The role of party leader ranks high in every standard listing of presidential responsibilities. Yet, as analysts ranging from E. E. Schattschneider(1) to James MacGregor BUMS(2) have demonstrated, in a political system built on a foundation of competing power centers and characterized by traditions of localism, the president's relationship to his party is ambiguous. His is the party's most public face; he generally controls the party's central administrative machinery, the National Committee and its staff; and he usually commands the intraparty respect accruing to one who has won the grand prize in a highly competitive game. He can allocate or withhold patronage to qualified party members and can bestow or withhold the public blessing of his personal prestige. But the president has no statutory power over party members in general or legislators of his party in particular; he cannot regulate entry into the party's legislative caucus. Neustadt writes that the power to lead is the power to persuade.(3) In party matters, the president of the United States leads by persuasion or not at all. For adherents of the doctrine of responsible party government and believers in a strong presidency alike, this poses troublesome questions. How can a political party develop, advocate, or implement a coherent, agenda when the ostensible leader of the organization lacks the explicit ability to reward or punish? What alternate strategies are at the president's command, and how effectively can they be used? This article explores one particular party leadership and discipline-enforcing strategy employed by two icons of the modern Democratic Party, both of whom were advocates (at least in theory and at least part of the time) of party government and both of whom are consistently placed in the ranks of "strong" presidents. Woodrow Wilson and Franklin D. Roosevelt each advocated a progressive agenda, and each was frustrated by the resistance to that agenda by some Democratic members of Congress. Each adopted as one means of response the unusual tactic of intervention in the congressional nominating process to oppose their intraparty foes. Wilson's record in this effort was modestly successful but little noted at the time, or later. Roosevelt's attempt attracted wide attention and is generally regarded as a tactical disaster. I review here the specific actions taken by each president and suggest why they had limited effect or, in Roosevelt's case, may have been counterproductive. My underlying contention is that the rules of the game in American politics--separation of powers, federalism, and, above all, a traditional attachment to the concept of local autonomy--have curtailed the capacity of presidents in general, and these two presidents in particular, to act as effective disciplinarians. Those factors remain significant in the political environment of the late 1990s. Modes of Midterm Involvement Although now common and expected, direct public presidential engagement in midterm elections is a relatively recent phenomenon. Through the first decades of the twentieth century, presidents certainly worked to help their friends and hinder their enemies, but they did so through behind-the-scenes use of power resources.(4) It was not until the postwar years that presidential campaigning became a staple of midterm battles; it is now standard behavior. Dwight D. Eisenhower, John F. Kennedy, and Ronald Reagan all tried to transfer their own popularity to their party's local nominees, and even presidents in political difficulty have toured the country on behalf of their party's candidates. To cite one recent example, in the third week of October 1994, with his approval rating hovering at 40 percent, Bill Clinton went to New York, California, Washington state, and Ohio in a generally fruitless effort to help Democrats running for Congress. But if midterm campaigning for the party is standard behavior, public campaigning within the party--that is, engagement in primary battles--is not. …


Space-based observation can provide vital data about the impact of climate change, as well as serve as an essential tool for monitoring the progress of actions implemented to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. This space-based research can support EU policy on climate change, both domestically and internationally. CEPS researchers Monica Alessi and Christian Egenhofer recommend that the European Union and the member countries of the European Space Agency (ESA) consider expanding the operational capabilities of the ESA to ensure that it has the capacity to produce these valuable data, according to Global Climate Observing System (GCOS) specifications. Such a move would also make a valuable contribution to the international negotiations on climate change and confirm the EU's commitment to fight climate change.


Many of the causal discovery methods rely on the faithfulness assumption to guarantee asymptotic correctness. However, the assumption can be approximately violated in many ways, leading to sub-optimal solutions. Although there is a line of research in Bayesian network structure learning that focuses on weakening the assumption, such as exact search methods with well-defined score functions, they do not scale well to large graphs. In this work, we introduce several strategies to improve the scalability of exact score-based methods in the linear Gaussian setting. In particular, we develop a super-structure estimation method based on the support of inverse covariance matrix which requires assumptions that are strictly weaker than faithfulness, and apply it to restrict the search space of exact search. We also propose a local search strategy that performs exact search on the local clusters formed by each variable and its neighbors within two hops in the super-structure. Numerical experiments validate the efficacy of the proposed procedure, and demonstrate that it scales up to hundreds of nodes with a high accuracy.


Normalizing flows are a promising tool for modeling probability distributions in physical systems. While state-of-the-art flows accurately approximate distributions and energies, applications in physics additionally require smooth energies to compute forces and higher-order derivatives. Furthermore, such densities are often defined on non-trivial topologies. A recent example are Boltzmann Generators for generating 3D-structures of peptides and small proteins. These generative models leverage the space of internal coordinates (dihedrals, angles, and bonds), which is a product of hypertori and compact intervals. In this work, we introduce a class of smooth mixture transformations working on both compact intervals and hypertori. Mixture transformations employ root-finding methods to invert them in practice, which has so far prevented bi-directional flow training. To this end, we show that parameter gradients and forces of such inverses can be computed from forward evaluations via the inverse function theorem. We demonstrate two advantages of such smooth flows: they allow training by force matching to simulation data and can be used as potentials in molecular dynamics simulations.


Xinmade.Com is a platform which based on the crowd sourcing and focused on the product development system. The aim is to help the individual or personal user to transfer the creative ideas to commercial goods, experiencing the creativity. With many people of different roles of investor, customers and idea owner, a project initiator publishes ideas on Xinmade.com. Then the good idea will be developed to a new project after evaluation. Redesign and research will start along with the capital support from investors during the develop process. The aim of online Shop on xinemade.com is to finish the presales process after the product gets the minimum order. Students and young women will be our major customers thus most of promotion should be focus on them. Our products must be full of passion, fashion and outstanding elements. Also these points should be highlighted in our promotions in order to attract our target customers who have particular lifestyle, personality and other values.


Large medium-speed catamarans are currently under
development as a new class of vessel for economically
efficient and more environmentally friendly fast sea
transportation. Their design is based on current highspeed
catamarans to adopt their advantages such as
large deck areas and low wave-making resistance, but
they will operate at lower speeds and carry a higher
deadweight to obtain higher transport efficiency. Transport
efficiency is defined as deadweight carried per
required engine power at a certain speed and a high
value represents low fuel consumption per deadweight
tonnes per distance travelled. Large medium-speed catamarans
will operate at speeds around the main drag
hump, where the highest wave-making drag occurs and
hence this speed range is usually avoided by boat
designers. Therefore, these vessels require guidelines
for their hull form design to efficiently operate in this
generally unfavourable speed spectrum. Computational
fluid dynamics (CFD) tools were investigated to assess
their capability for predicting the vessel drag at model
and full scale in deep and in shallow water. A potential
benefit is avoiding empirical extrapolation methods,
which are required when using towing tank tests to
obtain the drag for the full-scale vessel. For an initial
design space investigation, hull form parameters providing
low drag for catamaran and monohull vessels were
sourced from literature. Based on these findings, a hull
form family was developed with vessel lengths ranging
from 110 m to 190 m for carrying a similar amount of
payload and the hydrodynamic performance was evaluated
at Froude numbers from 0.25 up to 0.49. To provide
more accuracy to the final drag prediction, whilst minimising
analysis resource requirements, a novel full-scale
CFD-based approach was developed. The key advantage
of this method is that the same computational
mesh can be used for model-scale verification and fullscale
prediction, where the desired Reynolds number is
achieved by altering the fluid viscosity. It was verified
using results of model scale experiments of a 98 m
and a 130 m catamaran and validated with results
obtained from sea trial measurements of the 98 m catamaran,
in deep as well as in shallow water. The computational
full-scale simulation approach was found to be
capable of predicting the drag force within 5% of results
derived from full-scale measurements and extrapolated
model test data. In addition it has been shown to correctly
predicting steady and unsteady shallow water
effects, which made this tool suitable for resistance
extrapolation if either the model or full-scale ship sails
in deep, shallow or even transversally restricted water.
Furthermore, the local flow phenomenon of transom
stern ventilation was studied numerically and experimentally.
The feature of the flow in the stagnant zone
past the partially ventilated transom was identified as
a non-shedding squashed horseshoe vortex and the
numerical simulation was capable of accurately predicting
the state of ventilation. Finally, it was found that
the lowest drag can be achieved for catamarans with
demihull slenderness ratios (L/∇1/3) of 11-13. Hulls of
150 m in length provide highest transport efficiency for
speeds of 20-35 knots at a draft of 3.1 m, and 170 m
and 190 m for 3.6 m and 4.1 m vessel draft respectively.
At the lower speeds of this range, a shorter hull may
provide comparable transport efficiency. Finally, when
comparing the results to contemporary large and
fast catamarans carrying equivalent deadweight and
travelling at the same speed, fuel saving up to 40%
can be achieved if a hull of 150 m instead of 110 m
length is used. This demonstrates that large medium-speed
catamaran have the potential to be a fuel-efficient
alternative for a successful future of fast sea
transportation.


We present the results of our participation in four phases of the Southern California Earthquake Center (SCEC) transient detection exercise (Lohman and Murray, 2013). In each phase, a blind test was conducted in which sets of synthetic Global Positioning Systems (GPS) data were released and a deadline set for submission of detection results. For each data set, the presence or absence of transient events was to be determined, and the location and time of each specified. After all submissions were received, the ground‐truth information about any transient signals in the data was released. The synthetic data sets were generated by FAKENET, a software package that produces realistic GPS time series that include secular motion and seasonal signals as well as realistic noise and distributions of missing data (Agnew, 2013). Station locations in the synthetic data set were a subset of GPS installations in the western United States.

