drinks. The next time you enjoy a carbonated beverage, you can do so with an enhanced understanding of the molecular mechanism that provides its distinctive flavor sensation. Chandrashekar et al. genetically ablated specific sets of taste cells in mice and found that the sensation of CO2 was lost in animals lacking taste cells that sense sour flavors. A screen for genes specifically expressed in these cells revealed the gene encoding carbonic anhydrase 4, which catalyzes hydration of CO2 to form bicarbonate and free protons. Knockout animals not expressing the carbonic anhydrase 4 gene also showed diminished sensation of CO2. The protons produced by the enzyme appear to be the actual molecules sensed by the sour-sensitive cells. This process, combined with tactile sensations, appears to be the source of the popular fizzy sensation. J. Chandrashekar, D. Yarmolinsky, L. von Buchholtz, Y. Oka, W. Sly, N. J. P. Ryba, C. S. Zuker, The taste of carbonation. Science 326, 443–445 (2009). [Abstract] [Full Text]


© Tag Clustering with Self Organizing Maps Marco Luca Sbodio, Edwin Simpson HP Laboratories HPL-2009-338 SOM, clustering, machine learning, folksonomy, tagging, web 2.0 Today, user-generated tags are a common way of navigating and organizing collections of resources. However, their value is limited by a lack of explicit semantics and differing use of tags between users. Clustering techniques that find groups of related tags could help to address these problems. In this paper, we show that a Self-Organizing Map (SOM) can be used to cluster tagged bookmarks. We present and test an iterative method for determining the optimal number of clusters. Finally, we show how the SOM can be used to intuitively classify new bookmarks into a set of clusters. External Posting Date: October 6, 2009 [Fulltext] Approved for External Publication Internal Posting Date: October 6, 2009 [Fulltext] Copyright 2009 Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P. Tag Clustering with Self Organizing Maps Marco Luca Sbodio HP Italy Innovation Centre firstname.lastname@example.com Edwin Simpson Web Services and Systems Lab, HP Labs firstname.lastname@example.com


The heart of the model is this: to quote Pogo, "We have met the enemy and it is us." We doctors are the problem, not because wqe are venal or self-serving or insulated from reality. Far from it. Most of us are hard-working, dedicated professionals. We are the problem, though, because of the way our profession developed in the 20th century. This model is no longer appropriate for what lies ahead. The notion of the sovereign physician comes from Paul Starr's 1982 work, "The Social Transformation of American Medicine: The Rise of a Sovereign Profession and the Making of a Vast Industry.: Starr argues that the rise of the sovereign profession we know today was neither inevitable nor foreordained. It was instead the result of a long struggle to establish the modern medical profession in the face of other competitors and forces. Sovereignty is neither good nor bad in and of itself. It is its manifestations in medical practice, and its suitability for the future, that is of concern.


Can we guess the destinations of attendees in a music festival from Bluetooth traces collected by 10 people with smartphones used as antennas? This project analyzes an existing dataset of Bluetooth traces from Paleo music festival in Nyon, Switzerland. The goal of the project is to follow Paleo festival attendees using collected Bluetooth traces and analyze specifications of the collected data in terms of precision and results, to predict attendees behaviour and crowd movement. The data was collected on July 24th, 2010 by ten agents scanning for visible Bluetooth devices. The methodology for tracing Paleo festival attendees is a Bayesian approach derived by Danalet et al. [2012].


This paper examines both the theoretical basis and the practical implications of a minimally invasive groundwater mapping method as applied to seepage detection in earthen embankments. The method involves inducing a low voltage, low amperage, audio frequency electrical current into the groundwater system. This electric current naturally gathers in areas of highest conductivity—which include high porosity regions within the saturated zone. Per the Biot-Savart law—which relates magnetic fields to their source electric currents—the technology can reveal vital information about the location, character and preferential flow paths of the groundwater system through which it is passing. When properly captured, measured, filtered, and reduced, the data derived from that magnetic field can be used to create both twodimensional maps and three-dimensional models of the subsurface electric current distribution some of which can be interpreted as seepage flowpaths. This method can be applied to a host of seepage related issues, especially tracking and pinpointing the leak locations in a dam's embankment, abutments, foundation or outlet works. This paper will convey the findings of one case study in which the efficacy of this method has been demonstrated at Laurel Bed Dam, Virginia, USA.


On the subject of international sports boycotts many discussions have taken place in this country, especially in the 1970's and 1980's. Sports contacts with South Africa were permanently on the agenda. In 1978, the participation of the Dutch national soccer team in the soccer World Championship in Argentina was questioned. In 1980 and four years later the Olympic Games in Moscow and Los Angeles suffered from boycotts. In 1993 the United Nations instituted a sports boycott against Yugoslavia 'minor'. The international practice match between the Netherlands and Nigeria has once again placed the problem of the relationship between sports and politics in the limelight. What is special about this case is that it involves a regional boycott, namely instituted by the European Union. South Africa UN resolutions (since 1971) displayed the tendency to aim to prohibit all sports contacts with South Africa. To begin with, only contacts with teams or sportsmen selected on racial grounds were discouraged. The International Declaration against apartheid in sports (1977) however, took the position that a completely integrated, non-racial exercise of sports in a country like South Africa could not exist under the apartheid regime and it was couched in binding terms. The Netherlands initially voted in favour of the resolutions and the government requested the national sports associations to abstain from 'racial' sports contacts. The International Declaration was not voted on by our country, as the government had to respect the autonomy of sports organizations and could not curtail the freedom of movement of Dutch nationals, that is to say, could not limit the freedom to leave one's country (see international human rights treaties: ICCPR, ECHR). The Netherlands could not agree with the proposition that each and every sports contact should be broken off, regardless of whether the sports organization in question was founded on racial principles or not. The application and interpretation of the non-racial criterium was further developed in practice. The government appeared to only accord political consequences to national sports representation. With regard to respecting the autonomy of the sports associations, the Paralympics case (judgments of the Administrative Law Division of the Council of State, 1980) illustrated the point that it may be impossible to separate sports from politics, but that the government is bound to respect the sports associations' own responsibility and, where necessary, needs to live up to its own responsibility. In 1982, the government policy regarding sports contacts with South Africa was intensified. All sports contacts with South Africa were discouraged from then on, irrespective of whether racial or nonracial sports contacts were involved, or international or non-international sports representation. The political significance of sports contacts with South Africa became decisive. It was, however, still understood that the sports associations had to abide by the regulations of international sports organizations. The Dutch Sports Federation (NSF) could agree to this government standpoint, which resulted in the sports associations being discouraged from engaging in friendly sports contacts with South Africa. International obligations, however, still had to be met. Then, the Minister of Foreign Affairs formulated a visa policy which in reality ruled out in advance any sports contact with South Africans in the Netherlands. The NSF justifiedly protested this. The complete non-participation of South Africans could now, in fact, be forced by the government through visa policy. This was not in accordance with previously formulated policy, in which respect for the sports associations' autonomy and their international obligations were apparent features. The government consequently adjusted the criteria for granting visa so as to allow exceptions to the highly restrictive policy. …


CONTEXT
Headache is the most frequently reported symptom among Danish adults, and studies in various European countries indicate migraine headache prevalence rates similar to those in Denmark.

OBJECTIVE
An exploratory study of reflexological treatment for headache was conducted from 1993 to 1994 to examine which patients with headache underwent a course of reflexological treatment, why patients sought reflexological treatment, what previous experience patients had with medication for headache, and what outcomes patients experienced from reflexological treatment.

DESIGN
Prospective and exploratory study using random sampling and the following data collection methods: headache diaries, registration schemes for practitioners, questionnaires, and qualitative interviews.

SETTING
Denmark.

PATIENTS
220 patients with migraine and/or tension headache.

INTERVENTION
Patients were treated for a maximum of 6 months by 78 reflexologists systematically drawn from the membership lists of 5 alternative therapist associations.

MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES
A diagnosis of each patient's type of headache at the outset of treatment was made by a consulting physician according to the International Headache Society Classification (1988).

RESULTS
At 3-month follow-up, 81% of patients reported that they were helped by the treatments or were cured of their headache problems. Nineteen percent of those who had formerly taken drugs to control their headaches were able to stop medication support following participation in the study.

CONCLUSIONS
Reflexological treatment seems to improve patients' general well-being, energy level, ability to interpret their own body signals, and ability to understand the reasons for headache. However, these relationships may be due to other factors in the treatment environment. Additional studies are necessary to determine the proximate cause of reflexology's therapeutic benefits.


