This article analyses the impact of the global economic meltdown-driven crisis of the late 2007 on workers in the unorganised sector of gem polishing and construction industries in Rajasthan. Based on a field survey, the study analysed the impact of crisisled fall in employment and wage income of workers in general and of different social groups on their living standards. During the crisis period, workers in general tried to adjust to the wage loss and consequent income fall by spending less on their physical as well as social life. In the initial phase of the crisis, workers tend to trim down spending on their social life, followed by a reduction in expenditure on health and education. As the crisis persisted, the workers were left with little other alternative but cut back expenditure on even necessaries absolutely indispensable for their perpetuation and reproduction (food, shelter, clothing, etc). As the crisis continued unabated, they were rather compelled to reduce the very quantity of food intake. Reductions in spending on the necessaries of life tantamount to the absolute deterioration of life standard of workers which would leave the younger generation of the labour force crippled costing dear even to the capital and the state. The social life of workers too was relegated as they cut back their spending on cultural life. On top of it is the economic distress driven domestic conflict, violence and depression, the brunt of which fell mostly on women and children. The study found expenditure reduction food, education and health and sale of assets were mostly done by workers in the lower income strata in both industries. Further that the scale and magnitude of unemployment and income fall due to the crisis on the living standard were more severe for labour households of Scheduled Castes and Tribes. For migrant workers, the hardships further severe. Even though the Indian economy is reported to have been gradually recovering from the crisis, children who were withdrawn from schools and colleges, health hazards of those who had cut back their spending on food and medicines, especially children, women and the aged ones are not retrievable to the pre-crisis level implying that the crisis-led destruction endures. The only viable solution to thwart the deterioration in the living standard of workers is their political mobilization and their organized act to exert pressure on the state to increase budgetary allocation for social service and relief package, at least in the short run.


Three field experiments were performed in Gemmieza agricultural experimental research station, ALGharbia governorate during the three successive seasons of summer, winter 2013 and summer 2014 under clay soil condition to study the effect of three different tillage systems (conventional tillage (CT), conservation agriculture (CA) and semi-CA (SCA) and two fertilizers (recommended doses of NPK and 1/2 recommended doses of it) on yield and its components of broad bean (Egypt-1 variety) and maize (single cross-10) through (maize-broad bean-maize (M/B/M) cropping system. As for the tillage system effect, During the summer season of 2013: results of maize traits revealed that, all the tested tillage systems not had significant effect on maize plant height (cm),cone length(cm),cone weight(g), biological yield (kg/fad) and seed yield (kg/fad) but the conservation agriculture (CA) scored the significant higher values. Regarding, the winter season of 2013/2014): the results showed that, CA system increased significantly all studied broad bean traits as compared with the other tillage systems. Referring to, the summer season of 2014: CA system scored the significant high values for the studied maize traits. As for the effect of studied NPK fertilizer levels, results indicated that, the recommended doses of NPK significantly favored values of the studied maize and broad bean traits during the winter and summer season 2013/2014. As compared by 1/2 dose of recommended NPK fertilizers in the first season (summer, 2013) respectively, while, there are no-significance effect between the two fertilizer levels for maize traits in the second and third season (winter, 2013 & summer, 2014) respectively. Regarding to, the first order interaction effect between the tested factors, results of the three trial seasons revealed that, cultivating maize and broad bean under the condition of conservation agriculture (CA) and fed by the recommended dose of NPK or the half dose of NPK fertilizers scored the greatest values for above mentioned measurements, and differences between them not reach to the significant level with the exception of all maize traits during the summer of 2013 season. On contrast, the lowest values was resulted under the condition of conventional tillage (CT) and fed by the half recommended dose of NPK fertilizers. As for The recorded improvement of soil fertility: results indicated that, CA led to decrease the EC by 6.25 % and increased the organic matter (OM) by 276.08 % and available N by 160.71 %, P by 254.54 % and K by 163.18% under the condition of half recommended dose of NPK fertilizer as compared with the analysis before starting the project plan. It is worthy to mention, about the comparison between CT and CA system under the condition of half NPK dose fertilizer that, CA exposed its superiority to improve the soil content of OM by 15.33 %, available N by 21.67 %, and P by 11.42 % and K by 42.97 % as compared with CT system. Keywords— CA, CT, SCA, NPK, Maize, Broad bean, Crop sequence, Yield


Traditionally water reticulation systems have been operated so that pipeline repair/renewal occurs on a reactive basis, based upon the number of failures, the consequence of failure and the cost. Planning for future replacements and the costs associated with these has been based upon a best guess of pipe lifetimes, which have generally been very conservative, when compared to the actual pipe life obtained. Factors such as the required level of customer service, trade-offs between repair and renewal, or operating practices such as pressure reduction or shut-off block reduction have not been widely considered, except when they are required under the water authorities operating licence. To allow long-term strategies to be implemented for the repair/renewal of water pipelines, a Pipeline Asset and Risk Management System (PARMS) is being developed. This planning model has been designed to allow a range of "what if" scenarios to be analysed to determine their effects on water authorities' long-term costs. This model is based upon whole of life costing and includes data on externality and customer impact costs. It analyses the failures of individual pipe assets, rather than the traditional practice of predicting failure of pipe cohorts, currently used by many authorities. This paper discusses the application of the PARMS planning model to allow selection of pipeline repair/renewal, and briefly analyses the influences that a range of customer service or operating decisions can have on a water authority's capital and operational expenditure.


The relationship with emotionally symbolized "objects" underlying our relation with reality has connotations of ambiguity: a difficult daily mixture of emotions that lead us to experience the other as friend and  at the same time  as foe; as strong and  at the same time  weak;  as belonging within us, and  at the same time  as extraneous, outside us. We could go on and on.  Ambiguity, or rather what emotionally corresponds to what we call ambiguity, is the original mode in which the mind's unconscious mode experiences the relationship. Friend and foe, outside and inside, powerful and weak, present and absent are, after all, descriptive categories that help us to talk, albeit in an approximate way, about emotional events that we are "forced" to communicate, even in this paper, through language. They are definitions, already organized and emotionally oriented, of what is experienced in the "logic of the emotions", far removed from the logic that organizes language and gives it intention. The original ambiguity can induce anxiety; it justifies the propensity to "dissolve", in one way or another, the ambiguous and therefore emotionally non-defined relationship with objects. Emotional acting out serves the purpose: when emotions are acted out, the object to which the acting out is addressed univocally becomes "friend" or "foe", if the original ambivalence concerns this primitive symbolization pattern.  The dissolving of the ambiguity and the emotional acting out are temporally synchronic: there is no dissolution of ambiguity without emotional acting out; emotional acting out always entails a dissolution of ambiguity inherent to the symbolization of the object to which the acting out is addressed. If however the emotionally ambiguous symbolization is "thought", then it is possible to elaborate an original ambiguity, and see its motivations, unravel its contradictions, construct a "dividing" idea which creates links between the various aspects of the originally ambiguous object. Accordingly, it can be said that the mind's unconscious mode is manifested through emotional ambiguity, in the sense of an indefinite, contradictory emotional configuration of the objects one relates to. It is acting out, on the one hand, and on the other the thought that organizes and preludes to action, which lead to the emotional definition of objects and therefore to an organized relationship with them. It should also be remembered that original ambiguity is a resource for our knowledge of the object reality,  for a non-stereotyped adaptation that can relate to the ambiguous, and thus extraneous, object. Dissolving the ambiguity means transforming the object into an emotionally defined interlocutor, but at the cost of losing the possibility of exchanging with the extraneous. Dissolving the ambiguity means transforming the extraneous into an object that can be possessed, so there is a shift from exchange to possession. Tolerating the original ambiguity, associated with the objects of the relationship, is difficult. It entails the non-resolution of the object's emotional indefiniteness, it therefore entails the capacity to establish relations with objects that have no definite configuration, from the emotional point of view, as "good" or "bad", as "friend" or "foe". The ritual components of cultures can be seen as ways of dissolving ambiguity in a reassuring style, channelled into common forms of relation, such as the 'friend' relationship. The difficulty of tolerating ambiguity is well-known in the psychoanalytically oriented psychotherapy relationship, where the analyst's silence may be hard to accept for the patient who right from the outset of the relationship  wants  to place the psychotherapist in the friend-foe pattern. The eroticization of the relationship, for example, can be a way of emotionally dissolving the ambiguity of the object in psychotherapy.  In an interpretation using the categories under study, psychotherapy can be seen as the story of the different ways of dissolving ambiguity, acted out in the analytical relationship. But also the daily experience of each of us in relating socially can be read through the categorization of the various ways of dissolving ambiguity encountered in our usual relationships. The rules of the game in relationships, the social roles, the configurations of power in relationships, the categories of knowledge of the other, are all modes designed to dissolve emotional ambiguity in a reasonably stable way,  inevitable  in any experience of relating. If for instance, ambiguity is dissolved with a friend-foe type reading, then one can relate to the extraneous other, source of ambiguity, using modalities of attack-flight, of dependency or of coupling, to use the Bion's basic assumptions model. If on the other hand one tolerates the original ambiguity of the other, one can go through an experience of exchange where the dissolution of ambiguity will gradually become the outcome elaborated in the exchange itself. Think for instance of the ambiguous relationship with food in a country extraneous to us, like India. There are people who dissolve the ambiguity towards unknown food with a simple, repetitive category: spicy means foe. Hence the search for food that is "not spicy" in the homeland of spices. Hence also the impossibility of knowing a complex and variegated culinary universe, with the sole objective of avoiding an aspect of estrangement  (the use of spices, the flavour of spices) symbolized as foe. These processes of drastic and pragmatically violent reduction of ambiguity, on the other hand, are present in the daily experience of social relations in all cultures; so much so, that it makes the acceptance of ambiguity, the tolerance of it in a relationship, seem  utopian . In this article I want to explore the figure of Punchinello drawn by Domenico Tiepolo, as the artistic expression of ambiguity which characterizes the mind's unconscious mode of being.  I think Domenico Tiepolo's Punchinello figures are in fact emotionally undefined "objects", capable of representing the ambiguity, the emotional indefiniteness typical of the unconscious. I also think that many works of art can be seen as attempts to give emotional ambiguity a clear and explicit emotional dissolution; many others, instead, can represent the expression of ambiguity which has the effect in the viewer of suspending the participation in the emotional dichotomies of friend-foe, in-out, above-below, front-back, i.e. in the emotional dichotomies behind the most primitive dissolutions of ambiguity. Examples of the first function attributed to art can be found in works of religious divulgation, such as the frescoes on the walls of the cathedral of San Geminiano conceived to spread the knowledge of the new and old testaments to the faithful. But also the "didactic" and predicatory works of a certain type of contemporary art: just to take one example, garbage put up as an object to contemplate and meditate on.  Examples of the second function are found in artworks that do not provide an explicit or implicit emotional resolution, such as abstract art at its best, as in a Kandinskij and a Mondrian, in Malevich's suprematism, but also in Arman's  nouveau realisme  with his  assemblages  of broken violins, paintbrushes, clocks or tubes of paint. This is the Arman dear to Umberto Eco, who says that he "transforms the monody of the identical into the symphony of the heterogeneous".


