Information technologies are actively used by government agencies to interact with citizens in public administration. At the same time exploitation of advanced communication technologies through Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp requires developed communication capabilities of electronic platforms used for public participation. The article explores the features of e-participation platforms employed by public administration in Russia. It discusses the requirements for the features of e-participation platforms based on the recommendations from public administration theories and from the best practices of electronic interaction between citizens in social networks. On the basis of the requirements the study explores 37 web-sites tailored for interaction with citizens in public administration in Russia. The article concludes 9 of the web-sites to be considered as electronic platforms designed for public participation while all the rest are aimed at collecting complaints from citizens with no discussing the agenda and making joint decision on the topics. However, the features implemented at defi ned platforms do not correspond with the functionality available for interaction at modern social networks - it allows citizens to react to the agenda proposed by state authorities in a very restricted way (to vote or not). The article shows that the functionality of existing e-participation platforms in Russia is not supposed to narrow the scope of the government and to limit it to orchestration, but in opposite it demonstrates that the authorities are the only ones responsible for setting the agenda up and for devising the alternatives for voting with very limited reaction functionality for citizens. Having identifi ed current features of e-participation platforms in Russia we assumed that their mission is to inform the citizens and educate them to participate (without active involvement in decision-making process). And this mission could be accomplished in alternative and more eff ective way without extra spending - by studying the experience of state bodies of other countries on the use of Facebook for the purposes of public participation. If e-participation platforms have another mission, for instance, to involve citizens in decision-making process, the paper suggests upgrading its features up to the level of the best practices of electronic communications which are already in use among the society.


© 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. All rights reserved. Environmental monitoring provides a typical setting that gives rise to spatio-temporal design problems. This chapter considers the model-based design, in which the optimal design problem requires two key features to be specified: (i) a statistical or mathematical model for the process under consideration; and, (ii) a criterion with respect to which the design is required to be optimized. After reviewing spatial and spatio-temporal adaptive designs it considers the performance of adaptive design-finding algorithms with respect to these for two different models for stochastic process S: the stationary Gaussian model; and a dynamic process convolution model. The chapter uses the second of these models to consider adaptive designs for the Upper Austria rainfall data. It concludes that adaptive designs should be constructed by a criterion that directly measures the extent to which the primary scientific goal of the analysis is being met, and should therefore be strongly context-dependent.


A polarization-insensitive photonic microwave downconverter is proposed and demonstrated, which is comprised of a polarization beam splitter, two Mach-Zehnder modulators (MZMs), and a balanced photodetector. By biasing the MZMs at the quadrature bias points with opposing modulation slopes, the performance of the proposed photonic microwave downconverter is almost independent of the polarization state of the optical microwave signal for down conversion. An experiment is performed, which shows that the polarization dependent loss of the proposed downconverter is less than 0.06 dB. The downconverter is also evaluated in a radio-over-fiber link. A 20 GHz RF signal with 20 MBaud 16 quadrature amplitude modulation baseband data is successfully downconverted to a 1 GHz IF signal. When the polarization state of the input optical microwave signal is adjusted, the variation of the error vector magnitude of the downconverted signal is less than 0.4%.


Medieval Southeastern Europe in the Middle Ages, 500-1250. By Florin Curta. [Cambridge Medieval Textbooks.] (New York: Cambridge University Press. 2006. Pp. xxviii, 496. $90.00 hardback; $34.99 paperback.) Curta's survey of the vast area he terms Southeastern Europe appears in the Cambridge Medieval Textbooks series, which is designed to introduce students to important topics in medieval history. But "textbook" is something of a misnomer in this instance. Curta offers a magisterial study of the groupings and microsocieties that merged or, more often, were forcibly merged into larger political units in the region between the Adriatic, the Aegean, the Black Sea, Transylvania, and, to the northeast, the steppes reaching from the Lower Danube to the Dnieper and the wooded zone that skirts them. Whether "Southeastern Europe" is particularly appropriate for denoting this assortment is open to question. What emerges is the dearth of fixed territorial, tribal, or linguistic coordinates of the groupings under study. In light of this, "Southeastern Europe" conveys rather too insistent a notion of territorial space, and the label hardly fits the Dniester and Dnieper basins better than "Balkans" does. The latter term is arbitrary, loose, and carries varied connotations; but in so far as these evoke both fragmentation and associations withthough not necessarily incorporation within-superpowers like Byzantium, it has its merits. Some-but not all-of the groupings crystallized into durable polities, such as those of the Bulgarians, Hungarians, Croats, and Serbs. But these were mostly volatile, depending heavily on the cohesion of ruling families and on masterful individuals, and even the strongest of them, Bulgaria, could not withstand the resurgence of Byzantine power at the end of the tenth century, and was absorbed within Basil II's empire. Curta makes the impact of Byzantium on other populations of southeastern Europe a principal theme: two chap ter s are boldly title d " The fir st Byzantine c entur y (1000-1100)" and "The second Byzantine century (1100-1200)," in line with his emphasis on the empire's wealth, power, and diplomatic reach at that time. The book's earlier chapters reprise Curta's monograph The Making of the Slavs, including the thesis that the Slavs only jelled into a kind of ethnic entity in the later sixth century, essentially in response to the obstacles that Justinian's massive fortifications program had placed in the way of lucrative pillaging expeditions. …


In this paper we propose a general framework for the uncertainty quantification of quantities of interest for high-contrast single-phase flow problems. It is based on the generalized multiscale finite element method (GMsFEM) and multilevel Monte Carlo (MLMC) methods. The former provides a hierarchy of approximations of different resolution, whereas the latter gives an efficient way to estimate quantities of interest using samples on different levels. The number of basis functions in the online GMsFEM stage can be varied to determine the solution resolution and the computational cost, and to efficiently generate samples at different levels. In particular, it is cheap to generate samples on coarse grids but with low resolution, and it is expensive to generate samples on fine grids with high accuracy. By suitably choosing the number of samples at different levels, one can leverage the expensive computation in larger fine-grid spaces toward smaller coarse-grid spaces, while retaining the accuracy of the final Monte Carlo estimate. Further, we describe a multilevel Markov chain Monte Carlo method, which sequentially screens the proposal with different levels of approximations and reduces the number of evaluations required on fine grids, while combining the samples at different levels to arrive at an accurate estimate. The framework seamlessly integrates the multiscale features of the GMsFEM with the multilevel feature of the MLMC methods following the work in [26], and our numerical experiments illustrate its efficiency and accuracy in comparison with standard Monte Carlo estimates.


Georgia GLOBE (Global Learning Online for Business and Education) was established by the Board of Regents of the University System of Georgia as a three year pilot project to aggregate and market online (distance education) courses and degree programs available through one of the System's colleges and universities. Institutions were given the opportunity to list (voluntarily) online courses and programs with Georgia GLOBE. One of the first programs to be marketed by Georgia GLOBE was the eCore(TM)-electronic core curriculum. The eCore(TM) was targeted primarily to the adult (nontraditional) student market as a way to begin an undergraduate degree while maintaining an often busy lifestyle. As a part of the overall marketing plan for eCore(TM), Georgia GLOBE established a Customer Information Center (CIC), which included an enrollment counseling service (ECS). The CIC/ECS model was designed to provide potential eCore(TM) students with prompt and efficient responses to general questions and to demystify the enrollment process. As the Georgia GLOBE project has now reached its conclusion, this article describes the marketing strategy developed to recruit potential enrollees to eCore(TM) and reflects on the experience of providing a centralized customer call center and pre-enrollment counseling for an online, consortium-based program. Georgia GLOBE and the University System of Georgia The University System of Georgia (USG) is comprised of 34 colleges and universities ranging from two-year colleges that serve rural areas (e.g., East Georgia College in Swainsboro, Ga.) to nationally acclaimed research institutions (e.g., the University of Georgia and the Georgia Institute of Technology) that offer a full array of undergraduate, graduate, and post-graduate programs and degrees. The Board of Regents of the use established Georgia GLOBE (Global Learning Online for Business and Education) in June 1999. In prior years the USG had undertaken a series of successful technology initiatives, some System-wide and some campus-based, and the Regents determined that the time was right to focus efforts in the use of technology, leveraging existing assets and experience, and to expand access via technology-based learning. Toward that end, Georgia GLOBE serves as a marketing entity for use online learning opportunities. The Georgia GLOBE Web site features searchable course catalogs that include a listing of online college-level courses, continuing education, and certification programs. Institutions submit their courses (voluntarily) to be publicized in the catalogs. Potential students may customize their catalog search by course title, description, instructional level, primary delivery method, or offering institution, and follow easy links to information on admissions, financial aid, and other services located at each institution. The catalogs provide a useful tool for prospective students to locate potential online offerings from USG institutions all in one convenient location. eCore(TM) An Online Consortium-Based Curriculum The eCore(TM), or electronic core curriculum, was one of the first online course suites to be marketed by Georgia GLOBE. It is a consortium-based offering consisting of freshman- and sophomore-level courses designed to meet core curriculum requirements within certain major programs of study. The primary target audience for eCore(TM) is nontraditional students who are either starting their college careers or re-entering college. Typically, these students must balance work and family responsibilities while completing their college education. Therefore, the convenience of online learning is highly attractive to this particular group. The eCore(TM) serves as a model for collaboration in course design, faculty development, services, and instructional delivery. Courses are developed using a team approach that integrates faculty from various institutional sectors, instructional designers, Web programmers and project coordinators. …


