Pseudomonas aeruginosa is an opportunistic Gram‐negative bacterium that is primarily responsible for infections related to cystic fibrosis (CF) airways, burn wounds, urinary tract infections, surgery‐associated infections, and HIV‐related illness. Pyocyanin and extracellular DNA (eDNA) are the major factors dictating the progression of biofilm formation and infection. Pyocyanin is a potent virulence factor causing cell death in infected CF patients and is associated with high mortality. eDNA is a key player in P. aeruginosa biofilm formation and is also responsible for the high viscosity of CF sputum that blocks the respiratory airway passages. In this chapter, we summarize our recent findings on the role of pyocyanin in facilitating P. aeruginosa biofilm formation. Pyocyanin promotes eDNA release in P. aeruginosa by inducing cell lysis mediated via hydrogen peroxide (H 2 O 2 ) production. Pyocyanin intercalates with the nitrogenous bases of DNA and creates structural perturbation on the double‐helix structure. Pyocyanin‐eDNA binding significantly influences P. aeruginosa cell surface hydropho‐ bicity and influences the physicochemical interactions facilitating bacterial cell‐to‐cell interaction (aggregation) and ultimately facilitates robust biofilm formation. A pyocyanin knockout (Δ phzA‐G ) mutant is shown to have significantly reduced eDNA release and biofilm formation in comparison to its wild‐type. To this end, we discover that antioxidant glutathione directly binds to pyocyanin and modulates pyocyanin structure and function, thus inhibiting pyocyanin‐eDNA binding and consequently hampering biofilm development.


Tec kinases are a family of nonreceptor tyrosine kinases with important roles in the differentiation, function, and homeostasis of T cells, B cells, and mast cells. Yang et al. discuss the structure of Tec kinases, their regulation, and their signal transduction pathways in this review. Additionally, the authors provide an overview of the genetic mutations in this kinase family and the associated phenotypes in both humans and mice. Yang, W.-C., Collette, Y., Nunès, J.A., and Olive, D. (2000) Tec kinases: A family with multiple roles in immunity. Immunity 12: 373-382. [Online Journal]


Summary Dalmatian sage (Salvia offi cinalis L.) represents one of the most signifi cant medicinal autochthonous species in fl ora of eastern Adriatic coast and islands. It is evergreen outcrossing perennial subshrub with short woody stems that branch extensively and violet fl owers. Apart from being native to Mediterranean karst of west Balkan and Apenine peninsula it is cultivated in numerous countries worldwide with Mediterranean and temperate continental climate. From the earliest times it has been used in traditional medicine in healing gingiva, mouth cavity and the sore throat, against bacterial and fungal infections, for wound treatment, memory enhancement, for treating common cold, against sweating, stomach infl ammation, ulcer formation, etc. Its essential oil has also been used in preservation of food and as spice as it gives both specifi c aroma and promotes digestion of food. Th e essential oil is extremely complex mixture of diff erent active ingredients; however, the thujones and camphor are the dominant compounds and are the parameter by which S. offi cinalis is distinguished from other Salvia species. Th e great variability of essential oil composition and yield has been detected depending on various factors such as genotype, environmental conditions, phonological stage, plant parts used for the extraction of essential oil and drying procedure. Molecular genetic analysis of S. offi cinalis is still limited and comprises the use of RAPD markers, AFLP and SSR markers in assessing mostly the genetic variability and structure of wild S. offi cinalis populations.


Background and Aims: Diazepam is accepted as a safer drug to medicate in many serious cases, acting as an anticonvulsant, an anxiolytic and a treatment for many types of poisoning. Monitoring it is important in achieving successful treatment and reducing the risk of toxic effects. In this study, it is aimed to develop and validate a sensitive, repeatable, and reliable method based on high-performance liquid chromatographic analysis for the determination in human plasma. Methods: Separation was carried out using a reverse-phase C18 column (4.0 mm x 150 mm, 3 μm) at 30 °C. The solution was prepared with a 10 mM phosphate buffer and acetonitrile (1:1, v/v) was employed as a mobile phase at the isocratic flow with 0.5 mL/min rate. Quantification was applied at 230 nm. A solid-phase extraction method was established and optimized, which was then used in the preparation of the plasma (0.5 mL) samples to the analysis. Results: The method was found to be linear (r 2 = 0.9805) between 100 and 1200 ng/mL. The analysis run was ≤12 min. Intraday and inter-day accuracy were found between -5.78 and 5.93 and precision was ≤1.82%. The limit of detection and quan- tification were calculated as 20.42 and 61.86 ng/mL, respectively. Recovery was found between the range of 95.12% and 106.83%. The method was determined to be robust according to changes in UV, mobile phase organic solvent content, mobile phase pH, column temperature, and operator. Conclusion: This simple, sensitive and reliable method is suggested for accredited-reference laboratories working on the therapeutic drug monitorization and/or overdose-toxicological quantified analysis of diazepam in human plasma. and inter-day precision, accuracy and recovery values. These results were obtained from individual samples (n=3) prepared as quality control samples in real plasma.


When Douglas Mawson planned his Australasian Antarctic Expedition (1911–14) he took advantage of newly available technology. His proposal to use an aeroplane for reconnaissance of unexplored regions in Antarctica was an innovative strategy, a first in polar exploration. He ordered a French‐designed Robert Esnault‐Pelterie (REP) two‐seater monoplane from Vickers Ltd in England. When a test flight in Adelaide ended in a crash, Mawson was forced to revise his plans. He took the engine and fuselage south to use as a motorized sledge or "air‐tractor". This paper details the monoplane's history, including conflicting interpretations of the crash. It outlines the optimistic preparation for the aircraft's alternative role as a motor sledge in Antarctica, its disappointing performance and its eventual abandonment near Mawson's Huts at Commonwealth Bay. Finally, it documents clues that have prompted a renewed search for this important historical artefact. Summer projects to locate and salvage it, using ice‐penetrating radar and other detection methods, have been run in conjunction with other conservation projects conducted by the Mawson's Huts Foundation. We draw on archival research and new discoveries to piece together the fragmented history of the AAE's monoplane.


Economic analysis of competition regulation is most developed in the domain of horizontal mergers, and modern agency guidelines reflect a substantial consensus on the appropriate template for merger assessment. Nevertheless, official protocols are understood to rest on a problematic market definition exercise, to use HHIs and ΔHHIs in ways that conflict with standard models, and more broadly to diverge with how economic analysis of proposed mergers should be and often is conducted. These gaps, unfortunately, are more consequential than is generally appreciated. Moreover, additional unrecognized errors and omissions are at least as important: analysis of efficiencies, which are thought to justify a permissive approach, fails to draw on the most relevant fields of economics; entry is often a misanalyzed afterthought; official information collection and decision protocols violate basic tenets of decision analysis; and single-sector, partial equilibrium analysis is employed despite the presence of substantial distortions (many due to imperfect competition) in many sectors of the economy. This article elaborates these deficiencies, offers preliminary analysis of how they can best be addressed, and identifies priorities for further research.


In recent years, there has been a considerable interest in the application of solid-liquid fluidized bed heat exchangers in various process industries. The importance of these heat exchangers arises from their ability to remove large quantities of heat per unit time and area from a hot surface. The value of the heat transfer coefficient in solid-liquid fluidized beds can be up to 8 times higher than for single phase forced convection, due to the increase in turbulence level. In addition, in cases where severe fouling is expected, any deposits that may form on the heat transfer surfaces are immediately removed by the abrasive action of the particles. Accurate prediction of hydrodynamic design parameters, such as particle terminal velocity, bed voidage, minimum fluidization velocity and its corresponding bed voidage, and heat transfer coefficient is essential for sizing solid-liquid fluidized bed heat exchangers. In recent years, solid-liquid fluidized beds are also finding application in the chemical, petrochemical and mineral process industries in which the liquid phase is viscous with non-Newtonian behavior. In this investigation, after an extensive literature review of the subjects, a complete experimental set-up for measuring particle terminal velocity, bed voidage and heat transfer was constructed. Then, using Newtonian and non-Newtonian liquids experimental results on particle terminal velocity, bed voidage, minimum fluidization velocity and heat transfer were obtained. It is necessary to mention that the term of non-Newtonian in this investigation implies shear-thinning power law liquids. New experimental data were obtained where published results were insufficient. The results were systematically analyzed and compared with previously published models. Particle terminal falling velocity was measured for different spherical and cylindrical particles with Newtonian and non-Newtonian liquids. The results show that for predicting the particle terminal velocity with Newtonian liquids, the correlation suggested by Hartman et al. (1992) has the best accuracy and is suitable. Few attempts have been made to establish the functional dependence on the particle terminal Reynolds number for solutions with non-Newtonian behavior. Therefore, by analyzing the measured data, a correlation for predicting the particle terminal velocity in non-Newtonian liquids was developed that predicts the experimental results with very good accuracy. The minimum fluidization velocity point represents the transition between the fixed and fluidized states. In this study, the minimum fluidization velocity was obtained by plotting pressure drop gradient versus liquid phase Reynolds number for fixed bed and fluidized regime. The results of the present investigation show that the correlation proposed by Wen and Yu (1966) is the best correlation for predicting the minimum fluidization velocity for Newtonian and non-Newtonian solutions if the apparent viscosity is used for Remf and Ar in fluidization with non-Newtonian liquids. Bed voidage was studied for fluidization with Newtonian and non-Newtonian liquids. The different effects of particle and liquid properties such as particle size and density, and liquid viscosity on bed voidage were studied. A new semi-theoretical model was developed which predicts the bed voidage for fluidized beds with Newtonian and non-Newtonian liquids with very good accuracy. Convective heat transfer coefficients were measured for fluidization of various particles with Newtonian and non-Newtonian liquids under constant heat flux. Different effects of operational parameters such as particle size and density, bulk temperature, liquid viscosity and bed voidage were studied. A new model that is based on the findings of this study and on previous investigations was developed for predicting the heat transfer coefficient in solid- liquid fluidized beds with Newtonian and non-Newtonian liquids. This model predicts the experimental data with good accuracy. A data bank of published fluidized bed heat transfer data was obtained and completely revised. The measured heat transfer coefficients in this study and all results in the refined data bank were compared with the predictions of 39 published correlation and also with the present model. For both Newtonian and non- Newtonian liquids, the present model out-performs all others correlations.


