This article examines the role of antitrust in the causes and consequences of the crisis. If market turmoil and financial upheaval can shatter the groundwork of competitive markets that antitrust seeks to protect, the shockwaves are sure to be felt in the intellectual foundations of competition policy. Section 2 considers whether antitrust contributed to the financial crisis and briefly describes the pre-crisis role of competition policy on both sides of the Atlantic with regard to the transformations that the banking sector underwent in recent decades. Section 3 analyses the crisis response on the antitrust front. Of particular importance are the two areas where the bailouts tend to collide with antitrust: mergers and, in the European context, State aid. Section 4 then looks at the challenges that economic crises have placed on antitrust enforcers. It is submitted that as the crisis deepens and recovery fails to take hold, the risks to antitrust are far more dangerous and less visible today. Although overall, antitrust enforcement does not seem to be seriously weakened in the US and at the EU level, there are troubling signs that as the current sovereign debt crisis deepens, at least some Member States may want to put a lid on antitrust. A global economic slowdown will tend to make it easier for those claiming a less aggressive antitrust policy is necessary to foster growth. Section 5 concludes that the financial crisis may increase the bias toward accepting ever-larger bank mergers. After all, if an orderly takeover is needed, to whom will central banks look to? The recent crisis showed who the usual suspects are.


The objective of this paper is to identify the main definitions, related practices and to point out future directions in green supply chain management (GSCM). After a literature review and systematisation of the published articles in this field, it was possible to identify: a) the main research objectives of analysed papers; b) the research methods adopted; c) the predominantly analysed industrial sectors; d) the GSCM practices considered by the researchers. Results are presented in each of these analytical perspectives. The main findings are: 1) there are various classifications, nomenclatures and types of GSCM practices, but the most commonly used by studies in GSCM are cleaner production, product design, reverse logistic and green purchasing; 2) from the highlighted definitions, the tonic is to adapt operating activities and incorporate the supply chain management philosophy (integration/ collaboration) to environmental concerns (impact reduction) in relations between links in the chain. These results can be useful for those interested in environmental management as well as supply chain management, considering the growing interest in GSCM. We also propose a research agenda on this subject. This is one of the most recent literature review and systematisation on green supply chain management.


Disengaged test taking tends to be most prevalent with low-stakes tests. This has led to questions about the validity of aggregated scores from large-scale international assessments such as PISA and TIMSS, as previous research has found a meaningful correlation between the mean engagement and mean performance of countries. The current study, using data from the computer-based version of the PISA-Based Test for Schools, examined the distortive effects of differential engagement on aggregated school-level scores. The results showed that, although there was considerable differential engagement among schools, the school means were highly stable due to two factors. First, any distortive effects of disengagement in a school were diluted by a high proportion of the students exhibiting no non-effortful behavior. Second, and most interestingly, disengagement produced both positive and negative distortion of individual student scores, which tended to cancel out much of the net distortive effect on the school's mean.


As networks continuously grow (keyword Internet of Things) the configuration and management of industrial networks gets more complex. Additionally the trend towards Ethernet networks in the domain of industrial automation leads to the adoption of new Ethernet based technologies for factory automation. One of these technologies is Software Defined Networking (SDN), which provides a programmable and more flexible method for network control through an abstract network view. This work focuses on the evaluation of SDN in the field of industrial automation. It provides the implementation of a prototype SDN controller for direct multicast routing of industrial traffic in a cyclic switched Ethernet network using the Ryu SDN framework. For evaluation, experiments about the performance penalty introduced by switch-controller-communication are performed. An IEC 61499 compliant development environment is used for the experiment definition. The experiment results and the prototype implementation of the SDN controller showed that SDN provides great opportunities for a flexible and reliable network setup in the automation industry and is suited for real-time traffic.


Most of the people in Pakistan perceive distance learning as of poor quality. Therefore, the researchers conducted this study to find out whether it's only people's perception or is there anything in reality, concerning the poor performance of the distance learning students compared to traditional students. Consistent with this rationale, the main purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between student satisfaction and the following variables of the distance learning environment: Instructors' performance, course evaluation, and student-instructor interaction. The sample consisted of 245 students of Allama Iqbal Open University of Pakistan. Keeping in view the nature of relationships among the variables, correlation matrix and regression analysis in addition to frequency analysis were used to analyze the findings. The results showed that just like in traditional education, in distance learning at AIOU, enough interaction takes place between students and instructors; courses are up to date and well-designed; instructors are devoted, motivated, and equipped with the required competencies. Moreover, the faculty at AIOU is delivering distance courses that meet students' needs with regard to student-instructor interaction, instructor performance, and course evaluation.


Context. BL Cam is an extreme metal-deficient field high-amplitude SX Phe-type variable where a very complex frequency spectrum is detected, with a number of independent nonradial modes excited, unusual among the high-amplitude pulsators in the Lower Classical Instability Strip. Aims. An extensive and detailed study has been carried out to investigate the pulsational content and properties of this object. Methods. The analysis is based on 283 h of CCD observations obtained in the Johnson V filter, during a long multisite photometric campaign carried out along the Northern autumn-winter of 2005–2006. Additionally, multicolour BI photometry was also collected to study the phase shifts and amplitude ratios, between light curves obtained in different filters, for modal discrimination of the main excited modes. Results. The detailed frequency analysis revealed a very rich and dense pulsational content consisting of 25 significant peaks, 22 of them corresponding to independent modes: one is the already known main periodicity f0 = 25.5765 cd −1 (∆V = 153 mmag) and the other 21 are excited modes showing very small amplitudes. Some additional periodicities are probably still remaining in the residuals. This represents the most complex spectrum ever detected in a high-amplitude pulsator of this type. The majority of the secondary modes suspected from earlier works are confirmed here and, additionally, a large number of new peaks are detected. The amplitude of the main periodicity f0 seems to be stable during decades, but the majority of the secondary modes show strong amplitude changes from one epoch to another. The suspected fundamental radial nature of the main periodicity of BL Cam is confirmed, while the secondary peak f1 = 25.2523 cd −1 is identified as a nonradial mixed mode g4 with � = 1. The radial double-mode nature, claimed by some authors for the main two frequencies of BL Cam, is not confirmed. Nevertheless, the frequency f6 = 32.6464 cd −1 could correspond to the first radial overtone.


Analyses the impact of concessional sales of rice under public food distribution schemes on the open market demand and total consumption of rice in Sri Lanka from 1953 to 1989. The results show that, on average, 73 per cent of the concessional issues of rice under the non‐targeted (universal) rationing scheme during 1953‐1977 has served to replace a potential quantity that would have otherwise been demanded by consumers in the open market. The remaining 27 per cent has served as an addition to the total quantity of rice consumed in the country. Under the rationing and food stamp schemes targeted towards low‐income households, the annual average replacement of the quantity of open market rice was 51 per cent during 1978‐1989, while the addition to the total consumption of rice was 49 per cent. This suggests that the targeting of public rice distribution during 1978‐1989 was fairly successful in maintaining the consumption of rice, particularly by low‐income households.


BACKGROUND
The objectives of this study were to examine trends in mesothelioma incidence over a decade and to identify histories of asbestos exposure among cases in Korea.

METHODS
In 2001, The Korea Occupational Safety and Health Agency organized a nationwide cardiopulmonary pathology group and established a malignant mesothelioma surveillance system covering all general hospitals in Korea. Mesothelioma cases were reported to this surveillance system with information about age, gender, location, occupational history, asbestos exposure environment, date of diagnosis, diagnostic method, histopathologic subtype, occurrence site, and other clinical information. Additionally, an epidemiological survey was conducted using a structured verbal questionnaire to allow further evaluation of asbestos exposures.

RESULTS
A total of 399 cases of malignant mesothelioma were reported in the last decade, translating to approximately 40 annual cases, and an annual average incidence rate of 0.83 cases per million. Of the 152 patients interviewed by occupational physicians, 56 had occupational asbestos exposure histories (36.8%). Their occupations and industries included construction (19.7%), automobile repair (5.9%), asbestos textile, shipbuilding and repair, refinery work, boiler making, and asbestos cement work. Another 31 patients had environmental asbestos exposure histories.

CONCLUSIONS
Surveillance data indicate that malignant mesothelioma incidence in Korea is, thus far, lower than that of other developed countries, and that construction and environmental asbestos exposure were the main identifiable causes of malignant mesothelioma.


A finger on the pulse of young stars Adolescent stars quiver and quake before the onset of nuclear fusion in their cores. Zwintz et al. confirm theoretical predictions that the frequency of the seismic oscillations in a given star is tied to its evolutionary status (see the Perspective by Stahler and Palla). As the protostar evolves and contracts, growing hotter and denser, it pulsates faster. Though previously applied only to aging stars, asteroseismology now offers a powerful tool for discerning the ages of very young stars. The relative timing of star formation within young clusters especially benefits from this refinement, as stars there are often tagged with one blanket age. Science, this issue p. 550; see also p. 514 Pulsation measurements of stars not yet undergoing nuclear burning confirm a predicted correlation with evolutionary status. [Also see Perspective by Stahler and Palla] We demonstrate that a seismic analysis of stars in their earliest evolutionary phases is a powerful method with which to identify young stars and distinguish their evolutionary states. The early star that is born from the gravitational collapse of a molecular cloud reaches at some point sufficient temperature, mass, and luminosity to be detected. Accretion stops, and the pre–main sequence star that emerges is nearly fully convective and chemically homogeneous. It will continue to contract gravitationally until the density and temperature in the core are high enough to start nuclear burning of hydrogen. We show that there is a relationship for a sample of young stars between detected pulsation properties and their evolutionary status, illustrating the potential of asteroseismology for the early evolutionary phases.


