Despite the many health benefits that accrue from regular participation in physical activity up to 50 percent of people over 65 years of age are reported to be inadequately physically active to realise these benefits. The aim in the present thesis was to use a mixed methods approach to better understand the complex array of environmental, social and individual factors that contribute to older people's physical activity behaviours. This approach enabled the refinement of a health action model that depicted these factors and their likely
associations and the exploration of ways in which physical activity might be encouraged and supported in this population.
Two hundred and twenty three participants (82 ± 7 years old) from six residential locations in Northern Tasmania completed a physical activity survey that assessed their level of physical activity, their perceptions of activity and the degree of social support for activity they
received. Twenty people were selected for face-to-face interviews to explore in-depth the complex phenomenon of ageing and physical activity.
Survey results indicated that the percentage of inadequately physically active participants was significantly lower than reported in the extant literature. This finding raises important questions about the way in which older people's activity levels are currently assessed.
Interest in, perceived importance and utility of physical activity were high and positively associated with activity level, while the perceived amount of effort it took to be active was negatively associated with activity level. The least active quartile of survey participants reported significantly higher effort associated with being active.
Thematic analysis of interview data revealed the main barriers to activity to be injury or illness, a lack of competence and lack of time. Interviewees described their main motivations as being the support of enthusiastic others, being fully engaged in activities and having fun
while being active. A refined health action model is posited based on the survey and interview findings which, by providing greater insight into the factors influencing physical activity behaviours, supported the redistribution of barriers and motivators from a single factor to individual and specific factors. Enhanced social engagement positively influences multiple factors within the model and presents an important intervention point for changing people's behaviours.
The findings from the present thesis suggest that to increase participation by older people in regular physical activity exercise and health professionals need to utilise techniques that promote and support engagement. Theories such as adult play and reversal theory provide
insights into how activity leaders might maximise engagement and enable participants to experience the arousal associated with activities as challenging, exciting and safe and to overcome anxieties associated with a fear of failure or fear of injury. Finally, techniques such
as motivational interviewing and acceptance and commitment therapy can be incorporated into discussions around physical activity to resolve ambivalence and explore opportunities for self-managed change.


In coherent optical systems laser phase noise can interact with digital equalization to cause equalization-enhanced impairments, which are a major obstacle for applying higher order modulation formats in coherent optical systems with digital chromatic dispersion compensation. In this paper a code-aided expectation maximization method to track phase noise in such systems is presented. A common measure of laser phase noise is the linewidth. It is shown that with ~ 11% redundancy, the laser linewidth tolerance for 975 km transmission distance can be increased by 50%, or the system reach for a laser linewidth of 5 MHz can be doubled. A phase-noise-robust 16-point 4-4-4-4 ring constellation was found to have better performance compared to 16QAM and a 2-6-8 ring constellations. Performance can be further improved with a lower code rate and fewer pilot symbols. It is also shown that algorithmic complexity can be reduced without significant reduction in the performance by reducing iterations and using low complexity codes.


Currently, the use of traditional management accounting techniques such as traditional product costing is not meeting user needs for a variety of reasons. It has been claimed that traditional management accounting techniques are unable to satisfy the users of such techniques in terms of providing them with timely and detailed information. The use of management accounting techniques to support business processes, enabling competitive advantage and creating value is highly relevant for most businesses today. It also encourages the provision of capabilities to reduce cost and improve product quality, process flexibility, and build relationships "supplier-customer" and ultimately improve performance. The research has been done by investigating the contribution of the ease of use and usefulness to accept a change in the hospital management accounting system. All the hospitals (37 hospitals) in Jakarta constituted our population. A sample for this research used 23 management accounting system changes. Our research shows that hospital management accounting system changes are acceptable. The disagreement is related with the functional issues required to support the new system. Previous researchers argue that the delegation of decision rights (decentralization) can reduce the potential for resistance of management accounting innovation implemented in two ways: (a) by creating the environment which allows managers to ensure that their subunits are able to adapt to the new signals provided by accounting innovations and (b) by enabling subunit managers to become involved in the design of these systems.


Using the time evolution equations of (cosmological) General Relativity in the first order Fischer-Marsden form, we construct an integral that measures the amount of non-stationary energy on a given spacelike hypersurface in $D$ dimensions. The integral vanishes for stationary spacetimes; and with a further assumption, reduces to Dain's invariant on the boundary of the hypersurface which is defined with the Einstein constraints and a fourth order equation defining approximate Killing symmetries.


Odontoma is considered to be the most common odontogenic tumor of the oral cavity. Most odontomas are asymptomatic and are discovered during routine radiographic investigations and can cause disturbances in the eruption of the teeth, most commonly delayed eruption or deflection. By a retrospective study design, demographic and clinical data regarding patients who presented odontomas from year 1995 to 2015 were obtained in order and the influence of active therapy on the dentition and on the treatment of impacted teeth was analyzed. Forty-five patients (mean age 14.2 years) with 29 complex and 16 compound odontomas were included in this retrospective study. Initial symptoms were delayed eruption of permanent teeth (n = 25), pain (n = 6), swellings (n = 4), and no symptoms (n = 10); 31 patients were discovered by incidence, all of them via panoramic radiographs. The mandible/maxilla ratio was about 2:1 (31/15). Thirty-two out of 45 odontomas were in close proximity of at least 1 tooth (n = 21 at incisive). A total of 12 teeth were extracted (complex: n = 8; compound: n = 4). Of the nonextracted teeth, 33 teeth were displaced and retained. Of those, 29 teeth were aligned through orthodontic-surgical approach and 4 teeth erupted spontaneously after surgery during the follow-up period. An early detection of odontoma is more likely an accidental radiological finding, hence the need for routine radiographic analysis should be emphasized. Early diagnosis of odontomas in primary dentition is crucial in order to prevent later complications, such as impaction or failure of eruption of teeth.


The paper presents analysis of the place of biomass in Ukraine's energy balance and the role of bioenergy in achieving the goals of the National Renewable Energy Action Plan. The potential of biomass for energy in Ukraine is analyzed. Problems of heat tariffs setting and main problems of biofuel market are considered. Ways for creating the competitive heat and biofuel markets in Ukraine are suggested.


Due to the virtual-transition nature of higher-harmonics generation, harmonic optical microscopy provides a noninvasive mean for the study of early developmental dynamics of vertebrates without any fluorophores. The complicated development within zebrafish (Danio rerio) embryos can be observed clearly in vivo without any treatment on the live specimen.


The Barents Sea ecosystem has undergone substantial ecological fluctuations over the past 40 yr, including large variations in the abundance of capelin Mallotus villosus, herring Clupea harrengus, krill Thysanoessa sp. and Meganyctiphanes norvegica, polar cod Boreo gadus saida, and Atlantic cod Gadus morhua. There is evidence to suggest that harp seals Pagophilus groenlandicus have responded to these changes. The current study analysed the relationships between harp seal body condition, environmental variables and the biomass of major harp seal prey. Harp seal body condition was estimated from samples taken in the southeastern Barents Sea during spring from 1992 to 2011. Body condition of juveniles and adults varied between years, improving from 1992 until 2001 and later deteriorating, with weakest condition in 2011. We investigated covariates that might explain such interannual variation. Significant relationships were found between harp seal blubber thickness and prey abundances. High abundances of capelin, polar cod and Atlantic cod had a negative impact on condition, whereas high abundance of krill had a positive impact. Environmental covariates did not improve the models, probably because these were strongly correlated with prey abundance. We also found a correlation between pup production and blubber thickness, indicating that observed declines in pup production may be associated with decreased body condition of the seals. We further show that competitive inter actions in the food web (e.g. competition between harp seals and some of their prey for shared resources, such as krill) may result in unexpected negative predator–prey relationships. This has implications for predator breeding success and population dynamics.


Managing health services need a lot of money. They are used for many kind of component cost. So far, health services cost at Community Eyes Health Clinic comes from government budget either routine budgeting or development project suvh a community health improvement project. The patient contribution by ticketing is Rp 500,- (five hundred rupiahs), to be paid for provincial government as non tax government income. The tariff that valid of Community Eyes Health Clinic is Based on the letter of agreement of Minister of finance number S-1085/MK.3/1991, dated September 25, 1991 as follow: Specialistic examination Rp 750,-, simple lanoratory Rp 750,-, minor surgery Rp 10.000,-, moderate surgery Rp 20.000,-, mayor surgery Rp 60.000,-, pterygium Rp 20.000,-, and observation Rp 1.750,-.
This research is made to find the unit cost and its analysis to determine the minimum and maximum real tariff including all factors influenced in Community Eyes Health Clinic. The method used in analysing is real cost method. The research is also used to find the cost recovery rate by unit cost.
The result are as follow : actual unit cost without salary in policlinic Rp 1.893,- (CRR 26,42 %), specialistic examination Rp 17.572,- (CRR = 4,14 %), laboratory examination Rp 25.284,- (CRR = 2,97 %), minor surgery Rp 21.830,- (CRR = 45,81 %), moderate surgery Rp 43.660,- (CRR = 45,81 %), major surgery Rp 243.495,- (CRR = 24,64 %), observation Rp 94.808,- (CRR = 1,85 %), refraction Rp 4.022,- (CRR = 18,65 %) and outside clinic Rp 150.516,- (CRR = 66,44 %). There is an exception for outside activities that CRR is still below 50 %, it means that government subsidiary is still required in health care at Community Eyes Health Clinic.

