Corruption arises from the collusion of economic and political elites, a practice that has developed in order to overcome the contradiction of two important processes of our time: capitalism and democracy. In this new study of the phenomenon, the author shows how corruption is the practice of collusion taken to excess; 'the unacceptable face of capitalism'. Corruption, by 'going too far', exposes what is normally hidden from view; the collusive system of elites furthering the expansion of capitalist practice and market practice at the expense of democratic practice and public values.


This thesis studies Turkish migration policies as an outcome of the interactions between the European Union, international organisations (UNHCR, IOM) and domestic migration governance. Counterbalancing a tendency in the literature to focus on external influences and specifically the EU's power over candidate countries, Turkish migration policy is seen to result from interrelationships between external and domestic actors that vary according to context of policy type, time and relative balance of power between the actors. Changes in international relations, Turkey's relationship with the EU, and internal to migration governance, can relativize the power asymmetry between EU and Turkey, leading to opportunities for domestic authorities to exert influence.
The study has a comparative design across four cases of migration policy decision-making and by actor-type. This allows investigation of interrelations and an actor's efforts to exert influence relative to the others. A prominent policy is examined for each of the main four fields of Turkish migration policy: legislative reform (Law on Foreigners and International Protection), irregular migration (EU-Turkey readmission agreement), regular migration (adoption of the EU's visa lists) and asylum (removal of geographical limitation clause from the 1951 Refugee Convention). Document analysis is supplemented by original data from twenty-one semi-structured interviews, conducted with experts from Turkish Ministries, international organisations and the EU Commission.
The main finding is that the degree of external influence over Turkish migration policy is contextually shaped, by time, the substance of a specific policy field, and most notably by the degree to which a policy field is politicised. EU influence is strongest when a policy field is politicised and driven by 'conditionality'. International organisations are less influential actors but present in shaping more technocratic and less politicised policies through 'social policy learning'. Turkish authorities exert clear agency and use international negotiations to gain leverage to advance domestic migration interests.


This paper presents a new S-Box design algorithm of hidden hyperchaos in a 5-D hyperchaotic Burke–Shaw system, which is obtained by adding feedback controllers to the classic Burke–Shaw system. Of particular interest is that the hidden hyperchaotic attractors can be generated with three positive Lyapunov exponents in the proposed system with only one stable equilibrium. In addition, a new Pseudo Random Number Generator (PRNG) is developed by using the new 5-D Burke–Shaw system. Then, the S-Box design algorithm is developed based on the new PRNG. Furthermore, generated bit series have passed all NIST tests, which are run on bit series from the new PRNG. According to performance analysis, generated S-Box has better value than the chaos-based S-Box on the literature. Finally, Fuzzy-PID controller design is discussed for 5-D Burke–Shaw system with hidden hyperchaos. These results show the effectiveness of controller.


One of the method to have a fast acquisition of GNSS signals is the parallel code-phase search, which uses the fast Fourier transform (FFT) to perform the correlation. A problem with this method is the potential sign transition that can happen between two code periods due to data or secondary code and lead to a loss of sensitivity or to the non-detection of the signal. A known straightforward solution consists in using two code periods instead of one for the correlation. However, in addition to increasing the complexity, this solution is not efficient since half of the points calculated are discarded. This led us to look for a more efficient algorithm. The algorithm proposed in this article transforms the initial correlation into two smaller correlations. When the radix-2 FFT is used, the proposed algorithm is more efficient for half of the possible sampling frequencies. It is shown for example that the theoretical number of operations can be reduced by about 21 %, and that the memory resources for an FPGA implementation can be almost halved.


The very recent phenomenon called Islamic feminism receives quite a lot of attention from academia and media alike. Although it is basically a discourse whose strategy and praxis is primarily script related, there seems to be an overt tendency to equate Islamic feminism with an ideology for a transnational social or political movement. As a perceived singular movement , Islamic feminism is often distinguished from two other supposedly singular movements, namely "Muslim feminism" and "Islamist feminism". With regard to India, however, these ideal types don't seem to be very helpful as analytical categories, as the growing influence and reference to Islamic feminism there simply cannot be associated with one distinct group of proponents or one movement exclusively. Therefore, I will argue here that a clear distinction should rather be made between Islamic feminism as a discursive movement, and the distinct local, national or transnational social and political movements that are all increasingly referring to this discourse. In India, these movements in many cases precede the emergence of Islamic feminism in the 1990s. So by making this distinction, the focus of analysis can be shifted from the repeated finding of ideological divisions and frictions within a supposedly singular Islamic feminist movement to the focus on the enormous potential that this discourse obviously has for Muslim women's agency in general as well as for the emergence of new female subjectivities in India (and elsewhere) which in turn seem to challenge and change secu-lar-national gender discourses.