The Bankruptcy Reform Act of 1978 is beginning to show its age in ways similar to the forty-year-old code it replaced. In addition to being ill-suited to address changes in the underlying credit market, the current code is confronting the development of an entirely new market place-a market in claims trading. While some praise the enhanced liquidity, others take issue with the strains placed on the efficacy of bankruptcy. Rather than engaging in the normative debate, this Comment seeks to redress a clear drawback to the current system: the harm endured by passive creditors. Unlike those economically empowered to participate in the reorganization process, the passive creditor lacks the economic ability and incentive to play an active role. This position leaves the passive creditor's ability to collect on its claim solely in the hands of another: the creditors' committee. While this committee may have provided adequate protection in 1978, the credit market and its participants are very different today. Some argue that this issue is systemic and can only be addressed by replacing the current code; however, this Comment argues that something can be done short of this massive task. The challenge is as follows: if too little is done, passive creditors will continue to be exploited and if too much is done the whole market could be damaged. Recognizing this challenge, this Comment proposes that passive creditors can be afforded adequate protection by leveraging the oversight power of the US Trustee to ensure the proper functioning of creditors' committees. Moreover, the recommendation of this Comment would enhance protection for passive creditor while remaining market neutral.


Ultra‐high‐field (UHF, ≥7 T) human magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) provides undisputed advantages over low‐field MRI (≤3 T), but its development remains challenging because of numerous technical issues, including the low efficiency of transmit (Tx) radiofrequency (RF) coils caused by the increase in tissue power deposition with frequency. Tight‐fit human head transceiver (TxRx) arrays improve Tx efficiency in comparison with Tx‐only arrays, which are larger in order to fit multi‐channel receive (Rx)‐only arrays inside. A drawback of the TxRx design is that the number of elements in an array is limited by the number of available high‐power RF Tx channels (commonly 8 or 16), which is not sufficient for optimal Rx performance. In this work, as a proof of concept, we developed a method for increasing the number of Rx elements in a human head TxRx surface loop array without the need to move the loops away from a sample, which compromises the array Tx performance. We designed and constructed a prototype 16‐channel tight‐fit array, which consists of eight TxRx surface loops placed on a cylindrical holder circumscribing a head, and eight Rx‐only vertical loops positioned along the central axis (parallel to the magnetic field B0) of each TxRx loop, perpendicular to its surface. We demonstrated both experimentally and numerically that the addition of the vertical loops has no measurable effect on the Tx efficiency of the array. An increase in the maximum local specific absorption rate (SAR), evaluated using two human head voxel models (Duke and Ella), measured 3.4% or less. At the same time, the 16‐element array provided 30% improvement of central signal‐to‐noise ratio (SNR) in vivo relative to a surface loop eight‐element array. The novel array design also demonstrated an improvement in the parallel Rx performance in the transversal plane. Thus, using this method, both the Rx and Tx performance of the human head array can be optimized simultaneously.


Bodily participation provides insights that mere observation cannot offer. Based on an ethnographic vignette, this article explores how bodily interactions in ethnographic fieldwork raise awareness for non-observational knowledge and hidden social practices. It looks at how such encounters shape all participants, including the ethnographer, and how subtle bodily interactions constitute a social space that remains invisible to outsiders but where intersubjectivity unfolds. It then addresses differences between participation and observation in ethnography and the epistemological problems it leads to: First, bodily social practice is largely non-predicative, but ethnographers are urged to put it in words – which affect their relationship to that practice and how they can engage in it. The second challenge is the habituation of bodily practices. The longer ethnographers engage in such social practices, the more they will develop routines and no longer focus consciously on them. Both can distort the ethnographic account of bodily practices.


Background Genetics plays an important role in coronary heart disease (CHD) but the clinical utility of a genomic risk score (GRS) relative to clinical risk scores, such as the Framingham Risk Score (FRS), is unclear. Methods We generated a GRS of 49,310 SNPs based on a CARDIoGRAMplusC4D Consortium meta-analysis of CHD, then independently tested this using five prospective population cohorts (three FINRISK cohorts, combined n=12,676, 757 incident CHD events; two Framingham Heart Study cohorts (FHS), combined n=3,406, 587 incident CHD events). Results The GRS was strongly associated with time to CHD event (FINRISK HR=1.74, 95% CI 1.61-1.86 per S.D. of GRS; Framingham HR=1.28, 95% CI 1.18-1.38), and was largely unchanged by adjustment for clinical risk scores or individual risk factors, including family history. Integration of the GRS with clinical risk scores (FRS and ACC/AHA13 score) improved prediction of CHD events within 10 years (meta-analysis C-index: +1.5-1.6%, P<0.001), particularly for individuals ≥60 years old (meta-analysis C-index: +4.6-5.1%, P<0.001). Men in the top 20% of the GRS had 3-fold higher risk of CHD by age 75 in FINRISK and 2-fold in FHS, and attaining 10% cumulative CHD risk 18y earlier in FINRISK and 12y earlier in FHS than those in the bottom 20%. Furthermore, high genomic risk was partially compensated for by low systolic blood pressure, low cholesterol level, and non-smoking. Conclusions A GRS based on a large number of SNPs substantially improves CHD risk prediction and encodes decades of variation in CHD risk not captured by traditional clinical risk scores.


In the 20 years since their introduction, debt agreements have become the fastest growing form of personal insolvency in Australia, comprising 41.5 per cent of all personal insolvencies in 2016. Debt agreements were introduced to provide debtors respite from financial stress through arrangements with creditors and to provide a viable alternative to bankruptcy. Law reformers posited that their low cost, and the avoidance of some of the consequences of bankruptcy, were among their key benefits. The article draws on three sources of empirical data to evaluate the debt agreement system and its impact on Australian debtors: statistics published by the Australian Financial Security Authority, a survey of individuals who entered into debt agreements or declared bankruptcy between 2010 and 2015, and interviews with a range of industry stakeholders. The article considers the extent to which debt agreements are achieving their objectives and examines concerns that debt agreements may be causing harm, particularly to vulnerable debtors on low incomes. The authors propose a series of reforms to enhance the efficiency of debt agreements.


We searched for a major stopover site of Bewick's Swans Cygnus columbianus bewickii in the White Sea following the suggestion that one should exist on the stretch between Estonia and the breeding grounds (1750 km). We discovered 733 Swans in Dvina Bay during a late aerial survey in spring 1993. Subsequently, ground-based research was carried out in May 1994, 1995 and 1996 in the Dry Sea, a tidal, shallow bay with fresh to brackish water just north of the Dvina Delta. The total number of passing Bewick's Swans was estimated at 10 974 (1994), 9593 (1995) and 17 972 (1996) (32-60% of the flyway population). Estimated peak numbers staging were 1500-2000 (9 May 1994), 4937 (17 May 1995) and 4457 (24 May 1996) (> 5-16% of the flyway population). The Swans foraged almost exclusively on submerged water plants apart from some supplemental feeding on emerged food plants around high tide. Stoneworts Chara spp. were an important food in the late spring of 1996, because they grew in places where bog streams quickly melted the ice. At this latitude (65 degreesN) food alternatives to the submerged macrophytes are rare in spring, but we cannot rule out the possibility that the Swans forage on grass rhizomes on inundated pastures. One bird tracked by satellite staged 15 days in Dvina Bay, of which four days were spent in the Dry Sea, in accordance with other indications that the Dry Sea is part of a larger stopover site within Dvina Bay. Recent evidence shows that the Swans largely skip the White Sea during autumn migration. However, in spring the birds probably need this stopover to be able to carry reserves to the breeding grounds. At present, the preservation of the submerged vegetation in Dvina Bay seems to be crucial to the conservation of this Bewick's Swan population.


Receiving Rist's theatre – a literary-historical challenge
A claim in Die AllerEdelste Belustigung Kunsst- und Tugenliebender Gemuther (1666) indicates that Rist may have composed as many as 30 dramas. There are now only five dramatic works attributed to him: Irenaromachia (1630), Perseus (1634), Das Friedewunschende Teutschland (1647), Das Friedejauchtzende Teutschland (1653), Depositio Cornuti Typographici. The best estimate claims that only a further two had been published, a Herodes and a Wallenstein. The others have since been lost, perhaps even destroyed during Rist's lifetime as his home was sacked twice by invading troops. Of the five that remain, Irenaromachia does not bear Rist's name, while the Depositio differs greatly in conception and execution from the others and may not have numbered among the 30 claimed theatrical compostions. Thus the surviving dramas do not constitute a more or less unified body of works challenges German literary studies to engage with these discontinuities – a task which it consistently avoids. The problematic nature of the surviving corpus is compounded by the fact that this was only a fraction of what was produced, a situation which
invites an (albeit speculative) attempt to contextualise the surviving dramas in a wider sphere of literary-theatrical activity. This leads to the next difficulty,
considering that the composition of dramas, even when these number 30 rather than four or five, was just one area of Rist's prolific activity as a writer. This presents the problem of how to relate Rist's dramas to his other writings and activities. This task is itself complicated by the tendency to focus on Rist's verse compositions, which
in the twentieth century emphasised his secular compositions.The current focus of much of Rist scholarship lies in his religious songs, from a theological, hymnological,and musicological perspective. He has also maintained a presence in the lay imagination, as several of his songs have been included in Protestant hymnbooks
since the 18th century. Scholarship is now, however, turning its attention again to Rist as a dramatist and
this thesis is part of this renewed attention. It is difficult to know what to do with Rist's dramas. The problems they present are considerable, but this thesis will show that Rist's dramas exist in the context of a concept of dramaturgy and a theory of acting that is much more sophisticated than has often been thought and that goes beyond the narrowly poetic into performance practice.


