All skeletal muscles are controlled by activation and inhibition of motor neurons in the spinal cord and brainstem. Motor neurons integrate information from a wide variety of sources in the brain and spinal cord. Simple limb reflexes and basic patterns of limb movements, including locomotion, are coordinated by spinal cord interneurons and sensory neurons. Descending inputs from the reticular formation, the vestibular nuclei and the superior colliculus in the brainstem are important in the control of automatic, axial, postural and locomotor movements. Descending inputs from several areas of the cerebral cortex and from the red nucleus are important in the control of voluntary, distal limb and fine movements. The basal ganglia in the basal forebrain and the cerebellum in the hindbrain are involved in the modification and learning of movements. These structures act indirectly on motor output, via outputs through the thalamus to widespread areas of the cerebral cortex.

Key Concepts:

All voluntary movement involves motor neurons in the spinal cord and brainstem that cause contraction of skeletal muscles.

Neurons in many areas of the brain and spinal cord are active at overlapping times to control voluntary movements.

The spinal cord can produce coordinated movements of the limbs, such as locomotion, as well as simple reflexes.

The superior colliculus can trigger orienting movements, especially of the eyes and head.

Voluntary limb movements involve neurons in several parts of the cerebral cortex, including especially the frontal lobe, which project axons to the spinal cord.

Cortical movement control signals are modified by loops to and from the basal ganglia and the cerebellum, going through the thalamus.

The basal ganglia modify the speed and amplitude of movements and contribute to learning new movement sequences.

The cerebellum adapts movements to altered sensory feedback and may also contribute to a wide variety of other functions, including memory, language and emotion.

Patients with movement disorders may in the future be able to control a limb or prosthetic device with 'their thoughts', via a brain–machine interface that monitors the activity of some of their cortical neurons.

Keywords:

motor neuron;
interneuron;
spinal cord;
locomotion;
central pattern generator;
motor cortex;
cerebellum;
basal ganglia;
superior colliculus;
motor learning


Texas holds one in every nine U.S. inmates. Behind the Walls is a detailed description of one of the world's largest prison systems by a long-time convict trained as an observer and reporter. It spotlights the day-to-day workings of the Texas Department of Criminal Justice-what's good, what's bad, which programs work and which ones do not, and examines if practice really follows official policy. Written to inform about the processes, services, activities, issues, and problems of being incarcerated, this book is invaluable to anyone who has a relative or friend incarcerated in Texas, or for those who want to understand how prisoners live, eat, work, play, and die in a contemporary U.S. prison. Containing a short history of Texas prisons and advice on how to help inmates get out and stay out of prison, this book is the only one of its kind-written by a convict still incarcerated and dedicated to dispelling the ignorance and fear that shroud Texas prisons. Renaud discusses living quarters, food, and clothing, along with how prisoners handle money, mail, visits, and phone calls. He explores the issues of drugs, racism, gangs, and violence as well as what an inmate can learn about his parole, custody levels, and how to handle emergencies. What opportunities are available for education? What is the official policy for discipline? What is a lockdown? These questions and many others are answered in this one-of-a-kind guide.


Better operator ergonomics in assembly plants reduce work related injuries, improve quality, productivity and reduce cost. In this paper we investigate the importance of modeling dynamics when planning for manual assembly operations. We propose modeling the dynamical human motion planning problem using the Discrete Mechanics and Optimal Control (DMOC) method, which makes it possible to optimize with respect to very general objectives. First, two industrial cases are simulated using a quasi-static inverse kinematics solver, demonstrating problems where this approach is sufficient. Then, the DMOC-method is used to solve for optimal trajectories of a lifting operation with dynamics. The resulting trajectories are compared to a steady state solution along the same path, indicating the importance of using dynamics. c © 2016 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V. Peer-review under responsibility of the organizing committee of the 6th CIRP Conference on Assembly Technologies and Systems (CATS).


This thesis originates in a case study examining support within an international partnership, where findings were seen to diverge from conventional accounts of organisational dependence. Instead case findings pointed to an inter-dependency more alike to a 'knowledge transfer' relationship between a younger organisation learning about how to be a civil society actor form an older and more experienced third sector organisation. Starting with the classical literature on partnerships and collaboration in the third sector, using selected readings from the individual mentoring relationship found in career development research, and some of the current research into knowledge transfer and learning relevant to organisational development, the researcher constructs a framework to guide a multiple case study. The aim of the research is to explore the knowledge acquired by and learning occurring in the process of NGOs developing their identities and practices in a transition context in Bulgaria. The focus is on the learning and knowledge context, namely, the key relationships which Bulgarian NGOs have developed with western partner organisations.

The case fieldwork provides in-depth descriptions of four NGOs and their modes of engagement with western counterparts, explored with qualitative case methods and grounded theory. Multiple qualitative case study design and grounded theory approach to the analysis produces a rich description of themes. Each case responds to the posed research questions through data layering and within-case analysis, whereas cross-case analysis leads to the main thesis output. This is the taxonomy developed around three projections based on literature strands - organisational identity, learning and knowledge instances, and context-related factors embedding supportive exchanges with western partners. These themes are further developed into concepts and dimensions, differentiating various nuances of knowledge and learning practices within a partnership micro-context in a transition macro-context.

The primary contribution of the research is the framing of NGO partnerships around key concepts and dimensions across identity, learning and knowledge instances, and context-related factors. This sets the conditions for forming better informed relationships between organisations, which are, above all, more aware of each other's complex information and knowledge practices. The primary direction for taxonomy development is towards a typology of inter-organisational partnerships focused on learning for practice. Specifically, key findings suggest a direction towards a partnership dynamic around the concept of a professional identity of third sector organisations, as well as around the managing of a dual credibility of NGOs faced with functioning within international networks whilst being embedded within local platforms. The resulting taxonomy offers links to various literature strands, presenting a complex picture of inter-organisational learning in transition settings. It is a contribution to voluntary sector partnership and collaboration theory, one the one hand, as it does not simplify either the NGO practices on the ground nor the inter-organisational relationship at the core of this NGO development.


In this paper we investigate some properties of "autoepistemic logic" approach to the formalization of common sense reasoning suggested by R. Moore in [Moore, 1985]. In particular we present a class of autoepistemic theories (called stratified autoepistemic theories) and prove that theories from this class have unique stable autoepistemic expansions and hence a clear notion of "theoremhood". These results are used to establish the relationship of Autoepistemic Logic with other formalizations of non-monotonic reasoning, such as negation as failure rule and circumscription. It is also shown that "classical" SLDNF resolution of Prolog can be used as a deductive mechanism for a rather broad class of autoepistemic theories. Key words and phrases: common sense reasoning, autoepistemic logic, negation as failure rule, non-monotonic reasoning. (Science section).


This thesis evaluates the use of Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR) as an approach to the increasingly difficult air sampling challenges within the field of occupational and environmental hygiene. The application of FTIR is exemplified by the assessment of emissions from and exposures in the sawmill and pellet industries. Open path FTIR was applied in the sawsheds and the terpene levels were monitored for several days. Traditional adsorbent sampling was used to evaluate the FTIR measurements. The volatile emissions from wood pellets were investigated in warehouses and in domestic storage rooms. The installation of open path FTIR in the harsh sawmill environment proved useful, however, attention must be paid to vibrations, beam blockage and limited sensitivity. Adsorbent sampling showed good agreement with open path FTIR. The uncontrolled airflows in sawsheds caused significant underestimation of emission rates. By the use of FTIR and a tracer gas a more accurate estimate was obtained. The total emission from processing of Scots pine was estimated to 660 g/m3 of roundwood under bark, and can amount to 700 tons annually from a large sawmill.Hexanal (111±32 mg/m3) and CO (56±4mg/m3) were recorded in pellet warehouses. Storage of wood pellets constitutes a potential occupational and domestic health hazard. Experiments from kiln drying of lumber show that the emissions of hexanal and carbon monoxide are not limited to wood pellets but are caused by general degradation processes of wood, facilitated by drying at elevated temperature. This is the first published report where low-temperature emission of carbon monoxide from wood materials is described. The FTIR method is a significant advancement in measurement technology. The retrieved data offers unparalleled information. It offers robust, convenient and efficient monitoring of gases over extended periods. FTIR spectroscopy should be considered a standard technique within the field of occupational and environmental hygiene.


For the successful miniaturization of integrated fluidic devices, it is desirable to have a reliable non-leaking microvalve that can be used in various environments, in a wide temperature range and that is chemically inert. This work describes the design, fabrication and characterization of an innovative pneumatically driven microvalve based on an SU-8 actuating membrane, to be employed in high-speed gas chromatographic (HSGC) applications. In this scenario, a critical constrain is the volume of the microvalve, which needs to be as small as possible to reduce the response time of the chromatograph. The experimental characterization of the fabricated SU-8 microvalves indicates very good sealing properties and low actuating pressures, under different working conditions and in spite of the reduced volume.


Background: 40% of people with dementia have disturbed sleep but there are currently no known effective treatments. Studies of sleep hygiene and light therapy have not been powered to indicate feasibility and acceptability and have shown 40-50% retention. We tested the feasibility and acceptability of a six-session manualised evidence-based non-pharmacological therapy; Dementia RElAted Manual for Sleep; STrAtegies for RelaTives (DREAMS-START) for sleep disturbance in people with dementia.

