Chondrichthyans are one of the most vulnerable groups of marine species, with increasing numbers being listed as endangered or threatened. Fundamental to the conservation and management of any animal is an understanding of their reproduction and particularly, the size at which individuals enter the reproductive population. Size at maturity in sharks is typically obtained by macroscopic examination of the gonads after sacrificing the fish. Using the draughtboard shark Cephaloscyllium laticeps as a case study, we found that equivalent information can be obtained nondestructively using steroid hormone levels measured from a blood sample. This technique allowed us to release the shark after only 1 to 2 min of handling. A combination of plasma steroid hormone concentrations and an external measurement (total length for females and clasper length for males) was used to determine that over 90% of female and 95% of male sharks were either juveniles or adults.
The estimates of size at maturity from the hormone analysis were within 3% of equivalent values of dissected sharks. Once validated, hormone levels can also be used to determine seasonal reproductive patterns for the adult population. Our results demonstrated how measurement of plasma levels of steroid hormones can provide a non-destructive method for obtaining reproductive data necessary for managing vulnerable and endangered shark species. The development of a non-destructive sampling
tool also allows for improved ethical investigation into this vulnerable group of marine fishes.


Scientific evidence has proved that social situations are an enriching context for learning, because the acquisition of new knowledge implies active participation of the learner. Structuring an efficient collaborative situation is challenging and different factors can affect the quality of outcomes. The social context itself is not a guarantee of learning. Experts have deeply explored the collaborative learning approach and they have identified a concept crucial for effective collaboration, namely the process of grounding. When members of a group attempt to perform a task together, a shared understanding of concepts needs to be established and maintained. This has been recognized as a key process on which, consequently, new knowledge can be constructed. Exploring the dynamics that shape collaboration in an authentic classroom setting and investigating the process of common ground construction among children is fundamental to improve classrooms practices. The aim of the research is to gain a deeper understanding of the mechanisms of collaborative learning, through the lenses of interactions and grounding. The theoretical part of this study explores the fundamentals of collaborative learning and the phenomenon of common ground. The empirical part aims at exploring an authentic classroom situation, in which students were asked to perform tasks of different nature jointly. The study was conducted in an elementary school located in the Northern Finland and the participants were eleven 4 graders. The investigation was held during 6 English language lessons that were entirely video recorded. Video observations are the main source of information of this study. The data analysis is conducted qualitatively and a coding frame for interactions is constructed according to the directions of qualitative content analysis. The results are presented in the form of descriptive summaries of the collaborative dynamics, tables of frequencies of interactions and examples of verbal exchanges occurred. Interpretation of group mechanisms is presented through theoretical concepts. The results of this study give evidence that collaborative learning is influenced by many factors, both personal and contextual. The composition of the group resulted to be important to children and in some situation was a critical trigger for effective interactions. Students silently agreed on determined dynamics, such as the symmetry of participants and their role within the group, and tended to perform the task individually. The frequencies of interactions support such evidence, where the most common behavior occurred was performing the task alone. Process of grounding occurred during the episodes under investigation. Clues of shared understanding were given through behavioral actions, such as shared focus, continued attention to the peer and indicative gestures. Verbal exchanges aimed to construct common ground occurred of highest quality mostly in asymmetrical group dynamics, where one of the children held (or were believed to hold) more knowledge or took the role of leader. The results of the research are in line with previous research findings and it confirms the potential benefits of collaborative learning. However, the construction of a shared understanding is not an automatic phenomenon among children and resulted highly related to their goal structure. The small scale of the research does not allow the results to be generalized, but the transparency of empirical process, the detailed explanation of data analysis and interpretation through the theoretical concepts make the investigation reliable. The study is also considered valuable because it provides an insight of the collaborative learning and grounding dynamics in an authentic context.


Models which describe the perception of foreign language sounds typically do so using qualitative relations with sounds in the first language, but a more fine-grained account of learners' perceptual difficulties might be obtained via techniques from automatic speech recognition. Here, we employ generative statistical models of speech – Hidden Markov Models – which underly most work in speech recognition, to learn the sound systems of English and Mandarin Chinese, and use these as the basis for a quantitative model of the perception of English intervocalic consonants by Chinese listeners. This approach allows both the prediction of consonant identification preferences and the construction of a complete cross-language consonant distance matrix, which can then be compared to consonant categorisation and goodness ratings respectively. To evaluate the model, 30 native Chinese listeners with moderate English competence and residing in China categorised and rated English intervocalic consonants. A high degree of consistency was found between listeners and the computer model for sound categorisation as well as a clear and significant correlation between goodness ratings and distance measurements, suggesting that the technique has potential in predicting sound-level difficulties experienced by language learners. One key difference between listeners and the model is in the relative influence of acoustic and orthographic factors in sound categorisation: while model decisions and distances are based solely on acoustic information, clear evidence of orthographic interference can be seen in listener responses. We explored this issue by comparing the use of Chinese characters versus Pinyin graphemes on the task. Listeners who were presented with Pinyin showed some orthographic influences, while a dialect influence occurred in the character group.


The impact of professional lobbyists varies according to context. The thesis assesses the relationship between professional lobbying and policy outcomes, and the impact of external variables. Whilst the effectiveness of professional lobbyists is partly a function of internal variables like skill, contacts and resources, external contextual factors are more often the key determinants of policy. Contextual variables include factors external to government like the world economy and judicial decisions, and factors internal to government including party ideology and the autonomy of government actors. Its four case studies (Sunday Trading, CrossRail, Jubilee Line Extension and Professional Liability), representing a range of issues, from high to low profile, and varying in degrees of technicality and politicality, test nine hypotheses against evidence from in-depth interviews, governmental and parliamentary papers, and the press. When context is favourable, lobbyists have the greatest effect on non-contentious, technical and non-partisan issues. On low-profile issues, when low-profile tactics have failed, lobbyists can be effective if they use high-profile tactics to increase the salience of the issue within government. On issues initially and inherently high-profile, non-technical and political, there are more variables so the lobbyist's impact is proportionally less. Though lobbyists on occasion affect policy, they are rarely at the centre of decision-making. Policy outcomes are decided by bigger factors than the activities of lobbyists. Their impact is at the margins of policy, and the perception they and the press hold about their major effects is illusory. Whilst lobbyists rarely influence policy significantly, they do add value to clients. They bring economies of scale (offering services more cheaply than if provided in-house) and are often a worthwhile investment. They have experience; they educate clients; they know key players and processes and can overturn established procedure. More importantly, on rare occasions when the context is right, their involvement can affect policy outcomes.


Moringa (Moringa oleifera Lam.) is given great importance as a vegetable. The leaves, pods and flowers of this tree are used exclusively as nutritious food. The present trend in crop improvement programmes is the development of high yielding cultivars to boost the productivity and profitability. This experiment was conducted with 20 genotypes of drumstick in the randomized block design (RBD) with three replications during 2018-19 at Pt. K.L.S. College of Horticulture and Research Station, Rajnandgaon (C.G.). Genetic parameters studies for variability, correlation and path coefficients analysis of twenty genotypes of Moringa for twelve yield attributes revealed that the characters leaf length, number of pod per plant, plant height, pod girth, number of branches per plant and number of seeds per pod showed high GCV and high heritability along with high genetic advance and these characters are controlled by additive gene. The study of path analysis indicated that the direct selection of number of leaves per rachis, number of branches per plant, number of pods per plant, number of flower per inflorescence, stem girth, leaf length and plant height could be used as selection criteria for improvement. Association analysis revealed that selection criteria based on number of branches per plant, length of pod, leaf length, pod girth and number of pod per plant, pod weight and plant height can provide better result for improvement of pod yield in Moringa.


A Spatial Data Infrastructure (SDI) is an evolving concept, essentially consisting of policies, institutional arrangements, Geographical Information Systems (GISs), data bases, networks, Web services and portals to facilitate and coordinate the availability, exchange and sharing of geospatial data and services between stakeholders from different levels. This article aims to provide some information on the role and value of SDIs and their potential relationship with, and contribution to other geospatial and evidence-based tools and technologies within the South African planning context and system. For this, it provides a brief overview and comparison of the key characteristics of the SDIs in South Africa, China, Brazil, Australia and India. The article highlights some of the complexities and use of an SDI and the value of, and need for an SDI to support the spatial and land development planning envisaged in the Spatial Planning and Land Use Management Act (SPLUMA).


The long-term memory of most connectionist systems lies entirely in the weights of the system. Since the number of weights is typically fixed, this bounds the total amount of knowledge that can be learned and stored. Though this is not normally a problem for a neural network designed for a specific task, such a bound is undesirable for a system that continually learns over an open range of domains. To address this, we describe a lifelong learning system that leverages a fast, though non-differentiable, content-addressable memory which can be exploited to encode both a long history of sequential episodic knowledge and semantic knowledge over many episodes for an unbounded number of domains. This opens the door for investigation into transfer learning, and leveraging prior knowledge that has been learned over a lifetime of experiences to new domains.


