The transformation of waves crossing a coral reef in Hawaii including the probability density function of the wave heights and periods and the shape of the spectrum is discussed. The energy attenuation and the change of height and period statistics is examined using spectral analysis and the zero up-crossing procedure. Measurements of waves at seven points along a 1650 ft transect in depths from 1 to 3.5 ft on the reef and 35 ft offshore were made. The heights were tested for Rayleigh, truncated Rayleigh and Wei bull distributions. A symmetrical distribution presented by Longuet-Higgins (1975) and the Weibull distribution were compared to the wave period density function. In both cases the Weibull probability density function fitted with a high degree of correlation. Simple procedures to obtain Weibull coefficients are given. Fourier spectra were generated and contours of cumulative energy against each position on the reef show the shifting of energy from the peak as the waves move into shallow water. A design spectrum, with the shape of the Weibull distribution, is presented with procedures given to obtain the coefficients which govern the distribution peakedness. Normalized non-dimensional frequency and period spectra were recommended for engineering applications for both reef and offshore locations. A zero up-crossing spectrum (ZUS) constructed from the zero upcrossing heights and periods is defined and compared with the Fourier spectrum. Also discussed are the benefits and disadvantages of the ZUS, particularly for non-linear wave environments in shallow water. Both the ZUS and Fourier spectra are used to test the adequacy of formulae which estimate individual wave parameters. Cross spectra analysis was made to obtain gain function and squared coherency for time series between two adjacent positions. It was found that the squared coherency is close to unity near the peak frequency. This means that the output time series can be predicted from the input by applying the gain function. However, the squared coherency was extremely small for other frequencies above 0.25 H2.


Critically ill patients may have gastrointestinal complications during hospital stay. The most clinically important complications are gastrointestinal hemorrhage and enteral nutrition-related complications. Currently, gastrointestinal hemorrhage is uncommon due to the use of medication protecting the gastric mucosa and the increasingly frequent use of enteral nutrition. Although GI hemorrhage makes necessary the modification of the type of nutritional support until the bleeding is under control, there are situations in which the hemorrhage does note necessarily imply fasting. Among enteral nutrition-related complications, the increase in gastric residue is the most frequent one. This high frequency is due to impairments in gastric motility induced by severe disease itself and therapeutic measures applied to patients, such the medication administered. The use of pro-kinetic drugs seems to be a useful measure for preventing and treating the increase in gastric residue, although in refractory cases transpyloric nutrition may be necessary. The presence of gastrointestinal complications has a negative effect on the amount of diet administered to the patients, with subsequent increase in infectious complications, hospital stay, and mortality. The use of identification protocols and appropriate management of gastrointestinal complications in critically ill patients may be beneficial in their clinical course.


Family tree diagrams are a specific type of visual representation of time that serve a range of purposes. This research considers their semiosic development across western cultures using cases from the earliest extant copies of the eighth century to current online versions. Cases are taken from the fields of religion, genealogy, history, anthropology, genetics, and popular culture. The paper begins with a general model of tree design based upon the linguistic representation of time, or tense, and then discusses in case study fashion, how each design was composed to support its use. Composition is discussed using the visual variables of the direction of time on the page, the key reference point, scale, alphanumeric and pictorial symbols, symbol positions, and the size, colour, tone, and texture of symbols and graphic elements. The paper argues that choices for the direction of time flow in a tree (e.g. left-to-right, right-to-left, top-down, etc.) depend upon many factors, which are the use of the diagram, the amount of information that needs to fit onto the page, patterns of reading and writing, aesthetic needs, the linguistic metaphor of descent, cultural values, and the "ideal-real" continuum that exists along the vertical axis for some types of graphics.


This study examines two of the smaller American choral societies that together existed for just over 30 years, 1888 to 1919: The Gounod and New Haven Oratorio Societies of New Haven, Connecticut. These societies are important because, especially in the case of the New Haven Society, they were closely related to Yale University and the work of Horatio Parker. One must assume from the onset that the two choral groups examined in the following pages did not have the prominence of the many larger New England choral societies. However a more detailed knowledge about the struggles, successes, influence and leadership of two smaller societies illuminates a field of research in the history of American choral music that has been largely ignored.


ABSTRACT Since 2009, the European Union (EU) has started to 'experiment' with new forms of territorial governance: Macro-regional strategies (MRS), such as the one for Baltic Sea Region, seek to mobilize a variety of actors and have resulted in a complex and dynamic governance architecture which can be conceived as a new 'regional institution' disposing of some form of authority and autonomy. We show that EU MRS are best conceived as test-bed for intergovernmentalizing cohesion policy - as well as its European Territorial Cooperation (ETC) objective - in a functional region, locking in previously established formats of regional cooperation and thereby going beyond cohesion policy and ETC. Thus, this paper identifies EU MRS as instances of experimentalist governance albeit still falling short on monitoring and evaluation of implementation. This weakness may ultimately jeopardize the macro-regional experiment altogether and, consequently, the development and consolidation of 'regional institutions' of the EU.


New petrographic and lithogeochemical data are presented for siliciclastic units of the Gifberg Group (western South Africa), a succession rarely studied in the past. The main detrital source for the oldest succession of the Gifberg Group, the Karoetjes Kop Formation, has been identified as sourced by local metamorphic rocks with a felsic geochemical composition. Nearly unweathered detritus (Chemical index of alteration: 50 to 60; K/Cs >>5000) occurs in the metadiamictite of this formation and is interpreted as palaeovalley infill, deposited only a short distance from its sources. The provenance signature of the overlying Aties Formation indicates significant mafic and/or intermediate sources. Possible sources are rocks of the Bushmanland Group and an unknown unmetamorphosed mafic to intermediate rock succession, which might have been exposed during the deposition of the Aties Formation. The overlying Bloupoort Formation is characterised by a geochemically homogenous metadiamictite (Swartleikrans Bed) with only slightly weathered detritus (K/Cs >10000) and overlying mature silica-rich metarenites and metaconglomerates. It is proposed that the Gifberg basin formed as a small-scale rift basin and then widened through time with subsequent longer sedimentary transport of the detritus which have caused the higher compositional maturity. The predominance of detrital input from local sources in the Karoetjes Kop Formation hinders correlation based on its mineralogical and geochemical content alone. A glacial origin for the Swartleikrans Bed was proposed previously based on the occurrence of possible dropstones. Certain criteria for a glacial depositional environment as outlined by Arnaud and Etienne (2011) were met in our study and include poor sorting, rapid lateral facies changes, crude stratification, variable thicknesses, compositional immaturity, and a gradational contact plus a chaotic texture with large boulders. While these observations point to a 'rainout' deposit, there is still a lack of evidence for glacial transport on grain surfaces or in the form of faceted clasts and pebbles.


Authors present the case of a patient with a direct carotid artery-cavernous sinus fistula caused by head trauma in whom a self-expanding covered stent was successfully used to obliterate the fistula. However, at the 9-month follow-up an angiogram revealed a complex caroticocavernous fistula that was completely obliterated with Onyx 18 transarterially.


We conducted a study of the Western Lesser Siren (Siren intermedia nettinigi), at a locality termed the Airport Road site in Jonesboro (Craighead County, AR) from November 2004 until March 2007. This site consisted of a network of roadside ditches in cultivated lawns in an industrial park. Even though sirens are known to occur frequently in ditches, most studies of the genus Siren have taken place in natural wetlands. We compiled mark-recapture data at the Airport Road site for each season to determine if the seasonal activity pattern for sirens in northeast Arkansas varied from activity data previously published from other localities in the range of this species. Capture rates were higher in the fall and spring. The predicted overall population size was 110 sirens at a density of 0.81 sirens per linear m. This density was less than the densities (in sirens/m 2 ) reported by previous studies. We found two prominent peaks in sirens per size class: the first at 161-170 mm, and the second at 201-210 mm. Other researchers have assumed that the two most abundant size classes in siren populations represent one-year-old and two-year-old cohorts. The sirens captured at the Airport Road site are smaller, on average, than those reported in previous population studies. We found no significant difference between the growth rates of sirens larger than 200 mm SVL and those smaller than 200 mm snout-vent length (= SVL; P = 0.957, confidence interval -1.945, 2.045, n = 16). Our mean growth rates did not significantly differ from growth rates reported for sirens elsewhere. We sectioned siren humeri to identify and quantify lines of arrested growth (LAGs) as part of a skeletochronological analysis. The use of SVL was a poor indicator of number of LAGs. The difference in the weather pattern history in each of the voucher sirens used likely resulted in broad ranges of LAGs for each SVL size class.


Partial synchronization of chaotic oscillators diffusively coupled in a two-dimensional (2-D) lattice are studied via the corresponding linear invariant manifolds. The set of possible regimes of cluster synchronization is stated. Conditions on the stability of cluster synchronization are obtained analytically for a wide class of coupled dynamical systems with complicated individual behavior.