In this work, we pursue a purely data‐driven approach to transient detection, rather than one based on an assumption of an underlying physical model. We view this approach as having two important advantages. First, it facilitates the detection of events, which might happen through a previously unknown, but geophysically interesting, physical process or on a previously unknown fault or structure. Second, it enables the detection of events, which have nothing to do with the solid earth but, although not the subject of the SCEC exercise, have scientific or practical merit. These include signals such as those due to atmospheric phenomena as well as signals, which result from hardware faults or failures and software processing glitches.

The four phases of the exercise were conducted over approximately two years. As a result, our approach evolved as we learned from experiences in the initial phases as well as from other ongoing work during that period. The …


The territory covered by this work includes the response to new information in science by adults. A central aim is to shed some light on the problem of how new and more complex knowledge (specifically conceptual knowledge) develops or arises from old and less complex knowledge. This problem has challenged both philosophers and educators for over twenty centuries. The study draws on perspectives from several academic disciplines, in particular from philosophy, science, and sociology, and to a lesser extent from psychology. These disciplines are used in the first part of the thesis to set the context, both for the problem and for the qualitative research approach which tackles it, as well as to review literature that pertains to the field. Among hindrances to learning that are considered, particular attention is given to difficulties encountered with science texts; trials of some experimental approaches to the problems are included. The central research question concerns how adults learning science respond to new information, especially information that conflicts with their existing knowledge. The problem is approached within a constructivist framework using the metacognitive tool of the concept map as a means of tracking the type of learning (deep or surface) that is taking place. Data relating to the type of learning are also produced through questionnaires and interviews from volunteer participants who are pursuing further and higher education courses that include mandatory science components. The results of the study indicate considerable reluctance to abandon what has been learned previously, in favour of new information. Contrary to expectation was the discovery that adults respond to new information with surface learning strategies, placing extensive reliance (initially at least) on memory, whether or not they declare a preference for meaningful learning. There are implications of this discovery for those who plan and deliver short 'refresher' training courses.


Introduction: A large number of womensuffered from the post episiotomy pain and the common method for pain relief is oral non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs. With considering the adverse effects of these drugs, the aim of present study was to compare the effects of lidocaine cream and mefenamic acid capsule on post episiotomy pain.
Methods: This clinical trial was carried out in 2011 on 60 women with singleton pregnancy at 38-42 weeks of gestation who underwent episiotomy. Cases were randomly divided into both groups and received lidocaine cream and mefenamic acid capsule. Data were collected by questionnaire and Visual Analogue Scale. Pain intensity was compared with the first complaint of mother and 6, 12 and 24 hours after the delivery in both groups. Data were analyzed by SPSS software (version 16), t-test and paired t-test. P value less than 0.05 was considered significant.
Results: With the first complaint of women, the mean of pain intensity was 4.92±1.9 in lidocaine group and 4.90±1.5 in mefenamic acid group that was not significant (p=0.20). Mean intensity of post episiotomy pain in two groups receiving lidocaine cream and mefenamic acid capsule were not significant at hours 6 (3.26±1.3 vs. 3.10±1.6, p=0.05), 12 (2.26±1.7 vs. 2.86±1.4, p=0.36) and 24 (1.46±1.2 vs. 1.49±1.2, p=1) after delivery.
Conclusion: The effects of lidocaine cream and mefenamic acid capsule in relief of post episiotomy pain were similar. With considering the side effects of mefenamic acid, lidocaine cream is an appropriate alternative drug in relief of post episiotomy pain.


Nowadays, the automotive sector requires great quality for each product that is produced,
and especially regarding those pieces or parts which need to be reliable and long lasting,
and that require high properties because of their use.
High temperatures, high pressures or constant friction are effects that some pieces in the
engine, for example, have to endure during its working life, which is of around fifteen to
seventeen years.
It is precisely in the automobile's engine where pieces suffer the most aggressive effects,
and therefore, where the fabrication has to be optimized to achieve its goals.
Inside the engine, with its high temperatures, great movement and extenuating friction, the
piston has to find a perfect measurement in roughness in order to avoid arriving to such
aggressive conditions. This is done by maintaining the oil and the fuel separated but
retaining the oil to a certain level to avoid excessive friction piston-cylinder.
Therefore, the study of roughness regarding fabrication of these pieces is extremely
important, and in addition to this, the realization of where it can be improved and where it
cannot.
This paper studies a way of differentiating the various frequencies of a surface profile. First,
it analyses the primary surface properties to figure out what differentiates frequencies within
a sample. Then, it studies which values assigned, regarding the properties, act in a filter to
differentiate frequencies. Finally, it arrives to the conclusion of what is roughness and what
is waviness and their specific properties.


This paper is aimed at studying AEROSIL® R816 nanoparticle behaviour to see if it has enough feasibility to be used as a chemical agent in enhanced oil recovery (EOR) processes. The main focus is on interfacial and rheological behaviour of this particle in aqueous and polymeric media. Interfacial tension measurements between aqueous nanoparticle suspensions and oil showed that AEROSIL® R816 particles were able to reduce the interfacial tension between water and oil to half of its original value. This property led to development of stabilised oil in water emulsions. Moreover, viscosity measurements showed that AEROSIL® R816 had a great ability in rheology modification of aqueous solutions. The solution viscosity was studied as a function of nanoparticle concentration and shear rate. It was seen that viscosity rose as the nanoparticle concentration was increased. From the standpoint of shear dependency, two regions of shear thinning behaviour were observed for different shear rate regions. Finally, by dissolving a fixed amount of a low molecular weight polyacrylamide into nanoparticle suspensions of different concentrations, the stability of R816 suspensions was significantly improved. This addition also resulted in almost considerable enhancement of nanoparticle thickening property. (Received: January 15, 2012; Accepted: July 17, 2012)


This study aimed to investigate the effects of a secondary stroke prevention education program on the health risk indicators and self-care compliance of stroke patients. Methods: A non-equivalent control group pretest-posttest design was used to select the participants. Subjects were 54 stroke patients (27 in the experimental group and 27 in the control group) hospitalized in a K university hospital in D city, Korea. Health risk indicators and self-care compliance were measured both for a baseline, as well as after intervention. The data was analyzed using a chi-square test, paired t-test and ANCOVA. Results: There were significant differences in systolic blood pressure, diastolic blood pressure, fasting blood sugar, weight and self-care compliance. Conclusion: The results of the study indicate that an educational secondary stroke prevention program is effective for health risk indicators and self-care compliance of patients. Therefore it can be used as an effective nursing intervention in clinical practice.


The most striking feature of the desert locust, Schistocerca gregaria (Forskal), is its ability to reversibly transform between two morphologically, physiologically and behaviourlly distinct phases: solitaria and gregaria. The solitary phase prevails in the recession areas as dispersed individuals in very low densities in scattered populations, feeding on a limited range of desert plants and reproducing only when environmental conditions are sufficiently favourable. The gregarious phase is characterised by highly cohesive behaviour, long distance migratory aptitude, polyphagy, synchronous and accelerated maturation and communal egglaying, making the desert locust such a devastating pest. Pheromones are implicated in the perpetuation of these gregarious characteristics. The aggregation pheromone system of gregarious S. gregaria is derived from the insects themselves and their faeces. This has been demonstrated in GC-EAD, GC-MS and behavioural assays. Behavioural assays show that two distinct sets of releaser pheromones modulate the aggregation behaviour of the desert locust: a juvenile aggregation pheromone specific to the nymphs and an adult aggregation pheromone specific to the adult stages. There was no sexual differentiation in the production or response to nymphal pheromone system. Young adults (immature adults) of either sex did not produce a stimulus with significant activity. Of the older adults (sexually mature adults), only the males produced the aggregation stimulus to which both sexes were equally responsive. The nymphal pheromone system consists of three sets of compounds: aliphatic C6C8-C10 aldehydes and their corresponding acids produced by the insects themselves, augmented by faecal phenols and guaiacol. The adult aggregation pheromone system consists of phenylacetonitrile, guaiacol, phenol and benzaldehyde. Mature solitary desert locust adults were also responsive behaviourally and electrophysiologically to the components of the adult pheromone system. Faecal volatiles are part of the aggregation pheromone complex. The nymphs aggregate in response to their faecal volatiles and to those of young adults but were indifferent to volatiles emitted from adult faeces. The young and older adults even showed less specificity; they were cross-responsive to each other's faecal volatiles and to those of the nymphs. Phenol and guaiacol were the most predominant electrophysiologically active compounds of nymphal and young adult faeces. Faecal volatiles of older adults contained phenylacetonitrile in addition to phenol and guaiacol. A better understanding of the gregarisation-solitarisation process could open up ways of interfering with the gregarisation behaviour of the desert locust and possibly help develop new intervention strategies for biorational management of the insect. JOURNAL OF THE GHANA SCIENCE ASSOCIATION Volume 1 Number 1, July (1998) pp. 69-83


This study was conducted to explore indicators of community food security of the largest areas of census in the south east Appalachian counties of Ohio. A survey of 80 cities, towns, and townships in the south east Appalachian counties of Ohio (1 metropolitan and 7 rural counties) for 38 indicators of community food security (general community characteristics, community food resources, community resource accessibility, community food production) was conducted. Each area of census was ranked using principal components factor analysis to determine overall community food security status. Spearman's rank correlation was used to determine the relationship of each indicator with the final community food security ranking. Community food security was significantly related to poverty rate and other factors related to available resources, including income and transportation, and proximity of food and nutrition assistance programs. This study enhances our understanding of community food security in Appalachian Ohio, including barriers to increased community food security, and can be used to enhance existing and implement new policies and programs related to improving community food security. This study provides a model for the evaluation of community food security in regions across the United States.


