Background: Adult elite competitive rock climbers are small in stature with low body mass and very low body fat percentage. These characteristics have generated concern that young climbers may attempt body mass reduction to extreme levels with adverse consequences for health and performance. No published anthropometry data for young competitive climbers exist. Objective: To describe the general anthropometric characteristics of junior US competitive rock climbers. Methods: Ninety subjects (mean (SD) age 13.5 (3.0) years) volunteered to participate. All competed at the Junior Competition Climbers Association US National Championship. Anthropometric variables, including height, mass, body mass index (BMI), arm span, biiliocristal and biacromial breadths, skinfold thickness at nine anatomical sites, forearm and hand volumes, and handgrip strength, were measured. Selected variables were expressed as ratio values and as normative age and sex matched centile scores where appropriate. A control group (n = 45) of non-climbing children and youths who participated in a variety of sports activities, including basketball, cross country running, cross country skiing, soccer, and swimming, underwent the same testing procedures in the Exercise Science Laboratory of Northern Michigan University. Results: Mean (SD) self reported climbing ability was 11.80 (1.20), or about 5.11d on the Yosemite decimal system scale. The mean (SD) experience level was 3.2 (1.9) years, and subjects competed in 10 (5) organised competitions over a 12 month period. Despite similarity in age, there were significant differences (p<0.01) between climbers and control subjects for height, mass, centile scores for height and mass, ratio of arm span to height ("ape index"), biiliocristal/biacromial ratio, sum of seven and sum of nine skinfolds, estimated body fat percentage, and handgrip/mass ratio. Despite significantly lower skinfold sums and estimated body fat percentage, no differences were found between climbers and controls for absolute BMI or BMI expressed as a centile score. Conclusions: Young competitive climbers have similar general anthropometric characteristics to elite adult climbers. These include relatively small stature, low body mass, low sums of skinfolds, and high handgrip to mass ratio. Relative to age matched athletic non-climbers, climbers appear to be more linear in body type with narrow shoulders relative to hips. Differences in body composition exist between climbers and non-climbing athletes despite similar BMI values.


Breast cancer is the leading cancer among women in Canada and the incidence rate continues to increase despite improved screening programs and advanced cancer treatments. Some studies have linked breast cancer with risk factors such as genetics, the age of first menstruation, parity, and environmental exposures. This study investigated the spatial distribution of breast cancer cases between 2003 and 2013 in Middlesex County using geospatial techniques. Point data were analyzed with SaTScan and aggregated data were observed at two geographical units, census sub-divisions and dissemination areas using Moran's Index to detect clusters. Both analyses showed consistency in the cluster locations mostly in the western and eastern parts of the county. Age-adjusted breast cancer rates were then analyzed using multivariate and principal component analysis to explore potential links to socioeconomic factors obtained from the Canadian Census. Average income, employment rate, and occupations related to agriculture, forestry, fishing and hunting were significantly associated with increased breast cancer risk in the area. The findings provide pointers for local level policy related to breast cancer prevention and management in Middlesex County and beyond.


"The Design of AHA!" is an adaptive hypertext, and thus not presented in its entirety in this short paper. Because it is not only a hypertext but also adaptive it cannot simply be presented using a linear paper or a set of HTML pages.This paper describes the design of, and demonstrates AHA! (Version 3.0), an Open Source adaptive hypermedia platform, capable of performing content and link adaptation in (x)html and xml documents. Its development started in 1996. During 10 years of research and development different new presentation, adaptation and user modeling methods and techniques have been added, turning AHA! into a general-purpose adaptive hypermedia platform. This paper presents an overview of the design and architecture of AHA!, with parts that have been published before and with recent additions like style adaptation and a new very flexible link annotation mechanism.Unlike other adaptive hypermedia systems, AHA! is not aimed at a single application area and does not prescribe a single fixed presentation style. Creating applications, defining the user models and the adaptive behavior are all done using graphical authoring tools. End-users are presented with what looks like a normal website, and need not be aware of the adaptation that goes on behind the scenes. Their browsing results in updates to a user model that is stored either in an xml file or a mySQL database, and that is thus also (in principle) available to other applications. Apart from providing a design overview this paper highlights two essential parts of AHA!: the reasoning / rule engine that translates the end-user's actions into user model updates, and the adaptive resource selection, which is used in the conditional inclusion of objects presentation technique and in the conditional link destinations navigation support technique.This paper is itself an adaptive hyperdocument. The order in which the different topics are visited determines the links that are presented and the contents of each (web)page. No matter how you browse through this paper you should end up with a very similar overall impression, and you should have seen all the information the paper contains. However, the actual contents of the pages and the actual link destinations do depend on your browsing order, so different users will not see exactly the same pages and links.


Executive Summary Racial inequality in homeownership is a key dimension of wealth inequality in America and has been a major concern of housing policy reforms since the 1990s. Since the housing market downturn began in 2006, however, little attention has been given to its implications for racial inequality. Questions of racial inequality are particularly important in diverse states like California, where no racial group can claim majority status. This article addresses three crucial questions which policy makers should consider when evaluating solutions for the current housing crisis. First, did the most recent housing boom alleviate racial inequalities in homeownership? Next, how has the downturn affected disparities across racial and ethnic groups? Finally, how has the downturn affected the economic outlook and housing-related burdens in rapidly changing communities? This article reviews the policy and market decisions which brought about the housing boom and bust, and explores the implications of these decisions for people seeking to become homeowners and those already owning. In terms of the downturn and its effects on racial inequality, this report is a preliminary look at the effects of a still-unfolding economic recession. There are indicators of financial distress and foreclosures which allow us to evaluate how neighborhoods are changing and families are affected. The evidence so far indicates that Latinos and African Americans are more likely to have loans and live in areas that are experiencing the highest rates of foreclosure. Also, mortgage counselors report that minority clients receive worse outcomes than white clients in the foreclosure prevention and loan modification process. Finally, survey evidence from Riverside County, formerly one of the fastest growing regions in the country, indicates that that Latino, African American, and Asian American homeowners are experiencing a far greater financial strain from housing (or "housing strain") than whites in the region. Taken together, these findings suggest that more comprehensive and far-reaching solutions to the housing crisis are necessary to remedy deep racial inequalities in wealth in California and, by extension, other parts of the United States.


A sacramental ontology, informed by a ressourcement of the Church Fathers, informs the theology of the mid-twentieth-century Catholic movement of nouvelle theologie. Rejecting the neo-Thomist separation between nature and the supernatural, the nouvelle theologians focused on the sacramental presence of supernatural grace in natural realities. To be sure, differences among these ressourcement theologians cannot be denied: de Lubac and Bouillard emphasized the a-scending character of human participation in divine grace, while Balthasar and Chenu stressed the de-scent of the Incarnation into the created realities of time and space. Nonetheless, the four theologians shared a deep appreciation for the Greek Fathers, which enabled them to counter the neo-scholastic separation between nature and the supernatural with a sacramental ontology.


When single-parent households are consequences of intentional or unintentional reasons, they are often associated with economic and psychosocial challenges. This study aimed to understand, explore, describe and interpret the economic and psychosocial experiences of single parents in KwaDambuza. This study highlights relevant issues that may provide guidance to different stakeholders in their efforts to deal with challenges of singleparent households. Qualitative research processes were used in this study. The sample consisted of 20 single-parent households (ten male and ten female single-parent households). Data collection took place using in-depth interviews and one focus group. The use of these two techniques served to enhance the reliability of the data. The ecosystem theory was utilised as a fundamental conceptual theory to understand the economic and psychosocial plight of both male and female single-parent households. The findings show that there were four key themes and six sub-themes that emerged from the data analysis and which are discussed in relation to the microsystem, mezzosystem, exosystem and macrosystems impacting single-parent households. Theme one focuses on the structural impact of poverty, unemployment on both male and female single-parent households and discusses two sub-themes: the impact of social grants on the family household income and family expenditure and implications for education of children. Theme two provides insight into the psychosocial challenges experienced, and discusses two sub-themes: intrapersonal and interpersonal challenges of males and females single-parent households. The third theme focuses on parental responsibilities and child care as a subtheme. The fourth theme focuses on the blatant lack of support systems that negatively impact both the male and female single-parent households and discusses one sub-theme: access to service provision. The study revealed that the main challenge is poverty which was closely connected to unavailability and inaccessibility of service providers, and lack of support structures.


Eye movements provide insight into what parts of an image a viewer finds most salient, interesting, or relevant to the task at hand. Unfortunately, eye tracking data, a commonly-used proxy for attention, is cumbersome to collect. Here we explore an alternative: a comprehensive web-based toolbox for crowdsourcing visual attention. We draw from four main classes of attention-capturing methodologies in the literature. ZoomMaps is a novel zoom-based interface that captures viewing on a mobile phone. CodeCharts is a self-reporting methodology that records points of interest at precise viewing durations. ImportAnnots is an "annotation" tool for selecting important image regions, and cursor-based BubbleView lets viewers click to deblur a small area. We compare these methodologies using a common analysis framework in order to develop appropriate use cases for each interface. This toolbox and our analyses provide a blueprint for how to gather attention data at scale without an eye tracker.