Methods: We conducted a parallel, two-armed, single-blind randomised trial and randomised 2:1 to intervention:Treatment as Usual. Eligible participants had dementia and sleep disturbances (scoring ≥4 on one Sleep Disorders Inventory item) and a family carer and were recruited from two London memory services and Join Dementia Research. Participants wore an actiwatch for two weeks prerandomisation.
Trained, clinically supervised psychology graduates delivered DREAMS-START to carers randomised to intervention; covering Understanding sleep and dementia; Making a plan (incorporating actiwatch information, light exposure using a light box); Daytime activity and routine; Difficult night-time behaviours; Taking care of your own (carer's) sleep; and What works? Strategies for the future. Carers kept their manual, light box and relaxation recordings post-intervention. Outcome assessment was masked to allocation. The co-primary outcomes were feasibility (≥50%
eligible people consenting to the study): and acceptability (≥75% of intervention group attending ≥4 intervention sessions).

Results: 63/95 (66%; 95% CI: 56-76%) eligible referrals consented between 04/08/2016 and 24/03/2017; 62 (65%; 95% CI: 55-75%) were randomised. 37/42 (88%; 95% CI: 75-96%) adhered to the intervention.

Conclusions: DREAM.START for sleep disorders in dementia is feasible and acceptable.

Funding: NIHR HTA 14/220/06


Because semen is a major vehicle for the sexual transmission of HIV-1, control of viral replication within the sanctuary of the male genital tract should be a goal of antiretroviral therapy. Local immune responses, virus specific factors, and the degree of viral and cellular trafficking all appear to be important in controlling viral replication and evolution. However, the most important factor influencing viral replication and evolution within the male genital tract may be the disposition of antiretroviral agents into genital tissues and fluids. This review proposes possible mechanisms of antiretroviral distribution into the male genital tract by using other sanctuary barriers; such as the placenta, renal tubules, and blood-brain barrier; as models. In addition, this review summarises recent clinical studies regarding the disposition of currently available antiretroviral drugs into the seminal plasma and discusses some of the difficulties in interpreting drug concentration in the genital tract.


Background : Bashpaswedana , popularised globally as steam bath is a well-established ayurvedic procedure. It is a modified form of ushmasweda in which patient is made to perspire, by setting his body below the neck inside a specially designed horizontal or vertical steam chamber. Bashpaswedana relieves stiffness, heaviness, coldness and induces sweating. Objectives: To evaluate the effect of SarvangaBashpaSwedana (SBS) on physical (Blood pressure, pulse rate, body temperature and average time taken to get samyakswinnalakshana (SSL) according to prakriti (constitution), haematological (CBP, ESR) and biochemical parameters (Serum electrolytes, serum urea, serum uric acid, serum creatinine and random blood sugar) Materials and Methods: The study was conducted during june 2012 to march 2013 at Government Ayurveda hospital, Hyderabad. The study design was open labelled, comparing the baseline variables with values after bashpasweda . The subjects (n=50) chosen gave an informed consent. Sarvangabashpaswedana was preceded by Abhyanga – whole body massage. The subject was made to sit in the vertical steam chamber till the attainment of samyakswinnalakshanas like relieving from coldness and heaviness,likes to take cold things and sweating on fore head and blood sample was taken before and after half an hour of procedure. Student's paired "t" test was applied to the means + SE of the variables to calculate statistical significance. Results: The biochemical parameters have shown significant value of 'p'. Red blood cell count, white blood cell count and platelets were elevated. The Parameters- Random Blood Sugar, Erythrocyte Sedimentation Rate have decreased significantly. The ParametersBlood Pressure, Pulse Rate have shown insignificant changes. Time taken to attain samyakswinnalakshanas is highest in kaphavata prakriti patients (27.3min), in kaphapitta (20.89min) and least in vatapitta (12.76min). Conclusion: The parameters were increased or decreased significantly. But the significance is for changes within normal range, increased or decreased showing that bashpaswedana has got no influence on the levels of electrolytes, serum urea, uric acid and creatinine.samyaksweda leads to increased metabolism by improved agni, specially raktadhatvagni and maintains the homeostasis in circulating body fluids by eliminating the dhatukittamsas without causing dehydration and cardiovascular complications.


Asylum issues have been heavily debated in Europe in recent years and Iceland is no exception to this. The issue of asylum is increasingly complex and asylum seekers are a part of a global migration phenomenon. Iceland represents a special case within the area of asylum policy because of its short immigration history, and geographical position, amongst other factors. A normative analysis of Iceland's asylum policy is carried out by using a combination of ethics and politics. By using the ethical viewpoints of impartiality and partiality, as well as looking at the international refugee regime and at Iceland's background, a nuanced picture can be drawn up of how a state should respond to asylum seekers. The main conclusion is that Iceland needs to develop a comprehensive and coherent asylum policy based on practical achievability and ethical considerations. It is important for Iceland to consider how it can contribute to the international refugee problem in the best way, while at the same time responding to the asylum seekers that reach its borders in an ethically justifiable way.


In most liberalised electricity retail markets, incumbent firms still hold the majority of residential consumers. This situation focused the attention of regulatory institutions and energy economists on the determinants of consumers switching decisions. Fewer studies have, however, been devoted to measuring switching costs. In the present paper we calculate these costs in the Great Britain electricity retail market by revisiting the model suggested in Shy, O. (2002), A quick-and-easy method for estimating switching costs, International Journal of Industrial Organization, 20, pp. 71–87. The average net cost of switching regional incumbents is €385 while the net cost of switching back to them is negative for customers on standard credit or direct debit plans but positive for prepayment customers.


This paper proposes a discrete-time hazard regression approach based on the interrelation between hazard rate models and excess over threshold models, which are frequently encountered in extreme value modelling. The proposed duration model incorporates a grouped-duration analogue of the well-known Cox proportional hazards model and a proportional odds model as special cases. The theoretical setup of the model is motivated, and simulation results are reported to suggest that it performs well. A numerical example using US unemployment data is also provided.


A comprehensive, consistently interpreted new catalog of felt intensities for India (Martin and Szeliga, 2010, this issue) includes intensities for 570 earth- quakes; instrumental magnitudes and locations are available for 100 of these events. We use the intensity values for 29 of the instrumentally recorded events to develop new intensity versus attenuation relations for the Indian subcontinent and the Himalayan region. We then use these relations to determine the locations and mag- nitudes of 234 historical events, using the method of Bakun and Wentworth (1997). For the remaining 336 events, intensity distributions are too sparse to determine mag- nitude or location. We evaluate magnitude and location accuracy of newly located events by comparing the instrumental- with the intensity-derived location for 29 cali- bration events, for which more than 15 intensity observations are available. With few exceptions, most intensity-derived locations lie within a fault length of the instrumen- tally determined location. For events in which the azimuthal distribution of intensities is limited, we conclude that the formal error bounds from the regression of Bakun and Wentworth (1997) do not reflect the true uncertainties. We also find that the regression underestimates the uncertainties of the location and magnitude of the 1819 Allah Bund earthquake, for which a location has been inferred from mapped surface deformation. Comparing our inferred attenuation relations to those developed for other regions, we find that attenuation for Himalayan events is comparable to intensity attenuation in California (Bakun and Wentworth, 1997), while intensity attenuation for cratonic events is higher than intensity attenuation reported for central/eastern North America (Bakun et al., 2003). Further, we present evidence that intensities of intraplate earth- quakes have a nonlinear dependence on magnitude such that attenuation relations based largely on small-to-moderate earthquakes may significantly overestimate the magnitudes of historical earthquakes.


We developed a simple Web-based prototype to familiarize students with digital library tools. To assist the students with the indexing task, the prototype provided basic functionalities, including metadata input form, photo search interface. The students generally expressed a positive feedback toward the use of digital library tools in their image indexing project


The thesis explores the linked themes of place, power and social law in
Tasmania's Central North during the colonial period. A solid attachment to place,
usually through land ownership restricted to small elites, was a necessary precondition
for meaningful engagement in social, economic and political decisionmaking;
social law, which focussed on power relations in specific local places,
worked to maintain this privileged relationship. This tripartite relationship, which
constitutes an underlying organisational framework for the thesis, is explored in
several contexts. In pre-invasion places, the control of tribal land, the practice of tribal
law, and the conception of nature as an active participant in daily life empowered
Aboriginal communities, encouraged individual participation in collective life, and
promoted social cohesion both within and between social units. In colonial society, a
solid attachment to place and hence full participation in the social process was the
privilege of a select few. Social law legitimated a class structure of prosperous
landlords, struggling tenant farmers and itinerant agricultural laborers. Conceiving
nature as an aggregation of passive commodities, farmers and their workers induced
radical transformation in ecological communities; social law was deployed in the
hope of limiting the damage. From the late 1850s, local landed elites assumed formal
political power in both local and central places. Most social law preserved elite
interests, and a system of local authority policed emancipated farm labourers in the
region's country towns.
Aggrieved groups contested elite power in local places. Using the threat of
force as their major weapon, Aborigines resisted an invasion characterised by the rule
of men. Some convicts engaged in organised insubordination, and many emancipists
asserted economic independence and social distinctiveness. Small farmers challenged
the power of colonial parliament to deny them a tariff for wheat and reform of the
1874 Landlord and Tenant Act. Few, if any indigenous ecological communities
survived intact, but nature demonstrated an ability for vigorous regeneration and
accommodation of exotic flora and fauna, as well as a capacity to frustrate farmers'
expectations of agricultural prosperity. Relations of power between the regional place
and its political centre in Hobart were often strained, especially with regard to the
eradication of noxious pests and diseases and police management, and did not always
conform to recognisable class distinctions. Local concern derived from perceived
violations of local authority and its attendant ideologies of individual liberty and the
rights of property. By century's end a new generation of colonial politicians hostile to
local authority had successfully promoted the rise of central authority and
parliamentary democracy; in the wake of this shift, the influence of individual liberty
and property rights as ruling ideologies waned. Social and political power was
henceforth more widely shared, as was property, opportunities for meaningful
attachment to place increased, and the focus of social law shifted from protecting
privilege to promoting the common good. Achieving a place of 'common good',
however, proved more difficult than its promoters imagined.