Gas exchange and chlorophyll fluorescence techniques were used to evaluate the acclimation capacity of the schlerophyll shrub Heteromeles arbutifolia M. Roem. to the multiple co-occurring summer stresses of the California chaparral. We examined the influence of water, heat and high light stresses on the carbon gain and survival of sun and shade seedlings via a factorial experiment involving a slow drying cycle applied to plants grown outdoors during the summer. The photochemical efficiency of PSII exhibited a diurnal, transient decrease ( ΔF/Fm') and a chronic decrease or photoinhibition (Fv/Fm) in plants exposed to full sunlight. Water stress enhanced both transient decreases of ΔF/Fm' and photoinhibition. Effects of decreased ΔF/Fm' and Fv/Fm on carbon gain were observed only in well-watered plants since in waterstressed plants they were overidden by stomatal closure. Reductions in photochemical efficiency and stomatal conductance were observed in all plants exposed to full sunlight, even in those that were well-watered. This suggested that H. arbutifolia sacrificed carbon gain for water conservation and photoprotection (both structurally via shoot architecture and physiologically via down-regulation) and that this response was triggered by a hot and dry atmosphere together with high PFD, before severe water, heat or high PFD stresses occur. We found fast adaptive adjustments of the thermal stability of PSII (diurnal changes) and a superimposed long-term acclimation (days to weeks) to high leaf temperatures. Water stress enhanced resistance of PSII to high temperatures both in the dark and over a wide range of PFD. Low PFD protected photochemical activity against inactivation by heat while high PFD exacerbated damage of PSII by heat. The greater interception of radiation by horizontally restrained leaves relative to the steep leaves of sun-acclimated plants caused photoinhibition and increased leaf temperature. When transpirational cooling was decreased by water stress, leaf temperature surpassed the limits of chloroplast thermostability. The remarkable acclimation of water-stressed plants to high leaf temperatures proved insufficient for the semi-natural environmental conditions of the experiment. Summer stresses characteristic of Mediterranean-type climates (high leaf temperatures in particular) are a potential limiting factor for seedling survival in H. arbutifolia, especially for shade seedlings lacking the crucial structural photoprotection provided by steep leaf angles.


Throughout history, we have struggled to determine how best to govern and maintain our societies. Many times religion has found a place in government by providing an enforceable framework of expected behaviors and laws to impose over citizens to create order in society. In a county that separates church and state, the government attempts to not enact laws that are directly derived from any one religious ideology to avoid imposing religious codes onto citizens who choose to not abide by that particular religious code. In Iran the government has taken form as a theocracy, referred to as the Islamic Republic of Iran, and the state is ruled by Islamic laws handed down by the country's Shiite leadership. The purpose of the essay is to examine the influence of Sharia (Shiite) Islam in Iranian politics with an emphasis on the importance of 20th Century regimes. The consideration of Shiite traditions in Iran politics resulted in the formation of either an adverisionist state or an conformist state. In an adverisionist state, political leaders consciously create policies and take actions to repress traditional Shiite practices and curb the influence of Islam in Iran. Oppositely in an conformist state, political leaders derive policies from Shiite Islamic traditions. During the 20th century, Iran experienced periods of drastic change, ultimately culminating to the 1979 Revolution which would lead to the establishment of the theocratic, conformist Islamic Republic of Iran and officially establishing Shiite Islam as a central element of the Iranian national identity.


Flooding is a very costly natural hazard in the UK and is expected to increase further under future climate change scenarios. Flood defences are commonly deployed to protect communities and property from flooding, but in recent years flood management policy has looked towards solutions that seek to mitigate flood risk at flood-prone sites through targeted interventions throughout the catchment, sometimes using techniques which involve working with natural processes. This paper describes a project to provide a succinct summary of the natural science evidence base concerning the effectiveness of catchment-based 'natural' flood management in the UK. The evidence summary is designed to be read by an informed but not technically specialist audience. Each evidence statement is placed into one of four categories describing the nature of the underlying information. The evidence summary forms the appendix to this paper and an annotated bibliography is provided in the electronic supplementary material.


CaCO 3 scaling at 120 degrees C and formation water flow along well tubing during production, is modelled using tube blocking experiments utilizing Na-K-Ca-Cl-HCO 3 -H 2 O brines. All tests produced scale assemblages dominated by aragonite, vaterite (< or =45%) and some calcite. Vaterite is a rare form of CaCO 3 so its occurrence is particularly significant. Vaterite precipitation was initiated by rapid CaCO 3 supersaturation, driven by lower CaCO 3 solubility at 120 degrees C, combined with high relative concentrations of HCO (super -) 3 in the brine (HCO (super -) 3 /Ca = 12). Few accounts of oil field scaling focus on carbonate mineralogy. The formation of mixed-carbonates in this study emphasizes that more attention should be paid to mineralogical characterization of carbonate scale in relation to production conditions, formation water chemistry and inhibitor selection. This could lead to improvements in both scale prediction and inhibitor efficiency.


Mesoscale climate models provide indispensable tools to understand land‐atmosphere interactions over urban regions. However, uncertainties in urban canopy parameters (UCPs) and parameterization schemes lead to degraded representation of the drag effect in complex built terrains. In particular, for the widely applied single‐layer urban canopy model (SLUCM) coupled with the Weather Research and Forecasting (WRF) model, near‐surface horizontal wind speed is known to be overestimated systematically. In this study, idealized large eddy simulations (LES) and WRF‐SLUCM simulations are conducted to study the separate effect of UCPs and aerodynamic parameterization on atmospheric boundary layer processes and rainfall variabilities in Phoenix, Arizona. For LES that explicitly resolves surface geometry, significant differences between three‐dimensional (3D) versus two‐dimensional (2D) representation of urban morphology are found in the surface layer and above. When surface drag is parameterized following SLUCM, surface morphologies have little impacts on the mean momentum transfer. WRF‐SLUCM simulation results, incorporated with 3D urban morphology data, indicate that simply refining the frontal area index will reduce the surface drag, which further amplifies the systematic positive bias of SLUCM in predicting horizontal wind speed. Replacing the drag parameterization in SLUCM by LES‐based aerodynamic parameters has evident impacts on near‐surface wind speed. The impact of urban roughness representation becomes the most evident during rainfall periods, due to the important role of surface drag in dictating moisture convergence. Our study underlines that apart from intensive efforts in obtaining detailed UCPs, it is also critical to enhance the urban momentum exchange parameterization schemes.


Abstract The world is rapidly urbanizing, and so is internal displacement. However, knowledge about the specific situation of internally displaced persons (IDPs) in urban settings and how it differs from, and impacts on, their host communities is still limited, and responses continue to be inadequate. This article analyzes the particular needs of urban IDPs by taking into account how the various contexts and patterns of urban internal displacement contribute to shaping people's experience. It discusses three key challenges that humanitarian actors are faced with in developing effective responses: identifying and reaching IDPs in urban settings, addressing their urgent protection concerns, and supporting their local integration. It concludes by pointing out the need for methodological and operational guidance on how to bring together area-based approaches that account for the impact of displacement on entire urban communities, and tailored approaches addressing IDPs' specific needs in urban settings. The need for stocktaking exercises and more effective sharing of experiences among practitioners, municipal authorities and policy-makers is also underlined.


We used a flow-through experimental system ("plankton organ") to test if Daphnia hyalina x galeata (Dhg), D. cucullata (Dc) and Chaoborus flavicans (Ch) take higher risks of predation at low population density levels than at high ones, i. e. to test whether or not they select shallower depths with higher temperatures and higher food levels when they do not receive chemical information on crowding (added to the medium with fish kairomones). Neonates of Daphnia and Chaoborus 4 th instar larvae were first grown for 55 h in batch cultures: Daphnia were reared at high food levels (Scenedesmus obliquus) and at two different population densities of 1 and 100 ind. L -1 (Dhg and Dc); Chaoborus were kept at densities of 1 and 10 ind. L -1 without food. After 55 h, individual Daphnia 2 nd instar juveniles were transferred into the narrow vertical tubes of a "plankton organ" with constant flow of fresh medium. The medium contained chemical information on either high or low population density; all media had the same food and fish kairomone levels. The same setup was used for individual Chaoborus 4 th instar larvae, but using media without food. Whereas no difference was found in Dc, different depth selection behavior was apparent in Dhg. The daytime depth selected by the animals was greater in the presence of chemical information on high population density, and this behavior became more pronounced with increasing duration of the experiment. The difference was highly significant for the entire dataset. The calculated duration time of egg development was up to 17% longer and the calculated birth rate 12% reduced for Daphnia receiving high-density information, as compared to control animals enjoying higher temperatures of the shallower and warmer strata. Only minor and inconsistent difference was found for Chaoborus.


In many organisms, the central pairs (CPs) of 9+2 cilia and flagella spin. Mitchell and Nakatsugawa (page 709) now claim that this spinning is an effect, not a cause, of flagellar bend propagation.

Figure

Flagellar central pair complexes are helical when extruded.

Motile 9+2 cilia and flagella owe their whip-like movement to motors in the outside barrel of fused doublet microtubules, with motors anchored to one doublet pushing on a neighboring doublet. But the more enigmatic part of this structure is the CP. This doublet of microtubules is connected to the outside barrel via radial spokes that are thought to modulate motor action.

That modulation requires a constant relationship between a particular face of the CP and those microtubule motors that are active at any one time—which is where spinning and twisting come in. Looking at electron micrographs of wild-type Chlamydomonas, Mitchell and Nakatsugawa see that the CP is twisted in straight, quiescent flagella. In mutants that lack the radial spoke heads, and therefore lack a physical connection between the outer and inner microtubules, the CP remains twisted, suggesting that the twist is inherent to the CP structure.