ABSTRACT Aim of the study: To investigate the frequency domain effects and changes in electroencephalography (EEG) signals in children diagnosed with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). Patients and methods: The study contains 40 children. All children were between the ages of 7 and 12 years. Participants were classified into four groups which were ADHD (n=20), ADHD-I (ADHD-Inattentive type) (n=10), ADHD-C (ADHD-Combined type) (n=10), and control (n=20) groups. In this study, the frequency domain of EEG signals for ADHD, subtypes and control groups were analyzed and compared using Matlab software. The mean age of the ADHD children's group was 8.7 years and the control group 9.1 years. Results: Spectral analysis of mean power (μV2) and relative-mean power (%) was carried out for four different frequency bands: delta (0--4 Hz), theta (4--8 Hz), alpha (8--13 Hz) and beta (13--32 Hz). The ADHD and subtypes of ADHD-I, and ADHD-C groups had higher average power value of delta and theta band than that of control group. However, this is not the case for alpha and beta bands. Increases in delta/beta ratio and statistical significance were found only between ADHD-I and control group, and in delta/beta, theta/delta ratio statistical significance values were found to exist between ADHD-C and control group. Conclusion: EEG analyzes can be used as an alternative method when ADHD subgroups are identified.


This article aims to study the real and hidden technological changes that will shape the strategic contours of the world energy civilization development, as well as the development of the Russian energy sector. The paper presents the following main conclusions: i) global energy development and nation states energy sector development are determined by a set of issues, foremost of which is innovation and technological aspect that determines the local and global changes that are likely to lead to the formation of a new energy civilization; ii) new energy civilization is established by concepts of "green economy" and "smart energy". In the new energy civilization for a sufficiently long period, the level of primary fossil energy resources consumption will be reduced, and the consumption of energy derived from renewable energy sources will be increased; iii) The prospect of long-term and distant future now requires a reorientation of national energy sectors from resource-intensive and resource-dependent development type to resource-efficient and resource-tech development type. For the Russian energy sector, which is one of the problematic areas of the national economy, the local and systemic solutions are offered that reduce the level of its energy intensity and improve its energy efficiency. Keywords: Energy Sector, Green Economy, Consumption JEL Classifications: O32, Q48, O13, Q28, Q57, Q38


Tropical species may be highly vulnerable to climate change [Also see Report by Chan et al.] Early Victorian naturalists marveled at the profusion of diversity they encountered as they traveled from temperate to tropical latitudes. The inverse relationship between latitude and species richness that these naturalists first observed is now referred to as the latitudinal diversity gradient. Various ecological and evolutionary explanations have been proposed for the latitudinal diversity gradient. Of these, perhaps none are more relevant to contemporary conservation issues than Janzen's hypothesis of latitudinal differences in species' climatic tolerances and thermal selectivity (1). On page 1437 of this issue, Chan et al. (2) advance Janzen's early theories by elucidating some of the potential selective pressures imposed by climate and climate variability.


This research was conducted in order to examine the relationships that Irish Millennial consumers have with luxury brands and whether social media creates a greater emotional connection and influences purchase decisions. This was done through answering three objectives the first being to understand the role that the recession has played in the changing face of the luxury brand consumer. This objective was needed to address if consumer purchase behaviour for luxury brands had been affected since the recession, as the literature had conflicting views on this. The second objective was to understand consumer's relationship with luxury brands. It was important for the researcher to have an understanding of what it is that connects Irish consumer to luxury brands in such a competitive marketplace. The third objective was to examine role that social media plays in creating value for luxury brands. As the overall question of this research was related to social media, and addressing if it created a greater connection and influenced purchase decisions, this objective was paramount.

This research was carried out using qualitative interviews with consumers and industry experts. The sample of Irish Millennial consumers was chosen due to the literature available on luxury branding and pre-recession purchasing. This research found that in terms of social media for luxury brands, Irish consumers used it as merely an information source, it did not create any greater emotional connection to luxury brands nor did it influence their purchase decisions. The consumers and industry experts questioned were consistent in that for luxury brands in Ireland in store purchase prevails over online and the experience of buying if vital. With so many brands both luxury and non-luxury investing time and resources into having a strong social media presence this research was important to address social media and luxury brands in an Irish environment.


We bring Foucauldian and Goffmanian frameworks into dialogue to show how repressive and disciplinary power operate in the criminal trials of social movement activists. We do so through an ethnographic account of the trials on terrorism-related charges of a group of anti-deportation direct action protesters known as the Stansted 15, complemented by interviews with defendants. We argue that the prosecution of these activists on terrorism-related charges creates conditions of constraint which effectively serve to collapse the space for political and normative challenge, and obliges them to develop impression management strategies internalising and reproducing the court's expressive regime. We see these trials therefore as a normalising procedure whose goal is not the repressive application of custodial sentences, but rather a disciplinary disarming of radical critique so that leniency can be applied. At stake here, therefore, is the production through trial of the ideal disciplined liberal political subject.


In the body under physiological conditions, many vital functions are regulated by transient release of bioactive substances at a specific time and site. Thus, to mimic the function of living systems and in view of emerging chronotherapeutic approaches, which lead to development of pulsatile system that release a therapeutic agent at a rhythm that ideally matches the biological requirement of a given disease therapy. Diseases where a constant drug levels are not preferred, but needs a pulse of therapeutic concentration in a periodic manner and diseases with established oscillatory rhythm in their pathogenesis includes asthma, arthritis, duodenal ulcer, cancer, cardiovascular diseases acts as a push for the development of "Pulsatile Drug Delivery Systems ". In these systems, there is rapid and transient release of a certain amount of drug molecules within a short time-period immediately after a predetermined off release period. Various techniques are available for the pulsatile delivery like pH dependent systems, time dependent systems, etc. Pulsatile drug delivery system providing special and temporal delivery and increasing patient compliance. Pulsatile drug delivery system is defined as the rapid and transient release of certain amount of molecules within a short time period immediately after predetermined off-release periods i.e. lag time. Advantages of the pulsatile drug delivery system are reduced dose frequency; reduce side effects, drug targeting to specific site like colon and many more. Now in market varies technologies of pulsatile drug delivery system like OROS, CODAS etc. are launched by pharmaceutical companies.


Open-graded friction courses (OGFC), or porous friction courses (PFC) as defined by the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT), are a special gap-graded asphalt mixture characterized by a large interconnected air void content. In general, the voids content is at a minimum of 18%. Similar mixtures [porous asphalt (PA)] with voids contents as high as 25% are successfully applied in Europe. These interconnected voids make these mixtures highly permeable with the capacity to reduce tire-pavement noise. These characteristics are associated with the following advantages that can be obtained from the use of PFC as a surface layer: safety improvements, economic benefits, and environmental benefits. On the other hand, the following aspects are identified as disadvantages of PFC: reduced performance, high construction costs, winter maintenance issues, and limited structural contribution. Substantial efforts have been undertaken to correct previous failures in OGFC, and significant advances have been made since the 1990s with respect to mixture performance and service life. This report summarizes the current state of the practice related to mixture design methods (proposed by different U.S. and international agencies and institutions), construction, maintenance, and performance of surface courses using OGFC and PA identified from a worldwide literature review. In addition, the report presents a synthesis of the relevant aspects related to the current practice and application of PFC in Texas based on the interviews conducted with selected TxDOT districts. The report represents the baseline for a research project aimed to improve the PFC mixture design method using advanced research tools and develop guidelines for construction and maintenance of PFC. In this project, special efforts will be directed to address functionality in terms of permeability and noise reduction, and durability in terms of moisture damage and aging potential.


This Chapter provides an overview of crime and the criminal justice system in Cambodia. After a brief review of the history and politics of the country the chapter examines the major crime categories, patterns, and statistics. The number of crimes recorded by the police for each category between 1998 and 2009 and the trends in homicide rates between 1992 and 2009 are presented. Official crime statistics are compared with results from two sweeps of the United Nations International Crime Victim Survey. Next the criminal justice system is investigated. The lack of independence and the endemic corruption in the three branches of the system is highlighted. The role, structure, and functioning of the police and judiciary are explored with a focus on courts and procedures, the rights of the accused, prosecution and case investigation, as well as punishment for serious crimes such as murder, rape, robbery and drug trafficking. The chapter also reviews common practices and problems in the correctional system and presents trends in prison population between 1995 and 2008.


There are various issues that limit the development and deployment of new software solutions in cancer image analysis research. In this paper we discuss some of these and propose a framework design based on cloud computing concepts, Microsoft technologies, existing middleware and imaging toolkits. Furthermore, we address some of these issues by introducing collaborative visual tools for visual input data and multi-user interactions.


The purpose of this paper is to consider the impact of the Equator Principles on banking disclosures. The research explores whether signatory banks are disclosing information related to their obligations under the Equator Principles and discusses the types of disclosures being made publicly available. The research illustrates that banks are disclosing very little information to help users assess the impact the Equator Principles have had on these banks practices. It is also suggested that banks are reframing their identity through these principles, but it is still difficult to assess whether this is also transforming practice. There is little academic research considering financial institutions and their social and environmental responsibilities and this work seeks to address this gap.