Objective: To evaluate the associations of gestational diabetes (GDM) history with dietary intake, nutritional status, insulin resistance, demographic, and anthropometrical data. Materials & Methods: This cross-sectional study used data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey for the years 2000-2010. Data analysis was based on 290 women who reported a history of GDM compared to 4239 women who denied a GDM history. Insulin resistance [HOMA_IR = (fasting insulin in mU/mL × fasting glucose in mmol/L)/405] was calculated. Pearson correlation, Wilcoxon rank sum tests, Student's t-tests, and chi-square analysis were used while linear regression assessed independent associations. Results: The median time-lapse from the diagnosis of GDM was 15 years. Women with a GDM history had significantly higher body mass index (BMI), other anthropometric measurements, diastolic blood pressures and insulin resistance. They were also more likely to be Hispanic, have delivered macrosomic infants, and delivered via cesarean. Previous GDM history compared to non-GDM subjects had significantly higher dietary intakes of energy calories, protein, total fat, saturated fatty acids, mono-saturated fatty acids, and cholesterol. Within the entire cohort, increasing insulin resistance was also associated with lower income, less college education, Hispanic or African American ethnicity, obesity, higher systolic and diastolic blood pressures, and with higher dietary cholesterol but lower intake of dietary fiber and micronutrients. Regression analyses showed that GDM history, Hispanic ethnicity, BMI, dietary intake of cholesterol and decreasing income were independently predictive of insulin resistance. Conclusion: The data confirm that even many years after a pregnancy associated with GDM, women with a history of GDM still report significantly higher dietary intakes of energy calories, protein, and fat with no corresponding increase in consumption of dietary fiber or minerals and vitamins. Consequently, the increased calorie and food consumption of women with previous GDM are associated with obesity, insulin resistance and higher blood pressures. These observations may suggest the need to target high-risk groups who may need more resources and awareness of the benefits of quality nutrition.


Background: Metronidazole (MTZ) is a nitroimidazole derivative, widely used as an antibacterial and antiprotozoal agent. The drug causes marked impairment in the fertility of mice by affecting the testis and epididymis. The possible mechanism involved in this impairment inflicted through oxidative stress remains to be elucidated. Objective: To evaluate oxidative stressinduced effects in the testis of mice administered with MTZ. Methods: Swiss strain adult male mice were treated with low (250mg/kgBW/day) and high (500mg/kgBW/day) doses of MTZ for 28 days. Recovery study was carried out 42 days after cessation of the drug treatment. Testis was dissected out for histopathological observation, i-NOS expression by immunohistochemistry and estimations of antioxidant enzyme activities, functional markers and LPO level by spectrophotometry. All the data were analyzed statistically by one way ANOVA followed by Newman-Keul's test and were considered significant at p < 0.05. Results: Histopathological observations of the testis revealed spermatogenic inhibition with intense i-NOS expression in the intertubular spaces following high dose of MTZ administration. Antioxidant enzyme activities (SOD, GPx and GR), functional markers (LDH and ALP) and LPO levels were significantly altered in the testis of mice administered with high dose of MTZ. The effects were reinstated similar to the controls, 42 days after the treatment withdrawal. Conclusion: The present study suggests MTZ (500mg/kgBW/day)-induced reversible direct effect in the seminiferous tubules of the testis, inflicted through oxidative stress.


ABSTRACT Why are fathers in Scotland unlikely to use the full range of leave benefits available to them? Taking a capabilities approach allows us to explore the perspective that some fathers may experience an agency gap and thus not have the capabilities to utilise entitlements. This paper addresses the question empirically using a mixed-methods design which includes: analysis of data from the Growing up in Scotland study, 20 in-depth qualitative interviews with fathers of young children working in the public sector in dual-earner couples, as well as an audit of extra-statutory benefits offered to fathers by employers. We argue that the reliance on an extra-statutory leave system in the UK explains at least part of the gap between fathers' entitlement to and uptake of statutory leave, as such benefits are not routinely available to all parents. The extra-statutory entitlement is more than just a 'top-up' to the statutory; it is rather a conversion factor for the take up of statutory entitlement, by fathers. Organisational cultural norms support many employed fathers in taking a couple of weeks leave post-birth, but longer leave duration for fathers is not yet a usual parenting practice in Scotland, particularly lower down the income distribution.


In his keynote address at the ANZRSAI Conference 2005, Professor Blakely challenged regional scientists to use their "ideal position to forge these [separate disciplines informing regional science] into a disciplinary understanding that operates across disciplines". In doing so the forces at work in the myths, magic and mix of regional innovation are necessarily viewed as interdependent components. The component to be focussed upon here is leadership, especially where it assists in developing networks and "knowdes" in the web of the development of the knowledge economy. Such a critical perspective encourages a consideration of the work of practitioners in regional development from the perspective of the theory/practice interface and an examination of the intersection of leaders and leadership with the regional community process. There seem to be parallels in the way leaders interact with their communities and, in the case of regional development (and community engagement), no clear understanding of how inspirational activities and events occur though there are many exhortations to create clever networks and groups. How do the players come together? What is the rich detail and how does it fit with theory? Using notions of reflective practice developed by and from the work of Schon, this paper explores the leadership process in development of an event in a region. The event is significant for bringing together players in a way not achieved before. The paper is a critical reflection considering the event from the perspective of a player in the process, the roles played, and development of plans. In doing so the paper accesses grainy detail that provides insight while at the same time using available data to augment the lens. This is not a study of a concrete reality, nor simply an interpretation of the symbolic reality, but a critical reflection upon an event, its creation and success. The event under scrutiny is not a new one in the practice of regional development: a business expo for Shoalhaven region on the southern coast of New South Wales, Australia. For this event, local initiative has: harnessed the business expo with a careers expo; rolled in a joint campus of TAFE and University; and, gathered input from a wider range of players in the regional net of organisations than has been seen before in Shoalhaven. Naming the event 'Shoalhaven on Show' is a significant positioning in regard to regional capability building and branding.


This paper analyses the presence of the Persian political and literaly tradition in Uṣūl al-ḥikam fī niẓām al-'ālam (Principles of Wisdom on the World Order), one of the most prominent works written by Bosnians during the Ottoman reign. This work is written in Arabic language, then translated to Ottoman Turkish with some Persian verses added to it. There are 23 poe- tical fragments in Persian language in Uṣūl al-ḥikam fī niẓām al-'ālam. The translation and transcription of Persian verses are given in this paper. 16 out of 23 authors of Persian verses are identified. Hasan Kāfī al-Aqhisārī cites the best works of Persian classical literature.
He is familiar with Golestān, Bustān and Gazaliyyāt by Saʻdī Shirāzī. Uṣūl al-ḥikam fī niẓām al-'ālam is enriched by poetical fragments by Nezāmī Gangawī, the other great Persian classical poet. Beside Saʻdī and Nezāmi, there are verses that belongs to Molā Hosayn Wāʻez Kāshefī, Ebn Yamīn and Amīr Hosrow, the Persian authors who are not familiar even now in our public. All preislamic and Islamic Persian heroes are taken as models of justice, wisdom, courage and experience. These examples are used to show the Ottoman Muslim sultan the importance of virtues and to teach the sultan how to reign properly. It is an amazing fact how the knowled- ge of ancient Iran passed to Arabic culture then came to the Ottoman tradition and finally found its way to the far away Bosnia.


This study explores the initiatives of the public and private sector
in the context of the alleviation of poverty of the rural poor in
Bangladesh. The central thesis is that the public sector has made a
significant departure, at least in theory, towards the
conceptualisation of the rural poor programme in a way that the
private sector, particularly the non-governmental organisations, have
been performing for the last two decades.
This study emphasises the recognition by the NGOs, particularly the
"moderate ones, that the nature of both the problems and the
solutions change in the process. Bangladesh Rural Advancement
Committee (BRAC), the "moderate" NGO under study, has gone through a
"learn as it goes", responsive, inductive process. This study argues
quite the contrary with the public sector initiative. It was only
prior to the preparation of the Third Five Year Plan that debates were
initiated to seriously criticise the rather sterile two-tier
cooperative model for rural poor mobilisation around employment
generation and acquisition of assets. Presently, BRDB opened the
"flood-gate", which so long prevented the NGOs to contribute to the
formulation of the training module of BRDB rural poor programme
towards human development and institution building.
Although it has been argued that "moderate" NGOs, like BRAC, are
not institutions setting about to prove a specific model or theory of
development in a dogmatic or absolutist sense, it would be difficult
to say that they are not guided by an ideology, as this study argues,
when the NGOs themselves have accepted the "Freire-type-conscientisation", which in itself is a loaded concept. This study
presents a "mobilising" NGO, where the concept of "conscientisation"
has been shown to transcend the limits of present day thinking of
moderate NGOs.


This piece explores the broad financial relationship between the public and the charitable sectors. Tax exemption operates as a peculiar subsidy - offering the greatest benefits to charities carrying on the most profitable activities and owning the most valuable property. Perhaps, then, the property tax and income tax exemption of charities can be explained by a 'sovereign' view of the charitable sector. Resembling the federal tax treatment of state and local governments, exemption for charities respects the independence of the nonprofit sector, and minimizes the involvement of charities in the political process. Unfortunately, the long history of Anglo American philanthropy also contains a great deal of mistrust by the state of the economic power of charities, and a sovereign view of charity can explain as well some of the peculiar rules that reduce, rather than enhance, the value of tax exemption.


