Throughout the history of functional programming, recursion has emerged as a natural method for describing loops in programs. However, there does often exist a substantial cognitive distance between the recursive definition and the simplest explanation of an algorithm even for the basic list processing functions such as map, concat, or unique; when we explain these functions, we seldom use recursion explicitly as we do in functional programming. For example, map is often explained as follows: the map function takes a function and a list and returns a list of the results of applying the function to all the elements of the list.
This paper advocates a new programming paradigm called pattern-match-oriented programming for filling this gap. An essential ingredient of our method is utilizing pattern matching for non-free data types. Pattern matching for non-free data types features non-linear pattern matching with backtracking and extensibility of pattern-matching algorithms. Several non-standard pattern constructs, such as not-patterns, loop patterns, and sequential patterns, are derived from this pattern-matching facility. Based on that result, this paper introduces many programming techniques that replace explicit recursions with an intuitive pattern by confining recursions inside patterns. We classify these techniques as pattern-match-oriented programming design patterns.
These programming techniques allow us to redefine not only the most basic functions for list processing such as map, concat, or unique more elegantly than the traditional functional programming style, but also more practical mathematical algorithms and software such as a SAT solver, computer algebra system, and database query language that we had not been able to implement concisely.


As molecular studies are applied to study the pathogenesis of invasive mycoses, it is essential that the parameters of the host-parasite interactions are known. The issue of clinical antifungal drug resistance and the impact of molecular studies on these invasive mycoses can be discussed under several categories: (i) diagnosis, (ii) immunomodulation, (iii) drug prescription, (iv) surgery, (v) prevention, (vi) new antifungal agents, and (vii) drug combinations. This chapter talks about how molecular studies of medically relevant fungi have begun to find uses in the clinical arena and discusses their potential to make a major impact on the outcome of human mycoses. There are two major issues in clinical diagnosis in which molecular biology is likely to lead to significant advances. First, despite the availability of several new diagnostic tests for invasive candidiasis and aspergillosis, there remain, from a clinical standpoint, opportunities to make an earlier specific fungal diagnosis or prevent the use of empirical antifungal therapies. The second area in which molecular biology is poised to make a major diagnostic contribution in the clinical mycology laboratory is in strain or isolate identification. The use of antifungal combinations to treat invasive mycoses has been a controversial topic because there are few evidence-based studies that support their widespread clinical use. In today's environment of constant fungal threat, it is both exciting and helpful that fungal molecular pathogenesis is maturing into a science with practical applications.


Diagnosis of Chlamydia or Bartonella infections continues to rely mainly on serology. However, serological cross-reactions between members of these genera have recently been described. Sera from eight patients originally diagnosed as having Chlamydia pneumoniae endocarditis reacted with both Chlamydia sp. and Bartonella quintana antigens (microimmunofluorescence technique). Adsorption of sera with B. quintana or C. pneumoniae antigens removed anti-C. pneumoniae antibodies, whereas adsorption with C. pneumoniae antigens did not change antibody titers to B. quintana. Western blot analysis confirmed the presence of cross-reacting antigens and showed antibody patterns in all sera to be compatible with a Bartonella infection. These patients were therefore probably suffering from Bartonella-induced rather than Chlamydia-induced endocarditis. In contrast, sera from 10 patients presumed to be suffering from C. pneumoniae pneumonia did not display anti-B. quintana antibodies, although cross-reacting antigens were revealed by Western blotting. This work highlights the possibility that cases of infective Bartonella endocarditis are erroneously diagnosed as chlamydial infections.


Abstract A quite simple and rapid TLC-densitometric method for the identification of α-escin (Aescin) in bulk drug substances was developed. In so doing, different chromatographic conditions, including various mobile and stationary phases, were tested. A TLC densitometric determination of the examined compound was performed without using visualizing reagent, yet with the use of appropriate dipping reagents, in order to obtain reliable UV-densitometric measurements of α-escin - a substance which has weak chromophore groups. Herein, the application of a mobile phase containing n-butanolacetic acid-water in volume composition 30:7:13, the use of silica gel 60F254 plates with concentrating zone, and subsequent application of 10% sulphuric acid in ethanol or 5% vanillin in methanol/sulphuric acid, respectively, provided the best results in a TLCdensitometric study of α-escin. The described method was successfully employed to identify α-escin in commercial samples that were in an oral dosage form (tablets) and also in the form of gel containing 20 mg of α-escin.


Challenges associated with extreme poverty have proven to be among the most intractable in the world, and, while engineers are critically important to the process of its alleviation, meaningful progress requires international, interdisciplinary teams that not only represent cultural and socioeconomic diversity, but work as one toward a commonly understood goal. When assembling such a diverse team, it is necessary to establish a fundamental and easily communicable strategy that highlights the importance of team members' roles as well as their challenges and constraints. This strategy is at the intersection of the diverse bodies of knowledge that each member brings and defines the "common knowledge" required to function as a unified and focused team. Using this strategy, a systematic methodology was developed at Arizona State University through an evolution and maturation of the GlobalResolve initiative, a program established to enhance students' educational experience and based on the nexus between engineering for the developing world and social entrepreneurship. The development of the methodology was approached by considering enterprise development at the Base of the Pyramid (BoP) as a complex systems engineering problem. In this context, the word "system" means an integrated set of interacting people, policies, procedures, and components that react to an input and produce a predictable output. The inputs to this system are the skills and talents of people living at the BoP, and the output is a successful enterprise that generates economic activity, provides employment, and improves people's lives. An important outcome of this effort has been to parlay this intellectual and experiential process in the development of curricula and academic programs in social entrepreneurship both directly within engineering programs and within the wider academic infrastructure.


We introduce knowledge spillovers as an externality in the production function of competitive …rms operating in a …nite spatial domain under adjustment costs. Spillovers are spatial as productive knowledge ‡ows more easily among …rms located nearby. When knowledge spillovers are not internalized by …rms spatial agglomerations may emerge endogenously in a competitive equilibrium, however, they do not emerge at the steady state of the social optimum.


The elephant in the room. Racial disappearance acts, mood politics and idiomatic diffraction summarizes a particular way of handling social and cultural problems. It is about social taboosthat are affectively charged: even if everybody knows the elephant is there, they ignore it. In this article, we are grappling with disappearance acts related to race and racialization at a white-dominated Danish university. Race is simultaneously there and not there in organizational policies and practices preoccupied with governing diversity. Using a recent debate over 'prayer rooms' in educational institutions, we develop a methodology ('idiomatic diffraction') sensitive towards race and racialization in contexts dominated by whiteness. Leaning on Karen Barad, we argue that diffraction may open up a space from where light can be explored in the shadows of what Sylvia Wynter names 'Man's Project'.


Mount Rushmore National Memorial is located in the east-central part of the Black Hills area of South Dakota and is challenged to provide drinking water to about 3 million annual visitors and year-round park personnel. An environmental concern to water resources within Mount Rushmore National Memorial has been the annual aerial fireworks display at the memorial for the Independence Day holiday during 1998– 2009. A major concern of park management is the contamination of groundwater and surface water by perchlorate, which is used as an oxidizing agent in firework displays. A study by the U.S. Geological Survey, in cooperation with the National Park Service, was completed to characterize the occurrence of perchlorate and selected metals (constituents commonly associated with fireworks) in groundwater and surface water within and adjacent to Mount Rushmore National Memorial during 2011–15. Concentrations of perchlorate and metals in 106 water samples (collected from 6 groundwater sites and 14 surface-water sites) and 11 soil samples (collected from 11 soil sites) are reported. Within the Mount Rushmore National Memorial boundary, perchlorate concentrations were greatest in the Lafferty Gulch drainage basin, ranging from less than 0.20 to 38 micrograms per liter (μg/L) in groundwater samples and from 2.2 to 54 μg/L in surface-water samples. Sites within the Starling Gulch drainage basin also had some evidence of perchlorate contamination, with concentrations ranging from 0.61 to 19 μg/L. All groundwater and surface-water samples within the unnamed tributary to Grizzly Bear Creek drainage basin and reference sites outside the park boundary had concentrations less than 0.20 μg/L. Perchlorate concentrations in samples collected at the 200-foot-deep production well (Well 1) ranged from 17 to 38 μg/L with a median of 23 μg/L, whereas perchlorate concentrations in samples from the 500-foot-deep production well (Well 2) ranged from 2.1 to 17 μg/L, with a median of 6.1 μg/L. Perchlorate concentrations in samples of the treated groundwater were similar to the concentrations from Well 1, which was the predominant source of the water supply at Mount Rushmore National Memorial during the study period (2011–15). Springflow upstream from the production wells in the West Fork Lafferty Gulch drainage had the greatest perchlorate concentrations, ranging from 21 to 54 μg/L. The groundwater site within Lafferty Gulch drainage basin but downstream from the park boundary also had a perchlorate concentration less than 0.20 μg/L in the one sample collected at the site. Water samples collected at reference sites generally had concentrations of metals within the same range of those sites within the Mount Rushmore National Memorial boundary, presenting little evidence of metal contamination due to anthropogenic factors within the park boundary. Soil samples were collected near most water sampling sites and within the Hall of Records Canyon where fireworks were launched. Perchlorate concentrations in soil were greatest in the West Fork Lafferty Gulch drainage and Hall of Records Canyon, which are topographically higher than the two groundwater wells. The perchlorate concentrations in groundwater and surface water within Lafferty Gulch drainage basin during 2011–15 were greater than the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's Interim Drinking Water Health Advisory benchmark of 15 μg/L. The perchlorate concentrations in the Mount Rushmore water supply relative to this benchmark are of concern; however, this health advisory is based on the assumption that consumers are using the supply as their primary water source and currently is not a regulated standard. The groundwater system at West Fork Lafferty Gulch is highly susceptible to contamination by way of recharge and is isolated from downstream movement by an intrusive body acting as a dam, which may explain why a contamination problem is not likely to disappear or disperse, as could happen in larger aquifer systems. The observed deposition of firework debris within Lafferty Gulch drainage basin coupled with the lack of alternative perchlorate sources indicates that past firework displays are the most probable source of perchlorate contamination.