"No homeland," suggests T. W. Adorno, "can survive being processed by the films which celebrate it" (236). Yet, in a material sense, homelands can not only survive but prosper by allowing their experience to be represented on film. This allows, for example, a national identity to be promoted in ways that elicit both recognition and good will. There is a price to be paid, however, for manufacturing such "advertisements produced for the world" (Adorno 233) and Adorno identifies this as standardization. Reproducing a commercially successful version of nationality converts a complex, unique character into an "interchangeable sameness," a repertoire of familiar images and gestures that are as instantly recognizable as a trademark or a brand name. Critical reflection upon national identity is arrested, therefore, by the continuous presentation of what is already known. Culture "in the true sense, did not simply accommodate itself to human beings" but "raised a protest against the petrified relations under which they lived" (Adorno 232). The commodities of the culture industry satisfy only the most conventional social understanding. The fixed or essentializing nature of national imagery has been of acute concern to criticism of Irish cinema, especially given the preponderance of foreign capital and cultural expectations in films concerned with the country.1 As Lance Pettitt observes, Ireland's national cinema is often "defined by its subordinate, promiscuous relations and exchanges with Hollywood, British and European cinemas" (67). This has produced a number of cinematic conventions that are used habitually to convey the essence of Irish experience. One familiar form of visual rhetoric associates Irish identity with an immemorial world of rural tradition. Cinematic narratives that depict an entrapment in and resistance to fatal circumstances have often accompanied this.2 Yet, the substantial presence of these tropes in Jim Sheridan's The Field (1990)-adapted from the play of the same name by John B. Keane-has drawn little attention.3 The film was acclaimed upon its release and described in The Irish Times, by Michael Dwyer, as "uniquely Irish" and as making "no concession to the international cinema-going audience." This reviewer praised the "culture shock" it would deliver to "many of its young and even youngish Irish urban audience today"(10). British critics concurred. The Sunday Times's George Perry praised the elemental, as well as the symbolic, qualities of Richard Harris's performance in the central role: "Nature is raw and rough, and there is a sense of allegory, that Harris stands for old Erin, trampled on and exploited for centuries, even by its kith who have quit its shores for better pickings." To such reactions one might well transpose Adorno's observation concerning the "fetish character of music" to cinema : "The familiarity of the piece is a surrogate for the quality ascribed to it. To like it is almost the same thing as to recognize it" (26). As this essay will argue, despite its distinguished Irish director, The Field demonstrates the continuing power of a stereotypical and homogenous view of Irish temperament, history, and landscape in contemporary film. This is more noticeable when Sheridan's screenplay and direction are compared with Keane's play. In short, Sheridan rewrites The Field by instating a conventional ideological narrative that its source refuses to provide. Readings of films that privilege a source's priority have been subjected, however, to searching and much-needed critique. Brian McFarlane's observation is both representative and salutary: "There are many kinds of relations which may exist between film and literature, and fidelity is only one-and rarely the most exciting" (11). Seeing literary texts as resources for adaptation and, consequently, film as a critical and creative interpretation of these has been a fertile process. This should not inhibit, however, an awareness of how films can transform texts in ways that are ideologically regressive. …


The purpose of this paper is to list the recent updates of the \proglang{R} package \pkg{catR}. This package allows for generating response patterns under a computerized adaptive testing (CAT) framework with underlying item response theory (IRT) models. Among the most important updates, well-known polytomous IRT models are now supported by \pkg{catR}; several item selection rules have been added; and it is now possible to perform post-hoc simulations. Some functions were also rewritten or withdrawn to improve the usefulness and performances of the package.


Background: This study was initiated because the author noted that a large number of patients with diabetes attending a vascular orthotic clinic were not wearing the orthotic devices they had been prescribed and this was having detrimental effects on their health. A literature search found that there was very little evidence to explain why patients choose not to wear such devices. The evidence available was quantitative, which may have prevented patients from discussing their opinions. Objectives: The aim of this study was to explore the experiences of adults with diabetes regarding the prescription and wearing of orthotic devices to better understand why some patients chose not wear them. Methods: Participants were interviewed using semi-structured interviews. These interviews were taped, transcribed and analysed by the author and a number of themes and categories were identified. Results: The themes that emerged included the patients' past experiences, experiences of the clinic, problems associated with their footwear, beliefs and motivations, compliance, and coping strategies. Conclusions: The findings have a number of implications for the care of people with diabetic foot disease. These include the need to assess and treat patients holistically, to develop trusting and open patient-practitioner relationships, and to use strategies to help patients adapt to their circumstances. Conflict of interest: None


Although the United States has developed highly sophisticated markets for funding corporate investment projects, markets for financing home ownership are comparatively rudimentary. When a corporation wishes to fund a project, it can choose any mix of debt and equity financing. In contrast, to buy a home, a household must take on debt in the form of a mortgage. The authors of this book propose the development of new markets, called Partnership Markets, that would allow households to use equity finance to buy their homes. With these new markets, a household would be able to finance housing not only with a mortgage, but also with an institutional investor who would provide part of the equity capital for the house in exchange for a share of the ultimate selling price. The new markets would offer many benefits to both homeowners and the broader financial community. In the current market, many Americans are forced to rent housing because they cannot afford to buy. Those who do buy are burdened with high debt payments. They also have the vast majority of their wealth tied up in their home and are exposed to the high risk levels of such an undiversified portfolio. With Partnership Markets, households would be able to buy homes with much smaller mortgages, thereby greatly reducing their expenses. They would also be able to diversify their assets and create less risky portfolios. For the broader financial community, Partnership Markets would provide an opportunity to diversify into the residential real estate market. To give the reader a rounded view of their proposal, the authors explain the economic theory of the housing market and the housing finance market, as well as key aspects of the institutional structure and performance records of the current market. They discuss the wider ramifications of their proposal, including changes in the form and structure of the secondary market, the government's role in the housing market, the composition of assets held by institutions, and the general level of risk for individuals.


Abstract This article explores racial disparities between assisted housing outcomes of black and white and white households with children. We compare the assisted housing occupied by black and white households with children, and examine whether young adult education, employment, and earnings outcomes in 2011 differ between blacks and whites who spent part of their childhood in assisted housing in the 2000s. We use a special version of the Panel Study of Income Dynamics (PSID) that has been address-matched to federally assisted housing, and the PSID's Transition to Adulthood supplement, along with geocode-matched data from the U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey (ACS), CoreLogic real estate data, and U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). Statistical methods include difference in means, logit and general linear models. We find no evidence of racial disparities in the type of assisted housing program, the physical quality of project-based developments, or the management of public housing developments in the 2000 decade. But black households with children are more likely to live in assisted housing that is located in poorer quality neighborhoods. Multivariate tests reveal that the worse outcomes of black young adults compared with whites disappear once socioeconomic differences are taken into account. The discrepancy in assisted housing neighborhood quality experienced by black and white children makes no additional contribution to predicting young adult outcomes. Nonetheless, black children living in relatively better assisted housing neighborhoods tend to have better outcomes in young adulthood than those who live in poorer quality assisted housing neighborhoods. We discuss sources of racial disparity in neighborhood quality, and the policies enacted and proposed to address it.


In Australia today, the weight of opinion is in favour of the recognition of Aboriginal customary law. However, the recognition entails several difficulties. Firstly there is the politically sensitive issue of whether it is appropriate to apply a different regime of laws to a section of the Australian population. Secondly, significant aspects of Aboriginal customary law are secret; this makes recognition of the law rather difficult. More importantly, there are rules and practices of Aboriginal customary law which seem repugnant to white and indeed, Western standards of human rights. Thus while general opinion in Australia favours the recognition of Aboriginal customary law, it does not support the recognition of tribal Aboriginal practices, particularly relating to punishment. The justification for rejecting such practices is based in part on the view that article 7 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) precludes their recognition through the prohibition of inhuman treatment or punishment. The focus of this paper is on the recognition of Aboriginal laws with respect to customary practices.


The Supreme Court's "weaponized" First Amendment (as Justice Kagan recently called it in her Janus v. AFSCME dissent) has been its strongest anti-regulatory weapon in recent decades, slashing campaign-finance regulation, public-sector union financing, and pharmaceutical regulation, and threatening a broader remit. Along with others, I have previously criticized these developments as a "new Lochnerism." In this essay, part of a forthcoming Columbia Law Review symposium, I press beyond these criticisms to diagnose the ideological outlook of these opinions and to propose an alternative. The leading decisions of the anti-regulatory First Amendment often associate free speech with a vision of market efficiency; but, I argue, closer to their heart is anti-statist fear of entrenchment by elected officials, interest groups, and bureaucrats. These opinions limit the power of government to implement distributional judgments in key areas of policy, and, by thus tying the government's hands, constrain opportunities for entrenchment. This anti-distributive deployment of market-protecting policy is the signature of neoliberal jurisprudence.
But this jurisprudence has deep problems in an order of capitalist democracy such as ours. Wherever the state cannot implement distributional judgments, markets will do so instead. Market distributions are, empirically speaking, highly unequal, and these inequalities produce their own kind of entrenchment--class entrenchment for the wealthy. A jurisprudence that aims at government neutrality by tying the distributional hands of the state cannot achieve neutrality, but instead implicitly sides with market inequality over distinctively democratic forms of equality. Once we see that any constitutional vision involves some relationship between the "democratic" and the "capitalist" parts of capitalist democracy, it becomes possible not just to criticize the Court's siding with market winners, but also to ask what kinds of equality-pursuing policies the Constitution must permit to reset that balance in favor of democracy.


Abstract The issue of socio-economic well-being in resource-dependent communities has been one of ongoing interest for geographers, rural sociologists and economists. While much research focuses on the impacts of industry downturn and closure on well-being, this paper is focused on the implications of large-scale resource development and rapid growth in boomtowns. In contrast to a long tradition of research in other parts of the developed world, relatively few studies explicitly examine the relationship between resource reliance and socio-economic well-being in Australia's resource-dependent regions. Within the context of a nationwide resources boom, this paper presents an analysis of resource dependence and socio-economic well-being in the remote mining towns of Kalgoorlie-Boulder, Port Hedland and Karratha-Dampier in Western Australia. The paper looks into the anatomy of the resources boom in terms of local demographic and economic change, and examines a range of socio-economic indicators, such as income, cost of living, housing affordability, welfare receipts and unemployment. The paper then contemplates the implications of rapid growth in Western Australia's resource boomtowns and the associated challenges for regional governance.


