Since the 1960s, large housing estates have shaped the geography of suburbia in many Western and Eastern European cities. This paper examines the constitution of the social and spatial meanings of large housing estates within three different national contexts: in Germany, Poland, and France. Employing discourse theory and an empirical analysis of the coverage of major national newspapers, we identify cross-national and specific national patterns of discourses that (re)produce particular social spaces and distinct social orders. Quantitative discourse analysis reveals differences, similarities, and ruptures in various constructions of the meaning of large housing estates. We find that large housing estates in France and Germany are constituted in print media as threatening places and as places of foreignness located "outside" the "proper society." In contrast, Polish large housing estates are framed discursively as threatened places located in the social "inside."


Early childhood mathematics is vitally important for young children's present and future educational success. Research demonstrates that virtually all young children have the capability to learn and become competent in mathematics. Furthermore, young children enjoy their early informal experiences with mathematics. Unfortunately, many children's potential in mathematics is not fully realized, especially those children who are economically disadvantaged. This is due, in part, to a lack of opportunities to learn mathematics in early childhood settings or through everyday experiences in the home and in their communities. Improvements in early childhood mathematics education can provide young children with the foundation for school success. Relying on a comprehensive review of the research, Mathematics Learning in Early Childhood lays out the critical areas that should be the focus of young children's early mathematics education, explores the extent to which they are currently being incorporated in early childhood settings, and identifies the changes needed to improve the quality of mathematics experiences for young children. This book serves as a call to action to improve the state of early childhood mathematics. It will be especially useful for policy makers and practitioners-those who work directly with children and their families in shaping the policies that affect the education of young children.


This paper describes a multifunctional, electronically reconfigurable, small/large signal load pull measurement system and its integrated use with BSIM 3v3 for modelling of sub-micron CMOS transistors and sub-circuits. This turnkey measurement system can be electronically configured from a battery of instruments in order to characterise minimum noise, optimum power, intermodulation, dc and S-parameters, together with harmonic response and dynamic load line information under both source and load pull conditions. The instrumentation provides validation data against the BSIM physical model simulator. Hence, for the first time measurement of all of the significant devices parameters can be made for the device operated under all possible primary modes for model validation so that optimal circuit design can be carried out in a holistic fashion.


Food deserts have been widely studied in Western contexts but rarely in transitioning economies and never within a rainforest. The Brazilian Amazon is a rapidly urbanizing region with high levels of poverty and food insecurity, providing an ideal context in which to explore this current research gap. Within this setting, five urban centers ranging from small town to metropole are examined to explore any potential variations between urban centers of different sizes and settings. A large survey was conducted with interviews in 554 food shops, assessing shop characteristics, food availability, price, and alternative household food acquisition strategies. Methods were developed to explore food deserts, accounting for food acquisition across multiple shops within a neighborhood. Insufficient access to healthy food was estimated to be widespread (42 percent of households), with access worse in smaller towns. Unlike many previous studies, local access to healthy food was not linked to neighborhood poverty and prices were generally lower in poorer areas. High levels of nonretail sourcing of food (e.g., fruit trees, fishing) in this region might lead to an overestimation of the food access problem if only retail food provision were considered. We conclude that food deserts are widespread in the rainforest cities studied, yet we highlight the importance of understanding local retail and nonretail food contexts. Finally, we question the extent to which the traditional food desert concept can be directly applied in the context of transitioning economies.


We investigate the extent to which a country's degree of genetic variation contributes to the observed variation in financial market activity across countries. We postulate that genetic variation can affect financial markets through its impact on aggregate investment behavior, innovation in the financial sector, and productivity. Our country-level, cross-sectional analysis reveals a significant hump-shaped relation between a country's predicted genetic variation and the size of its financial markets. This result is consistent with the conjecture that at relatively intermediate degrees of genetic variation, the associated intermediate levels of trust and risk-taking within the country result in the largest investment flows into public financial markets. Our results are robust to different measres of financial market size, several regression specifications, and the inclusion of a broad range of controls such as legal origin, institutional characteristics, culture, natural endowment, and trade openness. Our main findings appear to be restricted specifically to equity markets (vs. debt markets) where there is relatively more uncertainty and, thus, trust and risk-taking are relatively more important. Additional analysis suggests that better overall country-level governance can moderate the role that genetic variation plays in shaping equity market size.


Clinical and epidemiological studies are commonly used in medical sciences. They typically collect data by using different input forms and information systems. Metadata describing input forms, database schemas and input systems are used for data integration but are typically distributed over different software tools; each uses portions of metadata, such as for loading (ETL), data presentation and analysis. In this paper, we describe an approach managing metadata centrally and consistently in a dedicated Metadata Repository (MDR). Metadata can be provided to different tools. Moreover, the MDR includes a matching component creating schema mappings as a prerequisite to integrate captured medical data. We describe the approach, the MDR infrastructure and provide algorithms for creating schema mappings. Finally, we show selected evaluation results. The MDR is fully operational and used to integrate data from a multitude of input forms and systems in the epidemiological study LIFE.


Online food shopping is not only one of the newest innovations in grocery shopping but also one of the many services integrating the changing needs of consumers and the increasing use of modern technology. A survey was conducted in the Bryan/College Station area of Texas to determine a quantitative profile of consumers, via logit analysis, who are familiar with the concept of online food shopping and who are willing to use an online food shopping service. Older people, females, major shoppers, and people with lower incomes are less likely to be familiar with the concept of online food shopping. Those consumers willing to consider using online food shopping services are those familiar with the concept of online food shopping, those who find convenience as the largest benefit, and those who are chiefly concerned about price, credit card security, and delivery service. Older people and those with no college education are less likely to use online food shopping services.


ABSTRACT Vocational pathways to Higher Education have a key role in opening teacher education to under-represented groups but bring with them particular challenges. Teacher educators need to address the challenges faced by these learners, of not only connecting their learning but also challenging their knowledge, and doing so in an invested work environment. This paper shares my experiences as a teacher educator working with two groups of Indigenous and non-Indigenous para-professional pre-service teachers in remote and urban Central Australia. I identify four key role-shifting challenges individuals face in developing their professional practice and locate them in two interdependent areas: social sphere challenges arising out of the situated learning setting of professional experience, and those occurring in the personal sphere of professional identity. I suggest that the new ways of mentoring and the development of student's reflexive capacity needed to address these challenges can best be mobilised by re-positioning the role of professional identity at the centre of both professional experience and academic learning.


Objective To assess the effect of tranexamic acid on blood transfusion, thromboembolic events, and mortality in surgical patients. Design Systematic review and meta-analysis. Data sources Cochrane central register of controlled trials, Medline, and Embase, from inception to September 2011, the World Health Organization International Clinical Trials Registry Platform, and the reference lists of relevant articles. Study selection Randomised controlled trials comparing tranexamic acid with no tranexamic acid or placebo in surgical patients. Outcome measures of interest were the number of patients receiving a blood transfusion; the number of patients with a thromboembolic event (myocardial infarction, stroke, deep vein thrombosis, and pulmonary embolism); and the number of deaths. Trials were included irrespective of language or publication status. Results 129 trials, totalling 10 488 patients, carried out between 1972 and 2011 were included. Tranexamic acid reduced the probability of receiving a blood transfusion by a third (risk ratio 0.62, 95% confidence interval 0.58 to 0.65; P<0.001). This effect remained when the analysis was restricted to trials using adequate allocation concealment (0.68, 0.62 to 0.74; P<0.001). The effect of tranexamic acid on myocardial infarction (0.68, 0.43 to 1.09; P=0.11), stroke (1.14, 0.65 to 2.00; P=0.65), deep vein thrombosis (0.86, 0.53 to 1.39; P=0.54), and pulmonary embolism (0.61, 0.25 to 1.47; P=0.27) was uncertain. Fewer deaths occurred in the tranexamic acid group (0.61, 0.38 to 0.98; P=0.04), although when the analysis was restricted to trials using adequate concealment there was considerable uncertainty (0.67, 0.33 to 1.34; P=0.25). Cumulative meta-analysis showed that reliable evidence that tranexamic acid reduces the need for transfusion has been available for over 10 years. Conclusions Strong evidence that tranexamic acid reduces blood transfusion in surgery has been available for many years. Further trials on the effect of tranexamic acid on blood transfusion are unlikely to add useful new information. However, the effect of tranexamic acid on thromboembolic events and mortality remains uncertain. Surgical patients should be made aware of this evidence so that they can make an informed choice.


This paper presents an efficient liver-segmentation system developed by combining three ideas under the operations of a level-set method and consequent processes. First, an effective initial process creates mask and seed regions. The mask regions assist in prevention of leakage regions due to an overlap of gray-intensities between liver and another soft-tissue around ribs and verte-brae. The seed regions are allocated inside the liver to measure statistical values of its gray-intensities. Second, we introduce liver-corrective images to represent statistical regions of the liver and preserve edge information. These images help a geodesic active contour (GAC) to move without obstruction from high level of image noises. Lastly, the computation time in a level-set based on reaction-diffusion evolution and the GAC method is reduced by using a concept of multi-resolution. We applied the proposed system to 40 sets of 3D CT-liver data, which were acquired from four patients (10 different sets per patient) by a 4D-CT imaging system. The segmentation results showed 86.38% ± 4.26% (DSC: 91.38% ± 2.99%) of similarities to outlines of manual delineation provided by a radiologist. Meanwhile, the results of liver segmentation only using edge images presented 79.17% ± 5.15% or statistical regions showed 74.04% ± 9.77% of similarities.