Polymers of vinylferrocene and 1,1'-divinylferrocene have been investigated using Fe 57 Mossbauer spectroscopy and other spectroscopic techniques. In studies of the radical polymerisation of vinylferrocene the novel FeIII species, previously proposed as the product of monomolecular termination of the reaction could not be observed. Polymerisation of vinylferrocene in chloroform occurred only in oxygen-free conditions, as previously reported, but the kinetics of the polymerisation were found to be very sensitive to impurities. 13 C n.m.r. studies of polyvinylferrocene have given results which contradict previously published work and correct peak assignments have now been made. The structures of polymers from 1,1'-divinylferrocene have been investigated by techniques that had not previously been used. Previous workers had concluded that the polymers produced by both radical and cationic initiation contained three carbon bridged ferrocene units. However, the Fe 57 Mossbauer spectra revealed significant differences between the polymer structures. The quadrupole splitting (Q.S.) for polymers from cationic initiation = 2.39(2) mm s-1 with Q.S. for polymers from radical initiation = 2.29(2) mm s-1. This and other spectroscopic evidence supports a cyclopolymer structure for the polymers produced by radical initiation, with cationic initiation yielding polymers by an intermolecular polyaddition mechanism. The structures proposed have been confirmed by the synthesis of and spectroscopic comparisons with relevant model compounds. A polymer from anionic initiation of 1,1'-divinylferrocene previously unreported, has been prepared and shown to contain a trimethylene bridge, identical to that of the radically-initiated polydivinylferrocene.Variable temperature Fe 57 Mossbauer studies have been carried out on ferrocene and on polymers of vinylferrocene and 1,1'-divinylferrocene produced via anionic and cationic initiation. The treatment of the temperature dependence of the Mossbauer absorber recoiless fraction for crystalline solids has been extended to describe the vibrational properties of these amorphous polymers. An unusual nonlinear dependence of InA with temperature has been observed for the polymeric materials. The observed behaviour could not be explained on the basis of a modified Debye model for amorphous materials, even when intramolecular vibrations were included. However, a good fit to the experimental data was obtained with physically significant fitting parameters when it was assumed that each macromolecule vibrated within an anharmonic potential.


Paterae on Io: Geologic Mapping of Tupan Patera and Experimental Models Megan C. Decker Department of Geological Sciences, BYU Master of Science Paterae cover approximately 2% of the surface of Io, Jupiter's volcanically active moon. To understand the formation of these volcano-tectonic depressions we created a geologic map of a key region and compared this map with experimental models for Io paterae. Our mapping region is Tupan Patera, a patera that has experienced recent activity and is a detected hot spot. We identified four primary types of geologic materials: plains, patera floors, flows, and diffuse deposits. We constructed an experimental model to test previous suggestions that paterae may form as volatiles in the silicate crust are vaporized by rising magma, creating instability, and subsequent collapse. The apparatus is a scaled model that uses sand (silicate crust analog), ice or snow (volatile analog), a hotplate (magma chamber analog), and a moveable paddle (to simulate extension). Our experimental collapse features exhibit many characteristics of paterae on Io, such as "islands," terraces, straight margins, and steep scarps. Our model suggests that the role of volatiles in Io's crust is a significant part of paterae formation. Comparative studies between our map and model show it is possible Tupan is an emerging lava lake or one in a state of quiescence. Our studies have also culminated in the completion of a theoretical cross section for the geologic history of Tupan Patera. This cross section displays a sequence of events including the rise of magma as it preferentially volatilizes sulfurous layers in the crust, subsequent thinning, instability, and collapse, the likelihood of the patera floor sinking as a stoped block, and the more recent flow and diffuse deposits. This study gives some insight to the general formation of paterae on Io.


As a large section of the human intestine is currently unreachable through endoscopy, a self-propelled wireless system is expected for none invasive diagnosis and treatment. Recent advancements in robotics and micro fabrication have greatly encouraged this attempt and various systems have been developed. This paper reviews the locomotion methods under development, such as driving by peristalsis, friction, and electromagnetic field, and proposes a novel design that mimics the sliding of snails, which adheres to the intestinal mucosa and drives around by squeezing the mucus.


Maximum margin clustering can be regarded as the direct extension of support vector machines to unsupervised learning scenarios. The goal is to partition unlabeled data into two classes such that a subsequent application of a support vector machine would yield the overall best result (with respect to the optimization problem associated with support vector machines). While being very appealing from a conceptual point of view, the combinatorial nature of the induced optimization problem renders a direct application of this concept difficult. In order to obtain efficient optimization schemes, various surrogates of the original problem definition have been proposed in the literature. In this work, we consider one of these variants, called unsupervised regularized least-squares classification, which is based on the square loss, and develop polynomial upper runtime bounds for the induced combinatorial optimization task. In particular, we show that forn patterns and kernel matrix of fixed rank r (with given eigendecomposition), one can obtain an optimal solution inO(n r ) time for r 2 and inO(n r 1 ) time for r 3. The algorithmic framework is based on an interesting connection to the field of quadratic zero-one programming and permits the computation of exact solutions for the more general case of non-linear kernel functions in polynomial time.


[NiFe] hydrogenases from Aquifex aeolicus (AaHase) and Desulfovibrio fructosovorans (DfHase) have been mainly studied to characterize physiological electron transfer processes, or to develop biotechnological devices such as biofuel cells. In this context, it remains difficult to control the orientation of AaHases on electrodes to achieve a fast interfacial electron transfer. Here, we study the electrostatic properties of these two proteins based on microsecond-long molecular dynamics simulations that we compare to voltammetry experiments. Our calculations show weak values and large fluctuations of the dipole direction in AaHase compared to DfHase, enabling the AaHase to absorb on both negatively and positively charged electrodes, with an orientation distribution that induces a spread in electron transfer rates. Moreover, we discuss the role of the transmembrane helix of AaHase and show that it does not substantially impact the general features of the dipole moment.


Mafic dike swarms represent direct evidence of early tensional environments that may have eventually led to ocean formation. The first precise U-Pb zircon and baddeleyite age of 615 {plus minus} 2 Ma for a Long Range dike, southeastern Labrador, could mark the beginning of Iapetus Ocean formation. Baddeleyite (ZrO{sub 2}) is more widespread than previously recognized. It is ideal for use with the U-Pb system because it has low initial common lead and sufficient uranium levels, and it does not lose significant radiogenic lead with time. Baddeleyite therefore provides a unique opportunity for dating dikes associated with rift-related events with unprecedented accuracy.


Previously we presented atomic sets, memory locations that share some consistency property, and units of work, code fragments that preserve consistency of atomic sets on which they are declared. We also proposed atomic-set serializability as a correctness criterion for concurrent programs, stating that units of work must be serializable for each atomic set. We showed that a set of problematic data access patterns characterize executions that are not atomic-set serializable. Our criterion subsumes data races (single-location atomic sets) and serializability (all locations in one set). In this paper, we present a dynamic analysis for detecting violations of atomic-set serializability. The analysis can be implemented efficiently, and does not depend on any specific synchronization mechanism. We implemented the analysis and evaluated it on a suite of real programs and benchmarks. We found a number of known errors as well as several problems not previously reported.


The synthesis of complex architectures, namely block copolymers with tailored enduse properties, is currently an important research area in academia and industry. The challenge is finding a versatile polymerization technique capable of controlling the molecular properties of the formed copolymers, which in turn determines their macroscopic properties. Reversible addition-fragmentation chain transfer (RAFT)mediated living polymerization is a robust technique capable of producing controlled polymer products. With the great advances in living polymerization techniques and the environmental awareness of society there is an increasing demand to produce these polymer products via the RAFT living technique in heterogeneous media. Conventional emulsion and miniemulsion polymerization present various problems when used to produce polymers mediated by the RAFT process. There is an inherent need to find cost effective and flexible operating conditions to conduct RAFT polymerization in heterogeneous media with the ability to produce well-defined block copolymers. In this study the use of three novel trithiocarbonate RAFT agents to produce welldefined AB-type, ABA-type and star block copolymers via the RAFT process was investigated. Optimal operating conditions for the production of living block copolymers in homogenous and heterogeneous media were determined. The main focus was on the development of the RAFT process in heterogeneous media to efficiently produce block copolymer latex products. The RAFT-mediated miniemulsion polymerization system stabilized with non-ionic surfactants was thoroughly investigated. The ability of the ab initio and in situ RAFT-mediated emulsion polymerization systems to produce controlled latexes was demonstrated. Controlled block copolymer products were successfully synthesized in homogenous and heterogeneous media via the RAFT process when the optimum reaction conditions were chosen.