The context of privilege provides unique opportunities and challenges for youth civic development. A mixed-method approach was used to examine links between school-based community service, school climate, and civic orientation among students in cultures of privilege. Surveys completed by students (N = 376) at two private high schools—one with an extracurricular community service requirement and one without—suggest that students in the school without the service requirement report similar, and in some cases more positive, civic attitudes than students from the school with the requirement. Focus-group data indicated that the service requirement was viewed positively, but illuminated other school experiences that might promote community orientation in cultures of privilege, such as an emphasis on global awareness and making civic priorities fundamental to school identity.


This thesis describes the development and evaluation of a theoretical framework to account for the
dynamic aspects of behaviour at the Human-Computer Interface (HCIF). The purpose behind this
work is to allow for the consideration of dynamic Human-Computer Interaction (HCI) in the design
of interactive computer systems, and to facilitate the generation of design tools for this purpose.
The work describes an example of a design tool which demonstrates how designers of interactive
computer systems may account for some aspects of the dynamics of behaviour, involved with the
use of computers, in the design of new interactive systems. The thesis offers empirical and literary
evidence to support the validity of the dynamic factors governing the interaction of humans with
computers.


The Paper evaluates the performance of Bi-directional Shared Tree (BST) multicasting network with two sources and four receivers, attacked by five attackers. These attackers attack the source 1 in network by ICMP Ping Flood. Here we execute the simulation and draw network throughput between source 1 and source 2, queuing transmission delay and drop out data packets at source 1 for ping packet of size 16, 64 and 96 Bytes for 500, 1500 and 2500 ping packets per second. The simulation results indicate that throughput decreases with the increase in attack packet size and attack intensity, and remain constant for all values of intensity with larger packet size, delay increases with increase in attack packet size and decrease with increase in attacking intensity. Also, with the increase in attack packet size the number of dropped packets remain nearly same for different intensities.


As shown by international experience, efforts to reform energy subsidies have a mixed record of success. This paper provides a detailed picture of the India's reform of household subsidies for the purchase of LPG cooking gas—the largest cash transfer program in the world. From all available evidence the reform has been a success, both in reducing leakage and diversion of LPG to the commercial market and in improving the quality of service for legitimate beneficiaries. The paper documents the process of implementation, especially de-duplication of beneficiary lists, elimination of price subsidies by direct transfers to bank accounts, and the use of Aadhaar, India's biometric ID program, to improve access to poor and rural beneficiaries, especially women. Lessons for other countries include: (i) clearly articulating reform objectives helps to build strong political support; (ii) capping consumption of subsidized cylinders together with removal of market price distortion reduces black marketing and improves quality of service delivery; (iii) information campaigns and social media can encourage self-targeting and "nudge" the wealthy to opt out of the subsidy; and (iv) using information technology and digital ID, or Aadhaar, eliminates duplicates and provides fiscal space to target subsidies and expand access to clean cooking fuel for poor rural households, especially women.


The olfactory bulb is an evolutionarily old structure that antedates the appearance of a six-layered mammalian cerebral cortex. As such, the neuronal scaling rules that apply to scaling the mass of the olfactory bulb as a function of its number of neurons might be shared across mammalian groups, as we have found to be the case for the ensemble of non-cortical, non-cerebellar brain structures. Alternatively, the neuronal scaling rules that apply to the olfactory bulb might be distinct in those mammals that rely heavily on olfaction. The group previously referred to as Insectivora includes small mammals, some of which are now placed in Afrotheria, a base group in mammalian radiation, and others in Eulipotyphla, a group derived later, at the base of Laurasiatheria. Here we show that the neuronal scaling rules that apply to building the olfactory bulb differ across eulipotyphlans and other mammals such that eulipotyphlans have more neurons concentrated in an olfactory bulb of similar size than afrotherians, glires and primates. Most strikingly, while the cerebral cortex gains neurons at a faster pace than the olfactory bulb in glires, and afrotherians follow this trend, it is the olfactory bulb that gains neurons at a faster pace than the cerebral cortex in eulipotyphlans, which contradicts the common view that the cerebral cortex is the fastest expanding structure in brain evolution. Our findings emphasize the importance of not using brain structure size as a proxy for numbers of neurons across mammalian orders, and are consistent with the notion that different selective pressures have acted upon the olfactory system of eulipotyphlans, glires and primates, with eulipotyphlans relying more on olfaction for their behavior than glires and primates. Surprisingly, however, the neuronal scaling rules for primates predict that the human olfactory bulb has as many neurons as the larger eulipotyphlan olfactory bulbs, which questions the classification of humans as microsmatic.


A study was carried out on acid activated clay (W) and non-acid activated clays (P and A). Trace metal components and phosphorus compounds were monitored. The Langmuir isotherm was more applicable than the Freundlich isotherm for the adsorption of trace metals, copper and iron. Both the non-acid activated clays were better adsorbents of iron from degummed and bleached palm oil than the acid-activated clay, indicating that neutral and natural adsorbents (clays P and A) could be better for removal of iron in crude palm oil than the acid activated clay in spite of having lower surface areas. Clay P was the best adsorbent for most of the analysed components among the three tested clays. The degummed palm oil bleached with clay P had the lowest concentrations of phosphorus and copper. The removal of primary and secondary oxidation products did not follow the Freudlich and Langmuir equations, probably due to changing values effected by the adsorbent rather than by just mere adsorption. The study shows that careful selection of clays for specific functions is very important for bleaching efficiency where minor impurities in palm oil are removed.


1-Hexyl-3-methylimidazolium hexafluorophosphate was prepared in situ and used as extractant in dispersive liquid-liquid microextraction. Ultra-trace amounts of Pd(II) could be accurately determined by electrothermal atomic absorption spectrometry (ETAAS) and spectrophotometry after extraction by the formed micro-droplets of the ionic liquid phase. 1-(2-Pyridylazo)-2-naphthol was used to produce a hydrophobic palladium complex prior to extraction. The effects of concentrations of reagents, reaction and extraction times, and the other parameters were investigated and optimized. Beer's law was obeyed in the ranges of 0.015-0.900 and 1.50-63.0 ng mL-1 Pd(II) by ETAAS and spectrophotometry, respectively. Under the optimized conditions, the limit of detection (LOD) by ETAAS was 3 ng L-1 with an enrichment factor of 460. The RSD percent was in the range of 1.3%-4.8% for various standard concentrations of Pd(II) in the range of 0.050-40.0 ng mL-1. Most ions did not interfere. The method was successfully applied to the determination of Pd(II) in some water and alloy samples, jewels, and palladium catalysts.


We investigate changes in Asia's regional and global trade linkages and their influence on macroeconomic relationships among Asia, Europe, and the United States (US). We first document changes in tripartite trade patterns and discuss stylized facts about East Asia's trade structure, with particular focus on the role of China. China plays a critical role in rapidly expanding intra-Asian trade as an assembly and production center that supplies final goods for the advanced economies. However, China's trade shares in final goods with East Asia and in parts and components with Europe and US are rising, suggesting that the region's production chains are increasingly integrated into the global business network. Empirical results from a panel vector auto-regression model generally confirm increasingly mutual macroeconomic interdependence among East Asia, Europe, and US. The findings suggest a future role for Asia as an important trade partner and balancing power in the world economy.


The carbonate reservoir in China's Tahe oil field is very heterogeneous with many caves and fractures that resulted from deposition, tectonic movements, diagenesis, and karstification. The reservoir spaces are mainly caves, pores, and fractures that resulted from karstification and structural deformation over several geologic periods. The Lower Ordovician carbonate rock, the main target, is at a depth of more than 5000 m. Karst topography dominates near the basal surface, fractures and caverns within the weathering zone. Laterally, the reservoirs are controlled by paleokarst highlands, slope, and faults that originated in different tectonic periods.