Genomics in Aquaculture is a concise, must-have reference that describes current advances within the field of genomics and their applications to aquaculture. Written in an accessible manner for anyone?non-specialists to experts alike?this book provides in-depth coverage of genomics spanning from genome sequencing, to transcriptomics and proteomics. It provides, for ease of learning, examples from key species most relevant to current intensive aquaculture practice.

 Its coverage of minority species that have a specific biological interest (e.g., Pleuronectiformes) makes this book useful for countries that are developing such species. It is a robust, practical resource that covers foundational, functional, and applied aspects of genomics in aquaculture, presenting the most current information in a field of research that is rapidly growing.

 Provides the latest scientific methods and technologies to maximize efficiencies for healthy fish production, with summary tables for quick reference

 Offers an extended glossary of technical and methodological terms to help readers better understand key biological concepts

 Describes state-of-the-art technologies, such as transcriptomics and epigenomics, currently under development for future perspective of the field

 Covers minority species that have a specific biological interest (e.g., Pleuronectiformes), making the book useful to countries developing such species


Much of the extant literature assessing the Austrian Socialist Party's (SDAP) social welfare programs in post-First World War Vienna tends to interpret these as the product of a paternalistic and conservative 'Germanophile' party. Many scholars claim the Socialists suppressed spontaneous working-class political activism, dulling the consciousness of soldiers and workers to the imminent danger to the Republic posed by Austrian fascists. This essay instead proposes that there was a more complex relationship between the SDAP elite and its rank and file than has previously been thought. In attempting to engineer a new socialist society, the party combined progressive and traditional aspects in its welfare programs in an effort to both control and strengthen proletarian political consciousness. The ambiguous results of this program belie claims that the Viennese working class was supine either in the face of the SDAP's 'cultural offensive' or the right-wing reaction.


Abstract The paper examines the utilisation of air power in the 1962 India‐China war and in the 1999 Kargil conflict. The study reveals a certain continuity in the attitudes to the use of offensive air power in limited conflicts. Both in 1962 and in 1999, the use of air power was hedged about with various restrictions. Underlying these appears to be the belief that the use of offensive air power is fundamentally escalatory. Hence there is a hesitation to commit offensive air power assets.


The smart mobile devices have emerged during the past decade and have become one of the most dominant consumer electronic products. Therefore, exploring and understanding the factors which can influence the acceptance of novel mobile technology have become the essential task for the vendors and distributors of mobile devices. The Phablets, integrated smart devices combining the functionality and characteristics of both tablet PCs and smart phones, have gradually become possible alternatives for smart phones. Therefore, predicting factors which can influence the acceptance of Phablets have become indispensable for designing, manufacturing, and marketing of such mobile devices. However, such predictions are not easy. Meanwhile, very few researches tried to study related issues. Consequently, the authors aim to explore and predict the intentions to use and use behaviors of Phablets. The second generation of the Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology (UTAUT2) is introduced as a theoretic basis. The Decision Making Trial and Evaluation Laboratory (DEMATEL) based Network Process (DNP) will be used to construct the analytic framework. In light of the analytic results, the causal relationships being derived by the DEMATEL demonstrate the direct influence of the habit on other dimensions. Also, based on the influence weights being derived, the use intention, hedonic motivation, and performance expectancy are the most important dimensions. The analytic results can serve as a basis for concept developments, marketing strategy definitions, and new product designs of the future Phablets. The proposed analytic framework can also be used for predicting and analyzing consumers' preferences toward future mobile devices.


Many technologies ranging from advanced physical layer antenna transmission schemes to efficient air-interface resource management schemes have been developed for spectrum efficiency improvement for the future wireless networks. However, most of these technologies quickly reach their theoretical limits without much room for further improvement. In order to meet capacity demands from the explosive data traffic growth, heterogeneous networks with base stations of diverse coverage and transmission powers are expected to achieve a high spectral and energy efficiency. Compared to the traditional homogeneous networks, issues such as mobile association, load balancing and interference coordination need to be studied carefully in order to realize the performance gain in a wireless heterogeneous network. In this paper, we propose a new mobile association scheme that jointly maximizes downlink system capacity and minimizes the mobile station (MS) uplink transmitting power. Simulation results show that a significant performance gain on the defined objective function is achieved.


We study global behavior of radial solutions for the nonlinear wave equation with the focusing energy critical nonlinearity in three and five space dimensions. Assuming that the solution has energy at most slightly more than the ground states and gets away from them in the energy space, we can classify its behavior into four cases, according to whether it blows up in finite time or scatters to zero, in forward or backward time direction. We prove that initial data for each case constitute a non-empty open set in the energy space. This is an extension of the recent results by the latter two authors on the subcritical nonlinear Klein- Gordon and Schr¨odinger equations, except for the part of the center manifolds. The key step is to prove the "one-pass" theorem, which states that the transition from the scattering region to the blow-up region can take place at most once along each trajectory. The main new ingredients are the control of the scaling parameter and the blow-up characterization by Duyckaerts, Kenig, and Merle.


The accidental contact between 33kV and 11kV distribution lines is investigated. Experiments conducted on a contrived network showed that during a clash between high voltage and lower voltage conductors, the voltage on the high voltage side is pulled down to the low voltage value. The experimental results were emulated using electromagnetic transient modeling. The modeling was then extended to simulate clashes on a real network as a means of determining settings for protection relays to isolate the excessive fault currents and hence minimise the effects of such incidents.


A search for new heavy resonances decaying to pairs of bosons ( WW , WZ , or WH ) is presented. The analysis uses data from proton-proton collisions collected with the CMS detector at a center-of-mass energy of 13 TeV, corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 137 fb − 1 . One of the bosons is required to be a W boson decaying to an electron or muon and a neutrino, while the other boson is required to be reconstructed as a single jet with mass and substructure compatible with a quark pair from a W , Z , or Higgs boson decay. The search is performed in the resonance mass range between 1.0 and 4.5 TeVand includes a specific search for resonances produced via vector boson fusion. The signal is extracted using a two-dimensional maximum likelihood fit to the jet mass and the diboson invariant mass distributions. No significant excess is observed above the estimated background. Model-independent upper limits on the production cross sections of spin-0, spin-1, and spin-2 heavy resonances are derived as functions of the resonance mass and are interpreted in the context of bulk radion, heavy vector triplet, and bulk graviton models. The reported bounds are the most stringent to date.


The propagation of 300 femtosecond optical pulses in Silicon-on Insulator waveguides has been studied by means of a pump-probe set-up. The ultrafast pulses allowed the observation of large Kerr-induced red and blue shifts (9nm and 15nm, respectively) of the probe signal depending on the delay between pump (1554nm) and probe (1683nm) pulses. A numerical model taking into account the Kerr effect, Two Photon Absorption and Free Carrier Absorption is presented and provides good agreement with our experimental data and data in literature. A microring resonator based device is proposed that exploits the observed wavelength shift for sub-picosecond all-optical switching.


In recent years, there has been considerable interest in the beneficial effects
of probiotics (direct-fed microbials, which include Lactobacillus) to modulate the
lipid metabolism. However, the mechanism(s) involved remains unclear. A series of
experiments was carried out to investigate the ability of 1 2 Lactobacillus strains to
deconj ugate bile salts and to remove cholesterol in vitro, and to assess their potential
as a pro biotic and as a hypolipidaemic agent for broilers and laying hens. Bile salt
hydrolase (BSH) activity (resulting in bile salt deconjugation) of intestinal bacteria
is closely linked to the lowering of cholesterol. The results of the in vitro studies
showed that all the 1 2 Lactobacillus strains could deconjugate sodium glychocholate
(GCA) and sodium taurocholate (TCA) bile salts, and all the strains, except L.
fermentum I 24, had a higher affinity for GCA. However, only eight strains could
deconjugate sodium taurodeoxycholate (TDCA). This indicates that the BSH of the
Lactobacillus strains is substrate specific. The 1 2 Lactobacillus strains showed
significant differences in their ability to reduce cholesterol from the growth medium
(27 to 85 %) with or without bile salt, indicating that bile salt is not a prerequisite for
the removal of cholesterol. Lactobacillus acidophilus I 1 6, L. crispatus I 1 2, L. brevis C 1 7 and I 2 1 1 , and L. Jermentum I 24 and I 25 removed cholesterol from the
growth medium mainly through assimilation of cholesterol into the cells. On the
other hand, L. brevis C 1 , C 1 0, I 23 and I 2 1 8, and L. Jermentum C 1 6 removed
cholesterol through both assimilation and co-precipitation of deconjugated bile salt
with cholesterol at low pH. The Lactobacillus strains assimilated more esterified
than non-esterified cholesterol and the assimilated cholesterol was tightly bound to
the cells. Cells grown in the presence of cholesterol were more resistant to lysis by
sonication than when grown in its absence, suggesting a possible alteration of the
cell wall or membrane by the assimilated cholesterol. Cholesterol removal by the
Lactobacillus strains was also affected by Tween 80.
The feeding trials showed that the supplementation of a mixture of the 1 2
Lactobacillus cultures (LC), as a probiotic for broilers, significantly improved
growth equivalent to that provided by the antibiotic, oxytetracycline, but the feed
conversion ratio was better in LC-fed broilers. The supplementation of LC also
significantly lowered the total cholesterol, low density lipoprotein cholesterol and
triglycerides of the serum; the cholesterol of the carcass and liver; abdominal fat
deposition; and fat contents of the liver, muscle and carcass of broilers; but there
was little effect on the fatty acid compositions of the liver, muscle and carcass.
In laying hens, the supplementation of LC improved the feed efficiency and
hen-day egg production during the early stage of the laying cycle, and increased egg
weight and influenced a shift from small and medium to large and extra large eggs
throughout the laying cycle. However, LC had very little effect on improving the
fatty acid composition, and the cholesterol and total fat contents of eggs.