This is the first part of a two-part paper discussing the dynamic performance of power systems over parameter space using the method of normal forms. The normal form transformation is also derived under the second order resonance condition. By using the resonance condition as a guide to indicate unsatisfactory system dynamic performance, the authors propose a computationally efficient method to study the system under varying parameters. An approach to determine the resonance and near-resonance region in the parameter space is developed. For the resonance case, conclusions are drawn by simply examining the analytic solutions. For the near-resonance case, the machine states showing poor performance can be found by tracing the dominant nonlinear modal interaction and mode-machine interaction. The method is tested on the IEEE 50-generator system. The results reveal many interesting characteristics of the system related to resonance and near-resonance, which validates the effectiveness of the method as a useful analytical tool for system operation and design. Further work on quantifying the effect of the modal interactions on the machine states is presented in part II. [An incorrect version of this paper originally appeared in the IEEE Transactions on Power Systems, vol.16, no.3, p.445-50, 2001. This a republished corrected version.]


Who is attacking it, and why? I am not concerned here with the status of particular putative social structures, such as the class structures which are taken to be fundamental determinants of social processes in many versions of Marxism, but with a more abstract question: that of the possible existence and causal efficacy of anything that might be called a social structure. This question is therefore located on the borderline between social theory and metatheory, or in Roy Bhaskar's terms (Bhaskar 1975) between a scientific ontology, which asserts the existence of a particular entity or class of entities (subatomic particles, memes, social classes or whatever) and a philosophical ontology (a general doctrine such as materialism or idealism).


Recently, a new document metric called the word mover's distance (WMD) has been proposed with unprecedented results on kNN-based document classification. The WMD elevates high-quality word embeddings to a document metric by formulating the distance between two documents as an optimal transport problem between the embedded words. However, the document distances are entirely un-supervised and lack a mechanism to incorporate supervision when available. In this paper we propose an efficient technique to learn a supervised metric, which we call the Supervised-WMD (S-WMD) metric. The supervised training minimizes the stochastic leave-one-out nearest neighbor classification error on a per-document level by updating an affine transformation of the underlying word embedding space and a word-imporance weight vector. As the gradient of the original WMD distance would result in an inefficient nested optimization problem, we provide an arbitrarily close approximation that results in a practical and efficient update rule. We evaluate S-WMD on eight real-world text classification tasks on which it consistently outperforms almost all of our 26 competitive baselines.


The optical integrated spectra of three Large Magellanic Cloud young stellar clusters (NGC 1984, NGC 1994 and NGC 2011) exhibit concave continua and prominent molecular bands which deviate significantly from the predictions of single stellar population (SSP) models. In order to understand the appearance of these spectra, we create a set of young stellar population (MILES) models, which we make available to the community. We use archival International Ultraviolet Explorer integrated UV spectra to independently constrain the cluster masses and extinction, and rule out strong stochastic effects in the optical spectra. In addition, we also analyse deep colour–magnitude diagrams of the clusters to provide independent age determinations based on isochrone fitting. We explore hypotheses, including age spreads in the clusters, a top-heavy initial mass function, different SSP models and the role of red supergiant stars (RSG). We find that the strong molecular features in the optical spectra can be only reproduced by modelling an increased fraction of about ∼20 per cent by luminosity of RSG above what is predicted by canonical stellar evolution models. Given the uncertainties in stellar evolution at Myr ages, we cannot presently rule out the presence of Myr age spreads in these clusters. Our work combines different wavelengths as well as different approaches (resolved data as well as integrated spectra for the same sample) in order to reveal the complete picture. We show that each approach provides important information but in combination we can better understand the cluster stellar populations.


This paper proposes an algorithm for distributed classification, based on a SVM scheme. The contribution of each support vector is approximated by low complexity distributed thresholding over sub-dictionaries, whose union forms a redundant dictionary of atoms that spans the space of the observed signal. Redundant dictionaries allow for sparse representation of the observed signal, hence a good approximation of the support vector contributions, which is moreover robust to noise. The algorithm is applied to distributed image classification, in the context of handwritten digit recognition in a sensor network. The experimental results indicate that the proposed method is capable of achieving the same classification performance as the standard (non distributed) SVM, with an increased resiliency to noise


Nighttime blood pressure (BP) dipping can be quantified as the ratio of mean nighttime (sleep) BP to mean daytime (awake) BP. People whose dipping ratio is ≥0.90 have been referred to as nondippers, and nondipping is associated with cardiovascular disease events. We examined the relationship between systolic nighttime BP dipping in young adults and the presence of coronary artery calcium (CAC) 10 to 15 years later using data from the ambulatory BP monitoring substudy of the Coronary Artery Risk Development in Young Adults Study. Among 239 participants with adequate measures of both nighttime and daytime readings and coronary artery calcium, the systolic BP dipping ratio ranged from 0.72 to 1.24 (mean, 0.88; SD, 0.06), and CAC was present 10 to 15 years later in 54 participants (22.6%). Compared with those whose systolic BP dipping ratio ranged from 0.88 to 0.92 (quartile 3), the 57 participants (23.9%) with less pronounced or absent dipping (ratio, 0.92–1.24; quartile 4) had an unadjusted odds ratio of 4.08 (95% CI, 1.48–11.2) for the presence of CAC. The 60 participants (25.1%) with a more pronounced dipping (ratio, 0.72–0.85; quartile 1) also had greater odds for presence of CAC (odds ratio, 4.76 [95% CI, 1.76–12.9]). When modeled as a continuous predictor, a U-shaped relationship between systolic BP dipping ratio and future CAC was apparent and persisted after adjustment for multiple potential confounders (P<0.001 for quadratic term). Both failure of systolic BP to dip sufficiently and "overdipping" during nighttime may be associated with future subclinical coronary atherosclerosis.


Vocal Cord Nodules (VCNs) are localised benign, superficial growths on the medial surface of the true vocal folds resulting primarily from voice abuse, overuse or misuse and clinically manifested by progressive hoarseness of voice, with increased effort required to produce the voice, vocal fatigue and discomfort or pain in the throat. Conventional treatment methods include conservative voice therapy and surgical intervention. Both treatment methods are required for the resolution of VCNs with improvement of clinical symptoms. Here, a 44-year-old male teacher presented with a history of progressive hoarseness with vocal fatigue, discomfort in the throat during talking and bilateral VCNs since 8 months. There was no improvement after voice rest and voice therapy interventions for 5 months and he was finally advised for surgery, which he denied. He was, instead, successfully treated by individualised homoeopathic single medicine Hepar sulphuricum (30C, 200C and 1M) selected on holistic approach. Over the period of 5 months of homoeopathic treatment, the patient's presenting symptoms of VCNs were improved and with resolution of it. This case report suggests that homoeopathic intervention may be the treatment for the resolution of VCNs with its presenting symptoms.


The work developed in this thesis focusses on the electrical activity of the heart, from the modeling of the action potential originating from cardiac cells and propagating through the heart, as well as its electrical manifestation at the body surface. The study is divided in two main parts: modeling the action potential, and numerical simulations.
For modeling the action potential a dimensional and asymptotic analysis is done. The key advance in this part of the work is that this analysis gives the steps to reliably control the action potential. It allows predicting the time/space scales and speed of any action potential that is to say the shape of the action potential and its propagation. This can be done as the explicit relations on all the physiological constants are defined precisely. This method facilitates the integrative modeling of a complete human heart with tissue-specific ionic models. It even proves that using a single model for the cardiac action potential is enough in many situations.
For efficient numerical simulations, a numerical method for solving the heart-torso coupling problem is explored according to a level set description of the domains. This is done in the perspective of using directly medical images for building computational domains. A finite element method is then developed to manage meshes not adapted to internal interfaces. Finally, an anisotropic adaptive remeshing methods for unstructured finite element meshes is used to efficiently capture propagating action potentials within complex, realistic two dimensional geometries.


In three studies we examine evidence for the occurrence of intergroup schadenfreude in the realm of gender relations. In Study 1, female students read a scenario about a male or female high-flying but overconfident student who fails a job interview, having previously read a text about global warming (low gender salience) or feminism (high gender salience). Female schadenfreude toward the male target's failure was higher, particularly in the high salience condition. In Study 2, male and female participants showed higher levels of schadenfreude toward a candidate of the opposite gender who had received preferential treatment in a business environment, but who was subsequently demoted. In Study 3, male participants showed significantly higher levels of schadenfreude toward a woman suffering a (non-fatal) car crash compared to a man suffering the same fate, but a reversal of this pattern for women was not significant. In sum, all three studies show evidence of intergroup schadenfreude in the realm of gender. We discuss reasons for the specific patterns of findings as well as differences with other research demonstrating greater schadenfreude toward same-gender targets.


In this paper we analyse a selection of the numerous French language teaching methods published in the Netherlands during the 18th and 19th centuries. We look upon them as cultural products that are meant to be both useful and agreeable to read. "Useful" and "agreeable" are qualifiers revealing a certain set of ideas about the teaching of a foreign language: in a description of linguistic competence the agreeable and the useful always go together. Both authors of grammars and teachers agree on the importance of the practical use of the language studied, and look upon conversation skills as a pleasurable activity. From the beginning of the 18th century, scientific aspects, such as a comparative approach and grammatical description, appear in Marin's teaching method; they add to the useful character of the cultural outfit represented by the vocabulary. However, it is only at the end of the 19th century that learning a foreign language becomes a discipline and a science, and that the more specialized methods develop into more theoretical grammars.