The mating system of a population of individually marked common toads (Bufo bufo) was studied during two years at a pond on the island Oland, southern Sweden. The mating system can be described as explosive breeding with scramble competition for mates. Males outnumbered females by approximately 2:1 and competed for the possession of females by guarding them prior to spawning and by displacing already paired males. Data on displacement patterns showed that smaller males were displaced more often than larger males. However, successful males were not larger than the male they displaced. Furthermore, thc mean size of spawning males was not different from the population mean and the size distribution of spawning males did not differ from the size distribution expected by chance. No size assortion could be detected among spawning pairs. Female fecundity showed a strong correlation with increasing body size. Males of all sizes showed capability of fertilizing all eggs of any female. Females apparently did not choose their mates. Though males would enhance their reproductive success by mating with large and more fecund females, this scenario was probably hampered due to a short breeding season and an operational sex ratio close to 2: 1.


This thesis addresses the problem of estimating rainfall rates from satellite imagery. The potential for using cloud motion and texture to estimate rain rates has been examined. The main types of textural information, i.e. statistical, structural, frequency and spatio-temporal, have been used to derive features from the satellite measurements and then used to determine a relationship to the radar-observed rain rates. These features were ranked by two scoring functions that were devised to assess their relationship to rain rates. The first scoring function selected a feature set for classifying samples into three rain rate classes. The selected features successfully classify rain rates of a mid-latitude cyclone seen on Meteosat7 with 84.8-99.3 % accuracy with a significant Hanssen-Kuipers discriminant score when a probabilistic neural network was used. A similar accuracy was found when a support vector machine (SVM) was used. Another scoring function was used for the selection of the features for estimating rain rates of each class. A Gaussian-kernel SVM that has been trained by these features produced visually agreeable rain estimates, which were much better than those produced by other methods that used only spectral information. Using the same types features at different time also achieved the similar accuracy. The method was robust and continuous rain estimates were obtained. Unlike other techniques in which additional information has always been required, the results showed that textural information alone can be used for rain estimation. This is preferable when only satellite measurements are available. Frequent updating of the observed rain rates can be done to improve the accuracy of the estimation. The potential for using cloud motion to predict rain rates was also examined. It was found that a combination of the maximum cross correlation and optical flow techniques provided the best estimate of the velocity of clouds. A cloud's displacement derived by the maximum cross correlation technique was used for the approximation of the future location of its corresponding rain and the final velocity derived by the optical flow technique predicts how the rain rates would change. The rain rates predicted by this novel method provided good correlation to the observed rain rates at an hour later.


Mudrocks are highly heterogeneous in terms of both composition and fabric, with heterogeneities occurring at the submicron to centimetre plus scale. Such heterogeneities are relatively easy to visualise at the micron-scale through the use of modern scanning electron microscopy (SEM) techniques, but due to their inherent fine grain size, can be difficult to place within the greater context of the mudrock as a whole, or to visualise variation when viewed at a centimetre scale. The utilisation of SEM to collect automated high-resolution backscattered (BSE) images (tiles) over whole, polished thin-sections presents a potential large data bank on compositional and fabric changes that can be further processed using simple image analysis techniques to extract data on compositional variation. This can then be plotted graphically in 2D as colour contoured distribution maps to illustrate any observed variability. This method enables the easy visualisation of micron-scale heterogeneity present in mudrock, which are here illustrated and discussed for pyrite and organic content at the larger (thin-section) centimetre scale. This does not require the use of other techniques such as energy dispersive x-ray (EDX) mapping to identify phases present, but instead utilizes BSE images that may already have been collected for textural fabric studies. The technique can also be applied to other phases in mudrocks, such as carbonates and silicates, as well as porosity. Data can also be extracted and used in a similar fashion to bulk compositional analytical techniques such as inductively coupled plasma-atomic emission microscopy (ICP-AES) and carbon, nitrogen and sulphur (CNS) analysis, for average organic carbon and percentage pyrite.


The world witnessed dramatic change and turbulence as the 1980s gave way to the 1990s. The changes critical to the Caribbean are examined in this section. But before doing this it is important to offer a commentary on the subject of security. MEANING OF SECURITY Security has long been a highly contested concept with a variety of definitions and usages, founded mainly on traditional realist theory. Hence, the traditional approach to security emphasizes the military variable, focuses on the state as the unit of analysis, and sees states as rational actors pursuing their national interests. Threat orientation is mainly external, and the utility of security countermeasures is measured largely in military terms. Security is considered part of a country's "high politics." Traditional realism has long been challenged, but the end-of-Cold War turbulence has led scholars to question increasingly the validity of the realist conceptualization of international politics generally, and of security in particular. (1) Consequently, advocacy for a postrealist definition of security has developed. Postrealists believe that nonmilitary developments can pose genuine threats to long-term security and quality of life; that traditional concepts of sovereignty cannot cope with torrential transborder flows of narcotics, money, AIDS, arms, and immigrants; that no single country can combat these threats alone; and that new regional and international rules and institutions will be needed to cope with the nonmilitary threats facing most countries. (2) They do not exclude the military variable from the security matrix, but the economic, political, and, for many, the environmental variables are considered as equally important. Postrealists posit that internal security issues are important in their own right, complicating and sometimes aggravating external ones. Indeed, circumstances often are such that the distinction between "internal" and "external" threats and apprehensions is blurred. Moreover, not only are states no longer the only critical actors in the international arena, nonstate actors abound, and some of them wield considerable power, oftentimes more than states. This new approach to security is progressively being embraced by professional military officers, (3) and not just by security scholars. Yet understandably, not all security analysts support it. Moreover, this "new thinking" does not represent a total debunking of traditional realism, for as Richard Falk has noted correctly, To challenge to centrality of realism does not imply its total repudiation. States do remain important actors, war does remain profoundly relevant to international relations, and many international settings can better be understood as collisions of interests and antagonistic political forces. (4) If one adopts the postrealist approach to security, there are three structural and operational features of the still-transforming global environment with direct implications for the region: * The changed structure of global military and political power * Alterations in economic relationships * Policy reprioritization by states which traditionally have had an interest in the Caribbean. GLOBAL MILITARY AND POLITICAL POWER The collapse of world communism and the concomitant end of the Cold War are at the center of the transformation in the first area. The bipolar character of global military-political power has been replaced by the reemergence of a multipolar global system. Not only is there evidence of multipolarity, but some scholars point to the development of the multidimensional basis of global power. One reputable scholar, for example, discerns the development of different currencies of power affixed to different poles of international power: military, economic and financial, demographic, and military and economic. He sees the poles varying in their productivities, with demographic power as more of a liability than an asset, and the utility of military power being reduced. …


Sir,

Patients with congenital mirror movements have structural abnormalities of the corticospinal and transcallosal pathways, and functional deficits of interhemispheric inhibition and motor planning processes, which lead to the inability to perform independent hand movements (Gallea et al. , 2013). In their Letter to the Editor, Brandao et al. (2014) suggest that (i) the abnormal pyramidal decussation could be a biomarker to diagnose congenital mirror movements; and (ii) neuromodulation by way of artificial stimulation could be used as therapeutic means to influence interhemispheric inhibition and/or motor planning processes.

Congenital mirror movements is a developmental movement disorder and syndromic diagnosis is easily made, based on clinical examination (Bonnet et al. , 2010), making the neuroimaging or neurophysiological evidence of abnormal pyramidal decussation rather obsolete for this purpose. Linking abnormal pyramidal decussation to a genetic cause of isolated congenital mirror movement has not been properly investigated to date. Comparison of the pyramidal tract morphology between patients with DCC mutation/deletion, RAD51 mutation/deletion and no mutation/deletion in DCC or RAD51 has not been investigated. Using transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) in a DCC-MM patient, it was demonstrated that each M1 cortex was abnormally connected to both sides of the spinal cord via separate crossed and uncrossed fast conducting corticospinal projections (Cincotta et al. , 2003; Depienne et al. , 2011). It is thus likely …


The emergence of crowdsourcing as a commonly used approach to collect vast quantities of human assessments on a variety of tasks represents nothing less than a paradigm shift. This is particularly true in academic research where it has suddenly become possible to collect (high-quality) annotations rapidly without the need of an expert. In this paper we investigate factors which can influence the quality of the results obtained through Amazon's Mechanical Turk crowdsourcing platform. We investigated the impact of different presentation methods (free text versus radio buttons), workers' base (USA versus India as the main bases of MTurk workers) and payment scale (about $4, $8 and $10 per hour) on the quality of the results. For each run we assessed the results provided by 25 workers on a set of 10 tasks. We run two different experiments using objective tasks: maths and general text questions. In both tasks the answers are unique, which eliminates the uncertainty usually present in subjective tasks, where it is not clear whether the unexpected answer is caused by a lack of worker's motivation, the worker's interpretation of the task or genuine ambiguity. In this work we present our results comparing the influence of the different factors used. One of the interesting findings is that our results do not confirm previous studies which concluded that an increase in payment attracts more noise. We also find that the country of origin only has an impact in some of the categories and only in general text questions but there is no significant difference at the top pay.