Abstract. Although provinces are widely used to delimit large-scale variations in biotic composition, it is unknown to what extent such variations simply reflect large-scale gradients, much as has been shown at smaller scales for communities. We examine here whether four previously described Middle and Late Ordovician provinces on Laurentia are best described as distinct provinces or as biotic gradients through a combination of the Paleobiology Database and new field data. Both data sets indicate considerable overlap in faunal composition, with spatial patterns in Jaccard similarity, quantified Jaccard similarity, and nonmetric multidimensional scaling ordination structure that correspond to variations in substrate type, specifically from carbonate-dominated strata in western Laurentia to mixed carbonate—siliciclastic strata in the midcontinent to siliciclastic-dominated rocks in easternmost Laurentia. Because samplingwas limited to shallowsubtidal settings, this gradient cannot be attributed to variations in water depth. Likewise, geographic distance accounts for only a quarter of the variation in faunal composition. This cross-continent faunal gradient increases in strength into the early Late Ordovician, and appears to represent increased siliciclastic influx into eastern Laurentia during the Taconic orogeny. These results raise the question of whether biogeographic provincesmay be in general better interpreted and analyzed as biotic gradients rather than as discrete entities.


This paper investigates GRB 050802, one of the best examples of a Swift gamma-ray burst afterglow that shows a break in the X-ray light curve, while the optical counterpart decays as a single power law. This burst has an optically bright afterglow of 16.5 mag, detected throughout the 170-650 nm spectral range of the Ultraviolet and Optical Telescope (UVOT) onboard Swift. Observations began with the X-ray Telescope and UVOT telescopes 286 s after the initial trigger and continued for 1.2 x 10(6) s. The X-ray light curve consists of three power-law segments: a rise until 420 s, followed by a slow decay with alpha= 0.63 +/- 0.03 until 5000 s, after which, the light curve decays faster with a slope of alpha(3)= 1.59 +/- 0.03. The optical light curve decays as a single power law with alpha(O) = 0.82 +/- 0.03 throughout the observation. The X-ray data on their own are consistent with the break at 5000 s being due to the end of energy injection. Modelling the optical to X-ray spectral energy distribution, we find that the optical afterglow cannot be produced by the same component as the X-ray emission at late times, ruling out a single-component afterglow. We therefore considered two-component jet models and find that the X-ray and optical emission is best reproduced by a model in which both components are energy injected for the duration of the observed afterglow and the X-ray break at 5000 s is due to a jet break in the narrow component. This bright, well-observed burst is likely a guide for interpreting the surprising finding of Swift that bursts seldom display achromatic jet breaks.


The 1st-order perturbation technique is investigated as a tool for measuring the dynamical significance of a change in a background flow. The focus is on estimating the change in the behavior of the linear disturbance operator as manifest in both the most rapidly growing normal modes as well as initial disturbances that amplify the most over finite time intervals (also known as singular vectors). The notion of a "small change" to a flow can be made more precise by requiring, for instance, that the changes in the flow's stability properties be accurately estimated using first-order perturbation theory. The perturbation theory updates of the eigen- and singular values are economical to compute, thus making this determination feasible even in a practical setting. Furthermore, a simple refinement of the basic algorithm enables an efficient updating of the singular vectors as well. The technique is illustrated and tested for a flow having a substantial number of degrees of freedom, the global 250-mb flow during northern hemisphere winter represented in a T31 spectral space. A complete generalized barotropic stability analysis of the observed long-term mean 250-mb flow is performed first. Various alterations to the flow are then considered, and the perturbation technique is applied to estimate both the asymptotic and finite-time stability of the altered flows. Finally, the accuracy of these estimates is checked against the complete stability analyses of the altered flows, and an assessment is made of what a "small change" is for these cases. It is shown that in many cases the perturbation theory estimates of the stability changes are accurate enough over a sufficiently large parameter range to be of practical use. Applications to the problems of: (1) anticipating variations in forecast skill associated with day-to-day variations in flow stability; and (2) anticipating the relevance and robustness of individual normal modes are discussed. The latter problem is closely related to the concept of pseudospectra, and perturbation theory can be used to estimate their coarse details. DOI: 10.1034/j.1600-0870.1997.t01-2-00001.x


This paper examines some policies pursued in developing countries for the provision of telecommunications services in rural areas. These policies significantly differ from those typically implemented in developed countries in their fundamental objectives, the technological strategies deployed and the market and institutional environments they rest on. A review of some representative experiences suggests that thinking about public utility reforms in this part of the world is quite a challenging exercise. We point out some economic and institutional characteristics of these countries that we believe normative analysis of the reforms should explicitly take into account


Autonomous driving is a main research focus in automobile industries. Recently, Google, along with several automobile manufacturers has rapid progress in this field, leading them to test it on public roads. Precise positioning technology is one of the keys in this advance technology. It is relatively easy to obtain its precise position (i.e., 10 centimeters) using real time kinematic (RTK) in open sky area. Considering the vehicle will be operated in all kinds of environment, the positioning system should be able to provide robust localization information in harsh environment. Most of the driving environment is blocked by trees or high buildings, it is especially difficult to get a "fixed" solution for RTK algorithm in such environments. Sometimes, it is also difficult to get position information by single point positioning (SPP) because less than four satellite are visible. This paper describes a tightly-couple integrated positioning system using MEMS IMU and low-cost single frequency GNSS receiver for vehicle driving in urban area. The design objective is to realize accuracy and robust position in various streets environment. In Tokyo, the observation conditions of GPS and BDS is perfect. At the same time, Japan has their own regional navigation system called QZSS, which is designed to stay high elevation for Japanese region. Thus, BDS/GPS/QZSS system is selected in this paper. In fact, there are several frequency bands in each navigation system. BDS have B1, B2, B3 bands, GPS have L1, L2, L5 bands, and QZSS is similar to GPS. Accordingly, there are several kinds of GNSS receivers, single frequency, dual frequency or triple frequency receivers. The advantage of the dual frequency receiver is to eliminate the effect of ionosphere. However, it is more expensive than single receiver. Meanwhile, with the rapid development of the integration circuit technology, the channel capability of satellite navigation receiver increases quickly, resulting in the price of multi-constellation system receiver is close to the price of single system receiver. In order to increase the number of the visible satellite in harsh environment, this paper applies a BDS/GPS/QZSS receiver to provide the raw observations. But it is still a problem for vehicle to drive in tunnel because none of the satellites are visible. Inertial navigation system (INS) consists of three axis accelerometers and three axis gyroscopes, which is generally called inertial measurement unit (IMU). After initialization, INS is applied to provide continuously navigation service while the GNSS solution is not available. However, if there is no correction, it will gradually diverge because of error accumulation. Comparing with GNSS solution, IMU is short-term high accuracy but error accumulating. In the market, there are three levels of IMU. Navigation grade IMU is the most precise but the most expensive equipment. At the same time, the volume and power consumption is huge for automobile applications. Tactical level one is the second precise equipment. It is still high-cost for autonomous driving market. The consumer grade IMU is usually made by MEMS technology. The power consumption and the price of MEMS are reasonable. Although MEMS IMU (MIMU) is still low precision now, the accuracy is gradually increasing recently and its price, volume and power consumption have undefeated features for consumer market, this paper select MEMS IMU as the test equipment. Finally, this paper apply coupled information to correct the error of MIMU and to detect & recovery multipath and cycle slip, These raw measurement can be preprocessed before RTK algorithm, by decreasing the environment influence to the pseudo range and carrier phase, the fix ratio or the accuracy of the float solution can be improved. The technology mentioned in this paper can be used to develop a low-cost precision position system for automatic driving vehicle.


Context. EUV (EIT) waves are wavelike disturbances of enhanced extreme ultraviolet (EUV) emission that propagate away from an eruptive active region across the solar disk. Recent years have seen much debate over their nature, with three main interpretations: the fast-mode magneto-hydrodynamic (MHD) wave, the apparent wave (reconfiguration of the magnetic field), and the hybrid wave (combination of the previous two).
Aims. By studying the kinematics of EUV waves and their connection with type II radio bursts, we aim to examine the capability of the fast-mode interpretation to explain the observations, and to constrain the source locations of the type II radio burst emission.
Methods. We propagate a fast-mode MHD wave numerically using a ray-tracing method and the WKB (Wentzel-Kramers-Brillouin) approximation. The wave is propagated in a static corona output by a global 3D MHD Coronal Model, which provides density, temperature, and Alfvén speed in the undisturbed coronal medium (before the eruption). We then compare the propagation of the computed wave front with the observed wave in EUV images (PROBA2/SWAP, SDO/AIA). Lastly, we use the frequency drift of the type II radio bursts to track the propagating shock wave, compare it with the simulated wave front at the same instant, and identify the wave vectors that best match the plasma density deduced from the radio emission. We apply this methodology for two EUV waves observed during SOL2017-04-03T14:20:00 and SOL2017-09-12T07:25:00.
Results. The simulated wave front displays a good qualitative match with the observations for both events. Type II radio burst emission sources are tracked on the wave front all along its propagation. The wave vectors at the ray-path points that are characterized as sources of the type II radio burst emission are quasi-perpendicular to the magnetic field.
Conclusions. We show that a simple ray-tracing model of the EUV wave is able to reproduce the observations and to provide insight into the physics of such waves. We provide supporting evidence that they are likely fast-mode MHD waves. We also narrow down the source region of the radio burst emission and show that different parts of the wave front are responsible for the type II radio burst emission at different times of the eruptive event.