When this twisted structure is forced to bend, as during the beating of the flagella, the CP curves along with the bend. The C1 tubule (half of the CP) is always on the outside of the curve, as if it is longer and this greater length must be accommodated by either helical twisting or being on the outside of a curve. As the bend propagates down the length of the flagellum, it recreates this helix-to-curve transition in the CP and thus yields the rotation. The researchers speculate that the twist helps orient certain CPs: in flagella that change their bend direction the CP can rotate freely to accommodate the new direction, whereas in fixed-direction flagella such as sperm tails the CP is not twisted and does not rotate. ▪


A challenge for the use of aptamers as biosensors is how to signal the occurrence of their ligand binding event into a signal that can be exploited in a detection scheme. Here, we present the concept of "aptachain" formation, where an aptamer is split into two overlapping or staggered strands and assembles into an extended oligomer upon ligand binding. This assembly of aptamers can then be used as a way to detect ligand binding by the aptamer. As an example of this concept, we employed the cocaine-binding aptamer as a model system, used its ability to tightly bind quinine and demonstrated its capability in a gold nanoparticle-based biosensing application. We used isothermal titration calorimetry to demonstrate that, when split into two overlapping DNA strands, the aptamer remains functional. Size-exclusion chromatography showed that the quinine-bound oligos form a larger assembly of aptamer units than in the absence of ligand. Finally, we used the oligomer forming ability of the aptachain oligos in a biosensor application for quinine that brings gold nanoparticles closer together resulting in a shift in their plasmonic resonance to a longer wavelength and an observed colour shift. We propose that splitting aptamers into overlapping strands that form oligomers in the presence of a ligand, aptachain formation, will be generally applicable to aptamers and prove useful in a variety of biotechnology applications.


Why are carefully designed, sensible policies too often not adopted or implemented? When they are, why do they often fail to generate development outcomes such as security, growth, and equity? And why do some bad policies endure? World Development Report 2017 addresses these fundamental questions, which are at the heart of development. Policy making and policy implementation do not occur in a vacuum. Rather, they take place in complex political and social settings, in which individuals and groups with unequal power interact within changing rules as they pursue conflicting interests. The process of these interactions is what this Report calls governance, and the space in which these interactions take place, the policy arena. The capacity of actors to commit and their willingness to cooperate and coordinate to achieve socially desirable goals are what matter for effectiveness. However, who bargains, who is excluded, and what barriers block entry to the policy arena determine the selection and implementation of policies and, consequently, their impact on development outcomes. Exclusion, capture, and clientelism are manifestations of power asymmetries that lead to failures to achieve security, growth, and equity. The distribution of power in society is partly determined by history. Yet, there is room for positive change. This Report reveals that governance can mitigate, even overcome, power asymmetries to bring about more effective policy interventions that achieve sustainable improvements in security, growth, and equity. This happens by shifting the incentives of those with power, reshaping their preferences in favor of good outcomes, and taking into account the interests of previously excluded participants. These changes can come about through bargains among elites and greater citizen engagement, as well as by international actors supporting rules that strengthen coalitions for reform.


Life satisfaction, a global cognitive evaluation of one's life, is a very frequently used indicator in quality of life research. This construct is usually measured by simple scales, differing one from another by the phrasing of questions and by the number of answer categories. Giving the need for international comparison of levels of subjective well-being, international comparative programs were initiated that contains surveys conducted almost simultaneously, with the same methodology. These surveys are very expensive and cannot be conducted as frequently as needed. An alternative is the homogenization of survey data from different national level programs. The main impediment is the variation in the length of the scales, those with 3, 4, 5, 7 or 11 categories being most frequently used. This brings the need for testing procedures for transformation of these scales. The objective of this paper is to review the methodological backgrounds of such a process, highlighting the signification and possible errors induced by the attributions of scores to the categories of ordinal-level variables. We propose an exercise of transforming an ordinal scale with 5 categories, used in Diagnosis of Quality of Life research program organized by Romanian Institute for Quality of Life to an 11-scale pseudo-interval scale, frequently used in international research programs. Several translation strategies are presented from the simplest, i.e. conventional linear transformation, to the most sophisticated-like estimation from the observed frequencies and distributional assumption, transformation by expert ratings and regression with optimal scaling. Finally, methods are comparatively evaluated and recommendations for researchers are formulated.


When planned special events are held, they generally increase traffic demands in or near the location of the event. In order to address this influx of traffic, transportation management plans are developed with the intent of minimizing the effect the event has on the transportation system. For a transportation management plan to be successful, however, it is strongly recommended that the plan be tested and reviewed prior to the event. One of the most effective ways to test a transportation management plan is through a tabletop exercise. A tabletop exercise uses the transportation management plan as the basis for action. It enables participants to role play in a scenario-based exercise conducted in an informal stress-free environment. During this low cost/low stress activity, key stakeholders involved in the planning and implementation of transportation management plans test the plan through a facilitated scenario based discussion. Tabletop exercises allow traffic management team officials to review the effect of certain event-specific action plans on other concurrent events. Through this interaction, contingencies are vetted and resolved. In addition, a tabletop exercise can be used to train and familiarize personnel with their roles and responsibilities within the planned special event's transportation management plan. No matter how thorough a transportation management plan may be, it can not account for all contingencies. The purposes of a tabletop exercise are to (1) test the written assumptions in the transportation management plan and (2) see what must be changed and how the plan can be improved. The tabletop exercise allows the participants to see how they react to unexpected events such as equipment failure or personnel shortages. Though originally designed for planned special events, the information in the guide can be used for the management of unplanned incidents including traffic incidents and responses to emergencies.


In stark comparison to reductions achieved in the number of human casualties from disasters it is now evident that economic losses are increasing at a much higher rate. While several events contribute to economic loss from disasters, loss from built environment (property) damages and its consequential effects are significant. The overarching purpose of this paper is to systematically summarise and synthesise literature, critically discuss issues, and identify methodological problems as well as research, practice gaps and potential solutions to matters relating to financing and investment in Disaster resilience in the Built Environment. Literature materials used for this the paper were gathered from reputable sources. As part of the findings of the study, a growing shift towards investment and enhancement of disaster resilience through the principles of corporate social responsibility and public private partnership was observed. However, many of the documented investments were made after disaster struck once or nearby.


A supervisory board might be seen as an advantageous element of corporate governance. Whether supervision of management is actually beneficial is analyzed under the assumption that the supervisor is not immune to misjudgment as a monitor or may not be a good consultant. The benefits of having such an imperfect supervisor outweigh the costs only if the quality of supervision is not too low. But if the supervisor's monitoring is simply an element of a bonus scheme, no negative efficiency effect needs to be considered, no matter how good the monitoring is. In this respect a robust supervision design exists.


"Dan Simmons writes with the salty grace and precision of Patrick O'Brian. But in piling supernatural nightmare upon historical nightmare, layering mystery upon mystery, he has produced a turbocharged vision of popular doom." -Men's JournalGreeted with excited critical praise, this extraordinary novel-inspired by the true story of two ice ships that disappeared in the Arctic Circle during an 1845 expedition-swells with the heart-stopping suspense and heroic adventure that have won Dan Simmons praise as "a writer who not only makes big promises but keeps them" (Seattle Post-Intelligencer). THE TERROR chills readers to the core."Brutal, relentless, yet oddly uplifting, THE TERROR is a masterfully chilling work." -Entertainment Weekly"In the hands of a lesser writer than Dan Simmons, THE TERROR might well have dissolved into a series of frigid days and three-dog nights. But Simmons is too good a writer to ignore the real gold in his story-its beleaguered cast." -Bookpage"Guaranteed to have readers pulling their covers up to their noses, THE TERROR will make for a blood-freezing, bedtime read this winter-and any season thereafter." -Pages


Many companies are now increasingly aware of the importance of implementing Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) as part of their business strategy and as the embodiment of the company's concern to society. This study specifically examines the SRI-KEHATI Index which is a new index that specifically includes issuers that have excellent performance in encouraging sustainable businesses, as well as having awareness of the environment, social and good corporate governance using an analysis technique that is regression weight in structural equation modelling used to examine the relationship between the variables. The model for this research is illustrated by the path diagram. It proves that the environment influences the company's financial performance, showing that the better the environmental performance, the respondent will respond positively through the fluctuations in the company's stock price which can improve the company's financial performance. The higher the corporate governance, the higher the corporate performance will be. Corporate Social Responsibility disclosure activities have a significant influence on the company's financial performance. The higher the social responsibility, the higher the corporate performance SRI-KEHATI. The strength of the theory of organizational legitimacy in the content of corporate social responsibility in developing countries has two elements; first, the capability to place profit maximization motives and second this makes a clearer picture of the company's motivation to increase its social responsibility.