Objective: Short leukocyte telomere length (LTL) is associated with atherosclerosis in adults and diminished survival in the elderly. The prevailing view is that LTL is associated with accelerated aging since it serves as a biomarker of the cumulative burden of inflammation and oxidative stress during adult life. However LTL dynamics are mainly defined by LTL at birth, which is highly variable, and its age-dependent attrition thereafter, which is rapid during the first 20 years of life. We examined whether age-dependent LTL attrition during old age can substantially affect individuals' LTL ranking (e.g., longer or shorter LTL) in relation to their peers and which clinical (presence or absence of atheroma) or lifestyle (BMI and smoking) factors can predict it. Design and method: We measured LTL by Telomeric Restriction Fragment Southern Blot (TRF) in samples donated 8 years apart on average by 76 participants of the ADELAHYDE study. Participants were men and women aged 60 to 85 years with a history of hypertension at the inclusion. Results: We observed a mean LTL attrition of 27 bp per year which is consistent with previous data on telomere attrition in adults. No clinical or lifestyle risk factors seem to exert significant effect or can predict LTL attrition in elderly people. We observed a close relationship (r = 0.88) between baseline and follow-up LTL values. Ranking individuals by deciles revealed that 87.5% showed no rank change (38.9%) or only one decile change (48.6%) over time. We observed relationships between baseline values of LTL and BMI as well as between LTL and carotid atheroma. No such relationship was observed between LTL and smoking status. Conclusions: We conclude that in elderly people, LTL ranking changes very little over time. Accordingly, the links of LTL with atherosclerosis and longevity appear to be established early in life. It is therefore unlikely that lifestyle and its modification during old age exert a major impact on telomere length.


Recently, the media has created a steady drumbeat of misinformed stories claiming that Indian tribes and reservations alone have been targeted by waste companies, and that the waste industry is marauding unchecked in Indian country immune from any environmental regulation. This article analyzes the controversial issue of using Indian reservations as sites for commercial solid and hazardous waste facilities and provides a model for planning, developing, and regulating commercial waste projects on Indian lands. The article concludes that, under certain circumstances, and with an adequate regulatory program, a waste disposal project may be a viable and appropriate form of industrial development for some tribes and can provide opportunities for economic development on some reservations.


"A broadly appealing mix of the tragic and droll, comforting, disturbing, exotic and universal" - Kirkus Reviews "Offers a unique and wide-ranging taste of Japanese life" - Booklist "The collection is extremely varied, featuring urban and rural settings, contemporary situations and timeless folk tales, humor, and adventure...Numerous stories involve mixed-race parents and children, affording good insights into cultural assimilation. Tomo is an excellent story collection, presenting a rich and varied immersion in Japanese culture from a teen perspective." - VOYA "Published on the one-year anniversary of the Japanese tsunami and earthquake, this collection of short stories and poems about Japanese teens is weird and wonderful, studded with the unique color of Japanese teen pop culture, as well as the impact of defining events from the twenty-first century to the present: Pearl Harbor, Hiroshima, the tsunami, earthquake and nuclear disaster." - Barnes & Noble Review "Thirty-six stories by writers somehow connected to Japan, five contributors with ties to Tohoku -- each piece concisely aligns the disparate puzzle of the teenage map...Tomo reverberates with the authentic voice of Japanese and bicultural teens as they face down the confusing adult world before and after 3/11. " - The Japan Times "From Pasmo travel cards to Harajuku girls to face-offs between a Kendo club and a dance group at the school gym, Japan is placed vividly in the reader's heart and mind. And that heart would have to be made of the proverbial stone not to feel for the people affected by the earthquake. But Tomo inspires more than sympathy--it ignites us to empathy." - The Asian Review of Books "The thirty-six stories of Tomo: Friendship Through Fiction--An Anthology of Japan Teen Stories cover a wide range of genres (prose, verse, graphic narratives) and feature nine stories translated from the Japanese...most of the authors, many of whom write for adults, will be new to American teens." - The Horn Book This aptly named fiction anthology--tomo means "friend" in Japanese--is a true labor of friendship to benefit teens in Japan whose lives were upended by the violent earthquake and tsunami of March 11, 2011. Authors from Japan and around the world have contributed works of fiction set in or related to Japan. Young adult English-language readers will be able to connect with their Japanese counterparts through stories of contemporary Japanese teens, ninja and yokai teens, folklore teens, mixed-heritage teens, and non-Japanese teens who call Japan home. Tales of friendship, mystery, love, ghosts, magic, science fiction, and history will propel readers to Japan past and present and to Japanese universes abroad. Portions of the proceeds of Tomo will be donated to the Japanese non-profit, HOPE FOR TOMORROW, to support ongoing relief efforts for teens in Japan. Edited and with a foreword by Holly Thompson, Tomo contributing authors include Naoko Awa, Deni Bechard, Jennifer Fumiko Cahill, Liza Dalby, Megumi Fujino, Andrew Fukuda, Alan Gratz, Katrina Toshiko Grigg-Saito, Suzanne Kamata, Sachiko Kashiwaba, Kelly Luce, Shogo Oketani and Leza Lowitz, Ryusuke Saito, Graham Salisbury, Fumio Takano, and Wendy Tokunaga, among others. Holly Thompson is a longtime writing teacher and resident of Japan and author of the young adult verse novel Orchards, which won the 2012 Asian/Pacific American Librarians Association Award for Young Adult Literature . She serves as the regional advisor for the Tokyo chapter of the Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators.