Dr. Donald McQuarie, Advisor This dissertation examines the process of deindustrialization in an urban Appalachian community from a cultural perspective. Many initial studies concerning the effects of deindustrialization on Appalachian communities concluded that these communities were ultimately devastated. Appalachian culture was too brittle, culturally backwards, and therefore unable to withstand the shock of such an economic disaster. These studies failed to consider what subtle forms of coping mechanisms existed in the workplace before deindustrialization, and what overt forms of resistance were utilized by economically dispossessed workers after the deindustrialization process. In the 1980s, the Owens-Illinois Glass manufacturing plant in Huntington, West Virginia was significantly downsized, and in the early 1990s the glass manufacturing plant was permanently closed due to the deindustrialization process. This dissertation challenges the notion that Owens-Illinois workers in Huntington, West Virginia were "culturally backward," and therefore ultimately defeated by the deindustrialization process. Utilizing the works of Michel de Certeau, and analyzing a series of oral histories of deindustrialized Owens-Illinois glass workers in Huntington, West Virginia, this paper proposes that former glass workers in Huntington, West Virginia creatively coped with their often tedious work environments during full employment, and later developed overt forms of resistance to the deindustrialization process.


Adipose-derived mesenchymal stromal cells (ASCs) are multipotent stem cells which can differentiate into various cell types, including osteocytes and adipocytes. Due to their ease of harvesting, multipotency, and low tumorigenicity, they are a prime candidate for the development of novel interventional approaches in regenerative medicine. ASCs exhibit slow, spontaneous Ca2+ oscillations and the manipulation of Ca2+ signalling via electrical stimulation was proposed as a potential route for promoting their differentiation in vivo. However, the effects of differentiation-inducing treatments on spontaneous Ca2+ oscillations in ASCs are not yet fully characterised. In this study, we used 2-photon live Ca2+ imaging to assess the fraction of cells showing spontaneous oscillations and the frequency of the oscillation (measured as interpeak interval—IPI) in ASCs undergoing osteogenic or adipogenic differentiation, using undifferentiated ASCs as controls. The measurements were carried out at 7, 14, and 21 days in vitro (DIV) to assess the effect of time in culture on Ca2+ dynamics. We observed that both time and differentiation treatment are important factors associated with a reduced fraction of cells showing Ca2+ oscillations, paralleled by increased IPI times, in comparison with untreated ASCs. Both adipogenic and osteogenic differentiation resulted in a reduction in Ca2+ dynamics, such as the fraction of cells showing intracellular Ca2+ oscillations and their frequency. Adipogenic differentiation was associated with a more pronounced reduction of Ca2+ dynamics compared to cells differentiating towards the osteogenic fate. Changes in Ca2+ associated oscillations with a specific treatment had already occurred at 7 DIV. Finally, we observed a reduction in Ca2+ dynamics over time in untreated ASCs. These data suggest that adipogenic and osteogenic differentiation cell fates are associated with specific changes in spontaneous Ca2+ dynamics over time. While this observation is interesting and provides useful information to understand the functional correlates of stem cell differentiation, further studies are required to clarify the molecular and mechanistic correlates of these changes. This will allow us to better understand the causal relationship between Ca2+ dynamics and differentiation, potentially leading to the development of novel, more effective interventions for both bone regeneration and control of adipose growth.


ABSTRACT In a swarm system, for example in a beehive, group decision is based on interactions and interferences of all individuals without a central unit that decides for everybody. When making experiments with young honeybees (Apis mellifera), a swarm algorithm, called BEECLUST, was derived. The algorithm enables swarms to locate the 'Global-Goal' out of several local optima. There were also four different behavioural types discovered during the experiments: Random-Walker, Goal-Finder, Wall-Follower and the Immobile Bee. In this paper, we introduce the four behavioural types to the BEECLUST algorithm and analyse how the decision making process of the swarm can be influenced. We show how the different types can be used to optimise the decision making for a certain setup of the arena and discuss about Swarm Level Optimisation. Graphical Abstract Four different types of individual behaviors work together to increase the performance of decision making in the swarm.


This paper presents a computer-vision system to assist reach stackers to automatically align the spreader with the target container. By analyzing infrared lines on the top of the container, the proposed system is able to calculate the relative position between the spreader and the container. The invisible structured lights are equipped in this system to enable all-weather operation, which can avoid environmental factors such as shadows and differences in climate. Additionally, the lateral inclination of the spreader is taken into consideration to offer a more accurate alignment than other competing systems. Estimation errors are reduced through approaches including power series and linear regression. The accuracy can be controlled within 2 cm or 2 deg, which meets the requirements of reach stackers' operation.


The two Greek notions of time, chronosand kairos, and their spatial counterparts, choraand topos,are discussed in conjunction with some Aristotelian notions of human action, namely, theoria/episteme , poiesis/techne , and praxis/phronesis . From this discussion follows a unification of these Greek spatio-temporal notions into chronochora, chronotopos , kairochora, and kairotopos, which correspond to a move from abstract scientific time–space towards a concrete and meaningful time and place. Finally, these time and space notions are discussed in the contemporary organizational settings of time management (e.g. Just-In-Time) and virtual organizations , and their different forms of abstraction are alluded to.


CONTENTS I Introduction II Facts and Issues in the Case A The Facts B The Issues III The Mutual Assistance Convention and Art 2(c) A France's Reliance on Art 2(c)--Majority Judgment B France's Failure to Give Reasons under Art 17--Majority Judgment. C France's Reliance on Art 2(c)--Declaration of Judge Keith IV Avoiding Abuse of Self-Judging Clauses A The Standard of Review Applied in the Majority Judgment B The Standard of Review Applied by Judge Keith V Conclusion I INTRODUCTION Self-judging clauses are clauses that allow states to reserve to themselves a right of non-compliance with international legal obligations in certain circumstances. These circumstances arise predominantly where the state in question considers that compliance will harm its sovereignty, security, public policy, or more generally, its essential interests. (1) Self-judging clauses can usually be identified by the inclusion of language such as 'if the state considers', (2) which confers discretion on a state to determine that, in particular circumstances, the state is not obliged to comply with certain obligations it has accepted under a particular international agreement. (3) A good example of a self-judging clause can be found in art 2(c) of the Convention concerning Judicial Assistance in Criminal Matters, (4) which provides that assistance in proceedings relating to criminal offences may be refused [...] if the requested State considers that the execution of the request is likely to prejudice its sovereignty, its security, its ordre public or other of its essential interests. As well as appearing in international treaties, self-judging clauses can be found in other types of international instruments including in optional declarations under art 36(2) of the Statute of the International Court of Justice ('ICJ Statute')--unilateral declarations whereby states accept the jurisdiction of the International Court of Justice vis-a-vis any other state accepting the same obligation (5)--and in reservations to international treaties. (6) They appear, however, most frequently in various types of international treaties, (7) including treaties on mutual assistance and extradition, trade and investment, or private international law and arbitration. It is this latter type of self-judging clause that is the focus of this case note. (8) Despite their pervasiveness, until the recent decision of the ICJ in Djibouti v France, (9) self-judging clauses in international treaties had not received more than passing reference in international dispute resolution. (10) The question of the appropriate role of international dispute settlement bodies when asked to resolve disputes regarding allegations of abuse or breach of a self-judging clause is, however, of growing importance. As the range of human activity regulated by international agreements proliferates, self-judging clauses constitute one mechanism that allows states to actively engage in the expanding international legal order, while retaining a right to relieve themselves of international obligations in circumstances where the state determines that its essential interests are at risk. The presence of such exit-valves arguably enhances international cooperation, in that states are prepared to cooperate more deeply than would have been possible in the absence of such an ability to side-step international obligations under specific circumstances. At the same time, the large potential for abuse of such clauses could also have a chilling effect on international cooperation because each state party retains, to a certain extent, the right to determine the scope of the international obligations it has assumed. In adjudicating on disputes concerning the application of self-judging clauses, international dispute settlement bodies must therefore balance the need to apply a sufficiently robust standard of review to prevent abuse of such clauses against the need to respect the discretion that such clauses confer upon the state relying on them. …


A rapidly expanding arena for item response theory (IRT) is in attitudinal and health-outcomes survey applications, often with polytomous items. In particular, there is interest in computer adaptive testing (CAT). Meeting model assumptions is necessary to realize the benefits of IRT in this setting, however. Although initial investigations of local item dependence have been studied both for polytomous items in fixed-form settings and for dichotomous items in CAT settings, there have been no publications applying local item dependence detection methodology to polytomous items in CAT despite its central importance to these applications. The current research uses a simulation study to investigate the extension of widely used pairwise statistics, Yen's Q3 Statistic and Pearson's Statistic X2, in this context. The simulation design and results are contextualized throughout with a real item bank of this type from the Patient-Reported Outcomes Measurement Information System (PROMIS).


