The past is a foreign country; they do things differently there...Imagine you could travel back to the fourteenth century. What would you see, and hear, and smell? Where would you stay? What are you going to eat? And how are you going to test to see if you are going down with the plague? In The Time Traveller's Guide...Ian Mortimer's radical new approach turns our entire understanding of history upside down. History is not just something to be studied; it is also something to be lived, whether that's the life of a peasant or a lord. The result is perhaps the most astonishing history book you are ever likely to read; as revolutionary as it is informative, as entertaining as it is startling.


State renewables portfolio standards (RPS) have emerged as one of the most important policy drivers of renewable energy capacity expansion in the U.S. Collectively, these policies now apply to roughly 40% of U.S. electricity load, and may have substantial impacts on electricity markets, ratepayers, and local economies. As RPS policies have been proposed or adopted in an increasing number of states, a growing number of studies have attempted to quantify the potential impacts of these policies, focusing primarily on projecting cost impacts, but sometimes also estimating macroeconomic and environmental effects. This report synthesizes and analyzes the results and methodologies of 28 distinct state or utility-level RPS cost impact analyses completed since 1998. Together, these studies model proposed or adopted RPS policies in 18 different states. We highlight the key findings of these studies on the costs and benefits of RPS policies, examine the sensitivity of projected costs to model assumptions, assess the attributes of different modeling approaches, and suggest possible areas of improvement for future RPS analysis.


The possibility of control of efficiency of different factors of high voltage electric discharge (HVED) impact on Ti – Al – С powders system for aimed synthesis of dispersion-hardening components is shown. Nanolaminate-composite Ti3AlC2 – TiC with hardness of HV5 = 7 GPa, obtained by consolidation of blend of 85 % Ti + 15 % Al initial composition after HVED with the use of multi-point electrode system has needle structure of Ti3AlC2 (a = 0.3068 nm, c = 1.844 nm) with size up to 10 μm, and TiC dispersion-hardening phase (a = c = 4.4331 nm) with particle size no more than 1 μm is situated between grains of Ti3AlC2. Dynamic strength of specimens depending on electrode system used during HVED treatment of blend variated in range from 160 to 620 MPa, Young modulus – from 13 to 22 GPa at deformation rate from 600 to 900 s–1. Material has high levels of heat resistance, relative change of mass is no more, than 0.001.


In this paper, we propose combined relay selection and cooperative beamforming schemes for physical layer security. Generally, high operational complexity is required for cooperative beamforming with multiple relays because of the required information exchange and synchronization among the relays. On the other hand, while it is desirable to reduce the number of relays participating in cooperative beamforming because of the associated complexity problem, doing so may degrade the coding gain of cooperative beamforming. Hence, we propose combined relay selection and cooperative beamforming schemes, where only two of the available relays are selected for beamforming and data transmission. The proposed schemes introduce a selection gain which partially compensates for the decrease in coding gain due to limiting the number of participating relays to two. Both the cases where full and only partial channel state information are available for relay selection and cooperative beamforming are considered. Analytical and simulation results for the proposed schemes show improved secrecy capacities compared to existing physical layer security schemes employing cooperative relays.


Perennial ryegrass (Lolium perenne) is the major pasture grass in New Zealand but is highly susceptible to take-all disease, caused by the root-rot pathogen Gaeumannomyces graminis (Gg). Isolates of the fungus Trichoderma atroviride are known to control Gg but it is not known if a mixture of isolates would be more effective than individual ones. Soil from a field naturally infested with Gg was placed in containers in a glasshouse and sown with ryegrass seeds then treated with one of three Trichoderma atroviride isolates or a mixture of all three isolates. All T. atroviride treatments significantly increased shoot dry matter by 46–73% and root dry matter by 42–62% compared with the control but a mixture of isolates was no more effective than individual isolates. Application of T. atroviride also significantly decreased root disease severity, which was negatively correlated with root dry matter. Takeall in pastures could possibly be controlled by overdrilling grass with a single isolate of T. atroviride.


This paper addresses an inventory routing problem in vendor managed inventory systems with explicit consideration of buffer stock levels at warehouses. The problem involves a manufacturer delivering a product to a set of warehouses with available fleet capacity with the objective of minimising transportation and inventory costs. We have developed an integer linear programme (ILP) and proposed a hybrid heuristic for the problem. In the proposed heuristic, inventory is allocated using an ILP, vehicles are allotted to customers on the basis of proximity and routes for vehicles are determined using simulated annealing. The proposed heuristic is validated with different datasets and found to be performing well.


The human histamine H1 receptor (H1R) is an important, well characterized target for the development of antagonists to treat allergic conditions. Many neuropsychiatric drugs are known to potently antagonize the H1R, thereby producing some of their side effects. In contrast, the tolerability and potential therapeutic utility of H1R agonism is currently unclear. We have used a cell-based functional assay to evaluate known therapeutics and reference drugs for H1R agonist activity. Our initial functional screen identified three ergot-based compounds possessing heretofore-unknown H1R agonist activity. 8R-lisuride demonstrated potent agonist activity in various assays including receptor selection and amplification technology, inositol phosphate accumulation, and activation of nuclear factor-kappaB with pEC50 values of 8.1, 7.9, and 7.9, respectively, and with varying degrees of efficacy. Based on these assays, 8R-lisuride is the most potent stereospecific partial agonist for the human H1R yet reported. Investigation of the residues involved in histamine and lisuride binding, using H1R mutants and molecular modeling, have revealed that although these ligands are structurally different, the lisuride-binding pocket in the H1R closely corresponds to the histamine-binding pocket. The discovery of a potent stereospecific partial H1R agonist provides a valuable tool to further characterize this important therapeutic target in vitro.


The United States Supreme Court's decision in Turner v. Roger created a stir in the civil-right-to-counsel and access-to-justice communities. A unanimous Court ruled that there was no categorical right to counsel under the Due Process Clause in a civil contempt case based on failure to pay child support, even where the contemnor faced incarceration. The majority nonetheless found that South Carolina's procedures violated due process. Some commentators decried the Court's refusal to recognize a categorical right to counsel, while others praised that decision. Some focused on the promising implications, from an access-to-justice perspective, of the majority's decision to recognize that the question of appointment of counsel is tied to the fairness of the underlying procedures. Others feared that the decision might foreshadow a rollback in the number of civil proceedings in which states currently recognize a right to counsel. The responses suggest that, while the decision represents a civil-right-to-counsel "loss," it might well represent an access-to-justice "win."Despite the presumptive importance of a Supreme Court decision, the trends that form Turner's backdrop are likely to have far greater impact on a civil right to counsel and access to justice than the decision itself. The Supreme Court infrequently addresses these issues, while state courts, state legislatures, and state access to justice commissions regularly grapple with the flood of unrepresented litigants in the courts. Whether Turner proves to be a watershed or a footnote, the success of access-to-justice initiatives, including an expanded civil right to counsel, will likely be determined in other arenas.This article begins by describing Turner, the access-to-justice backdrop against which Turner was decided, and scholarly responses to the decision. The article next revisits a comprehensive access-to-justice strategy I have articulated elsewhere that is consistent with the logic of Turner. The three-pronged strategy involves (1) expanding the roles of the key players in the court system to promote meaningful access, (2) utilizing an array of assistance programs short of full representation by counsel, paired with rigorous evaluation of the programs to identify the scenarios in which they can sufficiently protect the interests at stake, and (3) an expansion of a civil right to counsel where the lesser steps cannot afford meaningful access. Because the true meaning of Turner will emerge only over time, the success of the access-to-justice initiatives that formed Turner's backdrop will be more likely than the Turner decision itself to achieve the goal of meaningful access. The article illustrates the way in which progress on an array of initiatives, consistent with all three prongs of the comprehensive strategy, is underway. The article concludes with observations and questions that are implicit in Turner but which must be articulated and answered to help assess whether those without counsel can receive meaningful access to justice in the courts in the post-Turner world. While the solutions depend on the coordinated efforts of many actors in the public and private sectors, the courts themselves, as Turner suggests, must play a crucial role.


The fast growth experienced by the field of lithium‐ion capacitors (LICs) in the last five years led to tremendous progress in this technology. However, the authors have observed some parallelism with its ultracapacitor (UC) sister technology, where an over‐rapid growth in the last decade resulted in a loss of focus and the need of several tutorials for reconducting incorrect reporting habits. In the light of what may be coming, the authors aim to set this work as a direction to the scientific community and the new researchers in the field to serve as i) a retrospective analysis of the original target for LICs to prevent focus deviation and ii) a guideline for proper LIC design and assembly toward high energy, high power, and long cycle life, as well as for correct electrochemical characterization and reporting. The underlying thread throughout this report is the technology behind the frontrunner LIC ULTIMO, a reference device in the market that presents 3–4 times the energy density of an UC and can stand over 1 million cycles, unraveled by means of ante‐mortem analysis.


Typically, autonomous cars optimize for a combination of safety, efficiency, and driving quality. But as we get better at this optimization, we start seeing behavior go from too conservative to too aggressive. The car's behavior exposes the incentives we provide in its cost function. In this work, we argue for cars that are not optimizing a purely selfish cost, but also try to be courteous to other interactive drivers. We formalize courtesy as a term in the objective that measures the increase in another driver's cost induced by the autonomous car's behavior. Such a courtesy term enables the robot car to be aware of possible irrationality of the human behavior, and plan accordingly. We analyze the effect of courtesy in a variety of scenarios. We find, for example, that courteous robot cars leave more space when merging in front of a human driver. Moreover, we find that such a courtesy term can help explain real human driver behavior on the NGSIM dataset.