The preliminary injunction is an equitable remedy that may be granted to prevent harm to a movant before adjudication on the merits can be reached. The Supreme Court most recently iterated the four factors a court must consider for a preliminary injunction to issue in Winter v. National Resource Defense Counsel. A movant seeking a preliminary injunction must establish that the movant is likely to succeed on the merits; that the movant is likely to suffer irreparable harm in the absence of preliminary relief; that the balance of equities tips in the movant's favor; and that an injunction is in the public interest. Federal Circuits have long been split over how to apply these factors and what kind of test these factors create. Following Winter, there is still no consensus. The Circuits apply three different tests to preliminary injunction questions: the Sequential Test, the Sliding Scale Test, and the Gateway Factor Test.
Circuits that apply the Sequential Test require a movant to prove each of the four factors in turn, and a failure to prove one factor bars injunctive relief. Circuits that apply the Sliding Scale Test balance all four factors, and a higher showing on one factor can make up for a lesser showing on another factor. Circuits that apply the Gateway Factor Test require movants to demonstrate a likelihood of success on the merits and a likelihood of suffering irreparable harm in the absence of preliminary relief before addressing the remaining two elements. Under this approach the first two factors are dispositive.
This article argues that the Sliding Scale Test is the most appropriate test when determining whether to issue a preliminary injunction. The history of equity in the United States supports this assertion. Further, the Supreme Court has historically endorsed the Sliding Scale Test.


Abstract Suitable host fishes were identified for two species of freshwater mussels (Unionidae) from the Coosa River drainage, Mobile Basin: Lampsilis altilis, the fine-lined pocketbook and Villosa vibex, the southern rainbow. Suitable hosts are defined as fishes that produce juvenile mussels from glochidial infestations in the laboratory. Larvae of both L. altilis and V. vibex transformed successfully on four species of sunfishes (Centrarchidae): Lepomis cyanellus, Micropterus coosae, M. punctulatus and M. salmoides. For both mussel species transformation success on L. cyanellus was highly variable and generally lower than on Micropterus spp. Gravid female L. altilis and V. vibex display highly modified mantle margin lures in the early spring. In addition to displaying mantle lures, L. altilis produce superconglutinates, similar to those recently described for three other species of Lampsilis in the southeastern U.S.


Individuals with tetraplegia face many obstacles with activities of daily living. Although approximately 65% to 75% of individuals with tetraplegia would benefit from upper extremity surgery that could make many of their activities of daily living more spontaneous, only 14% of patients who are surgical candidates undergo tendon transfer procedures. A good surgical candidate has an injury at one of the cervical spine levels and an International Classification for Surgery of the Hand in Tetraplegia group of 1 or better, has functional goals, and is committed to the postoperative rehabilitation process. Surgery primarily consists of tendon transfers, tenodesis, and arthrodesis to restore elbow extension and hand pinch, grasp, and release. Nerve transfers and functional electrical stimulation are also options for treatment.


There are mechanical loads applied to the patella tendon in almost all sporting activities and as a result is commonly injured (Peterson and Renström, 2003:321). Patellar tendinopathy is a common chronic tendinopathy (Hamilton and Purdman, 2004) and occurs commonly in athletes who impose rapid eccentric loading of the knee extensor mechanism (Norris, 2004:246). Deep Transverse Friction Massage (DTFM) and soft tissue mobilization are the two most common forms of manual therapy used to treat patellar tendinopathy (Rees et al., 2006). DTFM is considered the most effective treatment for patellar tendinopathy (Brunker and Khan, 2002:487). It is theorised that DTFM causes the softening of scar tissue and the breakdown of adhesions, promoting the realignment of disrupted connective tissue fibrils within the affected tendon (Stasinopoulos and Johnson, 2007). Graston Instrument Assisted Soft Tissue Mobilization (GIASTM) consists of a set of stainless steel instruments (Carey 2003:2) and is an advanced form of soft tissue mobilization used in detecting and releasing scar tissue, adhesions and fascial restrictions (Carey, 2003:7). The controlled microtrauma created by these instruments is hypothesised to create a localised inflammatory response (Hammer, 2004) in a similar mechanism to that of DTFM. The aim of this study was to determine the relative effectiveness of GIASTM versus DTFM in treating patellar tendinopathy. The study included a total of twenty-six knees among twenty-one patients. Patients were placed randomly into either the GIASTM group or the DTFM group. Each patient received a total of twelve treatments over a three month period. Algometer and inclinometer readings were recorded at set intervals and compromised objective measures. Two questionnaires and a numerical pain rating scale (NRS) were administered at set intervals and compromised subjective measures. SPSS version 13.0 (SPSS Inc., Chicago, Illinois, USA) was used to analyse the data. Repeated measures ANOVA was used to examine changes in quantitative outcomes over the time points (intragroup analysis) and a treatment effect (intergroup analysis). To control for the partial pairing in the intergroup analysis, a variable which classified each subject as paired (both left and right knee used in study) or non-paired (only used once in study) was used as a factor in the model. Correlations between the intragroup changes in the various outcome variables were assessed using Pearson's correlation coefficients. Statistical analysis of both objective and subjective data revealed significant improvements for most outcome measures in the study. Findings imply that GIASTM is as effective as DTFM in treating patellar tendinopathy.


Recent efforts by several researchers around the world to combine fractal geometry with electromagnetic theory have led to a plethora of new and innovative antenna designs. In this report, we provide a comprehensive overview of recent developments in the rapidly growing field of fractal antenna engineering. Fractal antenna engineering research has been primarily focused in two areas: the first deals with the analysis and design of fractal antenna elements, and the second concerns the application of fractal concepts to the design of antenna arrays. Fractals have no characteristic size, and are generally composed of many copies of themselves at different scales. These unique properties of fractals have been exploited in order to develop a new class of antenna-element designs that are multi-band and/or compact in size. On the other hand, fractal arrays are a subset of thinned arrays, and have been shown to possess several highly desirable properties, including multi-band performance, low sidelobe levels, and the ability to develop rapid beamforming algorithms based on the recursive nature of fractals. Fractal elements and arrays are also ideal candidates for use in reconfigurable systems. Finally, we provide a brief summary of recent work in the related area of fractal frequency-selective surfaces.


In this paper a decentralized reactive power control scheme is proposed to optimally control the switched capacitor in the system in order to minimize system losses and maintain acceptable voltage profile. The proposed technique is based on placing a remote terminal unit (RTUs) at each DG and each at line capacitor. These RTUs being coordinated together through communication protocols form a multiagent system. Novel decentralized algorithm is proposed to estimate the voltage profile change as a result of injecting reactive power at the capacitor bus. Simulation results are presented to show the validity and the effectiveness of the proposed technique.


ABSTRACT This paper focuses on the relationship between fashion consumers and retailers in the transparency of supply chains and public communication of corporate social responsibility (CSR). Adopting a qualitative, mixed-methods approach, this study explored the current industry situation with regards to the information being disclosed to external stakeholders such as consumers. Following the development of a conceptual framework informed by an in-depth literature search, the study aimed to contribute to the discourse by establishing the type and quantity of information desired by consumers in order to inform their knowledge of ethics and sustainability in fashion. Utilising methodological tools such as consumer surveys and secondary research analysis, the study engaged with multiple stakeholders in order to adopt a case-study approach. The paper identifies a consumer demand for the provision of information from fashion retailers, exploring further the type of information wanted and how to effectively communicate this using strategic tools and methods.


Adoption of inflation targeting by the Bank of Korea (BOK) in 1998 contributed to low and stable inflation. However, after the global financial crisis (GFC) monetary policy faced more challenging conditions. Inflation slipped below the target range in 2012 and remains below it despite a cut in the target to 2 percent in 2016. Policy also became more complex with the addition of financial stability to the central bank's mandate. To address these challenges, this paper proposes a two-pronged approach to strengthen the effectiveness with which monetary policy can meet its objectives: first, enhanced communication on how the target will be achieved over the medium-term, building on a forecasting and policy analysis system; and, second, by clarifying the complementary role of macroprudential policy in containing financial stability risks so that monetary policy can focus on the inflation target. Simulation of a macro model calibrated to Korea illustrates how it can be used to provide this greater medium-term focus on achieving the inflation target and strengthen communication.


The choice of staffing levels is a decision faced by virtually every organization. When making this decision for a complex system, what methodology can be employed? And can theory guide the decisions? This book describes the staffing level analysis for a company''s product inspection process―a complex tandem queue with machines or operators working in parallel at each station, dynamic interaction between the inspection rates at two of the stations, and stochastic arrivals of the items to be inspected. The minimum staffing levels for various product volumes need to be determined to ensure a reliable inspection system with nearly-zero probability of system congestion. Both simulation modeling and queuing theory approximation are applied to the analysis. The critical topology of the queuing system, the nature of the problem, and the methodology for their solution are portable to other environments. The methodology in this study should be useful to practitioners who are considering improving the operations of their service or production systems through capacity planning, and also be of interest to researchers in the field of service operations.


Immigration to Britain has rarely achieved the levels experienced by the US, but it is nevertheless true of all periods that immigrants, refugees and soujourners have been continually present'. While we may have the beginnings of a history of immigration, ethnicity and race in Britain, there is a lack of historiographical awareness in the subject. The essays in this collection, ranging from specific case studies to broad themes, are an attempt to provide a basis for future discussion.


US corporate law is undergoing a seismic shift in relation to shareholder power. Although shareholders have traditionally had restricted participatory rights under US corporate law, this paradigm has been challenged in recent times. The shareholder empowerment debate raised shareholder power as a serious subject for corporate law reform. The global financial crisis has given the issue further impetus, and an unprecedented array of reforms and proposals to increase shareholder power are now on the table in the US. There has, however, been great resistance to adjusting the traditional balance of power between shareholders and the board of directors. This article critically analyzes the US shareholder empowerment debate, and current reformatory zeal in this regard, through a comparative corporate governance lens. There is often an implicit assumption in corporate law scholarship that a unified and stable model of corporate governance exists across the common law world. The article challenges this widely held tenet. It shows that US shareholders have traditionally possessed significantly less power than their counterparts in other common law jurisdictions, and examines particular legal rules that contribute to this divergence. The article also uses a comparative corporate governance analysis to discuss the possibility of commercial pushback. It examines a tension between legal rules, designed to enhance shareholder power, and commercial practices designed to subvert it. The existence of commercial pushback suggests that, even if US shareholder powers are significantly strengthened, that will by no means be the end of the story.