Prescription of drugs follows some principles about which the medical students should be aware, and they should practice them efficiently so that they become experienced in the field. This study aims to determine the practice and knowledge of drug prescription in senior medical students. A cross-sectional study was conducted on a sample of 140 students from Shiraz University of Medical Sciences. Data were collected using self administered questionnaires in the format of case study and essay questions. The questions were designed based on principles of drug prescription presented to the interns in Shiraz University of Medical Sciences on the subjects including drug indication, interaction and side effects; contraindication of drugs in pregnancy; maximum drugs prescribed in one prescription letter; and  the rules of insurance organizations in Iran. The data analysis was performed using SPSS, version 15. Content validity of multiple choice questions was confirmed by expert opinion and the consensus of four reference texts. 120 students participated in this study with a response rate of 85.7%. As to the knowledge of medical students, only 34.18% of them were competent in prescribing drugs; however, no one got a full score in the exam. 27.73% of them answered the questions incompletely, and 30.09% of them showed wrong prescription. Most mistakes were related to drug interaction, antibiotics and analgesics drugs (68.3%). As to the reference books of pharmacology, 16.9% had complete knowledge, 54.8% moderate level of knowledge, 28.3% had no information about that. This study shows that the knowledge of medical students as to drug prescription is inadequate. Also, many studies have approved that effective education has a significant effect on improvement of drug prescription by physicians. We recommend interventions such as curriculum development to increase the students' skills. This should be taken into account in further research and by public health professionals and health policy makers.


In recent times, one of the major challenges in paddy plantation is the lack of proper
interpretation of yield maps for site-specific management, and the identification and
understanding of the causal factors influencing the variability of paddy yields. The
ability to find and comprehend the soil factors influencing yield variability of paddy will
enable to manage them more efficiently. A study was conducted in a commercial paddy
fann at Kahang, Johor, southern part of Peninsular Malaysia with the objectives (i) to
quantify and characterize the nature of spatial soil N, P and K variation, (ii) to quantify
and characterize the spatial yield and grain moisture variation, and (iii) to establish the
inter-relationship between paddy yields and soil N, P and K, so as to identify the ranges
of soil nutrients for maximum paddy growth and production for the proposed
management zone based on paddy yield variability. Soil samples (within 0-15 cm depth)
were collected at 20 m x 20 m grid pattern at the beginning of paddy (MR211 variety)
planting and analyzed for total N, available P and exchangeable K in the study plots. A
GeoExplorer II was used to record the soil sampling points and boundary of the plots to
help interpret the spatial maps in GIS platfonn with proper coordinates. Paddy yields
and grain moistures were recorded for harvested paddy sample on a grid pattern of 55 m
x 30 m during the harvesting period. Relationship between paddy yields and soil N, P
and K were examined using regression analysis. Geostatistical analysis was used to characterize the spatial variation of soil N, P and K, and paddy yields. The coefficient of
variation of soil nutrients (N, P and K) for the study area was more than 50% where soil
P indicated very high (130%). Significant positive correlationships were found between
each pair of soil nutrients (N, P and K). Semivariance analysis showed that the spatial
dependence for soil N, P and K was reached at 350 m to 450 m (2 samples ha-I where
plot width was 70 m). The kriged soil N, P and K maps showed that a large portion of
area (> 80%) in each plot was with soil N lower than 3 g kg-I, soil P lower than 10 mg
kg-I, and soil K more than 0.45 cmol(+) kg-I. The paddy yield variation was more than
47% and was significant within and between plots. The semivariance for paddy yield
was attained at 380 m, suggesting that the spatial correlation existed within 2.6 ha (70 m
x 380 m) where 70 m is width of the plot. The paddy grain moisture showed randomly
distributed after a separation distance of 30 m and it has no significant variation within
the plots. The yield kriged map illustrated that the middle portion (> 50% of the area) of
each plot has lower yield « 3.5 t ha-I) compared to both ends in lengthwise. Significant
positive correlations were obtained between each soil nutrient (N, P and K) and yield. In
the combined effect of soil N, P and K on yields, soil N and P together could explain
41 % of yield variations where P accounted for 36% and N accounted for 5% of the total
yield variation (y = 2.41 + 0.39 XN + 0.20 Xp; R2 = 0.41
**
, n = 159). Based on this interrelationship,
a management zone was suggested in yield maps where soil N and P need
to be improved in moderate and low ranges, respectively, for obtaining maximum yield
(5 t ha-I). Some selected soil properties were measured at different locations and the
variations were found to be 4.25 to 4.54 in pH, 0.77 to 0.92 g cm-3 in bulk density, and
the soil texture was clay with 75-83% of clay .content. The yield difference between
estimated yield from spatial maps and actual yield from the combine ha.-vester was
±10%. To characterize the combine harvester, average machine operation grain loss was
determined which was about 2% of total grain yield, and the average machine field capacity was 1.01 ha h-I with 72% of field efficiency. Tlt1J'iJ


This chapter examines the role of fatwa issued against so-called 'deviant' religious believers convicted on charges of blasphemy. This is an issue of growing concern in Indonesia, where an increasing number of individuals have been convicted for the offence of blasphemy since 1998. It identifies that fatwa, despite its lack of legal status, may play an influential part in the legal process. A fatwa may be used as a justification or basis for allegations of blasphemy to be lodged with the police. Once a blasphemy case reaches the District Court, a fatwa may also be used as evidence in court to support the prosecutor's argument that a person is guilty of 'insulting a religion'. This raises the issue of how the legal system reconciles state criminal law with Islamic fatwa. I examine how Islamic opinions are given weight in court, despite the fact that a fatwa is not recognised as an official or legally binding source of law by the state in Indonesia. Drawing on illustrations from several cases of blasphemy, I argue that a practise of "religious deference" has emerged, where the District Courts defer to the opinion of Islamic religious leaders and fatwa on issues of religious sensitivity. This principle of religious deference is one means by which the secular state courts negotiate and reconcile the demands of legal pluralism.


This essay focuses on the reception of Yahya Hassan's debut YAHYA HASSAN in Swedish media, mainly daily newspapers. Following the work of Magnus Nilsson it analyzes the "reading strategy of the politics of identity" in "immigrant literature" and outlines structural racism in the literary scene. By bringing attention to the critics' use of this reading strategy, it is possible to unveil the "ethnic filter" through which literature by Swedish authors with a "non-Swedish identity" is being read in contemporary Swedish literary criticism. The concept of "immigrant literature" is discussed as a discourse, rather than as an empirical category.This essay aims to show how the Swedish critics read YAHYA HASSAN through the ethnic filter as a work of "immigrant literature". The Swedish critics read the collection of poems as a political statement, and had difficulties defining Hassans work as poetry. Rather, it was read as an autobiographical novel in a working class tradition. There had been a long discussion in Swedish literary criticism about the autofictional genre, including a moral debate about the line between fact and fiction in autobiographical works. However, this was left almost unmentioned and Hassans poems were read as true and authentic depictions, something that the author himself contributed to in various ways. The essay also outlines the debate in Swedish media where critics discussed the author's responsibility as an immigrant, a debate where many critics articulated a fear that the experiences depicted in Hassan's poems could further inspire an already growing racist movement.


Awarded The Prix Du Jury Des Grands Prix De La Fondation Napoleon 2014 From Andrew Roberts, author of the Sunday Times bestseller, The Storm of War, this is the definitive modern biography of Napoleon. Napoleon Bonaparte lived one of the most extraordinary of all human lives. In the space of just twenty years, from October 1795 when as a young artillery captain he cleared the streets of Paris of insurrectionists, to his final defeat at the (horribly mismanaged) battle of Waterloo in June 1815, Napoleon transformed France and Europe. After seizing power in a coup d'etat he ended the corruption and incompetence into which the Revolution had descended. In a series of dazzling battles he reinvented the art of warfare; in peace, he completely remade the laws of France, modernized her systems of education and administration, and presided over a flourishing of the beautiful 'Empire style' in the arts. The impossibility of defeating his most persistent enemy, Great Britain, led him to make draining and ultimately fatal expeditions into Spain and Russia, where half a million Frenchmen died and his Empire began to unravel. More than any other modern biographer, Andrew Roberts conveys Napoleon's tremendous energy, both physical and intellectual, and the attractiveness of his personality, even to his enemies. He has walked 53 of Napoleon's 60 battlefields, and has absorbed the gigantic new French edition of Napoleon's letters, which allows a complete re-evaluation of this exceptional man. He overturns many received opinions, including the myth of a great romance with Josephine: she took a lover immediately after their marriage, and, as Roberts shows, he had three times as many mistresses as he acknowledged. Of the climactic Battle of Leipzig in 1813, as the fighting closed around them, French sergeant-major wrote, 'No-one who has not experienced it can have any idea of the enthusiasm that burst forth among the half-starved, exhausted soldiers when the Emperor was there in person. If all were demoralised and he appeared, his presence was like an electric shock. All shouted "Vivel' Empereur!" and everyone charged blindly into the fire.' The reader of this biography will understand why this was so. Andrew Roberts is a biographer and historian of international renown whose books include Salisbury: Victorian Titan (winner, the Wolfson Prize for History); Masters and Commanders; and The Storm of War, which reached No. 2 on the Sunday Times bestseller list. Roberts is a Fellow of the Royal Societies of Literature and Arts. He appears regularly on British television and radio and writes for the Sunday Telegraph, Spectator, Literary Review, Mail on Sunday and Daily Telegraph.


In Intellectual Liability, Daniel Crane reemphasizes that a "right to exclude" is only one part of a Hohfeldian package of rights, privileges, powers, or immunities that government can grant an intellectual property (IP) owner. Crane points out that an overly vigorous right to exclude, one backed up by a strong presumption of injunctive relief against continued infringement, could result in a suboptimal IP package even from the IP owner's perspective. Drawing on examples of antitrust-influenced behavior of collective-rights organizations and standard-setting organizations, Crane argues that forgoing property-rule treatment in the Calabresi–Melamed sense can be more than compensated, socially and possibly even privately, by IP owners' gains of privileges and powers to participate in one or more practices of "bundling," as through a collective-rights organization or standard-setting organization, or through acquisition of large numbers of patents in the manner of a so-called "patent troll." Crane's bottom line thus expands on the prescription underlying Louis Kaplow's "ratio test" of more than a quarter century ago: the optimal package to be granted IP owners should be developed by providing "those rights that grant just enough reward to induce... inventive or creative activity at the lowest social cost possible."