Abstract. During the 2011/12 and 2012/13 austral summers, HCHO was investigated for the first time in ambient air, snow, and interstitial air at the Concordia site, located near Dome C on the East Antarctic Plateau, by deploying an Aerolaser AL-4021 analyzer. Snow emission fluxes were estimated from vertical gradients of mixing ratios observed at 1 cm and 1 m above the snow surface as well as in interstitial air a few centimeters below the surface and in air just above the snowpack. Typical flux values range between 1 and 2 × 1012 molecules m−2 s−1 at night and 3 and 5 × 1012 molecules m−2 s−1 at noon. Shading experiments suggest that the photochemical HCHO production in the snowpack at Concordia remains negligible compared to temperature-driven air–snow exchanges. At 1 m above the snow surface, the observed mean mixing ratio of 130 pptv and its diurnal cycle characterized by a slight decrease around noon are quite well reproduced by 1-D simulations that include snow emissions and gas-phase methane oxidation chemistry. Simulations indicate that the gas-phase production from CH4 oxidation largely contributes (66%) to the observed HCHO mixing ratios. In addition, HCHO snow emissions account for ~ 30% at night and ~ 10% at noon to the observed HCHO levels.


ABSTRACT The importance of the preanalytical phase for immunohistochemistry Preanalytical treatment of tissues was studiedto clarify pitfalls in immunohistochemistry (IHC) and, in general, in molecular analysis in fixed and paraffin-embedded tissues, which are the only tissues available for any patient for diagnostics and for clinical research. Specific attention was given to this issue because of the important role recently played by the biomarkers predictive of treatment efficacy, and not only for diagnosis definition and prognosis evaluation. The preanalytical phase is quite complex and is not only related to pathologists but also to surgeons. The warm ischemia time, the use of specific techniques or simply the traction and distortion of tissues can influence gene expression modification, protein coagulation or their diffusion into extracellular spaces with consequences for IHC results. Warm ischemia and tissue transport conditions can differently influence genes with increased or decreased expression, with loss of reactivity in IHC. On the other hand, many genes can be totally indifferent to these conditions. IHC reliability can also be affected by common pathological processes such as hemorrhagic diffusion in tissues, necrosis, inflammation or apoptosis. Antigenetic epitopes of proteins are modified by fixation in formalin with the formation of methylenic bridges among different aminoacid residues, but also tertiary and quaternary structures are affected. Protein alterations are quantitatively related to time of fixation and enzymatic or heat related demodification procedures for antigen retrieval. This variability should be carefully taken into account. An insufficient time of fixation can also affect IHC results, because tissue protein alteration is related to over-fixation, but at the same time the inner part of the tissue is altered by hypoxia with initial autolytic phenomena due to released lysosomal enzymes. These hypoxic areas can also be affected by inclusion procedures and alcohol treatment coagulates the proteins. Inclusion process temperatures can also affect the same more sensitive antigens. All these possible alterations, together with methods and interpretation pitfalls, make internal and external quality controls and audit procedures mandatory for IHC laboratories. Disclosure: The author has declared no conflicts of interest.