Motive plays an important role in criminal law. It is necessary to prove liability for some offenses; it is a key component of several defenses; and it has been a traditional consideration at sentencing. Motive's role in criminal punishment has grown through the adoption of hate crime sentencing enhancements and the rise of substantive sentencing law. And motive has an important role in punishment theory, as it reinforces the centrality of shared moral judgments, which are indispensable to any system of criminal law. Yet despite motive's increasing importance in criminal law, its treatment is inconsistent and incomplete. This Article proposes an expanded role for motive in criminal punishment, in which a defendant's motive for committing any crime may result in a sentencing increase or decrease. The proposed sentencing system not only will result in a greater correlation between a defendant's punishment and her individual blameworthiness, but also will increase sentencing uniformity, because it clarifies the aggravating and mitigating nature of various motives ex ante.


With the rapid rise in number, and success, of innocence projects across the country, has come criticism of their purported missions and their ultimate benefit to the criminal justice system, particularly as they affect issues of indigent criminal defense. In one of the most thoughtful and provocative articles written in the area to date (In Praise of the Guilty Project: A Criminal Defense Lawyer's Growing Anxiety about Innocence Projects, University of Pennsylvania Journal of Law and Social Change (2010)), Georgetown Law Center Professor Abbe Smith argues that a combination of factors characteristic of innocence work – arrogance of purpose, the change of focus from prejudice to innocence as the currency of reform, and a focus on innocence clinics as opposed to traditional criminal defense clinics – are at odds with, and even threaten, core values of indigent defense. In explaining that Professor Smith's concerns are the natural byproduct, rather than the characteristics, of the tension between traditional modes and approaches taken by criminal defense lawyers – namely those steeped in the tradition of zealous public defense on behalf of the indigent criminally accused – this article seeks to offer an accommodation between the two areas of practice. Professor Smith's claim about arrogance, for example, is, in reality, a recognition by innocence practitioners that the work has reformist value over and above the value provided to a discrete client. The sense of arrogance that Professor Smith identifies actually derives from innocence practitioners efforts to leverage the injustices visited on their clients into meaningful and lasting reform. Similarly, the focus on innocence as the currency of criminal justice reform is not the "fault" of innocence work, and, instead of redounding to the detriment of the criminal accused generally, frequently works to their benefit inasmuch as many legislative and policy reforms which are the result of innocence work are non-sectarian in their benefits. Lastly, in contrast to Professor Smith's claims, this article argues that not only have innocence projects not "replaced" traditional criminal defense clinics in law schools, but the pedagogical goals and values inherent in criminal defense clinics also exist in innocence clinics.


For drawing higher-level perspectives in group activities, resolving conflicts among group members is crucial. We investigated group activities with four members wherein one member had a different perspective from the other three. Four members engaged in a rule discovery task in which they were required to unify conflicts for the solution. Through two experiments, we investigated two hypotheses: 1) Innovative high-level perspectives are more likely to emerge from a minority individual than from the majority of group members, 2) Group members on the majority side might tend to have more egocentric perspectives than an individual on the minority side. Both hypotheses were supported.


In the present paper we present a new method of evaluating the geomorphosite. The method is presented by us/ our team and it was tested in the protected area Ponoare. In the first part of the article, we will apply, for the geomorphosites inventorized here, the other methods of evaluation known worldwide, and after that we will evaluate geomorphosites by following the new method proposed by us, a method which is adapted to geomorphological reality and to the reality of touristic exploitation of the analysed area. There were taken into account the methods developed up to now in the specialized literature, namely: the method of evaluating the touristic value of geomorphosites for the evaluation of the touristic value conceived by J. P. Pralong in 2005, the method developed in 2007 by E. Reynard et al.; the method developed at the University of Modena and Reggio Emilia by P. Coratza and C. Giusti in 2005; and the method proposed at the University of Cantabria by V. M. Bruschi and A. Cendrero in 2005; the method developed by the University from Valladolid by E. Serrano and J. J. Gonzales Trueba in 2005; the method proposed by the University of Minho in 2007 by P. Pereira, the Greek method developed by N. Zourous in 2005 and the Slavonian method proposed in 2012 by B. Erhatic. The results obtained show different quantitative values compared to previous methods, but comparing the rank obtained by each geomorphosite during the evaluation, the rank stays the same. The values are situated in a different deviation compared to other methods, having in view that for additional values firstly the cultural value is reduced in the analysed


Since event-related components in MEG (magnetoencephalography) studies are often buried in background brain activity and environmental and sensor noise, it is a standard technique for noise reduction to average over multiple stimulus-locked responses or "epochs". However this also removes event-related changes in oscillatory activity that are not phase locked to the stimulus. To overcome this problem, we combine time-frequency analysis of individual epochs with corticallyconstrained imaging to produce dynamic images of brain activity on the cerebral cortex in multiple time-frequency bands. While the SNR in individual epochs is too low to see any but the strongest components, we average signal power across epochs to find event related components on the cerebral cortex in each frequency band. To determine which of these components are statistically significant within an individual subject, we threshold the cortical images to control for false positives. This involves testing thousands of hypotheses (one per surface element and time-frequency band) for significant experimental effects. To control the number of false positives over all tests, we must therefore apply multiplicity adjustments by controlling the familywise error rate, i.e. the probability of one or more false positive detections across the entire cortex. Applying this test to each frequency band produces a set of cortical images showing significant eventrelated activity in each band of interest. We demonstrate this method in applications to high density MEG studies of visual attention.


Several task models have been introduced in the literature to describe the intrinsic parallelism of real-time activities, including fork/join, synchronous parallel, DAG-based, etc. Although schedulability tests and resource augmentation bounds have been derived for these task models in the context of multicore systems, they are still too pessimistic to describe the execution flow of parallel tasks characterized by multiple (and nested) conditional statements, where it is hard to decide which execution path to select for modeling the worst-case scenario. To overcome this problem, this paper proposes a task model that integrates control flow information by considering conditional parallel tasks (cp-tasks) represented by DAGs with both precedence and conditional edges. For this task model, a set of meaningful parameters are identified and computed by efficient algorithms and a response-time analysis is presented for different scheduling policies. Experimental results are finally reported to evaluate the efficiency of the proposed schedulability tests and their performance with respect to classic tests based on both conditional and non-conditional existing approaches.


In The Scriptural Tale in the Fourth Gospel, Ed Gerber argues that the story of Jesus has been told as a creative retelling of the story of Adam & Israel, first in the prologue, and then in the body of the Gospel as a whole.


This article discusses a capstone course for undergraduate statistics majors at the University of South Carolina. The course synthesizes lessons learned throughout the curriculum and develops students' nonstatistical skills to the level expected of professional statisticians. Student teams participate in a series of inexpensive laboratory experiments that emphasize ideas and techniques of applied and mathematical statistics, mathematics, and computing. They also study modules on important nonstatistical skills. Students prepare written and oral reports. If a report is not of professional quality, the student receives feedback and repeats the report. All students leave the course with a better understanding of how the pieces of their education fit together and with a firm understanding of the communication skills required of a professional statistician.


Background: In paternalistic models, healthcare providers' responsibility is to decide what is best for patients. The main concern is that such models fail to respect patient autonomy and do not promote patient responsibility. Aim: To evaluate mental healthcare team members' perceptions of their own role in encouraging elderly persons to participate in shared decision-making after implementation of the CCM. The CCM is not an explanatory theory, but an evidence-based guideline and synthesis of best available evidence. Methods: Data were collected from two teams that took part in a focus group interview, and the transcript was analysed by means of qualitative thematic analysis. Results: One overall theme emerged—Preventing the violation of human dignity based on three themes, namely, Changing understanding and attitudes, Increasing depressed elderly persons' autonomy and Clarifying the mental healthcare team coordinator's role and responsibility. The results of this study reveal that until recently, paternalism has been the dominant decision-making model within healthcare, without any apparent consideration of the patient perspective. Community mental healthcare can be improved by shared decision-making in which team members initiate a dialogue focusing on patient participation to prevent the violation of human dignity. However, in order to determine how best to empower the patient, team members need expert knowledge and intuition.


Abstract Eleven nepheline-kalsilite crystalline solutions with various proportions of K:Na have been studied from room temperature to 1050/1150°C by X-ray powder diffraction. Nepheline expansion is relatively high and little affected by composition, whereas kalsilite expansion is lower but affected to a significant degree by K:Na ratio. The generally higher rate of expansion in nepheline is apparently related to the collapse of the tetrahedral framework around the smaller of its two alkali sites. Occupancy of these sites by the relatively small Na ion further extends the potential for thermal vibration before the structure is stretched to the critical degree required for phase transformation. Once the structure changes to that of kalsilite, with its single alkali site, an increase in content of the larger K ion limits the degree to which kalsilite can expand. Crucial to the overall expansion behaviour of these minerals are the specific tetrahedral configurations of nepheline vs. kalsilite, the number and geometry of their alkali sites, the occupancies of those sites, and the flexibility inherent in each structure that allows for adjustment with increasing temperature.