Abstract Free‐flying wild tsetse flies (Glossina pallidipes Aust. and G. m. morsitans Westw.) were video recorded in Zimbabwe as they flew within an artificial host odour plume at 3, 7 or 15 m from the source, or in no odour, with and without a 0.75 m2 vertical, black visual target present aligned with the wind. With no visual target present, flights in odour were strongly biased upwind, and in the absence of odour strongly biased downwind. With the target present, between 16% and 40% of the upwind approaching flies responded visually as they passed the target, by circling it, in proportion to the proximity of the source (taken to be proportional to the mean odour concentration). Crosswind approaching flies (for whom the target will have been visible for some metres away) circled more frequently (34–56%), but without obvious correlation with the odour concentration. Circling flies also responded orthokinetically, by slowing down as they passed the target. The departure directions relative to the wind of flies leaving the target were significantly affected by the odour concentration. At 3 m they left the target in all directions, except possibly avoiding due upwind. At 7 m they left with an obliquely upwind bias, but at 15 m and also in no odour, they left with a strong crosswind bias.


Abstract Objective To study whether a high volume injection without corticosteroids improves clinical outcome in addition to usual care for adults with chronic midportion Achilles tendinopathy. Design Patient and assessor blinded, placebo controlled randomised clinical trial. Setting Sports medicine department of a large district general hospital, the Netherlands. Participants 80 adults (aged 18-70 years) with clinically diagnosed chronic midportion Achilles tendinopathy and neovascularisation on ultrasonography. 39 were randomised to a high volume injection without corticosteroids and 41 to placebo. Interventions Participants were instructed to perform an exercise programme for 24 weeks (usual care) combined with one 50 mL high volume injection of saline and lidocaine (intervention group) or one 2 mL placebo injection of saline and lidocaine (placebo group) at baseline. Main outcome measures Primary outcome was pain and function assessed using the validated Victorian Institute of Sports Assessment-Achilles (VISA-A) questionnaire at 24 weeks (analysed using a generalised estimation equations model). Secondary outcomes were patient satisfaction, return to sport, degree of ultrasonographic Doppler flow, visual analogue scale on 10 hop test, power and flexibility of the gastrocnemius and soleus muscles, pain detect questionnaire for neuropathic pain, and pain coping inventory. Participants were evaluated at baseline and at 2, 6, 12, and 24 weeks. Results Only one participant (1%) was lost to follow-up. The estimated mean VISA-A score improved significantly, from 40.4 (95% confidence interval 32.0 to 48.7) at baseline to 59.1 (50.4 to 67.8) at 24 weeks in the high volume injection group and from 36.9 (27.1 to 46.8) to 58.5 (47.9 to 69.1) in the placebo group. The VISA-A score over time did not differ between the groups (adjusted between group difference at 24 weeks 0.5 points, 95% confidence interval −17.8 to 18.8). No significant between group differences were found for patient satisfaction (21/37 (57%) v 19/39 (49%) patients, P=0.50) and return to desired sport (15/29 (52%) v 19/31 (61%) patients active in sports, P=0.65) at 24 weeks. None of the other secondary outcomes differed between the two groups. Conclusions A high volume injection without corticosteroids in addition to usual care is not effective for symptom reduction in patients with chronic midportion Achilles tendinopathy. On the basis of our findings, we cannot recommend the use of a high volume injection in this patient group. Trial registration ClinicalTrials.gov NCT02996409


The paper focuses on measures for a process of increasing the market share of public transportation in the case of the city of Goteborg. Based on a general discussion of the question how people behave in terms of traveling by public transportation or car and the theoretical framework sorting different groups of measures of push and pull factors, a presentation of the use of measures in the case of the city of Goteborg leads to the development of possible first steps. Literature about travel behavior in theory and case studies offers background for concepts for reducing car use like Motility and Travel Demand Management as well as for the concept of push and pull factors. Interviews made with experts working with public transportation in the city of Goteborg help to get an overview of several opinions about the implementation of different groups of measures. The main findings are the strengths and weaknesses of the key theoretical issues as well as the experience already made with projects for increasing market share of the city of Goteborg. When being aware of the findings, one can conclude that the communication and cooperation among others between institutions and organizations has to get intensified to increase the market share of public transportation in the case of the city of Goteborg. Moreover for a successful process it is necessary to minimize the lack of research and the policy has to consist of both soft and hard measures of push and pull factors as the combination includes more target groups and matches the reality of practice.


Reticular chemistry has proven as a notable/distinctive discipline aimed at the deliberate assembly of periodic solids, offering great opportunities to effectively deploy the gained knowledge on net-topologies as a guide and toolbox for designed syntheses, based on the assembly of molecular building blocks into targeted and anticipated structures of crystalline extended solids. The effective practice of reticular chemistry has enriched the repertoire of crystal chemistry and afforded notable accelerating development of crystalline extended frameworks, especially metal-organic frameworks (MOFs). Here, we review a special class of trinodal MOF structures based on the reticulation of special minimal edge-transitive nets (nets with transitivity [3 2], three distinct nodes and two kind of edges) derived from edge-transitive nets (one kind of edge). The rationale for deriving these special minimal edge-transitive nets is reviewed, and their associated net-coded building (net-cBUs) for the design of trinodal MOFs is presented and discussed. The resultant inclusive list of the enumerated minimal edge-transitive nets provides a unique toolbox for the material's designer as it offers ideal blueprints for the deliberate design and rational assembly of building blocks with embedded multiple branch points into intricate trinodal MOFs.


It is widely accepted that the fossil record suffers from various sampling biases – diversity signals through time may partly or largely reflect the rock record – and many methods have been devised to deal with this problem. One widely used method, the 'residual diversity' method, uses residuals from a modelled relationship between palaeodiversity and sampling (sampling‐driven diversity model) as 'corrected' diversity estimates, but the unorthodox way in which these residuals are generated presents serious statistical problems; the response and predictor variables are decoupled through independent sorting, rendering the new bivariate relationship meaningless. Here, we use simple simulations to demonstrate the detrimental consequences of independent sorting, through assessing error rates and biases in regression model coefficients. Regression models based on independently sorted data result in unacceptably high rates of incorrect and systematically, directionally biased estimates, when the true parameter values are known. The large number of recent papers that used the method are likely to have produced misleading results and their implications should be reassessed. We note that the 'residuals' approach based on the sampling‐driven diversity model cannot be used to 'correct' for sampling bias, and instead advocate the use of phylogenetic multiple regression models that can include various confounding factors, including sampling bias, while simultaneously accounting for statistical non‐independence owing to shared ancestry. Evolutionary dynamics such as speciation are inherently a phylogenetic process, and only an explicitly phylogenetic approach will correctly model this process.


High levels of residual soil NO 3 -N can contaminate ground water by leaching through the soil. Our objective was to reduce the level and spatial variability of residual soil NO 3 -N while maintaining optimum corn (Zea mays L.) production by variable rate N fertilizer application. The experiment was located on a 60-ha sprinkler-irrigated corn field in central Nebraska and included four N management practices: uniform rate, variable rate (VRAT), variable rate at 75% of recommended amount (VRAT @ 75%), and variable rate plus 10% (VRAT + 10%). VRAT @ 75% decreased the amount of residual NO 3 -N in the soil while maintaining similar grain yield to the other treatments, indicating over-application of N with treatments receiving the recommended rate. Increasing the recommended rate by 10% (VRAT + 10%) did not increase corn yield or residual soil NO 3 -N. Based on multifractal spectrum, no consistent pattern of spatial variability of soil NO 3 -N was observed for each treatment across years. Spatial variability in corn grain yield was much lower than that for soil NO 3 -N, indicating noneffectiveness of using soil NO 3 -N spatial distribution for variable rate N application unless some areas in the field are severely N deficient. Variable rate N application did not reduce variability of residual soil NO 3 -N or corn grain yield as compared with uniform N. Multifractal analysis quantitatively characterized the extent and pattern of spatial and temporal variability in corn grain yield and residual soil nitrate.


Abstract Social legitimacy is central to the effectiveness of international organisations (IOs). Yet, so far, we have little systematic knowledge about what drives citizens to support or oppose IOs. In this article, we isolate and assess three alternative explanations of social legitimacy in global governance, privileging interest representation, institutional performance, and confidence extrapolation. We test these theories in a multilevel analysis of citizen confidence in the United Nations (UN) using World Values Survey and European Values Study data, supplemented by contextual measures. The results grant support to the arguments that institutional performance and confidence extrapolation shape popular confidence in the UN, while offering little support for the explanation of interest representation. These findings challenge the predominant understanding that more democratic procedures lead to greater social legitimacy for IOs. Instead, the UN case suggests that the social legitimacy of IOs is based primarily on the organisations' capacity to deliver, as well as on citizens' general confidence in political institutions, which IOs may have little to do with and can do little to change.


Chiral 2-substituted-6-methyl 2,3-dihydropyidinones 9, which can be facilely obtained from an asymmetric vinylogous Mannich reaction (VMR) with 1,3-bis-trimethysily enol ether, were used as versatile intermediates in constructing chiral polyfunctional piperidine-based compounds. The 6-methyl group of such compounds can be conveniently functionalized via alkylation and acylation reactions to provide efficient entries to the synthesis of a variety of chiral multi-substituted piperidine-based compounds. Further elaboration of the corresponding intermediates also provided access to polyfunctional indolizidine-based compounds. These methods were showcased in an asymmetric synthesis of 2,6-di-substituted piperidine compound 13, reported as the key intermediate in the synthesis of (+)-calvine and a natural alkaloid (-)-indolizidine 209D. Furthermore, selective C5 iodination of compound 9 enabled the installation of additional functional groups at this position. Finally, we demonstrated that the oxidative cleavage of 2-substituted-6-methyl-2,3-dihydropyidinones is a practical and efficient method for the enantioselective synthesis of β-amino acids, which can undergo further intra-molecular cyclization to give the corresponding chiral four-membered β-lactam derivatives.