The peripheral Mongolic languages of the Qinghai-Gansu area in China comprise Eastern Yugur (Shira Yugur) and the Shirongol languages. The latter can be subdivided in a Monguor branch, consisting of Mongghul and Mangghuer, and a Baoanic branch, consisting of Baoan, Kangjia, and Dongxiang (Santa). The internal taxonomy of the Qinghai-Gansu languages will be discussed in a separate section.
The Qinghai-Gansu languages are increasingly well-described. They have also been the subject of studies in language contact, mostly in the context of the Amdo or Qinghai-Gansu Sprachbund.
This study will approach the phonology of Qinghai-Gansu Mongolic from a comparative historical viewpoint. It provides an overview of the phonological developments of the Qinghai-Gansu languages, comparing them to the reconstructed ancestral language. At the same time it will investigate the archaic features that can be found in these languages, in order to improve the reconstructions of individual Mongolic lexemes.
The book ends with a comparative supplement of about 1350 reconstructed Common Mongolic items, accompanied by the modern forms they are based on and, where necessary, arguments for the chosen reconstruction.


In this article I explore a kind of tragic choice that has not received due attention, one in which you have to save only one of two persons but the probability of saving is not equal (and all other things are equal). Different proposals are assessed, taking as models proposals for a much more discussed tragic choice situation: saving different numbers of persons. I hold that cases in which (only) numbers are different are structurally similar to cases in which (only) probabilities are different. After a brief defense of this claim, I conclude that some version of consequentialism seems more promising for offering a plausible solution to the probability case.


Contemporary debates about "moral luck" were inaugurated by Thomas Nagel's celebrated essay on the topic. Nagel notes that the puzzle about moral luck is formally parallel to the familiar epistemological problem of skepticism. In each case, the problem is generated by the apparent coherence of the thought that inner aspects of our lives are self-contained, and can be both understood and evaluated without any reference to anything external. Epistemological skepticism begins with the thought that my thoughts could be exactly as they are without any contact with the world outside, where "exactly as they are" is glossed in terms of the grounds that connect those thoughts with each other and provide the basis for our confidence in them. In the practical case, the problem of moral or legal luck arises from the thought that the only basis we have for evaluating a person's action is his decision to perform that action. The Kantian and post-Kantian response to epistemological skepticism is not to try to defeat the skeptic on his or her own grounds, but rather to show that there is something wrong in the way the problem is set up. Our ordinary ways of thinking about ordinary things, and other persons, are only in trouble if they rest on an unwarranted inference from something that is more secure. I will engage with legal luck in a parallel way: our ordinary ways of thinking about responsibility are only in trouble if they rest on an unwarranted inference from something more secure. I argue that the concept of a completed wrong is basic to law, and that aspects of human interaction on which luck-skeptics focus — blameworthiness and harm — are derivative. I frame the issue not in terms of moral significance, but rather in terms of the authorization of the state to use force, either to order the payment of damages in tort or to imprison criminals. In the first part of the Article I consider the case of tort liability for negligence, explaining the structure of a completed wrong and the correspondingly derivative significance of carelessness as such. In the second part I turn to the issue of criminal punishment. I offer a brief explanation of the state's authority to punish, before going on to show that the basic case that engages this authority is the completed crime. I then show why the failed attempt also attracts punishment, even though it is a derivative case.


The development and use of thermal models is an integral part of the design process in existing buildings due for refurbishment. Energy predictions for existing buildings are often based on models which assume thermal property values of the building construction elements. However, once built, the actual thermal properties may differ significantly from their estimated values. Possible reasons include thermal bridging, material distortion and moisture content, sub-standard construction on-site and unavailability of construction details. The uncertainties can be reduced if the modelling process can also make use of operational measurements, such as the fuel use and internal temperatures, which have been recorded in the building during operation. To make use of operational data, performance-based models can be used. Performance-based models rely on measured data for the development of the model s architecture and for informing the estimation of the model parameters that would otherwise be based on the modeller s assumptions of the building s characteristics. One solution to the challenge of using performance-based models for existing buildings is to use the Lumped Parameter modelling approach. The Lumped Parameter modelling technique is often used for performance-based modelling of existing buildings due to the moderate knowledge of the building s physical properties required and the limited operational data needed for model training.
This thesis investigates the potential of performance-based modelling techniques for existing UK domestic buildings, based on the Lumped Parameter thermal modelling technique, and the use of measured operational data to inform the model structure and parameters. Operational data have been collected in 20 homes as part of the REFIT project, an EPSRC-funded research project on Smart Meters and Smart Homes (REFIT, 2016). This thesis explores 11 houses from the REFIT dataset and, in particular, the temperature, gas and electricity measurements from the participating households, and develops whole-house and sub-system performance-based models using the Lumped Parameter technique. The suitability of simple performance-based Lumped Parameter models in representing typical UK domestic buildings using mainstream operational data such as temperatures and gas consumption measurements is explored.
This thesis concludes on the adequacy of the operational data as measured. High correlations (>0.9) between whole-house average indoor temperatures and individual room air temperature measurements prove the use of averages adequate for representing the main rooms of the houses, whereas individual representation of the house s main rooms in use in the same model can prove challenging. A similar result is observed for whole-house radiator representation and the individual radiators. The relationships between the operational data is explored to inform the model structure and to identify collinearity and multi collinearity in the measurements. In terms of whole-house modelling, when using constraints for the parameter values during the model calibration to the measured data the resulting model parameters can be realistic and a good agreement to the measured data can be achieved (on average an RMSE of 1.03 for air temperature). The most significant parameters affecting the mean value of internal air temperatures are the external envelope resistance Re, the non-inertia elements (e.g. windows and doors) resistance, the window area for solar gains, boiler efficiency and the infiltration rate. The indoor air and internal element heat capacitance had the greatest impact on the swing in the internal air temperature (a 75% decrease in the capacitance value resulted in a 190.70% increase in the standard deviation value on average across the 11 houses). The building envelope heat capacitance and the envelope node positioning were the two parameters with the least impact on the model goodness of fit (a 75% decrease in capacitance and a value of 0.9 in envelope node positioning resulted in a 2.57% and 6.68% increase respectively in the RMSE on average across all 11 houses). Finally, the heating system representation using the Lumped Parameter model showed that the whole-house gas consumption data at the meter level, consisting of gas used for space heating as well as other purposes, is inadequate to drive the heating system model. A temperature threshold (e.g. of 1oC) indicating model overprediction can be used to remove the time-stamps of mixed use gas consumption from the model calibration. The heating system model can then be used to quantify gas consumption for space heating and non-space heating uses. In the 11 houses under study, 82.96% of the total gas consumption served for space heating, with 17.04% serving for other non-space heating purposes.


Compact optimized stellarators offer novel solutions for confining high-beta plasmas and developing magnetic confinement fusion. The 3-D plasma shape can be designed to enhance the MHD stability without feedback or nearby conducting structures and provide drift-orbit confinement similar to tokamaks. These configurations offer the possibility of combining the steady-state low-recirculating power, external control, and disruption resilience of previous stellarators with the low-aspect ratio, high beta-limit, and good confinement of advanced tokamaks. Quasi-axisymmetric equilibria have been developed for the proposed National Compact Stellarator Experiment (NCSX) with average aspect ratio 4-4.4 and average elongation of approximately 1.8. Even with bootstrap-current consistent profiles, they are passively stable to the ballooning, kink, vertical, Mercier, and neoclassical-tearing modes for beta > 4%, without the need for external feedback or conducting walls. The bootstrap current generates only 1/4 of the magnetic rotational transform at beta = 4% (the rest is from the coils), thus the equilibrium is much less nonlinear and is more controllable than similar advanced tokamaks. The enhanced stability is a result of ''reversed'' global shear, the spatial distribution of local shear, and the large fraction of externally generated transform. Transport simulations show adequate fast-ion confinement and thermal neoclassical transport similar to equivalent tokamaks.more » Modular coils have been designed which reproduce the physics properties, provide good flux surfaces, and allow flexible variation of the plasma shape to control the predicted MHD stability and transport properties.« less


In the first part of the present contribution we study theoretically the ground states of magnetic rods and ellipsoids with point dipoles. We consider two different orientations of dipoles: the dipole moment oriented along the short axis of the anisotropic particle and the dipole moment aligned along the long axis. We show that depending on the particle asphericity the ground states of ellipsoids and rods might be a chain and a ring (daisy) in two dimensions, or a carpet and a bracelet in three dimensions. If the ellipsoids or rods with the dipole moment coaligned with the long axis are elongated enough, the head-to-tail configuration of moments becomes less favourable than the antiparallel side-by-side pair of dipoles. This structural crossover in the ground state drives crucial changes in the microstructure of systems of anisotropic particles when the thermal energy starts being comparable to that of the interparticle interaction. We investigate the latter regime in the second part of our manuscript and provide a detailed analysis of the interparticle correlations using molecular dynamics simulations. We extensively study the influence of aspect ratios and different dipolar strengths on the structural properties, internal pressure and initial susceptibility of anisotropic particles' systems. We conclude that the particle shape anisotropy could be effectively used as a control parameter for the system microstructure.


Focuses on how to use web service computing and service-based workflow technologies to develop timely, effective workflows for both business and scientific fieldsUtilizing web computing and Service-Oriented Architecture (SOA), Business and Scientific Workflows: A Web ServiceOriented Approach focuses on how to design, analyze, and deploy web servicebased workflows for both business and scientific applications in many areas of healthcare and biomedicine. It also discusses and presents the recent research and development results.This informative reference features application scenarios that include healthcare and biomedical applications, such as personalized healthcare processing, DNA sequence data processing, and electrocardiogram wave analysis, and presents:Updated research and development results on the composition technologies of web services for ever-sophisticated service requirements from various users and communitiesFundamental methods such as Petri nets and social network analysis to advance the theory and applications of workflow design and web service compositionPractical and real applications of the developed theory and methods for such platforms as personalized healthcare and Biomedical Informatics GridsThe authors' efforts on advancing service composition methods for both business and scientific software systems, with theoretical and empirical contributionsWith workflow-driven service composition and reuse being a hot topic in both academia and industry, this book is ideal for researchers, engineers, scientists, professionals, and students who work on service computing, software engineering, business and scientific workflow management, the internet, and management information systems (MIS).