Introduction: Chemical substances used for prevention of dental caries are known to have many side-effects. Thus, natural products should be explored for their anticaries action. Objectives: To prepare 5% and 20% concentrations of ethanolic and water extracts of guava leaves and to assess their activity against Lactobacillus acidophilus . Materials and Methods: In vitro experimental study was conducted in Department of Biosciences. Ethanolic and water extracts of guava leaves were prepared using Soxhlet extractor. Two concentrations 5% and 20% weight/volume of both extracts were prepared. Test organism L. acidophilus Microbial Type Culture Collection 447 was obtained in lyophillized form. After revival in nutrient broth, bacteria were grown on Lactobacilli de Man, Rogosa, Sharpe agar for further experiment. Antimicrobial testing of extracts was done using Agar well-diffusion method. Ten plates each were prepared for both extracts. Chlorhexidine (0.2%) served as a positive control and distilled water as a negative control. Results: Mean zone of inhibition produced by 5% and 20% ethanolic extract was 11.2 mm and 14.1 mm respectively and by 5% and 20% water extract was 1.6 mm and 5.1 mm respectively. Statistical analysis of results using one-way ANOVA and post - hoc Tukey's test revealed that activity of 5% ethanolic extract and 5%, 20% water extract was significantly less than that of 0.2% chlorhexidine. There was no statistical difference in efficacy of 20% ethanolic extract of guava and 0.2% chlorhexidine ( P = 0.270). Conclusion: Ethanolic and water extracts of guava leaves possess antibacterial activity against L. acidophilus with 20% ethanolic extract being as efficacious as 0.2% chlorhexidine.


negotiated by researchers conducting fieldwork in China. It examines coping and resistance strategies employed by female researchers, and analyses how the female researcher's body is disciplined in a hetero-patriarchal setting. Linking gendered field experience to the #MeToo movement in China, the essay discusses the role of academics in feminist movements and the implications for the broader civil rights issues in the Chinese context. Yifan CAI Confronting Sexual Harassment in the Field #MeToo Within the Ivory Tower and Beyond


BACKGROUND
 Community-based primary care focuses on health promotion, awareness raising, and illnesses treatment and prevention in individuals, groups, and communities. Community Health Workers (CHWs) are the leading actors in such programs, helping to bridge the gap between the population and the health system. Many mobile health (mHealth) initiatives have been undertaken to empower CHWs and improve the data collection process in the primary care, replacing archaic paper-based approaches. A special category of mHealth apps, known as mHealth Data Collection Systems (MDCSs), is often used for such tasks. These systems process highly sensitive personal health data of entire communities so that a careful consideration about privacy is paramount for any successful deployment. However, the mHealth literature still lacks methodologically rigorous analyses for privacy and data protection.

 OBJECTIVE
 In this paper, a Privacy Impact Assessment (PIA) for MDCSs is presented, providing a systematic identification and evaluation of potential privacy risks, particularly emphasizing controls and mitigation strategies to handle negative privacy impacts.

 METHODS
 The privacy analysis follows a systematic methodology for PIAs. As a case study, we adopt the GeoHealth system, a large-scale MDCS used by CHWs in the Family Health Strategy, the Brazilian program for delivering community-based primary care. All the PIA steps were taken on the basis of discussions among the researchers (privacy and security experts). The identification of threats and controls was decided particularly on the basis of literature reviews and working group meetings among the group. Moreover, we also received feedback from specialists in primary care and software developers of other similar MDCSs in Brazil.

 RESULTS
 The GeoHealth PIA is based on 8 Privacy Principles and 26 Privacy Targets derived from the European General Data Protection Regulation. Associated with that, 22 threat groups with a total of 97 subthreats and 41 recommended controls were identified. Among the main findings, we observed that privacy principles can be enhanced on existing MDCSs with controls for managing consent, transparency, intervenability, and data minimization.

 CONCLUSIONS
 Although there has been significant research that deals with data security issues, attention to privacy in its multiple dimensions is still lacking for MDCSs in general. New systems have the opportunity to incorporate privacy and data protection by design. Existing systems will have to address their privacy issues to comply with new and upcoming data protection regulations. However, further research is still needed to identify feasible and cost-effective solutions.


The generation of a large-scale magnetic field in the kinematic regime in the absence of an α-effect is investigated by following two different approaches: the test-field method and the multiscale stability theory relying on the homogenization technique. Our computations of the magnetic eddy diffusivity tensor of the parity-invariant flow IV of G. O. Roberts and the modified Taylor–Green flow confirm the findings of previous studies and also explain some of their apparent contradictions. The two flows have large symmetry groups; this is used to considerably simplify the eddy diffusivity tensor. Finally, a new analytic result is presented: upon expressing the eddy diffusivity tensor in terms of solutions to auxiliary problems for the adjoint operator, we derive relations between the magnetic eddy diffusivity tensors that arise for mutually reverse small-scale flows v ( x ) ?> and − v ( x ) ?> .


Extracted from text ... O
The strategy
playground: developing
a strategic philosophy
16 Management Today July 2005
Rakesh Sondhi is part of the international
associate faculty at Henley
Management College and managing
director of BMC Global Services based in
the UK. Rakesh is the author of Total
Strategy, published by BMC Global
Services Publishing in 2003.
One of the major problems companies and
leaders have in developing strategy is the
lack of originality in leaders' approach to
dealing with strategic issues. The top strategic
leaders become famous due to their
association to a certain type of strategy
such as Lou Gerstener, former CEO ..


This article presents the results from a post-test only experiment conducted in 2011 with undergraduate and graduate students (N=67) from individualist and collectivist cultures. Demographic information was collected through questions appearing at the end of a post-test administered to subjects after completing the e-learning module. Each person was randomly assigned to one of three e-learning modules which all shared identical instructional content: time travel. However, the modules differed in design. Specifically, while the control module was designed according to the coherence principle, one experimental module was designed with non-essential background music and the other was designed with non-essential background images. The coherence principle of multimedia instruction stipulates that the addition of extraneous audio, images, or text impairs learning. Nevertheless, one normative standard of multimedia design does not apply to a group of culturally and linguistically diverse learners. Among the findings from this study, a flexible coherence principle is proposed and it suggests that the multimedia designer must consider one's own cultural and linguistic composition as well as that of the intended audience. A concluding discussion suggests that cultural variation may be related to cognitive variation.


Phytoplasmas associated with Australian grapevine yellows (AGY) symptoms were detected using the polymerase chain reaction (PCR). To optimise the diagnostic, nested PCRs were compared with single PCRs using different primer pairs. Grapevine DNA known to be AGY phytoplasma positive was serially diluted and subjected to nested and single round PCR tests to determine which was the most sensitive. Samples taken over two growing seasons were used to determine the optimum sampling time for phytoplasma detection. The specificity of primer pairs was determined using phytoplasmas detected in Australian grapevines and overseas reference grapevine phytoplasmas. DNA extracted from grapevine exhibiting a range of symptoms was screened for phytoplasmas. Two different phytoplasmas were amplified in the PCR and they were identified using specific PCR primers and by restriction fragment length polymorphism (RFLP) analysis of the 16S rRNA gene and 16S rRNA/23S rRNA spacer region. RFLP analysis confirmed that one phytoplasma was the AGY phytoplasma and the other phytoplasma was indistinguishable from the tomato big bud (TBB) phytoplasma. The AGY phytoplasma was associated with AGY symptoms but was occasionally detected in asymptomatic vines and those with late season leaf curl (LSLC) and restricted growth (RG) symptoms. The TBB phytoplasma was detected in some vines with LSLC symptoms and very occasionally in vines with AGY symptoms. A 'variant' of the AGY phytoplasma was also detected in vines showing typical AGY symptoms.


Correlation matrices are standardized covariance matrices. They form an affine space of symmetric matrices defined by setting the diagonal entries to one. We study the geometry of maximum likelihood estimation for this model and linear submodels that encode additional symmetries. We also consider the problem of minimizing two closely related functions of the covariance matrix: the Stein's loss and the symmetrized Stein's loss. Unlike the Gaussian log-likelihood these two functions are convex and hence admit a unique positive definite optimum.


A Model Predictive Control (MPC) implementation was developed for a university campus chilled water plant. The plant includes three water-cooled chillers and a two million gallon chilled water storage tank. The tank is charged during the night to minimize on-peak electricity consumption and take advantage of the lower ambient wet bulb temperature. A detailed model of the chilled water plant and simplified models of the campus buildings were developed using the equation-based modeling language Modelica. Steady state models of the chillers, cooling towers and pumps were developed, based on manufacturers' performance data, and calibrated using measured data collected and archived by the control system. A dynamic model of the chilled water storage tank was also developed and calibrated. A semi-empirical model was developed to predict the temperature and flow rate of the chilled water returning to the plant from the buildings. These models were then combined and simplified for use in a MPC algorithm that determines the optimal chiller start and stop times and set-points for the condenser water temperature and the chilled water supply temperature. The paper describes the development and testing of the MPC implementation and discusses lessons learned and next steps in further research.


Purpose

For decades now, industrial manufacturers' complex product development (CPD) activities have seen various improvement approaches as well as product development (PD) support processes all in the quest to achieve shorter PD lead-times and higher return on investments. CPD process improvements, in terms of complex engineering design and delivery, still lack a lot more variance to be addressed on the "better, faster and cheaper" paradigm for efficient communication and information exchange flow processes. The paper aims to discuss these issues.

Design/methodology/approach

This paper presents employing social network theory analysis and statistical Pearson (r) correlation analysis in a triangulation approach to a proposed optimum conceptual information technology systems' architecture and a "best practice" information flow process toward enhancing an industrial sustainable competitive advantage. Closed-end questionnaires were used to collect data for the scale or level of communication network from a sample size of eight Ship Power supply chain network complex engineering design and delivery systems-design teams with at least five members from each team.