The Integrated Science Investigations of the Sun (IS⊙IS) instrument suite includes two Energetic Particle instruments: EPI-Hi, designed to measure ions from ∼1 to 200 MeV nuc−1, and EPI-Lo, designed to measure ions from ∼20 to ∼15 MeV nuc−1. We present an analysis of eight energetic proton events observed across the energy range of both instruments during Parker Solar Probe's (PSP) first two orbits in order to examine their combined energy spectra. Background corrections are applied to help resolve spectral breaks between the two instruments and are shown to be effective. In doing so we demonstrate that even in the early stages of calibration, IS⊙IS is capable of producing reliable spectral observations across broad energy ranges. In addition to making groundbreaking measurements very near the Sun, IS⊙IS also characterizes energetic particle populations over a range of heliocentric distances inside 1 au. During the first two orbits, IS⊙IS observed energetic particle events from a single corotating interaction region (CIR) at three different distances from the Sun. The events are separated by two Carrington rotations and just 0.11 au in distance; however, the relationship shown between proton intensities and proximity of the spacecraft to the source region shows evidence of the importance of transport effects on observations of energetic particles from CIRs. Future IS⊙IS observations of similar events over larger distances will help disentangle the effects of CIR-related acceleration and transport. We apply similar spectral analyses to the remaining five events, including four that are likely related to stream interaction regions (SIRs) and one solar energetic particle (SEP) event.


Abstract Photodynamic therapy (PDT) with verteporfin provides a reliable way to destroy malignant tissues. Changes in the blood flow and oxygen partial pressure (pO2) during verteporfin-PDT were studied here in the tumor tissue of the rat mammary R3230Ac carcinoma model. Oxygen microelectrodes (6–12 μm tip diameter) were used to measure the transients locally within tumors during intravenous injection of 1.0 mg/kg verteporfin followed by irradiation 15 min later with 690 nm light at 200 mW/cm2, for a cumulative dose of 144 J/cm2. The observed changes in pO2 were heterogeneous and there was a difference in the response of low-pO2 regions relative to higher-pO2 regions. The change in pO2 in hypoxic tissue regions (pO2 < 8 mmHg) had acute pO2 loss after treatment, whereas the response in regions of higher pO2 (>8 mm Hg) was more heterogeneous with some areas maintaining their pO2 value after treatment was completed. Blood flow measurements taken on a subset of the animals indicated a significant loss in flow during the initial light delivery that remained low after treatment, indicating some vascular stasis. The results suggest that hypoxic or poorly perfused vessels may be more susceptible to acute stasis than normoxic vessels in this treatment protocol.


Many virtual reality, mixed reality, and telepresence applications use head mounted displays (HMD). HMD systems are portable and can display stereoscopic images. However, the field of view (FOV) of commercial HMD systems is too narrow for conveying the feeling of immersion. The horizontal FOV is typically around 60, significantly narrower than that of the human eye. In this paper, we propose new display optics for a super wide FOV head mounted display. The proposed optics consists of an ellipsoidal and a hyperboloidal mirror that will display distortionless images by using the characteristics of the mirrors, even if the image has a large FOV. We constructed a prototype HMD system with a 180 horizontal 60 vertical FOV that includes the peripheral vision of the human eye. The FOV has a 60 60 overlap area that can display stereoscopic images. We estimated the resolution, focus, and aberration of the prototype in an optical simulation and experimentally confirmed that the prototype displays distortionless wide FOV images.


This paper focuses on the practices between parent and child firms in corporate spinoffs. We uncover the enacted aspects of knowledge, called knowing, through theories from seven cases of incumbent-backed spin-offs and find that the management of the parent firms are highly involved in the spin-offs. The practices associated with spinning off are solving problems, involving multidisciplinary expertise and entrepreneuring management at the parent firm. We contribute to the spin-off literature by discussing the knowledge required for successfully spinning off child firms and to practice theory by empirically uncovering the practical understanding involved in the origin and perpetuation of an organization.


ABSTRACT The genomes of human herpesvirus 6A (HHV-6A) and HHV-6B have the capacity to integrate into telomeres, the essential capping structures of chromosomes that play roles in cancer and ageing. About 1% of people worldwide are carriers of chromosomally integrated HHV-6 (ciHHV-6), which is inherited as a genetic trait. Understanding the consequences of integration for the evolution of the viral genome, for the telomere, and for the risk of disease associated with carrier status is hampered by a lack of knowledge about ciHHV-6 genomes. Here, we report an analysis of 28 ciHHV-6 genomes and show that they are significantly divergent from the few modern nonintegrated HHV-6 strains for which complete sequences are currently available. In addition, ciHHV-6B genomes in Europeans are more closely related to each other than to ciHHV-6B genomes from China and Pakistan, suggesting regional variation of the trait. Remarkably, at least one group of European ciHHV-6B carriers has inherited the same ciHHV-6B genome, integrated in the same telomere allele, from a common ancestor estimated to have existed 24,500 ± 10,600 years ago. Despite the antiquity of some, and possibly most, germ line HHV-6 integrations, the majority of ciHHV-6B (95%) and ciHHV-6A (72%) genomes contain a full set of intact viral genes and therefore appear to have the capacity for viral gene expression and full reactivation. IMPORTANCE Inheritance of HHV-6A or HHV-6B integrated into a telomere occurs at a low frequency in most populations studied to date, but its characteristics are poorly understood. However, stratification of ciHHV-6 carriers in modern populations due to common ancestry is an important consideration for genome-wide association studies that aim to identify disease risks for these people. Here, we present full sequence analysis of 28 ciHHV-6 genomes and show that ciHHV-6B in many carriers with European ancestry most likely originated from ancient integration events in a small number of ancestors. We propose that ancient ancestral origins for ciHHV-6A and ciHHV-6B are also likely in other populations. Moreover, despite their antiquity, all of the ciHHV-6 genomes appear to retain the capacity to express viral genes, and most are predicted to be capable of full viral reactivation. These discoveries represent potentially important considerations in immunocompromised patients, in particular in organ transplantation and in stem cell therapy.


The matrilins are non-collagenous extracellular matrix proteins that form a subbranch of the superfamily of proteins containing VWA domains. Four matrilins are present in mammals, matrilin-1, -2, -3 and �4. The matrilins contain one or two VWA domains which are connected by a varying number of EGF-like domains, followed by a C-terminal a-helical coiled-coil domain. Matrilins serve as adaptors in the assembly of supramolecular structures in the extracellular matrix, but it is not known if this role is static or dynamic in nature. The in vivo functions of matrilins remain unclear and need to be elucidated in detail, in particular to understand the role of matrilins in inherited disease. Mutations in the gene encoding human matrilin-3 lead to autosomal dominant skeletal disorders, such as multiple epiphyseal dysplasia (MED), which is characterized by short stature and early onset osteoarthritis, and bilateral hereditary microepiphyseal dysplasia, a variant form of MED characterized by pain in the hip and knee joints. In addition, a mutation in the first EGF-like domain of matrilin-3 has been linked to hand osteoarthritis in the Icelandic population. Matrilin-3 null mice and matrilin-1/-3 double deficient mice were characterized. Homozygous matrilin-3 mutant mice appear normal, are fertile, and show no obvious skeletal malformations. Histological and ultrastructural analyses reveal an endochondral bone formation indistinguishable from that of wildtype animals. Northern blot, immunohistochemical, and biochemical analyses showed no compensatory upregulation of any other member of the matrilin family. In matrilin-1/-3 double null mice, biochemical analyses revealed a molecular phenotype in which the amount of matrilin-4 protein is increased and the band patterns of matrilin-3 and -4 are altered. The upregulation of matrilin-4 is likely to represent a compensatory mechanism. Altogether, the findings suggest functional redundancy among matrilins in mammals and demonstrate that the phenotypes of MED-like disorders are not caused by the absence of matrilin-3, but are likely to be due to dominant negative effects of the mutant proteins. The zebrafish is a well established model organism for the study of vertebrate development. The matrilins are present in neither Drosophila nor in C. elegans and the zebrafish is therefore among the simplest organisms which express matrilins. Highly conserved orthologues, matrilin-1, -3a, -3b and �4, are present in zebrafish, while the matrilin-2 gene is missing. The temporal and spatial expression of zebrafish matrilins was characterized. Zebrafish matrilin-1 was found not only in skeletal tissue but also in notochord and intestine. Matrilin-3a expression is restricted to skeletal tissues, while the expression pattern of matrilin-3b has not yet been elucidated due to the lack of a specific antibody. Nevertheless, RT-PCR analysis reveals that matrilin-3b is expressed at 24 hpf and, interestingly, splice variants of matrilin-3b containing a proline- and serine/threonine-rich domain are found only in embryos but not in adult fish, indicating that this new domain probably has an important function during zebrafish development. Similar to in mammals, matrilin-4 is the earliest and most widely expressed matrilin in zebrafish. Matrilin-4 is strongly expressed already at 24 hpf and is present in the skeletal tissues, soft connective tissues and nervous tissues. Morpholino antisense oligonucleotides were used to knockdown matrilins expressed in zebrafish. Malformations were seen at all the doses used and the phenotypes matched to the tissue distribution of the respective matrilin. Injection of matrilin-1 or matrilin-4 morpholinos give curled body shape, smaller eyes or a truncated body axis depending on dosage. The matrilin-3a knockdown embryos showed a serious skeletal phenotype.


In 2017-18 there have been major changes to some of the international agreements affecting privacy, in terms of both their contents and their parties. This article details, and explains the significance of:

(i) The implications of the EU GDPR's coming fully into force on 25 May 2018 for countries which wish to obtain or retain a finding that they 'ensure an adequate level of protection' satisfying the requirements of GDPR art. 45.