Intestinal fibrosis is a severe complication of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) that often leads to surgical interventions, highlighting an urgent need for alternative therapies. The inhibition of key oxygen‐sensing hydroxylases that regulate the response to hypoxia ameliorates inflammation in mouse models of colitis. Here we investigated the impact of hydroxylase inhibition on intestinal fibrosis. Intestinal fibrosis was induced in mice secondary to colitis through exposure to dextran sodium sulfate (DSS) in drinking water. Cultures of human colonic (CCD‐18Co) and mouse embryonic (MEF) fibroblasts were used to investigate the actions of hydroxylase inhibitors on the response to transforming growth factor‐β1 (TGF‐β1). Mice allowed to recover for 8 or 14 days after exposure to DSS developed fibrosis with profound alterations in the pattern of collagen deposition and infiltration of α‐smooth muscle actin (α‐SMA)‐positive fibroblasts. Treatment with the pan‐hydroxylase inhibitor, dimethyloxalylglycine (DMOG) during the recovery period reduced signs of fibrosis. In contrast, exposure of prolyl hydroxylase‐2+/− (PHD‐2+/−) mice to DSS resulted in severe intestinal fibrosis suggesting that the effects of DMOG are independent of the PHD‐2‐HIF axis. In vitro, hydroxylase inhibitors reduced TGF‐β1 mediated production of key fibrosis markers such as α‐SMA, Connective Tissue Growth Factor (CTGF) and collagen‐1‐α, in both CCD‐18Co and MEF, strongly suggesting an effect on TGF‐β1 signalling. Furthermore, these antifibrotic effects were present in PHD‐2+/− fibroblasts even though these cells showed enhanced responsiveness to TGF‐β1. In order to investigate the molecular mechanisms of the anti‐TGF effects of hydroxylase inhibitors, we analyzed their impact on the activation of TGF‐β1 signalling pathways. While no major effects were detected on the ability of TGF‐β1 to activate the Smad pathway, hydroxylase inhibition strongly inactivated TGF‐ERK signalling. Furthermore, areas of the intestinal mucosa of mice exposed to DSS where α‐SMA positive fibroblasts were concentrated, exhibited abundant positive phosphoERK nuclear staining. This observation highlighted the importance of the activation of the ERK pathway in fibrotic colons. Taken together, our studies showed that hydroxylase inhibition ameliorates intestinal fibrosis, likely via effects on TGF‐ERK signalling. We propose hydroxylase inhibition as a potential new therapeutic approach for the treatment of intestinal fibrosis


ABSTRACT Background: Evidence on effective ways of improving maternal and neonatal health outcomes is widely available. The challenge that most low-income countries grapple with is implementation at scale and sustainability. Objectives: The study aimed at improving access to quality maternal and neonatal health services in a sustainable manner by using a participatory action research approach. Methods: The study consisted of a quasi-experimental design, with a participatory action research approach to implementation in three rural districts (Pallisa, Kibuku and Kamuli) in Eastern Uganda. The intervention had two main components; namely, community empowerment for comprehensive birth preparedness, and health provider and management capacity-building. We collected data using both quantitative and qualitative methods using household and facility-level structured surveys, record reviews, key informant interviews and focus group discussions. We purposively selected the participants for the qualitative data collection, while for the surveys we interviewed all eligible participants in the sampled households and health facilities. Descriptive statistics were used to describe the data, while the difference in difference analysis was used to measure the effect of the intervention. Qualitative data were analysed using thematic analysis. Conclusions: This study was implemented to generate evidence on how to increase access to quality maternal and newborn health services in a sustainable manner using a multisectoral participatory approach.


Background Most English ambulance services have implemented electronic patient report forms (ePRF), enabling electronic capture of patient information; previously all information was collected using paper forms. This development brings new opportunities, including linking ambulance data to patient information post ambulance discharge and improving ambulance quality measures. This research aims to create a linked ambulance service, A and E, inpatient and mortality dataset. Methods EMAS supplied CAD operational and ePRF clinical data from the study period to the University of Sheffield, and patient identifiers (name, date of birth, address, NHS number) to NHS Digital. NHS Digital traced missing NHS numbers, retrieved patient-level HES A and E, HES inpatient, and ONS mortality data, and returned this data to the University of Sheffield. We created a linked ambulance service and subsequent care dataset by linking EMAS clinical information to data from NHS Digital. This allows us to identify subsequent recontacts, A and E attendances, admissions and deaths. Results Our sample comprised only calls recorded via ePRF plus Hear and Treat – excluding 38.90% of total calls. 80.06% of patients in our sample were successfully traced by NHS Digital; unsuccessful traces were due to missing or incomplete CAD/ePRF data. Only CAD identifiers were available for hear and treat patients, limiting tracing success. Non-traced patients could not be linked to HES/ONS data. Of the successfully traced patients, 94.61% were linked to at least one record in the HES or mortality data. Conclusions We successfully created a linked dataset for 154927 EMAS patients. This can be used to identify patient outcomes after leaving ambulance care and to develop and test new ways of monitoring ambulance service care quality and performance. Missing information was problematic for data linkage and may be more common among patients who were unable to provide personal details on scene e.g. sicker patients or those who died.


In prior writings, I coined the term "foreign relations exceptionalism" to refer to the view that the federal government's foreign affairs powers are subject to a different, and generally more relaxed, set of constitutional restraints than those that govern its domestic powers. In a recent article in the Harvard Law Review, The Normalization of Foreign Relations Law, the authors contend that during the past twenty-five years there has been a revolutionary shift away from foreign relations exceptionalism, that this "normalization" trend is likely to continue, and that this development should be welcomed and encouraged. This essay points out various conceptual and methodological limitations with the normalization thesis. In particular, the essay argues that the authors' definition of foreign relations exceptionalism is problematic because it relies on artificial distinctions in constitutional law; that their account is too exclusively focused on the Supreme Court and does not present a compelling case even on its own terms; and that their lack of an underlying theory of why normalization is occurring weakens their empirical, predictive, and normative claims.


Black & white map of the southern Pacific Ocean, showing the north of Australia, parts of China, Korea, and French-Indo-China, New Guinea, the Philippines, Japan, and several small islands. An inset text box in the lower left corner titled "Pacific Progress" describes the completed and future goals of the U.S. armed forces toward defeating Japan. In the upper right corner is an inset map of Palau.


This short paper argues that rationally motivated coordination between agents is an important ingredient to understand the current economic crisis. We argue that changes in parameters that model the structure of a macro-economy or financial markets are not exogenous but arise as agents adopt rules that appear to be the norm around them. For example, if a rule is adopted by the majority of ones' neighbors it will become acceptable or, alternatively, if agents learn that changing their rule leads to greater gains, they will modified their rules. However, as rules develop and spread they may have consequences at the aggregate level which are not anticipated by individuals. These rules may be adopted by implicit consensus as they turn out to be profitable for individuals, but they may also weaken the constraints imposed by regulators. Indeed, the emergence of new rules or the modification of old ones may render the whole system more fragile, which may then cease to function. To illustrate this we develop a simple model, motivated by the 2007-2008 crisis in credit derivatives markets, to show how coordination on simple and apparently profitable rules may cause a market to collapse.


Author(s): Kelson, Suzanne J; Power, Mary E; Finlay, Jacques C; Carlson, Stephanie M | Abstract: Many migratory species, from monarch butterflies to wildebeest, express partial migration, where only a subset of a population migrates. This intraspecific variation is likely to have large ecological consequences. We studied the ecological consequences of partial migration in a salmonid fish, Oncorhynchus mykiss , in coastal streams in California, USA. One ecotype, steelhead trout, migrates to the ocean, whereas the other, rainbow trout, completes its lifecycle in freshwater. Migration has a strong genetic basis in O. mykiss . In one stream, we found differences in the frequency of migration‐linked genotypes below and above a waterfall barrier (migratory allele frequency of 60% below vs. 31% above). Below the waterfall, in the migratory‐dominated region, the density of young fish (l1 yr old) was approximately twice that in the resident‐dominated region above the waterfall (0.46 vs. 0.26 individuals/m2, respectively), presumably reflecting the higher fecundity of migratory females. Additionally, there were half as many older fish (g1 yr old) in pools downstream of the waterfall (0.05 vs. 0.13 individuals/m2). In a second stream, between‐year variation in the dominance of migratory vs. resident fish allowed us to explore differences in fish density and size structure through time, and we found a consistent pattern. In brief, when migratory genotypes dominated, we found higher densities of young fish and lower densities of older fish, resulting in a simpler size structure, compared to when resident genotypes dominated. Moreover, large resident trout had a slightly higher trophic position than young fish (3.92 vs. 3.42 in one creek and 3.77 vs. 3.17 in the other), quantified with stable isotope data. The difference in fish size structure did not generate trophic cascades. Partial migration is widespread among migratory populations, as is phenotypic divergence between resident and migratory forms, suggesting the potential for widespread ecological effects arising from this common form of intraspecific variation.


A theoretical study of the local field inside a mesoscopic quantum-well film subjected to an externally impressed optical wave is undertaken. In the wake of a discussion of the basic integral equation for the field–field response tensor, the so-called slave and self-field models are investigated, emphasizing the relation to the sheet-conductivity tensor, which, from an experimental point of view, is the basic quantity. The complexity of the local-field electrodynamics is put into perspective in a study of the microscopic paramagnetic response of a two-level quantum-well system. It is demonstrated that, for the two-level sheet, induced currents can flow only perpendicular to the quantum well. I stress that the complexity necessitates the use of few-level quantum wells for a proper comparison of theory and experiment.


In these proceedings we summarize the current status of the study of the sensitivity of the Cherenkov Telescope Array (CTA) to detect diffuse gamma-ray emission from the Perseus galaxy cluster. Gamma-ray emission is expected in galaxy clusters both from interactions of cosmic rays (CR) with the intra-cluster medium, or as a product of annihilation or decay of dark matter (DM) particles in case they are weakly interactive massive particles (WIMPs). The observation of Perseus has been proposed as one of the CTA Key Science Projects. In this contribution, we focus on the DM-induced component of the flux. Our DM modelling includes the substructures we expect in the main halo which will boost the annihilation signal significantly. We adopt an ON/OFF observation strategy and simulate the expected gamma-ray signals. Finally we compute the expected CTA sensitivity using a likelihood maximization analysis including the most recent CTA instrument response functions. In absence of signal, we show that CTA will allow us to provide stringent and competitive constraints on TeV DM, especially for the case of DM decay.