Recent International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor (ITER) Model Coils and tests on Nb/sub 3/Sn Cable in Conduit Conductors (CICC) showed a significant and unexpected increase in the broadness of the transition to the normal state, resulting in degradation of superconducting properties. To investigate these phenomena, two CICC samples were built with identical 144 strand cables but different conduit materials. One sample had titanium conduit with low coefficient of thermal expansion, the other had stainless steel conduit. The purpose of this experiment was to study changes in strand properties in the cable (critical current, current sharing temperature, n-value), the effects of cycling and high electromagnetic load, and the effect of the conduit on the CICC performance.


Background
Numerous evidence-based pharmacologic and behavioral approaches exist for the treatment of tobacco dependence. Short-message service texting is a newer modality which shows promise, but smokers' perspectives on texting have not been widely explored.

Objective
To use a qualitative research approach to elicit from a sub-sample of participants in a pilot clinical trial their perspectives concerning the feasibility, acceptability, and personal relevance of a publicly available texting program for smoking cessation.

Methods
Adult smokers enrolled in the intervention arm in a randomized trial of tobacco treatment were interviewed by telephone. Consenting subjects engaged in a 15-30min semi-structured interview with a trained research assistant, discussing their experience with and attitudes about the texting program and how it affected their tobacco use. Interviews were audio-recorded, transcribed verbatim, and analyzed thematically. Descriptive statistics were calculated for the 16 Likert-formatted items.

Results
Of 30 subjects in the intervention arm, 25 (83%) agreed to participate in the qualitative interviews. In general subjects found the program helpful. Common themes were that the texts served as a form of social support, provided useful strategies to reduce tobacco use, validated subjects' attempts to quit, and offered welcome distractions from cravings. Subjects were satisfied with the frequency, timing, and number of texts, although some improvements were suggested.

Conclusions
Texting was perceived as feasible, acceptable, and helpful in smokers' attempts to abstain from tobacco.

Implications
The major themes identified included the program being a valued source of external support that provided useful strategies to reduce tobacco use. Subjects were satisfied with the frequency, timing, and number of texts. Texting was perceived as feasible, acceptable, and helpful in smokers' attempts to abstain from tobacco. Suggestions to improve the program primarily concerned increasing customizable options and using simple, declarative sentences.


When I realised that I would be writing an editorial in the week in which the Court of Justice of the European Union (ECJ) was delivering its judgment in a vigorously contested trade mark infringement suit brought by the world's largest cosmetics and beauty products company against the world's largest internet auction and sales host, I at first assumed that I would be writing a commentary on the substantive law, explaining how it would affect that relative positions of trade mark owners, sellers of genuine and infringing goods bearing their trade marks, internet service providers and consumers. As it turns out, there is no real need to do so. The judgment reiterated both the existence of a privileged immunity from liability of internet service suppliers and the conditions which they must fulfil in order to enjoy that immunity; it confirmed the jurisprudence relating to trade mark infringement which it has articulated in a series of decisions stretching back to its Google France rulings in March 2010 (16 months is a long time in internet law; this ruling now seems to belong to the distant past); it also left a set of answers shorter and easier to understand than the raft of questions on which it was asked to give its preliminary ruling. The really interesting thing about this case is not the ruling but the circumstances in which businesses trade. Non-European readers of this journal may need a short explanation of the role of the ECJ in the field of intellectual property. European Union law on trade marks, copyright, database rights, designs and plant varieties is largely harmonized between the 27 formerly autonomous countries of the Union. To ensure consistency as between those countries in the application of harmonized IP rules, national courts may refer questions regarding ambiguities and uncertainties inherent in those rules to the ECJ for a preliminary ruling. Once that ruling is given, the national court which referred the questions now has its answers and can get on with judging the dispute before it. Additionally, in the case of pan-European rights such as the Community trade mark and registered Community designs, the ECJ serves as a top-tier court of appeal: this function is exercised in respect of both procedural and substantive law. As a system, the referral of questions for a response works well in theory. ECJ rulings are binding on all national courts, inferior Community courts and tribunals. They ensure that, as far as possible, the same rules are interpreted and therefore applied consistently across a vast, multilingual and multicultural single market. But does the theory work in practice? The reference of questions for preliminary rulings is not a novel notion, dating back to the ECJ's foundation in 1952. In that year, postwar Europe was still striving to rebuild shattered local and national economies. The creation of a single market consisting of even the original six countries—only three of which were of any real size—was an almost unimaginably ambitious goal, a far cry from the global markets for goods and services we take for granted today. Never mind computers: most households didn't even have a telephone or a refrigerator. It was a slow-moving world by modern standards. It was a world in which the interruption of litigation for around two years (the average time now taken for a preliminary ruling to be delivered) was, if not welcomed, certainly tolerated. Fast-forward to 2011 and globalisation—though still far from uniform—has become the accepted means of implementing business strategies, not least through the internet. When enterprises like L'Oreal and eBay trade, their daily turnover is vast (at the outbreak of their dispute, L'Oreal's annual sales were a little short of US$ 20 billion; those of eBay were 'only' US$ 7.7 billion). What is more, this litigation was viewed by many as a test case since L'Oreal was by no means the only company that considered eBay was not taking adequate care to avoid infringing sales, and eBay is certainly not the only company hosting online sales, as the emergence and rapid growth of Alibaba has shown. When all the other questions are answered, one remains. Should the ECJ's procedures be amended to provide a truly rapid response when legal issues arise, or is it better to let the parties adjust their commercial activities to lessen the risk of disaster in a market in which, two years down the line, they may be either the substantial winners or the losers in the wake of a ruling which they can seek to influence but cannot control? Journal of Intellectual Property Law & Practice, 2011, Vol. 6, No. 10 EDITORIAL 671


Abstract The objective of the paper was to determine the costs of production and production effectiveness of pellets made of sawdust and characteristics of logistics of raw material carriage and distribution of pellets. The scope of the paper covered the research carried out in the branch of DREWEX company located in Chotelek town (Świętokrzyskie voivodeship, Province of Busko Zdrój). Unit costs of pellets production were: 513.4 PLN∙t−1 for option 1, 423.3 PLN∙t−1 for option 2 and 393.3 PLN∙t−1 for option 3. The most favourable was option 3 when the pellets were produced on the technology line in the 3-shift system day and night. The average distance to seven cities from which sawdust was delivered was 43.6 km and the distance to which production was distributed to ten cities was on average 105.5 km.


Various methods have been proposed for enhancing the contrast of laser speckle contrast image (LSCI) in subcutaneous blood flow measurements. However, the LSCI still suffers from low image contrast due to tissue turbidity. Herein, a physicochemical tissue optical clearing (PCTOC) method was employed to enhance the contrast of LSCI. Ex vivo and in vivo experiments were performed with porcine skin samples and male ICR mice, respectively. The ex vivo LSCIs were obtained before and 90 min after the application of the PCTOC and in vivo LSCIs were obtained for 60 min after the application of the PCTOC. In order to obtain the skin recovery images, saline was applied for 30 min after the application of the PCTOC was completed. The visible appearance of the tubing under ex vivo samples and the in vivo vasculature gradually enhanced over time. The LSCI increased as a function of time after the application of the PCTOC in both ex vivo and in vivo experiments, and properly recovered to initial conditions after the application of saline in the in vivo experiment. The LSCI combined with the PCTOC was greatly enhanced even in deep vasculature. It is expected that similar results will be obtained in in vivo human studies.


This paper builds on a research project exploring what secondary school pupils in England should learn in a modern food technology curriculum. The early stages of the research investigated the views of a range of professionals interested in teaching food technology and suggested a framework for a modern food technology curriculum, which would include:
• Designing and making food products;
• Underpinned by an understanding of the science of food, cooking and nutrition;
• Incorporating an exploration of both existing and new and emerging food technologies;
• In the context of sustainable development of food supplies locally, nationally and globally;
• Including an appreciation of the roles of the consumer, the food industry and government agencies in influencing, monitoring, regulating and developing the food we eat. (Rutland, 2009, p5).

The next stages of the project explored the views of a number of stakeholders of the framework. These included initial teacher educators, teachers, providers of professional development courses for design and technology teachers, higher education lecturers, examining bodies concerned with the General Certificate of Secondary Education (GCSE) food technology courses for pupils aged 16 years and the General Certificate of Education (GCE) for pupils aged 18 years and researchers working for the food industry.

This paper presents the findings of an analysis of a small sample of Key Stage 3 (pupils aged 11-14 years) English secondary schools' food technology schemes of work (SoW), against the suggested food technology framework. The framework was elaborated to give more details of the potential content and used to critique the schemes of work based on current practice in the classroom.

The key findings were that to ensure a modern technologically challenging food technology curriculum fit for the 21st Century, Key Stage 3 pupils need a broader and more challenging curriculum. It should teach pupils a wider range of appropriate designing strategies aimed at making design decisions other than aesthetic, such conceptual, technical, constructional or marketing. There should be more attention given to progression and continuity from the primary Key Stage 2 (children aged 7-11 years) in the products the pupils design and make and the scientific and nutritional knowledge and understanding that underpins their work. The pupils should learn about new and existing food technologies, issues related to food sources and sustainability and gain more understanding of themselves as consumers and the role of the food industry and government agencies in their lives.


We report about design, fabrication, and test of a cascadable planar-integrated free-space optical fan-out module that can be used in an optical cross-connect switch for short-haul interconnects. For a 1 x 4 fan-out a coupling efficiency of -11.4 dB per channel was obtained.