(ii) The completion of the 'modernisation' of data protection Convention 108 on 18 May 2018 (now 'Convention 108+); its prospectsof coming into force is assessed; its three new parties since 2017; and the UN Special Rapporteur on the Right to Privacy (SRP)'s recommended that all UN member states should accede to it.

(iii) The African Union Convention on Cyber Security and Protection of Personal Data (2014) growth in signatories and ratifications, bringing it closer to entering into force. Nine of the fifteen ECOWAS states in West Africa have enacted data privacy laws to comply with their obligations under the ECOWAS Supplementary Act.

(iv) Of the 11 new countries with data privacy laws, all except two have ratified the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, 1966 (ICCPR), Article 17 of which requires privacy protections. The position is slightly less impressive concerning ratifications of the 1st Optional Protocol to the ICCPR.

(v) APEC CBPRs is of negligible practical significance as yet, because only the US (24 companies certified since 2013 ) and Japan (3 companies certified since 2016 ) are fully participating.

(vi) In 2017-18 the previous Trans Pacific Partnership (TPP) was scrapped after US withdrawal, but it was then replaced by the 11 other parties proceeding with the Comprehensive and Progress TPP (CPTPP), which came into force between its six ratifying parties (to date) on 30 December 2018. It has provisions limiting data export limitations and data localisation. At least three of these parties may already have made contrary commitments.

This paper is based on data in the 2019 Global Tables of Data Privacy Laws and Bills at https://papers.ssrn.com/abstract_id=3380794


Comfort We Know COMPOSED BY KYLE GEORGER Lots of woods, farm animals, corn, and the smell of manure define my home environment. Over the summer, I would wake up every morning at seven a.m., help with the cleaning of the barn, feed the animals, and take on any other projects my dad had for me. The one distinct thing my home environment has is its smell, can't go anywhere else for it, because it's yours, nobody else's and that's what makes it so authentic and rare. Family, love, sense of belonging. I know whenever I have a bad day, home is right where I want to be. Home is a place so comfortable, a place I know, and a place I can trust and always rely on. The sense of love and belonging is there too. My parents, best in the whole wide world, give me everything I need to succeed, and are always there for me, through all the good and through the bad, I know I can go to them for anything. Being home, sitting on the couch, it's just that place, my own comfort zone. A place that is so describable, yet so indescribable because as much as you can try to describe it, you just can't, that's just the way it is. Television. When I was younger I would wake up to Saturday morning cartoons; you know, the ones called "One Saturday Morning." Our society today relies so much on the media box for news, the big game, or another new episode of Desperate Housewives. At least, families that are fortunate to have one. They just sit there, not asking for anything from us, and we allow them to be the centerpiece of our family room. Community, family. These things are one and the same for me. My town is a place where everyone knows everyone; but it's not one of the towns that you see in the movies where people everywhere are cheerful and you know everyone who brushes on by. You see, we aren't actors or characters. We are people who are more important and real than that. We are a tight community that, well if you mess up, everyone will know the next morning, and if you achieve something great, well they know, and you don't stop hearing congratulations for a few weeks, which I guess is sort of nice, flattering. Zen-like, joyful, peaceful, loving and caring. That is my home. I have lived in three different places since I was seven years old, and now I call Fredonia home for right now. Moving around as a youngster, you learn a lot, the people the places, always changing. Like moving is fun, but just think about all the new roads you have to learn as a driver, it's the worst part. I remember when I was trying to go to the grocery store when I was in Poughkeepsie, and I was totally living in Fairport at the time, and when I pulled out of the driveway and realized what I was doing, well I realized I had no clue where I was going at all. Materials and Memories COMPOSED BY GARY BAIER My excitement builds in anticipation of the unpaved path that lies ahead. My whole life has been leading up to this moment. I've always had a vision of me waving goodbye to all that I know in search of all that I want to know. Everyone says that Fredonia is a small town, but you don't know small until you've seen where I come from. I was born and raised in a town with no more than one thousand people. I had twenty-eight peers in my graduating class ... and that was large. No matter where I go I'll never be stripped of my roots, and I will always carry a love for small towns with me, but now I'm ready for change. I'm headed to Fredonia. Every morning I awake and rollover to silence my alarm clock. On top of my alarm clock sits a framed snapshot--my mother holding me as a baby. I have friends here in Fredonia, but it's easy to feel alone sometimes. Snapshots remind me where I come from. I am a boy who fishes with his father, a friend who dines on pizza, a boyfriend who rides the rollercoaster of relationships. The memories that were packed away in my bags for travel sprinkle my walls, my bulletin board, my mind. …


Flexural beam fatigue testing of asphalt mixtures has been used for nearly 40 years in the pavement industry. Since the development of the test, the definitions of initial and failure stifnesses have not been verified or validated in any comprehensive study. The main objective of this study is to validate the criteria used to define the initial and the final stiffnesses in flexure fatigue testing. In this study, extensive flexure fatigue tests were performed on five typical dense-graded mixtures and an asphalt rubber gap-graded mixture. An optimization approach was used, in which different intial and failure conditions were assumed. Fatigue models were developed using linear regression curve fitting and the conditions that produced the best fit were selected. Both the phenomenological and the dissipated energy approaches were used. Test results conclusively indicated that the initial stiffness should be defined at cycle number 50. In addition, when a phenomenological approach for fatigue is employed, the fatigue stiffness should be taken at 50% of the initial stiffness.A stiffness degradation model was developed, which provided an independent proof that failue occurs when the stiffness of the beam is reduced to 50% of the initial stiffness. This model represents a basic material propertey at which damage accumulation in the mixture has produced an inability of the mix to resist further damage independent of the mode of loading. In contract to the tensile strain-failure approach, data analysis with the energy approach showed that fatigue failure stiffness, taken at 30% of the initial stiffness, provided identical fatigue energy failure regardless of constant stress or strain mode of loading. The results show that the phenomenological and energy approaches provide different definition of failure and the test should be consistent with the method of analysis used.


Background Unlike drugs, medical devices (MDs) are not submitted for health authority marketing authorization based on in-depth clinical evaluation: critical review on an evidence-based medicine approach is essential for practitioners. The Consolidated Standards of Reporting Trials (CONSORT) statement is an international consensus expert guideline aimed at improving the reporting quality of clinical trials reports. Purpose To evaluate the usefulness and applicability of the CONSORT for journal articles reporting randomised controlled trials (RCTs) evaluating an implantable MD. Materials and Methods Original articles published before 2012 reporting RCTs assessing single-incision slings (SISs) in the treatment of female stress urinary incontinence were searched for in PubMed and Embase databases. Reporting quality was assessed by two hospital pharmacists and two urological surgeons according to three CONSORT checklists: abstract (17 items), standard (37 items) and extension for non-pharmacological trials (20 items); the results were discussed to reach a consensus. Results Among 135 articles retrieved, eight articles met the inclusion criteria and were assessed. Abstract scores ranged from 4.7 to 14.1 out of 20. Standard scores were greater than 10.0 out of 20 for most articles; the extension scores did not exceed 5.0 out of 10. Half the reported trials were not identified as randomised in the title. Three articles did not mention any confidence interval or standard deviation for outcomes. The interventions were incompletely described; only four articles reported the configuration of the devices. Four articles reported whether blinding was achieved but lack of blinding was never discussed as a potential source of bias. Few articles reported the operators and centres' characteristics and their impact on statistical analysis. Conclusions The reporting quality of SISs RCTs should be improved because readers require complete, clear and transparent information to assess the relevance and applicability of results. Our study supports further use of the CONSORT criteria to enhance and assess the reporting quality of surgical trials. No conflict of interest.


Human rights values have an ever-growing impact on contemporary societies. However, socio-economic rights remain the poor cousins of their civil and political counterparts. Recent "revitalization" of the key international socio-economic rights instruments, along with the emergence of new models of constitutional protection of these rights in Latin America, India and South Africa, has generated considerable interest. However, socio-economic rights remain by and large marginal, because of often outdated philosophical assumptions as to their lack of substantive content. This often means that our sophisticated vocabulary of rights is of little use to the homeless or the destitute or other disadvantaged groups. As a first step to combating the marginalisation of socio-economic rights, it is necessary that bodies charged with interpreting and applying socio-economic rights develop a rigorous, rational and coherent jurisprudence, to show that socio-economic rights can be given a substantive and meaningful content.