Sumber Utama : www.mikm.undip.ac.id


We report on observations of GRB 080503, a short gamma-ray burst (GRB) with very bright extended emission (about 30 times the gamma-ray fluence of the initial spike) in conjunction with a thorough comparison to other short Swift events. In spite of the prompt-emission brightness, however, the optical counterpart is extraordinarily faint, never exceeding 25 mag in deep observations starting at ∼1 hr after the Burst Alert Telescope (BAT) trigger. The optical brightness peaks at ∼1 day and then falls sharply in a manner similar to the predictions of Li & Paczyński (1998) for supernova-like emission following compact binary mergers. However, a shallow spectral index and similar evolution in X-rays inferred from Chandra observations are more consistent with an afterglow interpretation. The extreme faintness of this probable afterglow relative to the bright gamma-ray emission argues for a very low density medium surrounding the burst (a "naked" GRB), consistent with the lack of a coincident host galaxy down to 28.5 mag in deep Hubble Space Telescope imaging. The late optical and X-ray peak could be explained by a slightly off-axis jet or by a refreshed shock. Our observations reinforce the notion that short GRBs generally occur outside regions of active star formation, but demonstrate that in some cases the luminosity of the extended prompt emission can greatly exceed that of the short spike, which may constrain theoretical interpretation of this class of events. This extended emission is not the onset of an afterglow, and its relative brightness is probably either a viewing-angle effect or intrinsic to the central engine itself. Because most previous BAT short bursts without observed extended emission are too faint for this signature to have been detectable even if it were present at typical level, conclusions based solely on the observed presence or absence of extended emission in the existing Swift sample are premature.


The aim of this study is to reveal what English as a Foreign Language (EFL) teachers and their students think about Dogme ELT (English Language Teaching) described as "...a different way of being a teacher" (Meddings & Thornbury, 2009, p. 21). Three university EFL teachers and their students (N=38) took part in the study. The teachers were first informed about the general principles of Dogme ELT using relevant articles, activities and videos of sample lessons. Each teacher then developed and presented an experimental lesson in line with the principles of Dogme ELT. At the end of these lessons, both teachers and their students were given surveys aiming to reveal their opinions about Dogme ELT. The analysis of their responses led to the conclusion that although a few of the participants expressed their concerns about Dogme ELT, it was generally perceived positively. Therefore, it is suggested that Dogme ELT should be integrated to the mainstream EFL programs.


Psoriasis is a chronic, inflammatory skin disease in which recurring reddish patches, often covered with silvery scales, appear especially on the knees, elbow, scalp and trunk . In this study,one hundred and seventy -six samples were collected from psoriasis patients taken from Al-Hilla educational hospital , Marjan hospital. In order to detect IL-17 and IL-Fasl concentration in serum of psoriatic patients ,Also to determine genes for clumping factor A (ClfA) and fibronectin-binding protein A (FnbA) in Staphylococcus aureus (S.aureus )strains using PCR technique .The result show that , increased in IL-17 and IL-Fasl values in all patients group compared with healthy control, Of the total sixty-five S. aureus isolated , thirty –six of DNA sample were selected for PCR assay .Thirty –six DNA samples (100%)were CIfA gene positive ,thirty –three DNA sample (91.66%) were fnbA gene positive and three sample (8.33%) were negative for fnbA gene visualized on 1% agarose gel electrophoresis.


A recently proposed ray-based method for wave propagation is used to provide a meaningful criterion for the validity of rays in wave theory. This method assigns a Gaussian contribution to each ray in order to estimate the field. Such contributions are inherently flexible. By means of a simple example, it is shown that superior field estimates can result when the contributions are no longer forced to evolve like parabasal beamlets.


The intent of this project was to use the management planning process to develop and evaluate three alternative management scenarios for the Dwight B. Demeritt Forest in Orono and Old Town, Maine, to determine which scenario best meets the landowner objectives, and to identify and provide recommendations to remediate any concerns. Software including the Landscape Management System (LMS), Microsoft Access, and Microsoft Excel were used to develop, analyze, and evaluate a no harvest, a more intensive, and a moderate scenario. A score sheet was created to aid in the comparison of each scenario and to help determine which scenario best meets the landowner objectives. None of the scenarios met all criteria for each objective, and there were benefits and disadvantages to each scenario. The more intensive scenario offered the best alternative to meet the landowner objectives, but it was recommended that the intensive scenario be altered slightly in order to better meet the objectives. Overstory removals should be modified to more vigorously remove the midstory and the amount of clearcut harvests should be increased to create a higher percentage of size class B stands. Furthermore, the substantial area of the forest dominated by large trees should be reduced to lower susceptibility to wind damage, the amount of fir throughout the forest should be decreased to reduce susceptibility to spruce budworm damage, and white pine regeneration and growth should be promoted to maintain the valuable white pine resource. Implementation of these changes will improve the results of the intensive scenario and better meet the landowner objectives.


Language planning in the domain of the courts in Cyprus is of interest because of the concealed salience placed upon the link between language and either state or ethnic identity. The article first examines the dominant role of English in court from 1960 until 1988 as reflecting Cyprocentric state identity associations. It then investigates the establishment of the use of Greek after the enactment of Law N.67/1988 brought the reversal of the linguistic situation. The law, which aimed at putting into action the provisions on language of the 1960 Constitution of the Republic of Cyprus and at safeguarding the use and protection of Greek, derived from Hellenocentric tendencies and its ultimate purpose was to foster Greek ethnic identity rather than to enhance the identity of the state of Cyprus. The above observations are illustrated in the analysis of the legislation on language in the courts, the linguistic situation in the judicial proceedings, and the court verdicts/judgments pertaining to language use. Finally, the article draws parallels between Fishman's 'nationism' and 'nationalism' and the Greek-Cypriots' language selections and identity orientations.


Some researches have already developed fuzzy decision making theoretical algorithms, but there are only a few medical fields of their applications. We thus make a trial of adopting the Yager decision making algorithm to extract the optimal medicine from a collection of drugs that can be given to a patient to cure him of an illness. The choice of the most efficacious remedy is based on clinical symptoms typical of the considered morbid unit.


A delicate balance between pro- and anti-inflammatory responses is critical for host defense and host survival against systemic shock. Borovikova et al. demonstrate that acetylcholine (ACh) can retard the inflammatory response of macrophages. Treatment of lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-exposed macrophages decreased the amount of tumor necrosis factor (TNF) secreted into the growth medium. Experiments on LPS-exposed macrophages treated with ACh and incubated with antibodies to TNF revealed that ACh-mediated inhibition of TNF release occurs by suppressing TNF protein synthesis. ACh also blocked the release of several proinflammatory cytokines, the interleukins IL-1β, IL-18, and IL-6 from macrophages, but did not block the release of the anti-inflammatory cytokine IL-10. In bilaterally vagotomized rats given a lethal dose of LPS, stimulation of the efferent vagus nerve reduced TNF release compared with that in unstimulated vagotomized rats. These data suggest that the efferent vagus nerve can regulate the levels of circulating TNF in vivo and can influence the response of cellular mediators of the immune response. Borovikova, L.V., Ivanova, S., Zhang, M., Yang, H., Botchkina, G.I., Watkins, L.R., Wang, H., Abumrad, N., Eaton, J.W., and Tracey, K.J. (2000) Vagus nerve stimulation attenuates the systemic inflammatory response to endotoxin. Nature 405: 458-462. [Online Journal]


Does official aid pave the road for private foreign investment or does it suffocate private initiative by diverting resources towards unproductive activities? In this paper we explore this question using data for a large number of developing and emerging economies. Controlling for countries' institutional environment, we find that, evaluated at the mean, the marginal effect of aid on private foreign investment is close to zero. Surprisingly, however, the effect is strictly positive for countries in which private agents face a substantial regulatory burden. After testing the robustness of this result, we offer a theoretical model that is able to rationalize our puzzling observation.


Seiche‐induced turbulence and the vertical distribution of dissolved oxygen above and within the sediment were analyzed to evaluate the sediment oxygen uptake rate (JO2), diffusive boundary layer thickness (δDBL), and sediment oxic zone depth (zmax) in situ. High temporal‐resolution microprofiles across the sediment‐water interface and current velocity data within the bottom boundary layer in a medium‐sized mesotrophic lake were obtained during a 12‐h field study. We resolved the dynamic forcing of a full 8‐h seiche cycle and evaluated JO2 from both sides of the sediment‐water interface. Turbulence (characterized by the energy dissipation rate, ε), the vertical distribution of dissolved oxygen across the sediment‐water interface (characterized by δDBL and zmax), JO2, and the sediment oxygen consumption rate (RO2) are all strongly correlated in our freshwater system. Seiche‐induced turbulence shifted from relatively active (ε = 1.2 × 10−8 W kg−1) to inactive (ε = 7.8 × 10−12 W kg−1). In response to this dynamic forcing, δDBL increased from 1.0 mm to the point of becoming undefined, zmax decreased from 2.2 to 0.3 mm as oxygen was depleted from the sediment, and JO2 decreased from 7.0 to 1.1 mmol m−2 d−1 over a time span of hours. JO2 and oxygen consumption were found to be almost equivalent (within ~ 5% and thus close to steady state), with RO2 adjusting rapidly to changes in JO2. Our results reveal the transient nature of sediment oxygen uptake and the importance of accurately characterizing turbulence when estimating JO2.