Public schooling systems are an essential feature of modern states. These systems often developed at the expense of religious schools, which undertook the bulk of education historically and still cater to large student populations worldwide. This paper examines how Indonesia's long-standing Islamic school system responded to the construction of 61,000 public elementary schools in the mid-1970s. The policy was designed in part to foster nation building and to curb religious influence in society. We are the first to study the market response to these ideological objectives. Using novel data on Islamic school construction and curriculum, we identify both short-run effects on exposed cohorts as well as dynamic, long-run effects on education markets. While primary enrollment shifted towards state schools, religious education increased on net as Islamic secondary schools absorbed the increased demand for continued education. The Islamic sector not only entered new markets to compete with the state but also increased religious curriculum at newly created schools. Our results suggest that the Islamic sector response increased religiosity at the expense of a secular national identity. Overall, this ideological competition in education undermined the nation-building impacts of mass schooling.


Objectives We investigated the relationships of cystic nodal metastasis, human papillomavirus (HPV) status, and treatment failure patterns in patients with oropharyngeal squamous cell carcinoma (OPSCC) treated with chemoradiotherapy. Methods We retrospectively reviewed pretreatment MRI and clinical courses of patients with OPSCC whose tumors were tested for HPV-induced p16 expression via immunohistochemistry and who completed chemoradiotherapy. Cervical cystic nodal metastasis and necrotic nodal metastasis were classified on MRI. Results Of 98 patients eligible for analysis, 33 were p16-positive. Cystic nodal metastasis was significantly more prevalent in p16-positive than in p16-negative patients (39.4% versus 18.5%, respectively; p = 0.025). Necrotic nodal metastasis was significantly more prevalent in p16-negative than in p16-positive patients (73.8% versus 51.5%, respectively; p = 0.027). On multivariate analysis, necrotic nodal metastasis (odds ratio [OR] = 7.310, p = 0.011) was an independent predictor of regional failure, while advanced nodal stage (OR = 4.119, p = 0.022) and cystic nodal metastases (OR = 0.087, p = 0.026) were independent positive and negative predictors of distant failure, respectively. Conclusions Cervical cystic and necrotic nodal metastases are associated with HPV-induced p16-positive and p16-negative OPSCC, respectively. Patients with necrotic nodal metastasis at presentation have an increased risk of regional failure. Distant failure is directly and inversely correlated with advanced nodal stage and cystic nodal metastasis, respectively.


Background: Nurses' lack of knowledge about domestic elder abuse and their limited ability to recognize it can result in negative consequences. Education has the potential to improve nurses' ability to recognize elder abuse. Yet, there is no conclusive result about its effectiveness. Objectives: The main objective of the present study was to assess the effects of education on nurses' ability to recognize elder abuse. Methods: This randomized controlled trial was conducted in two public hospitals in Ramsar and Tonekabon, Iran. Participants were 120 nurses who were randomly recruited and allocated to an intervention (n = 60) and a control (n = 60) group. The study intervention was an educational program implemented in two successive 2-h sessions in 1 day. Data were collected using a demographic questionnaire and The Nurses' Recognition of Elder Abuse by Family Caregiver Questionnaire. The possible total score of the latter questionnaire was 67–335. The data were analyzed using the Chi-square, the Fisher's exact, and the paired- and the independent-samples t-tests as well as the one-way and the repeated-measures analyses of variance. Results: The mean score of elder abuse recognition ability significantly increased in the intervention group (P < 0.001), while it did not significantly change in the control group (P = 0.85). Participants had a good ability to recognize physical elder abuse and limited ability to recognize sexual abuse. Conclusion: In-service education about elder abuse for nurses not only improves their elder abuse recognition ability but also can help them take appropriate measures for its management.


Ocean energy is a promising resource for renewable electricity generation that presents many advantages, such as being more predictable than wind energy, but also some disadvantages such as large and slow amplitude variations in the generated power. This paper presents a hardware-in-the-loop prototype that allows the study of the electric power profile generated by a wave power plant based on the oscillating water column (OWC) principle. In particular, it facilitates the development of new solutions to improve the intermittent profile of the power fed into the grid or the test of the OWC behavior when facing a voltage dip. Also, to obtain a more realistic model behavior, statistical models of real waves have been implemented.


This document describes procedures for building inter-area point-to-
multipoint (P2MP) segmented service label switched paths (LSPs) by
partitioning such LSPs into intra-area segments and using BGP as the
inter-area routing and Label Distribution Protocol (LDP). Within each
IGP area, the intra-area segments are either carried over intra-area
P2MP LSPs, using P2MP LSP hierarchy, or instantiated using ingress
replication. The intra-area P2MP LSPs may be signaled using P2MP RSVP-
TE or P2MP multipoint LDP (mLDP). If ingress replication is used
within an IGP area, then (multipoint-to-point) LDP LSPs or (point-to-
point) RSVP-TE LSPs may be used in the IGP area. The
applications/services that use such inter-area service LSPs may be BGP
Multicast VPN, Virtual Private LAN Service (VPLS) multicast, or global
table multicast over MPLS.


In May 2017, a Tennessee judge issued a standing order allowing inmates to receive thirty days' jail credit in exchange for undergoing a voluntary sterilization procedure. Although the order was ultimately rescinded, this Article will address the constitutional and ethical concerns that a district court would have considered had the order not been rescinded. While inmates can always choose to waive their constitutional rights, the coercive nature of prisons—explained in the unconstitutional conditions doctrine—may compromise a prisoner's ability to provide voluntary consent. The constitutionality of the order largely depends on the level of scrutiny a court applies. Regardless of the order's constitutionality, the adverse ethical and social ramifications outweigh any potential benefits that could come from such an order. This order would also give too much power to state governments over an individual's reproductive freedoms. Instead of automatically reducing an inmate's sentence after undergoing a sterilization procedure, drug offenders should have the opportunity to choose from several different birth control options that could possibly lead to a reduced sentence.


Abstract Technology has an outsized impact on the modern world; it is how we have tamed our frontiers. But that role is largely ignored when it comes to the Arctic frontier. Emerging technologies, especially AI, can enable desperately needed services and infrastructure—but they can also challenge ethics, law, and policy, as they usually do. For instance, autonomous icebreaker ships pose a dual-use dilemma since they can be used for both humanitarian and military purposes. As a lesson for other frontiers, this article will broadly introduce the potential role of AI in the changing Arctic and some of the ethical concerns that deserve attention before that future arrives.


The Human Terrain System (HTS) was catapulted into existence in 2006 by the US military's urgent need for knowledge of the human dimension of the battlespace in Iraq and Afghanistan. Its centrepiece was embedded groups of mixed military and civilian personnel, known as Human Terrain Teams (HTTs), whose mission was to conduct social science research and analysis and to advise military commanders about the local population. Bringing social science - and actual social scientists - to the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan was bold and challenging. Despite the controversy over HTS among scholars, there is little good, reliable source material written by those with experience of HTS or about the actual work carried out by teams in theatre. This volume goes beyond the anecdotes, snippets and blogs to provide a comprehensive, objective and detailed view of HTS. The contributors put the program in historical context, discuss the obstacles it faced, analyse its successes, and detail the work of the teams downrange. Most importantly, they capture some of the diverse lived experience of HTS scholars and practitioners drawn from an eclectic array of the social sciences.


The global rise in food prices, significant dependence on food staple imports, and the temporary wheat export bans by the region's main producers is having a dramatic impact on the lives of millions in Central Asia. This is particularly the case in Tajikistan which has faced a series of natural calamities and poor economic performance over the past few years. This paper reviews the current status of food security, nutritional trends and food balance in the low income countries of the Central Asia, and wheat production in the region. It proposes a regional agricultural cooperation framework to ensure a sustainable supply of main agricultural crops from net exporting countries of the region.


Psychology and Science Fiction goes beyond such incidental observations and engagements to offer an in-depth exploration of science fiction literature's varied use of psychological discourses, beginning at the birth of modern psychology in the late nineteenth century, and concluding with the ascendance of neuroscience in the late twentieth century. Rather than dwelling on psychoanalytic readings, this literary investigation combines with history of psychology to offer attentive textual readings that explore five key psychological schools: evolutionary psychology, psychoanalysis, behaviourism, existential-humanism, and cognitivism. The varied functions of psychological discourses in science fiction are explored, whether to popularise and prophesy, to imagine utopia or dystopia, to estrange our everyday reality, to comment on science fiction itself, or to abet (or resist) the spread of psychological wisdom. Psychology and Science Fiction also considers how psychology itself has made use of science fiction in order to teach, to secure legitimacy as a discipline, and to comment on the present.


An elegant and accurate way to determine the zero-gravity surface figure of an optic from ground-based interferometric metrology is to average the figures found in two or more configurations that are rotated with respect to the direction of gravity, so gravity forces in the frame of the optic cancel in the average. In a recent elucidation of this technique, we emphasized that care must be taken to ensure that mount forces at each attachment point similarly cancel, and we presented some specific mounting schemes that gave accurate zero-gravity surface determinations during fabrication and acceptance testing of the Space Interferometry Mission PT-M1 mirror. Here we show that multiconfiguration averaging techniques work well for the most important special case of a mirror in a flightlike hexapod mount clocked into either two or three symmetrically placed positions. We explicitly compute mount forces (axial forces in the six struts of the hexapod) and show that at any attachment point their average over multiple clocked configurations vanishes in the frame of the optic, ensuring the success of zero-gravity surface figure extraction.