Tourism development planning requires consideration of indicators regarding the intensity of tourist activity within destination and measure that should not be exceeded in further improvement of this activity, in order to prevent disturbing the needs of local community and sustainability of local environment. The village Zlakusa is located within the territory of the City of Užice and it represents an important tourism destination of South-western Serbia. Rural tourism of Zlakusa is characterized by its authenticity and recognition, regarding the pottery and ethno-park called "Terzica avlija". Accordingly, tourist function indicators were used in this research: tourist accommodation density, Defert Baretje's index, Charvat's index and Schneider's index, with the aim of emphasizing the importance of rural potentials of Zlakusa for tourism development within this village, but also within the whole territory of the City of Užice. Research results showed that tourism is important industry within Zlakusa, with necessity of its further affirmation on tourist market and its adaptation to contemporary needs of modern tourists. Also, research results showed that Zlakusa participates in total tourist arrivals with 18%, as well as in total tourist overnights with 13% and it comprises 1.9% of accommodation capacities of the overall tourism development within the City of Užice for observed period (2008–2016). Therefore, results of this study actually show that Zlakusa is highly oriented towards tourism industry, which is the main reason of necessity for further improvement of conditions for its development, especially in the case of rural tourism, without threatening the local community and local environment.


Background The existing estimate of the global burden of latent TB infection (LTBI) as "one-third" of the world population is nearly 20 y old. Given the importance of controlling LTBI as part of the End TB Strategy for eliminating TB by 2050, changes in demography and scientific understanding, and progress in TB control, it is important to re-assess the global burden of LTBI. Methods and Findings We constructed trends in annual risk in infection (ARI) for countries between 1934 and 2014 using a combination of direct estimates of ARI from LTBI surveys (131 surveys from 1950 to 2011) and indirect estimates of ARI calculated from World Health Organisation (WHO) estimates of smear positive TB prevalence from 1990 to 2014. Gaussian process regression was used to generate ARIs for country-years without data and to represent uncertainty. Estimated ARI time-series were applied to the demography in each country to calculate the number and proportions of individuals infected, recently infected (infected within 2 y), and recently infected with isoniazid (INH)-resistant strains. Resulting estimates were aggregated by WHO region. We estimated the contribution of existing infections to TB incidence in 2035 and 2050. In 2014, the global burden of LTBI was 23.0% (95% uncertainty interval [UI]: 20.4%–26.4%), amounting to approximately 1.7 billion people. WHO South-East Asia, Western-Pacific, and Africa regions had the highest prevalence and accounted for around 80% of those with LTBI. Prevalence of recent infection was 0.8% (95% UI: 0.7%–0.9%) of the global population, amounting to 55.5 (95% UI: 48.2–63.8) million individuals currently at high risk of TB disease, of which 10.9% (95% UI:10.2%–11.8%) was isoniazid-resistant. Current LTBI alone, assuming no additional infections from 2015 onwards, would be expected to generate TB incidences in the region of 16.5 per 100,000 per year in 2035 and 8.3 per 100,000 per year in 2050. Limitations included the quantity and methodological heterogeneity of direct ARI data, and limited evidence to inform on potential clearance of LTBI. Conclusions We estimate that approximately 1.7 billion individuals were latently infected with Mycobacterium tuberculosis (M.tb) globally in 2014, just under a quarter of the global population. Investment in new tools to improve diagnosis and treatment of those with LTBI at risk of progressing to disease is urgently needed to address this latent reservoir if the 2050 target of eliminating TB is to be reached.


Previously developed regression formulae for estimating body mass in dogs and wolves based on cranial and mandibular dimensions are evaluated using modern canid specimens of known weight at death. Some of these equations proved reliable, but others have large standard errors of estimate and likely produce unreliable mass estimates. New sets of equations for estimating body mass in dogs and wolves are produced using our datasets, including a set of equations developed from combining the dog and wolf biometric data into a single population. The resulting regression equations allow body mass to be estimated from a series of cranial and mandibular dimensions with relatively low errors. Further, our datasets include larger numbers of specimens of larger ranges of body mass than in these previous studies. When the equations are applied to a suite of dogs and one wolf from Eastern Siberia, several patterns emerge. First, hunter–gatherers' dogs in this region vary widely in terms of body size, even within a limited geographic area and time period. Some were quite large, similar in size to modern Siberian huskies. Second, pastoralists' dogs are less variable in terms of body mass, but this may reflect the nature of our samples. In particular, pastoralists' dogs nearly all were sacrificed juvenile dogs, some of which appear to have been eaten. These dogs seem to have been approached adult body size when they were selected for sacrifice. Finally, our findings help to highlight the need for further refinement in methods used to study ancient canid remains. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.


To read the two most recent books by Paul Clark, renowned for his earlier contributions to the study of Chinese cinema, is to marvel both at his vast and enviable knowledge of the subject matter and at the vast and fast-changing landscape of modern and contemporary Chinese cultural experiences and expressions. It is to be constantly amazed by the dots that the cultural historian connects, by the different terrains that he leads us through, and by the expansive vistas that he brings into focus. Students interested in almost any aspect of modern and contemporary Chinese culture (from film to fiction to music to dance to bodybuilding) will appreciate the wealth of materials and references contained in these two volumes. Similarly, scholars of the Cultural Revolution and the developments since will have much to think about and to address, because what Clark presents here is a richer and more complex narrative of recent Chinese cultural history than has heretofore been packaged or popularized. It is a narrative that underscores the continuing evolution of modern Chinese culture in the twentieth century and beyond. It makes good sense to read Clark's examination of " youth culture " from the 1960s into the twenty-first century as a sequel to his patient cultural history of the Cultural Revolution,


Spiral arms are the most singular features in disc galaxies. These structures can exhibit different patterns, namely grand design and flocculent arms, with easily distinguishable characteristics. However, their origin and the mechanisms shaping them are unclear. The overall role of spirals in the chemical evolution of disc galaxies is another unsolved question. In particular, it has not been fully explored if the H ii regions of spiral arms present different properties from those located in the interarm regions. Here we analyse the radial oxygen abundance gradient of the arm and interarm star forming regions of 63 face-on spiral galaxies using CALIFA Integral Field Spectroscopy data. We focus the analysis on three characteristic parameters of the profile: slope, zero-point, and scatter. The sample is morphologically separated into flocculent versus grand design spirals and barred versus unbarred galaxies. We find subtle but statistically significant differences betweenthe arm and interarm distributions for flocculent galaxies, suggesting that the mechanisms generating the spiral structure in these galaxies may be different to those producing grand design systems, for which no significant differences are found. We also find small differences in barred galaxies, not observed in unbarred systems, hinting that bars may affect the chemical distribution of these galaxies but not strongly enough as to be reflected in the overall abundance distribution. In light of these results, we propose bars and flocculent structure as two distinct mechanisms inducing differences in the abundance distribution between arm and interarm star forming regions.


Understanding the role of rare variants is important in elucidating the genetic basis of human diseases and complex traits. It is widely believed that negative selection can cause rare variants to have larger per-allele effect sizes than common variants. Here, we develop a method to estimate the minor allele frequency (MAF) dependence of SNP effect sizes. We use a model in which per-allele effect sizes have variance proportional to [p(1−p)]α, where p is the MAF and negative values of α imply larger effect sizes for rare variants. We estimate α by maximizing its profile likelihood in a linear mixed model framework using imputed genotypes, including rare variants (MAF >0.07%). We applied this method to 25 UK Biobank diseases and complex traits (N = 113,851). All traits produced negative α estimates with 20 significantly negative, implying larger rare variant effect sizes. The inferred best-fit distribution of true α values across traits had mean −0.38 (s.e. 0.02) and standard deviation 0.08 (s.e. 0.03), with statistically significant heterogeneity across traits (P = 0.0014). Despite larger rare variant effect sizes, we show that for most traits analyzed, rare variants (MAF <1%) explain less than 10% of total SNP-heritability. Using evolutionary modeling and forward simulations, we validated the α model of MAF-dependent trait effects and estimated the level of coupling between fitness effects and trait effects. Based on this analysis an average genome-wide negative selection coefficient on the order of 10−4 or stronger is necessary to explain the α values that we inferred.


__Abstract__

For decades, shame has been understood as a negative, self-conscious feeling with
mostly negative interpersonal consequences. As a result, shame is currently perceived as
an ugly emotion that motivates social withdrawal, avoidance, and inhibition. The present
chapter challenges this view of shame and suggests instead that shame has a positive
interpersonal function with positive consequences. Shame is thought to function as a
general sociometer, a monitor indicating the danger of being excluded from groups in
general. It would motivate affiliated behaviors such as cooperation, prosocial behavior,
and approach of others to address this possible exclusion. The chapter starts with a
critical overview of existing research that supports the view of shame as an ugly emotion,
demonstrating that empirical support for this view is debatable. It then continues with the
view of shame as a general sociometer and presents empirical research that supports this
view. Together, these findings reveal that shame may not be so ugly and may be more
beneficial than originally thought.


We perform finite-pressure Monte Carlo simulations of an effective spin-analogous model with coupled magnetic and lattice degrees of freedom, which has previously been proposed in order to explain the anomalous temperature driven metamagnetic phase transition in α-FeRh. The results are in reasonable agreement with the experimental (p, T) phase diagram. The critical behaviour of the system along the transition lines is analysed in detail.