Obesity is a major and growing health concern associated with an increased risk of falls. The majority of falls are thought to result from some kind of postural perturbation, yet the biomechanical mechanisms as to why obese individuals fall more often is unclear. Therefore, the goal of this study was to investigate the effects of obesity on balance recovery in response to small forward postural perturbations. Twenty male participants, including 10 lean (mean BMI ± SD: 21.9 ± 1.4) and 10 obese (BMI: 33.2 ± 2.3), were exposed to two types of postural perturbations (force impulses applied with a pendulum and angular displacements administered with a release mechanism). Participants attempted to recover balance with only an ankle strategy such that neither a step nor hip flexion was utilized. Quiet standing trials were also conducted for comparison with the literature. Obese individuals exhibited less center of mass (COM) displacement and a slower COM velocity compared to lean individuals when exposed to identical force perturbations. When exposed to the force perturbations relative to body weight, and when released from identical lean angles, no differences in COM performance were found. During quiet standing, no differences in center of pressure (COP) velocity were observed between obese and lean groups. In all tasks, the obese generated higher ankle torque than the lean. Overall, the obese participants exhibited no differences in movement or less/slower movement than the lean participants when recovering from small forward postural perturbations as well as during quiet standing. These results imply that obesity in young adult males did not impair balance recovery for the tasks investigated.


This article aims to increase knowledge and find the best practices on how sustainable energy (SE) can be boosted and implemented at a regional level. It presents the main results from the RESGen (RES Generation - from research infrastructure to SE and reduction of CO2 emissions) project and the procedure developed within the project, which aims to support regionally comprehensive implementation of SE involving all the main stakeholders. Physical prerequisites to support the transition of the energy sector towards SE exist. The RES potential is vast, the economics, especially regional impacts, are feasible, general perceptions are positive, technologies are evolving and the majority of stakeholders support this agenda. There are however barriers slowing the process. The RESGen procedure provides a structured and strategic approach for the shift towards SE.


ARTICLE INFO Friction stir welding (FSW) is a process in the solid state in which heat is generated due to friction between welding tool and work piece. FSW has an extensive effect on the microstructure, weld quality, and mechanical properties. The purpose of this investigation is to study and to predict the heat generated in Aluminum alloy plates welded by FSW method. A three dimensional model was developed by LS-Dyna software, using finite element method. An appropriate heating cycle has been proposed for aluminum 6061 alloy. The investigated parameters in this study were linear velocity and rotational velocity. Finally, results from numerical and experimental data was compared and verified.


The dissertation consists of three essays on Dutch Disease and exchange rate pass-through. Dutch Disease refers to the adverse effects of the natural resource booms on the tradable sectors (manufacturing industries) which may occur mainly through the subsequent appreciation of the real exchange rate. The first essay aims to investigate whether Canadian manufacturing industries have experienced Dutch Disease over the period 1992-2007 as a result of the oil boom. After a review of the literature and discussion of the theoretical considerations, the paper presents a two part empirical analysis to estimate the shortand long-run Dutch Disease effects for the Canadian manufacturing industries at three, four and few cases of five-digit levels of NAICS (about 80 industries), using quarterly data. The first part of the empirical analysis estimates the relationship between real exchange rate and energy prices as well as the other related factors and the second part estimates the effect of real exchange rate on output of the manufacturing industries. Based on these two estimated relationships, the Dutch Disease effect is derived by calculating the effect of energy prices on output of the manufacturing industries. The results indicate that the direction and magnitude of the Dutch Disease effect varies substantially across industries likely, as theory explains, because of differences in market structure in terms of the market power. Specifically, 53 out of the 80 industries suffer from the Dutch Disease with the elasticity of -0.18 in average, while Dutch Disease is beneficial for 24 industries with the elasticity of 0.21 in average. The simulation results reveal that, among the industries suffering (benefiting) from the Dutch Disease, each industry could have more annual output growth by 0.93 (-1.07) percent in average if energy prices remained at its level in 1992. This simulated value for the whole sample is 0.30 percent which is significant compared to 2.8 percent as the average of annual industrial production growth during 1992-2007. The second and third essays together aim to model and estimate the degree of exchange rate pass-through into Canadian producer prices in manufacturing industries. The second essay, as a theoretical one, presents a literature review and contributes to the literature by developing a relatively more general theoretical framework. The provided model, which extends Yang's model (1997) by incorporating the role of the tradable inputs, is able to show all the major determinants of exchange rate pass-through together, while the previous studies have only analyzed the role of one or some of these factors. Specifically, the theoretical model indicates that the exchange rate pass-through should be between one and zero, while it is positively affected by the share of tradable inputs in total cost, and the domestic firms' market i share and negatively by the elasticity of marginal cost with respect to output. The sign for the degree of substitutability among the variants is not theoretically clear and remains as an empirical question. Finally, the third essay presents the empirical framework for estimation of the exchange rate pass-through and its determinants in Canadian manufacturing industries. In this essay, the shortand long-run exchange rate pass-through elasticities to the domestic producer prices are estimated for the industries at three, four and few cases of five-digit levels of NAICS (about 100 industries), using quarterly data from 1992-2007. Then, the pass-through variation across industries is explained by regressing the estimated pass-through elasticities on the variables that are hypothesized to affect the pass-through elasticities according to the developed theoretical model. The results indicate that incomplete pass-through is observed in most cases although its magnitude is different across industries. The average shortand long-run pass-through elasticities are 0.24 and 0.36 respectively. The share of intermediate materials, as the tradable inputs, in production costs (with positive effect) and the elasticity of marginal cost with respect to output (with negative effect) are the most important determinants of the exchange rate pass-through across industries.


In the High Average Power Laser (HAPL) program, we have developed an integrated target tracking and engagement system designed to track an inertial fusion energy target traveling 50-100m/s in three dimensions and to steer laser driver beams so as to engage it with ±20 μm accuracy from a stand off distance of ˜20 meters. The system consists of separate axial and transverse detection techniques to pre-steer individual beamlet mirrors, and a final fine-correction technique using a short-pulse "glint" laser to interrogate the target's position 1-2 ms before the target reaches chamber center. We are working to demonstrate the viability of this concept by conducting a table top engagement demonstration at reduced speeds and distances. Integration of the various components has been completed and hit-on-the-fly experiments are now being conducted. Initial engagement efforts from a simulated driver beam overfilling a falling target yielded a 150-μm standard deviation for targets placed ±1.5mm from chamber center. Since then, our efforts have focused on systematically defining and eliminating all sources of error in each component and subsystem. Current engagement accuracy is 42μm RMS. The engagement effort and the step-wise improvements realized are reported, as well as the path toward our goal.


Apoptosis is essential for development and the maintenance of cellular homeostasis and is frequently dysregulated in disease states. Proteins of the BCL-2 family are key modulators of this process and are thus ideal therapeutic targets. In response to diverse apoptotic stimuli, the pro-apoptotic member of BCL-2 family, BAX, redistributes from the cytosol to the mitochondria or endoplasmic reticulum and primes cells for death. The structural changes that enable this lethal protein to transition from a cytosolic form to a membrane-bound form remain poorly understood. Elucidating this process is a necessary step in the development of BAX as a novel therapeutic target for the treatment of cancer, as well as autoimmune and neurodegenerative disorders. A three-part study, utilizing computational modeling and biological assays, was used to examine how BAX, and similar proteins, transition to membranes. The first part tested the hypothesis that the C-terminal α9 helix regulates the distribution and activity of BAX by functioning as a "molecular switch" to trigger conformational changes that enable the protein to redistribute from the cytosol to mitochondrial membrane. Computational analysis, tested in biological assays, revealed a new finding: that the α9 helix can dock into a hydrophobic groove of BAX in two opposite directions – in a self-associated, forward orientation and a previously, unknown reverse orientation that enables dimerization and apoptosis. Peptides, made to mimic the α9-helix, were able to induce the mitochondrial translocation of BAX, but not when key residues in the hydrophobic groove were mutated. Such findings indicate that the α9 helix of BAX can function as a "molecular switch" to mediate occupancy of the hydrophobic groove and regulate the membrane-binding activity of BAX. This new discovery contributes to the iii understanding of how BAX functions during apoptosis and can lead to the design of new therapeutic approaches based on manipulating the occupancy of the hydrophobic groove. The second and third parts of the study used computational modeling to examine how the helical stability of proteins relates to their ability to functionally transition. Analysis of BAX, as a prototypical transitioning protein, revealed that it has a broad variation in the distribution of its helical interaction energy. This observation led to the hypothesis tested, that proteins which undergo 3D structural transitions during execution of their function have broad variations in the distribution of their helical interaction energies. The result of this study, after examination of a large group of all-alpha proteins, was the development of a novel, predictive computational method, based on measuring helical interactions energies, which can be used to identify new proteins that undergo structural transitioning in the execution of their function. When this method was used to examine transitioning in other members the BCL-2 family, a strong agreement with the published experimental findings resulted. Further, it was revealed that the binding of a ligand, such as a small peptide, to a protein can have significant stabilizing or destabilizing influences that impact upon the activation and function of the protein. This computational analysis thus contributes to a better understanding of the function and regulation of the BCL-2 family members and also offers the means by which peptide mimics that modulate protein activity can be designed for testing in therapeutic endeavors.