Mitochondria are double-membraned organelles of endosymbiotic origin (1). Mitochondria are critically involved in cellular homeostasis and need to be tightly controlled to maintain normal cellular function (2). Malfunctioning mitochondria can interfere with cellular homeostasis in multiple ways (3). Consequently, mitochondria have been associated with diverse diseases, including neurological and neurodegenerative disorders (4). Among those diseases, a group of severe disorders is directly associated with specific mutagenesis of the mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) (5,6). Thus, despite the fact that most mitochondrial genes are encoded in the nucleus, mutagenesis of the mtDNA can have severe outcomes. Hence, the status of the mtDNA is of crucial relevance for normal cellular function (7). Several studies revealed that modeling and targeting mtDNA related diseases is experimentally extremely challenging. Therefore, the modeling of human mtDNA disorders is often based on so-called cybrid models (cytoplasmic hybrids), combining immortalized cells and the particular patient's mitochondria. These models were able to recapitulate the influence of patient specific mitochondria on cellular physiology, but unfortunately, cybrid models have limited physiological relevance. Cybrid models lack the patient-specific genetic background, are not suitable for modeling disease relevant tissues (8), and possess incompatible metabolic and bioenergetic states (1). Different cell types and subtypes strongly differ in their bioenergetic demands. Simplified, stem cells rather rely on glycolysis more than on mitochondrial oxidative phosphorylation (OXPHOS). In contrast, during commitment and differentiation especially cells from the neuronal lineage increasingly address their bioenergetic demands by using OXPHOS for energy generation (9).


Wilhelm Scherer (1841-1886) has gained wide recognition for his extraordinary accomplishments in linguistics as well as in literary studies. His first and most important contribution to the development of linguistic science was his monumental work of 508 pages Zur Geschichte der deutschen Sprache , published in 1868. His stated objective was "to subject all aspects of the Germanic grammar to a new treatment." While such a wording sounds rather modest, the actual implementation in his book, if viewed within the framework of his time, might very appropriately be called revolutionary. He broke with August Schleicher's distinction between 'development' (in prehistorical time) and 'decay' (in historical time) in the history of language and replaced it with his notion of continuous, uninterrupted development. His survey of the relevant literature of his time is almost exhaustive, and his findings serve as the solid stepping stone for his own advances. To facilitate reading, the editor has supplied an index of names (with life dates), a complete listing of the literature referred to by Scherer as well as an introduction to Scherer's life and his general scholarly achievements.


Central to the study of stratospheric ozone recovery and climate change, is the ability to predict emissions of Montreal Protocol-restricted halocarbons (MPGs) over the coming decades. The prediction of emissions has become difficult as global production of MPGs has rapidly declined establishing "banks" (MPGs which have been produced but not yet released) as the main emission sources. Both the magnitude and release rate of global banks is quite uncertain. Very few field studies have been conducted to provide estimates of global bank emissions from individual sources within countries. This thesis provides the first known observation-based estimates of CFC-12, CFC-11, CFC-113, and CH3CCl3 emissions in the United States (US) and United Kingdom (UK) from municipal solid waste (MSW) landfills. With several hundred MSW landfills in both the US and UK, estimating emissions of MPGs from landfills required a targeted approach. Whole landfill mixing ratios and flow rates were sampled monthly at one landfill in southern Massachusetts to provide temporal coverage. Spatial coverage was achieved through one time sampling at seven landfills in Massachusetts and through data provided by nine UK landfills for CFC-12 and CFC-11. Only actively managed MSW landfills were sampled. US and UK MPG landfill emissions were estimated and compared to recent observation-based estimates of total US and UK MPG emissions to determine the importance of the landfill source. US MPG landfill emissions were estimated to be 0.008 0.08 Gg year−1. For all four MPGs, US landfill emissions were ∼ 0.6% of total US emissions. The UK landfill emission estimates were 6% and 0.8% of total UK CFC-12 and CFC-11 emissions, respectively. All estimates were accurate to within a factor of 2. This indicates that landfills are not currently a significant source of lingering MPG emissions in the US and UK. The implications are that the majority of MPG emissions in industrialized countries are likely coming from faster emitting sources. Thesis Supervisor: Ronald Prinn Title: TEPCO Professor of Atmospheric Science


This Article first describes three distinct visions of the relationship between the Internet and law that appeared in the 1990s: what the author calls the no-law Internet, the Internet as separate jurisdiction, and Internet law as translation. It is the third which now effectively dominates practical discussions of Internet law and policy issues. The project of translation involves more than importing traditional legal concepts into the Internet environment; it is often an attempt to transpose into cyberspace balances of social, political, and economic interests drawn for, and accepted in, the physical world. The Article critiques American legal scholars for failing to appreciate the transnational problem of legal norms for cyberspace and how the Internet is forcing a certain amount of convergence of legal norms among disparate national systems. The Article then proposes a preliminary taxonomy of how convergent legal norms are being created for the Internet.


Background Elimination of hospital-acquired infections is an important patient safety goal. Setting All 174 medical, cardiac, surgical and mixed Veterans Administration (VA) intensive care units (ICUs). Intervention A centralised infrastructure (Inpatient Evaluation Center (IPEC)) supported the practice bundle implementation (handwashing, maximal barriers, chlorhexidinegluconate site disinfection, avoidance of femoral catheterisation and timely removal) to reduce central line-associated bloodstream infections (CLABSI). Support included recruiting leadership, benchmarked feedback, learning tools and selective mentoring. Data collection Sites recorded the number of CLABSI, line days and audit results of bundle compliance on a secure website. Analysis CLABSI rates between years were compared with incidence rate ratios (IRRs) from a Poisson regression and with National Healthcare Safety Network referent rates (standardised infection ratio (SIR)). Pearson's correlation coefficient compared bundle adherence with CLABSI rates. Semi-structured interviews with teams struggling to reduce CLABSI identified common themes. Results From 2006 to 2009, CLABSI rates fell (3.8–1.8/1000 line days; p<0.01); as did IRR (2007; 0.83 (95% CI 0.73 to 0.94), 2008; 0.65 (95% CI 0.56 to 0.76), 2009; 0.47 (95% CI 0.40 to 0.55)). Bundle adherence and CLABSI rates showed strong correlation (r=0.81). VA CLABSI SIR, January to June 2009, was 0.76 (95% CI 0.69 to 0.90), and for all FY2009 0.88 (95% CI 0.80 to 0.97). Struggling sites lacked a functional team, forcing functions and feedback systems. Conclusion Capitalising on a large healthcare system, VA IPEC used strategies applicable to non-federal healthcare systems and communities. Such tactics included measurement through information technology, leadership, learning tools and mentoring.


The mass balance of Antarctica varies a lot across the whole continent. While some areas show evidence of a clear deficit in mass balance, for instance the Antarctic Peninsula, the difference between accumulation and ablation in other areas seems to be small and even the sign is not evident. While ice thickness and surface velocities can be determined by means of remote sensing, radio-echo sounding and satellite picture interferometry, accumulation and ablation have to be measured in-situ using snow pits, firn/ice cores, and depth sounders under ice shelves or in ice sheets. Remote sensing techniques can be easily applied for large areas while in-situ measurements will always be restricted to isolated point measurements and therefore are of limited areal density.During the pre-site survey for the EPICA drill site in Dronning Maud Land (DML) the ice tickness of several drainage basins in this region have been mapped using airborne radio-echo sounding (RES). Eventhough this pre-site survey has been concentrated on the interior part of DML the coastal region has been mapped as well as on the way into the interior. These by-product measurements have been completed throughout the three past austral summers up to austral summer 2003/04 by profiles along the ground line and across several distinct outlet glacier of west and central DML. Surface velocities could be elaborated using ERS1/2 satellite images.The contribution will be geographically restricted on the Vestraumen, an outlet glacier in West DML, draining into the western part of the Riiser-Larsenisen, and focus on ice sheet properties of the drainage baisin and the ice stream derived from remote sensing techniques. A comparison of surface velocities and balance velocities, respectively the appropriate derived mass fluxes will provide further information of the sign and possible imbalance of the Vestraumen and its drainage baisin.


In this paper, the energy absorption characteristics on extruded aluminum box-section strengthened with carbon-fiber-reinforced plastics (CFRP) laminates and/or foam material were investigated under impact loading. Impact tests using a pneumatic impact tester were conducted with the specimens in three-point bending flexure with consideration given to the side-door impact beams in vehicles. The absorbed energy to the specimen during the impact was determined from the loaddisplacement curve, which was obtained from the strain gauge attached to the impactor and the laser displacement transducer. From the results, it was found that the strengthening by externally bonding with CFRP laminates improved the impact-induced energy absorption. Also, the effect of the improvement was clearly seen in the case of the use of filling form material in the aluminum extrusion together with attaching CFRP laminates.


The purpose of the article is to build a structural and logical model of contemporary global economic system, forecast its development in future, and development of recommendations for maximization of advantages and minimization of negative aspects of such development. The authors focus on the problem of deepening contradictions of interests of various members of the global economic system with development of integration processes and on the problem of increase of the global economic problems with economic development of the global economic system. Methodology of conduct of the research in this work includes problem, systemic, and structural & functional analysis for determination of specifics of functioning of contemporary modern economy, as well as SWOT-analysis for determination of perspectives of its development. The authors analyze evolution and view specifics of modern stage of development of the global economic system, perform modeling of current state and tendencies of development of global economic system, and determine perspectives and compile recommendations for development of contemporary global economic system.


Then He Kissed Me, He's A Rebel, Chains, Stop! In the Name of Love all these songs capture the spirit of an era and an image of "girlhood" in post-World War II America that still reverberates today. While there were over 1500 girl groups recorded in the '60s--including key hitmakers like the Ronettes, the Supremes, and the Shirelles - studies of girl-group music that address race, gender, class, and sexuality have only just begun to appear. Warwick is the first writer to address '60s girl group music from the perspective of its most significant audience--teenage girls--drawing on current research in psychology and sociology to explore the important place of this repertoire in the emotional development of young girls of the baby boom generation. Girl Groups, Girl Culture stands as a landmark study of this important pop music and cultural phenomenon. It promises to be a classic work in American musicology and cultural studies.