Abstract. In the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), the need to revamp its popular agriculture vocabulary AGROVOC using Semantic Web knowledge representation standards combined with the need to provide a collaborative environment for development and maintenance purposes, pushed forward the realization of a dedicated AGROVOC thesaurus maintenance tool. With the progressive standardization of the AGROVOC knowledge model, following recent Simple Knowledge Organization System (SKOS) recommendations by the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) and with the addition of more FAO-maintained vocabularies, the former "AGROVOC Concept Server Workbench" has become a general-purpose framework for thesauri and vocabulary development and is now reborn as " VocBench". In this paper, we describe the path which led to its realization and its main features


Virtual reality (VR) surgical training can be a potentially useful method for improving practicing surgical skills. However, the current literature on VR training has not discussed the efficacy of VR systems that are useful outside of the training facility. As such, the goal of this study is to evaluate the benefits of using a low-cost VR simulation system for providing a method to increase the learning of surgical skills. Our pilot case focuses on laparoscopic cholecystectomy, which is one of the most common surgeries currently performed in the United States and is often used as the training case for laparoscopy due to its high frequency and perceived low risk. The specific aim of this study is to examine the efficacy of a low-cost haptic-based VR surgical simulator on improving practicing surgical skills, measured by the change in the learning effect of students.


Dyslexia is a specific impairment in learning to read which affects 5–10% of school-age children. Family and twin studies have shown that dyslexia is caused in large part by genetic factors. Dyslexia is most likely the result of the interplay of multiple genetic and environmental factors. Recently, several genes have been proposed as candidates for dyslexia susceptibility, including DYX1C1 on chromosome 15, KIAA0319 and DCDC2 on chromosome 6, ROBO1 on chromosome 3 and MRPL19 and C2ORF3 on chromosome 2. Interestingly, these genes share a putative role in brain development. No functional genetic variant has been identified for any of the genes but the study of their function offers for the first time new insights in the understanding of the biology of dyslexia and the mechanisms underlying cognition and brain function.

Key concepts

Several genes have recently been proposed as candidates for dyslexia susceptibility.

Most of these genes have shown association in independent samples of individuals with dyslexia.

A specific risk haplotype has been identified for the KIAA0319 gene.

Most of the candidates have been implicated in brain development.

No functional mutations have been identified for any of the genes.

Gene expression has been proposed as the main mechanism linking genetic susceptibility to the development of dyslexia

Keywords:

reading;
complex trait;
association study;
cognitive functions;
neuronal migration


This short essay explores one dimension of disability law's COVID-related "frailty": how the pandemic has undermined equal access to employment and healthcare for Americans who are deaf or hard of hearing as healthcare and employment migrate toward telehealth and telework activities. This essay's authors—a clinical law professor; a computer scientist whose research focuses on accessible technology; and a deaf policy attorney for the nation's premier civil rights organization of, by, and for deaf and hard of hearing individuals in the United States—have collaborated over the past months on detailed advocacy documents aimed at helping deaf and hard of hearing patients and employers navigate the complex new circumstances of telehealth and telework. The essay presents a brief survey of some of the difficult issues the authors have encountered in trying to navigate the legal and technical dimensions of healthcare and workplace accessibility for deaf and hard of hearing Americans in a pandemic-induced virtual world.


Polyaniline (PANI) presents promising antioxidant and radical-scavenging properties. Substances having these characteristics are good candidates for radioprotecting agents. In this work, nanofibres of polyaniline emeraldine doped with (?)-camphor-10-sulfonic acid (PANI-(?)-CSA) were prepared by self-assembly method under 'silent' and sonochemical conditions. PANI emeraldine base (PANI-EB) nanofibres were obtained after dedoping with NH4OH and were used as additives in films of commercial PMMA, in order to investigate radiostabilising effects on the PMMA matrix. Films containing aniline (An) and PANI-EB grains were also prepared for comparison. Variations in viscosity-average molar mass (Mv) at a 25 kGy dose showed that samples containing aniline, PANI-EB nanofibres or grains in amounts of 0.15% (wt/wt) underwent less degradation than the control sample. In addition, PMMA/PANI-EB nanofibres and PMMA/An at 0.15% (wt/wt) showed a smaller number of scissions per original molecule (α) than control samples in the 25?75 kGy dose range. Spectroscopic characterisation (FTIR, UV-Vis) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) of PANI samples were also performed.


The virtual world Second Life allows social interactions among avatars - online representations of real-life people – and is slowly adopted in the public sector as a tool for innovative ways to interact with citizens, interorganizational collaboration, education and recruitment (Wyld 2008). Governments are setting up online embassies, voting simulations, interactive learning simulations and virtual conferences. While there are very prominent and elaborate examples on the federal and state level of government, we have seen only a handful of applications on the local level. One of these local examples is MuniGov2.0 – a collaboration of municipal government professionals who regularly meet in Second Life. The goal of the group is to support each others geographically distributed implementation attempts to incorporate new technologies in the public sector. Interviews with the founding members and core group show clear mission-specific needs that Second Life collaboration can support, but that there are also technological and behavioral challenges involved using this highly interactive environment. The article will highlight the challenges, how they were met, lessons learned, future directions of the project and ends with recommendations for the use of Second Life in local government.


Acute kidney injury is common in critical illness. In patients with severe acute kidney injury, renal replacement therapy is needed to prevent harm from metabolic and electrolyte disturbances and fluid overload. In the UK, continuous renal replacement therapy (CRRT) is the preferred modality, which requires anticoagulation. Over the last decade, conventional systemic heparin anticoagulation has started being replaced by regional citrate anticoagulation for CRRT, which is now used in approximately 50% of ICUs. This shift towards regional citrate anticoagulation for CRRT is occurring with little evidence of safety or longer term effectiveness. Renal replacement anticoagulant management (RRAM) is an observational comparative effectiveness study, utilising existing data sources to address the clinical and cost-effectiveness of the change to regional citrate anticoagulation for CRRT in UK ICUs. The study will use data from approximately 85,000 patients who were treated in adult, general ICUs participating in the case mix programme national clinical audit between 1 April 2009 and 31 March 2017. A survey of health service providers' anticoagulation practices will be combined with treatment and hospital outcome data from the case mix programme and linked with long-term outcomes from the Civil Registrations (deaths), Hospital Episodes Statistics for England, Patient Episodes Data for Wales, and the UK Renal Registry datasets. The primary clinical effectiveness outcome is all-cause mortality at 90-days. The study will incorporate an economic evaluation with micro-costing of both regional citrate anticoagulation and systemic heparin anticoagulation. Study registration: NCT03545750


Seed banks must shift from being "stamp-collections" of species to collections that can provide tons of seeds and the expertise to improve restoration efforts. With nearly two-thirds of the world's ecosystems degraded (1), the October 2010 meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity (COP-10) highlighted ecological restoration as a significant opportunity for achieving global conservation goals (2). The restoration of nature, natural assets, and biodiversity is now a global business worth at least $1.6 trillion annually and likely to grow substantially (3). Although seed banks have emerged as a tool to protect wild plant species (4), off-site (ex situ) conservation measures at seed banks must be complementary to "on the ground" management at the conservation site. For example, whereas global targets are for restoration or management of at least 15% of each ecological region or vegetation type (1, 5), recognition of the mechanisms required to achieve these goals is largely absent from policies.


This study is based on survey responses of 224 general chemistry instructors at United States (U.S.) community colleges and universities representing 46 states. The mean values of General Chemistry Topic Coverage (GCTC) score, developed by this researcher specifically for this dissertation study as a measure of course content, were statistically analyzed. The aim of this study is to answer five research questions: (a) Is there a difference in mean GCTC scores between U.S. community colleges and four-year colleges and universities? (b) If there is a difference in mean GCTC score between the two study groups, what are the observed differences in subtopics covered between community colleges and four-year colleges and universities? (c) Considering both community colleges and universities, is there a difference in mean GCTC score between the different designated U.S. regions? (d) Considering both community college and university professors, is there a difference in GCTC score for professors with a master's degree compared to those with a doctorate?, and (e) Is there a correlation between GCTC score and the percentage of students that major in science? Results indicate that there is a statistically significant difference in course content between community colleges and universities, there is a statistically significant difference between different U.S. regions, there is no statistically significant difference between professors with an earned master's versus those with an earned doctorate degree, and there is no statistically significant correlation between general chemistry course content and the percentage of a professor's students majoring in science. Details of the observed differences between community college and university course content are discussed, and recommendations for future research are presented.


Before aseptic isolation, two Paramecium strains with genome sequences compiled in ParameciumDB were rinsed with sterilized saline solution and were starved for 1 day in the same solution. After starvation, the cells were transferred to Klebsiella-dominant green barley infusion for two days to eliminate unknown bacteria of the bacterized culture to some degree. Then cells were processed using an aseptic isolation method combining two classical isolation methods: "tree" and "handwashing." They were inoculated into the axenic medium. Asepsis of these cultures was examined using an agar plate test and PCR with universal primer for 16S rRNA gene. The maximum cell density of the axenic culture in both species increased linearly with the times of subculture increase. After adaptation to the axenic medium, the maximum cell density reached a plateau level: 3,000–4,000 cells/ml in P. multimicronucleatum and 14,000–15,000 cells/ml in P. tetraurelia. The generation times at the mid-log phase of growth were calculated as 14.2 and 12.2 h in P. multimicronucleatum and P. tetraurelia, respectively. In this study, egg yolk or the soybean lecithin was tested as a substitute for phosphatidylethanolamine, with fixing of the lipid/stigmasterol ratio at 80 : 1. Results show that the maximum cell density, equivalent to that obtained using phosphatidylethanolamine, was obtained using soybean lecithin. This report includes data demonstrating the percentage of cells in a reproductive stage of every axenic strain using DAPI.