The purpose of this study was aimed to identify the main causes and prevention of occupational slipping, tripping and falling in Thailand. The results revealed that number of the accidents caused by the occupational slipping, tripping, and falling was high ranked of all occupational accidents in every worldly part. This study consisted of 6 operational processes. Firstly, it involved seeking for statistic data and information about number of the accidents, the Office of Social Security 2008. Secondly, analysis of most frequently-occurred businesses in Thailand was performed. Thirdly, survey planning was established by which the questionnaires were instrumental to gather data and interviewing was carried out with those concerned personnel. Fourthly, selecting the survey site, and lastly, analysis and conclusion was made to identify the causes of the accidents as well as recommendation on prevention of the accidents. The results indicated that the causes of problem consisted of the three following factors; personnel, work-associated equipments and tools, and workplace environment. For personnel factor, the workers were inadvertent while on duty, low educated, lacked of experience and safety skill training, seniority, drunkard or drug addicted. Regarding to work-associated equipments and tools, the workers did not wear the preventive equipments, safety helmet, safety shoes, or working barefooted. Regarding to workplace environment, the ground were blocked, wet and rough, including the climate in wet season from the month of May to October. There were no sign or warning sign of danger. It's suggested that the preventive action for accidents included providing the appropriate training before real performance, prohibiting the alcoholic beverage dirking or the use of illicit drug. Some behaviors should be modified, for examples; the elder workers should be put in the job that is lesser in risk. Consciousness and campaign on safety should be urged. It should invest on safety equipments and safety shoes; including inspecting the ground and installing the easily visual sign or warning sign in risky area.


Many statistical applications require an estimate of a covariance matrix and/or its inverse. When the matrix dimension is large compared to the sample size, which happens frequently, the sample covariance matrix is known to perform poorly and may suffer from ill-conditioning. There already exists an extensive literature concerning improved estimators in such situations. In the absence of further knowledge about the structure of the true covariance matrix, the most successful approach so far, arguably, has been shrinkage estimation. Shrinking the sample covariance matrix to a multiple of the identity, by taking a weighted average of the two, turns out to be equivalent to linearly shrinking the sample eigenvalues to their grand mean, while retaining the sample eigenvectors. Our paper extends this approach by considering nonlinear transformations of the sample eigenvalues. We show how to construct an estimator that is asymptotically equivalent to an oracle estimator suggested in previous work. As demonstrated in extensive Monte Carlo simulations, the resulting bona fide estimator can result in sizeable improvements over the sample covariance matrix and also over linear shrinkage.


Despite converging evidence that major depressive illness is associated with both memory impairment and hippocampal pathology, findings vary widely across studies and it is not known whether these changes are regionally specific. In the present study we acquired brain MRIs (magnetic resonance images) from 31 unmedicated patients with MDD (major depressive disorder; mean age 39.2±11.9 years; 77% female) and 31 demographically comparable controls. Three-dimensional parametric mesh models were created to examine localized alterations of hippocampal morphology. Although global volumes did not differ between groups, statistical mapping results revealed that in MDD patients, more severe depressive symptoms were associated with greater left hippocampal atrophy, particularly in CA1 (cornu ammonis 1) subfields and the subiculum. However, previous treatment with atypical antipsychotics was associated with a trend towards larger left hippocampal volume. Our findings suggest effects of illness severity on hippocampal size, as well as a possible effect of past history of atypical antipsychotic treatment, which may reflect prolonged neuroprotective effects. This possibility awaits confirmation in longitudinal studies.


This is the capstone class for all marketing majors and it allows students to apply their knowledge gained from previous courses within the context of the business-to-business environment. Students will find an industrial product, create a feasibility study, develop a business plan and marketing plan, and execute the marketing plan. Executional elements include branding, logos/icons, website, product brochures, direct marketing campaign, and Google AdWords campaign.


Mesotheliomas are uncommon tumors arising from mesothelial cells lining the serous membranes of the pleura, pericardium, peritoneum, and tunica vaginalis testis. Less than 100 cases arising from the tunica vaginalis testis have been published and, to our knowledge, only 5 cases of cutaneous involvement from these tumors have been reported. We report an additional case with fatal outcome. A 93-year-old man presented with multiple polypoid nodules on the left scrotum. Ulceration was also present, and a firm 5-cm palpable testicular mass was also found. The patient had been exposed to asbestos for 40 years. Histologic examination of a skin biopsy from one of the nodules showed diffuse dermal infiltration of markedly atypical cuboidal cells, with polymorphous and hyperchromatic nuclei. Mitotic figures were common. These cuboidal cells lined clefts, forming a tubular and micropapillary pattern throughout papillary and reticular dermis. Immunohistochemical study showed strong nuclear and cytoplasmic positivity for calretinin, epithelial membrane antigen (cytoplasmic), and cytokeratin-7 (cytoplasmic) and nuclear positivity for Wilms tumor-1. These findings were consistent with cutaneous infiltration from malignant mesothelioma of the tunica vaginalis testis. Treatment of this rare tumor remains challenging because there are currently no recommended guidelines, but radical inguinal orchiectomy is an optimal choice.


Social justice, "justice at the level of a society or state as regards the possession of wealth, commodities, opportunities and privileges" can be found at almost every level of librarianships, from the core values stated by the American Library Association to the practices and principles established in school, public and academic libraries. While not always intentionally practiced, taking the time to be purposeful will allow libraries to continue to serve and learn their communities in ways that are mutually beneficial.


The World's Writing Systems meets the need for a definitive volume on the major historical and modern writing systems of the world. Comprising more than eighty articles contributed by expert scholars in the field, the work is organized in twelve units, each dealing with a particular group of writing systems defined historically, geographically, or conceptually. Each unit begins with an introductory article providing the social and cultural context in which the group of writing systems was created and developed. Articles on individual scripts detail the historical origin of the writing system in question, its structure (with tables showing the forms of the written symbols), and its relationship to the phonology of the corresponding spoken language. Each writing system is illustrated by a passage of text, accompanied by a romanized version, a phonetic transcription, and a modern English translation. Each article concludes with a bibliography. Units are arranged according to the chronological development of writing systems and their historical relationship within geographical areas. First, there is a discussion of the earliest scripts of the ancient Near East. Subsequent units focus on the scripts of East Asia, the writing systems of Europe, Asia, and Africa that have descended from ancient West Semitic ("Phoenician"), and the scripts of South and Southeast Asia. Other units deal with the recent and ongoing process of decipherment of ancient writing systems; the adaptation of traditional scripts to new languages; new scripts invented in modern times; and graphic systems for numerical, music, and movement notation. The result is a comprehensive resource of all of the major writing systems of the world.


We show that it is possible to combine an early phase of String Gas Cosmology which can explain the origin of the observed structures on cosmological scales with a short later period of power law inflation which creates spatial flatness. The resulting model is consistent with the ``swampland criteria'' and the constraints coming from the {\it Trans-Planckian Censorship Conjecture}. Such a construction is not possible using only canonical slow-roll inflation, but it can emerge in the warm inflation scenario or in cold inflation with an exponential potential. The resulting cosmology is non-singular. We discuss the spectrum of cosmological perturbations resulting in our scenario. On large scales (scales which remain larger than the Hubble radius after the initial string gas phase) the spectrum is determined by the thermal string gas fluctuations set up in the primordial phase, and it is almost scale-invariant with a slight red tilt. On small scales, the perturbations produced during the inflationary phase dominate. On these scales, the spectrum is once again nearly scale-invariant. There is an intermediate range (scales which enter the Hubble radius during the period of inflation) where the string gas fluctuations are damped but continue to dominate over those produced during the period of inflation. On these scales the spectrum has a sharp red spectral index of $n_s - 1 \sim -2$.


Tool support for using design patterns in software development has been a failure so far. There are at least two reasons: Either, the tool and its pattern notation have remained incomprehensible for all but the most well-trained developers, or, the tool and notation have been so limiting that they have been of little use at all. The underlying reason for these two problems is a mismatch between two competing needs. Design patterns were introduced to support informal communication in human design activities and have therefore been defined only informally. Tool support, however, requires precise specification to allow for automated application and conformance checking. In this article, by distinguishing design patterns from design templates, I show how to reconcile the need for informal and effective communication with the need for precise specification.


'if AI is outside your field, or you know something of the subject and would like to know more then Artificial Intelligence: The Basics is a brilliant primer.' - Nick Smith, Engineering and Technology Magazine November 2011 Artificial Intelligence: The Basics is a concise and cutting-edge introduction to the fast moving world of AI. The author Kevin Warwick, a pioneer in the field, examines issues of what it means to be man or machine and looks at advances in robotics which have blurred the boundaries. Topics covered include: how intelligence can be defined whether machines can 'think' sensory input in machine systems the nature of consciousness the controversial culturing of human neurons. Exploring issues at the heart of the subject, this book is suitable for anyone interested in AI, and provides an illuminating and accessible introduction to this fascinating subject.