Davidson Elementary School is the first LEED certified school building in Tucson, Arizona, the school has been designed and built as a green setting based on the goals of the architect, teachers, parents and a community that has long suffered from the moldy old Davidson school building. Yet by looking at the new building and comparing it with conventional schools with similar function and size in Tucson, Arizona, one questions whether the users can distinguish differences which might be related to the building's greenness? Is the same true for many other LEED rated green school buildings in other parts of United States? The present paper asks whether the image of a building, and even an integrated pedagogy in the case of schools, shouldn't more actively promote the meaning of sustainability. The present case is an ethnographic study has been done at Davidson Elementary School during the author's sabbatical at University of Arizona in 2010. The study included analysis for the images of the building as well as interviews with the principal, teachers, administrative staff, 4th and 5th grade students and parents. The ethnographic evaluation shows that Davidson Elementary Buildings offers limited use of symbolic meanings to foster belief about sustainability; at the same time it conveys some negative meanings to laypeople, obviously hindering a possible sustainable relationship between people and environment. The examination of the cultural expression of buildings' green features and the meanings acquired from them at Davidson School provides a novel ethnographic evaluation of green building design intentions.


Why are certain character strengths more associated with life satisfaction than others? A sample of US adults (N = 12,439) completed online surveys in English measuring character strengths, orientations to happiness (engagement, pleasure, and meaning), and life satisfaction, and a sample of Swiss adults (N = 445) completed paper-and-pencil versions of the same surveys in German. In both samples, the character strengths most highly linked to life satisfaction included love, hope, curiosity, and zest. Gratitude was among the most robust predictors of life satisfaction in the US sample, whereas perseverance was among the most robust predictors in the Swiss sample. In both samples, the strengths of character most associated with life satisfaction were associated with orientations to pleasure, to engagement, and to meaning, implying that the most fulfilling character strengths are those that make possible a full life.


A key factor in gene or drug therapy is the development of carriers that can efficiently reach targeted cells from a distal administration. In many gene/drug delivery studies, results obtained in 2D cultures fail to translate to similar results in vivo. In this work, we developed a perfusable 3D chamber for studying nanoparticle penetration and transport in cell–gel soft tissue cultures. The compartmented chamber is made of a polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) top layer with the chamber features, created using micromachined lithography, bonded to a bottom glass coverslip. A solution of cells embedded in a hydrogel is loaded in the chamber between PDMS posts that serve as anchors to the cell–matrix at the gel‐media interface. The chamber offers the following unique features: (i) rapid fabrication and simplicity in assembly, (ii) direct in situ cell imaging in a plane normal to the direction of flow or action, (iii) an easily configurable and controllable environment conducive cell culture under static or interstitial flow conditions, and (iv) facile recovery of live cells from chambers for post‐experimental analysis. To assess the chamber, we delivered fluorescently labeled nanoparticles of three distinct sizes to cells‐embedded Matrigels in the 3D chamber under flow and static conditions. Penetration of nanoparticles were enhanced under interstitial flow while live cell imaging and flow cytometry of recovered cells revealed particle size restrictions to efficient delivery. Although designed for delivery studies, the chamber is versatile and can be easily modified. Thus it may have broad applications for biological, tissue engineering, and therapeutic studies. Biotechnol. Bioeng. 2008;99: 1490–1501. © 2007 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.


Objectives: This study was designed to assess the necessity of delayed complete axillary lymph node dissection (cALND) for patients whose sentinel lymph nodes (SLNs) were negative for tumors on intraoperative frozen section analysis, but later proven positive on hematoxylin and eosin staining or immunohistochemistry. Methods: We identified 341 patients who underwent sentinel lymph node biopsy (SLNB) with cALND at the Samsung Medical Center between 1998 and 2008, and reviewed the clinicopathological records of women diagnosed with invasive carcinoma of the breast. Results: Of the 341 patients, 59 underwent delayed cALND due to negative results on frozen section. Only 1 patient had a non-SLNs metastasis in the group of delayed cALND. Delayed cALND was associated with higher rates of breast-conserving surgery, smaller primary tumor and metastasis size in SLNs, fewer metastatic lymph nodes and SLNs and a lower TNM stage. The detection of metastases of SLNs on frozen section and the number of metastatic SLNs were related to the detection of additional metastases of nonsentinel lymph nodes (NSLNs) in cALND. Conclusion: Our findings suggest that the lack of detection of metastases on frozen sections may be a predictive factor for nonmetastasis in NSLNs. cALND could therefore be omitted in such cases.


41 Simple Sequence Repeats (SSR) markers were used to research the fingerprints of 96 silkworm local variety resources, including 83 Chinese univoltine varieties, 11 Chinese bivoltine varieties and 2 Japanese bivoltine varieties. These SSR markers showed rich polymorphism, with the number of alleles reaching 3–35, averaged 12.78, suggesting that there was rich SSR polymorphism among various local varieties and its polymorphism information content ranged from 0.162–0.958, averaged 0.690. The genetic distance between the various varieties was calculated from their fingerprints. By using UPGMA method, unique patterns of clustering among local species of silkworm were revealed. These included the patterns of 5 groups comprising of 54 varieties, while the other 42 species clustered in twos or threes, and as single nodes. In addition, the clustering among varieties did not indicate any obvious groups based on voltinism or moltinism, which seemed to support the theory of multiple origin of silkworm. The results prove that SSR markers can provide a fingerprint analysis of silkworm varietal resources and can be used for their classification


The recent financial crisis has generated agreement on the need for new transnational standards for financial regulation. When governments work together to develop transnational standards and rules they do so using processes which are not uniform, which often seem to develop in an ad hoc manner, and which do not necessarily reflect any particular conception of good government. Transnational standard setters have responded to critiques of the legitimacy of their role by emphasizing consultation of stakeholders. The article compares the uses of consultation in the development of policy at the national and supranational levels. It examines weaknesses in the construction of transnational consultations: transnational consultations lack visibility and they are usually carried out in a limited number of languages, or even only in English. These defects undermine the value of transnational consultations as mechanisms of legitimation.


Abstract This brief paper reports the results of two observational studies examining the impact of fines for youth tobacco possession on public smoking among youth. Preliminary findings are presented that suggest that when police issued warnings and tickets to reduce underage youth possession of tobacco, in both towns the number of youth smoking in public declined. The study focused on an important health behavior; application of a potentially powerful, community-wide intervention; the use of two distinct communities; and unobtrusive assessment of adult and youth smoking rates. ********** Each day, 3,000 American adolescents become established smokers (Gilpin, Choi, Berry, & Pierce, 1999), and it is estimated that 1,000 of these children will eventually die of tobacco related illnesses (Centers for Disease Control, 1996). Smoking is the leading preventable cause of death in the United States, killing over 400,000 people each year. Unfortunately, even high quality school-based prevention programs may not be sufficient in reducing tobacco use by children. For example, Townsend, Pokorny, Jason, Curie, and Schoeny (2002) evaluated the quality of prevention programming based on program intensity, focus on tobacco, staff resources designated for prevention programs, and implementation of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommendations for tobacco prevention. No significant relationships were found between these variables and reported current tobacco use, intent to use tobacco in the coming year, and perceived efficacy of substance use prevention programs. These findings are consistent with the Hutchinson Smoking Prevention Project, which is considered to be one of the most rigorous school-based smoking prevention studies to date (Peterson, Kealey, Mann, Marek, & Sarason, 2000). The study was a 15 year randomized, controlled trial of smoking prevention among youth, which provided a comprehensive social-influence intervention from grades three through twelve and assessed participants two years after high school graduation and found no significant differences between students in the control and experimental conditions. These findings suggest that tobacco prevention programs may need to go beyond individual-oriented variables to be successful, and perhaps include distal influences such as youth access to tobacco, community norms concerning tobacco use, and youth possessing and using tobacco in public settings. One of the risk factors for adolescent cigarette smoking is easy access to tobacco products, and although fewer retailers currently sell tobacco to minors, youth still have easy access to tobacco products (Johnston et al., 1999). Behavioral psychologists have developed effective strategies to restrict youth access to commercial sources of tobacco (Biglan et al., 1995; Jason, Billows, Schnopp-Wyatt, & King, 1996). Even if commercial sources of tobacco are restricted, it is possible for youth to obtain tobacco through social sources. Research has shown that youth who smoke readily provide cigarettes to their peers (Wolfson, Forster, Claxton, & Murray, 1997). Family members who smoke, such as older siblings and even parents, are another important source of tobacco for youth (Robinson, Klesges, & Zbikowski, 1998). In addition, youth have been found to approach strangers who are smokers to get their cigarettes (Ribsl, Norman, Howard-Pitney, & Kim, 1999). Because a large proportion of children get tobacco from social sources, efforts focused on eliminating retail sources of tobacco may be necessary but insufficient to reduce tobacco use among youth. Tobacco possession bans may make it harder for minors to get tobacco from other minors, as fewer minors may be willing to risk the consequence of being caught with tobacco. Tobacco possession bans also make it easier to reduce subtle peer pressure when minors congregate at social events and publicly smoke and encourage others to engage in this behavior. …