This history and analysis of the euro and the European Central Bank traces the process of European monetary integration from its beginnings as a utopian vision in the aftermath of World War II through the establishment of a single currency managed by a central bank. Tommaso Padoa-Schioppa, a central banker who has been involved in the making of European monetary unification since 1979, offers an accessible guide to the euro and the European Central Bank for scholars, students, and the general reader, discussing the related economic, financial, monetary, and international political issues. In the process he also provides an overview of central banking in general and the multiple activities of a central bank; as the case of the European Central Bank illustrates, central banking involves not only monetary analysis and policy but much else, including banknote printing and handling, market operations, payment systems, bank supervision, and coordinating with other public institutions.Padoa-Schioppa begins with the historical background of European monetary integration, starting with the 1957 Treaty of Rome, which lay the foundation for the Common Market, and covering the 1992 Maastricht Treaty, the development of an anchor currency, and the "euroskepticism" of the U. K. Subsequent chapters are devoted to economic policy, monetary policy, the euro as unifier in the financial system, the payment system, the euro as an international actor outside "euroland," and the challenges ahead for the still relatively young project of European monetary integration.


Abstract. Traditional laboratory methods for acquiring soil information remain important for assessing key soil properties, soil functions and ecosystem services over space and time. Infrared spectroscopic modeling can link and massively scale up these methods for many soil characteristics in a cost-effective and timely manner. In Switzerland, only 10 % to 15 % of agricultural soils have been mapped sufficiently to serve spatial decision support systems, presenting an urgent need for rapid quantitative soil characterization. The current Swiss soil spectral library (SSL; n = 4374 ) in the mid-infrared range includes soil samples from the Biodiversity Monitoring Program (BDM), arranged in a regularly spaced grid across Switzerland, and temporally resolved data from the Swiss Soil Monitoring Network (NABO). Given that less than 2 % of the samples in the SSL originate from organic soils, we aimed to develop both an efficient calibration sampling scheme and accurate modeling strategy to estimate the soil carbon (SC) contents of heterogeneous samples between 0 and 2 m depth from 26 locations within two drained peatland regions (School of Agricultural, Forest and Food Sciences (HAFL) data set; n = 116 ). The focus was on minimizing the need for new reference analyses by efficiently mining the spectral information of the SSL. We used partial least square regressions (PLSRs), together with five repetitions of a location-grouped, 10-fold cross-validation, to predict SC ranging from 1 % to 52 % in the local HAFL data set. We compared the validation performance of different calibration schemes involving local models (1), models using the entire SSL combined with local samples (2), commonly referred to as spiking, and subsets of local and SSL samples optimized for the peatland target sites using the resampling local (RS-LOCAL) algorithm (3). Using local and RS-LOCAL calibrations with at least five local samples, we achieved similar validation results for predictions of SC up to 52 % ( R2 = 0.93 to 0.97; bias  =  -0.07 to 1.65; root mean square error (RMSE)  =  2.71 % to 3.89 % total carbon; ratio of performance to deviation (RPD)  =  3.38 to 4.86; and ratio of performance to interquartile range (RPIQ)  =  4.93 to 7.09). However, calibrations using RS-LOCAL only required five or 10 local samples for very accurate models (RMSE  =  3.16 % and 2.71 % total carbon, respectively), while purely local calibrations required 50 samples for similarly accurate results (RMSE   3 % total carbon). Of the three approaches, the entire SSL spiked with local samples for model calibration led to validations with the lowest performance in terms of R2 , bias, RMSE, RPD and RPIQ. Hence, we show that a simple and comprehensible modeling approach, using RS-LOCAL together with a SSL, is an efficient and accurate strategy when using infrared spectroscopy. It decreases field and laboratory work, the bias of SSL spiking approaches and the uncertainty of local models. If adequately mined, the information in the SSL is sufficient to predict SC in new and independent study regions, even if the local soil characteristics are very different from the ones in the SSL. This will help to efficiently scale up the acquisition of quantitative soil information over space and time.


The purpose of this study was to analyze professional, Japanese, female soccer athletes' views on second career development and perceived support from the Women's Empowerment Professional Football League, Japan. This study was underpinned by occupational socialization theory and utilized a qualitative, collective case study design through demographic questionnaires, in-depth face-to-face semistructured interviews, and reflexive thematic analysis. Participants were six current professional soccer players of one professional team of the Women's Empowerment League. Three themes were generated from the data: (a) avoiding washout effects in second career opportunities, (b) the importance of dual-career pathway opportunities, and (c) professional development and second career training. These findings reflected how participants' first career as a professional athlete became ingrained within their identity and shaped future desires and preparations for second careers. They also reflect the difficulty participants experienced balancing a professional athletic career with part-time office work for financial stability as well as planning for a second career linked to soccer. Players expressed a need for second career preparation to be facilitated by their clubs and the Women's Empowerment League, and we provide implications and recommendations to support this work.


In his Graphs, Maps, Trees (2005), based on articles published in the New Left Review, Franco Moretti proposed two types of literary study: 'interpretation', which is text-based; and 'explanation', which focuses on structures of literary production over time. In his book, Moretti concentrates not on textual analysis, but on the 'rise' and 'fall' and 'morphology' of literary genres. In his third chapter, 'Trees', Moretti uses diagrammatic 'evolutionary trees' to explain the 'survival' and 'extinction' of sub-genres of the novel. The marketplace for literature acts as a kind of environment that brings to bear evolutionary pressures: some books succeed because they find an evolutionary 'niche', while others disappear from the literary-historical record. What produces these adaptive morphologies, argues Moretti, is cultural and historical forces: an 'evolutionary' approach is here actually more properly a historical one. This chapter will interrogate this collapse of 'evolution' onto 'history'. In terms of genre, 'evolution' has often been used as a synonym for 'development' or 'history'; alternatively, in another borrowing from the Natural sciences (which Moretti and Steve Neale have both used), a 'life cycle' of a genre. In Graphs, Maps, Trees, Moretti rather curiously excludes one of the major sub-genres, science fiction, on the grounds of its longevity or 'long duration'. As Christopher Prendergast has argued in his NLR response to Moretti, it is precisely 'long duration' that is at issue in using evolution as a model for literary history: the time-scales are not analogous. This chapter will supplement Moretti's arguments by attempting to sketch an 'evolutionary tree' of science fiction, drawing on four critics/ historians of SF: Aldiss, Suvin, Roberts, and Luckhurst. It will also question Moretti's decision to exclude SF when it seems to offer a test-case for generic 'evolution', and will attempt to test whether Moretti's argument holds true for science fiction. In terms of science-fiction world-creation, evolutionary models have often been used by writers imagining other forms of life, or the future of humanity, from Olaf Stapledon's Last and First Men and Star Maker to 2001: A Space Odyssey. This chapter will finally move from models of 'explanation' to 'interpretation' to look at implicit 'evolutionary' models or discourse in the genre, and in the genre histories mentioned above, and to connect Moretti's argument with what Prendergast has called the 'mildly noxious babble' of sociobiology- influenced literary critics such as Joseph Carroll. In a rhetorical manoeuvre to emphasise 'history' (or 'truth' or even 'common sense') at the expense of 'Theory', both Moretti and Carroll manifest a problematic relation between literary study and evolutionary science, in their emphasis on science (however imperfectly translated) as a meta- discourse for literary and cultural analysis.


In 1920, the Czech avant-group Devětsil, led by Karel Teige, put forth a leftist program that embraced a multimedial and transnational approach to art and poetry. This vision was articulated through the group's homegrown -ism, "Poetism," which incorporated principles of Constructivism and Dada. While Poetism's affinities with the former is well-documented, this article introduces more fully Devětsil's engagement with Dada, in print and through performance and dance. It also positions such manifestations not merely as a reflection of Dada tendencies occurring elsewhere, but also as a useful category for thinking in new ways about some of Devětsil's own artistic production and theoretical formulations as related to Poetism. Through a consideration of theoretical texts and artistic production, platformed in Czech avant-garde print, this article both adds to our understanding of the ways in which Poetism was conceived and enacted, and makes explicit Devětsil's intersections with a more global Dada construct.


Ultra-stable cystine knotted microproteins, in which two disulfides and their connecting backbones form a circle that is penetrated by the third disulfide bonds, have attracted high interest due to their resistance to degradation in vitro and potential for the development of peptide drugs. This thesis gives new insights into engineering of that framework of microproteins, including approaches to their chemical synthesis, backbone engineering, structural and biological evaluations. Synthetic and oxidative folding approaches for bracelet cyclotides, a family of cyclic cystine knotted microproteins, was developed using a model peptide, cycloviolacin O2. Following assembly of the peptide chain, protected peptide was generated by mild cleavage that was subsequently thioesterified and cyclized in solution. The cyclic peptide was oxidatively folded under optimized conditions containing co-solvent and non-ionic detergent affording native cycloviolacin O2 as a major product. To gain further insights into the heterogeneity, efficiency and kinetics of cyclotides' oxidative folding, the intermediates that accumulate in oxidative refolding pathways of all cyclotide subfamilies: Mobius, bracelet and the hybrid cyclotides were quantitatively determined under four different folding conditions. The results were used for defining major folding pathways, which indicated that Mobius cyclotides might accumulate heterogeneous folding intermediates with one-, two- and three-disulfides, whereas bracelet tend to accumulate a homogenous intermediate with three-disulfides, depending on the buffer systems used. Furthermore, to probe the internal factors contributing to inefficiency of oxidative folding, as well as undesired bioactivities of bracelet cyclotides (e.g., cytotoxic activity), polymer-hybridized cyclotides were designed by replacing non-conserved residues with small isosteric polymers. The designed hybrid analogs in which hybridization involved replacement of loop 3 with isosteric polymers showed improved synthetic and oxidative folding properties. The cytoxicity of a model hybrid designed with replacement of loop 3 and 5 exhibited no cytotoxic activity at concentration of 128-fold relative to that of native peptide. Furthermore, 1D and 2D 1H NMR analysis of this hybrid showed that it had well structured fold.