The late-type spiral galaxy NGC 6946 is a prime example of molecular gas dynamics driven by "bars within bars". Here we use data from the BIMA SONG and HERACLES surveys to analyse the structure and stability of its molecular disc. Our radial profiles exhibit a clear transition at distance R ~ 1 kpc from the galaxy centre. In particular, the surface density profile breaks at R ~ 0.8 kpc and is well fitted by a double exponential distribution with scale lengths R_1 ~ 200 pc and R_2 ~ 3 kpc, while the 1D velocity dispersion sigma decreases steeply in the central kpc and is approximately constant at larger radii. The fact that we derive and use the full radial profile of sigma rather than a constant value is perhaps the most novel feature of our stability analysis. We show that the profile of the Q stability parameter traced by CO emission is remarkably flat and well above unity, while the characteristic instability wavelength exhibits clear signatures of the nuclear starburst and inner bar within bar. We also show that CO-dark molecular gas, stars and other factors can play a significant role in the stability scenario of NGC 6946. Our results provide strong evidence that gravitational instability, radial inflow and disc heating have driven the formation of the inner structures and the dynamics of molecular gas in the central kpc.


Influence of the mean stress on fatigue life and fatigue limit was investigated for carbon steel. Uni-axial fatigue tests were conducted under stress and strain-controlled conditions at room temperature. The fatigue life and fatigue limit were reduced by applying the mean stress for the same stress amplitude. The fatigue life exhibited a better correlation with the strain range than the stress amplitude did. Increase in strain range caused by applying the mean stress correlated well with the decrease in the fatigue life. It was assumed that the mean stress effect on the fatigue life was brought about by the change in crack growth rate caused by applying the mean stress. The mean stress enhanced crack mouth opening and accelerated the crack growth. The reduction in the fatigue limit was also brought about by the same effect. It was shown that the effective strain range gave good prediction of fatigue life and fatigue limit with and without the mean stress.


Excerpt] This report maps the impact of the global financial, economic and public debt crisis on industrial relations and working conditions at national level in the EU Member States from 2008 to end 2012. The impact of the crisis on industrial relations is mapped with regard to the actors, processes and outcomes. Working conditions, covering the EU27 and Norway, maps the impact on employment conditions, working time arrangements and work–life balance, work organisation and psychosocial risks and on health and wellbeing at work. It uses comparative national-level information and data from Eurofound's European Working Conditions Survey (EWCS) and European Quality of Life Survey (EQLS), the European Social Survey (ESS) and the EU Labour Force Surveys (EU LFS).


This paper explores the nature and the key empirical regularities of green employment in US local labor markets in 2006–2014. The main methodological novelty consists of a new measure of green employment based on the task content of occupations. Descriptive analysis reveals that green employment is pro-cyclical, highly skilled, commands a 4% wage premium and is geographically concentrated. Green employment dynamics positively correlates with local green subsidies within the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, local green knowledge, and resilience to the great recession. Finally, we find that one additional green job is associated with 4.2 (2.2 in the crisis period) new local jobs in non-tradable non-green activities.