Between 1974 and 1997 Frits Barend and Henk van Dorp have conducted numerous interviews with Johan Cruyff, one of the greatest footballers the world has ever seen. In these extraordinarily candid interviews, Cruyff talks about how he learnt his trade, going on to play football for Barcelona and Ajax, two of the world's greatest club side. He also talks about the philosophy behind 'total football', the driving force behind the great Dutch side of the seventies, and a style of football many top teams attempt to emulate today. Then there was the eight years of success as manager of Barcelona, one of the most stressful jobs in the game, and back to Ajax, where with his emphasis on youth and home-grown talent, he put together another team of fantastic ability.


Laser ablation inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (LA–ICP–MS) combines a low degree of invasiveness (termed quasi-non-destructive) with measurements of concentrations of elements and/or their isotopic compositions in artefacts. The technique has risen to prominence in archaeometric research. Successful applications include the use of trace elements to document the trade of raw glass from Egypt and Mesopotamia to Mycenaean Greece during the Late Bronze Age and the use of Pb isotope ratios to show that a common source of metal was used to mint bronze coins in an ancient Roman city on the Iberian Peninsula during the reigns of Emperors Augustus to Claudius. Prospects for using LA–ICP–MS for elemental mapping (imaging) and for extending the application of isotopic tracing for archaeometry are evaluated.


STUDY OBJECTIVE: To examine the relation between experimental and non-experimental study design in vaccinology. DESIGN: Assessment of each study design's capability of testing four aspects of vaccine performance, namely immunogenicity (the capacity to stimulate the immune system), duration of immunity conferred, incidence and seriousness of side effects, and number of infections prevented by vaccination. SETTING: Experimental and non-experimental studies on hepatitis B (HB) vaccines in the Cochrane Vaccines Field Database. RESULTS: Experimental and non-experimental vaccine study designs are frequently complementary but some aspects of vaccine quality can only be assessed by one of the types of study. More work needs to be done on the relation between study quality and its significance in terms of effect size.


Background & Objectives : Exposure to heat is a significant problem in the Industries. The present study aimed at the evaluation of thermal risk, measurement of heat stress index, and proposing a plan for heat control in cutting and welding units in profile factory. Methods : The data of study was analyzed through the measurement of physical parameters with digital WBGT device and silvered Kata thermometer. Workers' thermal comfort was calculated based on predicted mean voted (PMV) and predicted percentage of dissatisfied (PPD) with regard to the computed parameters. In order to control heat stress, an aluminum-insulated wall was used and airflow velocity was increased in cutting and welding units. Results : The results of the WBGT index before and after the intervention using the shield were 30.8 ° C and 23.2 ° C , and by increasing airflow velocity were 30 ° C and 29.5 ° C respectively. In addition, the obtained results for PMV and PPD by using the shield were 1.38 and %44, and by increasing airflow velocity they were %90 and 2.56 respectively. The results confirmed by using the shield the measured WBGT index was lower than the occupational exposure limit (28 ◦ c). Conclusion : The results showed that by appropriate designing and using control methods, such as insulation shield and increased airflow velocity, optimal thermal comfort based on national heat exposure limits could be reached.


ABSTRACTThe only vital value for an enterprise is the experience, skills, innovativeness and insights of its people. Human resources are the key components in every organization. It represents total knowledge, talent, and attitude, creative ability, aptitude and belief of an individual involved in the affairs of an organization. Management of human resources is an integral part for every concern. It is associated with the people at work and their relationships within and outside the enterprise. Recruitment of efficient staffis one of the important activities as it generates the human capital for the concern. In the recent years, the field of human resource management has undergone numerous technological advancements. Internet has made an impact on the overall functioning of human resource department. HR processes and procedures have been supported by everything from complicated file-folder systems to automation, going from usage multiple systems and databases to a single version of the whole system. It has progressed with frequent innovations viz; Human Resource Information System, Virtual Human Resources and Electronic Human Resource Management (E-HRM) etc. E-HRM means conducting of business transactions by using internet along with other technologies. In other words, E-HRM is a way of implementing HRM strategies, policies and practices in an organization through a directed support of web technology based channels. It influences every area of human resource management. E-Recruitment refers to posting vacancies on the corporate website or on an online recruitment vendors' website. It allows applicants to send their resumes electronically through an email or in some other electronic format. The e-recruitment methods and systems have helped to reduce much of the routine administrative tasks involved in recruitment. The study tries to identify the overall concept of e-recruitment. It aims at collecting information regarding methods viz; e-mails, corporate websites and commercial job boards etc. of e-recruitment. It includes the general advantages and disadvantages of e-recruitment.Keywords: E-recruitment, Internet, Human Resources, E-HRM.INTRODUCTION:Recruitment includes those practices and activities carried out by the organization with the primary purpose of identifying and attracting potential employees (Breaugh & Starke, 2000). It is an important part of human resource management as it performs the essential function of drawing important resources i.e. human capital into the organization (Barber, 1998). Online recruitment, also known as e-recruitment is one of the worldwide trends for HR functions (Bussler & Davis, 2001). It has evolved into a sophisticated interactive engine with the ability to automate every facet of the hiring process virtually (Joe Dysart, 2006). The internet can ease the selection of employees, especially where long distances are involved (Galanaki, 2005). E-recruitment has grown rapidly over the past ten years and is now widely used by both recruiters and job seekers across the world (Cober & Brown, 2006). The internet has proved to be a powerful tool for the delivery of different kind of services like HR planning, HR evaluation, HR rewards and HR recruitment etc. under the umbrella of EHRM.RECRUITMENT AND E-RECRUITMENT:Recruitment includes those practices and activities carried out by the organization with the primary purpose of identifying and attracting potential employees. It is an important part of human resource management as it performs the essential function of drawing human assets into the organization (Barber, 1998). Recruitment is a process of searching candidates to fill vacant staffvacancies in any organization. The recruitment process attracts and secures the services of capable personnel with effective and optimum utilization of human resources. There are so many methods available to recruit the desired staffin any concern viz; recruitment agencies, newspapers advertisements, head hunting etc. …


Closed-circuit television has the potential to promote health in hospitals, as a significant number of patients watch large amounts of television (TV) during their stays. This project sought to investigate the potential of a dedicated hospital TV channel to communicate health messages in an entertaining way by assessing the reach and appeal of a closed-circuit hospital TV channel - RPAtv. A cross-sectional survey of 162 inpatients and visitors at the Royal Prince Alfred Hospital was conducted. Sixty-four percent of participants were aware of RPAtv, with patients (72%) significantly more likely (P < 0.001) to be aware of RPAtv than visitors (41%). Almost 60% of those who were aware of the channel had viewed it. Of those who had viewed RPAtv, 73.3% rated the programming as "good" or "very good". When asked about programming preferences, 34% suggested that the channel should include health and hospital information. However, 66% said that they would rather watch programming that was entertaining, light-hearted and escapist. The high approval rating of programming by viewers suggests that the channel is improving the experience of patients and visitors during their time in hospital. However, its effectiveness as a vehicle for health promotion could be somewhat limited. Any health education-focused objectives of similar channels need to be realistic about the extent of likely increases in health knowledge.


Context. The Multi-site All-Sky CAmeRA (MASCARA) and bRing are both photometric ground-based instruments with multiple stations that rely on interline charge-coupled devices with wide-field lenses to monitor bright stars in the local sky for variability. MASCARA has already discovered several planets in the northern sky, which are among the brightest known transiting hot Jupiter systems.
Aims. In this paper, we aim to characterize a transiting planetary candidate in the southern skies found in the combined MASCARA and bRing data sets of HD 85628, an A7V star of V = 8.2 mag at a distance 172 pc, to establish its planetary nature.
Methods. The candidate was originally detected in data obtained jointly with the MASCARA and bRing instruments using a Box Least-Square search for transit events. Further photometry was taken by the 0.7 m Chilean-Hungarian Automated Telescope (CHAT), and radial velocity measurements with the Fiber Dual Echelle Optical Spectrograph on the European Southern Observatory 1.0 m Telescope. High-resolution spectra during a transit were taken with the CTIO high-resolution spectrometer (CHIRON) on the Small and Moderate Aperture Research Telescope System 1.5 m telescope to target the Doppler shadow of the candidate.
Results. We confirm the existence of a hot Jupiter transiting the bright A7V star HD 85628, which we co-designate as MASCARA-4b and bRing-1b. It is in an orbit of 2.824 days, with an estimated planet radius of 1.53−0.04+0.07 RJup and an estimated planet mass of 3.1 ± 0.9 MJup, putting it well within the planetary regime. The CHAT observations show a partial transit, reducing the probability that the transit was around a faint background star. The CHIRON observations show a clear Doppler shadow, implying that the transiting object is in a retrograde orbit with |λ| =244.9−3.6+2.7°. The planet orbits at a distance of 0.047 ± 0.004 AU from the star and has a zero-albedo equilibrium temperature of 2100 ± 100 K. In addition, we find that HD 85628 has a previously unreported stellar companion star in the Gaia DR2 data demonstrating common proper motion and parallax at 4.3′′ separation (projected separation ~740 AU), and with absolute magnitude consistent with being a K/M dwarf.
Conclusions. MASCARA-4 b/bRing-1 b is the brightest transiting hot Jupiter known to date in a retrograde orbit. It further confirms that planets in near-polar and retrograde orbits are more common around early-type stars. Due to its high apparent brightness and short orbital period, the system is particularly well suited for further atmospheric characterization.