To address the adversarial culture of the construction industry, partnering is used as a mean to create a collaborative and flexible building process where each partner achieves their business objectives. This paper identifies which partnering elements understood as contractual elements included in order to create win-win situations for the contracting parties a large Norwegian public client – Statsbygg has used in their partnering projects. Based on findings the article recommends which elements that should be used in future Statsbygg as well as other partnering projects. The recommendations include elements such as; early involvement of designbuilder, key subcontractors and consultants, value based procurement, an intentional agreement, target cost with bonus/malus incentives, open book economy, partnering charter, continuous workshops, partnering measurements, co-localisation, partnering champions, external facilitators, a predetermined method of dispute resolution, and a contractual right to remove unsuitable people. The methodological approach chosen for our investigation was based on 1) a literature study, 2) the distribution and analysis of a questionnaire, and 3) interviews with professionals having experience with partnering. The interviewees maintained partnering as an important step in the direction of changing the culture characterizing the Norwegian construction industry to an adversarial to a cooperative value based culture. Partnering is Statsbygg's way of facilitating a lean construction process where less time is wasted on disputes, and more value is added to the project.


Aims: To determine differences in waiting times for surgical procedures between primary care organisations in Trent Region and the extent to which these were explained by characteristics of the primary care organisation and by patient factors such as age, gender and deprivation. Design: Cross-sectional survey of routinely collected data. Setting: Forty-eight primary care organisations in Trent Region, UK. Subjects: All patients admitted for seven surgical procedures between 1 April 1993 and 31 March 1997: female breast cancer surgery, colon cancer surgery, coronary artery bypass graft, percutaneous transluminal coronary angioplasty, cataract surgery, hip or knee surgery in patients over 65 years. Method: Comparison of median waiting times from decision to operate to surgery for 48 different primary care organisation; correlation between overall ranks of waiting times and characteristics of the primary care organisation; multilevel analysis allowing for primary care organisation variation to determine the contribution of the patient age, sex and deprivation. Results: There were wide variations in median waiting times between primary care organisations, ranging from 2.6-fold for breast cancer surgery to 14.3-fold for percutaneous transluminal coronary angioplasty. These differences were not explained by patient factors or by characteristics of the primary care organisation. Conclusion: If the new strategic health authorities are to performance manage primary care trusts, and the primary care trusts are to be given responsibility for reducing health inequalities and improving waiting times, the differences in starting points need to be recognised and, if possible, understood.


The coastline of Kenya already experiences effects of climate change, adding to existing pressures such as urbanization. Integrated coastal management (ICM) is increasingly recognized as a key policy response to deal with the multiple challenges facing coastal zones, including climate change. It can create an enabling governance environment for effective local action on climate change by facilitating a structured approach to dealing with coastal issues. It encompasses the actions of a wide range of actors, including local governments close to people and their activities affected by climate change. Functioning ICM also offers opportunities for reducing risks and building resilience. This article applied a modified capitals approach framework (CAF), consisting of five "capitals," to assess the status of county government capacity to respond to climate change within the context of coastal governance in three county governments in Kenya. The baseline was defined in terms of governance relating to the implementation of the interrelated policy systems of ICM and coastal climate change adaptation (CCA). The CAF framework provided a systematic approach to building a governance baseline against which to assess the progress of county governments in responding to climate change. It identified gaps in human capacity, financial resource allocation to adaptation and access to climate change information. Furthermore, it showed that having well‐developed institutions, including regulatory frameworks at the national level can facilitate but does not automatically enable adaptation at the county level.


The nineteenth century saw a lengthy and unusually intense conflict between religion and national politics over public space. Using case-studies of nations in both Europe and Latin America, the contirbutors to this unusual comparative volume explore the nature, background and consequences of this conflict from a revisionist and empirical viewpoint, incorporating the latest research and recasting the debate in the light of recent discussions about modernity. A substantial introduction sketches the vital issues and the major conclusions, and takes stock of the debate and where it is leading. Contributors include: Margaret Lavinia Anderson, University of California, Berkeley; David Brading, University of Cambridge; Frances Lannon, University of Oxford; Patricia Londono Vega, University of Antioquia, Colombia; James F. McMillan, University of Edinburgh; Erika Maza Valenzuela, University of Oxford; J. Samuel Valenzuela, University of Notre Dame; Eric Van Young, University of California, San Diego.


In recent years the problem of position plotting in navigation has been dominated by satellite systems, the GPS in particular. These systems are used both at sea (maritime navigation) and in the air (aerial navigation) as well as on land (terrestrial navigation), With the application of satellite systems the position can be plotted within very short spaces of time, in the range of a few or a dozen seconds. Relying exclusively on satellite systems, however, exposes to the danger of losing information in case of average, intentional switch-off, disturbance and possible encoding of information reaching the user. This results in the necessity of having yet another, autonomous system at one's disposal (independent of external information sources) making possible the plotting of position in an autonomous way, These requirements are met by methods of comparative navigation. The object of interest of comparative navigation is plotting the ship's position by comparing a dynamically registered image with a pattern image, The pattern images can be numeric radar charts, sonar or aerial, suitably prepared for comparison with respectively radar, sonar or aerial images. Yet the most frequently registered images at sea will be radar images; the pattern, on the other hand, will be a numeric radar chart generated on the basis of topographic and hydrometeorological data or previous radar observation. The article presents methods of computer ship's position plotting by means of comparative methods.


Thoracic complications following oropharyngeal procedures have been reported in medical literature. Aspiration of foreign bodies and gastric contents, upper airway obstruction, bacterial endocarditis, descending necrotizing mediastinitis, Lemierre syndrome, and pneumomediastinum are among the most commonly reported. In this case report, we present a 67-year-old Caucasian male without significant comorbidities found to have a left lower lobe empyema and a right upper lobe cavitary lesion after having a tooth extraction 4 months prior. The organisms found within the lesions are normal constituents of the oral flora. In patients presenting with intrathoracic symptoms within the context of recent dental procedures, the clinician should be aware of procedure-related complications that although uncommon could be life-threatening. J Med Cases. 2016;7(11):512-514 doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.14740/jmc2683w


The cultural memory of Awadh is almost exclusively identified with Urdu poetry and courtesan culture, and already in the colonial period it came to stand as the epitome of the "last phase of Oriental culture" ('Abdul Halim Sharar). But if instead of taking a retrospective, nostalgic view we approach literary culture in Awadh prospectively and multilingually and broaden our lens to consider not just the capitals, Faizabad and Lucknow, but also the qasbas (small towns), the small rural courts, the nearby growing city of Banaras, and the colonial capital of Calcutta, a different set of literary dynamics and shifts comes into view. The prevalent image of Awadh as identified with Urdu and Lucknow is not wrong, of course, but it does obscure the other stories, trajectories, and languages. This essay considers some of them. A multilingual and prospective approach helps us consider the circulation of literary tastes across the colonial divide and recognize the production of forgetfulness and ignorance that accompanied modern narratives of languages and literary histories, both colonial and Indian, and that made a host of texts "homeless" (Mohamad Tavakoli-Targhi).