Abstract This paper details three projects utilizing geographic information systems (GIS) in the assessment of public libraries. The benefits of GIS include the abilities to generate maps to convey more information than through other means and to allow for spatial analysis of library services. This paper includes specific examples of uses implemented by the authors. GIS allowed the authors to display data related to library service and identify various disparities across service areas. In addition, this paper discusses practical issues of GIS for library researchers and practitioners based upon the knowledge gained through the development of the three GIS projects discussed here. Keywords: Geographic information systems, Public libraries, Evaluation, Library services, Information policy Introduction Geographic Information Systems (GIS) are "computer-based tool[s] for the input, storage, management, retrieval, update, analysis and output of information" (United Nations, 2000, p. 121). For public libraries, GIS have been used to analyze and display data in predominantly two different ways (1) analyzing service area populations and (2) managing facilities and collections (Bishop & Mandel, 2010). For example, to analyze service area populations, user demographics may be entered into GIS and projected over street maps. Then, a public library can see where its service population lives in relation to library branches. Similar analyses may be conducted for managing facilities and collections, albeit at different granularity than viewing a countywide spread of user populations. Instead of mapping user demographics at a countywide, street, or other level outside the library, GIS can be used to analyze in-library use data and occupancy of library study space by mapping locations of users and materials within the facility at samples times in order to assess those library services. A literature review performed in 2010 of library research that uses GIS as a tool to assess and analyze library services discusses 34 articles indexed in the Library Literature and Information Full Text and LISTA Library, Information Science and Technology Abstracts databases (Bishop & Mandel, 2010). One of the limitations of that literature review was the unknown numbers of library consultation projects that do not disseminate knowledge gained through the use of GIS via academic publications. Perhaps consultation projects do not publish because they might lack rigorous methodology required for peer-reviewed publications or, simply, their clients do not wish to make findings public for privacy purposes and competitive advantage. In an effort to fill this void, this paper shares knowledge gained from three previously unpublished projects utilizing GIS, in hopes of adding to the foundation of library research in the GIS area. The majority of research articles found in the literature review provided only the end result of analysis and the end products (i.e., maps) of their projects with little discussion of methods and strategies to assist future projects or duplicate studies (Bishop & Mandel, 2010). A potential reason that prior GIS research in library and information science (LIS) lacks discussion of specific methodological issues and strategies within may be due to the difficulty of explaining cartographic and geographic principles to non-GIS expert readers. This paper presents a more lengthy discussion on methodological, cost, educational, and political issues for the use of GIS in LIS as well as introducing next steps, such as education and training of LIS researchers, educators, and stakeholder groups. GIS applications in LIS research are slowly developing, but as the literature review indicates (Bishop & Mandel, 2010 ), they are expanding. This paper is intended to contribute to the literature on uses of GIS in LIS research by providing overviews of three research projects in which the Information Use Management and Policy Institute (Information Institute (www. …


This article demonstrates the importance of considering transgender speakers apart from gays, lesbians, and bisexuals, even where there is significant overlap in the linguistic practices of these groups. Through an analysis of transgender coming out narratives, it is shown that previous accounts of this genre, which have focused on gays and lesbians, do not extend to the entire LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender) community. Coming out as transgender differs from coming out as gay or lesbian primarily in that there are two distinct ways a person can come out as transgender: before and after a change in gender role. The dissimilarity of coming out before such a transition and afterwards presents a challenge to previous characterizations both of coming out and the narratives that result from this practice. Ultimately, the coming out narrative genre reveals itself as a venue for making sense of stigmatized identities in community-specific ways.


Computer-generated holography is a technique of a lossless and lens-less forming of images. Methods that use local devices to compute such holograms are very power- and time-consuming. In order to make it possible to transfer the calculations to the cloud, it is necessary to elaborate efficient algorithms of a lossless compression. In this paper two methods of compression are presented and supported by both simulation and experimental results. A lossy compression method omitting certain bit-planes of the holographic data is also presented, which allows insignificant loss of information, while achieving a greater compression ratio. Full Text: PDF References M. Makowski "Simple holographic projection in color.", Opt. Express 20, 25130-25136 (2012). CrossRef M. Makowski, I. Ducin, K. Kakarenko, J. Suszek, A. Kowalczyk, "Performance of the 4k phase-only spatial light modulator in image projection by computer-generated holography, " Phot. Lett. Poland 8, 26-28 (2016). CrossRef A. Kowalczyk, M. Bieda, M. Makowski, I. Ducin, K. Kakarenko, J. Suszek, A. Sobczyk, "Analysis of computational complexity in holographic lens-less projection," Phot. Lett. Poland 6, 84-86 (2014). CrossRef M. Makowski, "Minimized speckle noise in lens-less holographic projection by pixel separation," Opt. Express 21, 29205-29216 (2013). CrossRef H. Niwase, N. Takada, H. Araki, Y. Maeda, M. Fujiwara, H. Nakayama, T. Kakue, T. Shimobaba, T. Ito "Real-time electroholography using a multiple-graphics processing unit cluster system with a single spatial light modulator and the InfiniBand network." Opt. Eng. 55, 093108-093108 (2016). CrossRef T. Shimobaba and T. Ito, "Random phase-free computer-generated hologram", Opt. Express 23(7) 9549-9554 (2015) CrossRef S.R. Kodituwakku, "Comparison of lossless data compression algorithms for text data", Indian Journal of Computer Science and Engineering Vol 1 No 4 416-426 (2010) DirectLink


The knowledge of how to avoid crack at high temperature is crucial in fuel fabrication for Experimental Power Reactor or Reaktor Daya Eksperimental (RDE). This knowledge should be established and well-mastered by BATAN. RDE uses uranium dioxide as its nuclear fuel. However, uranium utilization for research purposes is heavily restricted. Therefore, the fabrication of ceria-stabilized zirconia (CSZ) microspheres as nuclear fuel surrogate was studied. In this work, the CSZ was prepared by external gelation with two different washing solutions, i.e. isopropyl alcohol (IPA) and propylene glycol methyl ether (PGME). The morphology in nano- and micro-scale of each CSZ microspheres from both variations was evaluated by small-angle x-ray scattering (SAXS) and optical microscopy. The morphology of the CSZ microsphere after drying at 80 °C and calcination at 200 °C were observed to understand the structural change in those steps and to see the potential crack based on its morphology. There are two parameters that can prevent microspheres from cracking at high temperatures for the next process, i.e., porosity and gel texture. It was observed that IPA solution has a benefit as a washing solution as it can trigger more porosities in the microspheres, but less in gel texture.


This dissertation presents three implementation models for the Scheme Programming Language. The first is a heap-based model used in some form in most Scheme implementations to date; the second is a new stack-based model that is considerably more efficient than the heap-based model at executing most programs; and the third is a new string-based model intended for use in a multiple-processor implementation of Scheme. The heap-based model allocates several important data structures in a heap, including actual parameter lists, binding environments, and call frames. The stack-based model allocates these same structures on a stack whenever possible. This results in less heap allocation, fewer memory references, shorter instruction sequences, less garbage collection, and more efficient use of memory. The string-based model allocates versions of these structures right in the program text, which is represented as a string of symbols. In the string-based model, Scheme programs are translated into an FFP language designed specifically to support Scheme. Programs in this language are directly executed by the FFP machine, a multiple-processor string-reduction computer. The stack-based model is of immediate practical benefit; it is the model used by the author's Chez Scheme system, a high-performance implementation of Scheme. The string-based model will be useful for providing Scheme as a high-level alternative to FFP on the FFP machine once the machine is realized.


This study investigates whether perceptions of the media and the public are related to political participation in Colombia. Communication researchers have built a large body of literature on hostile media perceptions and the projection effect, respectively. This study links these perceptual effects with each other and with political participation. Analyzing survey data from a representative sample of Colombian adults in urban areas, we show a direct relationship between hostile media perceptions and participation but no direct relationship between projection and participation. Hostile media perceptions and projection are negatively related. Results suggest that perceived media bias attenuates projection but increases political engagement.


Wine tourism is a growing phenomenon, with tourists enjoying not only wine but a rural lifestyle that is associated with winegrowing areas and the elusive essence of terroir. The Temecula Valley in southern California, a small wine-producing region and wine tourism destination, is experiencing state-led plans for a vast expansion of production and tourism capacity. This article traces the challenges inherent in this development process, and questions the sustainability of such plans regarding the very environment the wine tourists seek out, especially regarding the availability of natural resources, mainly water, needed to fulfi l these plans. The article concludes with a call for an applied anthropology of policy that is centred on the articulations of the state and neoliberal capitalism.


Theoretical analyses of international environmental agreements (IEAs) have typically employed the concept of self-enforcing agreements to predict the number of parties to such an agreement. The term self-enforcing, however, is a bit misleading. The concept refers to the stability of cooperative agreements, not to enforcing these agreements once they are in place. Most analyses of IEAs simply ignore the issue of enforcing compliance by parties to the terms of an agreement. In this paper we analyze an IEA game in which parties to an agreement finance an independent enforcement body with the power to monitor the parties' compliance to the terms of the IEA and impose penalties in cases of noncompliance. This approach is broadly consistent with the enforcement mechanism of the Kyoto Protocol under the Marrakesh Accords. We find that costly enforcement limits the circumstances under which international cooperation to protect the environment is worthwhile, but when IEAs do form they will involve greater participation than IEAs that do not require costly enforcement. Consequently, costly enforcement of IEAs is associated with higher international environmental quality. Moreover, under certain conditions, aggregate welfare is higher when IEAs require costly enforcement. These conclusions are accentuated when monitoring for compliance to IEAs is inaccurate.


Many genera of modern planktic foraminifera are adapted to nutrient-poor (oligotrophic) surface waters by hosting photosynthetic symbionts, but it is unknown how they will respond to future changes in ocean temperature and acidity. Here we show that ca. 40 Ma, some fossil photosymbiont-bearing planktic foraminifera were temporarily 'bleached' of their symbionts coincident with transient global warming during the Middle Eocene Climatic Optimum (MECO). At Ocean Drilling Program (ODP) Sites 748 and 1051 (Southern Ocean and mid-latitude North Atlantic, respectively), the typically positive relationship between the size of photosymbiont-bearing planktic foraminifer tests and their carbon isotope ratios (δ13C) was temporarily reduced for ∼100 k.y. during the peak of the MECO. At the same time, the typically photosymbiont-bearing planktic foraminifera Acarinina suffered transient reductions in test size and relative abundance, indicating ecological stress. The coincidence of minimum δ18O values and reduction in test size–δ13C gradients suggests a link between increased sea-surface temperatures and bleaching during the MECO, although changes in pH and nutrient availability may also have played a role. Our findings show that host-photosymbiont interactions are not constant through geological time, with implications for both the evolution of trophic strategies in marine plankton and the reliability of geochemical proxy records generated from symbiont-bearing planktic foraminifera.