Bernie Bridges has always dreamed about going to PPP--the exclusive Preppy Prep Prep school. All the kids at PPP are rich, rich, rich! And if there is one thing that Bernie loves it's money, money, money! But how will Bernie get to PPP? All he and his buddies have to do is win the National School Make-a-Great-Invention Contest, and off they go to PPP for a week to compete in the final round. There's just one problem--their best ideas are a Hamster on a Stick and a light-up comb! With a little scheming and a lot of luck, Bernie and his guys manage to win their school contest. But when they get to Preppy Prep Prep, Bernie must come up with yet another invention--this one cleverer than the first. No sweat! But the filthy rich PPP kids are smarter and sneakier than any kid at Rotten School. Has Bernie finally met his match?


I examine the effects of proprietary information on corporate transparency and voluntary disclosure. To do so, I develop and validate two measures of firms' reliance on trade secrecy: one based on 10-K disclosures and one based on subsequent litigation outcomes. I complement these measures by using the staggered passage of the Uniform Trade Secrets Act as a shock to trade secrecy. I find that firms that begin to rely more heavily on trade secrecy substitute increased voluntary disclosure of nonproprietary information for decreased disclosure of proprietary information. The total effect of trade secrecy is a decrease in corporate transparency.


Fall detection is a major problem in healthcare systems, especially for elderly people who are the most vulnerable. It is important to design and implement not only an accurate fall detection system (FDS) but also a system with a real-time response. The achievement of high accuracy and fast response time together allows the development of a system that helps saving lives, time and money in healthcare industry. This paper presents the design, simulation and implementation of a novel FDS using the Shimmer wearable sensor. The discrete wavelet transform (DWT) is applied for preprocessing the data coming from the Shimmer platform, principal component analysis (PCA) is used for dimensionality reduction and feature extraction and finally, a binary decision tree (DT) is utilized for classification purpose. The system is simulated in MATLAB prior to the implementation on the Zynq system-on-chip (SoC) for hardware acceleration. DWT is executed on the processing system (PS) of the Zynq platform in a software manner while PCA and DT are both implemented on the programmable logic (PL) for hardware acceleration. PCA and DT are developed in C and synthesized in Vivado high level synthesis (HLS) tool to transform the C based designed into a register transfer level (RTL) implementation. Various optimization techniques are explored in Vivado HLS. The performance of the FDS in terms of accuracy of the classifier is 88.4% while the overall resources used in PL of the Zynq vary between 2% and 23% depending on the running frequency and optimization technique used.


Austria has been a member country of SHARE since its inception in 2004. In this paper, we address quality management in surveys and highlight three components – contract, sampling, and fieldwork management – that are fundamental for high data-quality. We provide an overview of a SHARE wave and discuss our approach to data-quality management based on the example of SHARE management in Austria. Results confirm that focusing on fieldwork quality management has the potential to improve overall data quality.


THE SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLER 'There was nothing extraordinary about my childhood or background. And yet I looked in vain for any aspect of my family's story when I went to university to read history, and continued to search fruitlessly for it throughout the next decade. Eventually I realised I would have to write this history myself.' What was it really like to live through the twentieth century? In 1910 three-quarters of the population were working class, but their story has been ignored until now. Based on the first-person accounts of servants, factory workers, miners and housewives, award-winning historian Selina Todd reveals an unexpected Britain where cinema audiences shook their fists at footage of Winston Churchill, communities supported strikers and pools winners (like Viv Nicholson) refused to become respectable. Charting the rise of the working class, through two world wars to their fall in Thatcher's Britain and today, Todd tells their story for the first time, in their own words. Uncovering a huge hidden swathe of Britain's past, The People is the vivid history of a revolutionary century and the people who really made Britain great.


Abstract. The ozonolysis of alkenes is considered to be an important source of atmospheric peroxides, which serve as oxidants, reservoirs of HOx radicals, and components of secondary organic aerosols (SOAs). Recent laboratory investigations of this reaction identified hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) and hydroxymethyl hydroperoxide (HMHP) in ozonolysis of isoprene. Although larger hydroxyalkyl hydroperoxides (HAHPs) were also expected, their presence is not currently supported by experimental evidence. In the present study, we investigated the formation of peroxides in the gas phase ozonolysis of isoprene at various relative humidities on a time scale of tens of seconds, using a quartz flow tube reactor coupled with the online detection of peroxides. We detected a variety of conventional peroxides, including H2O2, HMHP, methyl hydroperoxide, bis-hydroxymethyl hydroperoxide, and ethyl hydroperoxide, and interestingly found three unknown peroxides. The molar yields of the conventional peroxides fell within the range of values provided in the literature. The three unknown peroxides had a combined molar yield of ~ 30% at 5% relative humidity (RH), which was comparable with that of the conventional peroxides. Unlike H2O2 and HMHP, the molar yields of these three unknown peroxides were inversely related to the RH. On the basis of experimental kinetic and box model analysis, we tentatively assigned these unknown peroxides to C2−C4 HAHPs, which are produced by the reactions of different Criegee intermediates with water. Our study provides experimental evidence for the formation of large HAHPs in the ozonolysis of isoprene (one of the alkenes). These large HAHPs have a sufficiently long lifetime, estimated as tens of minutes, which allows them to become involved in atmospheric chemical processes, e.g., SOA formation and radical recycling.


We have developed the VB8300 VectorCreator baseband signal generator and the VN7100 VectorExplorer wideband modulation analyzer, capable of generating or analyzing a wideband modulation signal required for the nextgeneration wireless communications market. The VB8300 features a maximum clock rate of 300 MS/s, a D/A resolution of 14 bits, a multichannel signal generation for up to 8 channels, an ultra long memory of up to 128 M points per channel, as well as sequence functions and noise and analog addition functions. The VN7100 features an 84-MHz to 6.2-GHz RF input frequency range, a maximum analysis bandwidth of 168 MHz, and an ultra long memory, thereby enabling various analyses including EVM analysis. This paper outlines both the VB8300 and VN7100 and their applications.


This essay reassesses James Fenimore Cooper9s literary relationship to Walter Scott by examining the depiction of Scots in The Last of the Mohicans (1826) and The Prairie (1827). Read as companion texts, these novels represent the imperial migrations of Scots as a cause of Native Americans9 unfortunate, but for Cooper seemingly inevitable, eradication. They also trace the development of an American identity that incorporates feudal chivalry and savage fortitude and that is formed through cultural appropriation rather than racial mixing. The Last of the Mohicans 9 Scottish protagonist, Duncan Heyward, learns to survive in the northeastern wilderness by adopting the Mohicans9 savage self-control as a complement to his own feudal chivalry; in turn, The Prairie 9s Paul Hover equips himself for the challenges of westward expansion by adopting both the remnants of this chivalry and the exilic adaptability and colonial striving that Cooper accords to Scots. I suggest that the cultural appropriation through which Heyward and Hover achieve an American identity that incorporates Scottish chivalry and savage self-command offers a model for the literary relationship between Cooper9s and Scott9s historical romances. The Leatherstocking Tales borrow selectively from the Waverely Novels, rejecting their valorization of feudal chivalry while incorporating their representation of cultural appropriation as a mechanism of teleological social development.


Abstract Background: The goal of this study was to provide reference ranges for thyrotropin (TSH) and free thyroxine (fT4) based on data collected from a disease-free sample of French middle-aged adults. Methods: A total of 3218 subjects participating in the Supplémentation en Vitamines et Minéraux Antioxydants (SU.VI.MAX) study had measurements for TSH, fT4 and urinary iodine concentrations. Thyroid volume and structure were evaluated using standardized ultrasonography. We selected a disease-free sample which included 2338 subjects (1313 females aged 35–60 years and 1025 males aged 45–60 years) with normal thyroid imaging, no previously reported thyroid disease or use of thyroid medication, and no risk factors for thyroid dysfunction. Distribution of TSH and fT4 was estimated in males and females. Results: The median (central 95% range) TSH serum concentrations for females were 1.79 mU/L (0.29–5.21 mU/L) for ages 35–44 years and 1.98 mU/L (0.27–6.94 mU/L) for ages 45–60 years (p<0.0001, for age). The median (central 95% range) for males 45–60-year-old was 1.63 mU/L (0.28–4.54 mU/L) (p<0.0001, for sex). Sex- and age-specific mean fT4 concentrations did not differ significantly (p=0.06) between males and females and (p=0.08) between female age groups. However, median fT4 concentrations between 45–60-year-old males and females differed (p<0.001). Conclusions: In middle-aged adults, the TSH distribution was associated with gender and, among females, with age. Stratification according to gender and age should be considered when TSH ranges are used in the diagnosis, treatment and monitoring of thyroid disease. Clin Chem Lab Med 2009;47:1497–505.


This paper examines the changes over time in public sector wages and employment relative to private sector wages and employment using data from surveys of establishments and individuals. The paper finds that:(1) The pay of public sector workers relative to private sector workers varies greatly over time. Contrary to the view that public sector payis inflexible, variations in relative pay are due as much to fluctuations in public pay as to fluctuations in private pay.(2) The relatively high paid public sector worker of the early 1970s has within the span of a decade lost much of his or her advantage over otherwise comparable private sector workers, seriously denting if not destroying the picture of the 'overpaid' public employee which developed in the early 1970s.The group of public sector workers who tend to be most highly paid in the U.S. relative to private sector workers are blacks and women, suggesting that the public sector discriminates less than does the private sector.(3) Differentials in public and private sector pay vary greatly depending on the nature of comparisons, with for example Current Populations Survey comparisons of individuals with similar broad human capital showing federal employees to be higher paid than private employees and Bureau of Labor Statistics surveys of wage rates in particular occupations showing federal workers to be lower paid.(4) Public sector employment follows a very different pattern of change than private sector employment. It has smaller annual variation, and moves counter cyclically rather than cyclically. In terms of demographic composition the public sector employs relatively more blacks and women than the private sector.