Findings

Two extremely interesting findings and observations were identified from the analysis carried out (isolates and close-harmonic analysis) as well as the findings from the hypotheses' testing. These essential analyses of the engineering systems-design teams were conducted by using the triangulation or mixed-method described in the abstract methodology identified above.

Originality/value

Effective and efficient real-time communication is seen as the vehicle for effective organization management. Although there may be some studies on effective technical communication in organizational and enterprise supply chain management settings, this research identifies a new robust and extensive analysis and feasible solutions to most of the communication bottlenecks and inefficient socio-industrial information flow processes, which need enhancement for industrial competitive advantage. Furthermore, the contribution of this paper further enhances the level 4 implementation aspect of the supply chain operation reference model in a replicable industry-specific perspective.


Young children who experience toxic stress are at high risk for a number of health outcomes in adulthood, including cardiovascular disease, cancers, asthma, and depression. The American Academy of Pediatrics has recently called on pediatricians, informed by research from molecular biology, genomics, immunology, and neuroscience, to become leaders in science-based strategies to build strong foundations for children's life-long health. In this report, we provide an overview of the science of toxic stress. We summarize the development of the neuroendocrine-immune network, how its function is altered by early life adversity, and how these alterations then increase vulnerability to disease. The fact that early environments shape and calibrate the functioning of biological systems very early in life is both a cautionary tale about overlooking critical periods in development and reason for optimism about the promise of intervention. Even in the most extreme cases of adversity, well-timed changes to children's environments can improve outcomes. Pediatricians are in a unique position to contribute to the public discourse on health and social welfare by explaining how factors that seem distal to child health may be the key to some of the most intractable public health problems of our generation. We consider the challenges and opportunities for preventing toxic stress in the context of contemporary pediatric practice.


The identity of Australian Cyprideis has been disputed for several decades. Here, we compare selected aspects of morphology and genetic diversity of two DNA regions (COI and ITS1) between European populations of C. torosa and a Cyprideis population from southern Western Australia, tentatively assigned to C. cf. australiensis. We find that the European and Australian specimens belong to two different genetic species according to the 4 theta rule. We also find some differences in morphology between C. torosa and C. cf. australiensis that allow us to differentiate between these two species. Furthermore, we doubt the assumed synonymy between C. australiensis and C. westraliensis. It would thus seem that at least one, maybe two or even more, species of Cyprideis exist in Australasia that are not part of the near-cosmopolitan C. torosa cluster. The status of Cyprideis consobrina from New Caledonia should also be investigated in light of these new findings.


Let $\Phi$ be an irreducible crystallographic root system with Weyl group $W$, coroot lattice $\check{Q}$ and Coxeter number $h$. Recently the second named author defined a uniform $W$-isomorphism $\zeta$ between the finite torus $\check{Q}/(mh+1)\check{Q}$ and the set of non-nesting parking fuctions $\operatorname{Park}^{(m)}(\Phi)$. If $\Phi$ is of type $A_{n-1}$ and $m=1$ this map is equivalent to a map defined on labelled Dyck paths that arises in the study of the Hilbert series of the space of diagonal harmonics.
In this paper we investigate the case $m=1$ for the other infinite families of root systems ($B_n$, $C_n$ and $D_n$). In each type we define models for the finite torus and for the set of non-nesting parking functions in terms of labelled lattice paths. The map $\zeta$ can then be viewed as a map between these combinatorial objects. Our work entails new bijections between (square) lattice paths and ballot paths.


It is argued that both the traditional clerical paradigm of an ecclesial approach and the phenomenological paradigm of an empirical approach are not sufficient enough to describe and maintain a theological methodology in practical theology. This has led to the introduction of a theopaschitic paradigm in theory formation. It is argued that the normative task of practical theology implies a philosophical-hermeneutical dimension, that is, to interpret under girding paradigms as related to meaning and being. It also implies a theological dimension; to reflect theologically on the praxis of God as an influential factor within human actions (inhabitational theology.) With reference to 'the pneumatological praxis of God', a practical theology of the intestines is proposed. Bowel categories reveal a divine intentionality (teleology) and describe a modus of God's praxis, the how of God within the vulnerability and suffering of human beings. This divine ontological mode should operate as a practical theological paradigm determining being qualities (ontic status) within human actions and processes of communication. The under girding theological presupposition is that ta splanchna [strong feeling of mercy and compassion expressed by the intestines] denotes a compassionate praxis of co-suffering (the passio Dei ). Passion in practical theology emanates in parrhesia and instills a vivid hope: fides quaerens spem [faith in search of hope].


Grafting Carica papaya plants can have several benefits for productive, phytosanitary, and sexing purposes. However, the literature on the subject of papaya grafting is limited. The tongue approach and cleft grafting techniques seem to be the most adequate for C. papaya, but the quality of grafts depends on several factors. With the objective of developing and adapting a grafting method for papaya, experimental assays were carried out in the Valley of Apatzingan, Michoacan, Mexico. The physical condition of the seedlings was assessed, and the most advantageous time for grafting was determined based on the size and thickness of the stems. Three assays were then carried out. The first assay was a test of the tongue approach and cleft grafting techniques using two clamping devices. The second assay involved the same techniques with modifications and the addition of another treatment. In the third assay, the modified tongue approach grafting method was tested on three containers with papaya plants. Seedling vigor, graft survival, and graft quality were the recorded variables. The results indicated that unwanted tissue should be cut 6 days after grafting. The tongue approach grafting method using tape as the fastening device (T-T) yielded a graft survival of 80%. The modified tongue approach grafting method, in which the tongues were formed just below the stem-site cut and tape was used as the fastening device (M-T-Bc-T), yielded a graft survival of 90%. In the third assay, the previously described modified method, but with seedlings grown in plastic bags (M-T-Bc-T-B), yielded a graft survival of 92.5%. It can be concluded that the modified tongue approach grafting method with seedlings grown in plastic bags (M-T-Bc-T-B), is a reliable grafting method for papaya that does not require special handling conditions.


Paralleling of converter modules is a wellknown technique that is often used in medium-power applications to achieve the desired output power by using smaller size of high frequency transformers and inductors. In this paper, a parallel-connected singlephase PFC topology using flyback and forward converters is proposed to improve the output voltage regulation with simultaneous input power factor correction (PFC) and control. The goal of the control is to stabilize the output voltage of the converter against the load variations. The paper presents the derivation of fuzzy control rules for the dc/dc converter circuit and control algorithm for regulating the dc/dc converter. This paper presents a design example and circuit analysis for 200 W power supply. The proposed approach offers cost effective, compact and efficient AC/DC converter by the use of parallel power processing. MATLAB/SIMULINK is used for implementation and simulation results show the performance improvement.


Objective To investigate differences in self-reported health among Australian women with a history of intimate partner violence (IPV) in relation to rurality of residence. Methods Data were drawn from six survey waves of the Australian Longitudinal Study on Women's Health 1973–78 birth cohort. Self-reported general and mental health scores derived from the SF-36 scale were compared for women with a history of IPV living in metropolitan, regional and rural areas. Multivariable generalised estimating equations were constructed adjusting for income hardship, number of children, education, social support, age and marital status. Results Women with a history of IPV living in regional and rural areas had no significant differences in self-reported general health scores compared to their metropolitan counterparts. Rural women affected by IPV had slightly better self-reported mental health than equivalent women living in metropolitan or regional areas. The socio-demographic factors with the strongest association with self-reported health were income, education, social support, and number of children. Conclusions Women in regional and rural areas were no more disadvantaged, in terms of self-reported general health or mental health, than IPV affected women living in major cities in Australia.


In this paper we present a model of the β Leo debris disc, with an emphasis on modelling the resolved Photodetector Array Camera and Spectrometer (PACS) images obtained as a part of the Herschel key programme DEBRIS. We also present new Spectral and Photometric Imaging REceiver (SPIRE) images of the disc at 250 μm, as well as new constraints on the disc from SCUBA-2, mid-infrared (mid-IR) and scattered light imaging. Combining all the available observational constraints, we find three possible models for the β Leo (HD 102647) debris disc: (i) a two-component model, comprised of a hot component at 2 au and a cold component from 15 to 70 au; (ii) a three-component model with hot dust at 2 au, warm dust at 9 au and a cold component from 30 to 70 au, is equally valid since the cold emission is not resolved within 30 au; (iii) a somewhat less likely possibility is that the system consists of a single very eccentric planetesimal population, with pericentres at 2 au and apocentres at 65 au. Thus, despite the wealth of observational constraints significant ambiguities remain; deep mid-IR and scattered light imaging of the dust distribution within 30 au seems to be the most promising method to resolve the degeneracy. We discuss the implications for the possible planetary system architecture, e.g. the two-component model suggests that planets may exist at 2–15 au, while the three-component model suggests planets between 2 and 30 au with a stable region containing the dust belt at 9 au, and there should be no planets between 2 and 65 au in the eccentric planetesimal model. We suggest that the hot dust may originate in the disintegration of comets scattered in the cold disc, and examine all A stars known to harbour both hot and cold dust to consider the possibility that the ratio of hot and cold dust luminosities is indicative of the intervening planetary system architecture.