Israel's 2009 invasion of Gaza was a vicious act of aggression that left well over one thousand Palestinians dead and devastated the infrastructure of an already impoverished enclave. In this searching examination of Israel's policies, award-winning journalist Gideon Levy shows how the ground was prepared for the assault and documents its continuing effects. From 2005 - the year of Gaza's liberation - through to 2009, he tracks Israel's abandonment of the pretence of diplomacy in favour of a policy of provocation and raw military power, with the ultimate aim of denying Palestinians any chance of forming their own independent state. Punished by Israel and the Quartet of international powers for the democratic election of Hamas, Gaza has been transformed into the world's largest open-air prison. From Gazan families struggling to cope with the random violence of Israel's blockade and its targeted assassinations, to the machinations of legal experts and the continued connivance of the international community, every aspect of this ongoing tragedy is eloquently recorded and forensically analyzed. Levy's powerful journalism shows how the brutality at the heart of Israel's occupation of Palestine has found its most complete expression to date in the collective punishment of the residents of Gaza.


Vasectomy is a safe and highly effective family planning method for men and couples who do not want any more children, but in low resource settings, few men seek out or have access to this method. Increasing the voluntary use of vasectomy is a cost-effective strategy for countries to reduce unmet need for family planning, decrease unintended pregnancies, and meet national family planning goals. By engaging men directly in family planning, vasectomy also holds promise for promoting positive gender norms and healthy relationships. | This brief is part of a set of resources from FHI 360/Evidence Project providing policymakers, advocates, program managers, and service providers with evidence-based recommendations for improving vasectomy programming.


Many industrialized societies are observing the effects of an increasingly sedentary lifestyle on the health of their populations and are actively seeking ways of encouraging physical activity to promote better health and well being that are relevant to their population lifestyles. The increasing ubiquity and sensor enhancement of mobile phones coupled with the emergence of personal heart rate monitors, aimed at dedicated amateur runners, means there is now a possibility to develop persuasive mobile health applications that promote personal well being through the use of real-time physiological data and kinetic interaction so that users can better reflect on their levels of physical activity and may ultimately persuade them to adopt a healthier lifestyle. In this paper we examine the effectiveness on player heart rate and usability of different combinations of physiological and kinetic interaction with a mobile 'exergame' which forms part of novel mobile persuasive health application. In addition to the exergame the application enables users to monitor, record and improve their fitness level through in built-in cardio-respiratory tests, location tracking for analyzing heart rate exertion over time and location. The results not only highlight the potential for encouraging greater physical activity in a novel and fun way but also highlight the potential benefits of using mobile phones for the health monitoring of patients outside the traditional hospital environment.


Ukraine belongs to the group of countries which are known for the widespread phenomenon of subsistence and semi-subsistence farming. Individual farmers are not obliged to produce financial reports and their incomes belong to the category of unobservable incomes. When checking the eligibility for social assistance the level of their incomes needs to be estimated. In a country, where poverty rate is quite high, the coverage of the poor with financial aid is relatively low and public finances under constant control, the importance of a fair and justified methodology for income imputation is particularly strong. In this situation, an outdated and unfair current system of agriculture income estimation in Ukraine calls for immediate changes. This paper presents recommendations for the Ukrainian government in the area of agriculture income imputation, where several methods of estimating farm income were proposed (including the one based on Household Budget Survey). The recommendations were preceded with the analysis of five countries' practices in this area: Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Moldova, Russia, and Poland. A review of different means testing methods, including direct means testing and proxy means testing, served as an introduction to the topic.


Due to the increase in energy prices and spiralling consumption, there is a need to greatly reduce the cost of electricity within data centers, where it makes up 50% of the total cost of the IT infrastructure. A technological solution to this is using on-chip cooling with a single-phase or evaporating liquid to replace energy intensive air-cooling. The energy carried away by the liquid or vapour can also potentially be used in district heating, as an example. Thus, the important issue here is "what is the most energy efficient heat removal process?" As an answer, this paper presents a direct comparison of single-phase water, a 50% water ethylene glycol mixture and several two-phase refrigerants, including the new fourth generation refrigerants HFO1234yf and HFO1234ze. Two-phase cooling using HFC134a had an average junction temperature 9 to 15˚C lower than for single-phase cooling, while the required pumping power for the CPU cooling element for single-phase cooling was on the order of 20-130 times higher to achieve the same junction temperature uniformity. Hot-spot simulations also showed that two-phase refrigerant cooling was able to adjust to local hot-spots because of flow boiling's dependency on the local heat flux, with junction temperatures being 20 to 30˚C lower when compared to water and the 50% water-ethylene glycol mixture, respectively. An exergy analysis was developed considering a cooling cycle composed by a pump, a condenser and a multi-microchannel cooler. The focus was to show the exergetic efficiency of each component and of the entire cycle when the subject energy recovery is considered. Water and HFC134a were the working fluids evaluated in such analysis. The overall exergetic efficiency was higher when using HFC134a (about 2%) and the exergy destroyed, i.e. irreversibilities, showed that the cooling cycle proposed still have a huge potential to increase the thermodynamic performance.


This paper presents design of a Radial Flux Permanent Magnet (RFPM) ring generator for an ocean Wave Energy Converter (WEC). It has a large diameter 61.4 cm and low speed 37.5 rpm. Three phase one layer concentrated winding design is investigated. The design was carried out with the help of SmartCAD machine design and Comsol software. Contribution is done to add an optimization loop to the machine design software. Monte-Carlo method is used to optimize the design with the objective of high efficiency and low cost. Cost optimization includes cost of material, cost of production and cost of losses or efficiency. Production cost is added to the SmartCAD design tool as a separate subroutine. Three groups of slot and pole combinations are considered. The slot and pole combinations with Np = Ns ± 2k where k=1, 2 are further narrowed down to Np = Ns + 2, with higher fundamental winding factor and lower cogging torque amplitude. The optimal design has 72 slots and 74 poles with 86.7% efficiency. Cost of material and production is estimated of 3085 NOK. With assumption of 4000 hours operational time per year and life time of ten years, the cost per kWh for the WEC is estimated. Based on the SmartMotor experience, cost of the mechanical and electrical parts will be roughly as 1 NOK/kWh per year. This is comparable to the cost of Salter duck and higher than IPS OWEC. The further investment and improvement is worthy. The Finite Element Analysis (FEA) is then used to confirm optimality of the design. The parameters are measured in Comsol and then compared with the Matlab result. The entire machine is simulated as rotor moving across one pole pair.


Background: Collagen type III alpha 1 chain (COL3A1) is reported to mediate drug resistance in various cancers, and public database analysis indicated its overexpression in lung cancer. Aims: To investigate the effects of COL3A1 on modulating cisplatin (DDP) resistance in lung carcinoma. Study Design: A cell study. Methods: Gene Expression Omnibus datasets were used to determine the differentially expressed genes between H460 and H460/DDP cell lines using bioinformatics analysis. COL3A1 expression and its clinical value in lung cancer prognosis were analyzed using GEPIA and UALCAN databases. Its roles in modulating the growth, viability, apoptosis, and drug resistance were also assessed in vitro. Results: In H460/DDP cells, the CLO3A1 was among the up-regulated genes compared to H460 cells.COL3A1 overexpression and its association with poor survival in patients with adenocarcinoma were detected by public database analysis. In A549 and H1299 cells, COL3A1 overexpression was associated with increased cell growth and clone formation but decreased cell apoptosis, whereas its reduced expression led to decreased cell growth and clone formation and increased cell apoptosis. Conclusion: COL3A1 is upregulated in lung cancer cells with DDP resistance, and its downregulation sensitizes the cells to DDP.


Momentum profits are low among stocks listed on the Pakistan Stock Exchange. We explore whether this can be improved by exploiting the predicted negative relationship between returns and volatility of momentum strategies. This relationship suggests that momentum returns increase/decrease with decrease/increase in the volatility/variance of momentum returns during the previous six months. We find that scaled momentum strategies outperform the traditional strategy in terms of higher raw returns, risk-adjusted returns and Sharpe ratios. To show the superiority of scaled momentum strategies, we bootstrap the sample 100,000 times and generate the lognormal distribution of holding-period returns for all momentum strategies. We find that the probability of negative returns for the scaled strategy declines from 39% to 8% in comparison to the traditional momentum strategy.


Society is at a turning point. The heady optimism that accompanied the advent of the Internet has gone, replaced with a deep unease as technology, capitalism and an unequal society combine to create the perfect storm. Tech companies are gathering our information online and selling it to the highest bidder, whether government or retailer. In this world of surveillance capitalism, profit depends not only on predicting but modifying our online behaviour. How will this fusion of capitalism and the digital shape the values that define our future?


Success for gene therapy clinical protocols depends on the design of safe and efficient gene carriers. Nature had already designed efficient DNA or RNA delivery devices, namely virus particles. However, they have a propensity to trigger neutralizing and other immune responses and insertional mutagenesis have limited their clinical use. Alternatively, safer approaches involving non-viral carriers have been and continue to be developed although they have not reached the transfection levels achieved by viruses. Those methods can be broadly classified into two categories: chemical and physical methods. In this review we present the most common and recent chemical non-viral methods to introduce, in vitro, pDNA into eukaryotic cells.


This note is written to update the author's article 'The legal enforcement of stock exchange rules' published in (1995) Bond Law Review [7.2] This article analysed the operation and effect of stock exchange listing rules now that they have statutory significance under many sections of the Corporations Law including ss 777 and 1114. It was critical of the decisions of Beaumont J at first instance in Chapmans Ltd v Australian Stock Exchange Ltd (1994 and 1995), which had held inter alia that decisions made by the Australian Stock Exchange under the stock exchange listing rules are not subject to review under the Administrative Decisions ( Judicial Review) Act 1977 (Cth). This decision has now been upheld on appeal by the Full Federal Court in Chapmans Ltd v Australian Stock Exchange Ltd (1996).