Wilson's disease is a rare, autosomal recessive, genetic, copper overload disease, which evokes multiple motor or neuropsychiatric symptoms and liver disease. It is the consequence of a variety of different mutations affecting the ATP7B gene. This gene encodes for a class IB, P-type, copper-transporting ATPase, which is located in the trans-Golgi network of the liver and brain, and mediates the excretion of excess copper into the bile. When functionally inactive, the excess copper is deposited in the liver, brain, and other tissues. Free copper induces oxidative stress, lipid peroxidation, and lowers the apoptotic threshold of the cell. The symptoms in affected persons can vary widely and usually appear between the ages of 6 years and 20 years, but there are also cases in which the disease manifests in advanced age. In this review, we discuss the considerations in diagnosis, clinical management, and treatment of Wilson's disease. In addition, we highlight experimental efforts that address the pathogenesis of Wilson's disease in ATP7B deficient mice, novel analytical techniques that will improve the diagnosis at an early stage of disease onset, and treatment results with copper-chelating agents.


OBJECTIVES To determine the occurrence of celiac disease in a population of ataxic patients without definite diagnosis and to characterise distinctive features which may help to differentiate cerebellar ataxia with and without celiac disease. METHODS Twenty four ataxic patients without definite diagnosis (group A) and 23 ataxic patients with definite diagnosis (group B) were screened for antigliadin (AGAs) and antiendomysium antibodies (EMAs). Patients with a positive AGA or EMA test underwent endoscopic biopsy of the duodenal mucosa. RESULTS There was an increased prevalence of celiac disease in group A (3/24) compared with group B (0/23). None of the celiac patients presented gastrointestinal symptoms or malabsorption signs. None of the ataxic patients with celiac disease had early onset ataxia. CONCLUSIONS Celiac disease is associated with ataxic syndromes without definite diagnosis, suggesting that it plays a part in the pathogenesis of some ataxic syndromes. The absence of distinctive neurological features in ataxic patients with celiac disease suggests that a search should be made for celiac disease markers in all ataxic patients without definite diagnosis.


Mindfulness is a form of meditative practice that involves paying attention to present-moment experiences in a non-judgemental way in order to cultivate a stable and nonreactive awareness. Although mindfulness has been studied in relation to various health conditions, no known published study exists which considers mindfulness in the context of visual impairment. Semi-structured interviews were therefore conducted with blind and partially sighted individuals who participated in regular mindfulness practice. Their narratives were then analysed thematically. The results suggest that mindfulness enhanced spiritual well-being by increasing their sense of intrapersonal, interpersonal, and transpersonal 'connectedness', which was seen to be related to a self-perceived increase in emotional, social, and physical health. The findings of this exploratory study call for further research into the utility of mindfulness as a well-being resource for individuals with a visual impairment.


Alloying elements in steel add a wide range of valuable properties to steel materials that are indispensable for the global economy. However, they are likely to be effectively irretrievably blended into the steel when recycled because of (among other issues) the lack of information about the composition of the scrap. This results in the alloying elements dissipating in slag during steelmaking and/or becoming contaminants in secondary steel. We used the waste input‐output material flow analysis model to quantify the unintentional flows of alloying elements (i.e., chromium, nickel, and molybdenum) that occur in steel materials and that result from mixing during end‐of‐life (EOL) processes. The model can be used to predict in detail the flows of ferrous materials in various phases, including the recycling phase by extending steel, alloying element source, and iron and steel scrap sectors. Application of the model to Japanese data indicates the critical importance of the recycling of EOL vehicles (ELVs) in Japan because passenger cars are the final destination of the largest share of these alloying elements. However, the contents of alloying elements are rarely considered in current ELV recycling. Consequently, the present study demonstrates that considerable amounts of alloying elements, which correspond to 7% to 8% of the annual consumption in electric arc furnace (EAF) steelmaking, are unintentionally introduced into EAFs. This result suggests the importance of quality‐based scrap recycling for efficient management of alloying elements.


Organic strawberry production is increasing in California in response to growing demand and more stable or higher prices for organic fruits in the US and international markets. In 2007, 4.0% of total strawberry acreage in California was farmed organically, but there has not been a solid base of information for growers to develop cultural practices for organic production. In this paper, we review current nitrogen (N) management practices and discuss challenges associated with N management in organic strawberry production in California. The N availability is critical for early plant development on which fruit yield and quality depend. Studies indicate that the synchrony of N supply from organic nutrient sources with crop N demand is inconsistent and unpredictable with organic nutrient sources compared to soluble conventional N materials. Organic growers apply compost, manures, or green manures three to eight weeks before planting for early N nutrition. In addition, growers supplement the pre-plant incorporated fertilizer materials with pre-plant granular or pelleted materials band-applied below the transplant. Studies have shown that most incorporated N materials are completely mineralized by six to eight weeks and thus, it is difficult to plan pre-plant incorporated N programs to match transplanted strawberry plant N needs. One study reported high N loss from an organic strawberry farm during the winter rains. Growers also supplement preplant application with different liquid organic materials injected through the drip irrigation system, but dosage and timing are uncertain. Liquid organic materials are continually and unpredictably transformed by bacteria, they lack uniformity, and a portion of the N is in suspended solids that may be filtered out or lost behind drip orifices. Data from recent strawberry N fertilization trials - including N absorption patterns and N availability from cover crops - are now beginning to answer some of the key questions for organic strawberry producers.


The purpose was to compare changes in lean tissue mass, strength, and myofibrillar protein catabolism resulting from combining whey protein or soy protein with resistance training. Twenty-seven untrained healthy subjects (18 female, 9 male) age 18 to 35 y were randomly assigned (double blind) to supplement with whey protein (W; 1.2 g/kg body mass whey protein + 0.3 g/kg body mass sucrose power, N = 9: 6 female, 3 male), soy protein (S; 1.2 g/kg body mass soy protein + 0.3 g/kg body mass sucrose powder, N= 9: 6 female, 3 male) or placebo (P; 1.2 g/kg body mass maltodextrine + 0.3 g/kg body mass sucrose powder, N = 9: 6 female, 3 male) for 6 wk. Before and after training, measurements were taken for lean tissue mass (dual energy X-ray absorptiometry), strength (1-RM for bench press and hack squat), and an indicator of myofibrillar protein catabolism (urinary 3-methylhistidine). Results showed that protein supplementation during resistance training, independent of source, increased lean tissue mass and strength over isocaloric placebo and resistance training (P < 0.05). We conclude that young adults who supplement with protein during a structured resistance training program experience minimal beneficial effects in lean tissue mass and strength.


Smart antennas have the potential to substantially increase the range of base stations and boost the signal to interference plus noise ratios of signals. In this paper we study the problem of downlink weighting vector design, and give the optimal power assignment when the orientations of the weighting vectors are known. Also four criteria for the optimal weighting vector design are given. Simulation results have shown the improvement offered by the optimal power assignment method studied here.


The crucial tactical problem confronting each faction in a -cumulative voting contest is how to cumulate their votes so as to elect the maximum number of directors possible. It was in order to provide "a simplified and workable system of solving" this problem that Arthur T. Cole in 1950 published his article on the "Legal and Mathematical Aspects of Cumulative Voting." The equations presented -by Cole have since become the accepted formulae for solving the mathematical problems of cumulative voting. In this article, the author demonstrates, however, that Cole's equations contain significant errors and may yield faulty results in some situations. He then sets forth a more rigorous and accurate approach to the mathematical problems involved in cumulative voting for the election of corporate directors.


ABSTRACT The scale of development and deployment of open source software (OSS) in the three Northeast Asian countries–China, Japan, and South Korea–is large enough to be noticed at the global level. OSS has redefined the dynamics of software markets in the three countries and has brought significant structural changes in their software industries. Governments have played a pivotal role in the development of OSS industry in the region. Governments in the three countries have also created impetus for continental collaborations in OSS projects. This paper examines the roles and contributions of governments to the OSS initiative in the three countries in terms of a number of technology visions and goals.


COVID-19 was declared a pandemic by the World Health Organization in March 2020. The speed with which the pandemic spread geographically, and the high rate of mortality of its victims prompted many countries around the world to institute 'lockdowns' of various sorts to contain it. While the global concern in the early months following the emergence of COVID-19 was with health impacts, the 'lockdown' measures put in place by governments triggered global socioeconomic shocks as economies entered recessions due to disruption of economic activity that the 'lockdown' measures entailed. Data suggests that the socioeconomic shocks arising from 'lockdowns' have been more severe in sub-Saharan Africa countries, generating dire livelihood consequences for most citizens who depend on the informal economy for survival. In Zambia, the effects of COVID-19 combined with a severe drought, and a decline in mining activity to contribute to a downward spiral in Zambia's economy. This report aims to gain real-time insights into how the COVID-19 crisis was unfolding in Zambia and how rural people and food and livelihood systems were responding. The study focused on documenting and understanding the differential impacts of the pandemic at the household level in terms of changes in participation in farming activities, availability of services for agricultural production, labour and employment, marketing and transport services, food and nutrition security and poverty and wellbeing.