Six women aged 31 to 70 years had folate deficiency and neuropsychiatric disorders. The three with acquired folate deficiency were depressed and had permanent muscular and intellectual fatigue, mild symptoms of restless legs, depressed ankle jerks, diminution of vibration sensation in the legs, stocking-type hypoesthesia and long-lasting constipation; D-xylos absorption was abnormal. The bone marrow was megaloblastic in only one patient, and she and one other had atrophy of the jejunal mucosa. The third was a vegan. All three recovered after folic acid therapy. The other three were members of a family with the restless legs syndrome, fatigability and diffuse muscular pain. One also had subacute combined degeneration of the spinal cord and kidney disease but no megaloblastosis; she improved spectacularly after receiving large daily doses of folic acid. The other two also had minor neurologic signs, controlled with 5 to 10 mg of folic acid daily. Unrecognized and treatable folate deficiency (with low serum folic acid values but normal erythrocyte folate values) may be the basis of a well defined syndrome of neurologic, psychiatric and gastroenterologic disorders, and the restless legs syndrome may represent the main clinical expression of acquired and familial (or inborn) folate deficiency in adults.


We demonstrate an integrated 100 GbE receiver optical sub-assembly (ROSA) that incorporates a monolithic four-channel avalanche photodiode (APD) array and a planer lightwave circuit (PLC) based LAN-WDM demultiplexer. A record minimum receiver sensitivity of -20 dBm and 50-km error-free SMF transmission without an optical amplifier have been achieved.


The objective of this research is to participate in improving the quality of education in
the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) by developing the skills of Saudi female science
teachers in writing higher cognitive demand (HCD) questions of exemplary quality. It
is an evaluative study that follows the descriptive method of research design by
depending on a combination of both quantitative and qualitative inquiry. Therefore,
various instruments for collecting data were employed. The sample size of 409
represents all of the female science teachers who work in the girls' schools in the urban
area of Al Ahsa, a city in KSA.

A suggested program called HCD/CAIAT is introduced and the main objective
of the present evaluative research is to examine this project's functional potential to
improve the researched sample related practices. The project includes an innovative
software package, the Computer Aided Item Analysis Technique (CAIAT) designed
purposely for this research in the Arabic language to provide the sample teachers with
the two parameters of classical item analysis that indicate the strengths or weaknesses of
a test question (difficulty and discrimination). This package is introduced through a
training course that also trains the teachers in skills of question construction and
teaching on HCD level. The CAIAT is intended to stimulate the teachers' professional
development (PD) by raising their awareness of the validity of their HCD test items and
encouraging/assisting them to improve their HCD questions over time which is
anticipated to help improve their instruction. This concept of utilising CAIAT for
improving teachers' practices is breaking new ground and establishing a basis for further
development in the field of study.

The main purpose of the research is to answer the following two major
questions. The first is to what extent can the HCD/CAIAT project assist female science
teachers in Saudi schools to improve their ability to analyse their test questions, so as to
write exemplary HCD test items and to teach at HCD level (Effectiveness dimension)?
And the second is, to what extent could this be reflected in their on-going practice both
for the test construction and for teaching (Adoption dimension)?

The findings have indicated that the sample teachers' prior background in the
researched concepts and skills (HCD and IAT) are limited. However, the effectiveness
dimension findings showed that the teachers have successfully acquired all of the project's abilities/skills: knowledge of HCD concepts, skills of writing HCD
instructional objectives and HCD questions, and using/utilising CAIAT successfully for
assessing their test items. For the adoption dimension, the HCD/CAIAT package was
successful in encouraging the teachers to adopt HCD and IAT which was a result of the
successful role of the CAIAT software in stimulating the teachers' PD for learning (on
their own) how to improve their assessment skills for HCD levels.

Furthermore, the research has identified ten study variables, which are the
teachers' background characteristics, in order to test the statistical significance of their
role in the reported differences amongst the results found for the various aspects
measured by the research data collection instruments. These teachers' characteristics
are: educational qualification, prior training on test construction skills, prior training on
IAT, key stage (intermediate/secondary), level of graduation (GPA/equivalent), years of
experience in teaching, specialisation subject, prior experience in using computers,
possess of a PC at home and ability to use some mainstream software packages.
Statistically, the impact of these variables on the teachers' acquisition or adoption of the
project's concept and skills was found very limited; which supports generalizability of
the research findings. It is recommended that the Ministry of Education (MoE) at KSA
adopt the HCD/CAIAT package in order to encourage all KSA female science teachers
to tackle HCD levels in their instruction and assessment, which is very likely to have a
positive impact on their efforts in teaching thinking and inducing creativity. Ten other
recommendations were also suggested.


Based on a comparison of data from Gilbert (1972) and data collected by the Texas German Dialect Project between 2001–2006 I demonstrate that dative case marking in Texas German has significantly declined over the past 40 years. Applying Trudgill's (2004) model of new-dialect formation to the data I argue that the reduction in dative case is best explained in terms of internal factors, that is, leveling processes taking place in dialect contact situations. I propose that the replacement of the dative by the accusative is triggered by at least three interlaced factors: similarity in phonological form, movement towards unmarked forms (from lexical to structural case), and similarity in semantic contexts.


Seasonal heavy rainfall conditions limit the production of vegetables resulting in short-supply and high prices. Covered structures used to provide protection from the adverse weather conditions during the off-season restrict the preparation of land for cultivation. A minimum or no tillage cultivaion system is desirable for vegetable crops grown under such protective covers. The use of soilless cultivation method of crop production can eliminate the need for land preparation. A soilless cultivation method, the nutrient film technique (NFT) was used for the protected crop production studies. It was found necessary to insulate the NFT system from heat build-up under local hot tropical conditions. The NFT-trough system was developed which effectively reduced heat build-up and suscessfully produced various types of vegetables. The NFT-trough system was found to be of low costs, versatile, easy to use and maintain and allowed immediate replanting of crops thereby increasing productivity in comparison with conventional cropping.


Background: Occupational skin diseases are common and deserve medical attention. Hairdressers are special risky group for skin diseases. Objective: To determine the prevalence of self-reported hand contact dermatitis among female hairdressers in Basrah city. Methods: Sixty one salons in Basrah city center were chosen randomly by using the systematic random sampling technique from a name's list of registered salons in Basrah General Health Directorate. A convenient sample of female hairdressers was chosen from these salons. A special questionnaire form prepared for the purpose of the study was used for collection of data from female hairdressers who agreed to participate in the study by direct interview. Results: A total of 80 female hairdressers were included in the study. Their age ranged between 19 and 65 years old with a median age of 32.5 years. The prevalence of selfreported hand contact dermatitis or eczema among female hairdressers was 31.3%. It was significantly associated with the age and nationality of female hairdressers (P-value = 0.021 and 0.035 respectively). Furthermore, there was significant association between selfreported hand contact dermatitis and personal history of atopy (Pvalue < 0.001) and family history of atopy. (P-value=0.031). Conclusions: The selfreported hand contact dermatitis is fairly common and associated significantly with age of female hairdressers, nationality, personal and family history of atopy. We recommend to enhance occupational health measures for the hairdressers with special alteration in the preventive aspects


Latin America is a multicultural territory with a longstanding mosaic of identities and hybrid cultures (Garcia‐Canclini, 2005) in continuous transformation. A melting pot of distinctive heterogeneity and difference, from the indigenous ancestry blended with European, African, and Asian migrations. Hall (1987) would call it the 'moveable feast', transformed progressively by cultural systems around us, now intensified with globalization. ln recent decades, upheavals in social, economic, and political processes pervaded the region. Military dictatorships, civil wars in Guatemala, Nicaragua, and El Salvador, Argentina's Dirty War, the ongoing armed conflict in Colombia and, more recently, Mexico's violent drug war ‐ to name a few examples ‐ have all had devastating effects. The region is also fraught with relentlessness problems of poverty, socio economic inequality, and exclusion throughout. These are issues that need to be addressed in relation to the region's integration into the global economic and political order. In recent transitions to democratic and neoliberal regimes in the region, particularly during the last decade, the shift to left‐wing progressive governments has been a distinctive feature of South America that have changed the geopolitical, social and economic map. Also, as migration flows have increased across the continent, and European capitals, the boundaries of Latin American cultures have been redrawn (Waisbord, 1998) and the hybridisation process pushed further.


Color is a useful feature for machine vision tasks. However its effectiveness is often limited by the fact that the measured pixel values in a scene are influenced by both object surface reflectance properties and incident illumination. Color constancy algorithms attempt to compute color features which are invariant of the incident illumination by estimating the parameters of the global scene illumination and factoring out its effect. A number of recently developed algorithms utilize statistical methods to estimate the maximum likelihood values of the illumination parameters. This paper details the use of KL-divergence as a means of selecting estimated illumination parameter values. We provide experimental results demonstrating the usefulness of the KL-divergence technique for accurately estimating the global illumination parameters of real world images.