Moraines in the Taurus Mountains of south-central Turkey, dated to latest Pleistocene or earliest Holocene, show that glaciers were extraordinarily large, typical of the Last Glacial Maximum (21 ka), and that rates of glacier retreat and temperature rise exceeded those of the past century. Surface exposure ages of 7 moraines in a valley at altitudes between 1100 m and 3100 m above sea level range from 10.2 ± 0.2 ka to 8.6 ± 0.3 ka, computed using our own production rates and spatiotemporal scaling factors. Hitherto unresolved differences in cosmogenic 36 Cl production-rate estimates can make these ages signifi cantly older, and therefore the analysis presented here focuses on the rate of change and not on the absolute chronology. During deglaciation, the equilibrium line altitude ascended 1430 m and the air temperature rose by 9 °C. Deglaciation occurred in two phases. During the second, faster phase, which lasted 500 yr, the glacier length decreased at an average rate of 1700 m/100 yr, implying a warming rate of 1.44 °C/100 yr, indicating a rapid climate shift marking the onset of the Holocene in Turkey.


During moonlit nights, observations with ground-based Cherenkov telescopes at very high energies (VHEs, E > 100 ?> GeV) are constrained since the photomultiplier tubes (PMTs) in the telescope camera are extremely sensitive to the background moonlight. Observations with the VERITAS telescopes in the standard configuration are performed only with a moon illumination less than 35% of full moon. Since 2012, the VERITAS collaboration has implemented a new observing mode under bright moonlight, by either reducing the voltage applied to the PMTs (reduced-high-voltage; RHV configuration), or by utilizing UV-transparent filters. While these operating modes result in lower sensitivity and increased energy thresholds, the extension of the available observing time is useful for monitoring variable sources such as blazars and sources requiring spectral measurements at the highest energies. In this paper we report the detection of γ-ray flaring activity from the BL Lac object 1ES 1727+502 during RHV observations. This detection represents the first evidence of VHE variability from this blazar. The integral flux is ( 1.1 ± 0.2 ) × 10 − 11 cm − 2 s − 1 ?> above 250 GeV, which is about five times higher than the low-flux state. The detection triggered additional VERITAS observations during standard dark-time. Multiwavelength observations with the FLWO 48″ telescope, and the Swift and Fermi satellites are presented and used to produce the first spectral energy distribution (SED) of this object during γ-ray flaring activity. The SED is then fitted with a standard synchrotron-self-Compton model, placing constraints on the properties of the emitting region and of the acceleration mechanism at the origin of the relativistic particle population in the jet.


Quartz crystal microbalance (QCM) is frequently used to investigate adsorption of nanometer-sized objects such as proteins, viruses, or organic as well as inorganic nanoparticles from solution. The interpretation of the data obtained for heterogeneous adsorbate layers is not straightforward in particular if the systems exhibit sizable amounts of dissipation. In this study we investigate the deposition of monodisperse, amine functionalized silica nanoparticles on gold surfaces using QCM with dissipation (QCM-D) to obtain frequency and dissipation changes during adsorption from the liquid phase. These investigations are combined with ex situ scanning electron microscopy (SEM) measurements to study both coverage as well as lateral arrangement of the particles. An ordered layer of particles is found at saturation coverage due to the charged particle surface resulting in a repulsive interaction between the particles. The repulsion ensures a minimal distance between the particles, which leads to a saturation coverage of 15% for particles of 137 nm diameter. The frequency shift is shown to be a linear function of coverage which is a behavior expected for an elastic medium according to the Sauerbrey equation. However, the system shows a strong dependence of the normalized frequency shift on the overtones as well as a large dissipation, which is a clear indication for a system with viscoelastic properties. The analysis of the data show that a reliable determination of the adsorbed mass solely on the basis of QCM-D results is not possible, but additional information as determined by SEM in the present case is required to determine the coverage. From a correlation of the QCM-D results with the structural characterization it is possible to infer that the dissipation is a long ranged phenomenon. A lower boundary of the interaction length could be derived being twice the particle diameter for the particles studied here. In contrast to that the frequency response behaves like local phenomenon.


Adapted from a short play written by the Shanghai Chest Hospital Amateur Art Group (Shanghai shi xiongke yiyuan yeyu wenyi chuangzuozu), An Ode to the Silver Needle Under a Shadowless Lamp (Wuyingdeng xia song yinzhen, 1974, hereinafter Silver Needle) was one of a small handful of films about medicine released during the latter part of what is commonly known as the "Cultural Revolution era" (1966-1976). What makes Silver Needle remarkable as a primary source is its subject matter: it is the only Chinese film from the period that portrays the practice of "acupuncture anaesthesia" (zhenci mazui or zhenma) in an urban, hospital setting. Other Cultural Revolution films on medicine and healthcare focussed exclusively on "barefoot doctors" (chijiao yisheng)—rural residents who received some medical training and delivered basic healthcare to China's vast countryside and frontier regions (Fang 2012, Scheid 2013: 261-2, Lan 2015, Pang 2017: 101-34). Silver Needle celebrates acupuncture anaesthesia as one of the crowning achievements of Traditional Chinese Medicine in combination with Maoist ideology (Hsu 1996, Taylor 2005: 138-9, Hayot 2009: 207-45). The film also prescribes a model of the revolutionary doctor dedicated to serving the Chinese masses. Silver Needle dramatises a protracted debate on the political status of expertise and experts that began after the establishment of the People's Republic of China (PRC) in 1949, intensified in 1957-1958, and climaxed during the late-1960s and early-1970s (Lynteris 2013: 58-89, Andreas 2009).


Moderate magnitude seismic events have occurred during the last decade in non-seismic areas and have highlighted that many existing buildings do not sufficiently resist these types of events. The objective of this work is to illustrate that most buildings dating from 2002–2010 constructed from wide beams, which were designed to previous earthquake resistance codes, do not offer a satisfactory seismic behaviour, and to identify which structural attributes can best help alleviate this problem. In this work the effect of a real earthquake of medium magnitude (Lorca, 2011) on buildings of three, five and eight stories with unidirectional frames of wide-beam concrete was assessed. The methodology included non-linear static (pushover) analyses and dynamic response simulations with the aim to understand the effect on the seismic performance of changing some of the geometrical and material parameters. Maximum displacements and capacity curves for the top floor of a set of representative buildings were evaluated and compared. In particular, capacity curves obtained from non-linear static (pushover) analysis are compared for different building configurations, as well as the maximum displacements obtained through non-linear dynamic analysis. This paper highlights the seismic vulnerability of buildings constructed between 2002 and 2010 and the results indicate that a higher density of infill walls (walls whose bricks are not part of the main structure) is the feature that most significantly improves the seismic behaviour of the structures analysed. Moreover, counterintuitively, incorporating stronger concrete and reinforcing steel and using alternative column arrangements only have a small positive effect on the seismic behaviour of these types of buildings.


This article explores the characteristics of food security in the context of economies in transition. These special characteristics derive from the "legacies" of socialist systems, both economy-wide ones and others specific to the agriculture and the food sector. Food insecurity in transition countries is considered predominantly "transitory", while social safety nets dating back to the socialist years provide some cushion. Market failures and other institutional constraints are prevalent, inhibiting the process towards improvement of the food security situation. Conflict takes a heavy toll in terms of hunger and malnutrition in economies in transition and macro level factors are at work to determine food security outcomes. At the same time, socialist legacies determine differences in food security outcomes between transition and developing countries beyond what would be explained by income differences.


A Thesis Submitted to the Department of Management in Partial Fulfillment
of the Requirements for the Degree of Master in Business Administration.


Heavy-Rydberg ion-pair states, molecular quantum systems that are bound by their long-range pure Coulomb attraction, are formed through Rydberg atom collisions with molecules that attach low energy electrons. Collisions of potassium Rydberg atoms K(np) with the attaching species CCl4 and SF6 lead, respectively, to dissociative and non-dissociative electron attachment with subsequent formation of bound ion-pair states K · · ·Cl− and K · · · SF6 . The experimental apparatus used to produce and detect heavy-Rydberg ion-pair states consists of a reaction region and a separate analysis region. It separates a fraction of the product ion pairs from the parent Rydberg atoms, eliminating spurious background signals associated with blackbody-induced and electric-field ionization of Rydberg atoms. A position sensitive detector in the analysis region is employed to measure their velocity, angular, and binding energy distribution and lifetimes. Measurements of the spatial distribution of ion pairs provide information on their velocity and angular distributions, and their binding energy distribution is measured using electric field-induced dissociation. The lifetime of the ion-pair states is influenced by multiple processes including internal-to-translational energy transfer, autodetachment of the electron, and neutralization through charge transfer. The experimental results are compared with the results of a Monte Carlo collision code that models both the initial Rydberg electron attachment and the subsequent evolution and molecular dynamics of the ion pairs. This model highlights the factors such as the kinematics of the Rydberg atom and the attaching particle and the energy released in dissociation (in the case of dissociative attachment) that are important in governing ion pair formation. The model calculations are in good agreement with the experimental data.


The use of behavioral assessment tools, in the hiring process, has become a common practice for many private and public employers with the goal of finding the right fit for their organization and reducing employee turnover. This study re-examines the use of behavioral assessment tools for employee selection. Through secondary analysis, and evaluating the hiring data of a local municipality who uses these tools as part of their hiring process, I was able to determine the effectiveness of behavioral assessments in candidate selection. Although behavioral assessment tools can add great value to an organization, their low validity and unsupported claims of return on investment, call into question their use in the hiring process. I have concluded that behavioral assessment tools are more useful for employee self-awareness, teambuilding, and succession planning, and should not be used in candidate selection.