Model-Driven Development (MDD) is used for reducing the complexity of a software development process. One of the principal features of MDD which can make it very effective is the support for automatically generating code from the modeling artifacts. An example of MDD is the development of complex real time embedded software systems using the real time profile of UML (UML-RT). Development of this software is difficult mainly due to the requirement to satisfy timing constraints in a resourceconstrained environment. Determining the correctness of this requirement is very important for ensuring the integrity and reliability of a real time software system. This research focuses on examining the correctness of timing information related to UML-RT models. The Linux Trace Toolkit: next generation (LTTng) is used for monitoring an executable real-time application, where the code is generated from UML-RT models using the open-source Papyrus-RT tool. Some of the key research outcomes include the ability to trace a user application, to read a trace file, display the trace results on the model level and display associated timestamps in textual form through the implementation of an Eclipse plugin. In addition, support is also provided to verify the actual timing information of a trace file against the desired user input. This feature enables users to find out the occurrence of any timing delay. Finally, three case studies are conducted using the prototype Eclipse plugin.


This paper proposes an all-fiber fast optical frequency-hop code division multiple access (FFH-CDMA) for high-bandwidth communications. The system does not require an optical frequency synthesizer allowing high communication bit rates. Encoding and decoding are passively achieved by Bragg gratings, Multiple Bragg gratings replace a frequency synthesizer, achieving a hopping rate in tens of GHz. A main lobe sine apodization can be used in writing the gratings to enhance the system capacity and the spectrum efficiency. All network users can use the same tunable encoder/decoder design. The simultaneous utilization of the time and frequency domains offers notable flexibility in code selection. Simulations show that the encoder efficiently performs the FFH spread spectrum signal generation and that the receiver easily extracts the desired signal from a received signal for several multiple access interference scenarios. We measure the system performance in terms of bit error rate, as well as auto-to cross-correlation contrast. A transmission rate of 500 Mb/s per user is supported in a system with up to 30 simultaneous users at 10/sup -9/ bit error rate. We compare FFH-CDMA to several direct sequence-CDMA systems in terms of bit error rate versus the number of simultaneous users. We show that an optical FFH-CDMA system requires new design criteria for code families, as optical device technology differs significantly from that of radio frequency communications.


1.The Business Environment. 2. Basic Concepts of Accounting & Financial Reporting. 3. Organizing a Business: Equity and Debt Financing. 4. Planning for and Predicting Performance. 5.Recording Accounting Data. 6.Completing the Accounting Cycle and Preparing Financial Statements. 7. Using Analytical Data Review for Internal Financial Decisions and Planning for Cash. 8. Analyzing Financial Statements for Profitability, Liquidity, and Solvency. 9. Using Relevant Information for Internal Operational Decisions. 10. Internal Planning and Measuring Tools. 11. Internal Allocation of Scarce Resources. 12. External Reporting Issues. 13. Using Information for External Decisions and Comparison of Companies.


Background Diabetes related complications are associated with poorer health and reduced quality of life. In Ireland, the prevalence of complications has been based on administrative and regional data; information on the national prevalence is limited. The aim of this study was to investigate the prevalence of diabetes and its related complications in a nationally representative sample of older adults in Ireland. Methods Cross-sectional analysis of a population-based sample of adults aged 50 years or over who participated in the first wave of The Irish Longitudinal Study on Ageing, (2009–2011). Data from a computer-assisted personal interview were analysed. Self-report of doctor diagnosed diabetes was used to determine overall prevalence and age of diagnosis to estimate years since diagnosis. Micro vascular complications were defined as a self-reported doctor-diagnosis of leg ulcer, proteinuria, neuropathy, retinopathy or kidney damage. Macro vascular complications were defined as previous myocardial infarction, congestive cardiac failure, cerebrovascular accident or transient ischaemic attack. Analysis was carried out in Stata 12 using the survey function; weights were based on 2011 census figures. The chi-squared test assessed gender-specific differences in prevalence. Multivariate logistic regression was used to develop an explanatory model for the presence of either micro or macro vascular complications. The level of statistical significance was 0.05. Results Data from 8175 participants were available for analysis. 634 individuals self-reported a diagnosis of diabetes. The overall weighted prevalence of doctor diagnosed type 2 diabetes was 8.0% (95% CI: 7.4%–8.6%) and was higher among men (9.6% males [8.6%–10.6%] versus 6.5% females [5.9%–7.5%]; p ≤ 0.001). The median duration since diagnosis was 5 years (IQR 3–10 years). Nearly one third were diagnosed between the ages of 50–59 years (32.2% [28.1%–36.2%]). Among participants with type 2 diabetes, the overall prevalence of micro vascular complications was 26.1% (22.4%–30.1%) with no evidence of gender-specific differences (p = 0.6). The prevalence for each micro vascular complication was: leg ulcers 4.1% (2.7%–6.2%); proteinuria 6.5% (4.7%–9.0%); neuropathy 14.5% (11.7%–17.9%); retinopathy 8.4% (6.4%–11.1%); kidney damage 5% (3.4%–7.5%). Overall, the prevalence of reported diagnosed macro vascular conditions was 15.2% (12.3%–18.6%) and was higher among men (18.2% males [12.3%–18.6%] vs. 11.1% females [7.5%–16.2%]; p ≤ 0.001). Conclusion Diabetes is a common condition among older people in Ireland with a high burden of micro and macro vascular complications. Diabetes prevalence is projected to increase; therefore effective prevention strategies are urgently needed to reduce the burden of complications.


Is tourism an opportunity for lagging countries in the elusive quest for growth (Easterly, 2002)? Recent empirical evidence suggests that the answer is a cautious yes. Aggregate cross-country data show that tourism specialization is likely to be associated with higher per capita GDP growth rates than those observed in industrialized countries. However, this evidence ignores the importance of institutional quality and results are likely to be biased by omitted variable problems. In this paper we frame our starting question within the general debate about the importance of good/bad institutions as fundamental determinants of economic growth (Acemoglu et al., 2001) and ask whether previous positive results of tourism on growth are in fact driven by the presence of growth enhancing institutions. Our empirical analysis exploits newly available datasets and controls the robustness of previous results on growth and tourism in the presence of several institutional quality variables. By means of descriptive statistics and some simple cross-country regressions we confirm that the quality of institutions is important for growth. Yet our results strongly suggest that the weight of tourism in an economy is an independent and robust predictor of higher-than-average growth. (This abstract was borrowed from another version of this item.)


Advances in health care have led to an increasing emphasis on family involvement in the day-to-day care of children with chronic renal disease, but if families do not become competent in this it can negatively influence the child's management. Research into the psychosocial implications of childhood chronic disease has been prolific in recent years, although relatively few studies have investigated the way that families learn about chronic disease management. However, a body of work is emerging in the human sciences around the premise that social engagement in communities of practice is a fundamental process by which people learn. Building on these lines of research this study, therefore, aimed to explore the way that children with chronic renal disease and their families learned to manage the condition, and to determine the impact of relationships between families and professionals on the learning process. Using grounded theory within a symbolic interactionist approach, data were collected and analysed in two phases (retrospective and prospective). Phase one aimed to uncover the issues that eight children and/or their parents identified as important in learning about the condition since diagnosis in the preceding four years. In phase two, a longitudinal approach (building on phase one analysis) involving six families and key professionals, allowed detailed exploration, over eighteen months, of learning events that arose following referral to a Children's Kidney Unit. A focus on learning by families as social participation in care was identified in the study. A novel, substantive theory, the social theory of learning in childhood chronic renal disease is proposed comprising three categories: the processes of assessing; interacting and synthesising. Assessing is the process by which families and professionals learn through assessing the disease course as well as each others' ability and social positioning. Interacting is the process whereby families and professionals learn through sharing knowledge, earning and maintaining trust and engaging jointly in decision making. Synthesising is the process whereby families' and professionals' learn through a new, shared understanding based on knowledge of each others' communities of practice, cultures and patterns of learning. The theory conceptualises family learning as: a two way process of interaction in developing an ongoing practice between family members and professionals; the influence of interpersonal as well as intrapersonal learning; and not only acquisition of skills but also the formation of identities in the context where the skills are learned. Three patterns of learning also emerged from the data (parallel, integrated and synthesised). These help to explain some of the differences and similarities between families' learning as they move through the chronic disease journey. This study develops and modifies Wenger's (1998) social theory of learning and Gibson's concept of participatory competence (1995) and contributes an innovative perspective to the growing body of knowledge around childhood chronic disease. Testing and further development of the theory and its use in child health is indicated.


The best-selling series of Architecture Now! celebrates its tenth edition with a neat new format and thematic organisation. The book brings together the most remarkable new construction work from all over the world into one definitive overview of the latest trends in architectural practice. From Frank O. Gehry's shining Louis Vuitton Foundation in Paris to Zaha Hadid's curving Heydar Aliyev Center in Baku, more than 70 international projects are arranged into five tabbed sections: Residential, Commercial and Public, Education, Research, Culture, and Leisure. Across these core categories, the selection process works to celebrate contemporary architecture in both its innovation and its eclecticism, and to profile the work not only of "starchitects" but also of rising talents such as Tatiana Bilbao (Mexico), Sou Fujimoto (Japan), or the young team from Chile, Pezo von Ellrichshausen.