Non-ordered porous networks, so-called aerogels, can be achieved by the 3D assembly of quantum dots (QDs). These materials are well suited for photonic applications, however a certain quenching of the photoluminescence (PL) intensity is observed in these structures. This PL quenching is mainly attributed to the energy transfer mechanisms that result from the close contact of the nanoparticles in the network. Here, we demonstrate the formation of a novel aerogel material with non-quenching PL behaviour by non-classical, reversible gel formation from tetrazole capped silica encapsulated QDs. Monitoring of the gelation/degelation by optical spectroscopy showed that the optical properties of the nanocrystals could be preserved in the 3D network since no spectral shifts and lifetime shortening, which can be attributed to the coupling between QDs, are observed in the gels as compared to the original colloidal solutions. In comparison with other QD-silica monoliths, QDs in our gels are homogeneously distributed with a distinct and controllable distance. In addition we show that the silica shell is porous and allows metal ions to pass through the shell and interact with the QD core causing detectable changes of the emission properties. We further show the applicability of this gelation method to other QD materials which sets the stage for facile preparation of a variety of mixed gel structures.


BACKGROUND/AIMS
Some patients may experience retrosternal pain during ERCP, which may be a pioneer of a serious myocardial problem, and early diagnosis is very important for the prognosis and management. In the study, we aimed to investigate the role of serum cardiac biomarkers, such as myeloperoxidase (MPO), creatine phospokinase (CPK), creatine kinase- myocardial band (CK-MB), and cTnI, on early diagnosis of myocardial ischemia during endoscopic retrograde cholangio pancreaticograpy (ERCP) procedures.

MATERIALS AND METHODS
In this prospective observational study, ERCP patients were separated into ischemic cardiac (n:48) and non-ischemic (n:76) groups. Serious cardiac, kidney, and liver disease patients were excluded from the study. Changes in electrocardigrapy (ECG), blood pressure, pulse rate, oxygen saturation, and serum MPO, CPK, CK-MB, and cTnI levels were investigated before and after the ERCP. Results were evaluated statistically (p<0.05).

RESULTS
Mean age was 59.76±16.62 (55♀, 69♂). Only one patient had clinically unimportant retrosternal pain (0.8%). ST-elevation was detected in 10.4% (n:5), ST-depression in 12.5% (n:6), and negative-T in 31.3% (n:15) of ischemic patients during ERCP. Systolic and diastolic blood pressure and pulse rates in both groups and oxygen saturations in the ischemic group were reduced after ERCP. Significance was not detected with MPO and CPK tests. CK-MB levels showed an increase after the ERCP in the non-ischemic group (p<0.001). cTnI means were higher among the ischemics when pre- and post-ERCP periods (p:0.001) were compared.

CONCLUSION
Clinically unimportant retrosternal pain, T negativity, and ST segment changes as well as reduced systolic, diastolic blood pressure, and heart rates can be seen during ERCP. MPO and CPK levels remain insignificant if myocardial injury does not develop. Increased CK-MB levels in non-ischemic patients and increased cTnI levels in ischemics may be seen.


Abstract The distribution of scallop density and size varies spatially as scallops are nearly sessile species and large scallops grow slowly and die naturally at a constant rate, even without fishing. Harvesting scallops at the right time and the right place, therefore, greatly increases the utilization of this renewable resource. This paper presents a simulation-based optimization method for deriving the optimal temporal and spatial scallop harvest strategy. The initial population distribution is estimated through high-resolution video surveys. A simulation model estimates the new population after each harvest through a Markov chain type analysis. The optimal harvest policies are then determined by calculating the amount of scallops to be harvested in each region at any given time period. This optimization process is conducted through an interaction of a genetic algorithm (GA) – based stochastic optimization method and the simulation model.


Essays on International Asset Allocation and Pricing Kyungkeun Kim Chair of the Supervisory Committee: Associate Professor Yu-chin Chen Department of Economics My dissertation studies financial asset allocation and pricing in open economy framework. In the first chapter, I investigate why countries with more flexible exchange rate policies tend to hold more domestic bonds in their portfolios. First, I show that fewer domestic bond holdings under a pegged regime than under a floating regime is mainly because international bond position cannot hedge against real shocks when the exchange rate is pegged. Therefore, exchange rate regimes are non-neutral for asset holdings through changing the hedging characteristics of nominal assets. Second, I show that, under a floating regime, more domestic bond holdings by countries with more volatile nominal exchange rates can be explained by more volatile real shocks. I develop a two country DSGE model with endogeneous portfolio choice in which nominal bonds are traded internationally and exchange rate regimes are characterized by interest rate rules. In the second chapter, I investigate how international equity mutual funds allocate their portfolios across countries and what factors determine their asset allocation decisions using micro-level data on mutual funds. I find that equity fund managers are actively engaged in a rebalancing strategy to manage their global portfolios and the motive behind this action is more related to equity market risk rather than to currency risk. I also show that the fund managers' degree of rebalancing is larger in times of higher global uncertainty and in equity markets that exhibit a stronger correlation with the global market, implying that global risk has asymmetric effect on international asset allocation. In the third chapter, I expand a closed economy macro-finance model with a recursive preference into an open economy model, to better understand the determinants and co-movement of term premia across countries. I find that term premia are lower in an open economy setup than in a closed economy setup due to increased risk sharing across countries. In addition, I show that both underlying shocks and stochastic volatility shocks have to be highly correlated across countries to explain the cross-country co-movement of term premia, whereas the co-movement of yield spreads is more driven by correlated policy expectations rather than by correlated term premia. I build a two-country DSGE model with the Epstein-Zin preference and stochastic volatility shocks. The third chapter, as well as the second chapter, emphasizes the role of global common risk in an open economy.


This article focuses on patient satisfaction, itself based on patient experience, as a means of tapping into patient quality of care. Current measures of patient satisfaction are inadequate. For instance, some do not acknowledge the role of cultural diversity, values, and identities in patient satisfaction. The main purpose of this article is to identify the aspects of an adequate measure of patient satisfaction. A brief review of existing scales is provided. More specifically, a small sample of scales in the following healthcare contexts is critically evaluated: primary care; out-of-hours primary care; outpatient care; nursing care; chronic illness care; integrated elderly care; mental health care; psychiatric care; and compassionate care. Various healthcare settings are explored in order to provide a more holistic overview of patient satisfaction. Drawing on a range of social psychological theories of identity, representation, and action, it is argued that an appropriate measure should be patient-focused and capture patients' perceptions and experiences of the care they receive; it should be culturally sensitive and consider cultural values; and it should encompass both the physical and psychological dimensions of healthcare. Conclusions provide general recommendations regarding the items that could form part of a new measure of patient satisfaction in healthcare, including a set of generic items that should constitute its backbone. This new universal measure could facilitate more systematic data collection surrounding patient satisfaction as well as the comparison of patient satisfaction in distinct healthcare contexts. A multi-faceted measure of patient satisfaction drawing on social psychological principles will be a pivotal tool for collecting data that are conducive to the improvement of patient quality of care.


A model has been developed of how the threshold contrast of the visual system depends on the external conditions, based on the tremor modulation signal. The model is tested on experimental arrays of the threshold perception of disks, sinusoidal and rectangular grids, the Ricco and Piper laws for spatial summation, and the Bloch–Charpentier and Blondel–Rey laws for the temporal summation of the signal. It is shown that the results converge. The proposed model describes the dependence of the perception threshold on the adaptation brightness, the angular size of the stimulus, and the time that the stimulus is presented. For a specific shape of the stimulus, the model has a simple analytical expression that contains no correction factors or functions, and this makes it convenient for carrying out illumination-engineering calculations and calculating the operating range of optical and optoelectronic devices. A physiological treatment of the model correlates with the selective organization of the sections of the visual cortex.


Context. Outgassing from cometary nuclei involves complex surface and subsurface processes that need to be understood to investigate the composition of cometary ices from coma observations.

Aims. We investigate the production of water, carbon dioxide, and carbon monoxide from the nucleus of comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko (67P). These species have different volatility and are key species of cometary ices.

Methods. Using the high spectral-resolution channel of the Visible InfraRed Thermal Imaging Spectrometer (VIRTIS-H), we observed the ν3 vibrational bands of H2O and CO2 at 2.67 and 4.27 μm, respectively, from 24 November 2014 to 24 January 2015, when comet 67P was between 2.91 and 2.47 AU from the Sun. Observations were undertaken in limb-viewing geometry at distances from the surface of 0 to 1.5 km and with various line-of-sight (LOS) orientations in the body-fixed frame. A geometry tool was used to characterize the position of the LOS with respect to geomorphologic regions and the illumination properties of these regions.

Results. The water production of 67P did not increase much from 2.9 to 2.5 AU. High water column densities are observed for LOS above the neck regions, suggesting they are the most productive in water vapor. While water production is weak in regions with low solar illumination, CO2 is outgassing from both illuminated and non-illuminated regions, which indicates that CO2 sublimates at a depth that is below the diurnal skin depth. The CO2/H2O column density ratio varies from 2 to 60%. For regions that are in sunlight, mean values between 2 and 7% are measured. The lower bound value is likely representative of the CO2/H2O production rate ratio from the neck regions. For carbon monoxide, we derive column density ratios CO/H2O < 1.9% and CO/CO2< 80%. An illumination-driven model, with a uniformly active surface releasing water at a mean rate of 8 × 1025 s-1, provides an overall agreement to VIRTIS-H data, although some mismatches show local surface inhomogeneities in water production. Rotational temperatures of 90–100 K are derived from H2O and CO2 averaged spectra.