Spinal muscular atrophy (SMA) is a common inherited disorder characterized by neurodegeneration of α-motor neurons. SMA is caused by mutation and/or deletion of the SMN1 gene that encodes the survival of motor neuron protein (SMN). Homozygous SMN1 deletion in unaffected persons is a rare event suggesting that the SMA phenotype is modified by other factors. The microarray expression analysis of the SMA discordant families revealed for the first time, a transcript that encodes for a cytoskeletal protein, namely T-plastin, to be the most up-regulated gene in asymptomatic vs. symptomatic SMN1-deleted sibs. A closer look to a possible involvement of T-plastin in SMA pathophysiology revealed exciting observations. First, T-plastin was found to be expressed at high levels in spinal cord and muscle of fetal and adult tissues by semi-quantitative PCR, an observation that provides a strong evidence for T-plastin implication in neuronal differentiation and neuromuscular maturation. Moreover, T-plastin associates with SMN as shown by Co-IP experiments, but this interaction, as demonstrated by in vitro binding assay, is mediated by another so far unknown protein. Second, T-plastin and SMN were found by immunofluorescence to co-localize along the axons, at branch points and at the growth cones in neurite-like extensions in differentiated PC12 cells. Interestingly, the T-plastin protein amount was found to be up-regulated in differentiated PC12 cells under NGF stimulation, an observation that might propose a possible function for T-plastin as substrate for signalling molecules. Moreover, under NGF stimulation, the affinity of T-plastin for SMN increased up to 50% suggesting that a transient complex might occur during neuronal differentiation that contributes to a specific role during this biological process. Third, the effect of T-plastin loss/overexpression in differentiated PC12 cells (cells presenting either shorter neurites when T-plastin was depleted or longer neurites when T-plastin was overexpressed) hints to a perturbation in the axon growth, guidance (and perhaps branching) due to the involvement of T-plastin in F-actin filament formation and stabilization. Interestingly, by in vitro experiments it has been observed that in differentiated PC12 cells expressing low amount of SMN protein, but overexpressing T-plastin, the length of the neurites was rescued at least in part by higher T-plastin levels. This suggests that a higher amount of T-plastin protein might help the growth cone structures to reach their target (the muscle in case of motor neurons). While all analyzed unaffected SMN1-deleted sibs expressed T-plastin in both peripheral blood and EBV-transformed lymphoblastoid cell lines, only 6.5% of the control population expressed T-plastin. In classical SMA patients, T-plastin was highly expressed in 5.9%, medium in 7.4% and very weak in 13.4%. Finally, 8% patients without SMN1 mutations expressed T-plastin. These data suggest that T-plastin expression in leukocytes happens as a rare event in humans and its expression in blood significantly correlates with an SMA protection. Nevertheless, not all blood-T-plastin-expressing SMN1-deleted individuals are SMA protected, which suggest a potential differential regulation in the spinal cord.The answer to the question by which mechanism T-plastin is expressed in unaffected sibs with homozygous absence of SMN1 gene or in control population and classical SMA patients, was not found. No correlation between the T-plastin expression and any mutation or DNA variation in the T-plastin coding region, promoter, 3�UTR or intron 1 was observed. Moreover, epigenetic analysis of the T-plastin regulatory region (promoter-first exon-first intron) revealed no differences in DNA modification level. These observations together with the haplotype analysis of two blocks described within the T-plastin genomic region in both SMA discordant families and control population, strongly suggest that likely a trans- rather than a cis-acting factor is responsible for the differential expression between SMA discordant sibs or between SMA discordant families and control population. In hope to find additional modifying genes or factors that are able to regulate T-plastin expression, a genome-wide scan analysis was performed in 42 SMA discordant families. Regions on chromosomes 3q, 7p, 16p and 22q, respectively, are suggestive for linkage and require further investigations, however, none of these reached a significant LOD score. Taken together, the discovery of the T-plastin protein as a modulator of the SMA phenotype provides the opportunity to identify novel regulatory mechanisms that may act specifically in motor neurons from asymptomatic sibs with SMN1 homozygous deletion.


We study the problem of executing a collection of independently designed and validated task systems upon a common platform composed of a preemptive processor and additional shared resources. We present an abstract formulation of the problem and identify the major issues that must be addressed in order to solve this problem. We present and prove the correctness of algorithms that address these issues, and thereby obtain a design for an open real-time environment.


The dynamic analysis of railway vehicles involves the independent construction of models representing vehicle, track and wheel-rail contact. In this work, a multibody formulation with Cartesian coordinates is used to describe the kinematics of the rigid bodies and joints in the vehicle model. In order to create detailed three-dimensional track finite element models, a methodology that includes the flexibility of rails and substructure is proposed. Finite element methodology is used to model the rails as beams supported in a discrete manner by spring-damper systems that represent the flexibility of pads, sleepers, ballast and substructure. The inclusion of flexible track models is very important to study the dynamic behaviour of railway vehicles in realistic operation scenarios. The proposed wheel-rail contact formulation outputs, the contact points location in real time during the dynamic analysis, for the most general three-dimensional motion of the wheelsets with respect to the track. The proposed methodology to build flexible track models is validated by comparing the results obtained with this new approach with the ones obtained using ANSYS. The methodology is demonstrated by studying the dynamic behaviour of the Alfa Pendular railway vehicle.


Low high‐density lipoprotein cholesterol is associated with an increased risk for cardiovascular disease and stroke. At the same time, cardiovascular disease and stroke are important risk factors for dementia. We assessed the association between total and fractionated cholesterol and cognitive impairment and explored whether observed associations were dependent on or independent of atherosclerotic disease. In a population‐based study, total cholesterol, triglycerides, low‐density lipoprotein cholesterol, and high‐density lipoprotein cholesterol were measured in 561 subjects 85 years old and grouped in three equal strata representing decreasing serum concentrations. History of cardiovascular disease and stroke was determined. All subjects completed the Mini‐Mental State Examination (MMSE), and the presence of dementia was determined. Median MMSE scores were significantly lower in subjects with low high‐density lipoprotein cholesterol (25 points vs 27 points, p < 0.001). No differences in MMSE scores were found for other lipids and lipoproteins. MMSE scores in subjects with and without cardiovascular disease were 26 and 27 points (p = 0.007), respectively, and in subjects with and without stroke were 21 and 26 points (p < 0.001), respectively. The associations between low MMSE scores and low high‐density lipoprotein cholesterol remained significant after subjects with cardiovascular disease or stroke were excluded. In a comparison of subjects with low high‐density lipoprotein cholesterol with subjects with high high‐density lipoprotein cholesterol, the odds ratio for dementia was 2.3 (95% confidence interval, 1.2–4.3), and in subjects without cardiovascular disease or stroke, it was 3.7 (95% confidence interval, 1.3–10.1). All odds ratios were unaffected by education, low‐density lipoprotein cholesterol, triglycerides, and survival. Low high‐density lipoprotein cholesterol is associated with cognitive impairment and dementia. At least part of the association between high‐density lipoprotein cholesterol and cognitive function is independent of atherosclerotic disease.


Public attitudes play a critical role in shaping policies towards immigration and the status of migrant workers. Facing growing pressure from international human rights organizations, media and other groups, the Gulf Cooperation Council states have begun efforts to reform the current kafala system, which prevails throughout the region. Yet despite these efforts, relatively little is known about what citizens actually think of this policy, let alone their more general attitudes towards foreign workers. In the following paper, we explore this question and focus on the case of Qatar. Recently, the Qatari government promised to reform their sponsorship system in 2015. Whether this reform succeeds will depend on public attitudes towards this new policy and how citizens perceive the role of foreign workers in the country. Drawing on data from a nationally representative survey in Qatar, we use a split sample technique to better disentangle citizens' varying attitudes towards blue-collar and white-collar workers. The survey results suggest that Qatari citizens are ambivalent about foreign workers' contributions and overall impact on their country. While they value foreign workers' positive contribution to the development of their country in general, they have concerns about this population's impact on economic and health resources. Ultimately, most citizens would prefer to maintain the sponsorship system, or kafala, as it is right now.


Meeting the world's energy demand is a major challenge for society over the coming century. To identify the most sustainable energy pathways to meet this demand, analysis of energy systems on which policy is based must move beyond the current primary focus on carbon to include a broad range of ecosystem services on which human well-being depends. Incorporation of a broad set of ecosystem services into the design of energy policy will differentiates between energy technology options to identify policy options that reconcile national and international obligations to address climate change and the loss of biodiversity and ecosystem services. In this paper we consider our current understanding of the implications of energy systems for ecosystem services and identify key elements of an assessment. Analysis must consider the full life cycle of energy systems, the territorial and international footprint, use a consistent ecosystem service framework that incorporates the value of both market and non-market goods, and consider the spatial and temporal dynamics of both the energy and environmental system. While significant methodological challenges exist, the approach we detail can provide the holistic view of energy and ecosystem services interactions required to inform the future of global energy policy. & 2016 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd. This is an open access article under the CC BY license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).


This paper summarizes research on Web-based spatial decision support systems (WebSDSS). The review distinguishes early server-side from more recent client-side applications. A third category of WebSDSS focusing on spatial decision support in public participation is typically implemented as a mixed client/server-based system. Conclusions drawn from previous work include the need for systematic user studies of WebSDSS, and the adoption of interoperable architectures for distributed spatial decision support. Furthermore, a conceptual framework is proposed to facilitate further studies of WebSDSS methods.