This article offers a psychosocial analysis of interview material from a larger study on 'brothering', making an empirically grounded contribution to what are frequently abstract debates on the use of psychoanalysis to 'read' narratives. Recent psychosocial approaches which employ psychoanalysis alongside discursive psychology are reviewed, including a Lacanian approach which has been described as a less certain and potentially less individualizing and pathologizing gaze to take up in psychosocial studies. The authors put forward the notion of concentric reflexivity to apply Lacanian theoretical concepts to narrative material, 'troubling' sense-making, alongside recent calls for psychoanalysis to be employed in psychosocial work as a tool for 'disintegrating' and 'disrupting' text. The discussion argues for the interruptedness of narrative as an ethical necessity and for acknowledging fragmentation as central to the construction of an ethical subject.


Staphylococcus aureus is one of the most important pathogens associated with bovine mastitis. Recent studies have shown that Staph. aureus strains may differ in virulence, and in their ability to disseminate across commercial dairy herds. The goal of this study was to determine whether Staph. aureus isolates differed in their ability to colonize mammary tissue, and whether such differences could be related to molecular characteristics. Quarter milk and mammary tissues of 22 cows from two dairy herds, were collected at slaughter and bacteriological analysis was performed. All Staph. aureus isolates were characterized by Pulsed Field Gel Electrophoresis (PFGE) and microarray. Overall 45 mammary quarters were infected and 20 Staph. aureus isolates were identified. The bacteria were mostly recovered from both milk and tissue of the same quarter in significantly higher numbers from herd A cows compared with herd B. Molecular characterization of the isolates showed distinct PFGE profiles for isolates from each herd. Differences in virulence factors between herds A and B isolates were evidenced The genes for enterotoxin D, J and R were present in herd A, those for G, I, N, M, O and U were shown in herd B, whilst both components of the leukocidin lukD/E genes were only carried by herd A isolates. Furthermore, all herd A isolates showed β-haemolysin activity, which was absent in all but one isolate from herd B. Therefore our data indicate that Staph. aureus isolates showing differences in their ability to disseminate and colonize across quarters, also have significantly different virulence characteristics.


A low-cost high-precision thickness measurement system for transparent plates that uses dual digital versatile disc (DVD) pickups is proposed. The two DVD pickups are used as the transmitter and the receiver in the measurement system, respectively. One of the DVD pickups emits a laser to the other DVD pickup (receiver) and projects on the photodiode integrated circuit of the receiver. The transparent plate is placed in the optical path to change the focused point that will affect the focusing error signal (FES) of the receiver. Using the FES, a mathematical model for thickness measurement based on the geometric optical method is developed. The experimental results show that the accuracy is 1.5 microm, and the uncertainty is estimated to be +/-1.37 microm for the measured thickness of 150 microm.


Abstract:This article explores neoliberal feminism in relation to Africa, with a particular focus on Nigeria. It argues that neoliberal feminism is more likely to be embraced in Nigeria than some of the other kinds of feminism that are circulating there. This is because its high levels of poverty and unemployment have fostered an individualised entrepreneurial mindset that is in some ways more in line with this kind of feminism. The need for income means that all women who can find paid work take it on-often in the informal economy. Thus equality at work and in business has been easier to achieve than equality in the home. It could be argued that a Nigerian version of the neoliberal feminist goal of individual empowerment and a good work-life balance has emerged, though it remains dependent on accepting inequality within the family. This implies the need to be aware that ideas have very different effects in different contexts. The article also reflects on the work of African Women in Media, which seeks to mobilise women in media industries, and to improve the representation and visibility of women in African media.


We report a randomised double blind trial of myo-inositol (inositol) supplementation for 10 days in 74 preterm infants with a birth weight less than 2000 g (mean gestational age 29.5 weeks and mean birth weight 1266 g). All infants required artificial ventilation for treatment of respiratory distress syndrome. Inositol (120-160 mg/kg/day) was administered by the ingastric or intravenous route. The 37 infants who received inositol supplementation required less mechanical ventilation during days 4-10, had less failures of indomethacin to close ductus arteriosus, and had less deaths or bronchopulmonary dysplasia, or both, than the infants treated with placebo. There were no detectable adverse effects. These preliminary results suggest that inositol is an important nutrient in immature preterm infants.


ABSTRACT Background Prostate-specific antigen densities have limited success in diagnosing prostate cancer. We emphasise the importance of the peripheral zone when considered with its cellular constituents, the "prostatocrit". Objective Using zonal volumes and asymmetry of glandular acini, we generate a peripheral zone acinar volume and density. With the ratio to the whole gland, we can better predict high grade and all grade cancer. We can model the gland into its acinar and stromal elements. This new "prostatocrit" model could offer more accurate nomograms for biopsy. Materials and Methods 674 patients underwent TRUS and biopsy. Whole gland and zonal volumes were recorded. We compared ratio and acinar volumes when added to a "clinic" model using traditional PSA density. Univariate logistic regression was used to find significant predictors for all and high grade cancer. Backwards multiple logistic regression was used to generate ROC curves comparing the new model to conventional density and PSA alone. Outcome and results Prediction of all grades of prostate cancer: significant variables revealed four significant "prostatocrit" parameters: log peripheral zone acinar density; peripheral zone acinar volume/whole gland acinar volume; peripheral zone acinar density/whole gland volume; peripheral zone acinar density. Acinar model (AUC 0.774), clinic model (AUC 0.745) (P=0.0105). Prediction of high grade prostate cancer: peripheral zone acinar density ("prostatocrit") was the only significant density predictor. Acinar model (AUC 0.811), clinic model (AUC 0.769) (P=0.0005). Conclusion There is renewed use for ratio and "prostatocrit" density of the peripheral zone in predicting cancer. This outperforms all traditional density measurements.


Currently, most researchers in visualization pay very little attention to vision science. The exception is when the effective use of color is the subject. Little research in flow visualization includes a discussion of the related perceptual theory. Nor does it include an evaluation of effectiveness of the display techniques that are generated. This is so, despite Laidlaw's paper showing that such an evaluation is relatively straightforward. Of course, it's not always necessary to relate visualization research to perceptual theory. If the purpose of the research is to increase the efficiency of an algorithm, then the proper test is one of efficiency, not of perceptual validity. But when a new representation of data is the subject of research, addressing how perceptually effective it is - either by means of a straightforward empirical comparison with existing methods or analytically, relating the new mapping to perceptual theory - should be a matter of course. A strong interdisciplinary approach, including the disciplines of perception, design, and computer science will produce better science and better design in that empirically and theoretically validated visual display techniques will result.


A successful supply chain must delivery the right product, value and satisfaction to the end customer, and profitability for its participants. Critical to getting the product right is the practices used to produce and maintain product quality through the supply chain from production to sale to the end customer. This paper describes the approach used by a R&D team to add value to supply chains through improving knowledge and practices. The desired outcome is better produce quality for consumers and more control and less wastage for chain participants. The team worked with specific supply chains to identify areas for improvement and to develop, test and implement improved practices. The knowledge gained was communicated to the industry to gain wider adoption of results. Three conditions were identified as critical for practice change - motivation, knowledge, and capacity for change. For improvement in practices to occur, a business must be motivated and have the knowledge and capacity to improve. Two case studies of working with Australian supply chains (mango and melons) are presented to illustrate our participatory methodology. A key activity is monitoring produce quality and handling practices and conditions to demonstrate to participants the points where quality deterioration occurs in the supply chain. This participatory approach is successful because working with supply chain participants generates knowledge and solutions to real problems. It enables the participants to observe the effect of handling practices and conditions on produce quality, gain knowledge and assess the benefits of improvements. Where existing knowledge is not present, research is conducted to fill the knowledge gaps. IV International Conference on Managing Quality in Chains - The Integrated View on Fruits and Vegetables Quality


Health care-associated infections (HAI) are the most frequent adverse event in health-care delivery worldwide, including in Asian countries. Asian countries produced 4,819 HAI publications. Majority of the publications (68%) appeared in the last decade. The average annual growth rate was 14.8%. Japan was the most productive country that contributes about 13.5% of total publications, followed by China (11.7%), and Taiwan (11.6%). Asian HAI research were cited in 76,737 articles with an average of 15.9 citations per publication. The top two most highly cited articles were published in the New England Journal of Medicine followed by the Journal of Clinical Microbiology. The top three productive journals were Journal of Hospital Infection (309 papers; 6.4%), American Journal of Infection Control (198 papers; 4.1%) and Infection Control and Hospital Epidemiology (170 papers; 3.5%). The ten top journals contained 25% of the HAI literatures. Emerging research topics in the last years include ventilator-associated pneumonia, MRSA (methicillin-resistant staphylococcus aureus), acinetobacter baumannii, carbapenems, Republic Korea and tertiary care center.