Urban and peri-urban agriculture is considered as a strategy that can bring multiple benefits and help to build resilient urban food systems at the city region level. Cities have an important role to play in climate change mitigation and adaptation, disaster risk management and in enhancing the climate resilience of their vulnerable residents. Major emitters of greenhouse gas (GHG), cities are not only contributing to climate change, but are also directly and indirectly impacted by it. Acute or chronic climate change is threatening access to basic urban services such as water, energy and food for growing populations. Key issues include rising temperatures, increasing rainfall, flooding and urban food insecurity. Rapid urban growth will only increase the number of highly vulnerable urban communities, with the urban poor being most at risk. Only with a coordinated approach and action at the global, regional, national and local levels can the climate change emergency be curbed, and its effects mitigated.


Silvicultural operation need to notice the plant species diversity in forest. To this study Gomarlang district in marivan region, northern zagros forest was selected. Selected 100 ha area because have similar physiography condition (north aspect and 1650 to 1800 m s.a.l. In study area 100 micro plots of 5m by 5 m (25 m2) including the species and the numbers of this species randomized-systematic method in the 100×100 Net. Diversity index including Shannon Wiener (H׳), Simpson (1-D) and Margaleff (R1) were used. To analysis of the data, use was Ecological Methodological software. Results showed that 65 herb species observed in the site study.  Results indicated that Gramineae, Pappilionaceae and Compositae highest number of species. Bromus tectorum L, Poa spp and Avena sp were dominant herbaceous species, respectively. Herbaceous layer had the highest richness, evenness and diversity. Authors suggested approaching the sustainable forest management focused on the dominant plant in the study area


Sciadopitys verticillata is amongst the most relictual of all plants, being the last living member of an ancient conifer
lineage, the Sciadopityaceae, and is distributed in small and disjunct populations in high rainfall regions of Japan.
Although mega-fossils indicate the persistence of the species within Japan through the Pleistocene glacial–
interglacial cycles, how the species withstood the colder and drier climates of the glacials is not well known. The
present study utilized phylogeography and palaeodistribution modelling to test whether the species survived within
pollen-based coastal temperate forest glacial refugia or within previously unidentified refugia close to its current
range. Sixteen chloroplast haplotypes were found that displayed significant geographical structuring. Unexpectedly,
northern populations in central Honshu most distant from coastal refugia had the highest chloroplast diversity and
were differentiated from the south, a legacy of glacial populations possibly in inland river valleys close to its current
northern range. By contrast, populations near putative coastal refugia in southern Japan, harboured the lower
chloroplast diversity and were dominated by a single haplotype. Fragment size polymorphism at a highly variable
and homoplasious mononucleotide repeat region in the trn T-,i>trn L intergenic spacer reinforced the contrasting
patterns of diversity observed between northern and southern populations. The divergent histories of northern and
southern populations revealed in the present study will inform the management of this globally significant
conifer.


The cork oak forests are classified by Land Use Map of Sardinia in three different
classes: cork oak forest with tree cover greater than 25% (84.873 ha); cork oak forest
with tree cover between 5 and 25% (53.070 ha) and mixed forest where cork oak tree
cover is greater than 20% (355.143 ha). The species therefore affects 20% of the region.
The major area of pure cork oak stands is localized in central-north Sardinia (Nuoro, Olbia-
Tempio and Sassari provinces each one with 24.000 ha and 14.000 ha of the first and
second type of cork oak forest respectively). Between 1998-2005 the forest fires affected
1,9% of regional surface and 4,6% of forest regional surface, being the cork oak forest
21% with 1.216 hectares annually fired. The only Olbia-Tempio Province registers a positive
rate between cork oak forest fired and reforestation (+1.231 ha in the last eight years).
The structure of cork oak forests in central Sardinia is low influenced by environmental
factors while it might depends on grazing and management decisions of owners. For
these reasons the production can be vary in a large range from 1.0 to 6.4 t·ha-1 but always
with a stripping height lesser than permitted value by regional legislation. Regional yield,
estimated nearly 12.000 t per year, meets about half of industrial requirements. The debarking
recording, carried out by regional C.F.V.A. in five important producing areas
during 2000-2006, shows a forest yield variable between 28 (Nuorese) and 107 (Central
Southern Sardinia) kg·ha-1·anno-1 for reproduction cork. The prime cork quality analysis
from the cork seven main production areas of Sardinia showed relationships between
quality cork properties, graded by an independent panel of experts, and elevation site,
sand and phosphorus content in soil. The best cork quality is distributed in centre-north
(Logudoro-Goceano) and south-west (Iglesiente) of Sardinia, but it is linked together
with a negative too small thick.


Preparation of Active, Stable Supported Iron Catalysts and Deactivation by Carbon of Cobalt Catalysts for Fischer-Tropsch Synthesis Kamyar Keyvanloo Department of Chemical Engineering, BYU Doctor of Philosophy The first half of this dissertation reports the development of supported Fe FT catalysts including the effects of various, carefully chosen preparation methods on the performance of alumina-supported iron/copper/potassium (FeCuK/Al2O3); it was determined that non-aqueous slurry impregnation and co-impregnation yielded catalysts with activities as high as any reported in the literature. Furthermore, the effects of support properties including pore size, hydroxyl group concentration, and support stabilizer were investigated for FeCuK/Al2O3 catalysts containing 20 or 40% Fe. For the first time, we report the performance of a supported Fe FT catalyst that is not only more active and stable than any supported Fe catalyst previously reported, but also has activity equivalent to that of the most active, unsupported catalysts. More importantly, the catalyst is extremely stable as evidenced by the fact that after 700 h on stream, its activity and productivity are still increasing. These catalyst properties result from the use of a novel γ-alumina support material doped with silica and pretreated at 1100°C. This unique support has a high pore volume, large pore diameter, and unusually high thermal stability. The ability to pretreat this support at 1100°C enables preparation of a material having a low number of acid sites and weak metal oxide-support interactions, all desirable properties for an FT catalyst. The second half of this dissertation investigates the effects of operating conditions including the partial pressures of CO and H2 and temperature on the deactivation by carbon of 25 wt% Co/ 0.25 wt% Pt/Al2O3 catalyst. It also reports the kinetics of the main FT reaction on this catalyst. As temperature increases, the H2 and CO orders for the main reaction (in the absence of deactivation) become more positive and more negative, respectively. A new mechanism was proposed to account for the inhibition effect of CO at high reaction temperatures, which includes H-assisted dissociation of CO to C* and OH*. Further, twelve samples of the CoPt/Al2O3 catalyst were tested over a period of 800 hours and XCO < 24%, each at a different set of CO and H2 partial pressures and temperature (220-250°C). At reaction temperature of 230°C, increasing PCO or PH2 increases the deactivation rate; possibly due to formation of polymeric carbons. The H2 and CO partial pressure orders for the deactivation rate at 230°C were found to be 1.12 and 1.43, respectively using a generalized-power-law-expression (GPLE) with limiting activity of 0.7 and 1st order deactivation. For a H2/CO of 2 (PH2 = 10 bar and PCO = 5 bar) the deactivation rate increases as process temperature increases from 220 to 250°C with an activation energy of 81 kJ/mol. However, at higher CO partial pressure (PCO = 10 bar) the deactivation rate for the Co catalyst of this study decreases with increasing temperature; this can possibly be attributed to the formation of more active cobalt sites at higher temperatures due to surface reconstruction.


45% of refugees in Europe are women, yet little is known on their integration outcomes and the specific challenges they face. This report summarises prior research on the integration of refugee women, both compared with refugee men and other immigrant women. It also provides new comparative evidence from selected European and non-European OECD countries. Refugee women face a number of particular integration challenges associated with poorer health and lower education and labour market outcomes compared to refugee men, who are already disadvantaged in comparison with other migrant groups. They also show a peak in fertility in the year after arrival. A large fraction has come from countries where gender inequality is high and employment of women tends to be low. However, there is little correlation between indicators such gender differences in participation and employment in the origin and in the host country, suggesting that the integration issues can be addressed by host-country employment and education policy instruments. The report also finds that building basic skills in terms of educational attainment and host-country language training bears a high return in terms of improving labour market outcomes. It also provides intergenerational pay-off for their children. Against this backdrop, structured integration programmes such as the ones in the Scandinavian countries seem to be a worthwhile investment.


Variations between midday and midnight in the species composition and abundance of the main zooplankton
assemblage of Lake Ikeda, a crater-lake were analyzed during the summer of 1986. The protozoans, comprising
more than 70% of the whole zooplankton population were the most abundant followed l7y the rotifers (12%),
eopepods (8 %) and cladocerans (7 %). Except for the copepods and a few rotifers, most of the other zooplankton
were evident at a slightly higher abundance at night. Total zooplankton abundance was highest during early summer but decreased gradually until the end of summer. Species composition was highest in early summer, and persisted until the middle of summer but gradually decreased with rare occurrences of some species at the end of summer, where some species were either rarely sampled or entirely absent from the samples.