To the Editor A 9-year-old Caucasian girl was referred to our clinic for hyperpigmented macules on her face and body. Four years previously subcutaneous nodules that had appeared on her knees and the occipital area were diagnosed as Schwannomas histologically. The 'brownish' skin lesions on her face, legs and sacral area, present since birth, were thought to be café-au-lait macules and the diagnosis was neurofibromatosis. The nodules that were not excised had curiously disappeared over time. Later, her mother became concerned when more macular lesions appeared on her arms and legs and the girl was referred to us. When questioned, the child complained of bone pain, occasional pruritus and urticaria. Physical examination revealed light pinkish-brown macules with tiny telangiectatic vessels close to the periphery of the lesions, the biggest ones on the sacral and right preauricular area, measuring 8 cm and 5 cm in diameter, respectively (figs 1 and 2). These 'congenital' lesions were warmer than the adjacent normal skin and neither the normal (dermographism) nor the lesional (Darier's sign) skin urticated on stroking. The lesions did fade slightly with diascopy. The newly appearing lesions were smaller tan macules with few or no telangiectasia and were not warm. There were two new subcutaneous lesions on the left elbow. The liver was slightly enlarged on palpation and ultrasonographically. There was no splenomegaly or lymphadenopathy. Serum levels of liver transaminases and alkaline phosphatase were slightly above normal limits. Two per cent basophilia was noted on the peripheral blood smear. The results of the other laboratory tests and imaging studies, including biochemical analyses, protein electrophoresis, blood coagulation tests, hepatitis serology, cranial magnetic resonance imaging, chest X-rays, bone scan, bone marrow aspiration and biopsy were within the normal limits. A 24-h urine collection for methylimidazoleacetic acid was within normal limits. Because of the lack of permission from the parents, bone and liver biopsies were not performed. Histopathological examination of the macule on the sacral area showed hyperpigmentation in the basal layer, superficial perivascular inflammatory infiltrate with scattered spindle-shaped mast cells and telangiectatic dermal vessels (figs 3 and 4). A diagnosis of telangiectasia macularis eruptiva perstans (TMEP) was suspected. The most frequent site of organ involvement of mastocytosis is the skin. TMEP is generally agreed to be cutaneous mastocytosis, an uncommon variant of urticaria pigmentosa. 1 It appears most frequently in adults and only rarely affects young children or infants. Systemic involvement is more common in adult forms of mastocytosis. 2 Systemic signs and symptoms depend on the specific organ system affected. Bone pain in the legs of our patient was the only complaint that can be considered a systemic manifestation of mastocytosis, and it is


RbFe(MoO4)(2) is a quasi-two-dimensional (quasi-2D) triangular lattice antiferromagnet (TLA) that displays a zero-field magnetically driven multiferroic phase with a chiral spin structure. By inelastic neutron scattering, we determine quantitatively the spin Hamiltonian. We show that the easy-plane anisotropy is nearly 1/3 of the dominant spin exchange, making RbFe(MoO4)(2) an excellent system for studying the physics of the model 2D easy-plane TLA. Our measurements demonstrate magnetic-field-induced fluctuations in this material to stabilize the generic finite-field phases of the 2D XY TLA. We further explain how Dzyaloshinskii-Moriya interactions can generate ferroelectricity only in the zero-field phase. Our conclusion is that multiferroicity in RbFe(MoO4)(2), and its absence at high fields, results from the generic properties of the 2D XY TLA.


The Cuban National Ballet, complete with its own training school and indigenous twist, was built in large part by Fernando Alonso, a remarkable man who danced on Broadway, studied with the greatest figures of the Golden Era of Ballet, and helped win the support of the post-1959 revolutionary government for the advancement of ballet. Written records of Alonso's work are scarce, yet Toba Singer's quest to spotlight his seminal role in the development of the modern ballet canon yields key material: pre-blockade tapes from Lincoln Center, Spanish-language sources from the Museum of Dance in Havana, and interviews with the ballet master himself alongside a broad range of friends, relatives, and collaborators from throughout his long career, including his ex-wife, Alicia, a famous ballerina in her own right. Under Alonso's loving guidance, Cuban ballet has become the most revered art form in the country--and a powerful presence in the international dance arena.


In a memoir as candid and unconventional as Johnny Weir himself, the three-time U.S. National Champion figure skater who electrified the 2010 Winter Olympics shares his glamorous, gritty, heartbreaking, hopeful, and just plain fabulous life story. How does a boy from rural Pennsylvania become an all-American original style icon on the ice and off, adored by fans around the world, and hailed as "The Lady Gaga of skating" (Salon.com)? The answers are here, in his invigorating and thoroughly entertaining chronicle of the emergence of his natural talents for skating and horseback riding; the physically and emotionally grinding path to becoming a champion; a family who sacrificed everything to support his passions; an ability to rise again after the most devastating defeats and never look back; an appreciation of style (from his mom) and self-discipline (that would be from his dad); and a fearless confidence to say whatever's on his mind.Because when you're Johnny Weir, you don't worry about what other people think. You let everyone else worry about that for you."Welcome to his world."


Although online distance education provides adult learners with an opportunity for life-long learning, there are still factors challenging them to engage in educational processes. The purpose of this study is to explore the challenges faced by adult learners in online distance education through the analysis of the relevant literature. The articles (N=36) published in the key journals in the fields of open and distance education, instructional technology, and adult education were reviewed and analyzed through constant comparative analysis in the current study. The findings reveal that adult learners have challenges related to internal, external, and program-related factors indicating the interrelated nature of these challenges. The findings also show that the challenges experienced by adult learners vary depending on their age, gender, knowledge and skills as well as the context in which they study. The findings of this study, which has an exploratory nature, have several implications for distance education stakeholders such as administrators, instructors, instructional designers, and policy makers.


The structure and function of Alaska's forests have changed significantly in response to a changing climate, including alterations in species composition and climate feedbacks (e.g., carbon, radiation budgets) that have important regional societal consequences and human feedbacks to forest ecosystems. In this paper we present the first comprehensive synthesis of climate-change impacts on all forested ecosystems of Alaska, highlighting changes in the most critical biophysical factors of each region. We developed a conceptual framework describing climate drivers, biophysical factors and types of change to illustrate how the biophysical and social subsystems of Alaskan forests interact and respond directly and indirectly to a changing climate. We then identify the regional and global implications to the climate system and associated socio-economic impacts, as presented in the current literature. Projections of temperature and precipitation suggest wildfire will continue to be the dominant biophysical factor in the Interior-boreal forest, leading to shifts from conifer- to deciduous-dominated forests. Based on existing research, projected increases in temperature in the Southcentral- and Kenai-boreal forests will likely increase the frequency and severity of insect outbreaks and associated wildfires, and increase the probability of establishment by invasive plant species. In the Coastal-temperate forest region snow and ice is regarded as the dominant biophysical factor. With continued warming, hydrologic changes related to more rapidly melting glaciers and rising elevation of the winter snowline will alter discharge in many rivers, which will have important consequences for terrestrial and marine ecosystem productivity. These climate-related changes will affect plant species distribution and wildlife habitat, which have regional societal consequences, and trace-gas emissions and radiation budgets, which are globally important. Our conceptual framework facilitates assessment of current and future consequences of a changing climate, emphasizes regional differences in biophysical factors, and points to linkages that may exist but that currently lack supporting research. The framework also serves as a visual tool for resource managers and policy makers to develop regional and global management strategies and to inform policies related to climate mitigation and adaptation.


This paper will consider developments in the Syrian and Iraqi battlespaces that may be conceptualised as relevant to the broader evolution in military affairs. A brief discussion of different notions of "revolution" and "evolution" (in Military Affairs) will be offered, followed by an overview of the combatant actors involved in engagements in the battlespace concerned. The analysis distinguishes at the start between two different evolutionary processes: one specific to the local theatre of war in which local combatants, heavily constrained by their circumstances and limitations, show innovation with limited resources and means, and with very high (existential) stakes. This actually existential evolutionary process is complicated by the effects of the only quasi-evolutionary process of major powers' interactions (with each other and with local combatants). The latter process is quasi-evolutionary in the sense that it does not carry direct existential stakes for the central players involved in it. The stakes are in a sense virtual: being a function of the prospects of imagined peer-competitor military conflict. Key cases studied in the course of the discussion include (inter alia) the evolution of the Syrian Arab Air Force's use of so-called barrel bombs as well as the use of land-attack cruise missiles and other high-end weaponry by major intervening powers.


In this article, the author explores the issue of violence in the inpatient and outpatient hospital setting. Only recently recognized as a significant occupational hazard to nurses, violence can lead not only to physical injury but also to prolonged and debilitating emotional, social, biophysiologic, and cognitive symptoms. The prevalence of the problem is presented, followed by a discussion of contributory factors and the effects violent incidents may have on victims. Strategies for prevention and topics for future research are identified.