Dix began her prison reform work by visiting prisons across the country, and two systems emerged as the models of reform. Dix sought a total reform of the system, of both its physical structures, and more importantly, its programs and systems. In order to have a better understanding of the prison systems, Dix traveled throughout the country, visiting prisons, meeting with wardens and evaluating the various systems for their effectiveness. From 1841 to 1843, she visited state prisons, evaluating their respective benefits. Despite her efforts to remain objective, her opinions were always colored by her deeply held religious convictions. Finally, Dix was faced with two somewhat antithetical systems of prison reform to choose from, the Auburn system and the Pennsylvania system. Her eventual preference for the Pennsylvania system reflects the impact of her religious convictions on her point of view. The Auburn system was first implemented in New York at Sing-Sing prison in 1825. In this system the prisoners were kept on a strict schedule. The prisoners were isolated in own cells and slept alone at night, but labored together during the day and ate together at mealtimes. Although, these prisoners "were forbidden to converse with fellow inmates or even exchange glances while on the job, at meals, or in their cells," in practice, however, this was seldom the case. Prisoners often conversed and were subjected to the adverse influences of their fellow inmates. Dix, like many other students of this system, feared that this led to free and open communication among the prisoners: "The prisoners are perfectly familiar with each other's history and with many circumstances not occurring in the shop and yards." Although the guards and wardens may have strictly enforced the rule of silence at some point in time, this system "generally ends in a certain degree of toleration in the use of speech." This open communication could make prisons a training ground for a future life in crime, she concluded. This article is available in Constructing the Past: http://digitalcommons.iwu.edu/constructing/vol8/iss1/5


Abstract This article is framed by a wider interest in how literary careers are made: what mechanisms other than the personal/biographical and the text-centred evaluations of scholars influence a writer's choices in persisting in building a succession of works that are both varied and yet form a consistently recognizable "brand." Translation is one element in the wider network of "machinery" that makes modern literary publishing. It is a marker of success that might well keep authors going despite lack of sales or negative reviews at home. Translation rights can provide useful supplementary funds to sustain a writer's output. Access to new markets overseas might also inspire interest in countries and topics other than their usual focus or the demands of their home market. The Australian novelist and playwright Thomas Keneally achieved a critical regard for fictions of Australian history within a nationalist cultural resurgence, but to make a living as a writer he had to keep one eye on overseas markets as well. While his work on European topics has not always been celebrated at home, he has continued to write about them and to find readers in languages other than English. Poland features in a number of Keneally's books and is one of the leading sources of translation for his work. The article explores possible causes and effects around this fact, and surveys some reader responses from Poland. It notes the connections that Keneally's Catholic background and activist sympathies allow to modern Polish history and assesses the central place of his Booker-winning Schindler's Ark filmed as Schindler's List.


If Douglas Biber and his collaborators in the Longman Grammar of Spoken and Written English (Biber et al. 1999) had not devoted a great deal of work to replicate the corpus-driven methodology used by Bent Altenberg (1993) in the identification and analysis of recurrent word combinations, chances are lexical bundles and the dozens of studies of lexical bundles conducted in the last decade would not have come to exist. This chapter outlines the development of the study of these expressions, which have generated a strong area of research for discourse analysis, particularly analyses of academic prose in a wide variety of text types: research articles, dissertations and theses, and textbooks, among many others. Keywords: Lexical bundles; formulaic language; move analysis


What are we trying to achieve through our scholarship? It appears that most scholarship in climate law seeks to describe ongoing developments by using, inter alia, doctrinal and comparative methodologies. This article argues that, in addition to these 'mainstream' scholarly interventions, a critical scholarship in climate law should be, and is, developing. By questioning the assumptions on which climate law is developed, assessing the relations between law and power, or revealing long-overlooked paradoxes, among other topics, critical scholarship broadly conceived could provide innovative and interesting insights that help to achieve a more complete understanding of climate law.


Local government units resort to external repayable sources of financing their own activity, mainly those connected with investments, when the financial sources they have at their disposal are insufficient. However, owing to an unfavorable financial situation, some of them lose their creditworthiness because their debts exceed the legal limit. In such a situation, they decide to use the so-called unconventional instruments, which, although they provide certain long-term benefits, in a longer time perspective lead to negative consequences, connected mainly with diminished financial liquidity and the necessity to bear inflated costs of debt service. The aim of the paper is to present the reasons for using unconventional instruments of financing budget needs by decision-makers, as well as their specific character and economic effects, particularly as regards the financial stability and security of LGUs, the transparency of local finances and the related hazards. The achievement of this aim required analysis of the literature devoted to the subject, reports of controlling institutions and statistical data regarding the debt level of LGUs.


Patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD) are a group with a markedly increased risk of adverse events following cardiac surgery. A particular problem for these patients is the development of post-operative acute kidney injury (AKI), which is associated with a significant increase in morbidity and mortality. Currently, there are no effective therapies proven to modify AKI in patients undergoing cardiac surgery. This thesis has three parts. The first describes an analysis of the Barts Health NHS Trust cardiac surgical dataset. Specifically, outcomes of patients with CKD and AKI were examined. The second describes a randomized control trial that examined the effect of remote ischaemic preconditioning (RIPC) upon AKI and myocardial injury in patients with CKD undergoing coronary artery bypass graft surgery (CABG). The final part describes the development of a panel of AKI biomarkers to allow the accurate prediction of AKI in patients with CKD undergoing CABG. The aims of this thesis were: 1. In our local cardiac surgical cohort, a. To assess the effects of CKD upon outcomes after CABG. b. To asses the prognostic importance of AKI after CABG. 2. To assess the potential for RIPC to reduce AKI and myocardial injury in patients with CKD undergoing CABG. 3. To investigate the diagnostic performance of serum and urine AKI biomarkers in a population of patients with CKD undergoing CABG. Analysis of the Barts Health NHS Trust cardiac surgical dataset confirmed that patients with CKD account for almost one-third of patients undergoing CABG. However, these patients account for a disproportionate two-thirds of all early mortality. CKD was also independently associated with late mortality after CABG. AKI was common in these patients. AKI was associated with late mortality even after accounting for pre-operative comorbidity and surgical complexity. In the randomized control trial, RIPC showed no effect upon the incidence of AKI or myocardial injury in the. 86 patients with CKD recruited. Secondary analysis of serum and urine biomarkers collected found change in serum cystatin C and NGAL as impressive predictors of AKI in patients with CKD. They allowed accurate early prediction of AKI more than 24 hours before diagnosis was possible using serum creatinine.


INTRODUCTION Worldwide and in Malaysia, small to medium sized enterprises (SMEs) play a pivotal role in a country's economic development. Besides creating job opportunity, SMEs contribute substantially to the growth and development of a nation. In SME Annual Report 2006, it was reported that Malaysian SMEs generated 32% of the country's Gross Domestic Product and 19% of exports (Central Bank of Malaysia, 2007). However, to be viable in business, SMEs face huge challenges. SMEs need to meet a host of regulatory obligations, such as licensing requirements, employment regulations, workers' compensation and tax compliance obligations among others. Past literature generally confirms the disproportional effect of tax compliance cost on SMEs and most SMEs have poor record keeping system, thus, lead to higher tax compliance costs, as they need to seek tax agents' assistance for tax compliance (Abrie & Doussy, 2006; Arachi & Santoro, 2007; Evans, Carlon, & Massey, 2005; Hanefah, Ariff, & Kasipillai, 2001). In Malaysian setting, the introduction of self-assessment system (SAS) on companies with effect from year of assessment 2001 has also increased the tax compliance burden of SMEs. In SAS, all companies (which include SMEs) are required to determine their taxable income and tax liabilities accurately. In addition, the onus is now placed on taxpayer to understand, interpret and apply the tax laws and regulations accurately. Failure to do so will render the taxpayer liable to penalty for understatement of income or under payment of taxes. What make it worst is the Inland Revenue Board of Malaysia (the IRBM) is also aggressively intensifying tax audit and investigation, civil actions and prosecutions to combat inaccurate reporting and tax evasion. A survey conducted by Ernst and Young (2006) found more than 80% of Chief Executive Officers (CEOs) in Malaysian public listed companies ranked tax as crucial and important factor in investment and financing decision, as tax costs are now viewed as one of the major aspects in investment evaluation and decision. Ernst and Young (2006) found that Malaysian CEOs viewed tax "not just a matter requiring regulatory compliance, but are increasingly aware of its potential in improving bottom line and creating value through strategic planning and management" (p. 3). Ernst and Young (2006) highlighted that timeliness and accuracy in tax compliance matters remains the core of tax functions in every organization, regardless of size. However, facing the global economic slowdown, most SMEs are concerned with business viability; thus, compliance with tax law is usually the last thing on the minds of SMEs. DEFINITION OF SMES FROM TAX PERSPECTIVE There is no one universally accepted definition of SMEs. In Malaysia, the National SME Development Council (NSDC) approved the common definition of SMEs on 9 June 2005. SMEs are defined based on number of employees or annual sales turnover (Central Bank of Malaysia, 2005). The NSDC further categorized SMEs into three sectors, namely, manufacturing, services and agricultural sectors. By definition, for the manufacturing sector, SMEs must have a full-time employees not exceeding 150 or with annual sales turnover not exceeding RM25 million. On the other hand, SMEs of services sectors must employ a number of full-time not exceeding 50 or with annual turnover not exceeding RM5 million. Similar to the services sector, an agricultural sector also needs to employ a full-time not exceeding 50 or with annual sales turnover not exceeding RM5 million to be categorised as SMEs (Central Bank of Malaysia, 2005). The common definitions of SMEs across all economic sectors are approved for adoption by all Malaysian Government Ministries and Agencies involving in SME development, as well as financial institutions. However, for taxation purpose, in the Budget 2003, the Ministry of Finance defined SMEs as companies with paid-up capital of not exceeding RM2. …