Objectives: This study aimed to assess Malaysian consumers' awareness of generic medicines, their willingness to use them and the reasons behind their choice. Methods: A survey of consumers who had just visited a community pharmacy was undertaken using an interviewer-administered questionnaire. The survey consisted of 26 questions including questions about knowledge of generic medicines, past experience of generic medicines, willingness to try generic medicines and reasons behind this choice. Results: In total, 203 consumers were surveyed in 10 pharmacies in Kuala Lumpur and Selangor, Malaysia. Overall, 137 consumers (67.5%) did not know what generic medicines were. Among the 86 consumers who had used generics before, most of them (79.0%) felt that generics worked well. For those who had not used generics or were unsure if they had, the majority felt that they would be unwilling to use them as they felt that they were not as effective or as safe as brand name products. Conclusion: Awareness of generic medicines is lacking in Malaysian consumers although past experience with generic medicines may help form a favourable opinion of them. Development of consumer education on generics is required to support the implementation of the generic medicines policy in Malaysia.


In this paper, we discuss the conditions under which we can correctly extract a variety of module parameters of single mode bidirectional optoelectronic duplexer and diplexer modules during relatively slow thermal cycling between -40/spl deg/C and +85/spl deg/C. The obtained values of parameters such as tracking error, optical crosstalk, and the laser diode characteristic temperature have been compared for bidirectional modules from different manufacturers and the impact on these parameters of different interconnect techniques, like microoptic (Mo), silicon optical bench, and planar lightwave circuit technologies is discussed. It is shown that there is a conflict between small threshold currents and good temperature stability for InGaAsP-based Fabry-Perot laser diodes emitting at 1300 and 1550 nm. Then the results of spatially low coherence reflectometry for the different bidirectional module types are presented.


Epilepsy is a category of neurological disorders in which frequent epileptic seizures are described. Epileptic seizures are symptoms that can range from short and almost undetectable intervals to vigorous trembling over long periods. Physical injuries, including sometimes broken bones, may result from these episodes. Seizures appear to recur in epilepsy and as a rule, have no immediate underlying cause.


While the expression of immunoglobulins and T cell receptors on cancer cells has been well-established for decades, the potential roles and mechanisms of action of these cancerous antigen receptors have not been fully elucidated. A monoclonal antibody designated as RP215, which reacts specifically with the carbohydrate-associated epitope located on the heavy chain region of cancerous immunoglobulins and T cell receptors, was used as a unique probe to study the roles of antigen receptors in the immunology of cancer cells. Through extensive cell-based biological and immunological studies, it was found that both anti-antigen receptors and RP215 demonstrated similar actions on the gene regulations involved in the growth/proliferation of cancer cells, as well as on toll-like receptors involved in innate immunity. In addition, RP215-specific cancerous immunoglobulins are believed to capture or neutralize circulating antigen/antibodies which may be harmful to cancer cells within the human body. In contrast to normal B and T cells and their respective receptors in the conventional immune system, cancer cells co-express both immunoglobulins and T cell receptors and immune protection is exercised by unique mechanisms. For example, these cancer cell-expressed antigen receptors display a lack of class switching, limited hyper-mutation, aberrant glycosylations and a strong influence on the toll-like receptors of cancer cells. Therefore, it is hypothesized that both normal and cancerous immune systems may co-exist and operate simultaneously within the human body. The balance of these two immune factors for respective surveillance and protection may be relevant to the outcome of cancer immunotherapy in humans. A potential therapeutic strategy is being developed by using RP215 as a drug candidate to target cancer cells based on these observations.


This paper reports on a panel discussion held at AMCIS 2014 and subsequent panel member research and findings. We focus on curriculum design, program development, and sustainability in business analytics (BA) in higher education. We address some of the burning questions the IS community has asked concerning the various stages of BA program building, and we elaborate challenges that institutions face in constructing successful and competitive analytics programs. Furthermore, given that the panelists have achieved outstanding accomplishments in academic and industrial leadership, we share our experiences and vision of a "dream" analytics program. We hope that our community will continue a dialog that encourages and engages faculty members and administrators to reflect on challenges and opportunities to build dream programs that meet industry needs.


In non-linear regression models, such as the probit model, coefficients cannot be interpreted as marginal effects. The marginal effects are usually non-linear combinations of all regressors and regression coefficients of the model. This paper derives the marginal effects in a probit model with a triple dummy variable interaction term. A frequent application of this model is the regression-based difference-in-difference-in-differences estimator with a binary outcome variable. The formulae derived here are implemented in a Stata program called inteff3 which applies the delta method in order to compute also the standard errors of the marginal effects.


Every writer comes to the Colorado River in the Grand Canyon with a unique point of view. Ann Zwinger's is that of a naturalist, an "observer at the river's brim." Teamed with scientists and other volunteer naturalists, Zwinger was part of an ongoing study of change along the Colorado. In all seasons and all weathers, in almost every kind of craft that goes down the waves, she returned to the Grand Canyon again and again to explore, look, and listen. From the thrill of running the rapids to the wonder in a grain of sand, her words take the reader down 280 miles of the "ever-flowing, energetic, whooping and hollering, galloping" river. Zwinger's book begins with a bald eagle count at Nankoweap Creek in January and ends with a subzero, snowy walk out of the canyon at winter solstice. Between are the delights of spring in side canyons, the benediction of rain on a summer beach, and the chill that comes off limestone walls in November. Her eye for detail catches the enchantment of small things played against the immensity of the river: the gatling-gun love song of tree frogs; the fragile beauty of an evening primrose; ravens "always in close attendance, like lugubrious, sharp-eyed, nineteenth-century undertakers"; and a golden eagle chasing a trout "with wings akimbo like a cleaning lady after a cockroach." As she travels downstream, Zwinger follows others in history who have risked and occasionally lost their lives on the Colorado. Hiking in narrow canyons, she finds cliff dwellings and broken pottery of prehistoric Indians. Rounding a bend or running a rapid, she remembers the triumphs and tragedies of early explorers and pioneers. She describes the changes that have come with putting a big dam on a big river and how the dam has affected the riverine flora and fauna as well as the rapids and their future. Science in the hands of a poet, this captivating book is for armchair travelers who may never see the grandiose Colorado and for those who have run it wisely and well. Like the author, readers will find themselves bewitched by the color and flow of the river, and enticed by what's around the next bend. With her, they will find its rhythms still in the mind, long after the splash and spray and pound are gone.


OBJECTIVE
To explore the perceptions about community participation in dengue fever control during formative research for a community project.

MATERIAL AND METHODS
This study was conducted in three health areas of the Santiago de Cuba municipality during the year 2000. Qualitative and quantitative techniques were used to explore the opinions of health professionals, community leaders and a random sample of 200 people living in the community.

RESULTS
The health professionals who were interviewed judged that difficulties in Aedes aegypti control were due to lack of participation of the community and to limited knowledge of prevention methods. Community leaders considered that the population was poorly motivated. The randomly selected subjects who were interviewed did associate Aedes control with technological intervention. The authors identified barriers to acceptance of control program activities. In general, the concept of "participation" was interpreted as "collaboration".

CONCLUSIONS
Our findings show that the community has transferred the responsibility for Aedes aegypti control to the health sector. There is an evident need for unifying the concepts of community participation, as well as for matching the interests of users and health care providers, in order to attain a significant social mobilization.


In 2000, Betty Dukes of California filed a sex discrimination case that would later become the largest class action suit in US history.  Rather than denying systemic sex discrimination, Wal-Mart successfully argued that the class action suit was too broad.  The U.S. District Court in California and the Court of Appeals sided with the women, but the Supreme Court did not. Our analysis focuses on how the US broadcast news media covered the cases. Using a political–economic interpretive lens, we analyze ABC, CBS, NBC, and PBS news transcripts and find that the coverage and context differed greatly depending on the gender of the reporter and sources.  Mainstream media stories tended to focus on the emotionalism of the plaintiffs, the amount of money at stake, the effects on business and consumers, and the plaintiffs who continued to work for Wal-Mart after experiencing discrimination. PBS coverage was sparse, but what was presented was more in-depth and provided the context that the commercial media ignored.


In response to the global trend of low carbon and the concept of sustainable development, enterprises need to develop R&D for the manufacturing of energy-saving and sustainable products and low carbon products. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to construct a decision model for sustainable product design and development from product servicizing in Taiwan. The study used the grounded theory to extract the results of the expert interviews to analyze factors of sustainable product design and development under principles of product servicizing. Then, this study established a sustainable development checklist of product servicizing based on life cycle as the criterion of evaluation for sustainable product design and development. Finally, the study constructed a decision model for sustainable development of product design and servicizing.


Composting is an important element in sustainable waste management for the UK and could potentially have a vital role to play in meeting the obligations of the Landfill Directive. This paper evaluates the current state of the composting industry in the UK using the survey data from 1999 and compares its performance and profile with other countries in Europe. The UK industry profile shows that most waste (92%) is managed by relatively small, centralised sites which typically employ unsophisticated technology. These centralised sites also tend to compost green (garden) waste almost exclusively and this material is usually obtained from collection at civic amenity sites. In relation to the longer-term requirements of the Landfill Directive, it would appear that continued reliance on composting green waste would not be sufficient to meet the targets. Major structural changes will be needed if the industry is to meet the challenges ahead and kerbside collection and composting of both kitchen and green waste will probably have an important role to play. The results from the 1999 survey of composting also suggest that there is a renewed interest in using mechanical and biological treatment to process municipal solid waste directly. After several years of sustained growth, it is clear that the UK composting industry is at a crucial stage in its development. It is the opinion of the authors that the experience of the more advanced composting countries in Europe should be used as a model for the continued development of the UK industry in order to deliver sustainable waste management in the longer term. © 2001 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.