Despite their increasing clinical use, mobile-bearing total knee replacements have not been well characterized biomechanically. An experimental and finite element analysis was done to assess the mobility and contact mechanics of a widely used rotating platform total knee replacement. Parameters that varied were axial load, condylar load allocation, flexion angle, and static versus dynamic loading. Similar results from the physical model and finite element model lend credence to the validity of the findings. The torque required to initiate rotation (static torque) was greater than that to sustain rotation (dynamic torque). At four times body weight axial load, peak resisting torque measured was 9.47 ± 0.61 and 5.51 ± 0.38 N-m, for static and dynamic torque, respectively. A 60–40 condylar load allocation produced slightly less resisting torque than the 50–50 load. For all practical purposes, the polyethylene insert rotated simultaneously with the femoral component, leading to maintenance of high contact area, desirable behavior clinically. Walking cycle simulations produced a total axial rotation range of motion of 6°. The high frictional torques observed at the mobile interface may explain why a percentage of these mobile-bearings fail to rotate under routine functional load.


This paper explores the interplay between managerial work and national culture. More specifically it investigates General Managers' (GMs) work in Greek luxury (4 and 5*) hotels from a contextual perspective, focused in national culture.
The wider context of the discussion in this paper revolves around the 'global-local' question from an international hospitality industry perspective. During the second half of the twentieth century, the idea for the creation of a truly global management cohort found warm support from north American multinational companies who experienced a rapid pace of internationalisation in the past four decades. Hospitality and tourism were among the first internationalised industries in the aftermath of World War Two (Nickson, 1998; Nickson and Warhust, 2001). The dominant Anglo-Saxon view for universal management practices through the employment of 'best practices' in international hotel operators, has been challenged since the advent of cross-cultural management and international human resources management (IHRM) theorists in the early 1980s. Those theorists believe that it is difficult to imagine that a single practice or set of practices would emerge as 'best' in any sense of the word, particularly in globalised organisations (Thomas, 2008). Thus, the dynamic and complex nature of the management function in global hospitality business today and the realisation that what works effectively in one country may not be as efficient in another, has led management scholars and practicing managers in continuous efforts to enhance their understanding of this context and its effects on international (hotel) managers.
This paper focuses in the Greek context since the country is among the most popular tourist destinations in the world. Today the hospitality and tourism sector in Greece contributes approximately 15 % of the National Gross Domestic Product (G.D.P.) ranking third in the E.U. after Spain (18.38 %) and Portugal (15.40 %) according to the W.T.T.C. (2010). The hospitality and tourism sector occupies in total eight hundred eight thousand employees, 18% of the country's entire labour force (SETE, 2003). The authors of this paper argue that managerial work in Greek luxury hotels cannot be unaffected from the strong national context, despite the great pressures for standardisation and homogenisation with the international hospitality industry standards. The existing literature indicates that the Greek context influences managerial work to a certain degree (Bourantas and Papadakis,1996; Makridakis et al. 1997; Papalexandris and Nikandrou, 2000). The high rates of "in-group-collectivism" (Hofstede, 1980/1991; Tromernaars, 1993; Javidan and House, 2001), the values of 'filotimo' (Triandis et al. 1968; Broome, 1996), Trust (Fukuyama, 1995) and Humanism (Lessem and Neubauer, 1994; Hampden-Turner and Trompernaars, 1994) are characteristics that differentiate Greek GMs' behaviour comparing to the so called 'western' management style in international hotels. This context also influences the way GMs perform their roles (Mintzberg, 1973 / 1994) and the competencies framework (Dulewicz and Herbert, 1991/1999) required to perform these roles.
A qualitative research was conducted in 16 luxury (4 & 5*) city and resort hotels in four popular destinations: Athens, Thessaloniki, Crete and Rhodes. In total 32 GMs and their assistants participated in this country case study. The research tool included in-depth semi-structured interviews, the employment of a Personal Competencies Framework (PCF) questionnaire, non participant observations and collection of company documents related to managerial work. All data were triangulated in order to enhance the validity and reliability of this study.
This research's findings indicated that the 'base requirements' of managerial work in Greek luxury hotels appear to be similar and compatible with the international industry standards. What actually changes is the level of formality exercised in managerial and HRM practices. A key theme that emerges from this study is the critical role of the hotel's ownership status. Thus, local companies (family and local chain hotels) employ a great number of managerial and HRM practices that incorporate a high level of informality, meaning the absence of written rules and procedures. On the other hand, Greek national chains and MNCs demonstrate a high level of formality, regulated by written policies and rules. The Greek context influences the hotel managers' conceptions of work roles and competencies to a great extent in family and local hotel chains, and to a moderate extent to Greek national chains. A handful (less than ten in Greece) of managed MNC hotel chains do not seem to be influenced by the Greek context; on the other hand franchised MNCs are managed in the same manner as national Greek hotel chains. Overall, the influence of the Greek context was evident to a certain degree, in all Greek owned hotels. Based on the research findings, three distinctive profiles of luxury hotel GMs where identified: the 'native' GM; the 'Glocal' GM; and the 'Greek Global' GM. As a concluding point it can be argued that both divergence and convergence contextual forces coexist and shape the GMs' work in Greek luxury hotels. Further research is needed to fully understand and appreciate the effects of those forces in GMs' work.


The disadvantage of conventional concrete is the high when the weight of concrete and density of the normal concrete is in the order of 2200 to 2600 kg/m 3 .This heavy weight is some extent in uneconomical structural material. Attempts have been made in the past to reduce the self weight of concrete to increase the efficiency of concrete as a structural material. The light-weight concrete is defined as a concrete whose density varies from 300 to 1850 kg/m 3 .We decrease the weight of concrete from fine aggregates or coarse aggregates can use light weight materials instead of coarse aggregates and fine aggregates .when replacing natural materials like pumice, diatomite, scoria, rice husk and saw dust , Artificial materials like brick bats, foamed slag and bloated clay.Mixing procedure for light-weight concretes may vary with different types of aggregates .The general practice for structural light-weight concrete is to mix the aggregate up to 2/3 rd of the water for a period of one minute to the addition of cement and sand. They are balanced by mixing water in the design of concrete grade like M20, M25. Mixing is done continuously for high rise building up to the completion of slab work. Usually 2 or more minutes are required to get uniform mixing for a good strength concrete. In insulating concrete, the aggregates are added at the end of mixing to decrease the degradation. Structural light-weight aggregate concrete is a concrete having 28 day compressive strength more than 17MPa and 28 day air dried unit weight not exceeding 1850 kg/m 3. Use of foam concrete has gained popularity not only because of the low density but also because of other properties mainly the thermal insulation property. Aerated concrete is made in the density range from 300 kg/m to about 800 kg/m . Lower density grades are used for3 3 insulation purposes, while medium density grades are used for the manufacture of building blocks or load bearing walls and comparatively higher density grades are used in the manufacture of prefabricated structural members in conjunction with steel reinforcement The third method of producing light concrete is to omit the fines from conventional concrete. No-fines concrete as the term implies, is a kind of concrete from which the fine aggregate fraction has been omitted. This concrete is made up of only coarse aggregate, cement and water. Very often only single sized coarse aggregate, of size passing through 20 mm retained on 10 mm is used. No-fines concrete is becoming popular because of some of the advantages it possesses over the conventional concrete. The single sized aggregates make a good no-fines concrete, which in addition to having large voids and hence light in weight, also offers architecturally attractive look. No-fines concrete can be used for a variety of purposes. It is used in large scale for load bearing cast in-situ external walls for single storey and multistoried buildings. This type of concrete has been used for temporary structures because of low initial cost and also for the ease with which it can be broken and reused as aggregate. Architects consider this as an attractive construction material. Owing to its slightly higher thermal insulating property, it be used for external walls for heat insulation. Because of rough texture, it gives a good base for plastering. Even if the outside surface of the no-fines concrete wall is subjected to rain beating, the inside of the wall will be free from dampness because of low capillary action on account of large voids. Where sand is not available, no-fines concrete should become a popular construction material. Finally the density of the concrete is nearly half of less than conventional concrete. The strength is nearly equals to the conventional concrete. The economy is good than conventional concrete. The workability is very good than conventional concrete.


ABSTRACT This study is an ethnographic and conceptual analysis of religious objects, their uses, and mediation of authority within the Universal Church of the Kingdom of God (Universal Church) in Brazil. Drawing on scholarship within media studies, religion and media, and material religion, I distinguish between artifacts used to cement implicit contracts between Universal Church followers and their church community, which I call contractual media, or swag, and those that followers bring to meetings to be blessed and then take home to mediate both good and evil forces in family, work, and social life—these I call portable media. While portable object media are seen by their owners as powerful tools, contractual media, on the other hand, create implicit power relations that keep followers tied to the institutional church in a reciprocal exchange predicated upon expected prosperity as evidence of faithful attendance, fidelity, and personal sacrifice. The physical exchange of material goods in religious spaces constitutes a perpetuation rather than a disruption of institutional religious authority. As infrastructure, contractual object media establish and maintain conditions for otherwise mundane materials to mediate power on a daily basis. Through attention toward portable and contract object media, as part of what I am calling material microstructure, we can further complicate religious authority as it is mediated through objects, not just in one-way flows but as dynamic exchanges and trade-offs between personal empowerment and institutional control.