Physically, geological storage of carbon dioxide (CO2) and of nuclear waste are fundamentally different problems in terms of scale and toxicity. The political and social differences are equally stark -consider the almost complete lack of awareness of CO2 storage versus the highly-charged political debates over storage of radioactive wastes and the exceptionalism of nuclear in the broader cultural and political context. Nevertheless, there are some notable similarities, including the difficulty of extricating not-in-my-backyard (NIMBY) behaviour from other concerns, the inability to divorce the politics of waste streams from the underlying electricity generating technologies, the highly technical nature of both issues and the role that both CO2 storage and nuclear waste play in the larger debate over energy policy, particularly as a proxy issue for non-governmental organisations (NGOs). Surveys of public attitudes with respect to geological storage are reviewed and the role of NIMBY and compensation to local communities in facilitating the siting of storage facilities are assessed.


We consider relativistic charged particle dynamics and relativistic magnetohydrodynamics using symplectic structures and actions given in terms of co-adjoint orbits of the Poincare group. The particle case is meant to clarify some points such as how minimal coupling (as defined in text) leads to a gyromagnetic ratio of 2, and to set the stage for fluid dynamics. The general group-theoretic framework is further explained and is then used to set up Abelian magnetohydrodynamics including spin effects. An interesting new physical effect is precession of spin density induced by gradients in pressure and energy density. The Euler equation (the dynamics of the velocity field) is also modified by gradients of the spin density.


Embedded systems are used in many critical applications of our daily life. The increased complexity of embedded systems and the tightened safety regulations posed on them and the scope of the environment in which they operate are driving the need of more dependable embedded systems. Therefore, achieving a high level of quality and dependability to embedded systems is an ultimate goal. This research study investigates the inter-relationships between dependability and other embedded systems quality attributes using two pieces of information: Tactics and Dependability Quality attributes scenarios.


COCORP (Consortium for Continental Reflection Profiling) deep reflection profiles recorded across the Wichita Mountains and Anadarko Basin suggest that significant crustal shortening occurred in the final stages of the evolution of the Southern Oklahoma aulacogen. The crystalline rocks of the Wichita Mountains were thrust in Pennsylvanian time northeastward over sedimentary rocks of the Anadarko Basin along a series of faults with moderate (average 30° to 40°) and southwesterly dips. These faults can be traced possibly as deep as 20 to 24 km. Listric thrust faults and hanging-wall anticlines developed in the sedimentary rocks of the basin. These features contrast with conventional interpretations of Pennsylvanian structures as the result of predominantly vertical movements along high-angle faults, and they suggest that Pennsylvanian downwarping of the Anadarko Basin was at least partially due to thrust loading. Truncations of reflections from Cambrian-Ordovician rocks in the deepest part of the basin suggest normal faulting, which would support ideas of an early extensional stage in the aulacogen cycle. The distinctive Precambrian layering seen on earlier COCORP data recorded south of the Wichita Mountains cannot be recognized under the Anadarko Basin, and the Proterozoic basin containing that layering may have been bounded on its north side by a Precambrian fault. This inferred fault was probably twice reactivated during formation of the Southern Oklahoma aulacogen—once during late Precambrian(?)-Early Cambrian extension, and again during Pennsylvanian compression. The popular view that aulacogens originated from radial rifting of updomed, homogeneous continental crust is probably too simplified, and a more important constraint on their location and development may be the nature of pre-existing lines of weakness.


The purpose of this study was to determine the effects of Foreign Direct Investment (FDI), trade, aid, remittances and tourism on welfare under terrorism and militancy. Using Nigeria as a case study for the period from 1980 to 2016, this study utilized autoregressive distributed lag (ARDL) bounds testing approach and the Cobb-Douglas production function. The empirical findings showed that, in the short-run, FDI, trade, aid, remittances and tourism had positive significant effects on welfare, even under terrorism and militancy. However, in the long run, only aid and remittances had significant effects while FDI, trade and tourism were insignificant. In other words, FDI, trade and tourist inflows were repressed as a result of the presence of terrorism and militancy in the long-run, meaning that they could not thrive in tensed and insecure environments. Surprisingly, despite the presence of militancy and terrorism, in the long-run, aid and remittances still had significant effects on welfare. The findings also showed that terrorism and militancy had significant negative effects on welfare both in the short and long run. In conclusion, terrorism and militancy not only undermined FDI, trade and tourism, but also led to a significant decline in welfare.


Creosote has a long history of use as a preservative, particularly in industrial wood products. However, its use has come under increasing scrutiny as a result of concerns about p tential effects on aquatic and terrestrial non-target organisms. Despite the long use of creosote, there is relatively little data on the rates of creosote loss in many exposures, including aquatic applications. To address this concern, the Federal Highway Administration has funded a series of studies to evaluate the environmental impact of creosotetreated wood used in timber bridges. In the study reported here, we investigated the leaching of creosote from roughsawn Douglas-fir lumber under simulated river flow conditions. Treated wood samples were contained in a metal tank, and deionized water was passed through the box at three predetermined flow rates and temperatures. The water was periodically sampled for the concentration of five major creosote components. The leach rates were highly variable, but in general they tended to increase with both flow rate and temperature. The possible onset of turbulent flow in the tank may have been responsible for the high leach rates observed at high flow rates. In general, the rates of leaching determined in this study were greater than those previously reported for creosote-treated piling. Longer exposures may be needed to better predict creosote release rates during decades of in-service use. o


Biofuels, just like fossil fuels, are also associated with various environmental impacts along the productionconsumption chain. Those impacts need to be attributed to different products, as biofuel production generally yields one or more co-products, like animal fodder or soymeal, or may be a co-product of some other, higher-valued process, like bagasse from sugar cane for heat or electricity production. Life cycle assessments impacts of biofuels are usually studied in a comparative manner, in order to analyse which alternative amongst fossil or bio-based options has the lesser environmental burden.The inventory analysis shows that the inputs and outputs of the farming unit process are sensitive to the type of crop and region of produce. Water usage is a highly variable parameter, which emphasises the importance of rainfall and irrigation to the overall burden of the biodiesel system on water resources. Crop yields may differ by a factor of two, which is a significant difference in terms of land and non-renewable energy resources requirements. The oil and meal/cake content of the seed proves to be the most important parameter that influences the initial unit processes of the value chains.


In response to human population increase, the utilization of acid sulfate soils for rice cultivation is one option for increasing production. The main problems associated with such soils are their low pH values and their associated high content of exchangeable Al, which could be detrimental to crop growth. The application of soil amendments is one approach for mitigating this problem, and calcium silicate is an alternative soil amendment that could be used. Therefore, the main objective of this study was to ameliorate soil acidity in rice-cropped soil. The secondary objective was to study the effects of calcium silicate amendment on soil acidity, exchangeable Al, exchangeable Ca, and Si content. The soil was treated with 0, 1, 2, and 3 Mg ha−1 of calcium silicate under submerged conditions and the soil treatments were sampled every 30 days throughout an incubation period of 120 days. Application of calcium silicate induced a positive effect on soil pH and exchangeable Al; soil pH increased from 2.9 (initial) to 3.5, while exchangeable Al was reduced from 4.26 (initial) to 0.82 cmolc kg−1. Furthermore, the exchangeable Ca and Si contents increased from 1.68 (initial) to 4.94 cmolc kg−1 and from 21.21 (initial) to 81.71 mg kg−1, respectively. Therefore, it was noted that calcium silicate was effective at alleviating Al toxicity in acid sulfate, rice-cropped soil, yielding values below the critical level of 2 cmolc kg−1. In addition, application of calcium silicate showed an ameliorative effect as it increased soil pH and supplied substantial amounts of Ca and Si.


Background Cardiotoxicity from anthracycline-based chemotherapy is an important cause of early and late morbidity and mortality in breast cancer patients. Left ventricular (LV) function is assessed for patients receiving anthracycline-based chemotherapy to identify cardiotoxicity. However, animal studies suggest that right ventricular (RV) function may be a more sensitive measure to detect LV dysfunction. The purpose of this pilot study was to determine if breast cancer patients undergoing anthracycline-based chemotherapy experience RV dysfunction. Methods Forty-nine breast cancer patients undergoing anthracycline-based chemotherapy at the Ottawa Hospital between November 2007 and March 2013 and who had 2 echocardiograms performed at least 3months apart were retrospectively identified. Right atrial area (RAA), right ventricular fractional area change (RV FAC) and RV longitudinal strain of the free wall (RV LSFW) were evaluated according to the American Society of Echocardiography guidelines. Results The majority (48/49) of patients were females with an average age of 53.4 (95% CI: 50.1–56.7years). From baseline to follow-up study, average LV ejection fraction (LVEF) decreased from 62.22 (95% CI: 59.1–65.4) to 57.4% (95% CI: 54.0–60.9) (P=0.04). During the same time period, the mean RAA increased from 12.1cm2 (95% CI: 11.1–13.0cm2) to 13.8cm2 (95% CI: 12.7–14.9cm2) (P=0.02), mean RV FAC decreased (P=0.01) from 48.3% (95% CI: 44.8–51.74) to 42.1% (95% CI: 38.5–45.6%), and mean RV LSFW worsened from −16.2% (95% CI: −18.1 to −14.4%) to −13.81% (95% CI: −15.1 to −12.5%) (P=0.04). Conclusion This study demonstrates that breast cancer patients receiving anthracycline-based chemotherapy experience adverse effects on both right atrial size and RV function. Further studies are required to determine the impact of these adverse effects on right heart function and whether this represents an earlier marker of cardiotoxicity.