SUMMARY Brazilian environmental law imposes more restrictions on land-use change by private landowners in riparian forests than in non-riparian forest areas, reflecting recognition of their importance for the conservation of biodiversity and key ecosystem services. A 22-year time series of classified Landsat images was used to evaluate deforestation and forest regeneration in riparian permanent preservation areas over the past two decades, focusing on the municipality of Paragominas in the state of Pará in eastern Amazonia. There was no evidence that riparian forests had been more effectively protected than non-riparian forests. Instead, deforestation was found to be comparatively higher inside riparian permanent preservation areas as recently as 2010, indicating a widespread failure of private property owners to comply with environmental legislation. There was no evidence for higher levels of regeneration in riparian zones, although property owners are obliged by law to restore such areas. A number of factors limit improvements in the protection and restoration of riparian forests. These include limited awareness of environmental compliance requirements, the need for improved technical capacity in mapping the distribution and extent of riparian forests and the boundaries of private properties, and improved access to the financial resources and technical capacity needed to support restoration projects.


Remote-sensing data are highly useful for the oil and gas industry. Remote sensing has proven to be an integral tool for downstream and upstream oil and gas operations through evaluation of infrastructure for well-site planning and for exploration through large-scale regional reconnaissance. Spectral analysis is a key form of processing to evaluate for surface outcrops and surface hydrocarbon seepage. We will show methodologies using remote-sensing data and how they assist in the overall understanding of the hydrocarbon system. A number of studies are shown in which hyperspectral and multispectral data sets have proven useful in understanding the geology and inferring information about the subsurface. Case studies are presented from Pennsylvania, USA; Neuquen province, Argentina; and Lebanon. Advantages and disadvantages of the use of these methodologies and the future of remote sensing in the oil and gas industry are discussed.


Thomas Diez is Professor of International Relations at the University of Birmingham (UK) and presently Head of the Department of Political Science and International Studies. He holds a Ph.D. from the University of Mannheim (Germany) and has taught at universities in Aarhus (Denmark), Copenhagen, and Victoria (British Columbia). He has published widely on issues at the intersection of European integration and International Relations, including EU-Turkey relations and the Cyprus conflict. Most recently, he has co-edited The European Union and Border Conflicts (Cambridge University Press, forthcoming).


century, compulsory licensing has been seen as a means of making intellectual works available by reducing some of the transaction costs associated with obtaining permission to use copyrighted material. There are now increasing calls for compulsory licensing for digitized works on the Internet, particularly music. Conceptually, a compulsory license falls midway between granting full copyright, which gives owners broad control, and denying copyright protection altogether. Rather than allowing musicians, artists, and other copyright owners to negotiate licensing terms for use of their works, a compulsory license forces copyright owners to allow use of their works under legislatively set prices and restrictions on use. When warring groups sound the alarm over excessive control via copyright on the one hand and insufficient incentives to create on the other, compulsory licensing seems a reasonable compromise. Compulsory licensing seems to pay off big in the short term by reducing the need for individual buyers to locate, negotiate with, and pay individual sellers. Compulsory licensing supposedly addresses the "market failure" of high transaction costs. But markets for digitized works do not suffer from market failures. Furthermore, the Internet has reduced the transaction costs that once served as a key rationale for compulsory licensing. Recent developments suggest that fears of excessive control of digital content are overblown. Without enhancing compulsory licensing, the digital landscape is diverse, as the case of music demonstrates. There is free music, temporarily free music, and low-cost music online. Offline, music companies are lowering the prices of CDs. The influence costs associated with compulsory licensing schemes make them a more expensive mechanism for setting prices. Private negotiations are much cheaper and more flexible over the long term. In the digital realm, we have not yet abandoned the basic building blocks of all creative endeavors—property rights, contracts, and voluntary markets—and we therefore retain the preconditions for future growth and diversification. Compulsory Licensing vs. the Three "Golden Oldies" Property Rights, Contracts, and Markets


Abstract Recent experience with drought and a shifting climate has highlighted the vulnerability of urban water supplies to "running out of water" in Perth, south-east Queensland, Sydney, Melbourne and Adelaide and has triggered major investment in water source infrastructure which ultimately will run into tens of billions of dollars. With the prospect of continuing population growth in major cities, the provision of acceptable drought security will become more pressing particularly if the future climate becomes drier. Decision makers need to deal with significant uncertainty about future climate and population. In particular the science of climate change is such that the accuracy of model predictions of future climate is limited by fundamental irreducible uncertainties. It would be unwise to unduly rely on projections made by climate models and prudent to favour solutions that are robust across a range of possible climate futures. This study presents and demonstrates a methodology that addresses the problem of finding "good" solutions for urban bulk water systems in the presence of deep uncertainty about future climate. The methodology involves three key steps: 1) Build a simulation model of the bulk water system; 2) Construct replicates of future climate that reproduce natural variability seen in the instrumental record and that reflect a plausible range of future climates; and 3) Use multi-objective optimisation to efficiently search through potentially trillions of solutions to identify a set of "good" solutions that optimally trade-off expected performance against robustness or sensitivity of performance over the range of future climates. A case study based on the Lower Hunter in New South Wales demonstrates the methodology. It is important to note that the case study does not consider the full suite of options and objectives; preliminary information on plausible options has been generalised for demonstration purposes and therefore its results should only be used in the context of evaluating the methodology. "Dry" and "wet" climate scenarios that represent the likely span of climate in 2070 based on the A1F1 emissions scenario were constructed. Using the WATHNET5 model, a simulation model of the Lower Hunter was constructed and validated. The search for "good" solutions was conducted by minimizing two criteria, 1) the expected present worth cost of capital and operational costs and social costs due to restrictions and emergency rationing, and 2) the difference in present worth cost between the "dry" and "wet" 2070 climate scenarios. The constraint was imposed that solutions must be able to supply (reduced) demand in the worst drought. Two demand scenarios were considered, "1.28 x current demand" representing expected consumption in 2060 and "2 x current demand" representing a highly stressed system. The optimisation considered a representative range of options including desalination, new surface water sources, demand substitution using rainwater tanks, drought contingency measures and operating rules. It was found the sensitivity of solutions to uncertainty about future climate varied considerably. For the "1.28 x demand" scenario there was limited sensitivity to the climate scenarios resulting in a narrow range of trade-offs. In contrast, for the "2 x demand" scenario, the trade-off between expected present worth cost and robustness was considerable. The main policy implication is that (possibly large) uncertainty about future climate may not necessarily produce significantly different performance trajectories. The sensitivity is determined not only by differences between climate scenarios but also by other external stresses imposed on the system such as population growth and by constraints on the available options to secure the system against drought. Recent experience with drought and a shifting climate has highlighted the vulnerability of urban water supplies to "running out of water" in Perth, south-east Queensland, Sydney, Melbourne and Adelaide and has triggered major investment in water source infrastructure which ultimately will run into tens of billions of dollars. With the prospect of continuing population growth in major cities, the provision of acceptable drought security will become more pressing particularly if the future climate becomes drier. Decision makers need to deal with significant uncertainty about future climate and population. In particular the science of climate change is such that the accuracy of model predictions of future climate is limited by fundamental irreducible uncertainties. It would be unwise to unduly rely on projections made by climate models and prudent to favour solutions that are robust across a range of possible climate futures. This study presents and demonstrates a methodology that addresses the problem of finding "good" solutions for urban bulk water systems in the presence of deep uncertainty about future climate. The methodology involves three key steps: 1) Build a simulation model of the bulk water system; 2) Construct replicates of future climate that reproduce natural variability seen in the instrumental record and that reflect a plausible range of future climates; and 3) Use multi-objective optimisation to efficiently search through potentially trillions of solutions to identify a set of "good" solutions that optimally trade-off expected performance against robustness or sensitivity of performance over the range of future climates. A case study based on the Lower Hunter in New South Wales demonstrates the methodology. It is important to note that the case study does not consider the full suite of options and objectives; preliminary information on plausible options has been generalised for demonstration purposes and therefore its results should only be used in the context of evaluating the methodology. "Dry" and "wet" climate scenarios that represent the likely span of climate in 2070 based on the A1F1 emissions scenario were constructed. Using the WATHNET5 model, a simulation model of the Lower Hunter was constructed and validated. The search for "good" solutions was conducted by minimizing two criteria, 1) the expected present worth cost of capital and operational costs and social costs due to restrictions and emergency rationing, and 2) the difference in present worth cost between the "dry" and "wet" 2070 climate scenarios. The constraint was imposed that solutions must be able to supply (reduced) demand in the worst drought. Two demand scenarios were considered, "1.28 x current demand" representing expected consumption in 2060 and "2 x current demand" representing a highly stressed system. The optimisation considered a representative range of options including desalination, new surface water sources, demand substitution using rainwater tanks, drought contingency measures and operating rules. It was found the sensitivity of solutions to uncertainty about future climate varied considerably. For the "1.28 x demand" scenario there was limited sensitivity to the climate scenarios resulting in a narrow range of trade-offs. In contrast, for the "2 x demand" scenario, the trade-off between expected present worth cost and robustness was considerable. The main policy implication is that (possibly large) uncertainty about future climate may not necessarily produce significantly different performance trajectories. The sensitivity is determined not only by differences between climate scenarios but also by other external stresses imposed on the system such as population growth and by constraints on the available options to secure the system against drought. Please cite this report as: Mortazavi, M, Kuczera, G, Kiem, AS, Henley, B, Berghout, B,Turner, E, 2013 Robust optimisation of urban drought security for an uncertain climate. National Climate Change Adaptation Research Facility, Gold Coast, pp. 74.