The need to stabilise or even reduce the production of anthropogenic CO2 makes the capture of CO2 during energy generation from carbonaceous fuels, e.g. coal or biomass, necessary for the future. For hydrogen, an environmentally-benign energy vector whose sole combustion product is water, to become a major energy source, it must be produced in an efficient, CO2neutral manner. A process, which uses a packed bed of iron and its oxides, viz. Fe, Fe0.947O, Fe3O4 and Fe2O3, has been formulated to produce separate, pure streams of H2 and CO2. The process is exothermic and has the following stages: 1. Reduction of Fe2O3 to Fe0.947O or Fe in syngas (CO + H2) from gasifying coal or biomass. This stage generates pure CO2 for sequestration, once the water has been condensed. 2. Subsequent oxidation of Fe or Fe0.947O to Fe3O4 using steam. This stage generates H2 of sufficient purity for use in polymeric membrane fuel cells. 3. Further oxidation of Fe3O4 to Fe2O3 using air to return the oxide to step (1). It was shown that reduction to Fe0.947O in step (1) gave stable yields of H2 in step (2) after 40 cycles, near those predicted from reaction stoichiometry. By contrast, reduction to Fe, rather than Fe0.947O, in step (1) gave low levels of H2 in step (2) after just 10 cycles. This demonstrates that modifying the iron oxide is unnecessary unless reduction to Fe is performed. Wet-impregnation of Fe2O3 was performed with salts of Al, Cr and Mg or with tetraethyl orthosilicate for Si to give loadings of 1-30 mol % of the additive element. The addition of Al stabilised the quantity of H2 produced when the sample was reduced to Fe. Using a sol-gel method, composite particles with different mass ratios of Fe2O3 and Al2O3 were prepared. For reduction to Fe over 40 cycles, 40 wt. % Al2O3 was required to give stable conversions near 75 % of that expected from reaction stoichiometry. Prior to this research, it had been assumed that the alumina acted as an inert support. However, this was shown to be incorrect since the formation of FeO·Al2O3 was quantitatively confirmed using X-ray diffraction. The presence of the compound, FeO·Al2O3, is significant since it reduces the loss in internal surface area but binds reactive iron, two contradictory effects for the production of H2. The production of separate streams of pure H2 and CO2 from solid fuels, lignite and subbituminous coal, was demonstrated. Pure H2 with [CO] . 50 ppmv and [SO2] ≈ 0 ppmv was produced from a low-rank coal, showing that the process is efficacious with an impure fuel. Contaminants found in syngas which are gaseous above 273 K apparently do not adversely affect the iron oxide material or purity of the hydrogen. Subsequent oxidation of the Fe3O4 with air, step (3), removed sulphurous and carbonaceous contaminants deposited during reduction, generated useful heat and did not lead to a decrease in the H2 yield in step (2). It is therefore recommended that step (3) be included in the process. Rates of reaction are reported for the reduction of iron oxide particles by a mixture of CO, CO2 and N2. Importantly, rates were investigated over multiple cycles. Reduction of either Fe2O3 to Fe3O4 or of Fe3O4 to Fe0.947O was found to be first-order in CO. With the particle sizes used, the rates of reduction were controlled by intrinsic chemical kinetics. Activation energies and pre-exponential factors are reported. The rates were used to simulate, satisfactorily, the reduction of a packed bed of iron oxide. The rate of reduction was doubled by the addition of 1 mol. % Ce to the granulated iron oxide. The overall rate was shown to be dependent on the active surface area of the iron oxide. A lattice Boltzmann model, which incorporates hydrodynamics, mass transport and reaction, was developed. The composition of the solid changed with time. Quantitative agreement between the model and experiments for the reduction of a single particle of Fe2O3 to Fe3O4 in CO was achieved. Additionally, the model correctly predicted a sharp front in the CO concentration for reduction of a packed bed of Fe2O3 to Fe3O4.


There are growing claims that an increasing skill mismatch, in terms of skill shortages and gaps, is impeding further economic growth and industrialisation in Vietnam. Previous studies often attributed it to the failure of supply-side initiatives to meet increasing skill demand. However, this supply-side approach, which emanates from human capital theory, provides only a partial view of Vietnam's skill formation model and its challenges.
This research investigated the perceptions of skill mismatch in the machine manufacturing sector, which is expected to lead higher value-added industrialisation, obtained through questionnaires and in-depth qualitative interviews with policymakers, educators, and employers. It found that employers are not uniformly concerned about large skill shortages and skill gaps because many of them do not require large numbers of skilled workers due to intensified supply chain competition, small domestic markets, and incremental technological progress.
In contrast, policymakers and educators often perceive large skill shortages and gaps, in particular for intermediate workers such as technicians. Accordingly, they are adopting the supply-side approach by suggesting that education and training, in particular TVET programs, should be improved in accordance with the perceived skill needs of employers. However, they confront two fundamental challenges in trying to deliver improvements to their skill formation system through a supply-side approach. Firstly, many employers have weak incentives to engage in TVET reform due to stagnant skill demand. Secondly, they struggle to determine current and future skill 'needs' precisely. In these conditions, imposing the supply-side approach amplifies mutual distrust between the supply and demand sides.
In order to overcome these two challenges and achieve further industrialisation, Vietnam needs an integrated skill formation strategy which stimulates the dynamism of skill demand, while promoting inclusive upskilling beyond employers' immediate skills needs. This requires active local initiatives focusing on sectors with high aspirations for ascending value chains and upskilling.