Significant as Lenin's analysis of imperialism was—and still is, more than a half century later—we nevertheless should recognize that he was focusing primarily on certain aspects of imperialism: on the rivalry among capitalist nations in the age of monopoly capitalism, on the nature of the First World War, and on the revolutionary opportunities of that period. There are, however, other important facets to imperialism, touched on by Lenin but not central to the questions he was trying to answer. Outstanding among these are the questions about the political, economic, and social effects of domination by imperialist powers on colonies, semi-colonies, and spheres of influence.This article can also be found at the Monthly Review website, where most recent articles are published in full.Click here to purchase a PDF version of this article at the Monthly Review website.


Dissolution studies have evolved from quality control testing to being an indicator of biopharmaceutical performance and an alternative to in vivo bioequivalence and interchangeability studies in clinical practice. The critical quality attributes and in vitro bioequivalence of two generic formulations of amlodipine (5-mg tablets, A and B) were compared to the reference (Ref) drug. Amlodipine tablets available in Ica, Peru belong to class 1. The study evaluated weight, hardness, friability, and content of the tablets. USP apparatus 2 was used with 900 mL of dissolution medium at pH 1.2, 4.5, and 6.8. 5 (100 rpm, 37 ± 0.5 °C). Samples (5 mL) were withdrawn at 5, 10, 15, 20, 25, 30, 45, and 60 min and analyzed at 239 nm on a spectrophotometer. The dissolution percentages at pH 4.5 and 6.8 were less than 85% at 30 min for all three products; at pH 1.2, more than 85% was released in less than 15 min (Ref: 101.6%; A: 98.5%, B: 89.9%). The similarity factors were 51.2–64.3; dissolution efficiency was 84.5–96.5%, and mean dissolution time was 4.5–12.4 min. According to these parameters, generic formulations A and B demonstrated in vitro bioequivalence to the reference drug.


Abstract. In a recent paper Hu et al. (2011) suggest that the recovery of stratospheric ozone during the first half of this century will significantly enhance free tropospheric and surface warming caused by the anthropogenic increase of greenhouse gases, with the effects being most pronounced in Northern Hemisphere middle and high latitudes. These surprising results are based on a multi-model analysis of CMIP3 model simulations with and without prescribed stratospheric ozone recovery. Hu et al. suggest that in order to properly quantify the tropospheric and surface temperature response to stratospheric ozone recovery, it is necessary to run coupled atmosphere-ocean climate models with stratospheric ozone chemistry. The results of such an experiment are presented here, using a state-of-the-art chemistry-climate model coupled to a three-dimensional ocean model. In contrast to Hu et al., we find a much smaller Northern Hemisphere tropospheric temperature response to ozone recovery, which is of opposite sign. We suggest that their result is an artifact of the incomplete removal of the large effect of greenhouse gas warming between the two different sets of models.


This article analyses the linguistic and discursive elements which contribute to the production of implicit homophobia. Explicit homophobia has been well documented and strategies for countering discriminatory language have been developed (Baker 2014, Leap 2012). However, our interest here is in documenting implicit homophobia, where homophobic beliefs are only hinted at, are disassociated from the speaker, or are embedded within discursive and argument structures. We decided to analyse the debate in the media around the introduction of equal or same-sex marriage legislation in the UK. We focused our analysis on a series of radio programmes on BBC Radio 4, The Moral Maze (2011–2012), where the issue of same-sex marriage was debated with a team of panelists and invited guests from a range of different organisations. Different perspectives on same-sex marriage were discussed, in a seemingly objective and dispassionate way, where the interactants distanced themselves from homophobic beliefs and yet implicitly subscribed to homophobia. We used an analysis drawing on argumentation structure (Fairclough & Fairclough 2012) and through focusing on stance, recontextualisation, imaginaries, and metaphor, we developed an analysis which made the way that implicit homophobia works more visible. In this way, we hope to foreground implicit homophobia, and develop a linguistic and discursive 'toolkit' which will enable it to be challenged and countered.


.NET Compact Framework Programming with C# is the definitive tutorial and reference for the .NET Compact Framework (CF). It shows you how to transfer your skills and your code to the Pocket PC 2003 and other mobile and embedded smart devices.Authors Paul Yao and David Durant draw upon their years of research and experience with members of the Microsoft .NET CF team to show you exactly how the best CF programming gets done in C#. This is the only book a programmer needs to master the art of CF coding. Throughout the book, sample code and examples illustrate best practices and programming techniques. In addition, the companion Web site includes downloadable code for all these examples, along with a set of development tools to help you with your CF development projects.The authors expertly zero in on what programmers need to understand for successful smart device programming, including: Garbage Collection in the .NET Compact Framework Controls and supported Properties, Methods, and Events (PMEs) Custom controls with Windows Forms Designer support Using Platform Invoke (P/Invoke) Simple and complex data binding and the DataGrid control Programming with ADO.NET data classes Synchronizing SQL Server CE with SQL Server 2000 databases Creating graphical output, including font and printing coding tricks Differences between the standard desktop framework and the CF.NET Compact Framework Programming with C# is your single resource for everything you really need to know about CF programming.


The organisational state of inpatient pain management in UK hospitals is difficult to determine. We sent an electronic questionnaire to 209 acute pain service leads throughout the UK. Questions were about staffing and service provision. We received 141 responses (67%); 47% of all UK hospitals. Each service was responsible for a median (IQR [range]) of 566 (400–839 [120–2800]) beds. Each acute pain specialist nurse was responsible for 299 (238–534 [70–1923]) beds. The mean (SD) number of consultant hours per week was 5.54 (4.62), delivered by a median of 1.0 (1.0–2.5 [0.2–7.0]) consultant. Overnight cover was provided by 20 (15%) acute pain services, and weekend cover by 39 (29%). Acute pain services commonly (in 50 (35%) hospitals) had roles in addition to acute pain management. Most teams (105, (77%)) reviewed medical patients and patients with chronic pain (in 131, (96%) teams). Half of the services (56, (49%)), reported that they were part of an integrated acute and chronic pain service, however, 83 (59%) did not have any members who work in chronic pain clinics. The majority (79, (70%)) were able to access a nominated chronic pain consultant for advice. Provision of acute pain services throughout the UK is highly variable. The majority do not meet core UK standards.


This Essay was prepared for the Case Western Law Review's symposium on the 20th anniversary of the Supreme Court's decision in Whren v. United States, 517 U.S. 806 (1996). Racially-charged encounters with the police regularly make the national news. Local law enforcement officers also have at various times victimized immigrants of color. For example, New York City Department (NYPD) officers in 1999 killed Amadou Diallo, an unarmed immigrant from Guinea, in a hail of gunfire; two years earlier, officers had tortured Haitian immigrant Abner Louima at a NYPD police station. Both victims were Black, which no doubt contributed to the violence. In less spectacular fashion, police on the beat by many accounts regularly engage in racial profiling in traffic stops of U.S. citizens and noncitizens of color.Removals of "criminal aliens" have been the cornerstone of the Obama administration's immigration enforcement strategy. Well-publicized increases in the number of removals of immigrants also have been the centerpiece of President Obama's political efforts to persuade Congress to pass a comprehensive immigration reform package. The hope behind the aggressive enforcement strategy has been to convince Congress that this is the time to enact comprehensive immigration reform. In the last few years, a body of what has been denominated "crimmigration" scholarship has emerged that critically examines the growing confluence of the criminal justice system and the immigration removal machinery in the United States. That body of work tends to direct attention to the unfairness to immigrants, as well as their families, of the increasing criminalization of immigration law and its enforcement. This Essay agrees with the general thrust of the crimmigration criticism, but contends that it does not go far enough. Namely, the emerging scholarship in this genre fails to critically assess the dominant role that race plays in modern law enforcement and how its racial impacts are exacerbated by the operation of a federal immigration removal process that consciously targets "criminal aliens."Part I of this Essay considers parallel developments in the law: (1) the Supreme Court's implicit sanctioning of race-conscious law enforcement in the United States, with the centerpiece of this symposium, Whren v. United States, the most well-known example; and (2) the trend over at least the last twenty years toward increased cooperation between state and local law enforcement agencies and federal immigration authorities. Part II specifically demonstrates how criminal prosecutions influenced by police reliance on race necessarily lead to the racially disparate removal rates experienced in the modern United States. Part III discusses how some state and local governments have pushed back on cooperation with federal immigration authorities, with effective community police practices being an important policy rationale invoked by local law enforcement for that resistance. Part III of this Essay further contends that more attention should be paid to the racially disparate impacts of linking immigration removals to the outcomes of a racially-tainted criminal justice system. It further sketches some modest reforms to the U.S. immigration laws that might tend to blunt, rather than magnify, some of these racial impacts.


Fiona Ross, Tim Holloway (co-designers) were commissioned by the renowned newspaper and publishing house Anandabazar Patrika (ABP) to design a new low-contrast typeface in a contemporary style for print and screen use in its publications. Ross and Holloway designed ABP's Bengali house typeface (Linotype Bengali - the first digital Bengali font) that has been in daily use in its newspaper since 1982. The design team was augmented by Neelakash Kshetrimayum; OpenType production undertaken by John Hudson.