Introduction: The World Health Organization recommends that infants should be exclusively breastfed to achieve optimal growth, development, and health. Nonexclusive breastfeeding (EBF) causes infant malnutrition which is widespread in most developing countries and accounts for 11% of global disease burden. The aim of the study was to determine the effect of integrated nutritional intervention on maternal knowledge, practice of exclusive breastfeeding, and nutritional status of under-five children in two rural communities of Kaduna State, Nigeria. Materials and Methods: The study employed a quasi-experimental design, carried out between November 2014 and June 2015 with baseline, intervention, and postintervention phases in two rural communities of Kaduna State, Nigeria (Dangaiya (Sabon Gari Local Government Area [LGA] and Kufena [Zaria LGA] communities). The intervention was conducted among 167 mother/child pairs independently selected from the study and control areas through a multistage sampling technique. Data were collected using interviewer-administered questionnaire at baseline and 6 months after intervention from both communities. Weights and heights/length of recruited children were measured. Data were analyzed using SPSS statistics software version 20.0. (IBM). Results: The result indicated that malnutrition exists among under-five children in the study area. Postintervention, mothers of the children in the study community had better knowledge of EBF (P = 0.001), duration of EBF (P = 0.001), and recommended total breastfeeding duration (P = 0.001). The change in the malnutrition status of the children was not statistically significant (P > 0.05). Conclusion: In this study, nutritional education of mothers only had positive impact on their level of knowledge of EBF but not on their practice; therefore, there is a need for the Kaduna State Ministry of Health and Local Government Authorities to put in place prolonged (>4 weeks) integrated nutritional interventions with emphasis on correct exclusive breastfeeding practices to improve the level of malnutrition in the state.


The Texas Gulf Sulphur decision began what has become a fifty-year project of developing U.S. insider trading regulation through judicial lawmaking. During the course of that project, the courts developed a complex, fraud-based approach to determining the scope of liability. The approach has led, in many cases, to doctrinal uncertainty, a result that is reflected in the recent decisions in Newman , Salman , and Martoma . In the face of this uncertainty, many commentators have called for a legislative solution. This article argues, however, that the true challenge of insider trading regulation is a lack of consensus about the appropriate scope of the prohibition. On the one hand, insider trading regulation seeks to address the potential unfairness resulting from wealth and privileged access. On the other hand, it seeks to preserve sufficient incentives for research to promote market efficiency. In the face of these competing policy concerns, a legislative definition is likely to be both under- and over-inclusive. Judicial lawmaking may offer a superior alternative because it, unlike legislation, can employ constructive ambiguity—deliberately vague standards that require contextual analysis. By enabling policymakers to maintain ambiguity about the permissible limits on the acquisition and use of market-sensitive information, judicial lawmaking helps to balance the competing concerns that animate the debate over insider trading.


Government seizure of the nation's strikebound steel mills on 8 April 1952 stands as one of President Harry S Truman's most controversial actions, representing an unprecedented use of presidential power. On 8 June 1952 the United States Supreme Court invalidated Truman's order with its monumental decision in Youngstown Sheet and Tube Co. v. Sawyer . The history and significance of this case constitute the subject of Maeva Marcus's meticulously researched, brilliantly analyzed, and authoritative study. From Truman's initial assertion of "inherent" executive power under the Constitution to the High Court's seven opinions, Marcus assesses the influence of the case on the doctrine of separation of powers and, specifically, the nature and practice of executive authority. First published in 1977 (Columbia University Press), and reissued here in paperback with a new foreword by Louis Fisher, this book remains the definitive account of the Steel Seizure incident and its political and legal ramifications.


Background: Perioperative pathologic microvascular bleeding is associated with increased morbidity and mortality and could be reduced by hemostatic drugs. At the same time, safety concerns regarding existing hemostatic agents include excess mortality. Numerous trials investigating desmopressin have lacked power to detect a beneficial effect on transfusion of blood products. The authors performed a meta-analysis of 38 randomized, placebo-controlled trials (2,488 patients) investigating desmopressin in surgery and indicating at least perioperative blood loss or transfusion of blood products. Methods: Pertinent studies were searched in BioMed Central, CENTRAL, and PubMed (updated May 1, 2008). Further hand or computerized searches involved recent (2003‐2008) conference proceedings. Results: In most of the included studies, 0.3 g/kg desmopressin was used prophylactically over a 15- to 30-min period. In comparison with placebo, desmopressin was associated with reduced requirements of blood product transfusion (standardized mean difference 0.29 [0.52 to 0.06] units per patient; P 0.01), which were more pronounced in the subgroup of noncardiac surgery and were without a statistically significant increase in thromboembolic adverse events (57/1,002 5.7% in the desmopressin group vs. 45/979 4.6% in the placebo group; P 0.3). Conclusions: Desmopressin slightly reduced blood loss (almost 80 ml per patient) and transfusion requirements (almost 0.3 units per patient) in surgical patients, without reduction in the proportion of patients who received transfusions. This meta-analysis suggests the importance of further large, randomized controlled studies using desmopressin in patients with or at risk of perioperative pathologic microvascular bleeding.


Security fatigue has been used to describe experiences with online security. This study identifies the affective manifestations resulting from decision fatigue and the role it plays in users' security decisions. A semistructured interview protocol was used to collect data (N = 40). Interview questions addressed online activities; computer security perceptions; and the knowledge and use of security icons, tools, and terminology. Qualitative data techniques were used to code and analyze the data identifying security fatigue and contributing factors, symptoms, and outcomes of fatigue. Although fatigue was not directly part of the interview protocol, more than half of the participants alluded to fatigue in their interviews. Participants expressed a sense of resignation, loss of control, fatalism, risk minimization, and decision avoidance, all characteristics of security fatigue. The authors found that the security fatigue users experience contributes to their cost-benefit analyses in how to incorporate security practices and reinforces their ideas of lack of benefit for following security advice.


Aim: Fluoride at higher concentrations affects various soft tissues, including brain, heart, kidney, and other tissues in addition to dental and skeletal systems. Particularly, in brain it induces various complications such as oxidative stress, alters in the levels of neurotransmitters, and histological changes. The aim of the present study is to report the protective effects of Abelmoschus moschatus seed extract against sodium fluoride-induced neurohistological changes with particular emphasis on myelin degeneration, cell shape, size, and Gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA) as well as aspartate alterations. In addition, antioxidants (glutathione peroxidase [GSH-Px] and superoxide dismutase [SOD]), spatial navigation, and learning ability were observed. Materials and Methods: The pregnancy confirmed Wistar rats were segregated into six groups, five subjects for each and doses started from 1st day of pregnancy. Control group received normal tap water, fluoride group fed on 20 ppm fluoridated water, 3rd group treated with NaF (20 ppm) + A. moschatus aqueous extract (AMAE) (300 mg/kg b. wt.), 4th group received NaF (20 ppm) + A. moschatus ethanolic extract (AMEE) (300 mg/kg b. wt.), and 5th and 6th groups treated with AMAE and AMEE alone. Treatment continued for 51 days (21 gestational and 30 postnatal days [PND]).On PND 1, 7, 14, 21, and 30 rat pups were sacrificed, dissected out the brain and used to assess antioxidants, GABA, aspartate and also used for histological studies. Days 21 and 30, rats were used to behavioral studies before they sacrificed. Results and Discussion: The decreased learning ability is observed in NaF exposed rats compared to control and protective groups of rats. GSH-Px activity is increased and SOD activity is decreased in fluoride received rats. Moreover, GABA and aspartate levels are increased (P < 0.001). The GABA, aspartate, and myelin have a crucial role in the maturation of brain. Decreased neural connections, networks, dendritic branches, and degenerating myelin sheath are observed in NaF intoxicated rats through H and E stain and luxol fast blue stain. These all are reverted on the administration of AMAE and AMEE toward NaF toxicity. AMEE showed good results over AMAE. Conclusion: It is concluded that the seed extract of A. moschatus possesses neuroprotective effects against fluoride toxicity.


This thesis presents the design and optimisation of a microwave hyperthermia antenna system for treatment of head and neck cancer as well as brain cancer. Hyperthermia (HT) has shown the ability to enhance the performance of radiotherapy and chemotherapy in many clinical trials. The incidence of increased tissue toxicity as a result of high radiotherapy dose has made hyperthermia a safe adjuvant treatment to radiotherapy. Although many clinical studies have shown the effectiveness of hyperthermia for treatment of head and neck (H&N) cancer, the presence of large vessels, tissue transitions and critical tissues in the head and neck poses therapeutic challenges for treatment of advanced tumours in this region. Late side-effects of conventional therapies in treatment of brain tumours in children have made hyperthermia an attractive method. However, heating tumours in the brain is even more challenging due to the brain's high levels of sensitivity, thermal conductivity and perfusion. This thesis presents microwave hyperthermia applicators as an efficient means to heat H&N and brain tumours. An ultra-wideband antenna, as the radiating element in microwave hyperthermia applicators, has therefore been designed, built and evaluated. The time-reversal focusing technique is used to target electromagnetic energy into the tumour. The effect of frequency and virtual source positions in the time-reversal method are studied, for different tumour sizes and positions, so as to obtain more accurate treatment planning. The optimal detailed design of the applicator, such as the number of antennae and their positions, are also investigated. The second part of this thesis focuses on applicators for the treatment of brain tumours in children. Helmet applicators are presented and there is an investigation into how the number of antennae and their frequencies affects applicator's performance when heating large, deep-seated brain tumours. Finally, the optimum position of antennae in helmet applicators is discovered by running optimisations on simplified and realistic models of a child's head.