Citric acid - C6H8O7 is an organic compound which widely used as an additive in food and beverage as well as in pharmacy industries. In industries, Citric acid is produced by fermentation process and after separation-purification processes, the end product is in the form of crystals. For pharmacy purpose, the quality of citric acid crystals is very important aspect, and the impurity substance which difficult to separate is iron-Fe.
The purpose of this study was to determine the influence of flow rate feed and temperature of saturator tanks against impurity of Fe in the products of citric acid crystals and to know the relationship between the crystal product rates with impurity of Fe in the product citric acid crystal. This research has used 4 liters MSMPR crystallizer, continuously operated, temperature of the crystallizer was keep constant at 20oC using refrigeration system. Concentration of Fe in the feed was 40 ppm. Feed flow rates was variated (0,5;1;1,5;2;2,5;3)ml/sec. Temperature of saturator tank was variated (30,40,50) oC. Fe content in the citric acid crystal was analyzed using spectrophotometer.
This research concludes that greater flow rate feed, the higher concentration of Fe impurity trapped in the product of citric acid crystal. Meanwhile, the higher the saturator temperature, concentration of Fe impurity in the product citric acid crystals became lower. The best condition was reached at flow rate feed 0.5 ml / sec and at a temperature of saturator tank 50oC. Weight of crystal produced in the best conditions is 101.62 g with impurity concentration of Fe 0.3 ppm. In addition, product rate of crystal influenced the level impurity of Fe contained in the citric acid crystals products. The greater product rates , the greater the impurity of Fe that were trapped in the citric acid crystals. The influence of crystal product rates to the concentration of Fe trapped in the products of citric acid crystals, can be expressed by equation y = 0.0834x + 0.338 for saturator tank temperature of 30oC, y = 0.074x + 0.2793 for saturator tank temperature of 40 ° C, and y = 0.0769x + 0.2227 for saturator tank temperature of 50 ° C.


Due to increasing drug resistance, artemisinin-based combination chemotherapy (ACT) has become the first-line treatment of falciparum malaria in many endemic countries. Ethiopia has also adopted artemether/lumefantrine (AL) as first-line treatment in 2004 and its broad introduction was achieved in 2006. However, irreversible ototoxicity associated with AL has been reported and suggested to be a serious limitation in the use of ACT. The aim of this study was to compare ototoxicity, tolerability, and efficacy of ACT with that of quinine and atovaquone/proguanil in the treatment of uncomplicated falciparum malaria. 97 patients in Jimma area, Ethiopia with slide-confirmed malaria were randomly assigned to receive either artemether/lumefantrine or quinine or atovaquone/proguanil and followed-up on days 7, 28, and 90. Comprehensive audio-vestibular testing by pure tone audiometry (PTA), transitory evoked (TE) and distortion product (DP) otoacoustic emissions (OAE) and brain stem evoked response audiometry (BERA) was done before enrolment and on follow-up days. PTA and DP-OAE levels revealed transient significant cochlear hearing loss in patients treated with quinine but not in those treated with artemether/lumefantrine or atovaquone/proguanil. There was no evidence of drug-induced brain stem lesions by BERA measurements. Hence, there was no detrimental effect of a standard oral regimen of artemether/lumefantrine on peripheral hearing or brainstem auditory pathways in patients with uncomplicated falciparum malaria. In contrast, transient hearing loss was evidenced with quinine therapy due to temporary outer hair cell dysfunction. Reinfection and recrudescence were determined by RFLP of msp-1 and msp-2 genes. Mutations associated with drug resistance were characterized in Pfmdr1, Pfdhfr, Pfcytb, and Pfserca genes. Single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) previously reported to be associated with resistance to the study drugs were identified in both recrudescent and treatment sensitive isolates. A total of seven recrudescences were obtained. The Pfmdr1 N86Y mutation was found in 84.5% of isolates. The triple mutation 51I, 59R, 108N of the Pfdhfr gene occurred in high frequency (83.3%) but no Pfcytb mutation was detected. Sequencing showed a variety of previously described and new mutations in the Pfserca gene. The prevalence of high degree of mutations in Pfmdr1 and Pfdhfr is a reminiscent of the impact of previously used drugs in the area, chloroquine and sulfadoxine/pyrimethamine as first-line treatments. The broad introduction of AL and the cessation of the former drug regimens might probably change the current distribution of polymorphisms, possibly leading to decreased sensitivity to AL in the future. Continuous surveillance of molecular patterns in this region is, therefore, recommended.


This report describes the implementation of a first demonstration prototype of an integrated, interactive, computer-based decision support and information system for the management of hazardous substances. Recognizing the potentially enormous development effort required and the open-ended nature of such a project, we have opted for a strategy that takes advantage of the large volume of scientific software already available. A modular design philosophy enables us to develop individual building blocks, which are valuable products in their own right, in the various phases of the project. This also makes it possible to interface and integrate the modules in a framework which, above all, has to be flexible and easily modifiable with growing experience of use.

The demonstration prototype can be constructed at relatively low cost and only incremental effort, by using an open architecture concept for this framework, with a functional and problem-oriented, rather than a structural and methodological design.

The system design combines several methods of applied systems analysis and operations research, planning and policy sciences, and artificial intelligence into one fully integrated software system. The basic objective is to provide a broad group of users direct and easy access to these largely formal and complex methods.


Abstract. Homogeneous nucleation of ice in supercooled water droplets is a stochastic process. In its classical description, the growth of the ice phase requires the emergence of a critical embryo from random fluctuations of water molecules between the water bulk and ice-like clusters, which is associated with overcoming an energy barrier. For heterogeneous ice nucleation on ice-nucleating surfaces both stochastic and deterministic descriptions are in use. Deterministic (singular) descriptions are often favored because the temperature dependence of ice nucleation on a substrate usually dominates the stochastic time dependence, and the ease of representation facilitates the incorporation in climate models. Conversely, classical nucleation theory (CNT) describes heterogeneous ice nucleation as a stochastic process with a reduced energy barrier for the formation of a critical embryo in the presence of an ice-nucleating surface. The energy reduction is conveniently parameterized in terms of a contact angle α between the ice phase immersed in liquid water and the heterogeneous surface. This study investigates various ice-nucleating agents in immersion mode by subjecting them to repeated freezing cycles to elucidate and discriminate the time and temperature dependences of heterogeneous ice nucleation. Freezing rates determined from such refreeze experiments are presented for Hoggar Mountain dust, birch pollen washing water, Arizona test dust (ATD), and also nonadecanol coatings. For the analysis of the experimental data with CNT, we assumed the same active site to be always responsible for freezing. Three different CNT-based parameterizations were used to describe rate coefficients for heterogeneous ice nucleation as a function of temperature, all leading to very similar results: for Hoggar Mountain dust, ATD, and larger nonadecanol-coated water droplets, the experimentally determined increase in freezing rate with decreasing temperature is too shallow to be described properly by CNT using the contact angle α as the only fit parameter. Conversely, birch pollen washing water and small nonadecanol-coated water droplets show temperature dependencies of freezing rates steeper than predicted by all three CNT parameterizations. Good agreement of observations and calculations can be obtained when a pre-factor β is introduced to the rate coefficient as a second fit parameter. Thus, the following microphysical picture emerges: heterogeneous freezing occurs at ice-nucleating sites that need a minimum (critical) surface area to host embryos of critical size to grow into a crystal. Fits based on CNT suggest that the critical active site area is in the range of 10–50 nm2, with the exact value depending on sample, temperature, and CNT-based parameterization. Two fitting parameters are needed to characterize individual active sites. The contact angle α lowers the energy barrier that has to be overcome to form the critical embryo at the site compared to the homogeneous case where the critical embryo develops in the volume of water. The pre-factor β is needed to adjust the calculated slope of freezing rate increase with temperature decrease. When this slope is steep, this can be interpreted as a high frequency of nucleation attempts, so that nucleation occurs immediately when the temperature is low enough for the active site to accommodate a critical embryo. This is the case for active sites of birch pollen washing water and for small droplets coated with nonadecanol. If the pre-factor is low, the frequency of nucleation attempts is low and the increase in freezing rate with decreasing temperature is shallow. This is the case for Hoggar Mountain dust, the large droplets coated with nonadecanol, and ATD. Various hypotheses why the value of the pre-factor depends on the nature of the active sites are discussed.


Whilst various studies have examined participation on the Internet as a key element of a new emergent civic engagement, informally or formally through national and local governments' online measures, less has been done to measure or suggest ways of overcoming social and technological constraints on online civic participation. Additionally, few studies have looked at the relationship between the actual implementation of such initiatives in classrooms and the messages which are conveyed indirectly as a result of teachers' own conceptions of classroom strategies, which are perhaps better described as a "hidden curriculum". This paper reports on these constructions through a set of detailed quantitative and qualitative case studies of the implementation of civic engagement through online activity in several regions of Portugal. The data, obtained through questionnaires, were used to produce novel composite scores reflecting the participatory and media literacy strategies of schools, as well as teachers and students' media literacy and online civic actions. We present empirical results from a study population consisting of 12 public secondary school principals, 131 teachers, and 1,392 students in grades 11 and 12, suggesting that students' online civic engagement and media literacy levels are affected by their teachers' classroom practices and further training and by the implementation of a project-based approach to media education.


This paper presents a model in which improvement in the future TFP is, on impact, associated with increases in consumption, stock prices, and real wages, and decreases in GDP, investment, hours worked, and inflation. These predictions are consistent with empirical findings of Barsky and Sims. The model features research and development, sticky nominal wages, and the monetary authority responding to inflation and consumption growth. The proposed policy rule fits the actual Federal Funds rate as closely as an alternative policy rule responding to inflation and GDP growth, and is better at reducing distortion due to the nominal wage stickiness.