The popular perception of globalisation is rooted in its image of dissolving senses of distance and boundaries. It is so preoccupied with the technology that enables globalisation that little attention is paid to questions of 'how' and 'where' the circuits of globalisation actually get realised.

This book attempts a more nuanced view of globalisation by focusing on its less-explored, non-technological dimensions. It examines the transformation of the woman worker — from a rural woman to an urban one, from a dependent daughter, wife and mother to an earning member, and from a homemaker to a factory worker, and the attendant transformation of the home into a base for migrant workers.

None of these transformations is absolute, as the woman worker continues to play the traditional roles of wife and mother at home alongside fulfilling her responsibilities at work. In the process of negotiating boundaries in the village, city, home, and global factory, she confronts a reality that she fears because of its unfamiliarity, coping with which necessarily entails falling back on her kin networks — institutions that are rarely seen as enablers of globalisation, although they play a critical role in determining how globalisation is sustained.

Focusing on such workers in Bangalore, a city otherwise known for its IT industry, the book examines the global garment circuit, especially the institutions and processes outside the workplace that influence how the global circuit is completed. It will appeal to those in economics, sociology, gender studies, urban studies, as well as to those interested in issues relating to globalisation.


This article concerns the concepts of employee harm and harm avoidance within the liability framework for hostile work environment sexual harassment by a supervisor. Whether an employer is liable for supervisor sexual harassment depends in part on whether or not the employee avoids her harm or mitigates her damages resulting from the sexual harassment. Despite the law's interest in employee's harm avoidance, courts have failed to fully explore the vast array of harms resulting from sexual harassment and the variety of ways in which an employee avoids these multiple harms. This article reframes the legal discussion of an employee's actions in response to sexual harassment from one that almost exclusively focuses on whether the employee failed to report the sexual harassment. To assist in the reconceptualization, this article explores women employees' responses to sexual harassment: the ways in which they are harmed by sexual harassment, beyond the act of sexual harassment itself, and the ways in which they avoid that harm, beyond simply reporting the sexual harassment. There are at least two benefits from this reframing. First, a more inclusive depiction of women employees' injuries from and responses to sexual harassment would far better inform sexual harassment liability determinations. As a result, the determinations can fulfill the legislative intent of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 to encourage and reinforce employees' efforts to "avoid harm." Second, through this process, there is an opportunity to reveal the existing reality that highlights women's partial agency but often is obscured with the dominant picture of a sexual harassment victim as "suffering in silence."


This article presents three case studies of elementary art education curriculum in districts across the United States. The study uses content analysis, which is grounded in Critical Whiteness Studies in order to examine the ways district art curricula address issues of race and whiteness in elementary art education. Findings suggest that district curricula reinforces racial inequities by omitting artists of color, reaffirming racial hierarchies through the master narrative of white progress, and decontextualizing the socio-cultural concerns of non-white artists. The article ends by suggesting reforms in order to create anti-oppressive multicultural art curricula.


The Social Semantic Web (SSW) refers to the mix of RDF data in web content, and social network data associated with those who posted that content. Applications to monitor the SSW are becoming increasingly popular. For instance, marketers want to look for semantic patterns relating to the content of tweets and Facebook posts relating to their products. Such applications allow multiple users to specify patterns of interest, and monitor them in real-time as new data gets added to the web or to a social network. In this paper, we develop the concept of SSW view servers in which all of these types of applications can be simultaneously monitored from such servers. The patterns of interest are views. We show that a given set of views can be compiled in multiple possible ways to take advantage of common substructures, and define the concept of an optimal merge. We develop a very fast MultiView algorithm that scalably and efficiently maintains multiple subgraph views. We show that our algorithm is correct, study its complexity, and experimentally demonstrate that our algorithm can scalably handle updates to hundreds of views on real-world SSW databases with up to 540M edges.


INTRODUCTION AND DEFINITIONS Successful organizations seek to attain and maintain high levels of performance; but can a particular organizational strategy or culture lead to improved organizational performance? If so, can such a strategy or culture be described and then be measured quantitatively? And, if measurements can be made will comparisons in measurements between organizations be advantageous in helping organizations improve their performance? This paper investigates these questions, measures a specific component of organizational strategy and compares three managerial levels of educational organizations. The organizational strategy measured is market orientation. The quantitative measurement is accomplished by way of a scaled instrument used in a national survey. The comparisons described in this research include benchmarked levels between commercial businesses (for profit entities) and various organizational levels of schools of business administration (non-profit entities). In marketing literature, numerous similar sounding terms are often encountered. These terms are not synonymous and should not be used interchangeably. To help differentiate and explain terms, the following three descriptions and definitions are provided: The marketing concept is a philosophy that advocates that a successful organization begins with identifying customer needs and wants, decides which needs to meet, and involves all employees in the process of satisfying customers. Marketing orientation implies that the marketing function is the most important function within the organization and that all other functional areas are driven by the demands of the marketing department. Market orientation refers to an organizational culture in which everyone in the organization is committed to the customer and adapts in a timely manner to meeting the changing needs of the customer. Market orientation blends a company culture dedicated to providing superior value with successfully achieving a customer focus, acquiring competitor intelligence, and maintaining interfunctional coordination. It is viewed as the implementation of the marketing concept. DISCUSSION AND LITERATURE REVIEW The Baldrige Education Criteria for Performance Excellence, developed by the Baldrige National Quality Program (BNQP 2005), rest on the assumption that universities can take steps to achieve "performance excellence". The document specifies certain marketing-related activities, and emphasizes the need to identify and plan strategies with respect to various segments of students, stakeholders and other markets. The Baldrige criteria are designed to be used for self-assessment, awarding Baldrige prizes, and providing feedback to educational institutions applying for them, but have other important purposes as well. They can be used by any university business school, for example, regardless of whether or not it is an award applicant, to "improve organizational performance practices, capabilities, and results," to "facilitate ... sharing of best practices," and to assist in "understanding and managing performance ... guiding organizational planning and opportunities for learning" (BNQP 2005). Excellence of performance in higher education is self-evidently important. In the business discipline, it is assessed and assured by the qualification standards of the bodies awarding formal accreditation to business schools (Karathanos and Karathanos 1996). In the U.S.A., these are mainly AACSB International (the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business, known until 1997 as the American Assembly of Collegiate Schools of Business) and ACBSP (the Association of Collegiate Business Schools and Programs), address performance evaluation and improvement. Performance is ranked more informally in the U. …


OBJECTIVE
We describe 4 patients who developed subacute cutaneous lupus erythematosus (SCLE)-like photodistributed eruptions after ingestion of docetaxel (Taxotere). The development of SCLE-like cutaneous eruptions has been associated with the intake of drugs including thiazide diuretics, calcium channel blockers, angiotensin converting-enzyme inhibitors, phenytoin, etanercept, antihistaminics, interferons, statins, and terbinafine. Docetaxel, a chemotherapeutic drug used in breast cancer therapy, has not to our knowledge been reported to cause SCLE.

METHODS
Skin biopsies were obtained from 4 patients with photodistributed rashes while taking docetaxel.

RESULTS
In all patients, skin biopsies were remarkable for an atrophying interface dermatitis associated with mucin deposition. Immunofluorescent testing revealed the characteristic pattern of SCLE, namely, granular epidermal keratinocyte deposition of IgG and C5b-9. The eruptions resolved following cessation of the drug.

CONCLUSION
Pathogenetically, docetaxel may evoke a lupus-like eruption through its proapoptotic effects on replicating cells, which could in turn provoke the release of nucleosomes postulated to be target antigens in LE. It seems reasonable to postulate that the rapidly replicating keratinocyte, when subjected to the cytotoxic effects of docetaxel, would also manifest nucleosome release followed by a local autoimmune reaction in a genetically predisposed host.


Despite the continuous growth of the organic market in Europe, in most countries only very basic statistics about this sector exist. Individual country governments collect data which are published nationally and by EUROSTAT (the statistical office of the European Union), on the number of certified organic holdings, organic and in-conversion land areas and livestock numbers. Important market statistics, however, such as the amount of production, consumption, retail sales, international trade and prices at the farm or consumer level are lacking in most European countries.
To understand the availability of data on the organic market and to assist in improving data quality and availability, it is first necessary to be aware of the organisations that currently collect, analyse and/or disseminate such data across Europe and the methods that they use.
To assess the current status of organic market data collection in the EU and its neighbours, an online survey was developed and nearly 600 organisations within the EU27, EFTA, the rest of Europe and the Mediterranean were invited to participate. The useable response rate was 28% once very incomplete responses had been removed from the sample. Based on this survey it is difficult to state definitively that no data collection/analysis/publication occur within certain countries or within certain areas of the market. The survey may not have detected any, but there may still be some carried out that have not been detected by the survey.
The survey has been used to produce an inventory table, summarising the data collection effort in each country to inform further work in the project.
The data were analysed for the entire sample and were split into responses from EU27+EFTA, other European and non-European countries to provide an overview of the data collection effort in each of these country groups. A comparison of EU15 and newer member states was also carried out and Mediterranean countries (MOAN) were considered separately. The relatively low response rate made comparisons difficult and means that only general observations can be made.
The data types that are most commonly collected are production data, especially land area, followed by production volume; whereas production value is much less commonly collected. However, production area data are not the main focus of the survey or of the OrganicDataNetwork project. Price data and retail sales data are the next most commonly collected market data. Export data are more commonly collected in non-European countries than in the EU, perhaps reflecting a higher importance to their economies. The product categories most often represented in EU27+EFTA market data collection are meat, milk and dairy products, fruit and vegetables. Across the other groups of countries (e.g. other European, non-European) the pattern of data collection of individual product categories varies with regards to the most popular products. Data on non-food products are rarely collected.
Data collection methods vary with the type of data collected, but surveys are a commonly used method across data types. Censuses are often used to collect production volume data and other types of data such as international trade data (they are not used to collect data in non-European countries). Expert estimates are occasionally used across most of the country categories. For retail data and consumer price data, consumer/household panels or retail panels (scanner data) are likely to be used, whereas catering sales data are collected by surveys. Import and export data are generally collected using surveys and sometimes censuses but some reliance is also placed on expert estimates. The data analysis carried out in the different countries (across all of the categories) tends to be compilation or basic analysis (such as averages, and ranges). Other methods mentioned include time-evolution, comparison to averages or totals, and sense-checking with other data (particularly for export data).
The responses to the question about data publication suggest generally low publication rates (especially for data other than production data); with less than 50% of the sample in each disaggregated group of countries giving a positive answer. Of all the data types that were asked about, production data are most likely to be freely available, but not all production data that are collected are also published. Data are usually published annually; price, retail or export data are occasionally published more frequently.