THAM is a titrating agent in vivo as well as in vitro , and its ionized fraction acts in the kidney as a non-reabsorbable cation. Since, at normal blood pH, THAM is 70% ionized, the larger part of the compound remains in the extracellular fluid and is rapidly excreted in the presence of a functional kidney. By reducing the pCO2 in the extracellular space, THAM could reduce intracellular pH as well. However, such a reduction of intracellular pCO2 is limited by TIJAM's depressant effect on ventilation, an effect which rapidly restores to normal and then elevates plasma pCO2 in the presence of an alkaline pH. The fraction of THAM which penetrates into the cells is, at intracellular pH, 90% ionized and may "overtitrate" the intracellular spaces. As ionized THAM accumulates in the cell, K+ moves out in order to restore the normal Donnan ratio. In addition to this action on by migration, THAM does not act as a simple buffer inside the cell but most likely interacts with enzyme systems. These interactions remain to be determined and distinguished from the pH effect of THAM. Compounds similar to THAM which would penetrate at a relatively slow rate into cells and modify intracellular pH would be very useful (90) in experimental work in order to alter the activity of specific enzymes. However, their ready availability is unlikely, primarily because of the instability of most organic compounds in vivo . Meanwhile, THAM is a very useful tool for the physiologists and pharmacologists who wish to study the effects of acid-base balance alterations. When used judiciously it has also been helpful in clinical medicine. During acidosis, severe metabolic disturbances overwhelm homeostatic mechanisms and many forms of therapy become ineffective. The administration of THAM, by restoring pH of body fluids to normal, potentially can provide optimum conditions for the restoration of homeostasis and for standard therapeutic procedures.


The new essays in this volume aim to introduce early modern Naples - the largest city in the Spanish global empire and one of Europe's largest cities - to readers unfamiliar with its history.


Random fields play a central role in the analysis of spatially correlated data and, as a result, have a significant impact on a broad array of scientific applications. Given the importance of this topic, there has been a substantial amount of research devoted to this area. However, the cepstral random field model remains largely underdeveloped outside the engineering literature. We provide a comprehensive treatment of the asymptotic theory for two-dimensional random field models. In particular, we provide recursive formulas that connect the spatial cepstral coefficients to an equivalent moving-average random field, which facilitates easy computation of the necessary autocovariance matrix. Additionally, we establish asymptotic consistency results for Bayesian, maximum likelihood, and quasi-maximum likelihood estimation of random field parameters and regression parameters. Further, in both the maximum and quasi-maximum likelihood frameworks, we derive the asymptotic distribution of our estimator. The theoretical results are presented generally and are of independent interest, pertaining to a wide class of random field models. The results for the cepstral model facilitate model-building: because the cepstral coefficients are unconstrained in practice, numerical optimization is greatly simplified, and we are always guaranteed a positive definite covariance matrix. We show that inference for individual coefficients is possible, and one can refine models in a disciplined manner. Finally, our results are illustrated through simulation and the analysis of straw yield data in an agricultural field experiment.


The President's Commission Report Deciding to Forego Life-Sustaining Treatment comes down squarely in favor of two propositions: 1) artificial provision of nutrition and hydration are medical treatments, and 2) as such, these medical treatments may be foregone by certain categories of patients or their proxies. This latter conclusion is based on roughly consequentialist grounds; the former is more assumed than argued There is a school of thought opposed to both of these conclusions. After first demonstrating that nourishment is not medicine, a non-consequentialist or natural law argument is employed to show that nourishment may not be foregone insofar as it violates the principle, "First, do no harm." I was once a member of this school, and this paper was to argue its position. In the end, however, this paper adopts the position that artificial provision of nourishment and hydration can be medical treatments, and as such may be foregone by certain categories of patients, without violating a natural law understanding of "First, do no harm "Still, exposing my retained sympathies for my former position, the paper attempts to argue for a very careful standard for non-treatment. As a result, the argument of the paper takes four steps. First, I present the argument that artificial provision of nutrition is never medical treatment, giving as much strength to that argument as possible. Second, I show how the focus of that argument leads it astray, and that artificial provision of nourishment is medical treatment. Third, I try to show by what standard patients (or proxies) can legitimately forego this medical treatment Fourth, I point out where my former position has valid criticisms of certain arguments used by those who hold that such treatment may be withdrawn, and urge great caution in deciding to forego treatment.


Intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma (ICC) is the second most common primary liver cancer. Together with klaskin tumour and cholangiocarcinoma of extrahepatic bile duct, it is one of the less prevalent subtypes. Pathologically, it can be classified as mass forming, peri-ductal infiltrative and intra-ductal growth. Since most ICC develops de novo and originates from the periphery of the biliary system, most patients present at a relative late stage of the disease. There is no specific tumour marker for diagnosis, and cross-sectional imaging remains the most informative diagnostic tool. Fluorodeoxyglucose (FDG)-PET scan is asensitive in picking up hypermetabolic foci and able to alter treatment plan in case of the presence of bilobar or extra-hepatic tumour. AJCC 7th edition remains the most frequently used staging system with validated discriminatory and prognostic ability. Surgical remains the only hope of cure provided that R0 resection could be achieved. Margin width tends to influence survival of patients with solitary tumour and node negative disease. The high recurrence rate and poor long-term outcome make liver transplantation an unpopular option for ICC treatment. Non-surgical treatments are mainly reserved for inoperable ICC, treatment outcomes are generally poor with overall survival (OS) depends on individual treatment response. Future studies on newer chemotherapeutic combination and molecular targeted regime are eagerly awaited.


Abstract This contribution explores security issues in the Mediterranean from a feminist perspective. Feminists have developed a broad and dynamic understanding of security and insecurity. This approach takes 'soft' and 'hard' issues as interconnected on the personal, national and international level. This allows for a comprehensive perspective on the basic human need for security. It is argued that EU policies that stress 'soft' security issues offer more sustainable and at the same time 'realistic' ways of establishing an 'area of peace and stability in the Mediterranean' [Barcelona Declaration, 1995] than those that stress 'hard' security issues. After discussing feminist and developmental perspectives on comprehensive security concepts, the contribution presents some important indicators of 'Gendered Human Security' in EMP countries. It argues that it is important to address the huge gaps in gendered human security in order to strengthen the civil and security dimension of the EMP. The contribution finally explores the possible positive effects of womens' participation in the armed forces. Will these processes change militarized security cultures and help create a more comprehensive security approach?


Quantitative electron microscopic autoradiographic studies in cultured human lymphocytes and isolated rat hepatocytes have demonstrated that labeled insulin initially localizes to the plasma membrane and is subsequently internalized to a limited region of the peripheral cytoplasm. When 0.5 nm 125I-insulin is incubated with isolated rat hepatocytes, binding to the plasma membrane occurs at both 20 degrees C and 37 degrees C. Under steady-state binding conditions approximately equal to 30--40% of the labeled hormone is internalized to a distance of approximately equal to 15% of the radius of the cell. When the localization of the internalized labeled material is analyzed, by 2--5 min of incubation at 37 degrees C there is a fivefold preferential association of autoradiographic grains with lysosomal structures, and by 30--60 min of incubation at 37 degrees C there is a 10-fold preferential association. When the cell-associated radioactivity is extracted and filtered on Sephadex G-50 at each time point of incubation, radioactivity elutes predominantly in the position of 125I-insulin and is predominantly in the position of 125I-insulin and is predominantly trichloracetic acid precipitable, bindable to talc, and rebindable to liver membranes. With increasing time of association at 37 degrees C the initial rate and absolute amount of labeled material dissociable from the cell is reduced. With increasing time of dissociation both the cell-associated radioactivity and the radioactivity released into the incubation medium is progressively degraded. These data demonstrate that in isolated rat hepatocytes labeled insulin initially localizes to the plasma membrane, is progressively internalized, and associates preferentially with lysosomal structures. These events may provide a mechanism that links cell surface binding to the degradation of insulin and to insulin-induced loss of its specific receptor.


Cognitive Maps (CMs) have shown promise as tools for modelling and simulation of knowledge in computers as representation of real objects, concepts, perceptions or events and their relations. This thesis examines the application of fuzzy theory to the expression of these relations, and investigates the development of a framework to better manage the operations of these relations.

The Fuzzy Cognitive Map (FCM) was introduced in 1986 but little progress has been made since. This is because of the difficulty of modifying or extending its reasoning mechanism from causality to relations other than causality, such as associative and deductive reasoning. The ability to express the complex relations between objects and concepts determines the usefulness of the maps. Structuring these concepts and relations in a model so that they can be consistently represented and quickly accessed and anipulated by a computer is the goal of knowledge representation. This forms the main motivation of this research.

In this thesis, a novel framework is proposed whereby single-antecedent fuzzy rules can be applied to a directed graph, and reasoning ability is extended to include noncausality. The framework provides a hierarchical structure where a graph in a higher layer represents knowledge at a high level of abstraction, and graphs in a lower layer represent the knowledge in more detail. The framework allows a modular design of knowledge representation and facilitates the creation of a more complex structure for modelling and reasoning.

The experiments conducted in this thesis show that the proposed framework is effective and useful for deriving inferences from input data, solving certain classification problems, and for prediction and decision-making.


We study the observation of quantum Turing machines by allowing interactions between a quantum machine and its environment during the computation, whereas a quantum Turing machine --original model introduced by Deutsch-- remains isolated. We show that the introduction of observations leads to a weakening of the well formedness conditions of quantum Turing machines such that any (reversible or not) classical Turing machine is a special instance of a quantum machine. Moreover, observation of quantum Turing machines provides a formal solution to the halting process problem: the impossibility to know whether a given quantum Turing machine has actually reached its halting state. It also provides a more realistic abstract architecture of a quantum computer while most of the physical proposals of quantum computers are based on an hybrid classical-quantum architecture. However, we show that a natural formalisation of an observable quantum Turing machines leads to an over-powerful model solving undecidable problems. As a consequence, we introduce a restricted version of observable quantum Turing machines and we show that, under this restriction, any observable quantum Turing machine can be efficiently simulated by a quantum Turing machine. Finally, we discuss the potential application of the observable quantum Turing machine in the quest of a universal quantum Turing machine while recent papers have pointed out that a classical control is a key feature of a universal quantum machine.