This Bengali typeface is the first fully functional OpenType design for the script. It demonstrates innovative features that resolve problems which hitherto hindered the successful execution of low-contrast Bengali text fonts: this connecting script of over 450 characters has deep verticals, spiralling strokes, wide characters, and intersecting ascenders. The new design has solutions to overcome the necessity to implement wide interlinear spacing and sets more words to the line than has yet been possible. This project therefore combines the use of aesthetic, technical and linguistic skills and is highly visible in newspapers of the largest newspaper group and publishing house in West Bengal in print and on-line. The design and development of Sarkar has positive implications for other non-Latin script designs, just as the Linotype Bengali typeface formed the blueprint for new non-Latin designs three decades ago.

Sarkar was released on 31 August 2012 with the launch of Anandabazar Patirka's new newspaper Ebela.


SUMMARY Campylobacter is the most common known source of human bacterial enteritis in the developed world and poultry is considered the main source. Broilers often become colonized with Campylobacter during rearing, and then contaminate the farm environment. The objective of this study was to identify Campylobacter-positive environmental reservoirs on farms, as these pose a risk to broiler flocks becoming colonized with Campylobacter. We considered the temporal aspects of exposure and colonization. A longitudinal study monitored six conventional rearing farms over 2 years. The broiler flocks, catchers' equipment, vehicles, shed surrounds, shed entrance, other equipment, farm entrance, other animals, puddles, dead birds, mains water and drinkers were systematically sampled 2–4 times per flock. A multivariable generalized estimating equation model was used to assess associations between contaminated environmental sites and colonized broiler flocks. The associations were adjusted for confounders and other known risk factors. To further assess temporality of contamination, the sequence of contamination of the different environmental sites and the flocks was established. Contaminated shed entrances and anterooms, contaminated drinkers and shedding of Campylobacter by other animals such as cattle, dogs, wildlife and rodents were significantly associated with positive flocks. The reservoir of 'other animals' was also the reservoir most commonly positive before the flock became colonized. The other sites usually became contaminated after the flock was colonized.


Settlement predictions are necessary for compacted fills under a variety of circumstances (e.g., when fills are high, where major structural loads are to be supported, and when the fill materials are clays or weak rocks).As a result of an extensive testing program on both laboratory- and field-compacted materials, a systematic approach to this prediction has been developed. The recommended procedure involves one-dimensional compression testing in three parts. The initial vertical strains experienced by the compacted fill are those due to self-weight. The magnitudes of these are highly dependent upon the values of prestress established by the compaction process; however, they occur as rapidly as the fill can be built. The major vertical strains will probably occur as the fill becomes wetter and "softens" in service. The timing of this settlement is uncertain, because it depends upon climatic variables at the site. Materials in the upper portion of the fill will often swell under the low confinement, and the net movement is an appropriate summing of these events with the compressions that occur deeper in the fill. Assuming that the fill becomes essentially saturated in service, further settlements can be produced by loading of the saturated material. The latter response is conventional in nature. By testing a series of specimens, with a range of confinements which match those which will be imposed by the prototype fill, representative vertical strains are defined. Integration of these strains over the fill height produces the prediction of movement for the upper surface of the fill. The total testing and prediction technique is illustrated in the paper by example.


Unintended pregnancies are associated with unsafe abortion and greater risk of maternal morbidity and maternal deaths. In Bangladesh, approximately one-third of pregnancies are unintended. Considering the magnitude of the situation and its consequences, this article explores factors associated with the prevalence of unintended pregnancies in rural Bangladesh with implications for policy intervention. A total of 3300 women were interviewed from 22 sub-districts to collect information on unintended pregnancy related issues. Findings reveal that about 29% of the pregnancies were unintended and the frequency of unintended pregnancy was higher among the older, less educated, higher parity, and poor women. Findings also suggest that unintended pregnancy rate was higher (33%) among women who used contraceptive before their last pregnancy than women (23%) who did not use any contraceptive. The rate of unintended pregnancy also varied, by the types of contraceptive methods used before their last pregnancy. The women who were using traditional methods or temporary modern methods were more likely to experience unintended pregnancy than longer acting method users. The findings underscore the importance of measuring contraceptive discontinuation rates in addition to prevalence of all modern methods. When discussing policy interventions to generate demand for family planning, consideration of differences in method-specific discontinuation rates is important if policy objectives to reduce unintended pregnancies are to be achieved.


The application of wound dressings is the most common method of wound management. In the past two decades, a novel type of wound dressing has been introduced that functions according to tissue engineering principles and provides an implantable platform for wound regeneration. The focus of this thesis was to develop such a wound dressing with multi-layer architecture that would be capable of absorbing wound exudates, be flexible with adequate contact with the wound bed, and have desirable porosity to allow cell migration. This thesis concludes with the development of a wound dressing which is comprised of three separate layers bonded together.

The first layer, which would be directly in contact with the wound bed, was a gelatin scaffold of uniform porosity produced through an optimised gas foaming method. In this part of the research, in addition to optimising the gas foaming process parameters, a comprehensive comparison between applying four different crosslinking agents (glutaraldehyde, hexamethylene diisocyante, poly ether epoxide, and genipin) was carried out. The scaffolds, although showing a uniform porosity, had the tensile strength (240 kPa) lower than the reported value for natural skin (850 kPa). To strengthen the porous scaffold, a middle layer was applied and bonded to it.

The middle layer with a thickness of 120m was adhered to the gelatin scaffold, functioning as a mechanical support and exudate absorbent. This layer comprised of a chitosan-gelatin composite which exhibited a tensile strength of 26 MPa. The chitosangelatin membrane bonded to the gelatin scaffold had a combined tensile strength of 644 kPa, approaching natural skin tensile properties.

The wound dressing assembly was completed by applying a plasticised gelatin membrane as the third and final layer above the chitosan-gelatin composite. This membrane with a thickness of 130m, was plasticised using glycerol. It was designed with the primary function of covering the wound against debris, bacteria, and excessive manipulation, but also safeguarding the chitosan-gelatin membrane from disintegration once the wound exudate had been absorbed.

The presented multi-layer design architecture provides a combination of a conventional wound dressing occlusive functionality with a modern tissue engineering approach in one product. Application of gas foaming resulted in a pore system that had an optimised porosity in comparison with commercially available wound dressings, by providing a more spherical pore system with pore size distribution closer to desirable values for skin tissue engineering (125m). It is anticipated that the design of the biomaterial would result in accelerated wound healing and reducing long term care in a cost-effective manner.


The extreme loss of sea ice over the western Arctic during the boreal summer of 2007 (July–August–September) was accompanied by a very unusual atmospheric circulation pattern. Here we show that the anomalous circulation was linked to a leading climate mode of the Northern Hemisphere, the Pacific‐North American (PNA) pattern. The PNA index was three standard deviations above the 1950–2007 mean, and its primary signal in the atmospheric circulation is a strong anomalous anticyclone that was collocated with the location of the greatest Arctic sea ice decline. Therefore, the record‐strength PNA along with recent climate trends in the Arctic help to explain the sudden and extreme sea ice melt during the summer of 2007. While the observed PNA was unique, the large decline in sea ice may be further evidence of increased vulnerability to natural atmospheric variability due to a changing climate system.


Texas Women Writers: A Tradition of Their Own is a sweeping account of a rich yet largely ignored literary history covering over 160 years of women's writing in the Lone Star State. Their writings vary widely in theme, setting, and voice; nevertheless, these writers share a distinct tradition that is in part defined by their isolation due to both geography and gender and is wholly different from that of their male counterparts. The introductory essay by the editors covers the history of women writers in Texas from the pioneers to the postmodernists, providing the context and theme for the survey. Critical-biographical portraits of the lives and careers of individual writers both major and minor follow: from novelists, dramatists, and poets, to writers of short stories, children's books, and creative nonfiction. Other essays examine the developmental history of major genres in the region and chronologically review each generation and the particular challenges of time and place that shaped their work. The careers of African-American and Tejana writers are also examined as part of newly emerging literary traditions.


Abstract Information systems design can progress toward meeting the needs of the population of decision‐makers, managers, policy‐makers, and interdisciplinary workers by attention to specifications obtained from the user's situation. The user situation is represented by problems and their component dimensions, of which subject is only one dimension. The other problem dimensions, which relate to information traits, are discussed for the purpose of proposing a new orientation for the design of information systems.


In the last couple of decades, Korea's digital and social media has become a major force in transforming Korean society, where information and communication technologies are pervasive throughout. Some activists have been using digital and social media as an essential form of mobilization in the public sphere. Meanwhile, corporations driving the cultural industries have utilized digital and social media as a new outlet for the global prominence of Korean popular culture around the world in their myriad forms. The popularity of Korean cultural products, including K-pop, Korean dramas, and digital games in the domestic and global marketplace is evident in recent sensations such as the hit "Gangnam style," which is still the most viewed YouTube video in history. These activities and practices have asked us to think over the primary role of digital and social media in what is consistently the world's most networked society both socially and in terms of internet access. This panel considers the role of these technologies in the development of a new form of global youth culture. It is a critical exchange of dialogue and scholarship that involves analyzing the critical role of digital and social media in the Korean context, providing an interdisciplinary model for research in this sociocultural milieu.