With the increasing frequency, magnitude and impact of disasters, there is growing focus on contingency planning as a tool for enhancing resilience. Yet, there is little empirical evidence that reflects on the practice of contingency planning systems within the context of disaster risk reduction. This article explores the practice of contingency planning in southern Africa, focussing on Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, Zambia and Zimbabwe. A qualitative comparative analysis informed by fieldwork was used. The findings show that (1) there was a wide gap between theory and practice in contingency planning, (2) response activities rarely reflected projected scenarios and (3) resources were inadequate for effective contingency planning. We conclude that unless these issues are addressed, contingency planning is likely to remain a theoretical rather than a practical tool for building disaster-resilient communities in southern African countries. Although a generalisation cannot be made on the status of contingency planning and practice in southern Africa without a wider analysis of more examples, the findings may apply beyond the examined contexts and also offer insights into research gaps.


OBJECTIVES
To investigate work related mortality from gastrointestinal diseases and from alcohol among seafarers who were employed in British merchant shipping from 1939 to 2002.

METHODS
A longitudinal study, based on official mortality files from 1976-2002 and official mortality returns from 1939-1975, with a population of 7.29 million seafarer-years at risk.

RESULTS
From 1939 to 2002, there were 864 deaths from gastrointestinal diseases and 72 from alcoholism. Overall mortality from gastrointestinal diseases fell from 18.4 per 100,000 in 1939-49 to 9.3 in 1970-79 and 0.3 in 1990-2002. Mortality from alcoholism, and from alcohol-related diseases such as liver cirrhosis and diseases of the pancreas, increased up to the 1960s or 1970s, but fell thereafter. From 1950 to 1972, mortality from gastrointestinal diseases was 1.8 times higher among Asian seafarers compared to British seafarers, largely because of liver disease, peritonitis and peptic ulcer. At the time of the last censuses of seamen in 1961 and 1971, compared with the general British male working aged population, morality among British seafarers was greatly increased for peritonitis and alcoholism but not for most other gastrointestinal diseases.

CONCLUSIONS
Sharp reductions in mortality from gastrointestinal diseases and from alcoholism since the 1970s contrasts with increases among the general British population, and are largely because of the "flagging-out" of most British deep sea ships, and consequent reductions in long voyages, as well as reductions in alcohol consumption among seafarers at work. Largely because of the healthy worker effect, seafarers were usually only at increased risks from particularly acute diseases.


This paper describes the numerical methods developed to simulate the transport of radionuclides through the unsaturated, fractured rock below the proposed repository at the Yucca Mountain. Regardless of the disposition of the Yucca Mountain License Application, this method has general applicability for modeling contaminant transport through deep vadose zones. Using a dual‐permeability solution for fluid flow as a basis, the transport model represents contaminant transport with a cell‐based particle‐tracking technique in which particles move from cell to cell in the three‐dimensional large‐scale grid of two overlapping continua. Particle movement between cells, and the residence time within a cell, is computed probabilistically based on transfer functions using numerical solutions of the transport equations for an idealized fracture‐matrix system. Using this approach, the following transport phenomena are simulated: advection through fracture and matrix continua, including between these continua, dispersion, sorption of dissolved radionuclides to the matrix continuum, and within the fault zones, and molecular diffusion between the fractures and matrix. In addition to providing a realistic representation of the relevant processes, this method has the virtue of computational efficiency. After describing the numerical method, this paper presents sensitivity analyses for radionuclide transport travel time distributions from the proposed repository to the water table through the unsaturated zone for the Yucca Mountain system.


Abstract. George VI Ice Shelf (GVIIS) is located on the Antarctic Peninsula, a region where several ice shelves have undergone rapid breakup in response to atmospheric and oceanic warming. We use a combination of optical (Landsat), radar (ERS 1/2 SAR) and laser altimetry (GLAS) datasets to examine the response of GVIIS to environmental change and to offer an assessment on its future stability. The spatial and structural changes of GVIIS (ca. 1973 to ca. 2010) are mapped and surface velocities are calculated at different time periods (InSAR and optical feature tracking from 1989 to 2009) to document changes in the ice shelf's flow regime. Surface elevation changes are recorded between 2003 and 2008 using repeat track ICESat acquisitions. We note an increase in fracture extent and distribution at the south ice front, ice-shelf acceleration towards both the north and south ice fronts and spatially varied negative surface elevation change throughout, with greater variations observed towards the central and southern regions of the ice shelf. We propose that whilst GVIIS is in no imminent danger of collapse, it is vulnerable to ongoing atmospheric and oceanic warming and is more susceptible to breakup along its southern margin in ice preconditioned for further retreat.