Synthetic gems are superlative examples of crystal growth. Today, industrial and scientific crystal growth is a highly sophisticated endeavor employing a wide range of methods. Many of these have been adapted to grow gems for jewelry use. Most major gemstones have been synthesized, and these products are commercially available around the world, often at a fraction of the cost of a natural gem of comparable size and quality. Distinguishing them from their natural equivalents involves a number of interesting challenges. Inclusions (internal features) observed by microscopy often provide conclusive proof of synthetic origin. When routine testing procedures (refractive index, specific gravity, fluorescence, and internal inclusions) do not provide sufficient evidence, laboratories must employ more advanced analytical instrumentation.


The gut immune system has a key role in the development of autoimmune diabetes, and factors that control the gut immune system are also regulators of beta-cell autoimmunity. Gut microbiota modulate the function of the gut immune system by their effect on the innate immune system, such as the intestinal epithelial cells and dendritic cells, and on the adaptive immune system, in particular intestinal T cells. Due to the immunological link between gut and pancreas, e.g. the shared lymphocyte homing receptors, the immunological changes in the gut are reflected in the pancreas. According to animal studies, changes in gut microbiota alter the development of autoimmune diabetes. This has been demonstrated by antibiotics that induce changes in the gut microbiota. Furthermore, gut-colonizing microbes may modify the incidence of autoimmune diabetes in animal models. Deficient toll-like receptor (TLR) signaling, mediating microbial stimulus in immune cells, prevents autoimmune diabetes, which appears to be dependent on alterations in the intestinal microbiota. Although few studies have been conducted in humans, recent studies suggest that the abundance of Bacteroides and lack of butyrate-producing bacteria in fecal microbiota are associated with beta-cell autoimmunity and type 1 diabetes. It is possible that altered gut microbiota are associated with immunological aberrancies in type 1 diabetes. The changes in gut microbiota could lead to alterations in the gut immune system, such as increased gut permeability, small intestinal inflammation, and impaired tolerance to food antigens, all of which are observed in type 1 diabetes. Poor fitness of gut microbiota could explain why children who develop type 1 diabetes are prone to enterovirus infections, and do not develop tolerance to cow milk antigens. These candidate risk factors of type 1 diabetes may imply an increased risk of type 1 diabetes due to the presence of gut microbiota that do not support health. Despite the complex interaction of microbiota, host, environment, and disease mechanisms, gut microbiota are promising novel targets in the prevention of type 1 diabetes.


This article demonstrates how Cranach the Elder's Schneeberg Altarpiece of 1539, the first evangelical retable, instructs viewers in Lutheran theology and actively perpetuates evangelical public devotional practice. The strategies of the retable's iconography, which derive from Luther's sermons and other writings, explicate Luther's notion of justification by grace through faith.This model of salvation creates a new foundation for the pictorial interpretation of traditional subjects. The Schneeberg Altarpiece establishes a discrete phase of evangelical painting, still bound by devotional forms of late medieval Northern art (the retable) yet departing from the insistent didacticism of the earliest evangelical images known as Law and Gospel. Earlier scholarship has tended to focus on iconography, rendering the Schneeberg Altarpiece secondary to the theology it embodies. This article contends that the Schneeberg Altarpiece actively changes the purpose of religious art.


Introduction Approaches to economic evaluations of stroke therapies are varied and inconsistently described. An objective of the European Stroke Organisation (ESO) Health Economics Working Group is to standardise and improve the economic evaluations of interventions for stroke. Methods The ESO Health Economics Working Group and additional experts were contacted to develop a protocol and a guidance document for data collection for economic evaluations of stroke therapies. A modified Delphi approach, including a survey and consensus processes, was used to agree on content. We also asked the participants about resources that could be shared to improve economic evaluations of interventions for stroke. Results Of 28 experts invited, 16 (57%) completed the initial survey, with representation from universities, government, and industry. More than half of the survey respondents endorsed 13 specific items to include in a standard resource use questionnaire. Preferred functional/quality of life outcome measures to use for economic evaluations were the modified Rankin Scale (14 respondents, 88%) and the EQ-5D instrument (11 respondents, 69%). Of the 12 respondents who had access to data used in economic evaluations, 10 (83%) indicated a willingness to share data. A protocol template and a guidance document for data collection were developed and are presented in this article. Conclusion The protocol template and guidance document for data collection will support a more standardised and transparent approach for economic evaluations of stroke care.


This study revolves around operators defined by conditional expectations and operators generated by random measures. Studies of operators in function spaces defined by conditional expectations first appeared in the mid 1950's by S-T.C. Moy [22] and S. Sidak [26]. N. Kalton studied them in the setting of L,-spaces 0 < p < 1 in [15, 131 and in L1-spaces, [14], while W. Arveson [5] studied them in L2-spaces. Their averaging properties were studied by P.G. Dodds and C.B. Huijsmans and B. de Pagter in [7] and C.B. Huijsmans and B. de Pagter in [lo]. A. Lambert [17] studied their relationship with multiplication operators in C*-modules. It was shown by J.J. Grobler and B. de Pagter [8] that partial integral operators that were studied A.S. Kalitvin et a1 in [2, 4, 3, 11, 121 and the special cases of kernel operators that were, inter alia, studied by A.R. Schep in [25] were special cases of conditional expectation operators. On the other hand, operators generated by random measures or pseudointegral operators were studied by A. Sourour [28, 271 and L.W. Weis [29,30], building on the studies of W. Arveson [5] and N. Kalton [14, 151, in the late 1970's and early 1980's. In this thesis we extend the work of J.J. Grobler and B. de Pagter [8] on Multiplication Conditional Expectation-representable (MCE-representable) operators. We also generalize the result of A. Sourour [27] and show that order continuous linear maps between ideals of almost everywhere finite measurable functions on u-finite measure spaces are MCE-representable. This fact enables us to easily deduce that sums and compositions of MCErepresentable operators are again MCErepresentable operators. We also show that operators generated by random measures are MCE-representable. The first chapter gathers the definitions and introduces notions and concepts that are used throughout. In particular, we introduce Riesz spaces and operators therein, Riesz and Boolean homomorphisms, conditional expectation operators, kernel and absolute T-kernel operators. In Chapter 2 we look at MCEoperators where we give a definition different from that given by J.J. Grobler and B. de Pagter in [8], but which we show to be equivalent. Chapter 3 involves random measures and operators generated by random measures. We solve the problem (positively) that was posed by A. Sourour in [28] about the relationship of the lattice properties of operators generated by random measures and the lattice properties of their generating random measures. We show that the total variation of a random signed measure representing an order bounded operator T, it being the difference of two random measures, is again a random measure and represents ITI. We also show that the set of all operators generated by a random measure is a band in the Riesz space of all order bounded operators. In Chapter 4 we investigate the relationship between operators generated by random measures and MCE-representable operators. It was shown by A. Sourour in [28, 271 that every order bounded order continuous linear operator acting between ideals of almost everywhere measurable functions is generated by a random measure, provided that the measure spaces involved are standard measure spaces. We prove an analogue of this theorem for the general case where the underlying measure spaces are a-finite. We also, in this general setting, prove that every order continuous linear operator is MCErepresentable. This rather surprising result enables us to easily show that sums, products and compositions of MCErepresentable operator are again MCE-representable.


This study investigated predictors of sexual arousal to erotic, rape, and non-sexual violent videotaped stimuli in a sample of 82 undergraduate men. Questionnaire self-report measures of observed parental conflict, conflict tactics practiced in interpersonal relations, coercive sexual behavior, variety of sexual experiences, and frequency of using various forms of pornography, as well as a number of relevant demographic measures like fraternity affiliation, athletic participation, frequency of intercourse, and number of sexual partners, were assessed. These measures were used in analyses that tested relationships among these variables and determined group differences based on dichotomized classification of high and low scores. Subsequently, in the experimental segment of the study, videotaped excerpts from commercial films were presented depicting images of erotica, rape, and non-sexual violence while participants provided a continuous lever~adjusted rating of their perceived sexual arousal and simultaneous continuous physiological measurements were recorded of their penile tumescence. Statistical analyses confirmed the prediction of association between observed aggression and violence and practiced aggression and violence, especially at higher levels. In terms of coercive sexual behavior, one man in five admitted using such tactics to gain sexual access to reluctant partners, and, in fact, this sample included a sizeable number of admitted rapists. When the particular order of presentation of the stimuli was examined, it seemed that prior exposure to both erotic and rape videos seriously degraded the participant's arousal to the violent video that followed. Arousal was most enhanced by prior exposure to the erotic video alone, but collectively, either order of presentation that began with the violent video, without any other sexual or sexually aggressive stimulus prime, resulted in the greatest arousal. Sexual arousal to the rape stimulus was best predicted by the single element of athletic involvement, i.e., membership in varsity teams, especially football or basketball. For non-sexual violent images, the strongest combination of predictors for sexual arousal was the combination of being a varsity athlete, having observed more frequent severe violence between parents, and being younger than the average participant. Implications are evident not only for rape prevention and batterers' programs, but also for the design of family intervention strategies.


Background: Alzheimer's disease (AD) is the most common form of dementia throughout the population. It is a neurodegenerative disorder in which the risk of developing the disease can increase with age. The pathology of AD is closely associated with neuroinflammation. As part of the immune response, neuroinflammation acts as a form of protection. The G-sequestering protein, Thymosin beta 4 (T4), possesses anti-inflammatory properties, and is present in abundance within macrophages. This study aimed to investigate the effect of T4 on the phenotypes of peritoneal macrophages collected from mouse models of AD. In this study, a variety of methods were used to assess the effect of T4 and LPS on macrophage phenotypes in models of AD. These include the collection and isolation of peritoneal macrophages, cell culture, macrophage and antibody treatment, flow cytometry analysis and the corresponding statistics to represent data graphically. The results obtained show that there were minimal effects of T4 on the expression of the M1 (CD80) and M2 (CD23) macrophage phenotypes in AD. Therefore, a more definitive role for the effects of T4 on macrophage phenotypes was not achieved.