This article discusses the conditions of failure and success of pro-democracy semi-oppositions to authoritarian regimes through a comparative study of the last phase of the Portuguese authoritarian regime (1968–1974). It specifies and reformulates Juan Linz's concept of semi-opposition. In Portugal, contrary to Linz's argument, the moderate pro-democracy semi-oppositions participated in the regime's electoral moments and tended to take the greatest possible advantage of these periods so as to discredit the regime and to demonstrate that it could not be transformed from within. In order to make sense of this paradox, scholars should look at the institutional legacies and frameworks of authoritarian regimes. Specifically, we argue that the Portuguese semi-opposition failed because the institutional heritage of the Estado Novo, at the moment of the leadership succession, provided no opportunities for a reformist democratizing coalition to assert itself and promoted instead the radicalization of the semi-opposition. Paradoxically, it was the more liberal institutional framework of the regime that made a political change guided by the democratic semi-opposition impracticable.


In South Africa, the new Children's Act 38 of 2005 was promulgated, inter alia, to reduce statutory intervention in the lives of South African families and make family members and communities mainly responsible for the protection of their children. However, despite impressive legislation, action plans, and school-based prevention programmes, a significant increase of 36.1 percent in reported sexual offences against children between 2008/2009 and 2009/2010 was announced by the South African Police Service. This literature review, firstly, explores the scope and impact of sexual child abuse and, thereafter, highlights international and national response to the plight of prevention. Following this, an ecological framework is applied, where prevention requires an understanding of the factors that increase the risk of childhood sexual abuse. Lastly, intervention research is proposed for the way forward.


This study examines the distinctly ecclesial dimensions of Orthodox thinking on Islam and Muslim-Christian encounters within the context of the modern theological renewal in the Orthodox Church over the past few decades. It shows how by building on the patristic, ecclesial, and liturgical revival over the past half-century – inspired by figures such as Afanassieff, Bulgakov, Florovsky, Lossky, Schmemann, Staniloae, and Zizioulas – Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew, Metropolitan Georges (Khodr), Dr. Tarek Mitri, Archbishop Anastasios (Yannoulatos), and others have reframed the discussion within the Church, and within ecumenical circles, about Christian-Muslim relations. By creatively applying traditional concepts of christology and pneumatology, they have posited Islam as part of the divine economy for salvation and have publicly endorsed (and directly participated in) Muslim-Christian dialogue. The study surveys these interactions between Orthodox Christians and Muslims and analyzes their significance in the broader context of their collective and independent attempts to redefine their identity during the years 1975-2008. The study concludes that it is now possible to speak of an Orthodox 'position' on Islam and relations with Muslims. It also suggests that in their interactions with each other, Orthodox Christians and Muslim are putting forth new paradigms for addressing some of the world's pressing concerns.


Interview with banker and Navy veteran Bennie G. Snider. The interview includes Snider's personal experiences about the Pacific Theater during World War II, youth and education in Denton, Texas, joining the Navy, and boot training and electrical engineering school. Snider talks about duties aboard the USS Hancock, his assignment to Task Group 58 and the invasion of the Philippines, as well as the invasions of Iwo Jima and Okinawa, kamikaze attacks and the Hancock being hit by a kamikaze, burials at sea, and his postwar duties aboard the Hancock as part of Operation MAGIC CARPET.


A polymethylmethacrylate (PMMA) microstructured polymer optical fiber (mPOF) is fabricated and characterized. Using the cut-back technique the fiber loss is measured which is higher than the step-index silica fibers. Through a novel experimental scheme, the backward Stokes spectrum of the fabricated mPOF is recorded over a range exceeding 3000 cm -1 during the cut-back method and compared with that of step-index silica fiber. Especially, the gain coefficient of the Raman peak at 2950 cm -1 is directly measured, that is without comparing with other known material. The results show a very good agreement with those obtained through other experimental schemes.


I write this on the eve of my second anniversary as Editor-in-Chief (E-in-C) of HMPG.
Within six months of my apppointment, I was informed that there would be a restructuring of HMPG. There existed a clear imperative - 'a negative financial result stretching over the previous seven years'. The triumphant result was that 'since starting to implement their financial turnaround strategy with the appointment of a CEO to implement such strategy in September 2013, a negative financial result ... was turned into a net profit of approximately R1.5 million. Although the strategy implemented included drastic cuts in expenses, strategic imperatives implemented created innovative future solutions and a strengthened working relationship between the SAMA subsidiaries, to the benefit of all SAMA members'.


As sequencing costs associated with fast advancing Next Generation Sequencing (NGS) technologies continue to decrease, variant discovery is becoming a more affordable and popular analysis method among research laboratories. Following variant calling and annotation, accurate variant filtering is a crucial step to extract meaningful biological information from sequencing data and to investigate disease etiology. However, the standard variant call file format (VCF) used to store this valuable information is not easy to handle without bioinformatics skills, thus preventing many investigators from directly analysing their data. Here, we present BrowseVCF, an easy-to-use stand-alone software that enables researchers to browse, query and filter millions of variants in a few seconds. Key features include the possibility to store intermediate search results, to query user-defined gene lists, to group samples for family or tumour/normal studies, to download a report of the filters applied, and to export the filtered variants in spreadsheet format. Additionally, BrowseVCF is suitable for any DNA variant analysis (exome, whole-genome and targeted sequencing), can be used also for non-diploid genomes, and is able to discriminate between Single Nucleotide Polymorphisms (SNPs), Insertions/Deletions (InDels), and Multiple Nucleotide Polymorphisms (MNPs). Owing to its portable implementation, BrowseVCF can be used either on personal computers or as part of automated analysis pipelines. The software can be initialised with a few clicks on any operating system without any special administrative or installation permissions. It is actively developed and maintained, and freely available for download from https://github.com/BSGOxford/BrowseVCF/releases/latest.


Where is Europe going? In this 2007 collection, several prominent European economists offer essays on the five big challenges to the development of the European Union (EU). Namely, the new European Constitution, European finances and the euro, the need to boost economic growth, competition in both new member states and countries further to the East, and the goal of forming a cooperative and productive relationship with countries on the European periphery. The book includes essays by Charles Wyplosz, who argues that enlargement and deepening are not substitutes but complements; Vito Tanzi who questions the Keynesian foundation of the Growth and Stability Pact; Daniel Gros, who criticises the achievements within the Lisbon Agenda, as well as essays by Anders Aslund, who claims that Russian and Ukrainian oligarchs differ little from US 'robber barons'. The final two chapters discuss the EU's European Neighbourhood Policy and long-term economic integration in Eurasia. Listed in the Economist Top 100 Books of 2007.


Modern-day archaeological discoveries in the Near East continue to illuminate our understanding of the ancient world, including the many contributions made by the people of Mesopotamia to literature, art, government, and urban life The Handbook to Life in Ancient Mesopotamia describes the culture, history, and people of this land, as well as their struggle for survival and happiness, from about 3500 to 500 BCE. Mesopotamia was the home of a succession of glorious civilizations-Sumeria, Babylonia, and Assyria-which flourished together for more than three millennia. Sumerian mathematicians devised the sixty-minute hour that still rules our lives; Babylonian architects designed the famed Tower of Babel and the Hanging Gardens of Babylon; Assyrian kings and generals, in the name of imperialism, conducted some of the shrewdest military campaigns in recorded history. Readers will identify with the literary works of these civilizations, such as the Code of Hammurabi and the Epic of Gilgamesh, as they are carried across centuries to a period in time intimately entwined with the story of the Bible. Maps and line drawings provide examples of Mesopotamian geography, while other chapters present the Mesopotamian struggle to create civilized life in a fertile land racked by brutal conquest.


In the wake of the capture of Iraqi lands, especially Mosul by the ISIS, the talk of disintegration of Iraq was ever more serious in political circles. The idea is still at issue even after the collapse of the ISIS and its defeat in Mosul. The main objective of this study is to examine whether ethnic and religious conflicts are powerful enough to lead to Iraq's disintegration. Considering the recent developments in Iraq with pretexts of ethnic and religious conflicts, the question considered in this article is whether this situation could pose a threat to the territorial integrity of Iraq or not? Monitoring the positions of internal groups of Iraq, U.S. interests as well as neighboring countries including Iran, Saudi Arabia and Turkey indicates that disintegration of Iraq would not be beneficial for these countries and it will cause farther violence in the region. In this research, the roles of certain Foreign & domestic or International & national elements in the Iraqi politics and society are being analyzed. A study of the effect of the three variables of Kurds, Sunnis and Shias on Iraqi disintegration or integrity indicates that the Kurd variable has the largest contributing effect on Iraq disintegration while the other two variables show lesser potential for driving the country towards disintegration. Nevertheless, the interests of the regional and trans-regional states combined with the geographical situation of Iraq as a landlocked territory prove to be an obstacle in the way of disintegration of the country. According to the findings of this research, the territorial disintegration of Iraq does not seem to be a viable scenario and territorial integrity of Iraq is more consistent with the objectives and interests of local communities and foreign governments.