School Vouchers Italian Style School vouchers introduced recently in some Italian regions have lowered the cost of private schools. On one side, we provide evidence that Italian private schools may be selected for different reasons than quality considerations. On the other side, by exploiting individual data on voucher applicants, we present evidence that the percentage of voucher applicants is higher the higher the average quality of private schools, which we explain with the fact that better quality schools provide better services to students, including information and consulting on vouchers. We show that enrolment in private schools responds sluggishly to changes in tuition induced by vouchers. Under stringent assumptions, we estimate the slopes of demand and supply of private education in the largest Italian region, Lombardy, during the first two years since implementation of a voucher scheme, and provide a quantitative assessment of the long-term impact of vouchers on tuition fees and enrolment in private schools. JEL Classification: I22


Water availability is one of principal problem in the system of dry-land farming, especially for food crops. Every plants needs constant water supply to grow, but this is not obtained in dry land farming that rely mainly on rain as a water resource. The lack of water availability in dry season caused decreasing of plant's growth and productivity. In order to increase water availability, this research is using super water absorbent (SWA) from cassava's starch to hold water and release it slowly. The purposes of this research are analyzing the impact of cassava's starch SWA to the volume of water that is retained by soil and growth of corn (Zea mays L). The result showed that application of water absorbent tend to increase the ammont of water retained by soil, eventhough the effect was not significant. Application of water absorbent result in significanly better corn growth as compared to control (no water absorbent). Nevertheless the application of water absorbent fail to maintain crop growth at optimum level. The treatment that retained most water is cassava starch SWA with 0.2 g/kg the dosages of spread mix in soil make every 14 days watering. While, application of cassava's starch with 0.1 g/kg the dosages of concentrate in soil make every 14 days watering has a significant with the high and leaves's wide, but not with the number it. Keywords: Sandy clay, Super Water Absorbant, the volume of water retained by soil, the growth of corn


This paper compares and contrasts dictionary use and needs of language learners at the University of York in the United Kingdom and at the University of Dar es Salaam in Tanzania. Five aspects are discussed in this study viz. dictionaries used, instructions and guidance on dictionary use, the functions for which students use a dictionary, information categories sought or lacking, metalanguage in the dictionaries and how it has been used to explicate the information categories. These five aspects are discussed in relation to the observations made by the subjects as reflected in the data collected. From the data analysis are made some generalizations on how the language students of the two universities use their dictionaries and the lexicographical needs of the language learners in general and of each group in particular. It is concluded that language learners do not look up the same information in a dictionary because each has specific language problems.


We investigate the influence of the substrate on a photonic crystal thermo-optic device on a silicon-on-insulator (SOI) platform. The substrate-induced thermo-optic tuning is obtained as a function of key physical parameters, based on a semi-analytic theory that agrees well with numeric simulations. It is shown that for some devices, the substrate's contribution to the thermo-optic tuning can exceed 10% for a heater located in the waveguide core and much higher for some other configurations. The slow response of the substrate may also significantly slow down the overall response time of the device. Strategies of minimizing the substrate's influence are discussed.


An Empirical Analysis of the Effects of Product Liability Laws on Underwriting Risk Abstract This article investigates the relationship between the civil justice system and the performance of the commercial liability insurance industry. It uses loss ratio data to examine whether a state's tort doctrines affect the relative prices of liability insurance and underwriting risk in that state. The empirical results suggest that tort doctrines can have an adverse effect on systematic underwriting risk and mean loss ratios. Problems concerning the affordability and availability of commercial liability insurance continue to be of considerable concern. On the one hand, spokesmen for the insurance industry and various manufacturering associations assert that the root of these problems lies in the civil justice system. Legal factors such as the expansion of liability and large awards for non-economic damages have led to serious problems in the provision of insurance.(1) On the other hand, consumer advocacy groups claim that these problems are caused by the non-competitive ratemaking practices of the insurance industry. According to this view, the insurance crisis of the mid 1980's was manufactured by the industry as a response to a fall in the rate of return that insurers receive on their investments, and their solution would be to impose further regulation on the industry. The purpose of this article is to investigate this issue by examining the effects of tort law on the performance of commercial liability insurers. Strict products liability is the prevailing tort doctrine for most of the United States. According to this doctrine, manufacturers are liable for all harms that are proximately caused by defective products, regardless of negligence on their part. This does not mean, however, that manufacturers are liable for all harms caused by their products. In theory, the doctrine of strict liability limits manufacturers' liability to harms caused by defective products, and then only when it is the case that the harm is proximately caused by a defect rather than by consumer misuse or voluntary assumption of risk. In practice, however, these theoretical limitations are often unclear and unpredictable.(2) Under a doctrine of absolute liability suppliers would be liable for all accident losses that resulted from the use of their products. Thus, the difference between strict and absolute liability is that the former places limitations on suppliers' obligations and duties to consumers. When the modern doctrine of strict liability fails, in practice, to place feasible and consistent limits on the size and scope of manufacturers' liability, it tends toward a standard of absolute liability which creates serious legal hazards for the provision of insurance. Under the doctrine of strict liability a supplier must offer an implicit warranty that the product is safe and free from defect. Strict products liability may be thought of as a type of mandatory accident insurance because it requires that manufacturers indemnify the users of their products against any harms that are the result of latent defects. Whether manufacturers self insure or purchase products liability insurance, placing limitations on the extent of their liability is necessary in order to facilitate the process of making actuarially sound estimates of expected losses. Without these limitations insurers will find it increasingly difficult to predict what harms suppliers will be liable for, and how large the damages will be. Thus as tort standards tend toward absolute liability, it becomes increasingly difficult for the insurance industry to assess risks and establish appropriate premiums. This article uses loss-ratio data by state and insurer group to assess empirically the manner in which liability doctrines affect both relative prices and underwriting risk faced by commercial liability insurers. …


Societies develop as a result of the interactions of individuals as they compete and cooperate with one another in the evolutionary struggle to survive and reproduce successfully. Gorilla society is arranged according to the different and sometimes conflicting evolutionary goals of the sexes. In seeking to understand why gorilla society exists as it does, Alexander H. Harcourt and Kelly J. Stewart bring together extensive data on wild gorillas, collected over decades by numerous researchers working in diverse habitats across Africa, to illustrate how the social system of gorillas has evolved and endured. "Gorilla Society" introduces recent theories explaining primate societies; describes gorilla life history, ecology, and social systems; and explores both sexes' evolutionary strategies of survival and reproduction. With a focus on the future, Harcourt and Stewart conclude with suggestions for research and conservation. An exemplary work of socioecology from two of the world's best-known gorilla biologists, "Gorilla Society" will be a landmark study on a par with the work of George Schaller - a synthesis of existing research on these remarkable animals and the societies in which they live.


This article attempts to outline the economic steps that would be necessary to convert a capitalist economy like the EU into a socialist one. We examine the issue in very concrete terms and propose specific policy measures. The measures we propose differ significantly from the tradition of 20th-century European Social Democracy. The main differences are (1) that we advocate measures to abolish exploitation prior to measures to take the means of production into public ownership; (2) that we advocate radical action against the accumulation of debt both private and public; (3) we see the transition to socialism as something that has to take place at a regional or continental level rather than within individual European nation states; (4) we take the Marxian labor theory of value as a practical guide in monetary policy; (5) we argue for a shift in the financial basis of the EU from indirect taxes which are regressive to direct progressive taxes on income and property.


Accumulation of nitrate and oxalate is a concern in the production and marketing of leafy vegetables. High nitrate levels can be related to fertilization regime, light conditions and plant factors. Plant factors are of major importance for oxalate content. Plant breeding has been reported as one way of reducing the content of nitrate and oxalate. In this study we have examined germplasm collections of spinach (Spinacia oleracea), orache (Atriplex hortensis) and rocket (Eruca sativa). For spinach contents were related to morphological characters and to breeding method. Across accessions, rocket showed significantly higher nitrate levels than spinach and orache. No clear differences were detected between spinach and orache with regard to either nitrate or oxalate content. However, oarche showed higher dry matter content. A general strong positive correlation was found between nitrate and oxalate. The mechanism behind such a relationship is discussed but not fully understood. No differences were detected between old and new spinach cultivars or between open-pollinated cultivars and F1-hybrids, but potential interesting accessions for future breeding of low-nitrate/low-oxalate spinach were identified.


We describe recent work on the theory of trade agreements that speaks to the purpose and design of GATT. Our discussion proceeds in three steps. First, we examine the purpose of a trade agreement. In both the traditional economic and the political-economy approaches to the study of trade agreements, the problem for a trade agreement to solve is the excessive protection that arises in the absence of an agreement as a consequence of the terms-of-trade externality. Second, we consider the origin and design of GATT. We note that GATT is a rules-based institution whose origin can be traced to the disastrous economic performance that accompanied the high tariffs of the 1920's and 1930's. Finally, we review the theoretical literature that interprets and evaluates the institutional features found in GATT. We consider in particular whether GATT articles can be interpreted as offering negotiation rules that help governments undo the inefficient restrictions in trade that are caused by the terms-of-trade externality. On the whole, our review suggests that the core principles of GATT indeed may be interpreted in this manner. Specifically, we report findings that indicate that the principles of reciprocity and non-discrimination work in concert to remedy the inefficiency created by the terms-of-trade externality. We also extract a variety of predictions from the literature on enforcement and trade policy, and we argue that these predictions are broadly compatible with both the design of GATT and certain historical experiences in trade-policy conduct. We thus interpret the literature reviewed here as providing a strong presumption for the view that GATT can be understood as an institution whose central principles are well-designed to assist governments in their attempt to escape from a terms-of-trade-driven Prisoners' Dilemma. Our review therefore offers support for the (politically-augmented) terms-of-trade theory as an appropriate framework within which to interpret and evaluate GATT.