It is important to model the behavior of unsaturated expansive soils subjected to wetting and drying cycles because they alter significantly their hydro-mechanical behavior and therefore cause a huge differential settlement on shallow foundations of the structure. A simplified model based on the shakedown theory (Zarka method) has been developed in this study for unsaturated expansive soils subjected to wetting and drying cycles. This method determines directly the stabilized limit state and consequently saves the calculation time. The parameters of the proposed shakedown-based model are calibrated by the suction-controlled oedometer tests obtained for an expansive soil compacted at loose and dense initial states, and then validated for the same soil compacted at intermediate initial state by comparing the model predictions with the experimental results. Finally, the finite element equations for the proposed shakedown model are developed and these equations are implemented in the finite element code CAST3M to carry out the full-scale calculations. A 2D geometry made up of the expansive soil compacted at the intermediate state is subjected to successive extremely dry and wet seasons for the different applied vertical loads. The results show the swelling plastic deformations for the lower vertical stresses and the shrinkage deformations for the higher vertical stresses.


Microkernel-based architectures have gained an increasing
interest and relevance for embedded systems. These can
not only provide real-time guarantees but also offer strong security
properties which become increasingly significant in certain
application domains such as automotive systems. Nevertheless,
the functionality of those complex systems often needs to be distributed
across a network of control units for various reasons (e.g.
physical location, scalability, separation). Although microkernels
have been commercially established, distributed systems like these
have not been a major focus. This is basically originated by the
fact that – in the microkernel world – policy, device drivers
and protocol stacks are userspace concerns and rather left to
be solved by the particular application domain. Following the
principle of least privilege, we therefore developed a distributed
access-control framework for all network-based communication
in microkernel-based systems that can be generically deployed.
Our design not only enforces security properties such as integrity
but is also scalable without adding too much overhead in terms
of run time or code.


The musical is an endless source of fascination and enjoyment for audiences around the world -- and now is brought to life in this beautifully illustrated volume. A valuable companion for anyone who loves the musical, this engaging, informative work tells the dazzling story of the international musical stage from The Beggar's Opera to Sunset Boulevard. Highlighting especially those shows that have entertained "most of the people most of the time, in most places where musical theater is played," Kurt Ganzl surveys the mainstream productions of the four principal areas that have been the most effective purveyors of hit musicals to the world's stages throughout the years -- France, Britain, America, and Austria/Hungary/Germany. In a lively and witty narrative that sweeps away some favorite preconceptions and historical distortions, Ganzl brings together the multiple strands of languages, genres, and styles in various eras and areas to provide an entertaining and instructive overview of musical theater history in all its glorious diversity.


This paper provides a comprehensive analysis of those factors that were most important in the emergence of Israel's innovation economy from 1990-2000. It contains a thorough survey of the leading academic ideas regarding preconditions for innovation (generally) and the preconditions for Israeli innovation over a 30 year period (specifically), including: public R&D grants, human capital acquisition, intellectual property rights, financial reforms, venture capital policy and cultural factors. In addition, this paper lends fresh empirical support to the notion that R&D grants and venture capital policies played an important role in Israel's narrative, and distinguishes those factors which can be emulated by other governments and organizations (ie. deliberate policy-making or responses to market indicators) from those which resulted from historical chance (ie. luck). Finally, this paper draws from Israel's experience to spell out some key public policy lessons and limitations of innovation policy.


Abstract In this paper, implementation of soft sensing technique for measurement of fluid flow rate is reported. The objective of the paper is to design an estimator to physically measure the flow in pipe by analysing the vibration on the walls of the pipe. Commonly used head type flow meter causes obstruction to the flow and measurement would depend on the placement of these sensors. In the proposed technique vibration sensor is bonded on the pipe of liquid flow. It is observed that vibration in the pipe varies with the control action of stem. Single axis accelerometer is used to acquire vibration signal from pipe, signal is passed from the sensor to the system for processing. Basic techniques like filtering, amplification, and Fourier transform are used to process the signal. The obtained transform is trained using neural network algorithm to estimate the fluid flow rate. Artificial neural network is designed using back propagation with artificial bee colony algorithm. Designed estimator after being incorporated in practical setup is subjected to test and the result obtained shows successful estimation of flow rate with the root mean square percentage error of 0.667.


Abstract Fusion has the potential to make a major contribution to the realisation of a sustainable and secure energy supply for the EU a few decades from now, with the international project ITER being the major step in the progress towards this goal. The realisation of ITER therefore lies at the heart of the present EU fusion research strategy, and it will be accompanied by a strong and focused European R&D programme to prepare for its exploitation and to develop the technologies and knowledge base that will be needed during its operation and beyond. This paper describes the context of European fusion research and the unique organisational character of the programme. Current activities under the Seventh Euratom Framework Programme, including developments concerning ITER, are summarized


Disuse-related bone loss affects various populations of individuals including astronauts, bedridden patients, those with spinal cord injuries, and, to not as drastic a degree, the increasing population living sedentary lifestyles. The lack of mechanical stimulation on bones can lead to bone loss and an increased risk of low bone mass, osteoporosis, and fractures. Therefore, the goal of this study was to determine the effects of resistance exercise on bone during a period of disuse in skeletally mature rodents. Male rats were placed into three different groups, hindlimb unloading, (HU), hindlimb unloading with resistance training (HU+RE), and cage control (CC), for 4 weeks. Resistance exercise was accomplished by jump training 3 days a week with progressive increases in weights added to a vest placed on the rat (10% 40% body weight in added weight). The right tibia of each rat was harvested and bone mass parameters were measured using peripheral quantitative computed tomography (pQCT) scans of the proximal metaphysis and midshaft tibia. At the proximal tibia, HU rat means were significantly lower than those of CC in total mineral content, cortical content, and cancellous density (p<0.05). HU+RE had significantly higher total bone content, trabecular content, cancellous density, and cortical content than the HU group (p<0.01). Total content was significantly different between CC and HU+RE (p<0.05). No differences were seen among group means for any variable at the midshaft tibia (100% cortical bone). Resistance exercise can mitigate bone loss during a period of disuse, especially in the cancellous-rich compartment of metaphyseal bone. This highlights the importance of resistance training during periods of disuse, as well as demonstrating the importance of regular loading of bone for individuals leading sedentary lifestyles.


Abstract In this expose we provide the first review of host use by brood parasitic cuckoos in a multiple-cuckoo system in China, based on our own long-term field data and a compilation of observations obtained from the literature. In total, we found that 11 species of cuckoos utilized altogether 55 host species. These hosts belong to 15 families, in which Sylviidae, Turdidae and Timaliidae account for 22.6%, 20.8% and 17.0% of parasitism records, respectively. The Common Cuckoo (Cuculus canorus) had the widest range of host species, accounting for 45.5% of the total number of parasitized species (25 in 10 families) of all parasitism records and is the most frequent brood parasite in the country. Cuckoo species differed in their egg coloration and the extent of egg polymorphism with most of them, e.g. the Common Cuckoo, the Lesser Cuckoo (C. poliocephalus) and the Plaintive Cuckoo (Cacomantis merulinus) laying well mimetic eggs with respect to their hosts based on human being's visual observations, while others such as the Large Hawk-cuckoo (C. sparverioides), the Himalayan Cuckoo (C. saturatus) and the Asian Emerald Cuckoo (Chrysococcyx maculatus) usually laid non-mimetic eggs. The use of cuckoo hosts and egg color variation in China are compared with those in other parts of their ranges in Asia.


In the last past years, many promising applications of nanoparticles in quantum electronics such as nanocrystal memories, chemical sensors or nanodevices based on single electron tunneling and Coulomb blockade effects have attracted much attention. Nanoparticles synthetised by a chemical way are good candidates for those applications thanks to the huge diversity of materials usable and the possible chemical functionalisation of their surface. To make the active part of a nanodevice, those particles must be assembled in a controlled way on the desired areas. The most efficient way, compatible with microelectronics fabrication processes, seems to be a combination of bottom-up and top-down technologies. To take up this challenge, we propose to deposit the nanoparticles on a surface locally functionalised in order to increase the adhesion of nanoparticules on those areas. The ligands used to functionalise and to stabilise the nanoparticles must be terminated by a chemical function complementary to the one present on the substrate surface. Since the ligands have a strong influence on the electronics properties of the nanoparticules, we decided to work on a reference system : gold nanoparticles covered by alkyl-thiol ligands. These one are made by decomposition of an organometallic precursor in toluene with the presence of oleylamine to stabilise the nanoparticles. Oleyamine ligands are exchanged with dodecanethiol, the solution is then purified and nanoparticles are redissolved to give dodecanethiol protected gold nanoparticles in solution in chloroform. In this work, we propose to use Van Der Waals interactions to assemble these particles on specific hydrophobic patterns defined on SiO2/Si substrates by stencil lithography and atmospheric pressure chemical vapour deposition of silane. First, micro and nano-windows are opened in a Poly(Methyl Methacrylate) (PMMA) resist layer by reactive ion etching through a stencil mask. This stencil lithography process allows to pattern all kinds of organic resists which may not be photosensitive. Then, a self-assembled monolayer of octadecyltrimethoxysilane (OTMS) is deposited by atmospheric pressure chemical vapour deposition. The PMMA is finally lift-off leaving the bare hydrophilic SiO2 surface and the OMTS hydrophobic patterns.