For many people living in Central Asia, the economic decline and societal disintegration of the postSoviet space meant a dramatic socio-economic marginalization and pauperization. Against this background and accompanied by the liquidation of numerous state enterprises, many citizens lost their jobs and secure wages. Simultaneously, the state radically cut the provision of social services. The increased uncertainty led to a rising dependency on access to, as well as utilization and the decentralized management of, locally available resources and assets for one's own survival, especially in the countryside. Because of the immediate relationship between these challenges and the comparatively scarce availability of affordable food products, the collaborative management of scarce water sources and common operation of labour-intensive irrigation infrastructure for local agricultural food production are especially significant in arid high mountain regions such as the remote Western Pamirs in Tajikistan. By means of a micro-level study conducted in the Wakhan Valley, it will be shown how self-organized management practices and pragmatic technical solutions fed by local knowledge contribute to addressing the uneven and irregular spatiotemporal water supply for irrigation. The findings reveal that local-specific water management and irrigation arrangements prove to be not only an essential basis for local food production but also a central instrument for balancing interests within a community and a means of social organization. The study provides an example of where human and social assets such as local environmental, cultural and social knowledge; common decision-making; and coordinated action become key factors for equitable utilization of locally available natural resources on the one hand. On the other hand, the study shows how local knowledge-informed collaborative resource management contributes to community cohesion and individual survival in a society which is struggling with manifold societal challenges.


The area of interest is the aeroacoustics, a specific branch of the aerodynamics that has as main the modelling and analysis of problems correlated with production of sound from aircraft (especially rotary wing) and with the jet noise problems. The aims of the research are:
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For the noise producted by the jet, we using the approach of the analogy acoustic, that consists into recast the governing equation of fluid motion in a simple wave equation, putting at the left-hand side the propagator term of the sound and at the right-hand side the source term of the sound. There are many types of analogy; the one that we use is the Lighthill equation, who permits to write a quadrupole-like source term. Further we are verifying some semi-empirical model, taken from the literature, that permits to estimate the sound pressure level in a subsonic regime (The Tam and Auriault model) and in a supersonic regime (The Shen model). In this last model, the analysis is more complicated caused by the presence of shock cell structures, that born when the mach number, that measures the velocity of an object in a fluid respect to the sound speed, corresponds at a supersonic regime (Mach number greater than 1.2 and lower than 5).
The study is realised trough a Fortran-code and many commercial softwares of fluidodynamics, necessary for evaluating numerically the turbulent variables necessary for the application of the model.
For the noise produced by a propeller, has been used the Ffowcs-Williams Hawkings Equation: is a re-arrangement of the Navier-Stokes Equation as non homogenus wave equation with source terms categorized as thickness noise, loading noise and quadrupole noise. A typical solution is provided by Farassat (2007) for discrete frequency noise involving only surface terms. The capabilities are I)to classify the rotor-noise sources and to supply a framework for qualitative analysis of noise generation mechanisms; II) basis of analytical derivation of prediction formulas.
The noise from landing gear, that is one of the noise derived from the aircraft, is analyzed trough an empirical model: The fink model. This model is also used by NASA for an experimental investigation of the aircraft landing gear noise,, trough data provided by BOEING 737.


This document includes a political cartoon featuring Jerry Falwell, published in the Austin American-Statesman. The cartoon depicts Falwell in pajamas praying at his bed. "Jerry Falwell" is written on the headboard of the bed; a portrait of Falwell hangs above the headboard. A lamp, a Mickey Mouse doll, and a copy of the Bible are on the nightstand beside the bed. The cartoon's caption (Falwell's prayer) reads, "We thank thee for the gifts of thy bountiful herpes and thine blessed AIDS, O, Lord...Now send us something for all the other weirdos." To the right of the kneeling Falwell, the speech balloon of a character with an elongated nose reads, "Our cup runneth over". An unknown artist's signature is included in the upper right of the cartoon.

"19 July 83- Austin American Statesman - Falwell" is printed vertically to the right of the cartoon. The following is printed below the cartoon: "Please return this cartoon to the Dallas Gay/Lesbian Historic Archives. 6146 St. Moritz, Dallas, Texas 75214".


This paper contributes to the debate on the effects of migration by providing evidence on the returns to working experience from western Europe in eastern European labour markets. In particular, using the 2003 Youth Central and Eastern Eurobarometer dataset, we test the hypothesis that there are differential returns to foreign as opposed to domestic work experience. Our analysis combines the Mincer wage equation framework and the Roy model of migration. The latter suggests that migration responds to net expected benefits. Hence, return migration is endogenous with respect to differential returns to foreign working experience. To allow for selectivity on observable or unobservable characteristics, we estimate an endogenous switching model in two steps. This procedure combines probit estimates of propensities to work and to acquire foreign work expericence respectively, and OLS estimates of earnings equations for stayers and movers, with the inclusion of nonselection hazards obtained in the first step. The expected wage increase is the difference between post-return migrants' wages and wages under similar conditions in the absence of migration. For any individual, only one of these measures can be observed. We impute the respective counterfactuals from the separate wage regressions. Our analysis shows that movers and stayers are rewarded for different human capital characteristics. We find an average earnings premium for foreign work experience of around 30%. This can be seen as partial evidence for international skill diffusion temporary migrants may upgrade their skills by learning on the job in countries with higher technological development, and subsequently bring human capital to their source country, thus adding to know-how diffusion and the catching-up of their economy. We perform additional empirical analyses to support this interpretation we show that the premium found for return migration does not primarily reward the language proficiencies of returning migrants, and we further provide indicative evidence that no earnings premium is obtained for work-related stays abroad in other central and eastern European transition countries.


A variable gain amplifier operating at 2.5 GHz based on Single Ended topology has been designed and characterized. Three such stages were cascaded preceded by a single stage LNA. A source follower is used at the output as an active load matching. Overall dynamic gain variation is 45 dB with a maximum gain of 47 dB. The -3 dB bandwidth is 0.800 GHz. A minimum noise figure of 0.81 dB is obtained in the highest gain mode. Maximum value of 1 dB compression at the output is -7.2 dBm and the corresponding third order intercept point is +5.3 dBm. Consumed DC power 285 mW and is immune to gain variation. The circuit is implemented with GaAs pHEMT technology. The combined area occupied by the multistage low noise VGA and the single ended VGA is 3.5 mm X 3 mm.


There is cheating. And then there is cheating. But where does one end and the other start? Doping. Fixing. Sledging. Intimidating. Time-wasting. Diving. Ever since sporting contests began there have been rules, and for many competitors those rules have been there to be broken. Or maybe just bent a little...Foul Play offers an inside track on the dark arts employed in sport to gain an unfair advantage - on the football or rugby field, on the tennis or squash court, on the athletics track and the golf course, even on the bowling green or the Subbuteo table. Some cheating in sport is considered virtually par for the course, while other forms are completely unacceptable. But who, ultimately, makes that judgement? From ball-tampering and bribery in cricket to rugby union's 'Bloodgate' scandal; from Diego Maradona's Hand of God to Alex Ferguson's managerial mind games; from the dodgy dealing of the ancient Greeks and the wily cunning of W.G. Grace to the doping scandals engulfing Marion Jones and Lance Armstrong, it's all here. Foul Play - sometimes funny, sometimes shocking - provides all the evidence you'll ever need that the sporting world is often anything but.


A recent global meta‐analysis reported a decrease in terrestrial but increase in freshwater insect abundance and biomass (van Klink et al., Science 368, p. 417). The authors suggested that water quality has been improving, thereby challenging recent reports documenting drastic global declines in freshwater biodiversity. We raise two major concerns with the meta‐analysis and suggest that these account for the discrepancy with the declines reported elsewhere. First, total abundance and biomass alone are poor indicators of the status of freshwater insect assemblages, and the observed differences may well have been driven by the replacement of sensitive species with tolerant ones. Second, many of the datasets poorly represent global trends and reflect responses to local conditions or nonrandom site selection. We conclude that the results of the meta‐analysis should not be considered indicative of an overall improvement in the condition of freshwater ecosystems.


This update on SARS-CoV-2 focuses on basic knowledge about the virus and COVID-19 treatment. Chapters present basic information about the disease and its treatment. The virology, epidemiology, etiology, and damage response framework of SARS-CoV-2 are also discussed in detail.

The book also covers recent topics of interest to pharmacology scholars such as the immunopathogenesis of SARS-CoV2, nanotechnology, repurposed drug treatments, COVID-19 vaccines, and phytomedicine for COVID-19 therapeutics.
Readers in pharmacology, virology and medicine will find the book a simple, yet informative update on SARS-CoV-2 and COVID-19 treatment.


The literature shows that children born in a large family tend to adopt the same family norm as their parents. This similarity may occur because values, norms, as well as reproductive behaviours are transmitted from parents to their offspring whereby this transmission may determine the fertility rate. For Indonesia, given that the family planning program has successfully halved the fertility rate, yet for the last decade, it remains at 2.6 children per woman. Such phenomenon shows that even though most women have adopted small family norm, but a sizeable share continue to have more than two children. This study aims to examine the effect of mother's fertility behaviour on woman's reproductive intention. Ever-married women aged 15-49 years old in 2014 who have information about their biological mother are analysed by using data from Indonesian Family Life Survey. Zero-inflated Poisson regression model is used to estimate the transmission effect. The sample is stratified by parity. The results show that mother's fertility is not associated with childless woman's fertility intention, but with higher parity woman. Women with many siblings tend to have more children. This finding supports the presence of intergenerational transmission of family norm in Indonesia.


People with spinal cord injuries (SCI) must transfer many times daily. Despite the importance of proper transfers, researchers have not completely described the kinematics of lateral transfers. In this study, 19 male adults with SCI who transfer independently or with minimal assistance were recruited to perform three lateral transfers to and from a therapy mat. On average, subjects elevated their sacroiliac joints (buttocks) 11 inches above the therapy mat and lowered the tempromandibular joint (head) to 21 inches above the mat. Subjects used a variety of strategies to complete the transfer that differed by their timing, the number of lifts performed, and their body positioning during transfers. Transfers from the wheelchair to the mat were more consistent within subjects.