Conclusions

The purpose of this survey was to produce an inventory and an overview of collectors of organic market data in Europe and its neighbouring countries. The results have delivered a good picture of the situation in Europe and have shown that the recent claims, coming from various sources,regarding a lack of organic market data were definitely justified. Overall it can be concluded that the market data collection effort remains very varied across Europe and that not all data that are collected are also published. This is problematic, as without good quality, accurate and timely information it is difficult for stakeholders to make decisions about the risks and benefits of investment. There is also a need to understand the reasons why there is currently not more organic market data collection undertaken as well as to understand the barriers to good quality data collection and dissemination. This is the basis for further work on harmonisation of data collection approaches and for improvement in data quality, which is planned as part of the OrganicDataNetwork project.


While the study of federalism has in many respects reached an advanced stage today, there nevertheless remains a troubling absence of agreement as to the precise meaning of the concept. It is subject to multiple definitions, which overlap with one another in various ways and sometimes conflict. This leads to material negative consequences for both academic research and public policy, which can no longer be overlooked. The article confronts the problem by reviewing what the social science theory of concepts teaches for the construction of methodologically sound definitions of concepts. It employs the insights gained in the elaboration of a valid taxonomy of political systems, from which the definition of a federal political system can be inferred, and hence that of federalism. Rethinking the concept in this way points to the need to reject the currently fashionable 'broad' definition (following Elazar) in favour of a return to a 'narrow' differentiated definition (following Wheare). Further, it illuminates the existence of two distinct federal structures – the federal state and the federal union of states – where before only the former was known. It thus leads to identification of the presently unidentified or 'sui generis' European Union as an instance of the latter form.


ABSTRACT Interleukin 1 (IL-1) has been reported to stimulate the polyubiquitination and disappearance of IL-1 receptor-associated kinase 1 (IRAK1) within minutes. It has been thought that the polyubiquitin chains attached to IRAK1 are linked via Lys48 of ubiquitin, leading to its destruction by the proteasome and explaining the rapid IL-1-induced disappearance of IRAK1. In this paper, we demonstrate that IL-1 stimulates the formation of K63-pUb-IRAK1 and not K48-pUb-IRAK1 and that the IL-1-induced disappearance of IRAK1 is not blocked by inhibition of the proteasome. We also show that IL-1 triggers the interaction of K63-pUb-IRAK1 with NEMO, a regulatory subunit of the IκBα kinase (IKK) complex, but not with the NEMO[D311N] mutant that cannot bind K63-pUb chains. Moreover, unlike wild-type NEMO, the NEMO[D311N] mutant was unable to restore IL-1-stimulated NF-κB-dependent gene transcription to NEMO-deficient cells. Our data suggest a model in which the recruitment of the NEMO-IKK complex to K63-pUb-IRAK1 and the recruitment of the TAK1 complex to TRAF6 facilitate the TAK1-catalyzed activation of IKK by the TRAF6-IRAK1 complex.


Overhead network packets are a big challenge for intrusion detection systems (IDSs), which may increase system burden, degrade system performance, and even cause the whole system collapse, when the number of incoming packets exceeds the maximum handling capability. To address this issue, packet filtration is considered as a promising solution, and our previous research efforts have proven that designing a trust-based packet filter was able to refine unwanted network packets and reduce the workload of a local IDS. With the development of Internet cooperation, collaborative intrusion detection environments (e.g., CIDNs) have been developed, which allow IDS nodes to collect information and learn experience from others. However, it would not be effective for the previously built trust-based packet filter to work in such a collaborative environment, since the process of trust computation can be easily compromised by insider attacks. In this paper, we adopt the existing CIDN framework and aim to apply a collaborative trust-based approach to reduce unwanted packets. More specifically, we develop a collaborative trust-based packet filter, which can be deployed in collaborative networks and be robust against typical insider attacks (e.g., betrayal attacks). Experimental results in various simulated and practical environments demonstrate that our filter can perform effectively in reducing unwanted traffic and can defend against insider attacks through identifying malicious nodes in a quick manner, as compared to similar approaches.


Are we in bed with seductive information technologies? And what have we begat? This panel, delivered at AMCIS in Auckland on 8 December 2014, resulted in thought-provoking dialog that generated critical reflection on several themes linking technology and practical wisdom that aligned with the conference theme "Integral IS: The Embedding of Information Systems in Business, Government and Society". The panel found common ground, although each author began from a different starting position. The common ground was that neither utopian nor dystopian stances on the value of technology achieve much practical value. Instead, perennial universal insights of wisdom viewed in a contemporary, practical, and scientific context may provide a path in technology research, design, management, and use. We believe the topics addressed during the panel session, which we summarize in this paper, are vital and relevant to the information systems field as a whole. The panel's deliberations hold importance for academics and practitioners alike and have implications that extend to individuals, organizations, and society at large.


The purpose of this paper is to study the connection between Taoism and analytical psychology. This is done by descriptive text analysis of post-jungian literature. Often mentioned when searching for the inspirations and influences on analytical psychology we find references to alchemy, Buddhism, Gnosticism, Hinduism and the hermetic tradition. More seldom do we meet any references to Taoism. My aim is to investigate what gravity do the post-jungians attach to the taoism influence on C.G. Jung´s analytical psychology. This paper will also argue that Taoism is an underestimated influence in the development of the analytical psychology. Keywords: Analytical psychology, Jungian psychology, Taoism, Tao, Richard Wilhelm, synchronicity, C.G. Jung, analytisk psykologi, jungiansk psykologi


Increased 11β hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase type 1 (11βHSD1) activity is implicated in the development of the metabolic syndrome. Identifying natural compounds that influence 11βHSD1 activity could lead to novel methods of treating obesity, cardiovascular disease and diabetes. In the present study, we tested the effect of green coffee bean extract (GCBE), rich in chlorogenic acid (CGA), in human volunteers and of CGA in mice on blood pressure (BP), lipid and glucose metabolism. Our hypothesis was that CGA would improve these parameters, by blocking the uptake of microsomal glucose-6-phosphate which in turn would limit the production of co-factor for 11βHSD1 reductase activity. With local Ethics Committee approval, 13 healthy overweight subjects were given GCBE containing 90 mg CGA twice daily for 2 weeks. Urinary 24 h free cortisol was reduced from 1.0523±0.45 to 0.763±0.40 nmol/kg (P=0.07). Free cortisone excretion was reduced from 0.712±0.38 to 0.432±0.24 nmol/kg (P=0.007). Systolic BP decreased from 119.4±10.5 to 113.8±9.1 mmHg (P=0.05). Fasting plasma glucose (P=0.101), diastolic BP (P=0.114), free cortisol:cortisone ratio (P=0.216) and anthropometrical measurement were not affected. In vitro, 11βHSD1 activity (conversion of added cortisone to cortisol) in isolated mouse microsomes was inhibited dose-dependently by CGA. The effects of feeding diet containing 0.15% CGA for 17 days was tested in male C57BL6 mice. Adiposity was unaffected but liver (27.7±4.9 vs 15.5±2.2 mg/g, P<0.04) and plasma (1.24±0.18 vs 0.86±0.08 mg/ml, P<0.08) triglycerides tended to be reduced. Urinary 24 h cortisol excretion following IP injection of 20 mg/kg cortisone was 30.1±4.1 vs 24.2±5.3 nmol/kg (P<0.4) for control and CGA-treated mice. Peak plasma glucose levels in tolerance tests were earlier with CGA treatment although, over a 2 h period, glucose clearance was not affected.


Epidemiologic studies often rely on food frequency questionnaires (FFQs) to collect information on alcoholic beverage intake. However, estimation of alcohol intake using FFQs may be of some concern because of limited questions concerning alcohol intake. The authors compared estimates of alcohol intake during the 12-24 months prior to interview obtained from the Health Habits and History Questionnaire and the Harvard Semiquantitative Food Frequency Questionnaire with those from a more extensive alcohol questionnaire, the Drinking Pattern Questionnaire, among 133 healthy subjects (75 men, 58 women) aged 35-73 years, residents of western New York State. Data were collected in 1995 during two separate interviewer-administered computer-assisted interviews conducted approximately 2 weeks apart. For each questionnaire, average daily ounces (1 oz = 30 ml) of alcohol intake from alcoholic beverages were calculated as the product of the reported beverage-specific drink size (ounces) and the average daily frequency of intake multiplied by a factor representing the percentage of alcohol provided by each beverage. Estimates of total alcohol and liquor intake, but not of beer and wine intake, tended to be higher for the Drinking Pattern Questionnaire compared with the FFQs. Spearman's correlation coefficients ranged from 0.69 to 0.84. These results suggest that although the Drinking Pattern Questionnaire produced higher estimates than either FFQ, both FFQs provide a reasonable ranking of participants' alcohol intake.