This article discusses the law of treaty implementation in the early United States, with particular reference to whether and when treaties are self-executing and the legitimacy of the last in time rule for conflicts between treaties and federal statutes. Other writers have used historical materials to support a variety of claims about these topics. Relying on the most comprehensive analysis of the historical materials to date, this article takes issue with nearly all of these writers. Most importantly, I do not contend that historical materials provide conclusive answers to the problems of treaty implementation. Rather, my historical narrative demonstrates a far greater degree of ambiguity during the founding period on critical issues than other writers have admitted. The lack of clear original intentions was particularly true at the separation of powers level, which meant that the role of the House in treaty-making and implementation remained unclear. Solutions to this problem emerged only through a series of debates in Congress. Subsequent Supreme Court decisions effectively ratified the most broad-based of those solutions. Indeed, the congressional debates shed important light on the interpretation of those decisions - an issue on which, once again, I depart from most commentators. Seen in this light, the law of treaty implementation emerges as an area in which original understandings provide little help. Nor can the solutions reached in the early nineteenth century claim the status of immutable rules. Rather, the congressional debates provide an example for our own time. The ideas and issues that came to Congress provide a framework and context for a debate that is necessarily ongoing and open-ended. To that end, I suggest that the general terms of Congress's solution should continue to guide doctrine - not because of their pedigree, but because they accommodate the relevant interests in an appropriate manner. Finally, I use these conclusions to sketch an assessment of the Supreme Court's recent decision in Medellin v. Texas.


This paper points to the need in ape language research to shift from experimentation to ethnography. We cannot determine what goes on inside the head of an ape when it communicates with a human being, but we can learn about the nature and content of the communication that occurs in such face-to-face interaction. This information is fundamental for establishing a baseline for the abilities of an ape-human common ancestor.


Double‐diffusive staircases with a total of 230‐350 mixed layers and sharp interfaces were observed in nine microstructure temperature profiles measured during February 2004 in Lake Kivu. The presence of these staircases at depths > 120 m indicates that diapycnal turbulent mixing is weak and vertical diffusive transport is dominated by double diffusion. Contrary to previously investigated natural or laboratory double‐diffusive systems, the dissolved gases CO2 and CH4 contribute significantly to the density stratification, thereby influencing the formation and the structure of the staircases. The density ratio (i.e., the ratio of the stabilizing effect of dissolved substances to the destabilizing effect of temperature) ranges between 2.0 and 4.5 in large sections of the deep waters, implying a high susceptibility to the formation of staircases. The mixed layers (average thickness 0.48 m) are shown to be in a state of active convection. The average thickness of the interfaces (0.18 m) is surprisingly constant and independent of the large‐scale stratification. The vertical heat fluxes correlate well with the temperature steps across the interfaces. Lake Kivu receives inflows from subaquatic springs at several depths that maintain the large‐scale structure of the density stratification and disturb the staircases. In comparison to earlier observations from 1972, the double‐diffusive heat fluxes appear to have been reduced, leading to a heat accumulation in the deep waters. Conversely, the strengthening of the main chemocline indicates an increased discharge of the subaquatic springs that could be responsible for recent changes in the nutrient cycling and methane production in the lake.


This study examined the possibilities of empowering people of a range of severity of dementia, by eliciting accurate views and feelings from them about services and including
them in service evaluation. The study was underpinned by a four tier empowerment framework, which incorporated issues relating to the individual, the organisation, the service user and society. An ethnographic approach to data collection and analysis was employed. Twenty-seven people with dementia from Jewish Care residential and day care
settings were interviewed and their daily lives videotaped and observed and interviews conducted with next of kin. Efforts were made to empower and involve participants in the
research process as far as possible. Triangulation of interview, video and observational data reveal that with appropriate methods and skills it is possible to elicit accurate information from people in various stages of dementia, and thereby involve them in service evaluation. A number of techniques for communication are highlighted. Findings also show that although relatives' views are frequently taken as proxy for those of people with dementia, they may lack knowledge about services and the perceptions of people with dementia. In residential care their views differed considerably to those of people with
dementia, suggesting that is important to consult with the person with dementia themselves.
The data suggest that the experience of dementia was disempowering for both people with dementia and their relatives. In addition, although day care services were perceived more positively, people with dementia were disempowered by a lack of influence, control, communication and social aspects of care in residential settings and relatives by a lack of support and information in the community. Although participants were of Jewish origin
and from Jewish settings only, it is considered that the results are more widely applicable to other groups of people in other settings. A number of recommendations are made about creating a more empowering workforce and environment and a model of empowerment for dementia research and practice is outlined.


This paper implements a set of generational accounts to estimate the impact of immigration on the sustainability of the Italian welfare state. Italians' net tax-age profiles are reconstructed on the basis of surveys; most of the immigrants' net tax-age profiles are reconstructed indirectly. According to our estimates immigration can only partly relieve the burden that current fiscal policy will put on future generations. In the baseline case immigrants' total net taxes reduce the intergenerational imbalance by only 6 percentage points. Interestingly, immigration appears to be more effective in this regard if the immigrants stay in Italy until they die. However, immigration alone cannot restore long-term solvency. Fundamental reform is needed.


A rapid analytical method for the quantitation of MB-102 (a fluorescent tracer agent) in human plasma using HPLC with fluorescence detection has been developed and validated. This new plasma sample preparation method, 1/100 direct dilution with phosphate buffered saline instead of typical protein precipitation, improves both robustness and assay efficiency by eliminating the need for sample drying and the need for an internal standard. The validation results show that the new method is robust, specific, precise, accurate, and has a wide linear dynamic range (0.4 ng mL−1 to 400 ng mL−1) with good recovery. The results from 59 clinical study subjects analyzed by both methods yield an excellent correlation with a slope of 1.015 and an R2 of 0.994. Sample preparation using direct dilution is easier and faster than the protein precipitation method, and is excellent for determining the MB-102 content in human plasma. The concentration of MB-102 in plasma as a function of time is used to calculate the glomerular filtration rate using a standard pharmacokinetic model.


Sur2 is a metazoan Mediator subunit that interacts with the adenovirus E1A protein and functions in a mitogen-activated protein kinase pathway required for vulva development in Caenorhabditis elegans. We generated sur2 −/− embryonic stem cells to analyze its function as a mammalian Mediator component. Our results show that Sur2 forms a subcomplex of the Mediator with two other subunits, TRAP/Med100 and 95. Knock-out of Sur2 prevents activation by E1A-CR3 and the mitogen-activated protein kinase–regulated ETS transcription factor Elk-1, but not by multiple other transcription factors. These results imply that specific activation domains stimulate transcription by binding to distinct Mediator subunits. Activation by E1A and Elk-1 requires recruitment of Mediator to a promoter by binding to its Sur2 subunit.


Although problematic overuse of internet has increased, psychopathological characteristics and neurobiological mechanisms for internet addiction (IA) remain poorly understood. Therefore, it is necessary to investigate the impact of IA on the brain. The present study included 17 subjects with IA and 20 healthy subjects. We constructed the structural brain network from diffusion tensor imaging data and investigated alteration of structural connections in subjects with IA using the network analysis on the global and local levels. The subjects with IA showed increase of regional efficiency (RE) in bilateral orbitofrontal cortex (OFC) and decrease in right middle cingulate and middle temporal gyri (P<0.05), whereas the global properties did not show significant changes. Young's internet addiction test (IAT) scores and RE in left OFC showed positive correlation, and average time spent on internet per day was positively correlated with the RE in right OFC. This is the first study examining alterations of the structural brain connectivity in IA. We found that subjects with IA showed alterations of RE in some brain regions and RE was positively associated with the severity of IA and average time spent on internet per day. Therefore, RE may be a good property for IA assessment.


Uncomplicated Strümpell's disease (Strümpell's familial spastic paraplegia) with a dominant mode of inheritance is recorded in six families. The neuropathological findings in two cases from these families are given, bringing the total of similar histologically documented reports in the literature to 11. It is concluded that, although exact classification and identification of the many different hereditary neurological degenerative diseases is not yet practicable, cases conforming to the picture described by Strümpell can be separated from larger general group of familial spastic paraplegias, show a consistent clinical picture, and have a standard pathology. It is suggested that, since the lesions are confined to the longest fibre tracts in the central nervous system, the pathological process may be different from that found in the `system' degenerations.


Selumetinib (AZD6244, ARRY‐142886) is a potent, selective, uncompetitive inhibitor of MEK 1 / 2, part of the RAF/MEK/ERK protein kinase signal cascade, which is responsible for tumor. This pilot study was used to explore if 18F‐fluoro‐l‐thymidine (FLT), a thymidine analogue positron emission tomography (PET) tracer and a surrogate marker for proliferation, can be used as an early predictor of response for patients with solid cancers treated with Selumetinib. FLT‐PET scans were performed in four patients at baseline and after 2 weeks of treatment with Selumetinib. FLT uptake in tumors was analyzed qualitatively and quantitatively by measuring standard uptake value (SUV) max in regions of interest (ROI). Results were compared to computed tomography (CT) scans (baseline and after 8 weeks), which were evaluated using the response evaluation criteria in solid tumors (RECIST) 1.0 criteria. One patient with melanoma showed both a qualitative and quantitative decrease in FLT uptake associated with a decrease in sum of longest diameter of 12% RECIST on CT evaluation. Another patient who had colorectal carcinoma (CRC) showed a significant increase in FLT uptake with initially stable, but eventually progressive disease on CT. The other two patients (one with melanoma and one with CRC) showed no significant changes in FLT uptake, whereas CT evaluation showed progressive disease. This is the first report describing changes in FLT‐PET in patients receiving Selumetinib. In two patients, changes in FLT uptake as early as after 2 weeks of treatment were consistent with CT results after 8 weeks. Biomarkers to predict and evaluate treatment the outcome of targeted therapies are highly warranted. These initial results need further investigation.