Many successful countries, especially latecomers, in terms of export diversification and enhancement have not relied entirely on spontaneous market forces. Rather they have developed public-private alliances to build consensus about long term strategies. They have proactively established specialized public institutions to support the innovative, entrepreneurial and investment activities that are needed to stimulate national export sectors. This ECLAC project is designed to tell the story of the relative success of Barbados as an example of a country that has employed public-private alliances. Other country cases which are also being studied by ECLAC include Ireland, Finland, Sweden, Australia, New Zealand, Spain, Malaysia and Singapore. Barbados will be the only country case in the English-speaking Caribbean. Barbados has successfully evolved over the past sixty years from a colony, through adult suffrage, in ernal self government to independence in 1966. Its economy has undergone radical transformation from being based on commodity exports such as sugar and rum to becoming a highvalue services exporter. GDP per capita was less than 200 US dollars in the 1950s and is currently just under US$ 10,0001. The country has the third highest rank of the Western Hemisphere on the Human Development Index, after the United States and Canada. This success has been due to a sound post-emancipation educational system, a stable political system, an effective trade union movement, positive benefits from the colonial administration, a dynamic private sector and an effective NGO movement. A solid foundation has therefore emerged on which to build a sustainable future. Much has been written about the Barbados model,2 especially on the aspects of democracy and political participation, education and social development. In the early 1990s, a tripartite Social Partnership (government, trade unions and the private sector) was formally established to deal with the consequences of the economic crisis and to implement the Structural Adjustment Programme with the IMF without need for currency devaluation. The first Protocol agreed upon and focussed on wage and price policy as well as fiscal adjustment but also established the National Productivity Board. In 2005, the tripartite partnership agreed on the fifth in what has become a series of Protocols.3 On May 01 2007, the parties signalled their intention to extend the fifth protocol for another two years. It is widely acknowledged that the success in terms of political and social development is underpinned by a shared vision regarding productivity (human, process and technology) enhancement and service excellence as a means towards increased global competitiveness. It is however not extensively documented exactly how these underpinnings were established and what organisational and institutional mechanisms were created to facilitate public-private dialogue. Some attention has been given by the social partnership as to the composition of the future Barbados economy. It is proposed that Sunrise opportunities replace the "Sunset" industries, e.g. commodity sugar and traditional manufacturing. The Sunrise opportunities have been identified as: (a) Tourism Linkages, to build on the success in the Barbadian Tourism sector, driven primarily by the Export of Indigenous Services (Informatics, Health, Consulting, Education, Entertainment, Transportation, Film and Sports); (b) the West Indian Sea Island Cotton and other Agricultural value added and food industries; (c) the diversified use of the Sugar Cane plant; (d) Agriculture, Food Processing and Food Security; (e) the High-Tech Manufacturing industries; (f) the Renewable Energy industries; and (g) Innovative Financial Services. Invest Barbados, a public sector organisation, has recently been established (January 2007) to develop high performance service exports; to promote Brand Barbados; to seek Foreign Direct Investment and business systems expertise; and to stimulate the creation of a user-friendly enabling environment. This study describes the public-private dialogue in Barbados called the Social Compact, the specific sectors in which innovation is stimulated, the institutional framework which surrounds and supports the tripartite partnership, the resulting performance of the economy and prospects for growth and the extent to which membership of the Caribbean Community can act as a catalyst to progress.""


Poly(2-oxazoline)s are receiving large current interest based on their potential use in biomedical applications. The development of novel methods to control the polymer side chains and to tune the polymer properties will further enhance this potential. In this contribution, the Passerini and Ugi multicomponent reactions are used to modify a random poly(2-oxazoline) copolymer of 2-ethyl-2-oxazoline (EtOx) and 2-methyl butyrate-2-oxazoline (C3-MestOx) with defined chain length and comonomer ratio. Hydrolysis of the pending methyl ester groups provided an easy access to carboxylic acid groups in the side chain, which were used for post-polymerization modification reactions via isocyanide-based multicomponent reactions (IMCRs) to simultaneously introduce various substituents. This allowed a straightforward adjustment of the properties of the random poly(2-oxazoline). Most importantly, control over the cloud point and glass transition temperatures was possible by simple variation of the components used in the multicomponent grafting approach.


Aims/Objectives We aim to establish which measure of obesity is most useful in predicting mode of delivery. Background Obesity is a major risk factor for adverse events in pregnancy. 'Body mass index' (BMI) has been the widely accepted measure of obesity. However, 'waist to hip ratio' (WHR) is thought to better reflect central adiposity.1 If we are to identify obesity as a risk factor for adverse pregnancy and delivery outcome it is crucial that we explore different measures of obesity. Methods We aimed to recruit all women who reached the inclusion criteria in two hospitals over a five-month period. Data was collected on demographics, BMI, thigh, hip and waist circumference. The primary outcome measure was mode of delivery, defined as either vaginal delivery or caesarean section. Results We recruited 120 women to the study. Repeatability analysis demonstrated small mean differences (15 mm – 50 mm) between measurements. The best predictor of mode of delivery and emergency delivery (emergency caesarean and instrumental deliveries) was BMI and waist measurement (see graphs). Waist-hip ratio did not appear to correlate with mode of delivery. Summary and conclusions This study has demonstrated that additional measurements were feasible and measurements were repeatable. There may be a suggestion that BMI or waist measurements are best predictors of mode of delivery. A larger study is planned to enable analysis of maternal and fetal antenatal complications. Abstract PPO.18 Figure Reference 1Yusuf S, Hawken S, Ounpuu S, Bautista L, Franzosi MG, Commerford P, et al. Obesity and the risk of myocardial infarction in 27,000 participants from 52 countries: a case-control study. Lancet. 2005;366:1640–9


OBJECTIVE: Tissue plasminogen activator (t-PA) has been approved by the Food and Drug Administration in the treatment of patients with acute ischaemic stroke presenting within three hours from onset of symptoms. This study aims to identify the potential number of stroke patients suitable for t-PA in Hong Kong. METHODS: All patients with a clinical diagnosis of acute stroke were recruited. Data collected included demographics, vital signs, medical history, contraindications to thrombolysis, severity of stroke (Canadian neurological scale), time course from onset of symptoms to computed tomography, computed tomography results, and final diagnoses by physicians. RESULTS: During the five month study period, 201 patients were recruited and nine were subsequently excluded from further analysis because computed tomography was not performed. Their mean age was 70.9 (range from 41-91) years. Eighty (41.7%) and 100 (52.1%) patients presented to our emergency department within two hours and three hours respectively from symptom onset. The mean severity score (Canadian neurological scale) was 7.83 (out of a maximum of 11.5). A total of 132 (68.8%) patients had acute ischaemic stroke confirmed by computed tomography. Mean delay in computed tomography was 4.91 hours. Fourteen (7.3%) and 52 (27.1%) of all patients had computed tomography of the brain done within one and two hours respectively. Only 20 patients (10.45%) could meet the three hour criteria as stated in the National Institute of Neurologic Disorders and Stroke rt-PA stroke study and seven (3.6%) of them were confirmed to have acute ischaemic stroke. Two patients were further excluded because of high systolic blood pressure and current warfarin medication. CONCLUSION: At present very few patients could benefit from thrombolytic treatment. Delays in the chain of recovery in stroke management should be identified and corrected.


The annual report is conventionally understood as a mechanism through which those external to an entity receive information about its internal workings as a basis for holding to account those responsible for its stewardship. By contrast the current study examines the role of the annual report as an instrument for rendering external parties visible and accountable to the organisation, their local communities and to themselves. The paper analyses the ways in which the managers of the Edinburgh Royal Infirmary (ERI), an elite voluntary hospital, utilised the disclosure of the names of charitable givers in its annual reports to encourage philanthropic behaviour during the nineteenth century. It is argued that the financiers of the Infirmary were the principal subjects of the annual report and were made accountable through it. As changing economic and demographic circumstances increased pressure on hospital resources, managers of the ERI structured the presentation of data in the annual report in ways designed to encourage individuals and certain groups to question the sufficiency of their benevolence. The study reveals that the annual report has the potential to project accountability onto the self in multi-directional ways, not merely into the interior of the organisation, but also into those exterior social spaces surrounding it.


Burning mouth syndrome has never been associated with a specific medical conditions, although associations were reported with a wide variety of health and chronic pain conditions. The painful mouth syndrome revealed the lack of specific criteria for diagnosis. Stomatodynia is characterized by the existence or coexistence of local, general and psychological etiologic factors. Local factors, the most frequently involved was candidiasis, incorrectly adjusted dentures, contact allergies and oral parafunctions. Among the general factors that recordered a higher frequency, we mention : menopause, diabetes, previous medications and iron deficiency anemia. Regarding the psychological factors, there were identified: stress, anxiety, depression, mental lability and mental disorders.


This study combines results from reconnaissance-scale mapping of hydrothermal alteration, rock types, and structures to provide a district-scale cross section and associated palinspastic reconstruction of an area with two previously undescribed Laramide (~70 Ma) porphyry systems at Sheep Mountain and Copper Basin (Crown King). Extension at the district scale is placed in an arc-scale context using an original compilation of strike and dip measurements on Tertiary rocks to reconstruct the Laramide porphyry belt prior to extension. The study area contains five sequential, partially superimposed sets of normal faults that are nearly planar where exposed. Dips of all normal faults initiated at 60° to 70° and rotated during slip to angles as gentle as 20°. A palinspastic reconstruction reveals that two, spatially distinct hydrothermal systems overlie different cupolas of a Late Cretaceous pluton. Hydrothermal alteration is zoned from greisen to potassic to transitional greisen-potassic assemblages from deep to shallow structural levels. The reconstruction is used to identify two covered exploration targets. The prospects may be porphyry molybdenum systems of the quartz monzonitic-granitic porphyry Mo-Cu subclass, joining others in an arc that is best known for porphyry copper deposits. The Laramide porphyry belt prior to extension displays a variably well-defined axis, ~100 km wide, with gaps and clusters of deposits along its 700-km strike length. The majority of deposits lie along the axis, but others lie in fore- or rear-arc positions. The interpreted preextensional geometry of the Laramide porphyry belt resembles other porphyry belts and the distribution of active volcanoes at convergent margins.