The brain – computer interface (BCI) provides a communicational channel between human and machine. Most of these systems are based on brain activities. Brain Computer-Interfacing is a methodology that provides a way for communication with the outside environment using the brain thoughts. The success of this methodology depends on the selection of methods to process the brain signals in each phase Feature extraction is one of the most important stages in distinguishing of brain activities from EEG. New features are produced by primary features. Today, in the field of EEG signal processing methods for the best feature extraction are so important. In this article we mentioned  EEG based brain computer interface ( BCI) systems feature extraction such as Principle Component Analysis (PCA), Linear Discriminant Analysis(LDA), Independent Component Analysis (ICA), Mutual information theory (MI), Empirical Mode Decomposition(EMD), High–order frequency component, Wavelet Transform, Common Spatial Pattern ( CSP), Complex Band Power (CBP).


No formalities are required in South African law in respect of the real agreement relating to the transfer of ownership in immovable property. The agreement is, for example, derived from surrounding circumstances, such as the fact that the parties concluded an obligatory agreement which is aimed at the transfer of property, or the fact that the transferor has signed a power of attorney, or the fact that the transferee has paid transfer duty. However, this circumstantial evidence is not conclusive proof that an agreement to transfer property has in fact been concluded. The transferor might have signed the power of attorney, for example, while he was erroneously under the impression that he was signing an option, or the transferee might refuse to take delivery because the property does not correspond to the thing agreed upon. In each situation neither of the parties has the intention to transfer property, and ownership could therefore not be transferred. Yet registration is possible even in the absence of a valid real agreement. This may result in an incorrect register because the person who is indicated as the owner is in fact not. It therefore appears that there is a deficiency in South African law with regard to land registration and a need for greater certainty regarding the question as to whether or not a real agreement has in fact been concluded. In this paper two solutions are explored: (1) the defect can be rectified by requiring the parties to appear (either in person or by a representative) before a conveyancer and to declare that they respectively intend to transfer and obtain property, as is the case in the Netherlands and Germany. The conveyancer should reduce the agreement to writing and the document by which the parties are bound should then be lodged with the registrar as proof of the real agreement; (2) the real agreement may be incorporated into the deed of transfer. Any one of these proposals will remove any doubt regarding the existence of the real agreement and will ensure that the register reflects the true legal position.


The Glorious Revolution and the Continuity of Law explores the relationship between law and revolution. Revolt - armed or not - is often viewed as the overthrow of legitimate rulers. Historical experience, however, shows that revolutions are frequently accompanied by the invocation rather than the repudiation of law. No example is clearer than that of the Glorious Revolution of 1688-89. At that time the unpopular but lawful Catholic king, James II, lost his throne and was replaced by his Protestant son-in law and daughter, William of Orange and Mary, with James's attempt to recapture the throne thwarted at the Battle of the Boyne in Ireland. The revolutionaries had to negotiate two contradictory but intensely held convictions. The first was that the essential role of law in defining and regulating the activity of the state must be maintained. The second was that constitutional arrangements to limit the unilateral authority of the monarch and preserve an indispensable role for the houses of parliament in public decision-making had to be established. In the circumstances of 1688-89, the revolutionaries could not be faithful to the second without betraying the first. Their attempts to reconcile these conflicting objectives involved the frequent employment of legal rhetoric to justify their actions. In so doing, they necessarily used the word "law" in dierent ways. It could denote the specific rules of positive law; it could simply express devotion to the large political and social values that underlay the legal system; or it could do something in between. In 1688-89 it meant all those things to different participants at different times. This study adds a new dimension to the literature of the Glorious Revolution by describing, analyzing and elaborating this central paradox: the revolutionaries tried to break the rules of the constitution and, at the same time, be true to them.


Early-life stress (ELS) poses risks for developmental and mental health problems throughout the lifespan. More research is needed regarding how specific ELS experiences influence specific aspects of neurodevelopment. We examined the association between ELS, defined as severe adversity (e.g., domestic violence, caregiver drug use) and severe relational poverty (e.g., caregiver neglect, lack of caregiver attunement), occurring during the first 2 months of life and a variety of brain-related, clinician-rated functions, including self-regulation and relational capacities. Interdisciplinary clinicians using the Neurosequential Model of Therapeutics (NMT), an approach to clinical problem solving, reported on the timing and type of treatment-seeking children's (N = 2,155; 8–10 years) stressful experiences during four developmental periods: Perinatal (0–2 months), Infancy (2–12 months), Early Childhood (13 months to 4 years), and Childhood (4–11 years). They also reported on children's current functioning in 32 brain-related domains (e.g., sleep, arousal, impulsivity, empathy, concrete cognition). Non-negative matrix factorization (NMF) was conducted on the 32 brain-related domains to identify latent factors, yielding four factors comprising Sensory Integration, Self-Regulation, Relational, and Cognitive functioning. Regularized hierarchical models were then used to identify associations between ELS and each latent factor while controlling for stress occurring during subsequent developmental periods, and children's current degree of relational health. ELS (stress occurring during the first 2 months of life), specifically a severe lack of positive relational experiences (e.g., caregiver neglect, lack of caregiver attunement), was associated with the Sensory Integration and Self-Regulation factors. The Relational factor was better explained by stress occurring during childhood, and the Cognitive factor by stress occurring during infancy and childhood. Implications for how the timing and type of stress experiences may influence brain-related outcomes that are observed in clinical settings are discussed. Future directions include longitudinal follow-ups and greater specification of environmental variables, such as types of interventions received and when they were received, that may interact with ELS experiences to influence brain-related outcomes.


This thesis is divided into three parts. The first two parts deal with two different methods for predicting the manoeuvring characteristics of ships using a neural network technique. The third part deals with the application of the random decrement concept to the coupled sway-yaw motions. -- In the first part of this thesis, a new predictive method is presented for the estimation of the hydrodynamic characteristics of a ship performing certain standard manoeuvres. This method uses the static neural network technique to predict the nonlinear hydrodynamic forces of the ship during its motion in the horizontal plane. The neural network model uses a steepest descent search to find the neural network weights. In this thesis, a back propagation algorithm is used to calculate the slope of the sum-of-squared-error curve as a function of the different weights. Data for training the neural network consists of the data from a 35-35 degree zigzag manoeuvre. Surge, sway, yaw velocities and rudder angles are used as input to the predictive model. The target output data are the lumped nonlinear hydrodynamic functions. -- The generalization of the trained neural network model is checked by simulating the manoeuvres of the ship in a situation different from the one used in the training of neural network. A moderate 20-20 degree zigzag manoeuvre, a 25 degree turning (starboard) and a 20 degree Dieudonne spiral manoeuvre are selected to check the validity of the neural network model. -- In the second part of this thesis, another approach to predict ship turning manoeuvres is proposed. This model maps the relationship between sway velocities and yaw rates during the circular manoeuvre using a neural network technique. This method reduces the number of equations to be used in the prediction to a single yaw equation. This new yaw equation can then be used for predicting turning manoeuvres. -- In the last part of the thesis work, the extension of the random decrement approach to the nonlinear sway-yaw motions is presented. The random waves are simulated based on the ITTC spectrum formula. The linear system and the nonlinear system of sway and yaw motion equations are discussed. The autocorrelation functions of the response of sway and yaw velocities in random waves are obtained. A method for using these functions to identify the hydrodynamic characteristics of the coupled sway-yaw motions is suggested.


Traditionally, Australian universities have been employers of large cohorts of ageing academic staff. Although in the past academic employees usually remained in the workforce until a compulsory retirement age of 65 years, changes in legislation and federal government policy have meant that the retirement age is no longer predictable.

As a result, University management across Australia has had to rethink their staffing policies. A number of practices have been put forward which would enable universities to release their older academics within the bounds of the legislation. For example, pre-retirement contracts and phased retirement options have been used, to encourage staff to commit to a retirement date.

Despite these approaches, a lack of workforce planning to address the often-cited 'unprecedented exodus' from the Australian academic workforce exists.

This thesis will aim to construct an age-planning model for universities to try and address this gap in the field. In order to investigate the factors which influence planning for the loss of older academic staff, two major research phases were undertaken:

• Twelve interviews with Directors and Senior Human Resource Managers, and Senior Executive Staff in nine Australian universities,
and
• A formal survey to a broad group of academic staff from the universities (the sample size was 184 from only five of the participating universities).

The interviews were conducted during 2004 and at that time, the analysis revealed that of the nine universities, only two had workforce planning strategies in place. Despite the Government's focus on quality teaching and research, it proved difficult for the universities to provide information about their outstanding academics, in particular researchers, even though, most had reward and recognition procedures in place such as promotions, Vice Chancellor excellence awards, market loadings, and other measures. This was not a surprising outcome because it was found that performance appraisals were conducted as far apart as four years in some cases (if at all).

With regard to retention of staff, the interview comments indicated that career development, replacement or succession planning were not priorities in the universities. All universities retained many retired staff as honorary staff, but there were mixed views about these appointments. Some interviewees acknowledged their very useful role and others believed that honorary staff were difficult to manage. In general, there was very little
appreciation of the extent to which older academic staff contribute to the work of the institutions.