Abstract. Accurate representation of ozone in the extratropical upper troposphere (UT) remains a challenge. However, the implementation of hyper-spectral remote sensing using satellite instruments such as the Tropospheric Emission Spectrometer (TES) provides an avenue for mapping ozone in this region, from 500 to 300 hPa. As a polar orbiting satellite TES observations are limited, but in this paper they are combined with geostationary satellite observations of water vapor. This paper describes a validation of the Multi-sensor UT Ozone Product (MUTOP). MUTOP, based on a statistical retrieval method, is an image product derived from the multiple regression of remotely sensed TES ozone, against geostationary (GOES) specific humidity (remotely sensed) and potential vorticity (a modeled dynamical tracer in the UT). These TES-derived UT ozone mixing ratios are compared to coincident ozonesonde measurements of layer-average UT ozone mixing ratios made during the NASA INTEX/B field campaign in the spring of 2006; the region for this study is effectively the GOES west domain covering the eastern North Pacific Ocean and the western United States. This intercomparison evaluates MUTOP skill at representing ozone magnitude and variability in this region of complex dynamics. In total, 11 ozonesonde launch sites were available for this study, providing 127 individual sondes for comparison; the overall mean ozone of the 500–300 hPa layer for these sondes was 78.0 ppbv. MUTOP reproduces in~situ measurements reasonably well, producing an UT mean of 82.3 ppbv, with a mean absolute error of 12.2 ppbv and a root mean square error of 16.4 ppbv relative to ozonesondes across all sites. An overall UT mean bias of 4.3 ppbv relative to sondes was determined for MUTOP. Considered in the context of past TES validation studies, these results illustrate that MUTOP is able to maintain accuracy similar to TES while expanding coverage to the entire GOES-West satellite domain. In addition MUTOP provides six-hour temporal resolution throughout the INTEX-B study period, making the visualization of UT ozone dynamics possible. This paper presents the overall statistical validation as well as a selection of ozonesonde case studies. The case studies illustrate that error may not always represent a lack of TES-derived product skill, but often results from discrepancies driven by observations made in the presence of strong meteorological gradients.


While mobile computing devices have gained importance in recent years, thanks to their increased functionality and affordability, their diversity in hardware and software characteristics remains an obstacle to the provision of a common user experience across these heterogeneous systems. Furthermore, current user interfaces (UI's) running on these devices are developed with the assumption that the context in which they will be used is constant over time, including the profile of the user, the platform on which the user carries her tasks, and the environment in which the interaction takes place. Traditional software design techniques are not adequate to support multiple contexts, since they require a partial or complete re-write of the user interface to match the characteristics of each device and the software running on it. This in turn necessitates additional time and resources. This situation is further complicated by the need of the user interface to accommodate varying contexts such as the user profile and environmental conditions. Consequently, there is a need to develop a new software methodology that is flexible enough to take into account contextual aspects early on the design phase, and enables the separation of the interaction aspects from implementation concerns. One way to effectively achieve this is to use abstraction. To this end, we propose a model-based approach for adaptive user interface design and generation for resource-constrained devices. This approach consists in using a selected number of models which describe the UI at different levels of abstraction with specific terms and syntax. By focusing on the interaction aspects, it becomes possible to eliminate the need to rely on context-specific interaction capabilities, such as hardware and software, in the early stages of user interface development. It also becomes possible to enable context-adaptation at runtime, after the UI models have been defined. These models are specified using standard-based notations, and are then transformed and mapped to result in adaptive and adaptable user interfaces. A methodology to translate user requirements into a set of UI models is also introduced. Finally, a demonstrator application has been implemented to provide a practical example of how to apply these concepts and use semi-automatic processes developed as part of our research work. Key words: Context-aware User Interfaces, HCI, Model-based User Interface Development, UML, XML.


Nationally, the United States has a higher rate of teen pregnancy than any other industrialized nation. Native American youth have a higher birth rate than the national rate. A full-year healthy relationship program, based on Native American teachings, traditions, and cultural norms, was delivered to all eighth-grade students at a rural tribal school and a new group of eighth graders every year for 5 years, to teach healthy relationships and encourage abstinence. This article summarizes the Discovery Dating curriculum and compares the participants in the healthy relationship program to the comparison group, at the end of 5 years, in regards of the number of pregnancies as well as self-reported sexual behavior. The comparison group comprises students in the same community who attended a public middle school, rather than the tribal middle school, but the same public high school. All students had a similar age, socioeconomic status, culture, and ethnicity. Students who received the healthy relationship program (treatment group) had fewer pregnancies than the students who did not receive the healthy relationship program (comparison group). Of those who reported that they were sexually active, the students who received the healthy relationship program (treatment group) reported higher condom use than the students who did not receive the healthy relationship program (comparison group).


Thrust generation for an airfoil plunging at zero freestream velocity, the case relevant to hovering birds and insects, has been studied. The objective was to investigate the effect of airfoil stiffness. Particle image velocimetry and force measurements were taken for three airfoils of relative bending stiffnesses 1:8:512 in a water tank. The deformation of the flexible airfoils produces an angle of attack that varies periodically with a phase angle with respect to the plunging motion. Amplitude and phase of this combined plunging/pitching motion play a major role in the flowfield and thrust generation. Vortex pairs or alternating vortex streets were observed depending on the amplitude and phase lag of the trailing edge. The strength of the vortices, their lateral spacing, and the time-averaged velocity of the induced jet were found to depend on the airfoil flexibility, plunge frequency, and amplitude. Direct force measurements confirmed that at high plunge frequencies the thrust coefficient of the airfoil with intermediate stiffness was greatest, although the least stiff airfoil can generate larger thrust at low frequencies. It is suggested that there is an optimum airfoil stiffness for a given plunge frequency and amplitude. The thrust/input-power ratio was found to be greater for the flexible airfoils than for the rigid airfoil.


The Celebrity Persona Pandemic explores how the construction of a public persona is fetishized in contemporary culture. As social media has progressively led to a greater focus on the production of the self, so this book looks at the most visible versions of persona through figures such as Stephen Colbert, Cate Blachett, and Justin Bieber, as well as fictional characters like Spock and Harry Potter. Ultimately, P. David Marshall closely studies how persona culture shapes our notions of value and significance, and dramatically shifts cultural politics.


Black shales offer an important context to study the evolution of the oceans and atmosphere. As an archive of past climatic, evolutionary and geodynamic events in Earth history they offer the opportunity to further understand the nature of such events. Various redox sensitive and bio-essential trace metals can become enriched in black shales as a function of the nature of the environment in which they were deposited. Of particular interest are shales with high metal enrichment, as they may represent an important geochemical flux. In addition to archiving paleo-ocean and climatic conditions, metal-rich black shales offer important economic targets for hydrocarbon and mineral exploration. Previous work has shown that many important trace metals in black shales are hosted by diagenetic pyrite. Furthermore, metal-rich pyrite has been argued as a potential source for orogenic gold deposits where the metamorphic breakdown of pyrite to pyrrhotite releases gold and other trace metals.
This thesis presents a series of studies on aspects of black shale enrichment and mineralogy and offers greater insight as to the evolution of our oceans and atmosphere and how this may relate to secular metal enrichments. Each adopts a multi-proxy, geochemical approach, augmenting pyrite trace element chemistry with isotopic, and whole-rock geochemical or mineralogical data. In addition to addressing the nature of the depositional environment of black shales, mechanisms of ore genesis via the metamorphism of metal-rich shale sequences are also presented and evaluated. Four main aspects of the geochemistry of black shales are investigated in this thesis: 1) primary metal enrichment as a result of the changing nature of the water column during climatic perturbation, 2) the application of pyrite trace element chemistry along with other geochemical techniques to understand, and differentiate, primary metal enrichments and metamorphic overprint, 3) mechanisms by which pyrite may convert to pyrrhotite in black shale and what implications this may have for metal mobility, and 4) understanding of metal enrichments in black shale through geological time in the context of geodynamic and geochemical evolution.
The understanding of primary metal enrichments in black shales is critical in order to interpret the nature of the depositional environment. Chapters 2, 3 and 4 offer reviews of metal enrichment in sediments through time, as well as whole rock and pyrite trace element chemistry, as a means to record the chemical nature of the water column at the time of deposition. This is then applied in Chapter 5 to a metalliferous black shale section in NW Estonia of Cambrian to Ordovician age. This work contains a new detailed sedimentological study of the section to establish a depositional context. This is augmented by a high-resolution multi-proxy data and isotope geochemistry suggests that the section archives a major carbon isotope excursion (the Steptoean Positive Isotope Excursion; SPICE), not previously reported in these rocks, and allows the section to be placed in a global context. The high phosphorous content of the biograinstones deposited prior to the carbon isotope excursion suggests that phosphogenesis may have led to increased bio-productivity, affecting the carbon cycle. The high pyrite content and the geochemistry of this mineral in the lower portion of the black shale, which sits above the isotope excursion, suggests that the SPICE event may have led to the onset of low-oxygen conditions across the Baltica shallow shelf, and the deposition of metal-rich black shales.
In Chapter 6, the geodynamic and biochemical processes associated with metal enrichments in the formation metal-rich shales are reviewed and discussed together with a geochemical and mineralogical study of the Talvivaara deposit in Finland. As the world's largest black-shale poly-metallic deposit it offers a context to evaluate the economic aspects of black shale enrichment. The Paleoproterozoic age of this deposit and the fact that there are no known analogues that match its size, suggests that there may have been unique environmental factors that played a role in its metal enrichment. Much like the Estonian example, Talvivaara was deposited in the immediate wake of a large, global carbon isotope excursion. The excursion (the Lomagundi- Jatuli event, ~2.1 Ga) is the largest carbon isotope excursion preserved in the rock record and is followed by the first, and largest, mass burial of organic carbon in Earth history. This suggests that there may be analogous processes operating, but on different scales, in order to facilitate such enrichments. The deposit has been metamorphosed to amphibolite facies with only some primary pyrite, zircon and bituminous organic matter preserved. In-situ δ\(^{34}\)S-isotopic values of the sulfide phases and LA-ICP-MS analyses of iron sulfide phases, shows that the earliest pyrite (interpreted to be of syn-sedimentary to early-diagenetic in origin) is trace metal rich. The δ\(^{34}\)S values in these pyrites suggest bacterial sulfate reduction from an open sulfate reservoir. The earliest pyrite is the most metal-rich, suggesting that the original depositional environment facilitated high metal concentrations. The shale package was then metamorphosed releasing trace elements and sulfur that then went on to form their own phases.
Chapter 7 presents new data and insights as to the nature of metamorphic reduction of pyrite to pyrrhotite in black shales. Often this transformation is only considered as proceeding at greenschist facies metamorphism (~300°C, and above). An experimental study, focusing on the magnetic character of pyrite, suggests that the transformation begins at ~177°C. The lower temperature proposed is supported by LA-ICP-MS studies of pyrite and pyrrhotite in Estonian oil shale and diagenetic to catagenetic sulfide concretions in sub-greenschist facies black shales from NW Russia. A model is presented suggesting that the degradation of organic matter during catagenesis is sufficient in producing enough reducing potential to facilitate the initial stages of the transformation to pyrrhotite.
Chapter 8 presents a synthesis of the geochemistry of metal-rich black shales. Some of the most metal-rich black shales worldwide are classified and compared to 'normal' black shales from throughout Earth history. In doing so, a new model is presented which suggests that during the Phanerozoic, plate collisional events led to increased detrital material into basins, leading to increased bio-productivity and atmospheric O\(_2\). With increasing O\(_2\) in the atmosphere, the processes of weathering and erosion became more vigorous leading to further influx of detritus and blooms of bio-productivity promoting the development of water column anoxia. Eventually, the cycle breaks when uptake by organisms exceeds input from the continents, leading to the return of 'normal' black shales and increasing carbon release to the atmosphere. This process is likely to have been the dominant process during the Phanerozoic, where supercontinent cycles are more dynamic and cover greater surface area. However, the Proterozoic also has some of the largest metalliferous, and organic-rich, sediments in the rock record and do not directly correlate to periods of supercontinent amalgamation. Instead, a discussion is presented that addresses the influence of widespread glaciations as a process to effectively erode, whilst simultaneously release oxygen, leading to increased oxidative weather and bio-productivity in their aftermath.