Global climate change due to increased levels of atmospheric greenhouse gases caused by human activity has the potential to threaten life on earth. International cooperation is required to effectively address this threat; however the climate crisis represents a classic collective action problem in response to overexploitation of a global commons. This article explains the global climate change issue, traces efforts to confront it, and argues that inherent difficulties plague collective responses to global commons problems. It pinpoints individual reasons for collective action failures, examines background economic and scientific problems, and analyzes how group factors such as strategy and coalition building affect cooperation. Finally, the article overviews how ambiguous international environmental law principles may further hinder global solutions to the climate crisis and suggests a series of best practices for future negotiations.


Problem. Character development is a fundamental objective of the Seventh-day Adventist educational system. The purpose of this study was to define the concept of character development in the writings of Ellen G. White whose thought is foundational to the philosophy of the worldwide system of Seventh-day Adventist schools. The investigation focused on four subproblems: (1) the meaning and significance of character; (2) the nature of character development; (3) factors affecting character development; and (4) responsibility for character development. Method. The problem was approached by (1) carefully perusing White's published writings and noting every statement related to the study; (2) inductively analyzing the statements and arranging them logically into categories related to the subproblems; and (3) interpreting the data with the use of appropriate hermeneutics and synthesizing the findings. A survey of selected research studies on character development— those of Hartshorne and May, Ligon, Peck and Havighucst, Piaget, and Kohlberg— was included to provide a background against which White's concept may be understood. Conclusions. The study concluded that White in her writings expresses a definite concept of character development, structured around her belief that man and his character can be understood only within the context of God. The fundamental elements of her concept are as follows: 1. Character is that which gives motivation, coherence, consistency, and direction to the total relational and behavioral functions of man. It involves the whole man: what he is— his motives, feelings, and thoughts— and what he does— his actions and habits— in respect to his relationship to God, man, and himself. 2. Character is important for the fulfillment of divine purpose in history, the vindication of the validity of the Christian faith, and the optimum realization of human potential and destiny. 3. Godlikeness is the ultimate objective of character development. Hence the norm for evaluating human character is the character of God, revealed in Jesus and particularized in the Bible and in the law of God. Likewise the ultimate evaluation of character rests with God's judgment. 4. The means of character development are located in God's movement of grace toward man in the redemptive activity of Christ and the empowering of His Spirit. When man in faith chooses to accept the provision of God and enters into a new relationship with Him, the Spirit of God actualizes within man a divine-human unity with a new motivation and a new empowering. In this experience, self-centeredness gives way to God-centeredness, so that man's basis of action is no longer the self, but the internalized principle of godlikeness, namely, love, which assures man to exist, relate, and function on a principled level, making character development possible. 5. As man continues to grow and mature in this divine-human unity, and as God continues to remain the central motivating and empowering force of life, perfection of character becomes his privilege. Contrarily, retrogression remains a constant threat. 6. Personal and relational factors such as self-concept, heredity, environment, health, intelligence, dietary habits, purposive vocation, study of the Bible, meditation, prayer, worship, peer relations, and unselfish service influence character development either as preparatory to or nurturing of the divine human unity within man. 7. Although the individual Is ultimately responsible for character development, the home and the school share a major responsibility for providing their wards adequate character oriented nurture and atmosphere. Parental responsibility Includes adequate prenatal and early childhood care, modeling, discipline, teaching, and providing choice-making opportunities. The responsibility of the school, in addition to many of the above, centers around the selection of teachers and curricula committed to character development.


The wide availability of educational resources is a common objective for universities, libraries, archives and other knowledge-intensive institutions. Although generic metadata specifications (such as Dublin Core) seem to fulfill the need for documenting web-distributed objects, educational resources demand a more specialized treatment and characterization. In this article we focus on the use of learning-object specific metadata in digital repositories, as they are primarily incarnated in the LOM (learning object metadata) standard. We review relevant standards and practices, especially noting the importance of application profiling paradigms. A widespread institutional repository platform is offered by DSpace. We discuss our implementation of LOM metadata in this system as well as our interoperability extensions. To this end, we propose a potential LOM to DC mapping that we have put into use in DSpace. Finally, we introduce our implementation of an LOM ontology, as a basis for delivering Semantic Web services over educational resources


Richmond Barracks was, in 2015, designated one of the seven major restoration and/or commemorative projects to be funded by the Irish State. The Barracks, with its fascinating yet little remembered military, social and political history, was to be, in 2016, centre stage in the centenary commemorations of the 1916 Easter Rising. One major aspect of the 1916 'hidden history' of the Barracks was the arrest and imprisonment of seventy seven female insurgents immediately after the surrender. Using these seventy seven women as a lens to understand the lives, activism, motivations and contributions of women to the 1916 Rising, a project of remembering, which combined historical and creative elements, was undertaken. In this article the impact of the project on the commemoration of women in 2016 and how their legacies were interpreted through historical research in a landmark publication, We were There: 77 women of the Easter Rising and by contemporary women activists through the Quilt project is detailed.


Introduction: The number of mobile game users has increased considerably over the last few years globally. Medical students are no exception to the increasing trend of gaming. Aim: The aim of this study was to find the prevalence of internet gaming disorder (IGD) and associated behavioral problems in medical and dentistry students. Materials and Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted on undergraduate medical and dentistry students of Christian Medical College and Christian Dental College, Ludhiana, from July 2016 to October 2016. The self-administered questionnaire was based on the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders-5 (DSM-5) criteria for diagnosing IGD. Comparison was made between the individuals with IGD and without IGD for sleep, headache, and cognition-related problems. Chi-square and Student's t-tests were used. P < 0.05 was considered statistically significant. Results: Four hundred students participated in the study, of which 314 (78.5%) were medical and 86 (21.5%) dentistry students. Females 265 (66.2%) were a majority, and the mean age was 20.2 ± 9 years. Thirty-six students (9%) had IGD. Males were more commonly affected (males 22 [61.1%] vs. females 14 [38.9%], P < 0.001). The IGD group was more likely to play the games during classes (IGD group 24 [66.7%] vs. non-IGD group 176 [48.4%], P = 0.036) and tended to skip classes to continue gaming (IGD group 8 [22.5%] vs. non-IGD group 9 [2.5%], P < 0.001). The mean score for sleep and cognition-related problems was higher for the IGD group. Conclusion: IGD is prevalent among professional college students and is associated with sleep, headache, and cognition-related problems.


BACKGROUND
Duration of viral shedding is a determinant of infectivity and transmissibility, but few data exist about oseltamivir's ability to alter viral shedding.

METHODS
From January 2012 through October 2017, a randomized, double-blinded multicenter clinical trial was conducted in adults aged 18-64 years at 42 sites in Thailand, the United States, and Argentina. Participants with influenza A or B and without risk factors for complications of influenza were screened for the study. Eligible participants were randomized to receive oseltamivir 75 mg or placebo twice daily for 5 days. The primary endpoint was the percentage of participants with virus detectable by polymerase chain reaction in nasopharyngeal swab at day 3.

RESULTS
Of 716 adults screened for the study, 558 were randomized, and 501 were confirmed to have influenza. Forty-six participants in the pilot study were excluded, and 449 of the 455 participants in the population for the primary analysis had day 3 viral shedding results. Ninety-nine (45.0%) of 220 participants in the oseltamivir arm had virus detected at day 3 compared with 131 (57.2%) of 229 participants in the placebo arm (absolute difference of -12.2% [-21.4%, -3.0%], P =; .010). The median time to alleviation of symptoms was 79.0 hours for the oseltamivir arm and 84.0 hours for the placebo arm (P =; .34) in those with confirmed influenza infection.

CONCLUSIONS
Oseltamivir decreased viral shedding in this low-risk population. However, in the population enrolled in this study, it did not significantly decrease the time to resolution of clinical symptoms.

CLINICAL TRIALS REGISTRATION
NCT01314911.


This paper reports on a state-of-the-art study quantifying resource consumption, health, and human impacts of LEED credits achieved in K-12 schools on student's health and performance of educational environments. The study attempts to quantify an important yet not scientifically proven assumption concerning the relationship between green build- ing certification and indoor environmental quality (IEQ) strategies in schools and their impacts on a number of metrics con- cerning children's activity levels, obesity rates, disruptive behavior, indoor comfort, and sick building syndrome complaints. The specific hypothesis tested is; that children with more livable and connected school sites as well as better IEQ strategies in their classrooms will have more activity levels, better health metrics, have fewer obesity rates, are more comfortable, and have fewer Sick Building Syndrome (SBS) symptoms than those with poorer connected schools and in classrooms with poor IEQ metrics. A corollary hypothesis is whether LEED credits related to sustainable sites, energy and Atmosphere, and indoor environmental quality could also play a role in explaining the number of SBS symptoms and body mass index dis- parities related to poor IEQ conditions and poor activity levels of children in both elementary and middle schools. This is an objective to answer and quantify a long debated hypothesis regarding the importance of green schools and LEED credits earned on the triple bottom line impacts for people, profit, and planet. This paper reports on a comprehensive multi-year comparative study evaluating the performance of 16 LEED and non- LEED schools in the Pacific Northwest. For the first systematic study of this scale, we assessed LEED credits earned of schools, land use and site variables, transportation patterns, indoor environmental quality together with their impact on school's resource operations data, carbon expenditure, obesity rates, activity levels of children, health, and human per- formance. To control for organizational and economic variables, the comparative pairs of LEED/non-LEED schools were matched to control for climatic, organizational, as well as socio-economic disparities between schools within the same dis- tricts. The paper will report on the findings from a statistical correlational model of performance data across the 16 com- parative schools (8 LEED and 8 non-LEED), impact of LEED credits achieved, as well as lessons learned in design, construc- tion, and operation of green schools to deliver evidence-based strategies for green schools of the future.