Most neural network applications rely on the fundamental approximation property of feedforward networks. Supervised learning is a means of implementing this approximate mapping. In a realistic problem setting, a mechanism is needed to devise this learning process based on available data, which encompasses choosing an appropriate set of parameters in order to avoid overfitting, using an efficient learning algorithm measured by computation and memory complexities, ensuring the accuracy of the training procedure as measured by the training error, and testing and cross-validation for generalization. We develop a comprehensive supervised learning algorithm to address these issues. The algorithm combines training and pruning into one procedure by utilizing a common observation of Jacobian rank deficiency in feedforward networks. The algorithm not only reduces the training time and overall complexity but also achieves training accuracy and generalization capabilities comparable to more standard approaches. Extensive simulation results are provided to demonstrate the effectiveness of the algorithm.


When energy storage is employed to facilitate large-scale integration of intermittent renewable electricity generation, do competitive bulk power markets continue to provide incentives for efficient investment? This essay adds competitively-supplied storage to a Boiteux-Turvey model of an electric power system with two types of periods. In the most interesting, tractable cases of this dynamic model, all efficient points are long-run competitive equilibria, and the long-run equilibrium value of storage capacity minimizes expected system cost conditional on generation capacities. But the analysis here cannot rule out the existence of inefficient equilibria.


Abstract The aim of the research is to obtain preliminary information about the spatial distribution of gamma radionuclides in the soils taken from the Ojców National Park with emphasis on the behaviour of artificial radionuclides, with 137Cs as a representative. The natural radionuclides 40K, 226Ra (uranium series), and 228Th (thorium series), which are considered as background radiation, were also determined. In total, 18 soil samples were collected during the summer periods in 2015-2017, while the sampling points were selected with respect to differences in rainfall and local topography gradient. The method was based on gamma-ray spectrometry performed on high-purity germanium (HPGe) gamma detector (relative efficiency 34%). 137Cs was mostly deposited in the top soil layers, with activity in the range of 27.9÷586.6 Bq·kg-1. We found strong positive correlation of the 137Cs activity with the soil organic matter content, and at the same time, its dependence on the rainfall amount. Consequently, the soil types and local climate can control the spatial distribution of 137Cs on a small spatial scale. The quantity of natural radionuclides was highly similar in all samples with the following mean values: 38.0 Bq·kg-1for 228Th, 33.1 Bq·kg-1for 226Ra, and 479.9 Bq·kg-1for 40K.


Abstract. Redox sensitive iron (Fe) oxyhydroxides participate in the biogeochemical cycling of nutrients and trace metals. Their co-precipitation with organic matter (OM) leads to environmentally relevant OM-Fe associations. The stability of OM in such associations is still uncertain. It has been proposed that OM either increases the stability of the complex against reductive dissolution or enhance the dissolution (both abiotic and biotically) of Fe oxyhydroxides. The OM character, in terms of specific functional groups binding to Fe, could be a critical factor determining the fate and stability of OM-Fe. Here, sediment samples from a vertical profile of a mesotrophic freshwater reservoir were treated using a sequential extraction scheme designed to distinguish Fe oxyhydroxides of different redox reactivity based on dissolution kinetics. To assess the reactivity and stability of the complexes, special attention was payed to the determination of redox active vs. stable fractions of Fe and the corresponding dissolved organic matter (DOM) components sequentially extracted. The quality of the extracted DOM was evaluated using UV-VIS and fluorescence spectroscopy together with the PARAFAC model. A selectivity model was used to ascertain the quality of OM preferentially associated with the different redox stable Fe oxyhydroxides. Accordingly, we found that humic-like substances render the OM-Fe associations redox labile, while non-humic substances enhance the stability of the associations. These findings improve the understanding required for predicting the fate of OM-Fe associations in freshwater sediments with different organic matter sources and characters.


With an increasing prevalence of diabetes, there is a need to risk stratify arthroplasty patients preoperatively and characterize postoperative infections. This study sought to determine if perioperative markers of diabetic control were associated with infection and to further characterize diabetic periprosthetic joint infections (PJI). A retrospective analysis of 506 diabetic patients and 900 nondiabetic patients who underwent primary total hip and knee arthroplasty was performed. In this cohort, an infection rate of 4.7% and 2.0% for diabetic and nondiabetic patients, respectively, was observed. There was no association between infection at 1 year and preoperative hemoglobin A1C or postoperative blood glucose; however, diabetic infections were significantly more likely to be deep (HR = 4.6; p < .001) and present >6 weeks postoperatively (HR = 8.0; p = .001). This study concluded that common markers of glycemic control are not predictive of the increased risk of diabetic PJI and alternative markers should be investigated. (Journal of Surgical Orthopaedic Advances 28(2):127-131, 2019).


One aspect of sustainable agriculture development in industrial nations is a move towards national self-sufficiency in food production. A self-sufficiency indicator (SSI) that complements the Organization for the Economic Cooperation and Development's driving force-state-response framework on which Canada's agri-environmental indicators are based is proposed and demonstrated. A 2001 survey of Canadian household food consumption is analysed to estimate the areal measure of land required for its satisfaction exclusively by domestically produced primary agriculture. Canada is self-sufficient in field crops, which reflects its comparative advantage on the global market. The nation would require about five times the area currently under cultivation to be self-sufficient in fruit production. Vegetables consumed domestically account for just under half the area under cultivation.


In the traditional administrative law paradigm, Congress chooses which agencies it wants to act and delegates policy-making authority to those agencies. The president can supervise the agencies but he cannot select different agencies to act. This Article offers a revision of this conventional understanding of agency selection. It shows that presidents continually select which agencies act by exercising a set of statutory and constitutional powers that the Article refers to as the president's agency selection powers. The Article describes how the president's agency selection powers diversify the president's tool kit for controlling administrative decisions. The Article also rejuvenates a largely forgotten, century-old debate on the desirability of presidential instead of congressional agency selection.


Here we provide a broad overview of the Great Amazon Reef System (GARS) based on the first-ever video surveys of the region. This footage supports four major hypotheses: 1) the GARS area may be six times larger than previously suggested (up to 56,000 km2); 2) the GARS may extend deeper than previously suggested (up to 220 m); 3) the GARS is composed of a greater complexity and diversity of habitats than previously recognized (e.g. reef platforms, reef walls, rhodolith beds, and sponge bottoms); and 4) the GARS represents useful system to test whether a deep corridor connects the Caribbean Sea to the Southwest Atlantic Ocean. We also call attention to the urgent need to adopt precautionary conservation measures to protect the region in the face of increasing threats from extractive oil and gas practices. With less than 5% of the potential area of the GARS surveyed so far, more research will be required to inform a systematic conservation planning approach and determine how best to establish a network of marine protected areas. Such planning will be required to reconcile extractive activities with effective biodiversity conservation in the GARS.


A signaling pathway often activated in cancer cells influences aerobic glycolysis and growth factor receptor expression. Attention has recently focused on special properties of metabolism in cancer cells and the possibility that they might be exploited in cancer therapy. Fang et al. provide new insights that help explain the so-called "Warburg effect" in which cancer cells show increased metabolism of glucose by aerobic glycolysis and also link the signaling pathway mediated by phosphoinositide 3-kinase (PI3K) and the protein kinase Akt to the metabolic changes in cancer cells. The phosphatase PTEN acts as a negative regulator of Akt signaling by reversing the effects of PI3K, and loss of PTEN or activation of Akt occurs commonly in human cancers. Fang et al. noted that ATP hydrolysis was more active in mouse embryo fibroblasts from PTEN knockout animals and identified a factor associated with this effect by biochemical purification and mass spectrometry. As it turned out, the enzyme they isolated, ENTPD5 (ectonucleoside triphosphate diphosphohydrolase 5), did not directly account for the effect. Rather, ENTPD5 hydrolyzes uridine diphosphate to uridine monophosphate in the endoplasmic reticulum in a reaction that supports protein folding and N-glycosylation, an action that makes sense for growing cells in which Akt-stimulated protein synthesis is ongoing. Furthermore, ENTPD5 participates in intertwined biochemical cycles that have a net effect of converting ATP to AMP. Such reduction in ATP concentrations relieves inhibition of the rate-limiting enzyme controlling glycolysis and thus can explain the tendency of cancer cells to escape the usual inhibition of glycolysis resulting from accumulation of ATP. Depletion of ENTPD5 from cancer cell lines caused decreased protein glycosylation and reduced surface expression of receptor tyrosine kinases (because they require high amounts of glycosylation) and caused an ER stress response. Loss of ENTPD5 also inhibited growth of such cells as xenografted tumors when transplanted into mice. The authors, and Israelsen and Vander Heiden in commentary, discuss the implications of the results for understanding the coupling of nutrient status and ATP concentrations with expression of growth-promoting receptors and the possibility that pharmacological inhibition of ENTPD5 might provide an effective anticancer therapy. M. Fang, Z. Shen, S. Huang L. Zhao, S. Chen, T. W. Mak, X. Wang, The ER UDPase ENTPD5 promotes protein N-glycosylation, the Warburg effect, and proliferation in the PTEN pathway. Cell 143, 711–724 (2010). [PubMed] W. J. Israelsen, M. G. Vander Heiden, ATP consumption promotes cancer metabolism. Cell 143, 669–671 (2010). [PubMed]


We propose that the European Union (EU) should be used in citizenship education as a possible vehicle for citizens' influence on issues outside the reach of the nation-state. Citizenship education thus ought to include the EU as an arena for political action and relevant "EU knowledge" ought to be part of the curriculum. Concepts from the German politische Bildung tradition are used to discuss what should be the content of an education aiming at educating young people to (become) democratic citizens and the level of competence required in order to function as a democratic citizen. The "reflecting spectator" is given special attention. Environmental issues are chosen, for three reasons, to show how EU education can be part of citizenship education: the transborder character of environmental problems, the multilevel responsibilities connected to them, and the fact that virtually all European environmental policy is made in, or in close association with, the EU.