The energy sector will change radically in the next years. The implementation of renewable energy sourees will be fundamentaL The implementation will ask for changes in politica!, organizational and in financial ways. The oil/gas based energy supply will change to a renewable one. What are the ma in characteristics of the Netherlands? How are other countries doing? Most of our daily energy use is ending in heat, how are we dealing with heat and what are the prospective for the Netherlands?


Surface polygonization is the process by which a representative· polygonal mesh of a surface is constructed for rendering or analysis purposes. This work presents a new surface polygonization algo rithm specifically tailored to be applied to a large class of models which are created with parametric surfaces. This method has partic ular application in the area of building virtual environments from computer-aided-design (CAD) models. The algorithm is based on an edge reduction scheme that collapses two vertices of a given polygon edge onto one new vertex. A two step approach is imple mented consisting of boundary edge reduction followed by interior edge reduction. A maximin optimization is used to determine the location of the new vertex. The concept of a visible region as the lo cation space of the new vertex is introduced. The method presented here differs from existing methods in that it takes advantage of the fact that for many models, the exact sur face representation of the model is known -before the polygoniza tion is attempted. Because the precise surface definition is known, a maximin optimization procedure, that uses the surface informa tion, can be used to locate the new vertex. The algorithm attempts to overcome the deficiencies in existing techniques while minimiz ing the number of polygons required to represent a surface and still maintaining surface integrity in the rendered model. This paper pre sents the algorithm and testing results.


Ecosystems can shift between alternative states characterized by persistent differences in structure, function, and capacity to provide ecosystem services valued by society. We examined empirical evidence for alternative states in a semiarid grassland ecosystem where topographic complexity and contrasting management regimes have led to spatial variations in levels of livestock grazing. Using an inventory data set, we found that plots (n = 72) cluster into three groups corresponding to generalized alternative states identified in an a priori conceptual model. One cluster (biocrust) is notable for high coverage of a biological soil crust functional group in addition to vascular plants. Another (grass-bare) lacks biological crust but retains perennial grasses at levels similar to the biocrust cluster. A third (annualized-bare) is dominated by invasive annual plants. Occurrence of grass-bare and annualized-bare conditions in areas where livestock have been excluded for over 30 years demonstrates the persistence of these states. Significant differences among all three clusters were found for percent bare ground, percent total live cover, and functional group richness. Using data for vegetation structure and soil erodibility, we also found large among-cluster differences in average levels of dust emissions predicted by a wind-erosion model. Predicted emissions were highest for the annualized-bare cluster and lowest for the biocrust cluster, which was characterized by zero or minimal emissions even under conditions of extreme wind. Results illustrate potential trade-offs among ecosystem services including livestock production, soil retention, carbon storage, and biodiversity conservation. Improved understanding of these trade-offs may assist ecosystem managers when evaluating alternative management strategies.


Based on the local keypoints extracted as salient image patches, an image can be described as a ¿bag-of-visual-words (BoW)¿ and this representation has appeared promising for object and scene classification. The performance of BoW features in semantic concept detection for large-scale multimedia databases is subject to various representation choices. In this paper, we conduct a comprehensive study on the representation choices of BoW, including vocabulary size, weighting scheme, stop word removal, feature selection, spatial information, and visual bi-gram. We offer practical insights in how to optimize the performance of BoW by choosing appropriate representation choices. For the weighting scheme, we elaborate a soft-weighting method to assess the significance of a visual word to an image. We experimentally show that the soft-weighting outperforms other popular weighting schemes such as TF-IDF with a large margin. Our extensive experiments on TRECVID data sets also indicate that BoW feature alone, with appropriate representation choices, already produces highly competitive concept detection performance. Based on our empirical findings, we further apply our method to detect a large set of 374 semantic concepts. The detectors, as well as the features and detection scores on several recent benchmark data sets, are released to the multimedia community.


These are boom times for the sellers and buyers of cooperation in the federal criminal justice system. While prosecutors have always welcomed the assistance of snitches, tougher federal sentencing laws have led to a significant increase in cooperation as more defendants try to provide "substantial assistance in the investigation or prosecution of another person," to have some chance of receiving a significant sentence reduction. In 1996 one of every five defendants sentenced in the federal courts won mitigation by providing substantial assistance. Many more defendants tried but failed to close the deal. The overheated cooperation market is creating serious problems in the federal criminal justice system. Cooperation is unevenly distributed and subject to wide variations in local practices and policies. While one defendant may receive a very significant sentence reduction for a given kind of assistance to the government, another may receive no reward for the same efforts. The system is rife with individual and district-to-district disparities, a problematic situation in a sentencing regime that values uniform sentencing above all else. The excessive use of cooperation also damages the adversary system by putting too many defendants on the government's team and making the defense lawyer little more than a passive observer of his or her client's case. Finally, widespread cooperation is ethically problematic. Because disloyalty is at the heart of cooperation, snitching engenders almost universal moral ambivalence and we should question whether the government should encourage so much of it. The current rate of cooperation is particularly troubling because a significant portion of snitching brings relatively few concomitant law enforcement benefits. The current rate of cooperation is unjustifiable. Unfortunately, cooperation will remain excessive until the incentives for its use are reduced. Those who make the day-to-day decisions to buy and sell cooperation gain many benefits from the practice and are largely unaffected by the systemic problems of inequity, damage to the adversary system and the moral ambivalence surrounding snitching. The current market for snitches cannot optimize the use of cooperation because these decision-makers internalize the benefits and externalize (and so largely ignore) the costs.


Sir Joseph Banks, K.B., P.R.S., was Lincolnshire's foremost figure of the late 18th. century and his influence within the county was such that few public works were undertaken with which he was not connected. Included in these public works were canal and navigation promotions and major works of drainage of the fenlands which had a secondary navigation function associated with them.

This thesis begins with a brief biography of Sir Joseph which places him in his historical setting both nationally and internationally and is followed by a consideration of his life in his home county. In this his waterways' connections are introduced.

For Sir Joseph to understand waterways~ promotion he had to learn and this process is discussed in detail. Most of this took place outside Lincolnshire and before the periods of 'Canal Mania' and, therefore, he was ideally placed to make use of this acquired expertise for the benefit of his county when the pressure for canal promotion began in Lincolnshire.

The heart of the Lincolnshire systems of canals and navigations is now, as in his day, the River Witham and Banks' role as a Commissioner for drainage and navigation is considered. Included here is his part in the promotion of the drainage of the fens to the east of Boston and the formation of the 'Witham Navigable Drains'.

Each of the Lincolnshire waterways with which he had some connection is discussed as are the details of the various roles he assumed. On the Sleaford Navigation, for example, he was a promoter; on the Horncastle Navigation he was 'President' of the company, while on the Grantham Canal he was a protector of the Witham Trusts' interests during the promotion period.