Learn how recent advances are fueling new possibilities in textiles, optics, electronics, and biomedicine!As the field of conjugated, electrically conducting, and electroactive polymers has grown, the Handbook of Conducting Polymershas been there to document and celebrate these changes along the way. Now split into two volumes, this new edition continues to provide the expertise of world-renowned contributors while maintaining the clear format of previous editions as it incorporates the latest developments in both the fundamental science and practical applications of polymers.The first volume in the set focuses on the concepts and basic physical aspects needed to understand the behavior and performance of conjugated polymers. The book describes the theories behind π-conjugated materials and electron–lattice dynamics in organic systems. It also details synthesis methods and electrical and physical properties of the entire family of conducting polymers.Picking up where the first volume left off, the second volume concentrates on the numerous processing methods for conducting polymers and their integration into various devices and applications. It first examines coating, printing, and spinning methods for complex patterned films and fibers. The book then shows how conducting and semiconducting polymers are applied in many devices, such as light-emitting displays, solar cells, field effect transistors, electrochromic panels, charge storage devices, biosensors, and actuators.As the science of conjugated and conducting polymers progresses, further applications will be realized, fueling greater possibilities in textiles, optics, electronics, and biomedicine. This handbook will be there to provide essential information on polymers as well as the most up-to-date developments.


We use ideal axisymmetric relativistic magnetohydrodynamic simulations to calculate the spin-down of a newly formed millisecond, B ∼ 10 15 G, magnetar and its interaction with the surrounding stellar envelope during a core-collapse supernova (SN) explosion. The mass, angular momentum and rotational energy lost by the neutron star are determined self-consistently given the thermal properties of the cooling neutron star's atmosphere and the wind's interaction with the surrounding star. The magnetar drives a relativistic magnetized wind into a cavity created by the outgoing SN shock. For high spin-down powers (∼10 51 ―10 52 erg s ―1 ), the magnetar wind is superfast at almost all latitudes, while for lower spin-down powers (∼10 50 erg s ―1 ), the wind is subfast but still super-Alfvenic. In all cases, the rates at which the neutron star loses mass, angular momentum and energy are very similar to the corresponding free wind values (≤30 per cent differences), in spite of the causal contact between the neutron star and the stellar envelope. In addition, in all cases that we consider, the magnetar drives a collimated (∼5―10°) relativistic jet out along the rotation axis of the star. Nearly all of the spin-down power of the neutron star escapes via this polar jet, rather than being transferred to the more spherical SN explosion. The properties of this relativistic jet and its expected late-time evolution in the magnetar model are broadly consistent with observations of long duration gamma-ray bursts (GRBs) and their associated broad-lined Type Ic SN.


All treatments for fever are based on the belief that fits is the result of 41 degree Celsius temperature and it damages cells of brain and body. At the same time there is no evidence based tests or concrete diagnosing methods to the belief that fits and brain damage is the result of pyrexia.

Necessary ingredients to destroy brain cells and fits cannot be seen in fever.In pyrexia or absence of fever a fainted patient fell on the floor with unconscious state and destroy cells of brain, and necessary ingredients to become conscious are same.

When disease increases essential blood circulation and energy level also decreases. The vertical height between heart and brain is more than one feet. When the disease becomes severe, ability to pump the blood to the brain decreases. As a result of this brain cells are damaged. so the patient might be paralyzed or may even die.
In pyrexia or absence of fever, when blood flow to the brain decreases and fits are formed. There is no other way than this to increase blood circulation to the brain.It is a sensible and discreet action of brain to protect the life or organ.
 Recovery from Fits.
The patient become conscious before the time to get decreasing the temperature of fever. When the fainted patient lie on the floor, the vertical height between heart and brain is decreased, blood circulation increased to brain.
 Self checking methods.
When the fainted patient lie on the floor,The patient can stand straight and lie on bed alternatively.Then the patient can experience himself the intensity of blood circulation.T he patient can experience when he stand his blood circulation decreases and when lie on the bed the blood circulation decreases.Besides that he can also experience increased blood circulation when lie on the bed raise the foot higher than head.


This ambitious volume, edited by clinical scholar Frank S. Bloch with contributions from clinicians at forty-three law schools spanning six continents, begins an essential dialogue about the meaning of the spread of clinical legal education across borders. I argue here that the meaning of this programmatic spread remains uncertain, contingent, and contested. Indeed, this volume should cause us to question the contested meaning and purposes underlying clinical legal education at law schools both within and outside of the United States. I argue for thick description of the content of clinical work and the contexts in which clinics operate. The goal of subsequent scholarship in this area should be to develop taxonomies of institutional form that allow us to assess and further develop clinical legal education. Second, I argue for nuanced description of the movement of people and ideas across borders so as to understand more fully the relationships between clinics in different parts of the world, as well as to consider how clinical legal education fits within larger theoretical frameworks in the field, such as law and development theory. Third, I argue for a theory of justice education that captures the dynamics between experiential education, legal education, legal profession, and civil society and nation. I contend that making law clinics and law schools more permeable to social movements ought to be a central strategy in the development of justice education both in the United States and abroad.


The design and development of a type secure persistent object store is presented as part of an architecture to support experiments in concurrency, transactions and distribution. The persistence abstraction hides the physical properties of data from the programs that manipulate it. Consequently, a persistent object store is required to be of unbounded size, infinitely fast and totally reliable. A range of architectural mechanisms that can be used to simulate these three features is presented. Based on a suitable selection of these mechanisms, two persistent object stores are presented. The first store is designed for use with the programming language PS-algol. Its design is evolved to yield a more flexible layered architecture. The layered architecture is designed to provide each distinct architectural mechanism as a separate architectural layer conforming to a specified interface. The motivation for this design is two-fold. Firstly, the particular choice of layers greatly simplifies the resulting implementation and secondly, the layered design can support experimental architecture implementations. Since each layer conforms to a specified interface, it is possible to experiment with the implementation of an individual layer without affecting the implementation of the remaining architectural layers. Thus, the layered architecture is a convenient vehicle for experimenting with the implementation of persistent object stores. An implementation of the layered architecture is presented together with an example of how it may be used to support a distributed system. Finally, the architecture's ability to support a variety of storage configurations is presented.


The Permian-Triassic boundary records the most severe mass extinctions in Earth's history. Siberian flood volcanism, the most profuse known such subaerial event, produced 2 million to 3 million cubic kilometers of volcanic ejecta in approximately 1 million years or less. Analysis of 40Ar/39Ar data from two tuffs in southern China yielded a date of 250.0 � 0.2 million years ago for the Permian-Triassic boundary, which is comparable to the inception of main stage Siberian flood volcanism at 250.0 � 0.3 million years ago. Volcanogenic sulfate aerosols and the dynamic effects of the Siberian plume likely contributed to environmental extrema that led to the mass extinctions.


This study was carried out to determine the methods that bear the most realistic results in predicting the number of fires and burned area under the climate conditions in future. Different indices and statistical methods were used in predicting the burned area and the number of fires. With this aim, in addition to the indices used in estimating the climate, Machine Learning and multivariate adaptive regression spline (MARS) models are also used in predicting these factors. According to the results obtained in several studies, the relationship between the drought and fire indices burned area and the number of fires changes from region to region. While better results are obtained in predicting the burned area and the number of fires via the drought indices being used in this study and the MARS models that the combinations of these indices use, it is seen that a 30–39% success was achieved for predicting the amount of burned area via Machine Learning methods (Kernel Nearest Neighbor (kNN), Recursive Partitioning and Regression Trees (RPART), Support Vector Machine (SVM) and RF), and this success ranges widely from 8 to 41% in terms of the number of fires. RPART, of these four algorithms, performed the best in fire prediction, but kNN was the worst.


8H-SiC epilayers grown on small 8H-SiC Lely platelets are investigated optically using photoluminescence spectroscopy. At low temperature the near band gap emission detected in the 2.78 to 2.67 eV range contains sharp lines associated to nitrogen-bound-exciton recombination. Three different no-phonon lines are detected accompanied by their phonon replicas. Free-exciton replicas are also observed which allows the determination of the excitonic band gap. The binding energy of the bound excitons can thus be determined and the ionization energies of the three nitrogen levels in 8H-SiC are estimated and found to be rather shallow compared to the values for other hexagonal polytypes. Additional bound-exciton lines are observed when the experimental photoluminescence temperature is increased.


Initial inequality in endowments and opportunities, together with low average levels of endowments, can create constituencies in a society that combine to paralyze reforms, even though the status quo hurts them collectively. Each constituency prefers reforms that expand its opportunities, but in an unequal society, this will typically hurt another constituency's rents. Competitive rent preservation ensures no comprehensive reform path may command broad support. Though the initial conditions may well be a legacy of the colonial past, persistence does not require the presence of coercive political institutions, perhaps one reason why underdevelopment has survived independence and democratization. Instead, the roots of underdevelopment may lie in the natural tendency towards rent preservation in a divided society.


Spreading processes are ubiquitous in natural and artificial systems. They can be studied via a plethora of models, depending on the specific details of the phenomena under study. Disease contagion and rumor spreading are among the most important of these processes due to their practical relevance. However, despite the similarities between them, current models address both spreading dynamics separately. In this paper, we propose a general information spreading model that is based on discrete time Markov chains. The model includes all the transitions that are plausible for both a disease contagion process and rumor propagation. We show that our model not only covers the traditional spreading schemes, but that it also contains some features relevant in social dynamics, such as apathy, forgetting, and lost/recovering of interest. The model is evaluated analytically to obtain the spreading thresholds and the early time dynamical behavior for the contact and reactive processes in several scenarios. Comparison with Monte Carlo simulations shows that the Markov chain formalism is highly accurate while it excels in computational efficiency. We round off our work by showing how the proposed framework can be applied to the study of spreading processes occurring on social networks.