Developing active and stable oxygen evolution catalysts is a key to enabling various future energy technologies and the state-of-the-art catalyst is Ir-containing oxide materials. Understanding oxygen chemistry on oxide materials is significantly more complicated than studying transition metal catalysts for two reasons: the most stable surface coverage under reaction conditions is extremely important but difficult to understand without many detailed calculations, and there are many possible active sites and configurations on O* or OH* covered surfaces. We have developed an automated and high-throughput approach to solve this problem and predict OER overpotentials for arbitrary oxide surfaces. We demonstrate this for a number of previously-unstudied IrO2 and IrO3 polymorphs and their facets. We discovered that low index surfaces of IrO2 other than rutile (110) are more active than the most stable rutile (110), and we identified promising active sites of IrO2 and IrO3 that outperform rutile (110) by 0.2 V in theoretical overpotential. Based on findings from DFT calculations, we pro- vide catalyst design strategies to improve catalytic activity of Ir based catalysts and demonstrate a machine learning model capable of predicting surface coverages and site activity. This work highlights the importance of investigating unexplored chemical space to design promising catalysts.


Oxygen permeability through the tubular La0.7Ca0.3Fe0.85 Co0.15O3-δ perovskite membrane prepared by thermoplastic extrusion was measured in the temperature range from 800° to 1040°C in an air/argon gradient, and compared with the oxygen permeability of planar membranes prepared by injection molding and cold isostatic pressing. Oxygen flux through the perovskite membranes was controlled by bulk diffusion of oxygen and was not limited by surface exchange reactions. The oxygen flux through perovskite membranes normalized to 1mm wall thickness at 900°C μmol (cm2s)-1. The activation energy of oxygen diffustion was 128 kJ mol -1. The tubular membrane was tested in a reactor for partial oxidation of methane for more than 1900h. The oxygen flux decreased gradually during the test from 1.5 to 1 μmol (cm2s)-1. The methane conversion could be adjusted to 83%-88%, with the CO selectivity in the same range. After the test, a degradation of the perovskite structure of the membrane was observed. A possible mechanism for the phase degradation and segregation was proposed.


This thesis examines predictability and seasonality in the cross-section of stock returns. The first chapter, titled ``Infrequent Rebalancing, Return Autocorrelation, and Seasonality,'' shows that a model of infrequent rebalancing can explain specific predictability patterns in the time series and cross-section of stock returns. First, infrequent rebalancing produces return autocorrelations that are consistent with empirical evidence from intraday returns and new evidence from daily returns. Autocorrelations can switch sign and become positive at the rebalancing horizon. Second, the cross-sectional variance in expected returns is larger when more traders rebalance. This effect generates seasonality in the cross-section of stock returns, which can help explain available empirical evidence. The second chapter, titled ``Seasonalities in Anomalies,'' investigates return seasonalities in a set of well-known anomalies in the cross-section of U.S. stocks returns. A January seasonality goes beyond a size effect and strongly affects most anomalies, which can even switch sign in January. Both tax-loss selling and firm size are important in explaining the turn-of-the-year pattern. Return seasonality exists outside of January, with respect to the month of the quarter. Small stocks earn abnormally high average returns on the last day of each quarter, which significantly affects size, idiosyncratic volatility, and illiquidity portfolios. The results have implications for the interpretation and analysis of many anomalies, such as asset growth and momentum. The third chapter, titled ``The Cross-Section of Intraday and Overnight Returns,'' uses a thirty-year sample of U.S. stock returns to document substantial cross-sectional variation in returns over the trading day and overnight. Market closures have a large impact on returns. Small and illiquid stocks earn high average returns in the last thirty minutes of trading. In contrast, large and liquid stocks perform poorly at this time. I find support for institutional and information asymmetry theories. But these theories do not fully explain the cross-sectional evidence. Portfolios based on other characteristics, such as beta and idiosyncratic volatility, earn their return gradually throughout the trading day–contrary to the market and a benchmark based on random portfolios. These portfolios also tend to incur large negative returns overnight, consistent with mispricing at the open.


A wireless sensor network (WSNs) technology determines physical properties of the environment through detection of unusual events. The sensor consists of small mini computers powered by batteries and use radio communication for the exchange of information it gathers. The sensors are able to collect the data and exchange the information with all the nodes that were affected and triggered during the event detection. Although the technology has been in use for a period of time it has been noted that there is lateness of the event detection by the technology. Therefore the essence of this paper is to describe the factors affecting the lateness detection of events by WSNs. From the experiment it is evident that varying distance of the sensor nodes to the base station and the transmission power affect the packet data transmission efficiency and thus lateness detection of events. Power level at 5 dBm (maximum level) ensures 90% of the event detected is communicated effectively to the base station whereas minimum power level at -10 dBm allows ineffective detection of events. At -10dBm the base station node could not detect a transmitted data packet at distances beyond 30 feet. Thus the application of any sensor node with the transmitting power at -10 dBm will only be effective at the distance less than 10ft. Therefore, distance of the sensor nodes and the transmission power of the WSNs affect the data packet delivery performance and hence lateness of event detection.


Plant communities in the north are being profoundly altered by climate warming, but our understanding of the extent and outcomes of this ecosystem shift is limited. Although we assume local vegetation changes will affect avian communities, few data exist to investigate this relationship. In an interior Alaska boreal forest ecosystem, this study capitalized on available resources to assess simultaneous change in plant and avian communities over 35 years. I quantified biological change in summer avian community data (species composition, diversity, and richness) and in vegetation using archived field data, and supplemented this data with remote sensing observations for a similar time period to assess the validity of this method for documenting environmental change. Field and remote sensing data both documented successional changes resulting in denser, more coniferous-dominated habitats. Birds responded accordingly, which indicates a rapid avian response to habitat change and that they are good indicators of environmental change. Information gained provides more accurate evaluations of habitat dynamics throughout the interior boreal forest and highlights the importance of considering successional change in all long-term climate studies. It allows for better predictions of future habitat change and acts as a strong baseline for future environmental monitoring.


On New Year's Day 2011, I flew to Lagos to research human trafficking in Nigeria. Towards the end of my trip, I visited a small town called Badagry, about a two-hour drive west of Lagos. In 1502, Portuguese colonists built one of the first slave-trading posts along the coast of West Africa in this city. The non-descript, two-story building still stands today as a museum, but for more than 300 years, it was one of the most active slave-trading outposts in West Africa. Estimates are that almost 600,000 West Africans were shipped from Badagry to the Americas to be agricultural slaves. That figure represents approximately one in twenty of all slaves transported from West Africa to the Americas during the entire time of the North Atlantic Slave Trade. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] It was a haunting experience walking through the old slave-holding pens, gazing at the iron shackles, imagining the fear and terror that must have coursed through the veins of slaves as they awaited their fates. Like so many millions today, those 600,000 individuals transported from Badagry to the Americas were victims of human trafficking. In fact, all 12 to 13 million of the West African slaves transported across the Atlantic to the Americas were victims of human trafficking. While their lengthy journeys at sea are very different from the journeys of most human trafficking victims today, the purpose of those journeys remains the same: the callous exploitation of the labor of vulnerable people in order to maximize profit. The Nature of Slavery Today However, unlike the agricultural and domestic slaves of the past, today's victims of modern-day slave trading are exploited in countless industries, and they are vastly more profitable. Whether for commercial sex, construction, domestic work, carpet weaving, agricul ture, tea and coffee, shrimp, fish, minerals, dimensional stones, gems, or numerous other industries that I have investigated, human trafficking touches almost every sector of the globalized economy in a way it never has before. Understanding the reasons for this shift in the fundamental nature of human trafficking is vital if more effective efforts to combat it are to be deployed. The key thesis to understand is that the slave exploiter's ability to generate immense profits at almost no real risk directly catalyzed the pervasiveness of all forms of contemporary slave labor exploitation. One point is crucial to establish from the start--slavery still exists. But what exactly is "modern slavery?" There is still considerable debate regarding the definition of terms such as "slavery," "forced labor," "bonded labor," "child labor," and "human trafficking." With "slavery," we can go as far back as the League of Nations Slavery Convention of 1926 and the International Labor Organization's Forced Labor Convention of 1930. These early definitions focused on the exercise of power attaching to a right of ownership over another human being. Over the decades, international conventions and jurisprudence relating to slavery shifted away from targeting actual rights of ownership toward the nature of the exploitation, particularly as it involves coercion (physical or other), nominal or no compensation, and the absence of freedom of employment or movement. The term "forced labor" has generally come to replace the term "slavery," given the powerful historical and emotional connotations of the latter term. Similarly, "human trafficking" has come to replace the term "slave trade." [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] It is open to debate whether these terminological substitutions are helpful, but when it comes to "human trafficking," I believe the use of this term has done considerable disservice to the tactical prioritization required to combat these crimes more effectively. Definitions of the term "human trafficking," such as that found in the United Nations Protocol to Prevent, Suppress, and Punish Trafficking in Persons (the Palermo Protocol of 2000) or the US Trafficking Victims Protection Act (TVPA, of the same year), have historically suffered from a greater focus on the movement connotation of the term "trafficking" rather than the exploitation involved. …


This paper describes wastewater treatment optimization studies performed on an industrial wastewater generated in Boston, Massachusetts, USA. The manufacturing plant generates hexavalent chromium [Cr(VI)] wastewater as a result of chromating brass, bronze and copper parts produced in the manufacturing operations. The facility utilizes a continuous flow treatment train, involving segregated Cr(VI) reduction with sodium metabisulfite (Na 2 S 2 O 5 ) under acidic conditions, followed by combined wastestream two-stage pH adjustment, metals precipitation, and clarification before discharge to the municipal sewer. The objectives of the studies were to define and evaluate critical parameters, such as pH and oxidation reduction potential (ORP) for hexavalent and total chromium control and to perform treatability studies to optimize the performance of the wastewater treatment plant (WWTP). The treatability studies included Cr(VI) reduction versus Na 2 S 2 O 5 dosage evaluations and corresponding chromium reduction kinetic studies, and trivalent chromium hydroxide precipitation. The Cr(VI) reduction experiments and chromic hydroxide precipitation studies were performed for three different wastewaters collected from within the manufacturing process; a high, typical, and dilute strength wastewater.