Treatment of Anthranilic acid with chloroacetylchloride in presence of sodium acetate gave 2(chloromethyl)-4H-benzo[d][1,3]oxazin-4-one (1), that fused with ammonium acetate to give 2(aminomethyl)quinazolin-4(3H)-one (2). The compounds 2,3-dihydro-1H-pyrazino[2,1-b]quinazoline-4,6dione [3] was prepared from cyclization of (2) with ethyl chloroacetate in presence of fused sodium acetate . Treatment of (3) with acetic anhydride and/or with acetic anhydride in presence of fused sodium acetate yielded the corresponding 2-acetyl-2,3-dihydro-1H-pyrazino[2,1-b]quinazoline-4,6-dione (4) and 1,2,3triacetyl-2,3-dihydro-1H-pyrazino[2,1-b]quinazoline-4,6-dione (5) respectively. The reaction of (3) with diazonium chloride gave 1,3-bis((aryl)diazenyl)-2,3-dihydro-1H-pyrazino[2,1-b]quinazoline-4,6-dione (6) which can be acetylated with acetic anhydride to give 2-acetyl-1,3-bis((aryl)diazenyl)-2,3-dihydro-1Hpyrazino[2,1-b]quinazoline-4,6-dione (7). The electron impact mass spectra of the above series of compounds have also been recorded and their fragmentation pattern is discussed. The prepared compounds also exhibited antimicrobial activity.


Step-by-step practical guide to get to grips with GNOME application development Overview Full of easy to follow tutorials with ready-to-run code. Covers most of the subsystems in the GNOME 3 platform stack, from low to high level. Adapts common good development practices with GNOME 3 development environment. In Detail GNOME is a desktop environment and graphical user interface that runs on top of a computer operating system. GNOME 3 provides both modern desktops and development platforms with more than 50 supported languages of the world. Since 1999, it has been evolving into a very nice desktop to use and an interesting platform to develop on. "GNOME 3 Application Development Beginner's Guide" is about developing GNOME 3 application with Vala and JavaScript programming languages. It guides the reader to build Gtk+, Clutter, and HTML5 applications on the GNOME 3 platform. It covers GNOME 3 specific subsystems such as data access, multimedia, networking, and filesystem. It also covers good software engineering practices such as localization and testing. This book is full of step-by-step tutorials and ready to run codes. The examples are written in a simple and straightforward way to make it easier for the reader to get a thorough understanding of the topics. The book starts with the installation of GNOME 3 and ends with building two exciting projects, a web browser and a Twitter client. The book starts from the basics and gradually talks about more advanced topics. It then guides the readers in using the development environment starts from Anjuta IDE, Glade, and DevHelp. The essential GNOME 3 subsystems like GStreamer, GLib, GIO, GSettings, Evolutions Data Server, WebKit, and GNOME desktop are then uncovered one by one. Then the internationalization, localization, and unit testing techniques are brought up. "GNOME 3 Application Development Beginner's Guide" is really a guide that a novice GNOME 3 application developer must not miss. What you will learn from this book GNOME 3 development environment installation in many popular Linux distribution. Best engineering practices in GNOME, from mock up to the running app. Accessing data with Evolution Data Server. Internationalization and localization in GNOME 3. Unit testing framework in GLib, Gdk, and Gtk+. Multimedia programming with GStreamer. GNOME 3 development environment installation in many popular Linux distributions. GNOME 3 desktop integration Approach This book is a step-by-step guide with ready-to-run codes to guide you in developing applications with GNOME. Who this book is written for If you have programming skill either in Linux or other operating systems and want to have GNOME 3 as one of your deployment targets, then this book is for you. This book is also for commercial software developers or an open source software hacker. The reader needs to be familiar with Vala and JavaScript before starting to develop Gtk+ and Clutter applications.


Awareness of environmental limits has led to a prol iferation of accounting methodologies designed to measure the impact of human activity on the earth's ecological systems and resources. Such methodologi es can be collectively described as green accounting, and categorised in three different ways; first, by whose actions are being accounted for; second, by the tim e period being considered; third, by how environment impacts are measured. Current practice tends to foc us on parallel reporting with financial accounting still having greater importance. Green accounting remains largely voluntary and unaudited. The key challenge s for green accounting can be summarised as first to determining the scale of change in human activity required to prevent environmental degradation and i ncorporating some reference to these limits within its metrics, and second to be effective in prompting th e necessary behavioral change within the necessary timescale.


East Asia has experienced a substantial decline in fertility over past few decades. Japan and Korea touched lowest level of fertility, which is 1,26 and 1,08 children per woman respectively in 2005. However, Taiwan continued to decline until 2010 when the fertility rate was 0,90 children per woman. Population growth is also declining steadily in these countries. Population loss has already started in Japan and soon it will begin in Korea and Taiwan. Ratio of population aging is increasing gradually. These countries have also experienced rapid economic growth, in parallel increased female education, high female labor force participation remarkably. Governments of East Asian countries implemented different family policies to cope with fertility decline issue. The investments of government expenditure per capita on family policies have been increasing over time. Our objective, in this thesis, is to determine significance of these polices on fertility. There are numerous factors, which influence childbirth decision. In this study, we investigate how these policies effect fertility decision while supporting working parents. We also take into account traditional social culture to analyze its impact on these policies. We use aggregated data for Japan, Korea and Taiwan period from 1995 to 2009 and regression analysis is performed to answer chosen hypotheses.


This paper deals with the implementation of model selection criteria to data generated by ARMA processes. The recently introduced modified divergence information criterion is used and compared with traditional selection criteria like the Akaike information criterion (AIC) and the Schwarz information criterion (SIC). The appropriateness of the selected model is tested for one- and five-step ahead predictions with the use of the normalized mean squared forecast errors (NMSFE).


Background and Purpose:
 Diabetes is a major risk factor for ischemic cerebrovascular disease that increases morbidity and mortality in type-1 diabetes mellitus (T1DM) population. The undefined mechanism for diabetic stroke severity delayed the therapeutic options to deal with this clinically relevant problem. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to determine the mechanism of severity during diabetic stroke by observing epigenetic, neuro-glia-vascular components of the brain with regard to non-diabetic stroke.

 Methods:
 To test this hypothesis we employed 8-10 weeks old male diabetic Ins2+/- Akita (genetic T1DM) and wild type mice. The experimental mice groups were: 1) sham, 2) IR, 3) sham
 Akita
 , and 4) IR
 Akita
 . Mice were subjected to ischemic injury (40 min) followed by reperfusion for 24 h. Infarct area was measured with TTC. The brain tissues were analyzed for inflammation, glial, neuronal, vascular, MMP-9 expressions and global epigenetic alterations (5-methylcytosine, 5-mC and 5-hydroxymethylcytosine, 5-hmC). Intra-carotid FITC-BSA infusion was used to evaluate venular leakage.

 Results:
 Diabetic
 IR
 Akita
 mice showed more infarct, edema, inflammation, and vascular MMP-9 expressions as compared to non-diabetic and sham mice groups (p<0.05). Intense vascular impairment was determined by reduced expressions of the vascular junctions in IR-injured diabetic mice as compared to other mice groups (p<0.01). FITC-BSA infusion exemplified severe venular leakage in diabetic mice as compared to other experimental mice (F=3, 103, p<0.01). Interestingly, we also found differential regulation of epigenetic [5-hmC; (F=3, 236.8, p<0.01)], vascular [eNOS (F=3, 74.98, p<0.01)], glial [Cx43 (F=3, 37.24, p<0.01); GFAP (F=3, 40.48, p<0.01); CD11b (F=3, 18.36, p<0.01)], and neuronal [NSE (F=3, 292.2, p<0.01); nNOS (F=3, 116.8, p<0.01)] markers in IR-injured diabetic mice as compared to non-diabetic mice.

 Conclusion:
 We conclude that IR-injury during T1DM exhibits intense inflammation, cellular injury and BBB dysfunction leading to worse stroke outcomes. The data also indicate that severity in IR-injured T1DM mice might be amplified by differential epigenetic and neuro-glio-vascular cascades. This work was supported by NIH grant HL107640.


NB English version of the paper is available at http://roa.rutgers.edu/view.php3?id=1292 Syncope and apocope of post-tonic vowels in the early, pre-literary, period of the language made a major contribution to the characteristic phonological structure of the Catalan lexicon. The process eliminated the majority of cases of the post-tonic central vowel ([]) deriving from /e/, /i/, /o/, /u/ of Vulgar Latin, and thereby vastly reduced the number of syllables in lexical entries. For example, the process converted almost all masculine paroxytones to oxytones, and almost all proparoxytones to paroxytone. Most scholars have regarded syncope and apocope as independent changes, overlooking the fact that from this perspective both processes should be able to apply, provided syllable constraints permit. In fact, no more than one post-tonic vowel is deleted in any word. I suggest that syncope and apocope of post-tonic vowels both reflect two preferences that overcame faithfulness to the syllabic and prosodic structures inherited from late Latin. The first was a preference for trochaic over dactylic feet (reflected here in the constraint HEADFOOT-RIGHT); the second was the preference not to realize the least distinct vowel of the inventory // (reflected in the constraint *SCHWA). The effect of these two preferences (constraints) was countered by a faithfulness constraint (MAXPROSODICHEAD) that favoured retaining a vowel that in the inherited form had been the head of a foot, namely the vowel of the final syllable of proparoxytone words. All the constraints favouring syncope were subject to prosodic constraints governing the distribution into coda and/or onset of a sequence of consonants that might result from the elimination of an internal post-tonic vowel; these constraints are the sonority sequencing constraint SONSEQ, the Syllable Contact Law (SYLCON), and the Minimum Sonority Distance constraint. Dominated by HEAD FOOT RIGHT, the faithfulness and syllable structure constraints could not require the retention of two post-tonic central vowels. In certain contexts where Proto-Catalan had had two post-tonic central vowels, the result apocope or syncope is not completely general. While several interpretations accounting for irregularity are proposed, there is insufficient data (absence of texts of the period of most interest, and lack of suitable relevant lexical examples to establish precise phonological conditions) to allow all of the details to be satisfactorily resolved.