This thesis examines and analyzes changing patterns of IPR use (particularly patenting) in the specific context of a national system of innovation (Norway). Norway has, like many other OECD countries, seen a significant expansion of IPR usage during the past two decades. The increase in patenting in particular is a defining feature of the contemporary innovation landscape, as are related policy efforts to promote wider IPR use. (e.g. among SMES, service sector, academic research) This has led to a shift in the variety of actors who patent and to an increase in overall patent applications. In turn the rationale for patenting is also evolving.
Several factors are thus contributing to a shift in how patents are used, by whom and why. This change has potentially important implications for the innovation system and the wider economy: it can affect the orientation of knowledge accumulation over time; it can condition the way new knowledge is utilized; and, thereby, it can influence pathways for industrial development. However, several challenges have impeded comprehensive analysis of who uses IPR over time and why.
The contribution of the thesis to the theoretical and empirical understanding of IPR-use is structured in six stand-alone chapters. The first applies a systems-approach to examine the role IPRs play in the wider innovation system. This analysis links the role and position of the patent system particularly to underlying industrial dynamics and points to changing areas of use, e.g. to promote collaboration. A set of empirically-oriented articles follows and expands on themes introduced here.
The empirical chapters all use new or adapted empirical approaches to examine aspects of IPR use that are important both to theoretical discourse and to current innovation policy. The first examines diversification of innovation activity in Norway using unique firm-level IPR data. (1994-2003) IPR growth is found to be driven more by smaller firms—especially in knowledge intensive services—than traditional IPR-holders (large manufacturers). Two chapters then focus on SME patenting, at home—in the lead up to the IT bubble, and in Europe—in the lead up to Norwegian membership in the EPC. A co-authored article then examines academic patenting, which recent legislation was introduced to promote. It shows that public sector researchers played a substantial but field-dependent role in patenting before legislation. The final chapter rounds off by examining patent-based collaboration, where patenting increases rather than decreases the odds of research collaboration.
The thesis revisits the role patents play in knowledge formation in light of current changes and concerns. It synthesizes new empirical analysis on changes in who patents and why, with a focus on small (service) firms, academic researchers, and collaboration.


we present findings of naturally ventilated classroom conditions in primary school buildings in the city of Concepción, Chile, where there is no adherence to indoor environmental quality standards. We focused on thermal comfort and environmental perceptions of students and teachers, during fall and winter seasons. The goal is to examine the perceptions of children and teachers by analyzing responses to conditions in their classrooms, related to their socioeconomic context driven by school type. Approximately 888 students, aged 10-14 years old, were surveyed from nine schools during fall season, and 333 students from four schools during winter. A total of 2,271 subject responses were collected in two campaigns. Physical measurements included: ambient air temperature, relative humidity, airspeed, radiant temperature, and CO2. Simultaneous subjective responses were collected through electronic surveys on tablets which included questions on thermal sensation, thermal acceptability, and thermal preference. We examined thermal sensation trends, perceptions of comfort and air quality, across public, private-subsidized, private-nonsubsidized schools. Results show that about ~80% of teachers and students voted their thermal sensation primarily within the three central categories of the scale (-1, 0, +1). A small distinction can be seen in fall season in the private-subsidized school with a tendency towards a warm thermal sensation (+1), which corresponded to higher indoor temperatures. High indoor CO2 concentration levels were measured in all of the classrooms, with a maximum of 4327 ppm in winter in public schools, and a minimum of 858 ppm in fall in private-subsidized schools.


This is the fourth set of Handbook of Porphyrin Science.Porphyrins, phthalocyanines and their numerous analogues and derivatives are materials of tremendous importance in chemistry, materials science, physics, biology and medicine. They are the red color in blood (heme) and the green in leaves (chlorophyll); they are also excellent ligands that can coordinate with almost every metal in the Periodic Table. Grounded in natural systems, porphyrins are incredibly versatile and can be modified in many ways; each new modification yields derivatives, demonstrating new chemistry, physics and biology, with a vast array of medicinal and technical applications.As porphyrins are currently employed as platforms for study of theoretical principles and applications in a wide variety of fields, the Handbook of Porphyrin Science represents a timely ongoing series dealing in detail with the synthesis, chemistry, physicochemical and medical properties and applications of polypyrrole macrocycles. Professors Karl Kadish, Kevin Smith and Roger Guilard are internationally recognized experts in the research field of porphyrins, each having his own separate area of expertise in the field. Between them, they have published over 1500 peer-reviewed papers and edited more than three dozen books on diverse topics of porphyrins and phthalocyanines. In assembling the new volumes of this unique handbook, they have selected and attracted the very best scientists in each sub-discipline as contributing authors.This handbook will prove to be a modern authoritative treatise on the subject as it is a collection of up-to-date works by world-renowned experts in the field. Complete with hundreds of figures, tables and structural formulas, and thousands of literature citations, all researchers and graduate students in this field will find the Handbook of Porphyrin Science an essential, major reference source for many years to come.


Elie Wiesel, recipient of the 1986 Nobel Peace Prize, has characterized the twentieth century as a century in desperate need of hope. What began in a spirit of optimism brought on by economic prosperity, technological advances, peace, and good will ended with death camps, bombs, and, for many, a sense of despair. "When I look around the world," writes Wiesel in one of many books on the Holocaust, "I see nothing but hopelessness" (qtd. in Schuster and Boschert-Kimmig 63). Andrew Delbanco, a professor of humanities at Columbia University, sees a crisis of hope as the defining feature of postmodernism. In his book The ReaIAmerican Dream: A Meditation on Hope, Delbanco contends that society has lost faith in any transcendent vision of the future, whether it be commitment to the Christian God, with its communal ethic of loving one's neighbor, or commitment to citizenship in a "sacred" nation. "While we have gotten very good at deconstructing old stories," Delbanco worries, "when it comes to telling new ones, we are blocked" (106). In today's consumer culture "instant gratification is the hallmark of the good life" (96), and "hope has narrowed to the vanishing point of the self alone" (103). Though Delbanco does not write from a Christian viewpoint, his insights are pertinent to my purpose here, which is to present a perspective on story that is grounded in Christian eschatology, appropriately defined by German theologian Jorgen Moltmann as a "theology of hope." According to Moltmann, "if it is hope that maintains and upholds faith and keeps it moving on, if it is hope that draws the believer into the life of love, then it will also be hope that is the mobilizing and driving force of faith's thinking, of its knowledge of, and reflections on, human nature, history, and society" (Theology of Hope 33). Commenting on this passage, Oxford theologian Alister McGrath observes: "It is therefore imperative that Christianity rediscovers [sic] its eschatology and realizes [sic] its enormous importance to a world which is longing for hope, and seeking hope outside the Christian tradition. Only by rediscovering its own theology of hope can the [C]hurch hope to gain a hearing in a secular culture" (Christian Theology 565). Could this be true in literary studies as well? By defining and making central a Christian theology of hope that pertains to the study of literature, might Christian scholars offer something hopeful to those who have lost faith in the meaningfulness and value of literature? In the pages that follow I want to consider an approach to literature that foregrounds Christian eschatology, an approach that does not "follow [...] after the Zeitgeist and bear [...] its train," as Moltmann says, but carries a torch before it, enkindling and enabling hope (Experiment Hope 46). Connections between eschatology and literature have been the focus of several studies, including two recent books by Paul Fiddes: Freedom and Limit: A Dialogue between Literature and Christian Doctrine and The Promised End: Eschatology in Theology and Literature. Fiddes analyzes modern and postmodern theorists Frank Kermode, Northrop Frye, Jacques Derrida, and Paul Ricoeur to enrich the emerging dialogue between theology and literature. What these theorists have in common, according to Fiddes, is a growing awareness that all narrative is to some degree eschatological (Promised End 5). To approach a literary text eschatologically means to consider whether and to what extent the narrative ending organizes the whole (Kermode); expresses a desired world (Frye); disperses, defers, or unravels meaning (Derrida); or opens up hope (Ricoeur) (Promised End 55). The endings of humanly created stories may or may not have anything in common with the "promised ending" of the Christian story. Obviously many stories today deal more with despair than hope. While postmodern theory emphasizes indeterminacy and openness, Christian eschatology offers varying degrees of openness and closure, but in either case provides a coherent and hopeful "sense of an ending. …


The Temperance Movement was one of the most important and influential of the great nineteenth century social and moral reforming campaigns, firmly integrated with the central Victorian values of self-help, hard work and sobriety. As the values of the Victorian period dissipated with the rapidly changing social and ethical mores during the twentieth century, most historians have seen a similar demise in the role of the Temperance Movement.

The drink question, however, remained a significant issue with two Royal Commissions, unprecedented state intervention during the First World War and innumerable bills and legislative debate between 1895 and 1933. Equally, the Temperance Movement maintained its resolve, resolutely campaigning and lobbying, proving itself to still be a key factor in the drink debate. This thesis studies the role and activity of the Temperance Movement in the continuing natioal concern around drink between 1895 and the Peel Commission to the conclusion of the Amulree Commission in 1933. The thesis concentrates on the major temperance societies and examines their effect on English attitudes to the drink question.

Despite its continued activity, the Temperance Movement failed to make a significant mark on policy toward drink during this period. The reasons for this are several - loss of political support, the changing nature of drink issues, and fragmentation in the Movement. The Temperance Movement was very heterogeneous, some organisations seeking moderate reform or moral suasion but the more radical campaigners demanded central or local prohibition. Such demands were the root cause of temperance division and a large factor in the loss of Liberal political support. With the Conservatives tied to the Trade, the Temperance Movement sought the assistance of the Labour Party but Labour's response during the period was vague and indecisive.