The sample size comprised five heads of department, 32 teachers and 266 students. The data was collected using questionnaires and interview schedules. Both qualitative and quantitative data analysis techniques were used. The results revealed that very few public institutions of higher learning use 'real' fabric draping for design. Majority of the teachers were not trained in the area of fashion design. Chi-square analysis results yielded a fairly strong relationship between use of 'real' fabric draping for design and pattern development technique taught ( V = 0 .646; p < 0.0001*) and sources of curriculum ( V = 0.623; p < 0.0001*). Use of 'real' fabric draping for design had a weak association with teachers' area of training ( V = 0. 018; p < 0.006). It was concluded that the teachers area of training was not highly associated with the use of 'real' fabric draping. This may be due to the fact that most fashion design teachers were trained in clothing / garment design and are able to understand the technique. Pattern development technique taught and sources of curriculum and teachers' area of training are the key issues associated with the use of 'real' fabric draping for design in public institutions of higher learning. This paper recommends that public institutions of higher learning should ensure that teachers engaged have the adequate skills to teach 'real' fabric draping for design as a practical unit. This would ensure that the students acquire pertinent skills imparted as prescribed in the curriculum. 'Real' fabric draping involves the use of sample textile, fabric or cloth to make patterns or garments on a model or dress form stands manually. The technique is suitable for ready-to-wear and couture garment designs and has numerous advantages, including satisfaction with garment fit, accurate proportions of fabric division and reduced time waste. Numerous studies in Kenya have been carried out on the subject of Home Science. However, little documentation exists on 'real' fabric draping for design in Kenya. This paper anchors its discussion on the findings of a study that sought to assess the usage of 'real' fabric in draping by teachers in public institutions of higher learning and fashion designers in Nairobi County, Kenya, and assesses the competencies of fashion design teachers in Nairobi County, Kenya. It also examines the relationship between the use of 'real' fabric draping for design, on the one hand, and the teachers' area of training on the other hand. The study was guided by the activity theory and pedagogic activity system structure. Employing a cross-sectional survey research design, five public institutions of higher learning were purposively selected.


Background Deep brain stimulation (DBS) has been proposed as an alternative to ablative neurosurgery for severe treatment-resistant Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD), although with partially discrepant results probably related to differences in anatomical targetting and stimulation conditions. We sought to determine the efficacy and tolerability of DBS in OCD and the existence of clinical predictors of response using meta-analysis. Methods We searched the literature on DBS for OCD from 1999 through January 2014 using PubMed/MEDLINE and PsycINFO. We performed fixed and random-effect meta-analysis with score changes (pre-post DBS) on the Yale-Brown Obsessive Compulsive Scale (Y-BOCS) as the primary-outcome measure, and the number of responders to treatment, quality of life and acceptability as secondary measures. Findings Thirty-one studies involving 116 subjects were identified. Eighty-three subjects were implanted in striatal areas—anterior limb of the internal capsule, ventral capsule and ventral striatum, nucleus accumbens and ventral caudate—27 in the subthalamic nucleus and six in the inferior thalamic peduncle. Global percentage of Y-BOCS reduction was estimated at 45.1% and global percentage of responders at 60.0%. Better response was associated with older age at OCD onset and presence of sexual/religious obsessions and compulsions. No significant differences were detected in efficacy between targets. Five patients dropped out, but adverse effects were generally reported as mild, transient and reversible. Conclusions Our analysis confirms that DBS constitutes a valid alternative to lesional surgery for severe, therapy-refractory OCD patients. Well-controlled, randomized studies with larger samples are needed to establish the optimal targeting and stimulation conditions and to extend the analysis of clinical predictors of outcome.


OBJECTIVE Plasma metabolites that distinguish isolated impaired glucose tolerance (iIGT) from isolated impaired fasting glucose (iIFG) may be useful biomarkers to predict IGT, a high-risk state for the development of type 2 diabetes. RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS Targeted metabolomics with 23 metabolites previously associated with dysglycemia was performed with fasting plasma samples from subjects without diabetes at time 0 of an oral glucose tolerance test (OGTT) in two observational cohorts: RISC (Relationship Between Insulin Sensitivity and Cardiovascular Disease) and DMVhi (Diabetes Mellitus and Vascular Health Initiative). Odds ratios (ORs) for a one-SD change in the metabolite level were calculated using multiple logistic regression models controlling for age, sex, and BMI to test for associations with iIGT or iIFG versus normal. Selective biomarkers of iIGT were further validated in the Botnia study. RESULTS α-Hydroxybutyric acid (α-HB) was most strongly associated with iIGT in RISC (OR 2.54 [95% CI 1.86–3.48], P value 5E-9) and DMVhi (2.75 [1.81–4.19], 4E-5) while having no significant association with iIFG. In Botnia, α-HB was selectively associated with iIGT (2.03 [1.65–2.49], 3E-11) and had no significant association with iIFG. Linoleoyl-glycerophosphocholine (L-GPC) and oleic acid were also found to be selective biomarkers of iIGT. In multivariate IGT prediction models, addition of α-HB, L-GPC, and oleic acid to age, sex, BMI, and fasting glucose significantly improved area under the curve in all three cohorts. CONCLUSIONS α-HB, L-GPC, and oleic acid were shown to be selective biomarkers of iIGT, independent of age, sex, BMI, and fasting glucose, in 4,053 subjects without diabetes from three European cohorts. These biomarkers can be used in predictive models to identify subjects with IGT without performing an OGTT.


Cable guardrail systems have been increasing in popularity in recent years due to several perceived benefits over the commonly used W-beam guardrail. A non-proprietary design was desired as an alternative to the many proprietary designs available. A non-proprietary, high-tension, cable end terminal was necessary to accompany the non-proprietary, high-tension, cable guardrail system under development. The objective of this research project was to develop design recommendations for a non-proprietary, high-tension, cable end terminal. An analysis of several cable guardrail end terminals was undertaken to identify any common features that may prove to be beneficial or detrimental to end terminal designs. Next, a study of the non-proprietary, low-tension system was conducted to determine the cause of vehicle instabilities in full-scale testing. Since the high-tension and low-tension, cable end terminal designs are similar, it is likely that any issues with the low-tension design will also be evident in testing of the high-tension design. LS-DYNA modeling of current cable terminal anchor hardware was then accomplished and compared to bogie testing results. The anchor model proved to be sufficiently accurate to preliminarily analyze alternative cable anchor designs. A final, optimized, high-tension, cable anchor design was produced along with alternative terminal post recommendations for continuing development of the non-proprietary, high-tension, cable end terminal.


Recent evidence indicates that boys and girls are differently affected by the quantity and quality of family inputs received in childhood. We assess whether this is also true for schooling inputs. Using matched Florida birth and school administrative records, we estimate the causal effect of school quality on the gender gap in educational outcomes by contrasting opposite-sex siblings who attend the same sets of schools—thereby purging family heterogeneity—and leveraging within-family variation in school quality arising from family moves. Investigating middle school test scores, absences and suspensions, we find that boys benefit more than girls from cumulative exposure to higher quality schools.


This study examines the similarities and differences between the historical background and the current performance ofHindu and Zulu funerals and associated ceremonies. After presenting an account of the historical development of the Hindu and Zulu communities in South Africa, a chronological account of the performance of each of these funeral ceremonies are presented. This account includes a detailed description of the rituals performed when a person is on his/her death bed, the actual funeral ceremonies and the post death rituals and ceremonies associated with ancestor veneration. The incidence and significance of The Anthropology of Geste and Rhythm in each of these ceremonies are demonstrated according to the theory of Marcel Jousse. The Hindu and Zulu ceremonies are then analysed and interpreted to demonstrate an individuals life crises which Van Gennep called the "Rites of Passage" and distinguishes three phases: separation, transition, and incorporation. The discussion accounts for the transmission of traditions over generations, and which demonstrate the anthropological and psychobiological nature of memory, understanding and expression as evident in the performance of Hindu and Zulu funerals and ceremonies and the manner in which the ancestors are venerated in South Africa. The research was undertaken mainly in Kwa-Zulu Natal. However to fill research gaps in the Hindu investigation a study was undertaken in some parts ofIndia as part of the Ford Foundation International Fellowship Programme. Abbreviated title: An analysis of Hindu and Zulu funeral rituals and ceremonies.