Background. When Vygotsky suggested the term rudimentary functions for psychological phenomena, he drew a parallel with organismic rudiments that existed and continue to exist in a number of biological species. These rudiments used to play an important role in the life of an organism and allow us to study that life in the process of its development. Vygotsky originally gave three explicit examples of psychological rudimentary functions: 1) attributing an important decision to the result of a solitaire card game, 2) tying a knot in a handkerchief in order to remember and do something later, and 3) counting on one's fingers. Objective. The purpose of this article is to offer a contemporary overview and paths for development of L.S. Vygotsky's notion of rudimentary function. Design. This paper, in the genre of a theoretical article, drew on existing research and theoretical literature to advance a theory. I analyzed Vygotsky's original example of a solitaire game and similar actions (for example, flipping a coin), arguing that these actions represent key events mediating choice and exercising human will over affect. I then focused on three more psychological functions that fit Vygotsky's definition of rudiments: 1) photographic memory and déjà vu as instances of historically primitive eidetic memory, 2) talking to oneself aloud as a rudiment of a key event forming the self-regulatory mechanism of inner speech in childhood, and 3) fantasizing, which could remind us of our young age, when imagination readily created what was lacking in external world. Results. This analysis allowed me to vividly illustrate the historical and relational focus of Vygotsky's theories. Conclusions. Rudimentary functions, often perceived as mysterious, in their simplicity can be powerful reminders that historically primitive functions do not disappear, but enter complex relationships with other psychological functions, and that many relationships are possible within different cultural-historical formations, with Western civilization being just one example.


This is a commissioned comment on a forthcoming article by Benjamin Ewing & Douglas Kysar, Prods and Pleas: Limited Government in an Era of Unlimited Harm, 121 Yale L.J. - (forthcoming 2011). Ewing & Kysar suggest that we augment the traditional conception of constitutional "checks and balances" with one of "prods and please," i.e. that different branches of government can provide incentives and knowledge to induce action from other branches. It uses federal climate nuisance litigation as an example of how such prods and pleas can and should oeprate. I am skeptical that governmental branches listen to reasoned arguments from other branches; thus, "pleas" has little value. Ewing & Kysar's theory of prods, however, contains an important insight. Branches often respond to political incentives, and so when one branch reaches a decision that undermines the political goals of key actors in other branches (a "prod"), action is possible. In this Age of Dysfunction, when one of the major American political parties seeks to paralyze government action, I suggest three areas where judicial prodding might be appropriate: 1) where legislation is blocked by a filibuster; 2) where opposition to legislation rejects science; and 3) where the legislative process produces results discriminating against diffuse and invisible (and thus powerless) groups. I then use Ewing & Kysar's example of climate change policy and argue that under current circumstances, judicial prodding is appropriate.


This research explored young people's learning needs related to sexuality and relationships within the current rapidly changing social, cultural and religious context of the Maltese Islands. It also explored the challenges, opportunities and alternative means by which these needs can be met. A definitional matrix for needs assessment that adopts a sociological perspective to people's needs, which is widely used in health promotion, was employed. This thesis was framed around the underlying principles of youth involvement, participation and empowerment, and thus emphasised young people's own perspective of their learning needs. The mixed-methodology approach was adopted in this research. The first stage of investigation sought to achieve an overview of sexual behaviour and knowledge among young Maltese people aged 14 - 16 attending secondary schools. A stratified random sample of 1310 pupils (68% response rate) provided a first-ever snapshot of young people's sexual behaviour in Malta. The second stage sought to explore young people's felt and expressed learning needs within and outside the school setting by way of sixteen focus groups involving another 166 pupils. Findings suggest a relatively low rate of pupils who would have practiced sexual intercourse by school-leaving age in Malta (12.3%). Mean age at first intercourse seems similar to that of other European countries (14 years) for both genders. Only a fifth used condoms every time they had sex. Knowledge of STIs was scant. The pupils were more informed about HIV. Girls were more knowledgeable. Boys had sex with more sexual partners. No gender differences were noted in substance abuse with sex. Discussions among pupils revealed a high degree of perceived unmet learning need. Participants valued highly learning about sexuality but thought it received much less attention than their other academic learning needs. Disparities between schools were evidenced. Learning was sporadic and uncoordinated with conflicting messages from different teachers. Often sessions started timely to pupils' needs, but ended prematurely. Learning from parents was scanty and associated with the overall relationship and bonding between parents and the child. Gaps were noted between perceived ideal sources (teachers, parents and visiting speakers) and actual / preferred sources (friends and the media). Needs were perceived in relation to the content and timing of learning, sources of knowledge, learning styles and resources. Maltese pupils had diverse values and called for a variety of approaches. Recommendations were made for a national sexuality education policy to standardize the framework of sexuality education among Maltese schools; more initial teacher training and inservice training in sexuality education to meet the needs of a diverse group of adolescents through various approaches; more collaboration among teachers within schools; parenting skills and lifelong learning opportunities for parents; more active involvement of adolescents and a wider consultation with schools and families in the evaluation of sexuality education.


The Morris water maze (MWM) is a widely known, simple and effective task in the
examination of spatial learning and memory. Successful acquisition of the task is
thought to rely on retained representations of allocentric spatial relations, whereby
animals learn to associate the location of a hidden platform with surrounding distal cues
and subsequently use this information to navigate towards the hidden goal. As the distal
cues are critical in this process, features of the cues, such as location, are an important
factor to consider in examining how the task is solved. It has also been well
documented that the hippocampus is a critical structure in the processing of allocentric
representations. However, there has been debate surrounding the exact nature of this
involvement, with suggestions that hippocampal damage leads to deficiencies in
navigational aspects of the task rather than purely spatial processing impairments. To
assess this, we adopted novel methods of analyses which include sub-second monitoring
of each individual animal's behaviour as they navigate during a training trial. From this
analysis we initially determine that positioning of the distal cues around the maze can
impact on intact animals' performance. Specifically, we noted that animals with cues
positioned close to their goal are more efficient in reaching the target and use more
view-dependent strategies, over animals whose cues are in a position further away, who,
instead, are more reliant on view-independent behaviours in order to reach their goal.
Molecular examinations of both groups of animals reveal higher BDNF expression in
the dorsal hippocampus in the group whose cues are positioned further away from their
goal, which we suggest reflects the Far cue groups need to infer their position more than
the Near cue group. Following this, assessment of animal behaviour following lesions to
the dorsal hippocampus indicated that both the Near and Far lesioned groups were
significantly impaired in the MWM. Behavioural analysis highlighted lesioned animals'
deficits in accurately monitoring and adapting their motor movements in response to
task demands, suggesting that the impairments seen in the maze are due deficits in
integrating exploratory behaviours, rather than a purely spatial memory impairment.
While there were few differences in performance of the Near and Far lesioned animals,
further assessment of the intact hippocampus using immunohistochemical procedures
revealed increased c-Fos expression in the Far cue group in area CA1 of the
hippocampus. Further to this, subregional assessment using lesion and IEG
methodologies led to the distinction that the dentate gyrus, in particular, is critical in
performance in the water maze.
Together, the behavioural, molecular and lesion data assessing hippocampal
contributions to acquisition of the MWM are discussed in terms of models of
navigation. From this, we suggest that the water maze task is solved using a vectormodel
of navigation, rather than the widely reported, and accepted, cognitive mapping
theory of spatial learning. The behavioural lesion data also supports a role for the
hippocampus in this model, specifically as lesioned animals' display clear impairments
in the accurate judgement of distance and direction to their goal when in the maze; a
critical feature of the vector-model


It is widely conjectured that the reason that training algorithms for neural networks are successful because all local minima lead to similar performance, for example, see (LeCun et al., 2015, Choromanska et al., 2015, Dauphin et al., 2014). Performance is typically measured in terms of two metrics: training performance and generalization performance. Here we focus on the training performance of single-layered neural networks for binary classification, and provide conditions under which the training error is zero at all local minima of a smooth hinge loss function. Our conditions are roughly in the following form: the neurons have to be strictly convex and the surrogate loss function should be a smooth version of hinge loss. We also provide counterexamples to show that when the loss function is replaced with quadratic loss or logistic loss, the result may not hold.


In this paper a hypothesis is offered concerning the geographic distribution of a Paleolithic language. Two models are commonly used for explaining invention and spread of new techno-typologies: emergence in a core area (invention), and appearance simultaneously and independently in various places (diffusion). The spread of new techniques, tool types, and ideas assumes the existence of verbal communication. The current evidence indicating that a Mousterian industry with Levalloisian techniques was the "mother-culture" from which the Initial Upper Paleolithic emerged, may hint that an unknown but hypothetical language was the source of the Upper Paleolithic languages. This proposal is based on the common knowledge among today's flintknappers that the learned skill of making stone tools is acquired not only through watching and mimicking the artisan's gestures, but also through oral explanations that accompany the teaching process.