Survey responses from 184 academic staff implied much cynicism towards university managements because little was being done to plan for their imminent departure from the workforce. Only two per cent of respondents were aware of one or more strategies and fifty-four per cent either did not know of any strategies, or did not answer the question. The remaining respondents felt quite strongly about the lack of obvious strategies. In fact, there were numerous negative comments made by the respondents about older staff being seen as a cost rather than investment.

A reasonably high per cent of respondents (35%) had worked in excess of 20 years in an academic career and, not surprisingly, the majority of these were over 55 years of age. The more experienced academics usually willingly coached or mentored newer academic staff, however this was on an informal basis and not acknowledged by their universities.

The lack of attention to regular performance appraisals became obvious. At least eight per cent of responses indicated that these were held more than five years ago and another twenty-six per cent indicated that they had
never had a performance appraisal.

The findings support the notion that Australian universities do not have adequate strategies in place to address the potential loss of experience, institutional knowledge, and research opportunities when ageing academic
staff exit the workforce. In addition, rather than remaining in the workforce until age 65, the lure of early retirement and work-life balance for ageing academics may be more appealing.

The implication for universities is that instead of focusing on ways to release their older academic staff, of necessity, they will need to consider enticements to retain them. This includes, for example, implementing planning strategies such as recruitment (e.g. reviewing current recruitment policies and procedures to remove disincentives for ageing staff, attracting experienced as well as early career researchers, searching for high calibre staff, offering attractive remuneration and benefits), and retention (e.g. ageprofiling, succession planning, rewards and recognition, honorary appointments for retirees), for an ageing workforce.


Reviews: Methods and Technology in Fish Biology and Fisheries is an international book series publishing important new findings, processes, and protocols in the science and management of fish and fisheries. This series will focus on the application of new technologies, management policies, and critical scientific foci in a diversity of disciplines as they apply to aquatic and marine ecosystems. Books in this series will provide original studies, synthesis information, and opinion on methods and technologies as they first become available to scientists and managers. The aim is to give voice to evolving applications and protocols as they develop within the community and provide quick and easy access to editors and authors working at the cutting-edge of their field throughout the world.  There is need for a forum with honest and extensive investigations of new issues in resource management and science in today's integrated global society. Reviews: Methods and Technology in Fish Biology andFisheries aims to provide that information in a timely and thorough manner through peer-reviewed volumes edited by the leading scientists in their field. These volumes will serve as platforms for discussion of the pros and cons of new developments and technologies in fish biology and fisheries. They will serve the community through an international distribution of new knowledge, procedures and technologies critical to evolving issues and scientific questions focused throughout the world.  This series caters to those with interests in fish biology, fisheries, aquatic ecosystems, resource conservation, policy, management, natural resource technologies, modeling and assessment. The audience includes individuals in research, teaching or management from universities, research institutes, industry, regional and federal governments non-profits and international organizations. Prospective authors and/or editors should consult the Series Editor or Publishing Editor for more details. Series Editor: Jennifer Nielsen firstname.lastname@example.com Publishing Editor: Alexandrine Cheronet email@example.com


We examined the hypothesis that changes in the cerebrovascular resistance index (CVRi), independent of blood pressure (BP), will influence the dynamic relationship between BP and cerebral blood flow in humans. We altered CVRi with (via controlled hyperventilation) and without [via indomethacin (INDO, 1.2 mg/kg)] changes in PaCO2. Sixteen subjects (12 men, 27 ± 7 yr) were tested on two occasions (INDO and hypocapnia) separated by >48 h. Each test incorporated seated rest (5 min), followed by squat-stand maneuvers to increase BP variability and improve assessment of the pressure-flow dynamics using linear transfer function analysis (TFA). Beat-to-beat BP, middle cerebral artery velocity (MCAv), posterior cerebral artery velocity (PCAv), and end-tidal Pco2 were monitored. Dynamic pressure-flow relations were quantified using TFA between BP and MCAv/PCAv in the very low and low frequencies through the driven squat-stand maneuvers at 0.05 and 0.10 Hz. MCAv and PCAv reductions by INDO and hypocapnia were well matched, and CVRi was comparably elevated (P < 0.001). During the squat-stand maneuvers (0.05 and 0.10 Hz), the point estimates of absolute gain were universally reduced, and phase was increased under both conditions. In addition to an absence of regional differences, our findings indicate that alterations in CVRi independent of PaCO2 can alter cerebral pressure-flow dynamics. These findings are consistent with the concept of CVRi being a key factor that should be considered in the correct interpretation of cerebral pressure-flow dynamics as indexed using TFA metrics.


The global scale of the biodiversity crisis has stimulated research into the relationship between biodiversity and ecosystem functioning (BEF). Even though the deep sea is the largest biome on Earth, BEF studies in deep-sea benthic ecosystems are scant. Moreover, the small number of recent studies, which mostly focus on meiobenthic nematodes, report conflicting results that range from a very clear positive relationship to none at all. In this BEF study, the deep-sea macrofauna were used as a model to investigate the structural and functional diversity of macrofauna assemblages at three depths (1200, 1900, and 3000 m) in seven open-slope systems from the North-Eastern Atlantic Ocean to the Central-Eastern Mediterranean Sea. The presence and nature of BEF relationships were studied considering two spatial scales, the large and the basin scale, in different environmental settings. Total benthic biomass and macrofaunal predator biomass were used as proxies to assess ecosystem functioning. Ecosystem efficiency was expressed as macrofaunal biomass to biopolymeric carbon content ratio, macrofaunal biomass to prokaryotic biomass ratio, macrofaunal biomass to meiofaunal biomass ratio, and meiofaunal biomass to prokaryotic biomass ratio. On both large and basin spatial scales, some significant relationships between macrofaunal diversity and ecosystem functioning and efficiency were reported. When significant, the nature of BEF relations was positive and exponential or linear supporting the general idea that a higher diversity can enhance ecosystem functioning. Other BEF relationships were explained by the effect of environmental variables. More data from different deep-sea systems are needed, to better elucidate the consequences of biodiversity loss on the ocean floor.


This study investigated the effectiveness of blended learning and E-learning modes of instruction on the performance of undergraduates in Kwara State, Nigeria. It also determined if the student performance would vary with gender. Quasi experimental that employs pretest, posttest, control group design was adopted for this study. This involves three groups, two experimental (blended learning, and E-learning) and a control group (traditional teaching method). Educational Materials and Methods Performance Test (EMPT) was used for data collection from 30 students that formed the sample for the study. The reliability coefficient of 0.71 was obtained from Kuder-Richardson (KR-20) formula. The Analysis of Covariance (ANCOVA) and Scheffe post hoc test were used to test the hypotheses. Findings of this study showed that: (i) there was significant difference in the performance of the three groups in favour of Experimental group 1 (Blended learning), (ii) there was no significant difference in the performance of male and female undergraduates taught with blended learning, (iii) similarly, no significant difference was found in the performance of male and female undergraduates exposed to e-learning mode of instruction. This implies that performance of undergraduates was enhanced when they are exposed to blended learning mode of instruction. Based on the findings, it was recommended that university lecturers should be encouraged to adopt blended learning for teach their students. Also, government and appropriate university authorities should support and encourage the usage of blended learning in Nigerian universities


Previous research findings indicate that environmental temperature can influence exercise-induced oxidative-stress responses, although the response to variable temperatures is unknown. The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of warm, cold, and "neutral," or room, environmental temperatures on the blood oxidative stress associated with exercise and recovery. Participants (N = 12, age 27 ± 5 yr, VO2max = 56.7 ± 5.8 ml · kg-1 · min-1, maximal cycle power output = 300 ± 39 W) completed 3 exercise sessions consisting of a 1-hr ride at 60% Wmax, at 40% relative humidity in warm (33 °C), cold (7 °C), and room-temperature environments (20 °C) in a randomized crossover fashion. Rectal core temperature was monitored continually as participants remained in the respective trial temperature throughout a 3-hr recovery. Blood was collected preexercise and immediately, 1 hr, and 3 hr postexercise and analyzed for oxidative-stress markers including ferric-reducing ability of plasma (FRAP), Trolox-equivalent antioxidant capacity (TEAC), lipid hydroperoxides, and protein carbonyls. Core temperature was significantly elevated by all exercise trials, but recovery core temperatures reflected the given environment. FRAP (p < .001), TEAC (p < .001), and lipid hydroperoxides (p < .001) were elevated after warm exercise while protein carbonyls were not altered (p > .05). These findings indicate that moderate-intensity exercise and associated recovery in a warm environment elicits a blood oxidative-stress response not observed at comparable exercise performed at lower temperatures.


This work aimed at studying the contributions from the alternative rural educational practices in the process of construction of local development. In this context the study sought to understanding the manifestations of local development expressed in Comunidade do Giral-ES (Giral Community) and its relationship with the incorporation of knowledge by means of rural education. So, the variables related with the pedagogical practices which adopt the Alternance Pedagogy, its role in the building of the local development, its practice in the rural multicultural revalorization and its performance in the transforming performance of the subject as an agent of his own history. For the obtainance of information qualitative research techniques were used, for we see it as the most adequate in identifying the dimensions of local development and its relativization with rural education. It was verified that the educative practices acting in the community, for adopting an alternative pedagogic model expressed by the Alternance Pedagogy, provide the families with the opportunity of contraposition to the needs they face. In this context of changes which rural daily life is undergoing education becomes a factor of fundamental dimensions in the proceeding and consolidating of changes in the relationship with that new emerging reality, which involves family agriculture. One may conclude that a transforming rural education collaborates with the generation of capacity in the student so he will interact and transform his reality.