Social and moral arguments used by the Temperance Movement in its attempt to secure the abolition of the drink trade were being steadily eroded as secularism, post war cynicism and a huge increase in leisure activities undermined older values. Demand for alcoholic beverages fell dramatically as did reported cases of drunkenness. Despite these changes drink remained on the political and social agenda, but with many temperance reformers disillusioned and dispirited the Movement failed to present a comprehensive and coherent abolition strategy.


We present the properties of the first 250 μm blind sample of nearby galaxies (15 < D < 46 Mpc) containing 42 objects from the Herschel Astrophysical Terahertz Large Area Survey. Herschel's sensitivity probes the faint end of the dust luminosity function for the first time, spanning a range of stellar mass (7.4 < M⋆ < 11.3 log10 M⊙), star formation activity (−11.8 < SSFR < −8.9 log10 yr−1), gas fraction (3–96 per cent), and colour (0.6 < FUV–KS < 7.0 mag). The median cold dust temperature is 14.6 K, colder than in the Herschel Reference Survey (18.5 K) and Planck Early Release Compact Source Catalogue (17.7 K). The mean dust-to-stellar mass ratio in our sample is higher than these surveys by factors of 3.7 and 1.8, with a dust mass volume density of (3.7 ± 0.7) × 105 M⊙ Mpc−3. Counter-intuitively, we find that the more dust rich a galaxy, the lower its UV attenuation. Over half of our dust-selected sample are very blue in FUV–KS colour, with irregular and/or highly flocculent morphology; these galaxies account for only 6 per cent of the sample's stellar mass but contain over 35 per cent of the dust mass. They are the most actively star-forming galaxies in the sample, with the highest gas fractions and lowest UV attenuation. They also appear to be in an early stage of converting their gas into stars, providing valuable insights into the chemical evolution of young galaxies.


SMC1A encodes one of the proteins of the cohesin complex. SMC1A variants are known to cause a phenotype resembling Cornelia de Lange syndrome (CdLS). Exome sequencing has allowed recognizing SMC1A variants in individuals with encephalopathy with epilepsy who do not resemble CdLS. We performed an international, interdisciplinary study on 51 individuals with SMC1A variants for physical and behavioral characteristics, and compare results to those in 67 individuals with NIPBL variants. For the Netherlands all known individuals with SMC1A variants were studied, both with and without CdLS phenotype. Individuals with SMC1A variants can resemble CdLS, but manifestations are less marked compared to individuals with NIPBL variants: growth is less disturbed, facial signs are less marked (except for periocular signs and thin upper vermillion), there are no major limb anomalies, and they have a higher level of cognitive and adaptive functioning. Self‐injurious behavior is more frequent and more severe in the NIPBL group. In the Dutch group 5 of 13 individuals (all females) had a phenotype that shows a remarkable resemblance to Rett syndrome: epileptic encephalopathy, severe or profound intellectual disability, stereotypic movements, and (in some) regression. Their missense, nonsense, and frameshift mutations are evenly spread over the gene. We conclude that SMC1A variants can result in a phenotype resembling CdLS and a phenotype resembling Rett syndrome. Resemblances between the SMC1A group and the NIPBL group suggest that a disturbed cohesin function contributes to the phenotype, but differences between these groups may also be explained by other underlying mechanisms such as moonlighting of the cohesin genes.


Labor migration in Europe is much more complex today. Migration is a phenomenon known for major changes both in content and form. Free movement of persons, one of the four fundamental freedoms (along with the free movement of goods, services, capital) is restated in the new European treaties. Legal migration is a factor of economic growth for the country of reception, for the origin of migrants and for the migratory people - if managed effectively. Basically, they experienced evident difficulties. It was postulated a massive influx of people in the EU-15 after accession states from Central and Eastern Europe. In fact, developments have been different, as the reactions of countries to the "migratory waves" were different. It maintains that access control and good dose of labor from Eastern Europe. Many Romanian went abroad. Now it requires serious research to identify those set permanently abroad, their intentions to migrate, to return to Romania, what Romanian migrants have been doing while they were abroad etc. The existing analyses show positive and negative effects of migration, steps in shaping the migration phenomenon, the predominant directions of migration, migration routes, methods of insertion in the country of destination, the solutions for those concerned with migration "fleet" such as employers.


The electronic properties of comb structures composed of one-dimensional atomic wires of alkali elements are studied. The wires and network of wires are assumed to be formed either on substrates or through networks of metal filled nanotubes. A tight-binding model is used to model the electronic structure of the wires assuming that the atoms are constrained by the substrate or nanotubes to separations exceeding their equilibrium distance. The binding between side wires and the main linear backbone in the comb network opens gaps in the density of states. The band structure of the periodic combs varies significantly with the number of atoms in the side wires as well as the periodicity of the side wires along the backbone. For some specific geometries, complete band gaps may be opened about the Fermi level. Finite combs may be designed to produce devices with electronic properties similar to those of the periodic systems and, in particular, with stop bands in their transmission spectrum.


Purposive Interaction in Multi-Actor Decision Making; Operationalizing Coleman's Linear System of Action for Policy Decision Support, started out with a ball and a web, a policy domain moved by a network of actors. How can the ball maintain its pace? Who are the actors that make the difference? How can policy annalists support them in moving the decision-making process forward? These are the challenges to policy analyses laid out by the pluricentric perspective on decision making. This book takes up the challenge by developing analytical methods based on Coleman's linear System of Action (Coleman, 1990). The Linear System of Action models policy decision making as a negotiating process in which agreements are reached on the exchange of control over issues. The book describes how to operationalize the Linear System of Action for real-world policy arenas, it introduces mathematical tools for analyzing decision processes and shows how the Linear System of Action can be used to discuss dependency relations. Observed relations between the model and real-world experiences of actors and changes in the way they perceive their position, demonstrate the strength of the methods developed. Purposive Interaction in Multi-Actor Decision Making is the result of five years of scientific work at the Faculty of Technology, Policy and Management of Delft University of Technology, The Netherlands. It covers both theory and practical applications and is therefore of equal interest to policy annalists and practitioners in the field.


Background/Context Bullying within schools continues despite thoughtful and well-researched anti-bullying strategies deployed against it. The bulk of research targeted toward understanding and eradicating bullying within schools is of an empirical nature. In other words, through data collection, questionnaires, interviews, ethnography, observation, case studies, etc., researchers have sought to carefully assess bully/victim characteristics as well as the social processes that fuel bullying within schools. Purpose This project considers educational transformation (i.e., how we might transform those we educate) through a variety of pertinent, yet diverse, lenses. Specifically this paper is situated in the conviction that in order to stop bullying we must affect desire. We ask, then, how philosophical theories of transformation, specifically those regarding changes in dispositions, might contribute to our understanding of school bullying and current strategies aimed at reducing it. In short, the driving question underlying this project simply asks: how can we help the bully to no longer desire to bully? Research Design In contrast to the traditional empirical methodology which has been directed toward bullying research, this project employs several alternative philosophical and theoretical lenses, seeking to view bullying and the strategies aimed against it from diverse perspectives, raising fresh insights into this ongoing educational dilemma. Three broad philosophical lenses are employed, seeking to understand the processes of rational change (i.e., how one's mind is changed), the desires that operate in relations of domination (i.e., bullying), and the social/cultural forces that may work to create characters such as bullies and victims. Conclusions/Recommendations As a result this project broadens current anti-bullying strategies, adding helpful insights regarding the "heart" change (i.e., transformations of desire) which may be necessary to effectively reduce bullying within schools. This interdisciplinary approach outlines future avenues of response not only aimed at transforming the bully/victim relationship after the fact, but also toward cultivating specific kinds of relationships within schools which may head off bullying before it develops.


This book is an in-depth description on how to design digital filters. The presentation is geared for practicing engineers, using open source computational tools, while incorporating fundamental signal processing theory. The author includes theory as-needed, with an emphasis on translating to practical application. The book describes tools in detail that can be used for filter design, along with the steps needed to automate the entire process. Breaks down signal processing theory into simple, understandable language for practicing engineers; Provides readers with a highly-practical introduction to digital filter design; Uses open source computational tools, while incorporating fundamental signal processing theory; Describes examples of digital systems in engineering and a description of how they are implemented in practice; Includes case studies where filter design is described in depth from inception to final implementation.... Download ebook, read file pdf An Open Source Guide


A procedure based on the variational method is presented for the analysis of optical fibers with arbitrary gain or loss profiles. The procedure is validated by comparison with earlier reported results for a step gain profile. The use of the procedure for arbitrary profiles is illustrated on typical gain profiles of a fiber used in amplifiers.