Dekalb, IL, United States Aug 1995 May 1997 Summary I am passionate about Intelligence from and Social Interaction with Information. I am a leader and visionary. I am successful at building and leading high performance marketing, product management and consulting teams for global software development and services organizations with annual revenues exceeding $100 million. I combine business management and operational expertise with innovation, creativity, and exceptional public communication skills. I establish the strategy and vision to increase revenues and expand market share throughout and following an acquisition. I follow through with quantifiable results. I conceive. I collaborate. I deliver.


Multi-collector inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (MC-ICP-MS) enables the precise determination of mercury (Hg) isotopic compositions in different types of samples. However, isotopic measurements in samples with low Hg concentrations and small sample mass remain a challenge. In this study, we developed an optimized protocol for high precision Hg isotope determination using a modified cone arrangement (X skimmer cone + jet cone) with Neptune Plus MC-ICP-MS. Through modification of the HGX-200 continuous-flow cold-vapor generation system, and careful optimization of the instrument gas flow rates, we obtained steady and high signal sensitivity for Hg (202Hg: 1.78 V per ng mL−1). Our method allowed the precise determination of low Hg concentration in solutions (0.10 ng mL−1), which is the lowest according to the literature. Only 0.70 ng Hg in samples was required according to our new analytical method, which enables the direct measurement of low Hg concentration in samples (down to 5 ng g−1), after direct acid digestion treatment. Using our method, the Hg isotopic compositions of four igneous rock standard reference materials (BCR-2, BHVO-2, GSP-2, and GSR-2) were reported for the first time. The standard reference materials showed large variations of δ202Hg (−1.24 to −2.47‰), indicating that mass dependent fractionation (MDF) of Hg isotopes occurred during magmatic processes.


Abstract. Airglow imaging at mid-latitude stations often show intensity modulations associated with medium scale travelling ionospheric disturbances (MSTID), while those carried out near the equatorial regions reveal depletions caused by equatorial plasma bubbles (EPB). Two all sky cameras are used to observe plasma depletions in the 630.0 nm emission over the equatorial ionization anomaly (EIA) region, Taiwan (23° N, 121° E; 13.5° N Magnetic) during 1998–2002 and 2006–2007. The results show EPB and MSTID depletions in different solar activity conditions. Several new features of the EPB depletions such as bifurcation, secondary structure on the walls, westward tilt, etc., are discussed in this paper. Evidence of tilted depletions with secondary structures developing on the eastern wall that later evolve to appear as bifurcations, are presented for the first time. Moreover, detail investigations are carried out using International Reference Ionosphere (IRI) model as well as the electron density from Ionosonde and Global Positioning System (GPS) Occultation Experiment (GOX) onboard FORMOSAT-3/COSMIC satellite, to understand the conditions that favor the propagation of MSTID to the latitude of Taiwan.


Vection is an illusion of visually-induced self-motion in a stationary observer. This functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) study measured psychophysical and blood oxygenation level-dependent (BOLD) responses to four different visual stimuli: (1) coherent optic flow simulating smooth forward self-motion, (2) coherent optic flow simulating forward self-motion combined with vertical head oscillation, and (3,4) scrambled versions of 1 and 2 respectively (which preserved local, but disrupted global, motion information). These stimuli were specifically designed to examine the interaction between visual and vestibular cortical regions during vection. The two coherent optic flow stimuli produced robust percepts of vection while the scrambled stimuli produced little or no vection. Of the putative self-motion areas we examined, the cingulate sulcus visual area (CSv) showed the clearest selective activation for coherent optic flow compared to incoherent (scrambled) flow suggesting that CSv is heavily involved in self-motion processing. Other regions such as parieto-insular vestibular cortex (PIVC), and precuneus visual region (Pc) showed change in BOLD activity during vection-inducing stimuli but to a lesser extent than CSv. These findings help clarify the relationship between visual and vestibular cortical regions during vection and highlight CSv as a region of primary importance in self-motion processing. Meeting abstract presented at VSS 2015.


The topic of my thesis is the insanity defense. The insanity defense is a tactic that is rarely used and rarely successful. Generally states fall into three categories: Those who use the M'Naghten rule of law, those who use the American Law Institute (ALI) Model Penal Code, and those who have abolished the use of the insanity defense. This research compares states from each category to investigate whether or not the type of rule used affects the outcome. In order to determine whether these categories matter, the paper compares similar appellate felony case outcomes in New Jersey and North Carolina, Michigan and Oregon, and Utah and Nevada. The states were chosen based on how representative they were of all of the states in their respective categories. The expectation was that different insanity defense laws will have a marginal impact on the outcome. The expectation was found to be true, even with the limited availability of cases, after analyzing each state's statue and the cases, the conclusion was that the rule of law used to evaluate the insanity of defendants or lack of a law has little or no affect on the outcome each insanity defense cases. Degree Type Open Access Senior Honors Thesis Subject Categories Legal Studies This open access senior honors thesis is available at DigitalCommons@EMU: http://commons.emich.edu/honors/244 The Insanity Defense: A Comparative Analysis Kristin R. Neville Eastern Michigan University Table of


Mrs. Logan has been treated with intraperitoneal hyperthermic chemotherapy, often called "shake and bake." She was in the intermediate care unit on hemodialysis and was being weaned from the ventilator, and her cancer was complicated by shingles. Staff members sometimes thought her level of consciousness varied because she did not respond or follow commands. She later told her husband there were times when she had chosen not to respond, when she was not being "treated like a person." Another patient once told Debbie, "I feel like a "trick dog? when I?m constantly asked to "stick out your tongue, squeeze your eyes tight, squeeze my hand.?" One day, Debbie was assigned to take care of Mrs. Logan. She had worked with Mrs. Logan before, and she knew it was important to take time to ensure everything was "done right" for Mrs. Logan. Getting the XeroformTM dressing and ointments on the herpes zoster (shingles) lesions on her back and keeping the sheet taut were crucial for the patient?s comfort. Debbie talked with Mr. and Mrs. Logan while performing this care, explaining what she was doing and acknowledging their need to participate in Mrs. Logan?s care. Debbie also listened to Mr. Logan?s concerns. He was worried the liquid ferrous sulfate was making his wife nauseous when it was administered through her gastrostomy tube. Debbie explained because the medicine was ordered twice daily, it was given at default times. She then contacted the pharmacy to have the times changed so the medicine would be given at the same time as her bolus tube feedings when Mrs. Logan had food in her stomach.


This work addresses important issues of photonic crystal fiber (PCF) interferometers built by fusion splicing: high insertion loss, low mechanical strength, and complex multiplexing schemes. We have found that by decreasing the length of the collapsed region in these interferometers, the overall insertion losses diminish (down to 0.7 dB) without compromising their performance and mechanical strength. To multiplex such interferometers, we have used the frequency-division-multiplexing technique combined with a simple fast Fourier transform demodulation method. To avoid crosstalk between the interferometers, we have calculated the optimal relationship between their periods. The results reported here may allow the development of functional and competitive PCF devices or PCF-based sensor networks and can be adapted to multiplex any other optical fiber sensors that exhibit sinusoidal patterns.


The methods presented in this thesis follow the three-phase process for System-of-Systems Engineering (SoSE): Definition, Abstraction, and Implementation. It begins with problem definition, then identification of stakeholders and value measures, and then proceeds to value and cost analysis using the Modeling Architectures and Parameterization of Space (MAPS) environment, which was created for this thesis. Each of the methods are applied to the case study of a persistent platform in low-Earth orbit. In the case study, over 18,000 architectures were analyzed to determine the design characteristics that best balanced value and cost. Several strategies for demonstrating On-Orbit Servicing, Assembly, and Manufacturing (OSAM) technologies in orbit have been presented to the public over time, but this thesis has defined physical architecture design options and relevant value measures. In addition, the full SoSE process was applied to an OSAM concept for the first time. This work is therefore a significant step towards providing future insight to decision makers. The dialogue on these topics and the SoSE methods should be valuable to a future OSAM market and other new ventures in the space industry.


The Harderian gland of the female golden hamster contains an average of forty times more mast cells in the interstitial tissue than the male gland. A similar sex difference occurs in the connective tissue capsule of the gland. Mast cell numbers in the male Harderian gland increase greatly between two and five months after castration, reaching levels comparable to those found in the female. This postcastrational rise in mast cell numbers is prevented by androgen administration; furthermore, if mast cell numbers are allowed to increase in castrates, subsequent androgen administration will reverse the rise. There is no obvious relationship between mast cell numbers in the Harderian gland of the female hamster and the porphyrin content of the gland.


In this paper, a multiagent-based voltage and reactive power control in the case of a multiple contingency is presented. Incorporating the agent-based autonomous feature to the intelligence of the remote terminal units, the present power system control structure can be used to help in preventing system voltage collapse during catastrophic disturbances. The control algorithm is based on a decentralized architecture of intelligent agents and the determination of a local zone that can carry out quick countermeasures in a decentralized manner as a multiagent system (MAS) during an emergency situation. An adaptive determination of the local zones undergoing voltage collapse has been developed based on the electrical distances among the generators and loads. Once assigned, the elements of the Jacobian matrix can be used to determine the optimum actions that need to be carried out at each power system element (such as increasing the voltages of generators and load shedding) within the assigned local zone. The contract net protocol is used for agent interactions. Simulation results using the IEEE-57 bus system show that the proposed method can act quickly to respond to emergency conditions to ensure that voltage collapse can be avoided.