From historian David Priestland, this is remarkable book proposes a radical approach to how we see our world and who runs it. We live in an age ruled by merchants. Competition, flexibility and profit are still the common currency, even at a time when Western countries have been driven off a cliff by these very values. But will it always be this way? David Priestland argues for the predominance in any society of one of three broad value systems - that of the merchant (commercial and competitive); the soldier (aristocratic and militaristic); and the sage (bureaucratic or creative). These 'castes' struggle alongside the worker (egalitarian and artisanal) for power, and when they achieve supremacy, they can have such a strong hold over us that it is almost impossible to imagine life outside their grip. And yet there does come a point of drastic change, usually because one caste becomes too dominant. The result is economic crisis, war or revolution, and eventually a new caste takes over. Priestland argues, we are now in the midst of a period with all the classic signs of imminent change. As the history of the last century shows, there is good reason to be fearful of the forces that this failure may unleash. Merchant, Soldier, Sage is both a masterful dissection of our current predicament and a brilliant piece of history. The world will not look the same after you read this book. Reviews: "We have here a gripping, argument-led history, effortlessly moving between New York, Tokyo and Berlin, from the Reformation to the 2008 economic crisis ...dazzling ...here, at last, is a work that places the current crisis in a longer history of seismic shifts in the balance of social power". (Frank Trentman, BBC History Magazine). "Concise but extremely ambitious ...well worth pondering and reflecting on ...among the many contributions to the dissection of our current predicament, this is surely one of the most thought-provoking". (Sir Richard J Evans, Guardian). "Stimulating...In illustrating these larger processes of caste conflict and caste collaboration, the author offers crisp portraits of entrepreneurs, economists and warriors...Sparkling prose and ...arresting comparisons". (Ramachandra Guha, Financial Times). About the author: David Priestland has studied Communism in all its forms for many years, in both Oxford and Moscow State Universities. He is University Lecturer in Modern History at Oxford and a Fellow of St. Edmund Hall, and the author of Stalinism and the Politics of Mobilization. The Red Flag was shortlisted for the Longman/History Today prize.


The research performed during the PhD candidature was intended to evaluate the quality of white wines, as a function of the reduction in SO2 use during the first steps of the winemaking process.
In order to investigate the mechanism and intensity of interactions occurring between lysozyme and the principal macro-components of musts and wines, a series of experiments on model wine solutions were undertaken, focusing attention on the polyphenols, SO2, oenological tannins, pectines, ethanol, and sugar components.
In the second part of this research program, a series of conventional sulphite added vinifications were compared to vinifications in which sulphur dioxide was replaced by lysozyme and consequently define potential winemaking protocols suitable for the production of SO2-free wines.
To reach the final goal, the technological performance of two selected yeast strains with a low aptitude to produce SO2 during fermentation were also evaluated.
The data obtained suggested that the addition of lysozyme and oenological tannins during the alcoholic fermentation could represent a promising alternative to the use of sulphur dioxide and a reliable starting point for the production of SO2-free wines. The different vinification protocols studied influenced the composition of the volatile profile in wines at the end of the alcoholic fermentation, especially with regards to alcohols and ethyl esters also a consequence of the yeast's response to the presence or absence of sulphites during fermentation, contributing in different ways to the sensory profiles of wines. In fact, the aminoacids analysis showed that lysozyme can affect the consumption of nitrogen as a function of the yeast strain used in fermentation.
During the bottle storage, the evolution of volatile compounds is affected by the presence of SO2 and oenological tannins, confirming their positive role in scaveging oxygen and maintaining the amounts of esters over certain levels, avoiding a decline in the wine's quality.
Even though a natural decrease was found on phenolic profiles due to oxidation effects caused by the presence of oxygen dissolved in the medium during the storage period, the presence of SO2 together with tannins contrasted the decay of phenolic content at the end of the fermentation. Tannins also showed a central role in preserving the polyphenolic profile of wines during the storage period, confirming their antioxidant property, acting as reductants.
Our study focused on the fundamental chemistry relevant to the oxidative phenolic spoilage of white wines has demonstrated the suitability of glutathione to inhibit the production of yellow xanthylium cation pigments generated from flavanols and glyoxylic acid at the concentration that it typically exists in wine. The ability of glutathione to bind glyoxylic acid rather than acetaldehyde may enable glutathione to be used as a 'switch' for glyoxylic acid-induced polymerisation mechanisms, as opposed to the equivalent acetaldehyde polymerisation, in processes such as microoxidation. Further research is required to assess the ability of glutathione to prevent xanthylium cation production during the in-situ production of glyoxylic acid and in the presence of sulphur dioxide.


Gazi Husrev-bey's maktab, founded by the first endowment chart from 1531, remained a relatively modest part of the largest vakf in Bosnia and Herzegovina. Some information is known about the building itself, while there is little information about the muallims and the work of this maktab. There is still a period of 200 years for which we do not have reliable data on maktab muallims. The documents presented here about the three so far unknown muallims fill this void to a certain extent and testify about the high ranking of this institution and the education of its muallims.
The paper presents original documents on the life and work of the unknown muallims of Gazi Husrev- bey's maktab, hajji hafiz Yusuf-effendi and his son Haji Ibrahim Hakki. Their private libraries were also presented, and on the basis of kasam defters and other documents, data on this ulama family from Sejh Feruh mahale in Sarajevo in the XIX century were supplemented.


Surgical relief of left ventricular outflow tract obstruction (LVOTO) in hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM) requires more than septal myectomy. The procedure is currently the gold standard for all symptomatic HCM patients except those with comorbidities. The operation requires an individualized approach to restore the sophisticated functions of the left ventricular outflow tract (LVOT) without injury to the surrounding vital structures. The procedure should be tailored to deal with all the varied components of the obstruction including fibrous trigones, accessory tissues, and papillary muscle fusion. Preoperative multimodality imaging and numerical modeling combined with intraoperative transesophageal echocardiography (TEE) are essential to define existing anomalies as well as assess the adequacy of the repair. The mitral valve can be conserved in virtually all patients. The operation can be conducted with very low mortality and morbidity with predictable good outcomes both in the short and long term. Nevertheless, surgical relief of LVOTO is still grossly underused.


A new multiresolution coarse-to-fine search algorithm for efficient computation of the Hough transform is proposed. The algorithm uses multiresolution images and parameter arrays. Logarithmic range reduction is proposed to achieve faster convergence. Discretization errors are taken into consideration when accumulating the parameter array. This permits the use of a very simple peak detection algorithm. Comparative results using three peak detection methods are presented. Tests on synthetic and real-world images show that the parameters converge rapidly toward the true value. The errors in rho and theta , as well as the computation time, are much lower than those obtained by other methods. Since the multiresolution Hough transform (MHT) uses a simple peak detection algorithm, the computation time will be significantly lower than other algorithms if the time for peak detection is also taken into account. The algorithm can be generalized for patterns with any number of parameters. >


In this work, for the first time benzylation of benzene with benzyl chloride or benzyl alcohol was investigated with catalysts in the form of zeolites (zeolite-X, ZAPO-5, MCM-22) as well its ion-exchange forms. The obtained catalysts were characterized by XRD, SEM, NH3-TPD and FTIR. After synthesis of catalysts, synthesis of diphenylmethane and its various derivatives using benzene, toluene and a substituted benzyl chloride, benzyl alcohol was carried out (particularly with H-MCM-22). In this direction catalyst amount, effect of time on chemical reaction and other parameters were screened. After screening the zeolite catalysts for synthesis of diphenylmethane and its derivatives, it is observed that the substrates bearing electron donating groups gives high yield as compared to those with electron withdrawing nature.


This study examines the coping strategies of poor families during the Mexican economic crisis and how the border environment affects those strategies. To emphasize the impact of the border context, the results are compared to and contrasted with a similar, though more extensive, study of poor families in Guadalajara by Mercedes Gonzalez de la Rocha (1986 and 1988). Gonzalez de la Rocha concluded that the important elements in the survival strategies of poor families were the size of the family, its phase in the domestic cycle and increased informal sector work. Large families in the second and third stages of the domestic cycle fared better than small young families. This Tijuana study is consistent with the earlier study. In addition it explores four general ways in which the border influences coping strategies: (1) the dollarization of the economy; (2) the maquiladora boom and its affect on employment and the type of labor demanded; (3) the creation of binational families, with family members on both sides of the border; and (4) the existence of an economy of discards from the U.S.


An estimated 15% of the workforce in Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland is employed in shift work. Shift work entails working hours outside the standard working week, and may involve evening, weekend and rotating shift patterns.It is well known that lifestyle behaviours such as diet, physical activity, alcohol consumption and smoking are associated with increased risk of chronic non-communicable (non-infectious) disease.
Due to the disruptive nature of shift work and subsequent erratic routine, lifestyle behaviours may be negatively influenced by shift work, which may account for a potentially increased health risk. Little is known about the lifestyle behaviours and experiences of shift workers on the island of Ireland. There are no published data on the barriers or facilitators to improving lifestyle behaviours in this group.
Aims and objectives
This research set out to establish the dietary and related lifestyle behaviours of shift workers from the three largest employment sectors that require shift work on the island of Ireland. These are accommodation and food services, health and social care, and manufacturing. The specific objectives were to:

examine the eating habits of shift workers and assess the impact of shift work and different shift work patterns on diet and related lifestyle behaviours
explore the physical activity patterns of shift workers and determine whether shift work affects participation in physical activity
investigate the barriers and facilitators to healthy eating and physical activity within the shift work environment, specifically the availability of workplace facilities
develop recommendations to empower shift workers to lead healthier lifestyles, and to effectively target communication strategies for this population group.