We present a new three-dimensional inventory of the southern San Francisco Bay area faults and use it to calculate stress applied principally by the 1989 M = 7. 1 Loma Prieta earthquake and to compare fault seismicity rates before and after 1989. The major high-angle right-lateral faults exhibit a different response to the stress change than do minor oblique (right-lateral/thrust) faults. Seismicity on oblique-slip faults in the southern Santa Clara Valley thrust belt increased where the faults were unclamped. The strong dependence of seismicity change on normal stress change implies a high coefficient of static friction. In contrast, we observe that faults with significant offset (>50-100 km) behave differently; microseismicity on the Hayward fault diminished where right-lateral shear stress was reduced and where it was unclamped by the Loma Prieta earthquake. We observe a similar response on the San Andreas fault zone in southern California after the Landers earthquake sequence. Additionally, the offshore San Gregorio fault shows a seismicity rate increase where right-lateral/oblique shear stress was increased by the Loma Prieta earthquake despite also being clamped by it. These responses are consistent with either a low coefficient of static friction or high pore fluid pressures within the fault zones. We can explain the different behavior of the two styles of faults if those with large cumulative offset become impermeable through gouge buildup; coseismically pressurized pore fluids could be trapped and negate imposed normal stress changes, whereas in more limited offset faults, fluids could rapidly escape. The difference in behavior between minor and major faults may explain why frictional failure criteria that apply intermediate coefficients of static friction can be effective in describing the broad distributions of aftershocks that follow large earthquakes, since many of these events occur both inside and outside major fault zones.


Nutraceutics are well-known for the individuals anxious to attenuate the impact of aging and mitigate the adverse effects of unhealthy lifestyle. Plant-based bioactive compounds are known to offer many health benefits. The objective of this study was to characterize selected phytochemicals and assess antioxidant capacity from citrus processing by-product. Processing waste from different varieties of citrus (oranges, grapefruit and musami) was utilized for the antioxidant indices for extraction with ethanol, methanol and water. The highest antioxidant potential in the form of TPC (206.53±6.82 mg GAE/100 g), flavonoids (83.06±2.74 mg/100 g), DPPH (62.80±2.07 µmole TE/g), ABTS (10.35±0.34 µmole TE/g) and FRAP (18.54±0.61 µmole TE/g) were found in grapefruit ethanolic extract, followed by oranges and musami peel extract. The highest ascorbic acid content (51.3±1.6 mg/100g) was observed in orange peel followed by that in grapefruit and musami peel extracts. On the basis of antioxidant profiling the ethanolic extract of each variety was quantified through HPLC that showed the highest concentration of hesperidin and nobiletin in grape fruit extract as 28.51 and 9.92 mg/g, respectively followed by oranges (24.96 and 7.31 mg/g) and musami (21.38 and 6.08 mg/g) extract.


Abstract. This paper shows how the exposure of the Moon to the Earth's plasmasheet is subject to decadal variations due to lunar precession. The latter is a key property of the Moon's apparent orbit around the Earth – the nodes of that orbit precess around the ecliptic, completing one revolution every 18.6 years. This precession is responsible for a number of astronomical phenomena, e.g. the year to year drift of solar and lunar eclipse periods. It also controls the ecliptic latitude at which the Moon crosses the magnetotail and thus the number and duration of lunar encounters with the plasmasheet. This paper presents a detailed model of those encounters and applies it to the period 1960 to 2030. This shows that the total lunar exposure to the plasmasheet will vary from 10 h per month at a minimum of the eighteen-year cycle rising to 40 h per month at the maximum. These variations could have a profound impact on the accumulation of charge due plasmasheet electrons impacting the lunar surface. Thus we should expect the level of lunar surface charging to vary over the eighteen-year cycle. The literature contains reports that support this: several observations made during the cycle maximum of 1994–2000 are attributed to bombardment and charging of the lunar surface by plasmasheet electrons. Thus we conclude that lunar surface charging will vary markedly over an eighteen-year cycle driven by lunar precession. It is important to interpret lunar environment measurements in the context of this cycle and to allow for the cycle when designing equipment for deployment on the lunar surface. This is particularly important in respect of developing plans for robotic exploration on the lunar surface during the next cycle maximum of 2012–2019.


Recent research has shown that in both developed and emerging market economies, the labour share of national income has exhibited a declining trend since the 1980s. Research investigating the problem of high unemployment in the South African economy has inferred that this problem arises partly because of past and current socio-political conditions, low rates of economic growth, labour market rigidities, globalisation and institutional arrangements. As the labour absorption capacity is rather low, many people are unable to earn an income from an engagement in the formal labour market. This is likely to have implications for the relative distribution share of labour and capital in the country's national income. However, no recent published research has investigated this phenomenon in the South African context. Thus, this paper attempts to shed some light on the problem. Using yearly data from 1946 to 2013, the study employs the Kalman filter methodology within the standard Cobb-Douglas production function framework to investigate how labour and capital shares as well as total factor productivity have been behaving in this period. The results indicate that the share of total income going to labour has decreased over the long run, while that of capital has increased. Specifically, the share of capital increased from 3.1% in 1980 to 12% in 2013, while that of labour decreased from 91% to 83%. This reflects a rising income inequality and concentration of wealth, with output and income generation shifting to technological- or capital -intensive production requiring more skilled labour, a trend also observed in certain other countries.


This paper reviews some of the recent studies on international capital flows with a focus on the role of European global banks. It presents a revision to the commonly held "global saving glut" view that East Asian economies (along with oil-rich nations) were the dominant suppliers of capital that fueled the asset price boom in many parts of the world in the early 2000s. It argues that the role of funding costs and a "liberal" regulatory regime that allowed for an unprecedented expansion of the balance sheets of European banks was no less important. Finally, we describe the aftermath of the crisis in terms of some of the challenges faced by Europe as a whole and European banks in particular.


The study sought to explore the status of microbial contaminants in street vended food and the incubatory carriers among street food vendors conducted in Mbeya City in 2014. The questionnaires and observation checklists were administered whereas, bacteriological examination of stool specimen and food were collected from 96 street food vendors. The results showed that 21 (27%) out of 78 of food samples collected and five out of 25 stool specimens were found with food borne disease pathogens. Some of the pathogens are not only among the top ten least wanted food borne diseases but also some vendors were convalescent carrier and multidrug resistant. The pathogens include Escherichia coli O157: H7, Staphylococcus aureus, Salmonella Typhi and Salmonella Typhimurium. The results showed that 70% of respondents had formal primary education, 27% had secondary school education, 1% had university education suggesting that majority of vendors never had basic knowledge on food safety training to better understand the concept of the food safety in relation to microbial contamination in food and human health carriers. The results of microbial quality of the food demonstrated that the food vendors had to offer unsafe food to their clients. The study identified infrastructure, food equipment, and casual helpers, presence of pests, holding temperature for food and storage, weak regulatory systems as a gap in Mbeya City Council. The outcome of this study can serve as a baseline data for management and improvement of the street food safety based on study area.


A topological insulator (TI) is a type of quantum material that is insulating in the bulk but metallic on the surface. Due to the unique spin properties of the surface electrons, TIs have attracted much interest for their potential applications in spin-based electronics and quantum computers. Even more exotic effects occur when TIs are brought in contact with magnetic materials. This thesis represents a study of two-layer thin films consisting of the TI Bi2Se3 and the magnetic insulator EuS using a nonlinear optical technique called second harmonic generation (SHG) imaging. SHG imaging can probe the crystal and magnetic structure at the surfaces and interfaces of inversion symmetric materials. At the interface between the EuS and Bi2Se3 layers, magnetic domains are expected to form. The domain boundaries are predicted to host chiral edge states, which are dissipationless currents that flow in one direction around a domain. Using SHG imaging, our goal was to visualize the magnetic domains in this magnetic topological insulator system. Even though we have yet to observe any evidence of magnetic domains in this material, we also performed SHG imaging on monolayer MoS2 and were able to visualize distinct crystal grains. Our SHG imaging setup that was improved upon during this thesis has the potential to reveal information about other interesting quantum materials.


With the rise of social networks, "Twitterized" attention spans, and new forms of video content, the techniques that worked in crafting attention-grabbing, clickable, and actionable online copy a few years ago are simply not as effective today. Thoroughly revised, the third edition of "Web Copy That Sells" gives readers proven methods for achieving phenomenal success with their online sales and marketing efforts. They will learn to: use psychological tactics that compel Web surfers to buy; create effective, highly-targeted Facebook ads; test copy to maximize response; write online marketing video scripts that sell; craft compelling copy for interactive advertising banners; produce high-converting video sales letters; and more. Proven and practical, "Web Copy That Sells" shows how to quickly turn lackluster sites into "perpetual money machines," streamline key messages down to irresistible "cyber bites"...and ensure that Web copy, e-mail, and marketing communications pack a fast, powerful-and sales generating-punch.