Software testing is very important in software development process; approximately 50% of total cost is expended in testing the software being developed. A technique similar to FPA, Test Point Analysis (TPA) can be applied for the estimation of testing effort. We are using a new approach to the estimation of software testing efforts based on stubs and drivers. Stubs and drivers are needed when the unit and integration testing is done. Drivers and stubs can be reused so that constant changes that occur during the development cycle can be retested frequently without large amounts of additional test code. FP count is calculated by FPA technique earlier and then applied to calculate TPA to find the Total Testing Effort.


The "Pantanos de Villa" is a natural habitat that conserves the high biodiversity of species and acts as the lung of the city, which is considered a wetland of international importance. This is being threatened by an inadequate infrastructure existing in the Lucchetti factory that attempts against the biodiversity of wetlands, for which the following project is proposed whose main objective is the mitigation of CO2 caused by polluting gases. Along with this, the integration of the neighbors with the swamps will be encouraged, through the design of an ecological and bio-sustainable park destined for recreational practices and sports, being a pleasant meeting point for families and tourists. With the theme park of clean technologies, the importance of these technologies for the sustainable development of the district will be reflected, without neglecting the natural beauty of the swamps located in front of the park. It will have spaces to enjoy nature, as well as the application of renewable energies. With the construction of this project, more significant economic development will be obtained. Visits to both the park and the swamps will be generated and increased, contributing and motivating the care and conservation of our environment and environmental awareness.


Can media literacy education promote and improve youth engagement in civic and political life? Unfortunately, to date, there have been almost no quantitative assessments of the frequency of media literacy education, nor of any possible subsequent impacts. This study draws on a unique panel data set of a diverse group of youths in high school and college settings. It finds that exposure to media literacy education is not strongly related to demographic variables. In addition, with controls for prior levels of online political activities, for political interest, and for a broad range of demographic variables, this study also finds that digital media literacy education is associated with increased online political engagement and increased exposure to diverse perspectives.


A new algorithm for the determination of the initial flavour of B0s mesons is presented. The algorithm is based on two neural networks and exploits the b hadron production mechanism at a hadron collider. The first network is trained to select charged kaons produced in association with the B0s meson. The second network combines the kaon charges to assign the B0s flavour and estimates the probability of a wrong assignment. The algorithm is calibrated using data corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 3 fb−1 collected by the LHCb experiment in proton-proton collisions at 7 and 8 TeV centre-of-mass energies. The calibration is performed in two ways: by resolving the B0s–B̄0s flavour oscillations in B0s → D−sπ+ decays, and by analysing flavour-specific B*s2(5840)0 → B+K− decays. The tagging power measured in B0s → D−sπ+ decays is found to be (1.80 ± 0.19 (stat) ± 0.18 (syst))%, which is an improvement of about 50% compared to a similar algorithm previously used in the LHCb experiment.


This piece reviews the 198 US law review articles that were most influential within flexible regulation scholarship (which includes meta regulation, responsive regulation, reflexive law, principles based regulation, new governance, and more) between 1980 and 2012, which also discussed innovation. It is chapter 4 of a forthcoming book on financial innovation and regulation. The analysis demonstrates that across this time period, flexible regulation scholars advocated for regulatory structures that were permeable to three main non-legal forces: market forces, deliberation and community norms, and industry standards. The image that emerges is of a diverse scholarly community, within which many adopted economics-derived notions of incentives and performance metrics. However, the scholarship overall is not - contrary, perhaps, to some more recent generalizations about the field - essentially "neoliberal" or market fundamentalist. It does not prioritize market forces or market-based evaluative methods above other forces or methods. It also contains rich veins of justice-oriented and deliberation-based claims. As well, relative to environmental and administrative law (the other main subject areas), the financial regulation articles in particular are more skeptical about who will benefit from new innovations, and more concerned with specific new innovations and their risks. However, most articles still treat private sector innovation only at an abstract, idealized level - a problem that subsequent chapters in this book aim to remedy.


Oil has vital importance in many industries and is the main source of energy internationally; it supplies 32% of energy in Europe and Asia and more than 53% in Middle East. The most volume of oil industry products includes fuel oil and gasoline (diesel). Oil is used as the basic material in producing chemical products such as medicines, solvents, chemical fertilizers, pesticides and etc. Considering the importance of petroleum industry in the world we should not ignore its harms to humans and the environment and should look for solutions to reduce them. Nowaday petroleum refineries emit million pounds of air pollutants that pose a serious risk of harm to human health and the environment as well as impairs the life quality of the people that living nearby these industries. These pollutants consist of volatile organic compounds, SO2, NOx, particulate matter, CO, H2S and HAPs. These pollutants have different adverse impacts on different parts of ecosystem, environment and animals. So this paper deals with some of these problems.


In this paper, several nonlinear phenomena found in the study of power system networks are described in the context of bifurcation theory. Toward this end, a widely studied 3-bus power system model is considered. The mechanisms leading to static and dynamic bifurcations of equilibria as well as a cascade of period doubling bifurcations of periodic orbits are investigated. It is shown that the cascade verifies the Feigenbaum's universal theory. Finally, a two parameter bifurcation analysis reveals the presence of a Bogdanov-Takens codimension-two bifurcation acting as an organizing center for the dynamics. In addition, evidence on the existence of a complex global phenomena involving homoclinic orbits and a period doubling cascade is included.


In this study, we examined whether and how the income gradient in child well-being may vary by grandparental coresidence and proximate residence in Japan, a country characterized by a high prevalence of intergenerational proximity and intensive family investment in children's development. Using data from the Japan Child Panel Survey, we first demonstrated that household income is positively associated with multiple dimensions of children's well-being, a relationship that was particularly strong for cognitive skills. We also found that children from lower-income families were more likely to coreside with grandparents than their counterparts from middle- and higher-income families, and that children from both lower- and higher-income families had similar likelihoods of living near their grandparents. However, children in lower- and higher-income families who coresided with grandparents had lower math and Japanese test scores than those living at a distance. These relationships resulted in smaller income gradients in test scores for children coresiding with grandparents and near their grandparents, relative to those whose grandparents lived farther away. International comparisons showed that the income gradient in children's academic performance is largest in the US and smallest in urban China, with Japan being in the middle, and that multigenerational coresidence is generally associated with worse cognitive outcomes for children in both lower- and higher-income families across these three very different contexts. These findings provide new insights into the complex ways in which intergenerational proximity is related to economic disparities in children's well-being.


BackgroundDespite advances in reconstruction techniques, pressure sores continue to present a challenge to the plastic surgeon. The parasacral perforator flap is a reliable flap that preserves the entire contralateral side as a future donor site. On the ipsilateral side, the gluteal muscle itself is preserved and all flaps based on the inferior gluteal artery are still possible. We present our experience of using parasacral perforator flaps in reconstructing sacral defects. MethodsBetween August 2004 and January 2013, 19 patients with sacral defects were included in this study. All the patients had undergone surgical reconstruction of sacral defects with a parasacral perforator flap. The patients' sex, age, cause of sacral defect, flap size, flap type, numbers of perforators used, rotation angle, postoperative complications, and hospital stay were recorded. ResultsThere were 19 parasacral perforator flaps in this series. All flaps survived uneventfully except for 1 parasacral perforator flap, which failed because of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus infection. The overall flap survival rate was 95% (18/19). The mean follow-up period was 17.3 months (range, 2–24 months). The average length of hospital stay was 20.7 days (range, 9–48 days). No flap surgery-related mortality was found. Also, there was no recurrence of sacral pressure sores or infected pilonidal cysts during the follow-up period. ConclusionsPerforator-based flaps have become popular in modern reconstructive surgery because of low donor-site morbidity and good preservation of muscle. Parasacral perforator flaps are durable and reliable in reconstructing sacral defects. We recommend the parasacral perforator flap as a good choice for reconstructing sacral defects.


Abstract We studied the effect of ecological light pollution on a rocky desert community, focusing on 2 spiny mouse congeners, nocturnal Acomys cahirinus (common spiny mouse) and diurnal Acomys russatus (golden spiny mouse). We hypothesized that in response to artificial illumination A. cahirinus will decrease its activity and A. russatus will increase its activity, and thus temporal overlap and interspecific competition could increase. Our study took place in 4 field enclosures: the 1st and 3rd months were controls with natural light, and in the 2nd month artificial illumination, simulating low levels of light pollution, was set for the first 3 h of the night. We implanted temperature-sensitive radiotransmitters to monitor mouse activity, and individual identification tags with automonitored foraging patches were used to track foraging behavior. A. cahirinus decreased activity and foraging with artificial lighting, restricting movement particularly in less-sheltered microhabitats, probably because of increased predation risk. Because illumination restricted both activity time and space, intraspecific encounters of A. cahirinus over foraging patches increased during and following the illuminated hours. However, diurnal A. russatus did not expand its activity into the illuminated hours, possibly due to the presence of competing A. cahirinus, or to nonfavorable environmental conditions. Therefore, overt interspecific competition was not affected by experimental light pollution. Light pollution had a negative influence by reducing overall activity and producing a relatively underexploited temporal niche, which may promote invasion of alien species that are less light sensitive; and by increasing intraspecific overlap in foraging A. cahirinus.