Antimalarial drug resistance is a major constraint for malaria control and elimination efforts. Artemisinin-based combination therapy is now the mainstay for malaria treatment. However, delayed parasite clearance following treatment with artemisinin derivatives has now spread in the Greater Mekong Sub region and may emerge or spread to other malaria endemic regions. This spread is of great concern for malaria control programmes, as no alternatives to artemisinin-based combination therapies are expected to be available in the near future. There is a need to strengthen surveillance systems for early detection and response to the antimalarial drug resistance threat. Current surveillance is mainly done through therapeutic efficacy studies; however these studies are complex and both time- and resource-intensive. For multiple common antimalarials, parasite drug resistance has been correlated with specific genetic mutations, and the molecular markers associated with antimalarial drug resistance offer a simple and powerful tool to monitor the emergence and spread of resistant parasites. Different techniques to analyse molecular markers associated with antimalarial drug resistance are available, each with advantages and disadvantages. However, procedures are not adequately harmonized to facilitate comparisons between sites. Here we describe the target product profiles for tests to analyse molecular markers associated with antimalarial drug resistance, discuss how use of current techniques can be standardised, and identify the requirements for an ideal product that would allow malaria endemic countries to provide useful spatial and temporal information on the spread of resistance.


A panel data set covering 145 countries between 1960 and 2010 has been investigated closely by using models of parameter heterogeneity. The Functional Coefficient Model (FCM) introduced by Cai, Fan and Yao (2000) allows estimated parameters of growth determinants to vary as functions of one or two status variables. As a status variable, coefficients depend on the level of development, measured by initial per capita GDP. In a two-dimensional setting, time is used as an additional status variable. At first, the analysis is restricted to bivariate relationships between growth and only one of its determinants, dependent on one or both status variables in a local estimation. Afterwards, the well-known Solow (1956) model serves as a core setting of control variables, while functional dependence of additional explanatory variables is investigated. While some constraints of this modeling approach have to be kept in mind, functional specifications are a promising tool to investigate growth relationships, as well as their robustness and sensitivity. Finally, a simple derivation of FCM called local mean values provides a suitable way to visualize macroeconomic or demographic development patterns in a descriptive diagram.


Abstract The scientific study of myth is dominated by a paradigm that recognizes myth as having been viewed as truthful narrative history by past traditional cultures and yet is considered false or otherwise suspect by the modern scholars who study myth. Although virtually all scholars recognize that myth was of critical importance for traditional cultures, the attempt to elicit scientific reasons for this importance has led to many competing theories, few of which place an emphasis on the validity of myths as representing the product of actual observed historical natural events. This paradox may hinder our understanding of the origins of myth and prevent us from fully appreciating a critical aspect of why myth was so highly valued by past cultures. To set the stage for our examination of the possible natural history core of myth, we discuss briefly the history of the western scientific study of myth, with an emphasis on geological sciences. We then explore the cognitive structure of myth and provide working principles about how the historical information contained in these myths can be transmitted faithfully through successive generations and can be elicited by scientific study. Although recognizing the extreme complexity of myth as a cultural product, our data indicate that a science-based natural history approach can lead to important insights regarding the nature of myth.


The objective of this research was to "investigate, study, analyse, and report conditions under which Syrian "rainfed" wheat farmers live interact and adopt innovations and improved cropping practices. The purpose of this was to help in understanding forces that can influence farmers' decisions to adopt innovations and which influence their adoption behaviour. The research, also, has attempted to develop concepts and methods which have rarely been used before in Syrian conditions.

The recommendations for the policy makers and the Extension organisations in Syria were based on the major findings as well as other findings which were revealed throughout the research.

The study was carried out in the two largest rainfed cropping areas in the country; Aleppo province to the north and Hassakeh province to the east, the sample of farmers was distributed in First Stability Zone (Zone 1) and Second Stability Zone (Zone 2). A total sample of 60 farmers were randomly selected from both areas.

Nine agricultural innovations and improved cropping practices were selected and farmers' adoption behaviour with regard to these innovations and improved practices were investigated. The nine innovations and practices were; "the use of nitrogen", the use of "phosphorus", "following the recommended time of nitrogen application", "the use of improved wheat varieties", "the degree of following the seed renewal for wheat", "the use of herbicides", "the use of pesticides", "the use of sowing machines", and "following the recommended seed bed preparation".

The "Sten Score" method was adopted in order to score the adoption behaviour of farmers for the nine selected innovations and improved cropping practice. The method was modified in order to achieve the best classification of farmers on the basis of their adoption behaviour.

Four major aspects and characteristics were selected, investigated and later were analysed in relation to the adoption behaviour of farmers with regard to the nine selected innovations and improved practices. These aspects and characteristics were Personal and Socio-Economic, Economic and Institutional, Communicational, and Psychological Factors. The study has concentrated on characteristics which usually have been ignored or avoided in past adoption and diffusion research. Special methods have been devised in order to help in measuring these aspects and characteristics.

Special attention was paid to the role of personality and the Self-image of farmers as important aspects affecting their adoption behaviour. Until recently research into farmers' decision making to adopt or reject innovations did not pay attention to the role played by these factors at the time of taking the decision to adopt innovations.

The major findings in Zone 1 revealed that the adoption of innovations and improved practice by farmers were related highly and significantly with farmers' "Self-image", the "availability of credit and cash money" and "having an Extension plot or field demonstration on the farm". The three variables together explain over 70% of the variation in the adoption behaviour of farmers. In Zone 2, the farmers' "Self-image", and the "availability of machinery and equipment on the farm" were found to be the best related variables with the adoption behaviour of farmers. The two variables together explain over 60% of the variation in the adoption behaviour of farmers.

The recommendations for the policy makers and the Extension organisations in Syria were based on the major findings as well as other findings which were revealed throughout the research.


Risk Management Practices of Collegiate Athletic Trainers: An Examination of Policies and Procedures The purpose of this study was to identify and describe (a) risk management practices of collegiate athletic trainers, (b) perceived risk management practices important to the collegiate athletic trainer, (c) risk management responsibilities of the head athletic trainer, and (d) resources utilized by collegiate athletic trainers in the development of a risk management plan. Risk management practices were divided into 13 categories: (a) periodic review, (b) consultation, (c) periodic in-services of policies, (d) periodic inservices for personnel, (e) methods for insuring against loss, (f) participation and consent of athletes, (g) emergencies, (h) care and treatment of injuries and conditions, (i) safety inspection and investigation, (j) supervision, (k) elimination of potential risk, (l) goals and objectives, and (m) administrative responsibilities. Participants were asked to identify the extent to which risk management practices were in writing and operation. Potential resources were separated into six categories: professional position statements, standards of practice, federal regulations, case law, state licensure, and athletic organization medical handbooks. A random sample of 444 (n=444) college athletic trainers was obtained from a population of 5,157 certified members of the National Athletic Trainers' Association who identified an employment setting of university and college. 229 surveys were returned for s response rate of 51%. The study utilized descriptive statistics (frequencies, percentages, means, and standard deviation) and Spearman Rho correlation. Findings suggest collegiate athletic trainers perceive all 13 categories to be important or very important risk management practices for inclusion in a policy and procedure manual. The extent to which athletic trainers engage in risk management practices in written and operation use is inconsistent. Head athletic trainers typically serve as the risk manager and are responsible for creating and implementing the policies and procedures. Utilization of professional position statements occurs more frequently than other available resources, including federal laws and professional standards of practice. College athletic trainers indicate a desire for national standards on policy and procedure development but are not as inclined to have an external accrediting organization regulate the operation of the athletic training facility.


What constitutes justice in cases involving intimate partner abuse has historically been determined not by the person subjected to abuse, but rather an actor within the legal system — a police officer, a prosecutor, an advocate, or a judge — and those individuals most often define justice in terms of what the legal system has to offer. People subjected to abuse may conceive of justice quite differently, however, in ways that the legal system is not well suited to address. For people subjected to abuse who are interested in punishment, whose goals are congruent with the legal system's goals of safety and accountability (as defined by the state), and who are willing to use state based systems, society offers a response: the criminal justice system. Imperfect though that response might be, in theory it meets the justice needs of some people subjected to abuse. For people who are more interested in healing and are willing to work through state systems, society also offers a response, albeit a more limited one: restorative justice. But for those who are not interested in a state-based response, little by way of justice exists for people subjected to abuse. This article seeks to fill that void by suggesting the development of community based forums to deliver justice. In her 2003 article, Battering, Forgiveness and Redemption, law professor Brenda Smith suggested a number of alternative models that might be used to address intimate partner abuse. Building on her work, and recognizing that there are parallels between the experiences of people seeking justice for violations of human rights and people subjected to intimate partner abuse, this article borrows from the structures used to find justice after atrocity, including truth commissions and community-based courts, to flesh out what community-based justice forums to address intimate partner abuse might look like. The article imagines how international human rights processes might productively inform efforts to create new alternatives for finding individualized justice, voice, validation and vindication outside of the criminal justice system and considers the crucial questions that such a radical reimagining of justice provision raises — about the role of the state, the problems of gendered justice, the existence of community, and the provision of resources.