Not long ago, Professor Cass Sunstein and his co-authors lamented that our legal culture lacks "a full normative account of the relationship between retributive goals and punitive damages." This Article offers that full normative account-through a theory of "retributive damages" as intermediate sanctions. Under the retributive damages framework, when people defy legal obligations the state has imposed to protect the rights and interests of others, the state may either seek to punish them through traditional criminal law or make available the sanction of retributive damages, which would be credited against any further criminal sanctions imposed by the state for the same misconduct. Accompanied by an intermediate level of procedural safeguards, retributive damages statutes would empower private parties to act on behalf of the state to seek the imposition of what is in effect a civil fine determined largely by the reprehensibility of the defendant's misconduct. The base amount of the fine would assess a percentage of the defendant's wealth (or net value for entities) that increases with the reprehensibility of the defendant's misconduct, an assessment informed by guidelines and commentary provided by the state. The total retributive damages award should also include gain-stripping amounts, if any, in excess of compensatory damages, as well as lawyers' fees and a modest and fixed award for the plaintiff for bringing the matter to the public's attention. These payments (to the state, the plaintiff, and the lawyers) together constitute a sensible way to structure the aspect of extra-compensatory damages designed to advance the public's interest in retributive justice.After offering some background on punitive damages and how retributive justice differs from other rationales for punitive damages (such as optimal deterrence or victim vindication), the Article describes the structure of retributive damages and clarifies the comparative advantages of retributive damages vis-a-vis other remedies and mechanisms. Finally, the Article defends the retributive damages framework against possible constitutional objections. Importantly, the account here not only answers Sunstein's challenge, but also promises to make sense of the Supreme Court's recent and somewhat puzzling holding in Philip Morris USA v. Williams, i.e., that juries may not calculate punitive damages by considering the amount of harm caused to nonparties to the litigation.A draft of a companion article, How Should Punitive Damages Work? (forthcoming 157 U. Pa. L. Rev. 2009), which focuses on procedural safeguards and some implementation issues, can be found here: http://ssrn.com/abstract=1260019.


In this thesis we study near-horizon geometries of extreme black holes. We first consider stationary extreme black hole solutions to the Einstein-Yang-Mills theory with a compact semi-simple gauge group in four dimensions, allowing for a negative cosmological constant. We prove that any axisymmetric black hole of this kind possesses a near-horizon AdS2 symmetry and deduce its near-horizon geometry must be that of the abelian embedded extreme Kerr-Newman (AdS) black hole. We show that the nearhorizon geometry of any static black hole is a direct product of AdS2 and a constant curvature space. We then consider near-horizon geometry in Einstein gravity coupled to a Maxwell field and a massive complex scalar field, with a cosmological constant. We prove that assuming non-zero coupling between the Maxwell and the scalar fields, there exists no solution with a compact horizon in any dimensions where the massive scalar is non-trivial. This result generalises to any scalar potential which is a monotonically increasing function of the modulus of the complex scalar. Next we determine the most general three-dimensional vacuum spacetime with a negative cosmological constant containing a non-singular Killing horizon. We show that the general solution with a spatially compact horizon possesses a second commuting Killing field and deduce that it must be related to the BTZ black hole (or its near-horizon geometry) by a diffeomorphism. We show there is a general class of asymptotically AdS3 extreme black holes with arbitrary charges with respect to one of the asymptoticsymmetry Virasoro algebras and vanishing charges with respect to the other. We interpret these as descendants of the extreme BTZ black hole. However descendants of the non-extreme BTZ black hole are absent from our general solution with a nondegenerate horizon. We then show that the first order deformation along transverse null geodesics about any near-horizon geometry with compact cross-sections always admits a finite-parameter family of solutions as the most general solution. As an application, we consider the first order expansion from the near-horizon geometry of the extreme Kerr black hole. We uncover a local uniqueness theorem by demonstrating that the only possible black hole solutions which admit a U(1) symmetry are gauge equivalent to the first order expansion of the extreme Kerr solution itself. We then investigate the first order expansion from the near-horizon geometry of the extreme self-dual Myers-Perry black hole in 5D. The only solutions which inherit the enhanced SU(2) × U(1) symmetry and are compatible with black holes correspond to the first order expansion of the extreme self-dual Myers-Perry black hole itself and the extreme J = 0 Kaluza-Klein black hole. These are the only known black holes to possess this near-horizon geometry. If only U(1) × U(1) symmetry is assumed in first order, we find that the most general solution is a three-parameter family which is more general than the two known black hole solutions. This hints the possibility of the existence of new black holes.


Aim: This study aims to estimate the frequency of sharp injuries among the post-graduate and undergraduate dental students and evaluate their knowledge regarding the needle-stick/sharp injuries, proper handling and disposal of sharp waste. Methodology: A written questionnaire containing questions regarding frequency of sharps injury, source of injury, status of immunisation and knowledge regarding handling and disposal of sharps waste was personally distributed to the participants and collected on the same day. Informed consent was obtained from the participants, and the purpose of the study was explained to them. The data obtained was statistically analysed. Percentage distribution of responses for Bachelor of Dental Surgery (BDS) and Master of Dental Surgery (MDS) students was recorded. Furthermore, the comparison of responses for BDS and MDS was analysed using the t-test. Chi-square test was used to find the significance difference between responses by BDS and MDS students. Results: The results of the present questionnaire study revealed that 38.5% (10/26) post-graduate students and 37.2% (16/42) undergraduate respondents had a history of sharps injury (P = 0.917). Most common reason for the injury among post-graduates was recapping of needles 84.6% (22/26) followed by endodontic instruments 11.5% (3/26) and use of probes/explorer 3% (1/26). Among the undergraduates, the most common source of injury was again recapping of needles 97.7% (42/43), followed by endodontic instruments 2.3% (1/43). Conclusion: Both undergraduates and post-graduates reported with history of sharps injury, though the difference among them was not significant. Needle-stick or sharps injury can prove to be fatal, and as dental students have an early clinical exposure, they should be trained early in their curriculum regarding correct disposal and handling of sharps.


Introduction: An arteriovenous malformation (AVM) is an abnormal collection of blood
vessels in which arterial blood flows directly into the draining vein without the normal
interposed capillaries. The Spetzler-Martin grading system has been widely accepted
worldwide to estimate the pretreatment risks and predict the outcome of patients with
intracranial AVM. In Malaysia, we still do not have the baseline data of this grading
system. Methods: A total of 33 patients from a tertiary referral hospital diagnosed with
intracranial AVM based on neuroimaging findings over a 4-year period were studied. Medical
records were traced and neuroimaging findings were analysed. The AVMs were graded
according to the Spetzler-Martin grading system and Fisher's exact test was used to assess
statistical difference between the grades of the AVM and management plan for the patients.
Results: Four patients were graded as Grade 1, 9 patients as Grade II, 10 patients as
Grade III, 6 patients as Grade IV and 4 patients as Grade V. Ten patients were treated
conservatively; six patients underwent surgery and embolisation respectively. Four patients
underwent radiosurgery and a combination of embolisation while surgery and radiosurgery
were given to 5 patients and 2 patients respectively. Statistically significant difference
(p=0.016) was found between the Spetzler-Martin grading system and the management of
intracranial AVMs. Conclusion: The management decision was not made based on the
grading of the AVMs. It is recommended that all AVM patients be routinely graded according
to this system prior to treatment.
Keywords: Intracranial arteriovenous malformation,


In this article, Professor Herrmann argues that the due process protections of a criminal trial should apply to aggravating factors that under current "maximum-enhancing statutes" allow judges to impose lengthier punishments in the sentencing phase. Part I considers the Supreme Court's rationale for refusing to apply full due process safeguards to all types of sentencing schemes. This background will reveal the unique quality of maximum-enhancing statutes and establish why the due process protections of a criminal trial should apply to sentencing under maximum-enhancing statutes. Part I, therefore, undertakes to explain courts' rationales to deny criminal defendants full criminal due process under discretionary sentencing, mandatory minimum sentencing, and guideline sentencing. Part II focuses on maximum-enhancing statutes. It isolates and analyzes the courts' rationales for denying criminal defendants full criminal due process under them. Part II argues that no convincing rationale justifies reduced due process for minimum-enhancing statutes, no matter what one's views of the due process reasoning underlying other sentencing structures. Part III will argue that, if courts applied full criminal due process protection to maximum-enhancing factors, it is unlikely that legislatures would try to avoid the safeguards by artful drafting of criminal statutes. The Article will conclude that courts should apply the full protections appropriate to a criminal trial to findings that enhance a maximum sentence.


Purpose: The main object of this study is to identify the main factors which cause the acceptance or rejection of technology by the users. Methodology: In the present study; the results of studies conducted in the mentioned field were analyzed using statistical methods. The method applied in the current study was meta-analysis. In this study, all studies done in the mentioned field have been searched from three citation databases of ISI, Scopus and ISC, based on the presence of keywords TAM and Technology Acceptance Model in titles, abstracts, keywords, texts and references. For meta-analysis of the studies, means and standard error of variables in the studies were collected and their significance level was measured with the use of means differences. Then, based on tests applied in the studies, the effects size of the variables was calculated based on Hedges approach. Also, Cohen approach was used for their interpretation. Findings: Totally, 164 researches had the property of measuring the effect size. Given the obtained results, twenty-one-dimensional variables with different values are effective in the technology acceptance in environments and based on the type of samples in the studies. Given that all main variables in Davies model had high means and high effect size, it can be concluded that components of Davis' Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) are still considered as the ideal components in this field. Originality/Value: The article have a new methodology to technology acceptance or rejection causes.