Feed forward neural networks with Backpropagation learning rule has been used widely for the generalized pattern classification but the ill posing and unknown local error minimum problem limits the performance of Backpropagation learning rule for the problems of large feature vectors. Another type of feed forward neural network architecture i.e. Radial Basis exhibits more efficient and general approximation with respect to Backpropagation network. The purpose of this study is to analyze the performance of Radial Basis function type feed forward neural networks for the pattern classification. Therefore to perform this analysis the task of pattern classification for hand written English vowels using radial basis function neural network is used. This Implementation has been done with the training of five different samples of hand written English vowels. Adjusting the connection strength and network parameters perform the training process in the neural network. By using a simulator program, both the algorithms i.e. BP and RBF are compared with five data sets of handwritten English language vowels. The simulated results indicate the fast & good convergence and high classification rate for the RBF network.


Art forum October 19th 2012. On the occasion of the 40th anniversary of the Tasmanian Ceramics Association, Grace Cochrane will give an illustrated talk that considers ceramic practice in Tasmania in the context of its history. Using the example of this and other anniversaries (including, in Tasmania, the founding of Salamanca Place and the Franklin River protests) and her experience of recent exhibition and publication projects, she will discuss the importance for contemporary artists of archival documentation of significant events. At the same time, she will refer to some of the wider changing relationships in the crafts between art, design, industry and the marketplace and the interface between traditional and new technologies.

Now an independent curator and writer, for nearly 20 years Grace Cochrane was a curator at the Powerhouse Museum, Sydney. She lived in Tasmania from 1972-1986, and was involved in the development of crafts organisations, art centres and new education and funding opportunities. She graduated with a MFA (1986) and PhD (1999), and was member of the Tasmanian Arts Advisory Board, 2008-2011. She was awarded the Visual Arts/Craft Board's Emeritus medal (2001) and a D.Litt from the University of NSW (2007). In 2010 she was appointed Adjunct Professor at Charles Sturt University, Wagga Wagga, and Visiting Professor at the University of Lincoln, UK. Author of The Crafts Movement in Australia: a History (1992), recent exhibitions include Smart Works: Design and the handmade, Powerhouse Museum (2007); White gums and ramoxes: ceramics by Merric and Arthur Boyd, Bundanon Trust (2009-2012); and Potters Cottage: a tribute, Manningham Art Gallery, Melbourne (2012).


This paper proposes WiMAX-VPON, a novel framework for establishing layer-2 virtual private networks (VPNs) over the integration of WiMAX and Ethernet passive optical networks, which has lately been considered as a promising candidate for next-generation fiber-wireless backhaul-access networks. With WiMAX-VPON, layer-2 VPNs support a bundle of service requirements to the respective registered wireless/wired users. These requirements are stipulated in the service level agreement and should be fulfilled by a suite of effective bandwidth management solutions. To achieve this, we propose a novel VPN-based admission control and bandwidth allocation scheme that provides per-stream quality-of-service protection and bandwidth guarantee for real-time flows. The bandwidth allocation is performed via a common medium access control protocol working in both the optical and wireless domains. An event-driven simulation model is implemented to study the effectiveness of the proposed framework.


There is an opening in Castoriadis' work for a notion of cruelty, and it emerges in the way in which he develops his idea of heteronomy, as a human world that is blinded or deflected away from human self-creation. This essay is an attempt to locate cruelty constitutively or ontologically in a post-metaphysical register, as an act of creativity that can be given form as a very particular act of singularity, that is, without regard for the other. Acts of human cruelty are acts of imaginary, creative activity among others that themselves are form , that is, expressed in physically embodied, objectivated, linguistic or symbolic form, and often become highly stylized, and when socially instituted, have their own spatial and temporal dimensions. In this way, it is distinct from relations of power.


Pulmonary rehabilitation for people with chronic lung disease is a formal programme of care that includes supervised exercise and self-management training. The results of numerous clinical trials show that it can improve exercise capacity, dyspnoea and health status. These benefits have a larger effect size than can be obtained with any other medical therapy for COPD. The benefits last for approximately 12 months and can be regained with repeat programmes. Effective as it has been in a research setting, the challenge for the pulmonary rehabilitation community is to demonstrate that these positive findings can be reproduced in real life and that there is sufficient capacity in the health system to accommodate all those people that could benefit.

Earlier this year the Royal College of Physicians of London (RCP) produced the second of two publications from the largest audit of pulmonary rehabilitation in England and Wales that has ever been conducted.1 ,2 This audit included 7413 patients from 224 programmes in a wide variety of settings and described both the provision and the outcomes of rehabilitation. Even though the headline numbers appear impressive, the authors estimate that given 1.2 million people have COPD in the UK, only about 15% of patients with significant disability are ever referred for rehabilitation. The reasons for this are not clear but could relate to perceived lack of efficacy by referrers or lack of local capacity. The former is difficult to accept because the benefits of rehabilitation are clearly stated in all evidence-based clinical guidelines for COPD but referral may not yet be second nature to all primary or secondary care clinicians. Insufficient capacity, however, is certainly an important issue. In the RCP audit the median capacity of programmes was between 200 and 300 patients per year which is unlikely to satisfy the country's needs. …


A numerical study was conducted to investigate steady heat transfer and flow phenomena of natural convection of air in enclosures, with three aspect ratios (H/W = 1, 2, and 4), within which there is a local heat source on the bottom wall at three different positions, Wh. This heat source occupies 1% of the total volume of the enclosure. The vertical walls in the enclosures are insulated and there is an opening on the right wall. The natural convection is influenced by the difference in temperature between the left and right walls, represented by a Rayleigh number (Rae), and by local heat source, represented by a Rayleigh number (Rai). Numerical simulations were performed for several values of the Rayleigh number ranging between 103 and 106, while the intensity of the two effects - the difference in temperature on the vertical walls and the local heat source - was evaluated based on the Rai/Rae ratio in the range between 0 and 2500. The analysis proceeds by observing variations in the streamlines and isotherms with respect to the different Rae, R ratios, aspect ratios, of the radius and positions of the local heat source. The average Nusselt numbers on the hot and cold walls are influenced by different values of the parameters R, Rae, Wh, and H/W. Results show the presence of different flow patterns in the enclosures studied. Thus, the flow and heat transfer can be controlled by external heating, and local heat source.


We present GLADE+, an extended version of the GLADE galaxy catalogue introduced in our previous paper for multimessenger searches with advanced gravitational-wave detectors. GLADE+ combines data from six separate but not independent astronomical catalogues: the GWGC, 2MPZ, 2MASS XSC, HyperLEDA, and WISExSCOSPZ galaxy catalogues, and the SDSS-DR16Q quasar catalogue. To allow corrections of CMB-frame redshifts for peculiar motions, we calculated peculiar velocities along with their standard deviations of all galaxies having B-band magnitude data within redshift z = 0.05 using the 'Bayesian Origin Reconstruction from Galaxies' formalism. GLADE+ is complete up to luminosity distance $d_L=47^{+4}_{-2}$ Mpc in terms of the total expected B-band luminosity of galaxies, and contains all of the brightest galaxies giving 90 per cent of the total B-band and K-band luminosity up to dL ≃ 130 Mpc. We include estimations of stellar masses and individual binary neutron star merger rates for galaxies with W1 magnitudes. These parameters can help in ranking galaxies in a given gravitational wave localization volume in terms of their likelihood of being hosts, thereby possibly reducing the number of pointings and total integration time needed to find the electromagnetic counterpart.


It perhaps comes as no surprise that, at a gathering of four criminal law professors over drinks and dinner, the subject would turn to the HBO series The Wire. The four of us - Susan Bandes, Jeff Fagan, David Alan Sklansky, and myself - were part of a larger group of about twenty or so criminal professors invited to participate in the University of Chicago's Criminal Justice Roundtable, and after a full day of discussing each other's scholarship, we were eager to discuss something else. So we raved about The Wire. Then we lamented the fact that, to our knowledge, there had never been a law conference devoted to The Wire, or even a symposium issue in a law journal. The series certainly raises enough criminal law and criminal procedure questions to warrant such a project. But even more importantly, The Wire does something else. I once argued that "law and order" shows can have a type of "de-shadowing" effect. There is the justice administered by the courts. And there is the justice that the courts imagine they are regulating. Law and order shows, especially the ones that give the illusion of being police procedurals, are uniquely positioned to critique this justice. Law and order shows, at their best, bring out of the shadows the justice that actually exists. No show does this better than The Wire.That night, drinks in hand, the four of us agreed to put together a panel proposal to discuss The Wire at a Law and Society Conference. The four of us became five with the addition of my colleague Alafair Burke. And Burke, as a professor and a prolific mystery writer with connections we could only dream about, in turn brought in her friend David Simon, the creator of The Wire. What followed was one of the most well-attended panels at Law and Society this past year. What followed too was a mini-symposium in the Ohio State Journal of Criminal Law, and this Essay, which examines The Wire to explore issues of perceptual legitimacy and crime rates, how the Rules of Evidence often frustrate police brutality cases, and the challenge of being a criminal law and procedure professor after watching The Wire.