Anisotropic distributions of charged particles including two-stream distributions give rise to generation of either stochastic electric fields (in the form of Langmuir waves, Buneman instability) or random quasi-static magnetic fields (Weibel and filamentation instabilities) or both. These two-stream instabilities are known to play a key role in collisionless shock formation, shock-shock interactions, and shock-induced electromagnetic emission. This paper applies the general non-perturbative stochastic theory of radiation to study electromagnetic emission produced by relativistic particles, which random walk in the stochastic electric fields of the Langmuir waves. This analysis takes into account the cumulative effect of uncorrelated Langmuir waves on the radiating particle trajectory giving rise to angular diffusion of the particle, which eventually modifies the corresponding radiation spectra. We demonstrate that the radiative process considered is probably relevant for emission produced in various kinds of astrophysical jets, in particular, prompt gamma-ray burst spectra, including X-ray excesses and prompt optical flashes.


Musical performances which involve school ensembles and music ensembles outside of the school community require a process of collaboration which can be beneficial to students, teachers and the community. Among these implications are several factors for specific exploration, including: personal and group social identity, life-long learning, developmental factors for school Music programmes, and intergenerational understanding. This study aims to investigate the implications of collaborative performance projects between school music ensembles and music ensembles from outside of the school community.


The question of whether migration can serve as a channel for regional adjustment to asymmetric shocks is crucial in an economic and monetary union. It is of particular interest within the Eurozone where countries do not have flexible exchange rates as an adjustment mechanism. By moving from countries with high unemployment to countries with better employment prospects, intra-European migrants should help countries to adjust to asymmetric shocks and lead to a more efficient allocation of resources within the free migration regime. This policy brief exploits the 2008 economic crisis to investigate how labor market disparities between EU15 countries affected intra-European migration. Our main contributions are threefold. First, over the period 2000-2013, we find that intra-European migration indeed responds to regional differences in employment conditions: a rise in unemployment differences between two EU15 countries fosters migration to the country with the better employment conditions. Second, we find that the 2008 economic crisis led to a strong reallocation of individuals within the EU15 between the southern countries (Greece, Italy, Portugal and Spain) which were the most affected by the crisis and the least affected countries, such as Denmark and the UK. Third, our results indicate that responsiveness to regional employment disparities is far greater among non-EU15 immigrants, compared to European-born people. This finding suggests that the mobility of Europeans within the EU15 could be greater, a hypothesis that is consistent with the higher mobility observed in the United States. Improving cross-country portability of social rights within the EU could thus be a relevant reform to foster intra-EU mobility.


There is an interesting parallelism between the representation of one- place and two-place operations in object-oriented programming and case marking in ergative languages. The object-oriented approach has proven to be highly suc- cessful in computational system design and analysis. One of its peculiarities is to define operations within the class of the objects which are their main arguments. More specifically, operations that correspond to intransitive verbs are encoded in the class which corresponds to the subject NP, and operations that correspond to transitive verbs are encoded in the class that corresponds to the NP of the direct object. In ergative languages these NPs are marked by absolutive case. We discuss a number of semantic phenomena related to ergativity that show that conceptual representation of word meaning follows the object-oriented paradigm.


The surface ocean plays an important role in the marine carbon cycle linking the atmosphere and the deep ocean. There are substantial variations in the surface ocean carbonate system in different environments and on various time scales, resulting from the interactions of various physical and biogeochemical processes. In this study, the use of Ships of Opportunity (SOO, as carriers of automatic underway measuring systems and platforms for sample collections) was promoted to enhance the surface ocean observing capacity to provide in-situ observations with better temporal resolution and spatial coverage in a cost- effective way (Chapter 2). The functionality, reliability and accuracy of an automatic pCO2 sensor were assessed extensively under various field and laboratory conditions (Chapter 3). The sensor proved to be suitable for long-term onboard and in-situ measurements, while its uncertainty is largely determined by the reference used for calibration. Observations made from two SOOs were examined to better understand the variability and control of the surface ocean carbonate system (Chapter 4, 5). The spatial variability of alkalinity in different marine environmental settings were investigated focusing on the influences of physical and biogeochemical processes on the alkalinity-salinity relationship (Chapter 4). By using salinity-normalized alkalinity as an indicator, the TA addition or removal processes were examined in the open ocean regime in the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Ocean (mainly controlled by precipitation and evaporation), in the western North Atlantic margin, eastern North Pacific and Mediterranean Sea (additional alkalinity inputs from rivers, currents or the Black Sea), and in the Red Sea (alkalinity removal by CaCO3 precipitation). In coastal regions, a regional-specific term for zero salinity end member should be considered in salinity normalization practice, and care should be taken when use the abstract intercept of alkalinity-salinity regression to estimate the river water end member (only works reliably in river-dominated systems). The temporal variations of the surface carbonate system and air-sea CO2 flux in the Northeast Atlantic (Bay of Biscay) were examined on seasonal to interannual time scales (Chapter 5). The seasonal variability of DIC (single annual peak in winter, shaped by the winter increase due to deep convection followed by the spring biological drawdown) is different to the seasonal cycle of pCO2 (double annual peaks in winter and summer, determined by the competing effects of temperature and nonthermal processes on pCO2). A comparative study shows a latitudinal transition of pCO2 seasonality in the North Atlantic: from the temperature-dominated oligotrophic subtropical gyre to the subpolar region where pCO2 is dominated by changing concentrations of DIC. Located in the transition zone, pCO2 in the mid-latitude Bay of Biscay shows a double-peak distribution in its annual cycle: the summer peak is dominated by temperature increase while the winter peak results from the dominant convection effect. The interannual biogeochemical changes in the Bay of Biscay were found to be closely related to the varying intensity of winter mixing, with higher seasonal amplitudes of DIC and nutrients observed in cold years in response to negative phases of the North Atlantic Oscillation. An increase in annual mean seawater pCO2 was observed from 2002 to 2010 associated with decreased rates of oceanic CO2 uptake.


An exponentially growing industry, human robot interaction (HRI) research has drawn predominantly upon psychologists' descriptions of mechanisms of face-to-face dyadic interactions. This book considers how social robotics is beginning unwittingly to confront an impasse that has been a perennial dilemma for psychology, associated with the historical 'science vs. art' debate. Raya Jones examines these paradigmatic tensions, and, in tandem, considers ways in which the technology-centred discourse both reflects and impacts upon understanding our relational nature.

Chapters in the book explore not only how the technology-centred discourse constructs machines as us, but also how humans feature in this discourse. Focusing on how the social interaction is conceptualised when the human-robot interaction is discussed, this book addresses issues such as the long-term impact on persons and society, authenticity of relationships, and challenges to notions of personhood. By leaving aside terminological issues, Jones attempts to transcend ritual of pitching theories against each other in order to comprehensively analyse terms such as subjectivity, self and personhood and their fluid interplay in the world that we inhabit.

Personhood and Social Robotics will be a key text for postgraduate students, researchers and scholars interested in the connection between technology and human psychology, including psychologists, science and technology studies scholars, media studies scholars and humanists. The book will also be of interest to roboticists and HRI researchers, as well as those studying or working in areas of artificial intelligence and interactive technologies more generally.


When—if ever—is state control of individual decisions better than self-control?
In the rational consumer model, the answer is never. That paradigm assumes that consumers
know their own preferences, possess all relevant information, process that information correctly,
and make consistent decisions over time. Government interference with individual choices—the
substitution of state control for self-control—can therefore only harm individuals, who would
make optimal decisions on their own.
The rational model has a long history. Many economists still view that model as one useful
approach to positive and normative questions. Other economists and non-economists, however,
believe many consumers are not fully rational. Their alternative assessment arises both from
casual observation of human behavior and from experimental research in behavioral economics
and psychology that appears to challenge the rational consumer model.1
If consumers are not fully rational, the case for self-control rather than state control might seem
less compelling. Government interference would not automatically reduce the well-being of nonrational consumers, since those non-rational consumers might be making sub-optimal decisions
on their own behalf.
I argue, however, that consumer irrationality strengthens, rather than weakens, the case for
self-control. I make that argument in the context of the "War on Drugs"—the US government's
century-long attempt to eliminate marijuana, cocaine, heroin, and other intoxicating or mindaltering substances. If consumers are rational about drug use, prohibition makes them worse off.
If consumers are not necessarily rational, prohibition might prevent some "bad" decisions to use
drugs unnecessarily, so prohibition may seem worth considering.
As I will explain, however, the War on Drugs is still bad policy — indeed, it's an even worse policy
if some consumers are non-rational. Prohibition might deter some ill-advised drug use, but its
overall consequences harm irrational consumers more than rational consumers. Self-control as
the approach to drugs might not be perfect, but state control is almost certainly worse.