Obesity-induced inflammation is a key component of systemic insulin resistance, which is a hallmark of type 2 diabetes. A major driver of this inflammation/insulin resistance syndrome is the accumulation of proinflammatory macrophages in adipose tissue and liver. We found that the orphan GPCR Gpr21 was highly expressed in the hypothalamus and macrophages of mice and that whole-body KO of this receptor led to a robust improvement in glucose tolerance and systemic insulin sensitivity and a modest lean phenotype. The improvement in insulin sensitivity in the high-fat diet-fed (HFD-fed) Gpr21 KO mouse was traced to a marked reduction in tissue inflammation caused by decreased chemotaxis of Gpr21 KO macrophages into adipose tissue and liver. Furthermore, mice lacking macrophage expression of Gpr21 were protected from HFD-induced inflammation and displayed improved insulin sensitivity. Results of in vitro chemotaxis studies in human monocytes suggested that the defect in chemotaxis observed ex vivo and in vivo in mice is also translatable to humans. Cumulatively, our data indicate that GPR21 has a critical function in coordinating macrophage proinflammatory activity in the context of obesity-induced insulin resistance.


After being in service for ten years, two admiralty brass heat-exchanger tubes from a cooler in a refinery catalytic reforming unit cracked circumferentially in the area of U-bends. A blunt transgranular cracking with minimal branching propagating from the inside surface of the tube was revealed by metallography which was typical of cracking by corrosion fatigue mechanism. Corrosion deposits on both the inside- and outside-diam surfaces were found in the tubes. The presence of copper, zinc, iron, and small amounts of chloride, sulfur, silicon, tin, and manganese was revealed by energy-dispersive analysis of the deposits. It was interpreted by the hardness values (higher than typical for annealed copper tubing) that the tubes may not have been annealed after the U-bends were formed and thus the role of residual stresses in the crack was revealed. It was concluded that the tubes failed by corrosion fatigue initiated by pitting at the inside-diam surface. The tubes were recommended to be annealed after bending to reduce residual stresses from the bending operation to an acceptable level.


This paper explores the extent to which Knightian uncertainty can explain features of interest rate paths observed in practice that are not generally replicated by models of optimal monetary policy. Interest rates tend to move in a sequence of steps in a given direction, or remain constant for some time, rather than experiencing the frequent reversals that commonly arise from optimal policy simulations. We categorise the types of uncertainty that have been explored to date in terms of the decision-making behaviour they imply. From this, we suggest a more intuitively appealing formulation of Knightian uncertainty than the one that has previously been used in the analysis of monetary policy. Within a very simple optimal control problem, we show that our preferred formalisation is consistent with interest rate paths with periods of no change. This suggests that the presence of Knightian uncertainty may explain some features of monetary policy-makers' behaviour.


Ever since the proposed 1996 WIPO-treaty on the legal protection of database failed the sui generis right granted for non-original databases was considered a peculiar oddity in the European Union. Even though several proposals on database-protection have been debated in the US both on the federal and state level (see HR 354 of January 1999, HR 1858 of May 1999, HR 3261 of October 2003 and HR 3872 of March 2004 as well as Georgia Bills from 2001 and 2003), a strong lobbying effort from research facilities, libraries and Internet search engine providers has prevented any law from coming into effect. This paper not only describes the major advantages of the European directive and its implementation in Germany, but also attempts to identify specific flaws and propose future changes. The first half of the paper tries to distinguish databases from other protected works. The criteria of vertical and horizontal independence are suggested as a means to distinguish between (single) multimedia-creations and (dividable) database-elements. Special focus is given to open source software which is developed in collaboration but controlled by a single individual. In addition to a detailed analysis and explanation of both the copyright-provisions and the sui generis right of Directive 96/6 EG and their respective implementation in Germany, the paper also looks into other means of protection like misappropriation, unfair competition and patents. The second part focuses on the effectiveness of the current exceptions carved into the rights for the benefit of third parties. The discussion focuses on the most recent ECJ-decisions (IMS Health, Fixtures Marketing, British Horseracing Board). Special attention is also given to the interrelation between the Database-Directive and the recent Harmonization-Directive which increases protection by allowing for non-circumventable technical measures. The paper concludes that it is highly questionable whether the current exceptions (as interpreted by the courts) sufficiently address the worries opponents bring up against similar legislation in other countries. Unlike copyright-law which is shaped by a mixed bag of well-established limitations, the lack of experience in protection of non-original works has lead to a system unlikely to balance the interests of the creator and the public. It is especially worrisome that the directive effectively privileges online-content over content distributed on tangible media. It is also questioned, whether states should be able to get database-protection (but no copyright) on public registers in the light of the constant move to further transparency.


Subjective judgments, an essential information source for science and policy, are problematic because there are no public criteria for assessing judgmental truthfulness. I present a scoring method for eliciting truthful subjective data in situations where objective truth is unknowable. The method assigns high scores not to the most common answers but to the answers that are more common than collectively predicted, with predictions drawn from the same population. This simple adjustment in the scoring criterion removes all bias in favor of consensus: Truthful answers maximize expected score even for respondents who believe that their answer represents a minority view.


ABSTRACT Using a metagenomics approach, we have cloned a piece of environmental DNA from the Sargasso Sea that encodes an [NiFe] hydrogenase showing 60% identity to the large subunit and 64% to the small subunit of a Thiocapsa roseopersicina O2-tolerant [NiFe] hydrogenase. The DNA sequence of the hydrogenase identified by the metagenomic approach was subsequently found to be 99% identical to the hyaA and hyaB genes of an Alteromonas macleodii hydrogenase, indicating that it belongs to the Alteromonas clade. We were able to express our new Alteromonas hydrogenase in T. roseopersicina. Expression was accomplished by coexpressing only two accessory genes, hyaD and hupH, without the need to express any of the hyp accessory genes (hypABCDEF). These results suggest that the native accessory proteins in T. roseopersicina could substitute for the Alteromonas counterparts that are absent in the host to facilitate the assembly of a functional Alteromonas hydrogenase. To further compare the complex assembly machineries of these two [NiFe] hydrogenases, we performed complementation experiments by introducing the new Alteromonas hyaD gene into the T. roseopersicina hynD mutant. Interestingly, Alteromonas endopeptidase HyaD could complement T. roseopersicina HynD to cleave endoproteolytically the C-terminal end of the T. roseopersicina HynL hydrogenase large subunit and activate the enzyme. This study refines our knowledge on the selectivity and pleiotropy of the elements of the [NiFe] hydrogenase assembly machineries. It also provides a model for functionally analyzing novel enzymes from environmental microbes in a culture-independent manner.


A fluorescence-based method to measure an absolute two-photon emission cross section is reported in which we measured the absolute fluorescence power using a commercial luminance meter. An analytical expression between the average fluorescence power and the average pump power is derived. The expression is valid for any arbitrary-shaped pump-laser profile. It was also found that the origin of deviation of fluorescence intensity from expected quadratic dependence on pump power is thermal in nature. The method is used to measure the absolute two-photon-excited (TPE) emission cross section of Rhodamine 6G at an 800-nm excitation wavelength. The measured TPE emission cross section at 800 nm is ηδ=(36±6)× 10-50 (cm4/s)/photon. Within experimental error, the result obtained with this method is quite close to the previously reported TPE cross section obtained with the fluorescence method.


Excess nutrients from agriculture in the Mississippi River drainage, USA have degraded water quality in freshwaters and contributed to anoxic conditions in downstream estuaries. Consequently, water quality is a significant concern associated with conversion of lands to bioenergy production. This study focused on the Arkansas‐White‐Red river basin (AWR), one of five major river basins draining to the Mississippi River. The AWR has a strong precipitation gradient from east to west, and advanced cellulosic feedstocks are projected to become economically feasible within normal‐to‐wet areas of the region. In this study, we used large‐scale watershed modeling to identify areas along this precipitation gradient with potential for improving water quality. We compared simulated water quality in rivers draining projected future landscapes with and without cellulosic bioenergy for two future years, 2022 and 2030 with an assumed farmgate price of $50 per dry ton. Changes in simulated water quantity and quality under future bioenergy scenarios varied among subbasins and years. Median water yield, nutrient loadings, and sediment yield decreased by 2030. Median concentrations of nutrients also decreased, but suspended sediment, which is influenced by decreased flow and in‐stream processes, increased. Spatially, decreased loadings prevailed in the transitional ecotone between 97° and 100° longitude, where switchgrass, Panicum virgatum L., is projected to compete against alternative crops and land uses at $50 per dry ton. We conclude that this region contains areas that hold promise for sustainable bioenergy production in terms of both economic feasibility and water quality protection.


Jeffrey Eugenides's epic novel Middlesex raises the overarching questions of how a comprehensive understanding of selfhood can be gained and to what extent the construction of a coherent identity by means of language is possible. In his attempt to make conclusive sense of his self, Cal, the intersexual narrator and protagonist of the novel, takes refuge in the idea that constructing a narrative identity will lead to self-coherence. While this wish for unity is understandable from a psychological perspective, a poststructuralist approach to Middlesex shows that Cal's endeavour to fix selfhood in narrative ironically results in making it even more indeterminate. Narratives continually and inevitably communicate with pre-existing texts which results in the constant deferral of their final meaning, and narratives are revealed to be incapable of providing a definite selfhood. Middlesex shows that the primary aim is not the achievement of a coherent self but rather the constructive process of telling the narrative. The novel thus reformulates the concept of narrative identity in terms of constant, ultimately open-ended performance.