- See more at: http://www.safefood.eu/Publications/Research-reports/Managing-food-on-shift-work.aspx#sthash.0tRiIV52.dpuf


Abstract Church's Thesis asserts that the only numeric functions that can be calculated by effective means are the recursive ones, which are the same, extensionally, as the Turing-computable numeric functions. The Abstract State Machine Theorem states that every classical algorithm is behaviorally equivalent to an abstract state machine. This theorem presupposes three natural postulates about algorithmic computation. Here, we show that augmenting those postulates with an additional requirement regarding basic operations gives a natural axiomatization of computability and a proof of Church's Thesis, as Gödel and others suggested may be possible. In a similar way, but with a different set of basic operations, one can prove Turing's Thesis, characterizing the effective string functions, and—in particular—the effectively-computable functions on string representations of numbers.


Bennett et al. presented a recursive algorithm to create a family of partitions from one or several partitions. They were mainly interested in the cases when we begin with a single square partition or with several partitions with only one part. The cardinalities of those families of partitions are the Catalan and ballot numbers, respectively. In this paper we present a non-recursive description for those families and prove that the generating function of the size of those partitions is a Kostka number. We also present bijections between those sets of partitions and sets of trees and forests enumerated by the Catalan an ballot numbers, respectively.


Public participation has become an integral part of environmental policymaking. Dispute resolution—with its focus on deliberation, problem solving, and consensus seeking among a small group of people—is one of the alternatives decisionmakers increasingly turn to for involving the public. This paper evaluates dispute resolution as a form of public participation by measuring its success against five "social goals": incorporating public values into decisions, increasing the substantive quality of decisions, resolving conflict, building trust, and educating the public. The data for the analysis come from a "case survey," in which researchers read and coded information on more than 100 attributes of 239 published case studies of public involvement in environmental decisionmaking. These cases describe a variety of planning, management, and implementation activities carried out by environmental and natural resource agencies at many levels of government. The paper demonstrates that dispute resolution processes typically do much better than other forms of public participation in achieving social goals, but only among the small group of actual participants. The dispute resolution cases do far worse in extending the benefits of participation to the wider public. Many dispute resolution cases lack significant outreach, either to inform the wider public or to draw the wider public's values into decisionmaking. The benefits of conflict resolution or trust formation also often do not extend beyond a small group of participants. The findings have normative implications for the desirability of dispute resolution in certain types of environmental decisions. They also have practical implications because the exclusion of the wider public from decisionmaking can come back to haunt project proponents in the implementation stage.


Garnet–clinopyroxene ultra‐high‐pressure (UHP) rocks from the northern Bohemian Massif contain zircon with micro‐diamond inclusions. Trace element concentrations, oxygen and hafnium isotopic composition and U–Pb age of distinct textural domains in zircon characterize their growth conditions and temporal evolution. Diamond‐bearing zircon mantle domains with relicts of oscillatory zoning have uniform Th/U ratios (~0.1–0.2), high‐Ti contents (110–190 ppm, corresponding to temperatures of at least 1100 °C), and some (two of 17 mantle analyses) preserve steep heavy rare earth element (HREE) patterns with YbN/GdN = 10–11, with a weak negative Eu anomaly. These signatures are consistent with crystallization from a melt under UHP/ultra‐high‐temperature (UHT) conditions. Some of the bright‐cathodoluminscence (CL) rims preserve Th/U and Ti values characteristic of the zircon mantles, but others show elevated Th/U ratios of ~0.3–0.4 and lower Ti contents (20–40 ppm; only 13 ppm in a rare low‐CL outer rim). As they feature flat HREE patterns and negative Eu anomalies and commonly make embayments and truncate the mantle zoning, we suggest that they have formed through recrystallization in the solid state during exhumation of the rock, when both garnet and plagioclase were stable. The three zircon domains, that is, cores, mantles and rims, yield U–Pb concordia ages of 340.9 ± 1.5, 340.3 ± 1.5 and 341.2 ± 3.4 Ma respectively. When linked to the previously reconstructed P–T path of the rock, the error limits of the zircon mantle and rim ages constrain the exhumation of the rocks from depth of ~140 km (UHP) to ~80 km (HP) to a minimum rate of 1.5 cm yr−1. The zircon cores are heterogeneous in terms of Th/U ratio (below 0.1 but also above 0.2) and REE characteristics, and their εHf values scatter between −15.7 and +4.8 with similar values for individual domains within a single zircon grain suggesting a very localized control on hafnium isotope composition on a grain scale. The non‐equilibrated εHf values as well as a large range of the Hf‐depleted mantle model ages possibly reflect the presence of a heterogeneous population of old zircon. Consequently, the uniform and young 238U/206Pb ages may represent (near‐)complete resetting of the U–Pb geochronometer during the UHP–UHT event at c. 340 Ma through dissolution–reprecipitation process. In contrast to Hf, the oxygen isotope composition of zircon is homogeneous, ranging between 7.8‰ and 9.6‰ VSMOW, reflecting a source containing upper crustal material and homogenization at UHP–UHT conditions. Our study documents that continental crust was subducted to mantle depths at c. 340 Ma during the Variscan orogeny and was subsequently very rapidly exhumed, implying that the sequence of events was faster than can be resolved by the secondary ion mass spectrometry technique.


In "Bloodstain Pattern Evidence", the concepts introduced in the author's first book, "Blood Dynamics", are updated and applied to provide essential answers in the resolution of actual crimes. The book is accessible to all levels of investigators, regardless of academic background, and allows readers to develop a fundamental understanding of the underlying scientific principles behind bloodstain pattern evidence. "Bloodstain Pattern Evidence" builds on the fundamental ideas brought about by an understanding of Non-Newtonian dynamics, and illustrates through case work the practical forensic science applications of these principles to the analysis of bloodstain patterns. This book: includes extensive case examples to provide practical application of essential pattern analysis principles; is extensively illustrated with over 350 photos and line drawings; and takes a unique and scientific approach to bloodstain pattern analysis by exploring the fundamentals of fluid behavior.


This thesis is concerned with demonstrating how the visual representation of the sequence distribution of individual monomer units, of a polymer, that would be observed upon polymerisation, may be utilised in designing and synthesizing polymers with relatively low cell adhesion characteristics, The initial part of this thesis is concerned with demonstrating the use of a computer simulation technique, in illustrating the sequence distribution that would be observed upon the polymerisation of a set of monomers. The power of the computer simulation technique has been demonstrated through the simulation of the sequence distributions of some generic contact lens materials. These generic contact lens materials were chosen simply because in the field of biomaterials their compositions are amongst the most systematically regulated and they present a wide range of compositions. The validity of the computer simulation technique has been assessed through the synthesis and analysis of linear free-radical polymers at different conversions. Two main parameters were examined, that of composition and the number-average sequence lengths of individual monomer units, at various conversions. The polymers were synthesized through the solution polymerisation process. The monomer composition was determined by elemental analysis and 13C nuclear magnetic analysis (NMR). Number-average sequence lengths were determined exclusively through 13C NMR. Although the computer simulation technique provides a visual representation of the monomer sequence distribution up to 100% conversion, these assessments were made on linear polymers at a reasonably high conversion (above 50%) but below 100% conversion of ease for analysis. The analyses proved that the computer simulation technique was reasonably accurate in predicting the sequence distribution of monomer units, upon polymerisation, in the polymer.An approach has been presented which allows one to manipulate the use of monomers, with their reactivity ratios, thereby enabling us to design polymers with controlled sequence distributions.Hydrogel membranes, with relatively controlled sequence distributions and polymerised to 100% conversion, were synthesized to represent prospective biomaterials. Cell adhesion studies were used as a biological probe to investigate the susceptibility of the surface of these membranes to cell adhesion. This was necessary in order to assess the surface biocompatibility or biotolerance of these prospective biomaterials.


We study the complexity of functions computable by deep feedforward neural networks with piecewise linear activations in terms of the symmetries and the number of linear regions that they have. Deep networks are able to sequentially map portions of each layer's input-space to the same output. In this way, deep models compute functions that react equally to complicated patterns of different inputs. The compositional structure of these functions enables them to re-use pieces of computation exponentially often in terms of the network's depth. This paper investigates the complexity of such compositional maps and contributes new theoretical results regarding the advantage of depth for neural networks with piecewise linear activation functions. In particular, our analysis is not specific to a single family of models, and as an example, we employ it for rectifier and maxout networks. We improve complexity bounds from pre-existing work and investigate the behavior of units in higher layers.


Abstract A new generation of accelerometers based on a microelectromechanical system (MEMS) can deliver broadband (0 to 800 Hz) and high-fidelity measurements of ground motion even at a low level. Such performance has been obtained by using a closed-loop configuration and a careful design which greatly mitigates all internal mechanical and electronic noise sources. To improve the signal-to-noise ratio toward the low frequencies at which instrument noise increases, a new MEMS has been developed. It provides a significantly lower noise floor (at least −10 dB) and thus a higher dynamic range (+10 dB). This performance has been tested in an underground facility where conditions approach the minimum terrestrial noise level. This new MEMS sensor will even further improve the detection of low frequencies and of weak signals such as those that come from deep targets or from microseismic events.