Trace element inventories are known to correlate with specific histological structures in bone, reflecting organismal physiology and life histories. By studying trace elements in fossilised bone, particularly in individuals with cyclic bone growth (alternating fast/slow bone deposition), we can improve our understanding of the physiology of extinct organisms. In this study we present the first direct comparison between optical histology (bone tissue identification) and synchrotron-based chemical mapping, quantification, and characterisation of trace elements (biochemistry) within cyclic growth tissues, in this case within bones of a cave hyaena (Crocuta crocuta spelaea). Results show distributions of zinc, an element strongly associated with active ossification and bone growth, correlating with (1) fast-growing tissue of zonal bone (cyclic growth) in an extinct hyaena and (2) secondary osteons (remodelling) in both extant and extinct hyaena. Concentrations and coordination chemistry of zinc within the fossil sample are comparable to those seen in extant bone suggesting that zinc is endogenous to the sample and that the chemistry of bone growth has been preserved for 40 ka. These results demonstrate that the study of trace elements as part of the histochemistry has wide utility for reconstructing growth, diet and other lifestyle factors in archaeological and fossil bone.


External agricultural inputs, such as pesticides, may pose risks to aquatic ecosystems and affect aquatic populations, communities and ecosystems. To predict these risks, a tiered approach was followed, incorporating both the PRIMET and PERPEST models. The first-tier PRIMET model is designed to yield a relatively worst-case risk assessment requiring a minimum of input data, after which the effects of the risks can be refined using a higher tier PERPEST model. The risk assessment initially depends on data supplied from local landowners, pesticide characteristic, application scheme and physical scenario of the environment under question. Preliminary results are presented, together with ecotoxicological data on several frequently-used pesticides in a section of the Crocodile (west) Marico Water Management Area (WMA) in South Africa. This area is historically known to have a high pesticide usage, with deltamethrin, aldicarb, parathion, cypermethrin and dichlorvos being the main pesticides used. Deltamethrin was indicated as having the highest probability of risks to aquatic organisms occurring in the study area. Cypermethrin, parathion, dichlorvos, carbaryl, bromoxynil, linuron, methomyl and aldicarb were all indicated as having possible risks (ETR 1-100) to the aquatic environment. Pesticides posing no risk included fenamiphos, abamectin, pendimethalin, captan, endosulfan, alachlor, bentazone and cyromazine (ETR < 1). The pesticides posing a possible risk to the aquatic ecosystem were evaluated further to determine their effects on 8 grouped endpoints using the PERPEST effect model. Deltamethrin and cypermethrin were again noted as posing the greatest risk and clear effects were eminent for aquatic insects and macro-crustaceans, followed by micro-crustaceans and rotifers. High percentages of clear effects on insects were also observed for carbaryl, parathion and dichlorvos. Linuron was indicated as having minimal clear effects on community metabolism, macrophytes and phytoplankton classes, while lesser clear effects of bromoxynil occurred on periphyton communities. Application of both the lower-tier PRIMET and higher-tier PERPEST models showed similar trends in that they both ranked the top 5 pesticides in the same order of risk. This approach offers a significant improvement over the presently-used simulation models or use of safety factors. It is therefore especially useful in developing countries such as South Africa, where pesticide environmental risk information is scarce. Although these models were effectively used in this study, it still has to be validated further under South African conditions.


Immigration and health are two of the most contentious issues facing policy makers today. Laws and policies that relate to both issues — to the health of newcomers — often reflect misimpressions about immigrants, their health, their impact on health care systems, and the ethical duties owed to them. Although immigrants are typically younger and healthier than native-born residents, and many newcomers play a vital role in providing care in their new lands, many nations are reluctant to extend basic health care to immigrants. Likewise, many nations turn against immigrants when epidemics strike, falsely believing that native populations can be kept well by keeping immigrants out. The book explores laws and policies pertaining to the intersections of health and migration, both in the U.S. and in other developed countries, and argues that because health is a global public good and people benefit from the health of neighbor and stranger alike, it is in everyone's interest to ensure the health of all. Reviewing issues in the U.S. and globally as diverse as health-related immigration restrictions, medical repatriation, epidemic controls, access to health, the right to health, the medical brain drain, organ tourism, and global climate change, the book shows why solidarity between natives and newcomers is ethically required and in the service of health for all.


Cluster synchronization modes of continuous time oscillators that are diffusively coupled in a three-dimensional (3-D) lattice are studied in the paper via the corresponding linear invariant manifolds. Depending in an essential way on the number of oscillators composing the lattice in three volume directions, the set of possible regimes of spatiotemporal synchronization is examined. Sufficient conditions of the stability of cluster synchronization are obtained analytically for a wide class of coupled dynamical systems with complicated individual behavior. Dependence of the necessary coupling strengths for the onset of global synchronization on the number of oscillators in each lattice direction is discussed and an approximative formula is proposed. The appearance and order of stabilization of the cluster synchronization modes with increasing coupling between the oscillators are revealed for 2-D and 3-D lattices of coupled Lur'e systems and of coupled Rossler oscillators.


Introduction Adverse events associated with medications are under-reported in postmarketing surveillance systems. A systematic review of published data from 37 studies worldwide (including Canada) found the median under-reporting rate of adverse events to be 94% in spontaneous reporting systems. This scoping review aims to assess the utility of social media and crowd-sourced data to detect and monitor adverse events related to health products including pharmaceuticals, medical devices, biologics and natural health products. Methods and analysis Our review conduct will follow the Joanna Briggs Institute scoping review methods manual. Literature searches were conducted in MEDLINE, EMBASE and the Cochrane Library from inception to 13 May 2016. Additional sources included searches of study registries, conference abstracts, dissertations, as well as websites of international regulatory authorities (eg, Food and Drug Administration (FDA), the WHO, European Medicines Agency). Search results will be supplemented by scanning the references of relevant reviews. We will include all publication types including published articles, editorials, websites and book sections that describe use of social media and crowd-sourced data for surveillance of adverse events associated with health products. Two reviewers will perform study selection and data abstraction independently, and discrepancies will be resolved through discussion. Data analysis will involve quantitative (eg, frequencies) and qualitative (eg, content analysis) methods. Dissemination The summary of results will be sent to Health Canada, who commissioned the review, and other relevant policymakers involved with the Drug Safety and Effectiveness Network. We will compile and circulate a 1-page policy brief and host a 1-day stakeholder meeting to discuss the implications, key messages and finalise the knowledge translation strategy. Findings from this review will ultimately inform the design and development of a data analytics platform for social media and crowd-sourced data for pharmacovigilance in Canada and internationally. Registration details Our protocol was registered prospectively with the Open Science Framework (https://osf.io/kv9hu/).


Trauma and its often symptomatic aftermath pose acute problems for historical representation and understanding. In Writing History, Writing Trauma, Dominick LaCapra provides a broad-ranging, critical inquiry into the problem of trauma, notably with respect to major historical events. In a series of interlocking essays, he explores theoretical and literary-critical attempts to come to terms with trauma as well as the crucial role post-traumatic testimonies-particularly Holocaust testimonies-have assumed in recent thought and writing. In doing so, he adapts psychoanalytic concepts to historical analysis and employs sociocultural and political critique to elucidate trauma and its after effects in culture and in people. In the first chapter LaCapra addresses trauma from the perspective of history as a discipline. He then lays a theoretical groundwork for the book as a whole, exploring the concept of historical specificity and insisting on the difference between transhistorical and historical trauma. Subsequent chapters consider how Holocaust testimonies raise the problem of the role of affect and empathy in historical understanding, and respond to the debates surrounding Daniel Jonah Goldhagen's book Hitler's Willing Executioners: Ordinary Germans and the Holocaust. The book's concluding essay, "Writing (About) Trauma," examines the various ways that the voice of trauma emerges in written and oral accounts of historical events. Theoretically ambitious and historically informed, Writing History, Writing Trauma is an important contribution from one of today's foremost experts on trauma.


In this paper, a dual-biomarker-based neural sensing and conditioning device is proposed for closing the feedback loop in deep brain stimulation devices. The device explores both local field potentials (LFPs) and action potentials (APs) as measured biomarkers. It includes two channels, each having four main parts: (1) a pre-amplifier with built-in low-pass filter, (2) a ground shifting circuit, (3) an amplifier with low-pass function, and (4) a high-pass filter. The design specifications include miniature-size, light-weight, and 100 dB gain in the LFP and AP channels. This device has been validated through bench and in-vitro tests. The bench tests have been performed using different sinusoidal signals and pre-recorded neural signals. The in-vitro tests have been conducted in the saline solution that mimics the brain environment. The total weight of the device including a 3 V coin battery, and battery holder is 1.2 g. The diameter of the device is 11.2 mm. The device can be used to concurrently sense LFPs and APs for closing the feedback loop in closed-loop deep brain stimulation systems. It provides a tetherless head-mountable platform suitable for pre-clinical trials.


Abstract Classically, any structure for a signature ${\rm{\Sigma }}$ may be completed to a model of a desired regular theory ${T}}$ by means of the chase construction or small object argument. Moreover, this exhibits ${\rm{Mod}}\left(T)$ as weakly reflective in ${\rm{Str}}\left( {\rm{\Sigma }} \right)$. We investigate this in the constructive setting. The basic construction is unproblematic; however, it is no longer a weak reflection. Indeed, we show that various reflectivity principles for models of regular theories are equivalent to choice principles in the ambient set theory. However, the embedding of a structure into its chase-completion still satisfies a conservativity property, which suffices for applications such as the completeness of regular logic with respect to Tarski (i.e., set) models. Unlike most constructive developments of predicate logic, we do not assume that equality between symbols in the signature is decidable. While in this setting, we also give a version of one classical lemma which is trivial over discrete signatures but more interesting here: the abstraction of constants in a proof to variables.