A hugely contentious issue in society today is whether individuals have the right to choose when and how to die. The ethics, legality and morality of euthanasia have been hotly debated in many countries around the world. However, the phenomenon of euthanasia has not just emerged recently, on the contrary a wide ranging and diverse network of events have all played some part in our present day understanding. This paper presents a genealogical analysis, an overview of a Foucauldian 'history of the present', that addresses the issue of how euthanasia has emerged as a possible solution to terminal illness. It examines the conditions present at particular periods of time and a specific, but disorderly collection of incidents that have allowed our present constructions of euthanasia to come about. This focus recognizes the intrinsic relationship between discourse, knowledge and power as the construction of particular discourses of euthanasia that may prevail in our society today, and are accepted as 'common sense,' provide the potential to act in certain ways, while marginalizing alternative practices. This genealogy challenges both the origins and functions of our present day 'knowledge' regarding euthanasia and the assumptions of self-evidence and inevitability that accompany prevailing discourses.


Day-to-day variations in surface air temperature affect society in many ways, but daily surface air temperature measurements are not available everywhere. Therefore, a global daily picture cannot be achieved with measurements made in situ alone and needs to incorporate estimates from satellite retrievals. This article presents the science developed in the EU Horizon 2020–funded EUSTACE project (2015–19,www.eustaceproject.org) to produce global and European multidecadal ensembles of daily analyses of surface air temperature complementary to those from dynamical reanalyses, integrating different ground-based and satellite-borne data types. Relationships between surface air temperature measurements and satellite-based estimates of surface skin temperature over all surfaces of Earth (land, ocean, ice, and lakes) are quantified. Information contained in the satellite retrievals then helps to estimate air temperature and create global fields in the past, using statistical models of how surface air temperature varies in a connected way from place to place; this needs efficient statistical analysis methods to cope with the considerable data volumes. Daily fields are presented as ensembles to enable propagation of uncertainties through applications. Estimated temperatures and their uncertainties are evaluated against independent measurements and other surface temperature datasets. Achievements in the EUSTACE project have also included fundamental preparatory work useful to others, for example, gathering user requirements, identifying inhomogeneities in daily surface air temperature measurement series from weather stations, carefully quantifying uncertainties in satellite skin and air temperature estimates, exploring the interaction between air temperature and lakes, developing statistical models relevant to non-Gaussian variables, and methods for efficient computation.


Concrete has been looked upon as something fixed and unchanging, a generic, nondescript mass, But it demands specific engineering attention. Because many existing concrete studies are outdated, it's time to address today's conditions. There are new products and processes, and such concrete types as admixtures, fly ash, pulverized slag and silica fume are here to stay.


Collecting organizations such as libraries and museums are vehicles for shifting paradigms of knowledge and power. Digital technologies are also implicated with historical transformations in language, society, and culture. To discuss the digital is to engage simultaneously with an impressive array of simulacra, instantaneous communication, ubiquitous media, and global interconnectedness (Cameron & Kenderdine, 2007). Digital cultural heritage can be viewed as a political concept and practice, the relations between communities and heritage institutions as mediated through technologies, the reshaping of social, cultural, and political power in relation to cultural organizations made possible through communication technologies, and the representation and interpretation of digital cultural heritage. The following paper will address each of these concerns, outlining current scholarship on the topic and critically engaging with the content.


The Chernobyl accident, which occurred April 26, 1986, resulted in a large release of radionuclides, which were deposited over a very wide area, particularly in Europe. Although an increased risk of thyroid cancer in exposed children has been clearly demonstrated in the most contaminated regions, the impact of the accident on the risk of other cancers as well as elsewhere in Europe is less clear. The objective of the present study was to evaluate the human cancer burden in Europe as a whole from radioactive fallout from the accident. Average country‐ and region‐specific whole‐body and thyroid doses from Chernobyl were estimated using new dosimetric models and radiological data. Numbers of cancer cases and deaths possibly attributable to radiation from Chernobyl were estimated, applying state‐of‐the‐art risk models derived from studies of other irradiated populations. Simultaneously, trends in cancer incidence and mortality were examined over time and by dose level. The risk projections suggest that by now Chernobyl may have caused about 1,000 cases of thyroid cancer and 4,000 cases of other cancers in Europe, representing about 0.01% of all incident cancers since the accident. Models predict that by 2065 about 16,000 (95% UI 3,400–72,000) cases of thyroid cancer and 25,000 (95% UI 11,000–59,000) cases of other cancers may be expected due to radiation from the accident, whereas several hundred million cancer cases are expected from other causes. Although these estimates are subject to considerable uncertainty, they provide an indication of the order of magnitude of the possible impact of the Chernobyl accident. It is unlikely that the cancer burden from the largest radiological accident to date could be detected by monitoring national cancer statistics. Indeed, results of analyses of time trends in cancer incidence and mortality in Europe do not, at present, indicate any increase in cancer rates—other than of thyroid cancer in the most contaminated regions—that can be clearly attributed to radiation from the Chernobyl accident. © 2006 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.


Incidents illustrating the incendiary capacity of social media have rekindled concerns about the "mismatch" between existing doctrinal categories and new types of dangerous speech. This Essay examines two such incidents, one in which an offensive tweet and YouTube video led a hostile audience to riot and murder, and the other in which a blogger urged his nameless, faceless audience to murder federal judges. One incident resulted in liability for the speaker even though no violence occurred; the other did not lead to liability for the speaker even though at least thirty people died as a result of his words. An examination of both incidents reveals flaws in existing First Amendment doctrines. In particular, this examination raises questions about whether underlying assumptions made by current doctrine concerning how audiences respond to incitement, threats, or fighting words are confounded by the new reality social media create.


An electrothermal fountain is used to heat gas-phase samples in the range of 300 to 400°C in order to observe their near-infrared (NIR) emissions. In conjunction with the fountain, a 1/8-m Ebert monochromator and an uncooled PbS detector are shown to be sufficiently sensitive for recording the NIR fingerprints of CH4, CO2, N2O, and C2H6. At fountain temperatures of approximately 400°C, the molecular emission is confined to the long wavelength NIR region (1600–2500 nm) and yields limits of detection in the range of 4 to 10% v/v (3–10 mg/s). Reproducibilities have relative standard deviations of 3.0%. The calibration curves for the gases examined in this study have small linear dynamic ranges (factors of 2 to 10) and exhibit some degree of upward curvature. Ramifications of the application of NIR molecular emission spectroscopy to the qualitative and quantitative analyses of mixtures are discussed.


While there is significant research and theoretical literature both within Australia and internationally that relates to social work with people of refugee background, there is a lack of empirical research about how direct social work practice is understood and experienced by both people of refugee background and social workers. Using a qualitative phenomenological approach informed by critical and anti-oppressive theories, I aimed to address this significant gap in empirical knowledge by capturing the lived experience of social work practice with people of refugee background.
My research questioned: how direct social work practice with people of refugee background is understood and experienced. Thirty-one participants within Tasmania were recruited through volunteer and snowball sampling and were interviewed using a semi-structured interview. The participants were people of refugee background, social workers who worked with people of refugee background, and, social workers of refugee background. The interviews were thematically analysed. The interview data with people of refugee background revealed both negative and positive experiences of social work practice. Experiencing help and change characterised positive encounters in which social workers were encountered as friends and partners who worked with the strengths of people of refugee background. Negative experiences were characterised by the absence of help, change, friendship and a sense of partnership with the practitioner. Social workers commonly described positive practice as being with people through their personal relationships with clients. Negative practice involved being to people. Such negative practice was unreflective, emphasised professional boundaries and involved regarding people of refugee background as powerless.
Finally, for social workers of refugee background, the cultural exchange experience was the focus of what, for them, comprised positive practice. Cultural exchange was characterised by reciprocity and mutual learning between practitioner and client. Additionally, the professionalisation of social work was described as an obstacle to cultural exchange. The study"s findings highlight the significance for participants of a relational standpoint in direct social work practice with people of refugee background, requiring dialogical practices that were derived from and framed by friendships and partnerships between practitioners and clients. While it is acknowledged that qualitative findings do not easily lend themselves to generalisation, possible implications for practice are that social work needs to contend with how relationships with clients are understood as friendships and developed through reciprocity, dialogue and mutual learning. Further research is warranted to explore how to integrate these findings into the learning and practice of social work with people of refugee background.


Sharp increases in fertilizer and pesticide use throughout the 1960s and 1970s along with generally less attachment to soil particles may result in more widespread contamination of drinking water supplies. The purpose of this study was to highlight the use of agricultural chemicals and their occurrence in groundwater while focusing on the engineering processes available for removing them to acceptable limits for consumers. Through various case studies and field-scale research projects, several different drinking water treatment technologies have been evaluated for their capability removing various groundwater contaminants. Both central treatment and individual household point of entry devices were studied. Treatment options vary depending on the types of contaminants to be removed. Best available technology consists of ion exchange or reverse osmosis for removing nitrates, granular activated C for removing non-volatile synthetic organics, and air stripping for volatile synthetic organics. Since there is no single treatment for all contaminants, a homeowner or individual community will have to evaluate their particular situation and possibly select a treatment scheme or combination of technologies to provide the best cost-effective solution.