Large anthropogenic discharges of oil annually enter the marine environment, in the magnitude from large scale discharges to minor leakage, caused by ship collision accidents or seepage from urban areas. Possible detrimental environmental effects from these discharges differ, from acute lethal to chronic sub-lethal. While lethal effects, originating from large oil spill accidents throughout the years, are well studied by numerous studies, less is known regarding effects of small, continuous petroleum discharge effects. Under those circumstances the most toxic part of oil, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), contributes largely to the resulting effects. These can manifest themselves in biota as lowered reproduction and growth, cancerogenic effects or less tolerance to other stress. All of which can in the end add up to a negative response in magnitude comparable to a larger spill. Analytical tools to evaluate the consequences of these small, continuous discharges of oil was developed and microbial and meiofaunal communities were used to assess the detrimental effects. Firstly, a method for evaluating effects of PAHs was developed, that includes measurements of microbial inorganic fluxes and a computerized automatic image analysis method for determining abundance of major meiofaunal taxa. Secondly, it was determined that PAH concentrations as low as 130 and 1 300 µg/kg sediment (dw) still produced significant detrimental effects. This resulted in lowered potential nitrification, nitrification flux, silicate flux, phosphate flux and an altered meiofaunal community. Thirdly, it was clarified that the factor bioavailability, the proportion of a toxic substance that is available to organisms for uptake, can modify the produced stress of a PAH addition when it ends up in divergent sediment environments. Fourthly, it was elucidated that microbial communities can develop tolerance to PAHs; tolerance was developed in nitrifying microbes after being exposed to low concentrations of PAHs for 60 days. Moreover, the development entailed an altered community composition. This implicates that bioavailability and the possibility of tolerance must be taken into account when evaluating marine microbial status in areas of long-term PAH exposure with varying sedimentary conditions. Finally, the tools were applied in situ, at an area of long-term oil contamination, to demonstrate their applicability. Induced tolerance to PAHs by nitrifying microbes was detected at the site with highest bioavailable PAH concentrations. Tolerance to PAHs for ammonium oxidisers was introduced at bioavailable PAHs levels greater than 40 µmol/kg (dw) given as silicone equilibrium concentration. In addition, the tolerant microbial community at the site showed a significant lower capability for ammonium oxidizing when not re-exposed to PAHs, indicating a fitness cost of the development of tolerance.


OBJECTIVE
To compare intraoperative findings and/or angiography with color-flow duplex scan.

DESIGN
This prospective double-blind study was performed on all stable patients with zone 1, 2, or 3 penetrating neck trauma. Results of angiographic or intraoperative findings were compared with the results of duplex ultrasonographic scans.

MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES
Fifty-five patients were studied over a 2-year period in which the distribution of injuries included 23 stab wounds (42%), 30 gunshot wounds (54%), and 2 motor vehicular lacerations (4%). There were 42 patients (76%) with normal ultrasonographic results and 13 patients (24%) with abnormal ultrasonographic results. The true-negative rate was 100%; however, there were 2 false positives resulting in 100% sensitivity and 85% specificity.

CONCLUSIONS
Duplex ultrasonography provides an excellent diagnostic modality with cost-saving, patient-friendly characteristics and a low rate of morbidity. It should be instituted as the primary diagnostic procedure of choice for penetrating neck trauma.


Despite the substantial investments in ICT4D projects in developing countries, the benefits are yet to be realised by the majority of remote communities. Inaccessibility to ICT has widened educational, healthcare, information, and communication gaps between urban and remote communities. This paper focuses on an interpretive case study in Nepal to widen our understanding of how locally-initiated ICT4D projects may help to narrow these gaps. The study utilises the Assets Pentagon Model to identify the strengths and challenges of the Nepal Wireless Networking Project in the mountain areas, and to identify implications for research and practice based on insights from the case.


The aim of this study is to investigate the relationship between some genotypic characteristics of purebred Turkish Grey Cattle (TGC) and beef tenderness characteristics. There is a linear relationship between meat tenderness and the increasing calcium activity after slaughtering. Calpastatin (CAST) is a neutral protease inhibitor of Calpain (CAPN1) in mammalian tissues. The three polymorphic places in the CAST and the CAPN1 genes in cattle (UoG-CAST, CAPN1 316 and 4751) are known as the markers of beef quality. The relationship between the tenderness traits of the longissimus dorsi (LD) and the 3 beef quality markers (3 SNPs) in pure TGC have been investigated and discussed. PCR-RFLP and ARMS-PCR methods were utilized to identify the genotypes. In order to determine the water holding capacity (WHC), cooking loss (CL) and the shear force (SF), samples extracted from LD were probed. The average and standard error SF of a two-year-old TCG bred in extensive conditions was 4.339±0.217 kg/cm2 for the heifers and 4.689±0.569 kg/cm2 for bulls. Both alleles of the UoG-CAST (C/G), the CAPN1 316 (C/G) and the CAPN1 4751(C/T) polymorphisms in the samples were observed. The average SF of 3.943±0.441 kg/cm2, 4.537±1.666 kg/cm2, and 3.869±0.721 kg/cm2 were used for the CAST-CC, the CAPN1 4751-CC and the CAPN1 316-GC, respectively in order to cut the muscle fibers of the genotypes that have a positive effect on tenderness. No cattle of the CAPN1 316-CC genotype was identified among the samples. The average and standart error WHC, CL and SF values for the entire sample including heifers and bulls were found as 11.693±0.761%, 26.952±0.636%, and 4.483±0.252 kg/cm2, respectively. In conclusion, the presence of genetic variation in specific SNP markers of beef tenderness in purebred TGC can contribute to the process of raising TGC with more tender meat.


Lexicographers compiling translating dictionaries are not exclusively concerned with semantic equivalence when selecting translating equivalents for lemmata, but often include also grammatical information in illustrative examples when the lexical item to be translated does not have an exact grammatical counterpart in the target language. This is especially so in the case of typologically divergent languages, of which Afrikaans and Zulu are representative examples in the South African context. In the application of translation theory to lexicographic practice, it seems sensible to decide in favour of a descriptive approach (Toury 1990), which, in contrast to the prescriptive approach, does not assume an ideal relation between source text and target text, but in fact examines the relation between the two texts (which correlates in the case of a translating dictionary respectively with lemma and translating equivalent) in an empirical way. In this article, the problem of grammatical disparity between lemma and translating equivalent in a learners' dictionary involving the above-mentioned languages is considered. Not only disparity relating to syntactic categories, but also the morphological status of lemmata (as words, and as sub- and multilexical items) are covered in the investigation of the data. As a consequence of the insights thus gained into the systematic nature of this asymmetric relation, suggestions are made to utilise the format of the microstructure as a means to convey grammatical facts of the target language to the learner.


Optical magnetic-resonance imaging (MRI) is performed to observe a density distribution of the laser-polarized Cs atoms that diffuse in helium buffer gas at roughly room temperature. Spatial resolution of optical MRI and sensitivity of optical detection are discussed for gaseous atoms in a weak magnetic field. We propose a fast method of three-dimensional optical MRI with parallel processing of signals from a photodetector array, and we discuss its application to the spin-polarized noble gas.


OF DISSERTATION Copper Indium Diselenide Nanowire Arrays in Alumina Membranes Deposited on Molybdenum and Other Back Contact Substrates Heterojunctions of CuInSe2 (CIS) nanowires with cadmium sulfide (CdS) were fabricated demonstrating for the first time, vertically aligned nanowires of CIS in the conventional Mo/CIS/CdS stack. These devices were studied for their material and electrical characteristics to provide a better understanding of the transport phenomena governing the operation of heterojunctions involving CIS nanowires. Removal of several key bottlenecks was crucial in achieving this. For example, it was found that to fabricate alumina membranes on molybdenum substrates, a thin interlayer of tungsten had to be inserted. A qualitative model was proposed to explain the difficulty in fabricating anodized aluminum oxide (AAO) membranes directly on Mo. Experimental results were used to corroborate this model. Subsequently, a general procedure to use any material that can be deposited using sputtering or evaporation as a back contact for nanowires grown using AAO templates was developed. Experimental work to demonstrate this by transferring thin AAO templates onto flexible Polyimide (PI) substrates was performed. This pattern transfer approach opens doors for a wide variety of applications on almost any substrate. Any material that can be deposited by physical means can then be used as a back contact. Electron-beam induced deposition using a liquid precursor (LP-EBID) was used to selectively grow preconceived patterns of compound semiconductor (CdS) nanoparticles. Stoichiometric CdS nanoparticle patterns were grown successfully using this method. They were structurally and optically characterized indicating high purity deposits. This approach is promising because it marries the precision of e-beam lithography with the versatility of solution based deposition methods.


Set at the time of the Jacobite uprising, The Master of Ballantrae tells of a family divided. James Durie, Master of Ballantrae, abandons his ancestral home to support the Scottish rebellion - leaving his younger brother Henry, who is faithful to the English crown, to inherit the title of Lord Durrisdeer. But he is to return years later, embittered by battles and a savage life of piracy on the high seas, to demand his inheritance. Turning the people against the Lord, he begins a savage feud with his brother that will lead the pair from the Scottish Highlands to the American Wilderness. Satanic and seductive, the Master was regarded by Stevenson as all I know of the devil'; his darkly manipulative schemes dominate this subtle and compelling tragedy. This edition takes as its text the Edinburgh Edition of the novel, the last approved by the author. The introduction considers the novel's inspiration and its place as one of Stevenson's greatest studies in cruelty.


This study explores the emerging trends in employee retention strategies in a globalizing economy, with a focus on Nigeria. The paper argues that globalization has enhanced the mobility of labor, and has also accelerated the rate of employee turnover in organizations in Nigeria. The paper identifies some of the reasons for turnover to include inequity in the compensation packages of organizations, employees' dissatisfaction and autocratic managerial pattern in most organizations in Nigeria. It further identifies the effects of turnover to include disruption in production, cost of training new employees, the recruitment and selection cost and knowledge lost. As a panacea to minimize the rate of employee turnover and catch up with the current demands of global economic needs and organizational performance, the study proposes that organizations in Nigeria should adopt critical sustainable retention trends such as establishing a strategic plan, involving employees in decision-making process, initiating personalized compensation plan, installing mechanisms for career planning, training and development and building flexible work programs especially for critical knowledge - employees. These will help to retain core employees that will competitively drive the production wheel in the organizations in Nigeria in this era of globalization.