Empathy should characterize all health care professions. Despite advancement in medical technology, the healing relationship between physicians and patients remains essential to quality care. We propose that physicians consider empathy as emotional labor (ie, management of experienced and displayed emotions to present a certain image). Since the publication of Hochschild's The Managed Heart in 1983, researchers in management and organization behavior have been studying emotional labor by service workers, such as flight attendants and bill collectors. In this article, we focus on physicians as professionals who are expected to be empathic caregivers. They engage in such emotional labor through deep acting (ie, generating empathy-consistent emotional and cognitive reactions before and during empathic interactions with the patient, similar to the method-acting tradition used by some stage and screen actors), surface acting (ie, forging empathic behaviors toward the patient, absent of consistent emotional and cognitive reactions), or both. Although deep acting is preferred, physicians may rely on surface acting when immediate emotional and cognitive understanding of patients is impossible. Overall, we contend that physicians are more effective healers--and enjoy more professional satisfaction--when they engage in the process of empathy. We urge physicians first to recognize that their work has an element of emotional labor and, second, to consciously practice deep and surface acting to empathize with their patients. Medical students and residents can benefit from long-term regular training that includes conscious efforts to develop their empathic abilities. This will be valuable for both physicians and patients facing the increasingly fragmented and technological world of modern medicine.


Multidrug resistance (MDR) in the nosocomial pathogen Acinetobacter baumannii limits therapeutic options and impacts on clinical care. Resistance against carbapenems, a group of last-resort antimicrobials for treating MDR A. baumannii infections, is associated with the expression (and over-expression) of carbapenemases encoded by the blaOXA genes. The aim of this study was to determine the prevalence of antimicrobial resistant A. baumannii associated with infection in three hospitals in southern Vietnam and to characterise the genetic determinants associated with resistance against carbapenems. We recovered a total of 160 A. baumannii isolates from clinical samples collected in three hospitals in southern Vietnam from 2012 to 2014. Antimicrobial resistance was common; 119/160 (74%) of isolates were both MDR and extensively drug resistant (XDR). High-level imipenem resistance (>32µg/ml) was determined for 109/117 (91.6%) of the XDR imipenem non-susceptible organisms, of which the majority (86.7%) harboured the blaOXA-51 and blaOXA-23 genes associated with an ISAba1 element. Multiple-locus variable number tandem repeat analysis (MLVA) segregated the 160 A. baumannii into 107 different MLVA types, which described five major clusters. The biggest cluster was a clonal complex comprised mainly of imipenem resistant organisms that were isolated from all three of the study hospitals. Our study indicates a very high prevalence of MDR/XDR A. baumannii causing clinically significant infections in hospitals in southern Vietnam. These organisms commonly harboured the blaOXA-23 gene with ISAba1 and were carbapenem resistant; this resistance phenotype may explain their continued selection and on-going transmission within the Vietnamese healthcare system.


A 2D unsteady computational fluid dynamics (CFD) model is employed to simulate buoyancy-driven turbulent ventilation in attics with different pitch values and ceiling insulation levels under summer conditions. The impacts of roof pitch and ceiling insulation on the cooling load of gable-roof residential buildings are investigated based on the simulation of turbulent air flow and natural convection heat transfer in attic spaces with roof pitches from 3/12 to 18/12 combined with ceiling insulation levels from R-1.2 to R-40. The modeling results show that the air flows in the attics are steady and exhibit a general streamline pattern that is qualitatively insensitive to the investigated variations of roof pitch and ceiling insulation. Furthermore, it is predicted that the ceiling insulation plays a control role on the attic cooling load and that an increase of roof pitch from 3/12 to 8/12 results in a decrease in the cooling load by around 9% in the investigated cases. The results suggest that the increase of roof pitch alone, without changing other design parameters, has limited impact on attics cooling load and airflow pattern. The research results also suggest both the predicted ventilating mass flow rate and attic cooling load can be satisfactorily correlated by simple relationships in terms of appropriately defined Rayleigh and Nusselt numbers.


Perception and reasoning are two representative abilities of intelligence that are integrated seamlessly during human problem-solving processes. In the area of artificial intelligence (AI), the two abilities are usually realised by machine learning and logic programming, respectively. However, the two categories of techniques were developed separately throughout most of the history of AI. In this paper, we present the abductive learning targeted at unifying the two AI paradigms in a mutually beneficial way, where the machine learning model learns to perceive primitive logic facts from data, while logical reasoning can exploit symbolic domain knowledge and correct the wrongly perceived facts for improving the machine learning models. Furthermore, we propose a novel approach to optimise the machine learning model and the logical reasoning model jointly. We demonstrate that by using abductive learning, machines can learn to recognise numbers and resolve unknown mathematical operations simultaneously from images of simple hand-written equations. Moreover, the learned models can be generalised to longer equations and adapted to different tasks, which is beyond the capability of state-of-the-art deep learning models.


The chemical weathering of rocks with sulfuric acid is usually not considered in reconstructions of the past evolution of the carbon cycle, although this reaction delivers cations and alkalinity to the ocean without involvement of atmospheric CO 2 . The contribution of sulfuric acid as a weathering agent is still poorly quantifi ed; the identifi cation of riverine sulfate sources is diffi cult. The use of δ 34 S and δ 18 O of dissolved sulfate allows us to demonstrate that most of the sulfate in surface waters of the Mackenzie River system, Canada, derives from pyrite oxidation (85% ± 5%) and not from sedimentary sulfate. The calculated fl ux of pyrite-derived sulfate is 0.13 ◊ 10 12 mol/yr, corresponding to 20%‐27% of the estimated global budget. This result suggests that the modern global ocean delivery of sulfi de-derived sulfate, and thus chemical weathering with sulfuric acid, may be signifi cantly underestimated. A strong correlation between sulfi de oxidation rates and mechanical erosion rates suggests that the exposure of fresh mineral surfaces is the rate-limiting factor of sulfi de oxidation in the subbasins investigated. The chemical weathering budget of the Mackenzie River shows that more than half of the dissolved inorganic carbon discharged to the ocean is ancient sedimentary carbon from carbonate (62%) and not atmospheric carbon (38%). The subsequent carbonate precipitation in the ocean will thus release more CO 2 in the atmosphere-ocean system than that consumed by continental weathering, typically on glacial-interglacial time scales.


There is growing need of oil and mineral resources in the mainland. The Arctic can cater to China's future needs. In June 2014, a strategic assessment prepared by Defence Policy Research Centre of the of Academy of military science of PLA pointed, the arctic as a key source of oil and gas as well as means of transport fossil fuels and other goods, even going as far to suggest that the region could be a 'new Middle East and provide a new lifeline for China. Notably, access to the resources is crucial to China's future economic, political and military expansion as a global power. It is already engaged in five year assessment 2011-2016 of the polar resources and governance that will help to formulate a better policy towards the region.

At the bilateral level, China is engaging in proactive diplomacy with the Arctic states; Iceland, Greenland, Denmark, Norway and Sweden. Also it is trying to avoid any conflict states such as Russia, Canada and the US that are closely associated with the region. China has also started developing bilateral relations with Arctic states. Unlike, the South China Sea and the East China Sea Chinese policies in the region will be pragmatic and no aggressive policies can be expected in this region. China has been advocating that Arctic is still under international waters and widely supports the term 'global commons' vis-a-via the Arctic. It is closely watching the policy of littoral states towards the region and is trying to build gather supports from other countries that will share Chinese concerns on the issue of 'global commons' to Arctic resources, high seas and seabed resources.

Interestingly, in 2013 India was also granted the 'Observer Status' along with China. Since 2008, India already has a research station called Himadri and is looking forward to induct a Polar Research Vessel (ice-breaker, research cum supply vessel).Indian interests are not as assertive as the Chinese wherein they have declared themselves as 'near arctic state. Nonetheless, recently India is trying to expand its diplomatic relation with the littoral countries of the region.


Current threat modeling methodologies and tools are biased toward systems under development. While, organizations whose IT portfolio is made up of a large number of legacy systems, that run on fundamentally different and incongruous platforms and with little or no documentation, are left with few options. Rational, objective analysis of threats to assets and exploitable vulnerabilities requires, the portfolio to be represented in a consistent and understandable way based on a systematic, prescriptive, collaborative process that is usable but not burdensome. This paper describes a way to represent an IT portfolio from a security perspective using UML deployment diagrams and, subsequently, a process for threat modeling within that portfolio. To accomplish this, the UML deployment diagram was extended, a template created, and a process defined.


Current aggregation systems either have a single inbuilt aggregation mechanism or require applications to specify an aggregation policy a priori. It is hard to predict the read and write access patterns in large systems and hence applications built on such systems suffer from inefficient network usage. We present Shruti, a system that demonstrates a general approach for self-tuning the aggregation aggressiveness to the measured workload in the system, thus optimizing the overall communication costs (e.g., the number of messages exchanged on read and write operations).


The massive advances in information and communication technology (ICT), in the last few decades, encouraged many developed and developing countries to invest in the ICT sector in education. The internet, computers, interactive whiteboards and an assortment of other technological tools have now turned out to be valuable teaching and learning resources. Saudi Arabia is not in isolation from this, they have invested heavily in the ICT field. However, the progression has often been disappointing; there is still a great gap between the availability of ICT technology and methods of implementation, resulting in a number of serious questions being raised for decision-makers and educators alike. One of the most important of these questions is 'what factors affect the successful implementation of ICT in schools'. Hence, the importance of this study is to find an answer to this question and related questions from the participants' perspective. Consequently, the research issue is addressed through a cross-sectional case study strategy, qualitative and quantitative mixed-method choices. In addition, a closed questionnaire and semi-structured interviews were used to collect data from four different perspectives (head teachers, teachers, students in Jeddah secondary school and two ICT directors in Saudi Ministry of Education. Generally, the results showed that ICT was perceived as an important tool in improving performance, collaboration, learning experience and learning outcomes. However, the study found some challenges that affect the application of ICT in Saudi schools, for example, the lack of space, resources, maintenance, a lack of ICT skills among school along with a lack in ICT training and a lack of clear ICT policies. However, the overcoming of such challenges could turn them from 'challenges 'into 'positive factors' to aid in the success of ICT implementation. Hence, the importance of this research is to suggest a strategic approach to guide decision-makers, educators and further studies in the future to promote the successful implementation of ICT in education, in general, and in Saudi secondary schools in particular.