In his different capacities Sir Joseph was often in contact with the most important canal engineers of his time. With them he developed different relationships and those with William Jessop, John Rennie and George Maxwell are especially investigated in depth.

Finally, an assessment is attempted of the part he played and the significance of his contribution to the promotion and development of the Lincolnshire waterways.


I compare the financial performance, growth, asset mix, risk, operational efficiency, profitability and capital holdings of the 20 largest commercial banks in the U.S. and Europe from 2001-2013. U.S. banks earned significantly larger stock returns than their European counterparts in the post-crisis years, accompanied by higher rates of revenue and loan growth, lower risk, and superior profitability and loan quality. European banks, on the other hand, remain trapped in a downward spiral of negative revenue and loan growth, decreasing profitability, increasing impaired and nonperforming loans, and are sporting market value to debt ratios that suggest imminent insolvency. U.S. banks display their own post-crisis irregularities financially and operationally, however, including unusually low loan loss allowances relative to their impaired loans, paying smaller dividends to investors and lower interest to depositors compared with Eurozone banks, and a full 5% decline in their average effective tax rate compared with the pre-crisis period. U.S. banks appear to be just as well-capitalized and hold lower levels of investment and trading assets than European banks, but regulatory loopholes that allow U.S. banks to account for trillions of dollars of risky derivatives positions off-balance sheet render these comparisons less than fully meaningful. Despite unprecedented central bank intervention, the stock returns of both U.S. and European banks have remained significantly related to market and bank-level fundamentals in the years since the financial crisis. Modeling bank returns as a function of their profitability, growth and solvency explains 44% to 60% of the variation in U.S. and European bank stock prices, respectively.


This article explores barriers to formal volunteering opportunities among young people, aged 12–18, in deprived urban areas in Glasgow, Scotland. It draws on qualitative fieldwork conducted with young volunteers, non-volunteers and youth workers. The article employs Bourdieu's
 concept of 'habitus' to analyse how objective conditions and subjective dispositions created obstacles to participation. Findings indicate that participants were constrained from accessing volunteering due to: resource issues in youth organisations; a lack of support from schools; a lack of
 information; and restrictions on their spatial mobilities. These constraints provided conditions in which volunteering became subject to informal penalties. These were not, however, experienced in a uniform manner but intersected with gender and individual trajectories to create varying opportunities
 for volunteering.


Is it more efficient to rent a car or take taxis while on vacation? How do coupons change demand? MICROECONOMICS: AN INTUITIVE APPROACH WITH CALCULUS explains the economic theory underlying day-to-day choices. The A sections of each chapter introduce concepts using intuition, a conversational writing style, everyday examples, and graphs. The B sections cover the same concepts with accessible mathematical analyses. Each copy includes access to online LiveGraphs -- a suite of interactive, animated graphs that allows you to view dimensional graphs and functions illustrated in the book, as well as some additional graphs that are not in the printed text.LiveGraphs and the Study Guide are accessible through the access code that is included with the purchase of a new text.


Background In patients with diabetes, hospitalization can complicate the achievement of recommended glycemic targets. There is increasing evidence that a closed‐loop delivery system (artificial pancreas) can improve glucose control in patients with type 1 diabetes. We wanted to investigate whether a closed‐loop system could also improve glycemic control in patients with type 2 diabetes who were receiving noncritical care. Methods In this randomized, open‐label trial conducted on general wards in two tertiary hospitals located in the United Kingdom and Switzerland, we assigned 136 adults with type 2 diabetes who required subcutaneous insulin therapy to receive either closed‐loop insulin delivery (70 patients) or conventional subcutaneous insulin therapy, according to local clinical practice (66 patients). The primary end point was the percentage of time that the sensor glucose measurement was within the target range of 100 to 180 mg per deciliter (5.6 to 10.0 mmol per liter) for up to 15 days or until hospital discharge. Results The mean (±SD) percentage of time that the sensor glucose measurement was in the target range was 65.8±16.8% in the closed‐loop group and 41.5±16.9% in the control group, a difference of 24.3±2.9 percentage points (95% confidence interval [CI], 18.6 to 30.0; P<0.001); values above the target range were found in 23.6±16.6% and 49.5±22.8% of the patients, respectively, a difference of 25.9±3.4 percentage points (95% CI, 19.2 to 32.7; P<0.001). The mean glucose level was 154 mg per deciliter (8.5 mmol per liter) in the closed‐loop group and 188 mg per deciliter (10.4 mmol per liter) in the control group (P<0.001). There was no significant between‐group difference in the duration of hypoglycemia (as defined by a sensor glucose measurement of <54 mg per deciliter; P=0.80) or in the amount of insulin that was delivered (median dose, 44.4 U and 40.2 U, respectively; P=0.50). No episode of severe hypoglycemia or clinically significant hyperglycemia with ketonemia occurred in either trial group. Conclusions Among inpatients with type 2 diabetes receiving noncritical care, the use of an automated, closed‐loop insulin‐delivery system resulted in significantly better glycemic control than conventional subcutaneous insulin therapy, without a higher risk of hypoglycemia. (Funded by Diabetes UK and others; ClinicalTrials.gov number, NCT01774565.)


The games industry is evolving and expanding very
rapidly. New game hardware platforms from big vendors
are frequently released in the hope of further
expanding the market. Niche markets such as the
casual games market are also evolving and expanding
rapidly, with the internet as their primary medium
for presentation and distribution. Dot Red Games Ltd.
(www.dotredgames.com) is a newly formed innovative
game software company
which has been working to develop a new game engine
based on Java 1.6 promoted through the casual
market mentioned above. The engine incorporates all
the latest innovations available through 1.6 Java and
the framework is compatible with all major operating
systems, producing very satisfactory results in terms
of graphic effects capabilities, sound support, speed
and responsiveness. A prototype game was developed on
this framework, which involved the design and
implementation of efficient AI algorithms so as to
create interesting artificials opponent capable of
making decisions in real-time. Such an algorithm was
designed, implemented and tested effectively within
the time constraints of this project, fulfilling the
requirements for high quality gameplay.


A new approach to the analysis of grating systems, based on an investigation of the changes of the Fourier spectrum during field propagation through the gratings, is applied to analyze the Fresnel field of an arbitrary system. Detailed considerations of Talbot and grating-shearing interferometers used in various metrological problems are presented. A qualitative analysis of the output fringe patterns is given. The application of the phase-stepping method with the phase shift introduced by lateral and longitudinal translations of gratings is discussed. These theoretical considerations are checked by experiment.


Knowledge representation of reasoning processes is a central notion in the field of artificial intelligence, especially for knowledge-based agents, because such representation facilitates knowledge of action outcomes necessary for optimum performance by problem-solving agents in complex situations. Logic is the primary vehicle by which knowledge is represented in knowledge-based agents. It involves logical inference that produces answers from what is known based on this inference mechanism. Modus Ponens is the best-known rule of inference that is sound. Recently, a dispute has arisen regarding attempts to show that modus ponens is not a valid form of inference. Part of the cause of the controversy is miscommunication of the involved problem. This paper proposes a diagrammatic representation of modus ponens with the hope that such a representation will serve to clarify the issue. The advantage of this diagrammatic representation is a better understanding of the reasoning process behind this inference rule.


Background: Medicinal plants are the basic raw material of various herbal formulations in folk medicine in all over the world. In recent years, regarding quality and safety of plant materials collected from different ecological conditions, there has been a growing worldwide interest in monitoring heavy metal contamination and its effect on plant growth and nutrient uptake in medicinal and aromatic plants. Objectives: In this study, profile of heavy metal and selected nutrient elements (Al, Cd, Co, Cr, Ni, P, K, Ca, S, Fe, Cu, Zn, Mn, B and Na) of three Sideritis species (Sideritis germanicopolitana BORNM, Sideritis galatica BORNM and Sideritis hispida P.H. DAVIS) endemic to Turkey were determined using standard analytical methods. Methods: A scanning ICP–OES (Varian Vista-Pro, Australia) with high-resolution nitrogen purged with 1 m monochromator was used. Al, Cd, Co, Ni, Cr, P, S, K, Ca, Cu, Fe, Mn, B, Zn and Na contents were determined using ICP-OES. Results: The heavy metal and nutrient element concentrations in the Sideritis species were found rather different. Among the three species, Sideritis germanicopolitana showed considerable variation in nutrient concentrations and it was especially rich in iron (365 mg kg-1) and potassium (2.05 %). The heavy metal concentrations of all Sideritis species, on the other hand, were found to be lower than the permissible limits set aside for human consumption with no health risk in medicinal plants. Conclusions: Sideritis species growing wild in Turkey may be considered to be a crucial source of some nutrients like iron and potassium for human nutrition.


This paper presents an infinite horizon dynamic model in which two firms compete in a market vertically differentiated by the qualities of their products and consumers have heterogeneous preferences for quality. Given the product qualities offered, the firms engage in price competition that segments the market. In each period each firm can spend on product innovation that if successful increases the quality of its product. Three types of Markov perfect equilibria are identified. A running–coasting equilibrium exhibits increasing quality dominance with one firm undertaking innovation and the other coasting to free ride on the innovation by the first firm. The firm that coasts can have the larger dynamic payoff, so quality dominance does not imply payoff dominance. A second is a leap‐frog equilibrium in which the trailing firm undertakes innovation to leap into the lead. The trailing firm never innovates solely to narrow the gap with the leader, so catch up strategies are never used. In the third both firms undertake innovation, but if both have innovation successes, product differentiation remains the same and profits are reduced by the cost of innovation. The rivalry between Intel and AMD in microprocessors for personal computers provides a motivating example.