Around twenty-one years ago, Robert Cover left an indelible mark on legal scholarship with his epic tale of world formation and development, Nomos and Narrative. He posited the idea that our culture consists of a multitude of insular communities (nomoi), each of whose experiences is guided by those texts and events (narratives) that give its legal precepts normative meaning, thereby connecting each community's vision of reality to its ideal. Occasions arose, however, where different communities visions of the ideal could not be contained within each community alone and thus came into conflict. Resolution required reconciliation of those narratives that provided each nomos with normative meaning. This entailed respecting the insularity of each nomos as much as possible but, where need be, recognizing that one vision was normatively better than another and redeeming the lesser from its fall from grace. Cover's work specifically concerned the battle between civil rights norms and religious liberty ones in the early 1980s. But Cover's central idea - the relationship between nomos and narrative - need not be limited to the specific struggle that confronted him. In fact, his work aids understanding of one of the most important (and confusing) issues in antitrust: when to limit the range of permissible inferences from circumstantial evidence at the summary judgment stage. Studying the history of how the antitrust summary judgment standard developed, this Article discusses how antitrust has its own nomoi (substantive sub-worlds) and redemptive narrative (consumer welfare) interacting with one another and how, in one nomos - oligopoly parallel pricing cases - some circuit courts have arguably erred by overapplying deterrence concerns that originated as part of the consumer welfare narrative.


Introduction: First-line platinum-based combinations are active in locally advanced and metastatic urothelial carcinoma; however, long-term outcomes including disease-specific and overall survival remain suboptimal. In addition, approximately 40 – 50% of patients with advanced urothelial carcinoma have coexisting medical issues that preclude the use of cisplatin-based therapy. Improvements in our understanding of the molecular mechanisms of urothelial tumorigenesis have led to first-generation clinical trials evaluating novel agents targeting molecular pathways. These are particularly relevant in regard to subpopulations. Novel trial designs warrant consideration to accelerate accrual. Areas covered: In this review, novel molecular targets for the therapy of urothelial carcinoma, as well as recently completed and ongoing clinical trials utilizing novel targeted agents, are discussed. A Medline search with key words, abstracts reported at national conferences on urothelial carcinoma and NCI clinical trial identifiers was used for this review. Expert opinion: Improved understanding of molecular biology has identified a number of new molecular targets, but there is a seeming absence of one dominant molecular driver for urothelial cancer. An adaptive and biomarker-derived strategy may be warranted. Clinical trials utilizing targeted agents are ongoing and results are awaited.


Background Patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD) are at high risk of myocardial infarction. Cardiac troponins are the biomarkers of choice for the diagnosis of acute myocardial infarction (AMI) without ST‐segment elevation (NSTE). In patients with CKD, troponin levels are often chronically elevated, which reduces their diagnostic utility when NSTE‐AMI is suspected. The aim of this study was to derive a diagnostic algorithm for serial troponin measurements in patients with CKD and suspected NSTE‐AMI. Methods and Results Two cohorts, 1494 patients from a prospective cohort study with high‐sensitivity troponin I (hs‐cTnI) measurements and 7059 cases from a clinical registry with high‐sensitivity troponin T (hs‐cTnT ) measurements, were analyzed. The prospective cohort comprised 280 CKD patients (estimated glomerular filtration rate <60 mL/min/1.73 m2). The registry data set contained 1581 CKD patients. In both cohorts, CKD patients were more likely to have adjudicated NSTE‐AMI than non‐CKD patients. The specificities of hs‐cTnI and hs‐cTnT to detect NSTE‐AMI were reduced with CKD (0.82 versus 0.91 for hs‐cTnI and 0.26 versus 0.73 for hs‐cTnT) but could be restored by applying optimized cutoffs to either the first or a second measurement after 3 hours. The best diagnostic performance was achieved with an algorithm that incorporates serial measurements and rules in or out AMI in 69% (hs‐cTnI) and 55% (hs‐cTnT) of CKD patients. Conclusions The diagnostic performance of high‐sensitivity cardiac troponins in patients with CKD with suspected NSTE‐AMI is improved by use of an algorithm based on admission troponin and dynamic changes in troponin concentration.


In order to improve the quality of studying of fourth-year students of the Medical Faculty and the Foreign Citizens Training Faculty, as well as to intensify the educational process at the Department of Internal Medicine, Clinical Immunology and Allergology of Ivano-Frankivsk National Medical University a modern class-discussion was introduced. For a successful discussion a clear organization of the class has been proposed. It implies careful planning, clear implementation of the rules of the discussion by all its participants, compliance with certain regulations. The class-discussion consists of the following main stages: entrance testing by QR-code for quick assessment of the level of knowledge and obtaining rating indicators from individual sections of the discipline; short summary multimedia presentation on modern methods of diagnosis and principles of treatment of the diseases of a certain profile; application of the elements of role-play (simulation): students' role-playing of the patient, family doctor, laboratory doctor, doctor of functional diagnostics, doctor-specialist, the head of the hospital with the subsequent modeling of various clinical situations. Thus, the class-discussion in the proposed form with elements of interactive learning is a versatile type of practical lesson, which increases students' ability to think analytically; develops research, communication, heuristic, and leadership skills as well as the ability to make informed decisions about the patient's further clinical route. It contributes to the consolidation and integrated application of the knowledge obtained during the study of the discipline.


Infection with varicella zoster virus (VZV) elicits persistent cell-mediated immunity directed against the immediate early (IE62) protein and the glycoprotein I (gp I) in most healthy subjects. In these experiments, synthetic peptides corresponding to residues of the IE62 protein and gp I were used to identify linear amino acid sequences of these immunogenic VZV proteins that were recognized by peripheral blood T lymphocytes from VZV-immune individuals of known major histocompatibility complex (MHC) type. All of 12 VZV-immune donors had T-cell proliferative responses, defined as a stimulation index (SI) greater than or equal to 2.0, to at least two of ten synthetic IE62 peptides; the mean number of IE62 peptides recognized by T cells from VZV-immune donors was seven. Five of the ten IE62 peptides stimulated T cells from 75% to 83% of the VZV-immune donors; the other five IE62 peptides were recognized by T cells from 42% to 67% of the subjects. All VZV-immune donors also had T proliferation responses to at least two of ten synthetic gp I peptides; the mean number of peptides recognized was six. Six of the ten gp I peptides were recognized by T cells from 67% to 92% of the VZV-immune donors; the frequency of donors responding to the other gp I peptides ranged from 42% to 58%. None of five nonimmune donors demonstrated T-cell proliferation to any of the IE62 or gp I peptides. A combination of two IE62 peptides provided epitopes that could be recognized by T cells from all twelve VZV-immune donors, regardless of DR type. Similarly, one gp I peptide in combination with either of two other gp I peptides induced proliferation of T cells from all immune subjects. Memory T cells with specificity for multiple short amino acid sequences of the IE62 protein and gp I were detected in subjects who had had primary VZV infection more than 20 years earlier. These observations indicate that natural VZV infection elicits a diverse cell-mediated immune response to viral proteins that is not restricted to only one or two immunodominant regions. Although the usefulness of peptide vaccines remains to be established, multiple epitopes of the IE62 protein and gp I were identified that could be presented by antigen-presenting cells (APC) and recognized by T cells from most subjects in an "outbred" human population.


With theses words (only "documents" substituted for the original "photos") Vint Cerf, one of the 'fathers of the internet' and now Google Vice President, warned in 2015 that all our photos – and obviously, documents and research data, too – might disappear soon and that our century may become the "Digital Dark Age". To avoid this, Cerf is working on a solution named "digital vellum": It shall provide a platform that can preserve any documents, the software used to create and work with them, the operating system needed for this software and even an emulation of the appropriate hardware. But it may take quite some time before this platform will be available. In the meantime, the good old paper is the only medium that surely can and will survive more than 50 years – the maximum now expected for simple formats like .txt and .pdf files. Even Microfilms (also not usable without technical means) may not survive more than 200 years. But how do we print out digital documents created for and by research: short miscellanea, articles and papers, collections of them and monographs, and in recent years even facebook postings or twitter messages? We write these documents in a dedicated (text) program, sent them to the publisher, who may forward them after several transmissions forth and back with the author(s) to a layouter, again followed by some corrections requiring exchange of the file(s) …_ and finally they may appear in print and / or online repositories. Taking into account that all participants in the process today are (or should be) well familiar with web-based Content Management Systems and – hopefully – the concept of markup languages, it is simply astonishing that there is no system yet combining the advantages of both. Such a combination could not only serve to shorten the publishing process but also provide the ecosystem for online repositories and web-based collaboration while the results – printable documents – could be updated regularly and made available via book-on-demand and as ePublications. There may be some solutions providing such a system used by publishers "in-house", but if so, they are not available for free. The paper will propose such a system based on Free and Open Source Software with a simple proof-of-concept.


This paper discusses changes in population and labour in family farming in Poland. We analyse the size and socio-demographic characteristics of the farming population, the degree of utilisation of own labour resources on the farm and the assessment of labour inputs in family farming. Our research uses data from IERiGŻ-PIB field studies as well as general statistics. In comparison to the European Union as a whole, the socio-demographic (education and age) structure of the farming population in Poland is relatively favourable. There has been a signifi cant reduction in the share of persons working exclusively on the family farm while the share of those with off -farm employment has increased. Around 500,000 persons who are not registered as unemployed and may be considered as redundant from the point of view of farming activities and represent hidden unemployment. We conclude that employment on family farms has a decreasing role in reducing the imbalance in the rural labour market in Poland.