This study aims to examine how science, technology, engineering, and mathematics doctoral students interact with postdocs within the research laboratory, identifying the nature and potential impacts of student–postdoc mentoring relationships.,Using a sample of 53 doctoral students in the biological sciences, this study uses a sequential mixed-methods design. More specifically, a phenomenological approach enabled the authors to identify how doctoral students make meaning of their interactions with postdocs and other research staff. Descriptive statistics are used to examine how emergent themes might differ as a product of gender and race/ethnicity and the extent to which emergent themes may relate to key doctoral student socialization outcomes.,This study reveals six emergent themes, which primarily focus on how doctoral students receive instrumental and psychosocial support from postdocs in their labs. The most frequent emergent theme captures the unique ways in which postdocs provide ongoing, hands-on support and troubleshooting at the lab bench. When examining how this theme plays a role in socialization outcomes, the results suggest that doctoral students who described this type of support from postdocs had more positive mental health outcomes than those who did not describe this type of hands-on support.,Literature on graduate student mentorship has focused primarily on the impact of advisors, despite recent empirical evidence of a "cascading mentorship" model, in which senior students and staff also play a key mentoring role. This study provides new insights into the unique mentoring role of postdocs, focusing on the nature and potential impacts of student–postdoc interactions.


Register allocation, in high-level synthesis and ASIP design, is the process of determining the number of registers to include in the resulting circuit or processor. The goal is to allocate the minimum number of registers such that no scalar variable is spilled to memory. Previously, an optimal polynomial-time algorithm for this problem has been presented for individual procedures represented in Static Single Assignment (SSA) Form. This result is now extended to complete programs (or sub-programs), as long as: (1) each procedure is represented in SSA Form; and (2) at every procedure call, all live variables are split at the call point. With this representation, it is possible to ensure that the interprocedural interference graph (IIG) is chordal, and can therefore be colored optimally in polynomial time. An optimal coloring of the IIG can be achieved by allocating registers for each procedure individually. Previous work has shown that optimal register allocation in SSA Form does not require an interference graph. Optimal interprocedural register allocation, therefore, is achieved without constructing an interference graph, giving the optimal algorithm a significant runtime advantage over prior sub-optimal heuristics.


Abstract In the early 1830s and 1840s, a British colonial official by the name of Colonel James Low uncovered evidence for an early culture with Indic traits in a river system known as the Bujang Valley. On the west coast of the Thai-Malay peninsula, the Bujang Valley is today located in the Malaysian state of Kedah. However, it wasn't until just before World War II that excavations took place, conducted by H. G. Quaritch Wales and his wife Dorothy. Their discoveries and subsequent publications led to the first real attempts to explain the origins and extent of this civilisation and its place within the larger South and Southeast Asian world. In the intervening years between Quaritch Wales's excavations and the present day, considerably more research has taken place within the Bujang Valley, though this has not been without controversy. Recently claims and counter-claims regarding the antiquity of Hinduism and Buddhism at the site have arisen in some quarters within Malaysia. It therefore seems pertinent that this material be re-evaluated in light of new scholarship and discoveries as well as the prevailing paradigms of interactions between South and Southeast Asia. This paper presents an updated reading of this material and argues that the Bujang Valley should be seen as a cosmopolitan trading port with substantive evidence for the presence of Hinduism and Buddhism.


The idea that the United States is destined to spread its unique gifts of democracy and capitalism to other countries is dangerous for Americans and for the rest of the world, warns Godfrey Hodgson in this provocative book. Hodgson, a shrewd and highly respected British commentator, argues that America is not as exceptional as it would like to think; its blindness to its own history has bred a complacent nationalism and a disastrous foreign policy that has isolated and alienated it from the global community. Tracing the development of America's high self regard from the early days of the republic to the present era, Hodgson demonstrates how its exceptionalism has been systematically exaggerated and-in recent decades-corrupted. While there have been distinct and original elements in America's history and political philosophy, notes Hodgson, these have always been more heavily influenced by European thought and experience than Americans have been willing to acknowledge. A stimulating and timely assessment of how America's belief in its exceptionalism has led it astray, this book is mandatory reading for its citizens, admirers, and detractors.


: The PERCIVAL soft X-ray imager is being developed by DESY, RAL, Elettra, DLS, and PAL to address the challenges at high brilliance Light Sources such as new-generation Syn-chrotrons and Free Electron Lasers. Typical requirements for detector systems at these sources are high frame rates, large dynamic range, single-photon counting capability with low probability of false positives, high quantum efficiency, and (multi)-mega-pixel arrangements. PERCIVAL is a monolithic active pixel sensor, based on CMOS technology. It is designed for the soft X-ray regime and, therefore, it is post-processed in order to achieve high quantum efficiency in its primary energy range (250 eV to 1 keV). This work will report on the latest experimental results on charge collection efficiency obtained for multiple back-side-illuminated test sensors during two campaigns, at the P04 beam-line at PETRA III, and the CiPo beam-line at Elettra, spanning most of the primary energy range as well as testing the performance for photon-energies below 250 eV. In addition, XPS surface analysis was used to cross-check the obtained results.


This paper investigates the use of trimmed means as high-frequency estimators of inflation. The known characteristics of price change distributions, specifically the . observation that they generally exhibit high levels of kurtosis, imply that simple averages of price data are unlikely to produce efficient estimates of inflation. Trimmed means produce superior estimates of 'core inflation,' which we define as a long-run centered moving average of CPI and PPI inflation. We find that trimming 9% from each tail of the CPI price-change distribution, or 45% from the tails of the PPI price-change distribution, yields an efficient estimator of core inflation for these two series, although lesser trims also produce substantial efficiency gains. Historically, the optimal trimmed estimators are found to be nearly 23% more efficient (in terms of root-mean-square error) than the standard mean CPI, and 45% more efficient than the mean PPI. Moreover, the efficient estimators are robust to sample period and to the definition of the presumed underlying long-run trend in inflation.


The world dollar standard is an accident of history that greatly facilitates international trade and exchange-even trade not directly involving the United States. Since 1945, the dollar has been the key currency for clearing international payments among banks including interventions by governments to set exchange rates, the dominant currency for invoicing trade in primary commodities, and the principal currency in official exchange reserves. Although the strong network effects of the dollar standard greatly increases the financial efficiency of multilateral trade, nobody loves it. Erratic U.S. monetary and exchange rate policies have continually made foreigners unhappy. A weak and falling dollar led to the worldwide price inflations of the 1970s and contributed to the disastrous asset bubbles and global credit crisis of the noughties -- including the global credit crunch of 2008-09. Dollar weakness aggravated the postwar world's three great oil shocks in 1973, 1979, and 2007-08. After 2008, the U.S. Federal Reserve Bank's policy of keeping short-term interest rates near zero and out of alignment with emerging markets on the dollar standard's periphery, makes the international monetary system vulnerable to 'carry' trades: hot money inflows into the periphery that cause a loss of monetary control, commodity bubbles, and worldwide inflation . When these carry-trade bubbles suddenly unwind, they can result in huge swings in exchange rates and credit crunches. The asymmetrical nature of the dollar standard also makes many Americans unhappy because they cannot control their own exchange rate. Under the rules of the dollar standard game as explained in chapters 2 and 3 of this book, foreign governments may opt to set their exchange rates against the dollar while, to prevent conflict, the U.S. government typically does not intervene. Nevertheless, Americans often complain about how foreigners set their dollar exchange rates unfairly. Japan bashing in the late 1970s to the mid-1990s over the alleged under valuation of the yen, and China bashing in the new millennium over the alleged undervaluation of the renminbi, are two cases in point. Thus, while nobody loves the dollar standard, the revealed preference of both governments and private participants in the foreign exchange markets since 1945 is to continue to use it. As the principal monetary mechanism ensuring that international trade remains robustly multilateral rather than narrowly bilateral, it is a remarkable survivor that is too valuable to lose and too difficult to replace. This book provides historical and analytical perspectives on the different phases of the postwar dollar standard in order to better understand its resilience in spite of the great volatility in today's global monetary system. Available in OSO: http://www.oxfordscholarship.com/oso/public/content/economicsfinance/9780199937004/toc.html


In this issue of the journal, philosopher Frances Kamm1 analyses and criticises in detail a set of highly influential US documents/guidelines and research studies relating to end-of-life care and advanced care planning. These documents, written by a diverse group of experts working in and around palliative care, were designed to address widely recognised problems in care of the dying in the USA. Writer and surgeon Atul Gawande2 has powerfully described what he calls the 'modern tragedy' of a 'system of technological medical care [that] has utterly failed to meet the needs' of dying patients.i

The documents analysed by Kamm are not the sort of thing that usually elicit ethical analysis. They are not endorsing withdrawal of artificial nutrition and hydration at the end of life. They do not delve into elective ventilation, terminal sedation or assisted suicide, or other controversial choices at the end of life. Instead, the various documents attempt to identify and recommend evidence-based initiatives in end-of-life care. Several of them focus on ways to encourage and improve patients' conversations about their preferences for medical treatment towards the end of life. We might be tempted to wonder what could be wrong with that? What does philosophy have to contribute to these topics?

However, as Kamm makes clear in her paper, documents like these are sometimes ambiguous about the concepts that they invoke and they make assumptions that could be challenged. They also lead to (although they do not always appear to recognise) potential conflicts between different …