OBJECTIVE
Age-related cognitive decline, the deterioration in functions such as memory and executive function, is faced by most older adults and affects function and quality of life. No approved treatments exist for age-related cognitive decline. Computerized cognitive training has been shown to provide consistent albeit modest improvements in cognitive function as measured by neuropsychological testing. Vortioxetine, an antidepressant medication, has putative procognitive and proneuroplastic properties and therefore may be able to augment cognitive training. In this placebo-controlled study, the authors tested the cognitive benefits of vortioxetine added to cognitive training for adults age 65 or older with age-related cognitive decline.

METHODS
After a 2-week lead-in period of cognitive training, 100 participants were randomly assigned to receive either vortioxetine or placebo in addition to cognitive training for 26 weeks. The primary outcome measure was global cognitive performance, assessed by the NIH Toolbox Cognition Battery Fluid Cognition Composite. The secondary outcome measure was functional cognition, assessed by the UCSD Performance-Based Skills Assessment. All participants received motivational messaging and support from study staff to maximize adherence to the training.

RESULTS
Participants who received vortioxetine with cognitive training showed a greater increase in global cognitive performance compared with those who received placebo with cognitive training. This separation was significant at week 12 but not at other assessment time points. Both groups showed improvement in the secondary outcome measure of functional cognition, with no significant difference between groups.

CONCLUSIONS
Vortioxetine may be beneficial for age-related cognitive decline when combined with cognitive training. These findings provide new treatment directions for combating cognitive decline in older adults.


Double skin facades are defined as two layers of facade separated by an air gap, that varies in its depth creating a solar chimney effect where warm air rises by buoyancy. As a facade technology, its thermal and daylight performance is still under scientific scrutiny. The bulk of research on the performance of this facade configuration is carried out in moderate climates. However, little is understood about the performance of double skin facade configurations in extreme hot arid climates. This investigation adopts an analytical approach using a dynamic simulation software (IESVE), to convert general intuitions on the performance of a double skin facade, in hot arid areas, into the grounds of understanding its performance based on research. It is an opportunity to study this facade configuration before the technology is transferred into construction in hot arid areas. In this paper, a comparative analysis of cooling loads on a single skin base case is compared against three possible changes to the physical properties of the external layer of the double skin facade. A dynamic thermal performance software APACHE-Sim is used (integrated environmental solutions IESVE, version 5.1). Simulation results indicate that a reflective double skin facade can achieve better energy savings than a single skin with reflective glazing.


This paper reviews and draws insights from recent empirical research in financial accounting on the value of director expertise for financial reporting quality. Among important consequences of Sarbanes-Oxley is an increase in the percentage of accounting experts on boards of directors, particularly on audit committees. The research reviewed here documents the value of this expertise in promoting financial reporting quality measured in terms of "accounting earnings management" (artificial bookkeeping manipulations). These findings contrast with well-known evidence showing little value arising from director independence. The research holds numerous implications and raises important questions, including the following: 1. It shows that accounting expertise is more valuable than other kinds of financial expertise, suggesting that the SEC should reconsider its definition of this concept. 2. Although accounting earnings management has declined since SOX, real earnings management (substantive business decisions taken to achieve accounting results, like delaying or accelerating investment in a new plant) may be rising. Do audit committee financial experts have a role to play in policing the latter? 3. What role do such experts have in determining the degree of conservatism that a firm uses in its financial reporting, demand for which may differ as among shareholders, bondholders, employees and others? 4. It is customary to see independence and expertise as trade offs. This may be correct when expertise arises from insider status, but incorrect when the expertise is substantive knowledge in a discipline, such as accounting. 5. Law has traditionally encouraged director independence and discouraged expertise but, this research suggests, that may be backwards and certainly requires reconsideration.


In the past twenty-five years the free-market neoliberal model has been hailed as a panacea for economic ills in both the advanced economies and the developing world. Pollin dissects this model as it has been implemented in the U.S. during the Clinton and Bush administrations under Greenspan's Chairmanship of the Federal Reserve, and in developing countries under the auspices of the IMF. Clinton's Third Way Policies were hailed as combining a pro-business stance with social responsibility. This approach seemed to be vindicated by the extraordinary fall in both inflation and unemployment. In fact, the apparent successes of the Clinton years were based on anti-labor policies, the stagnation of real wages, deregulation of financial markets, and an historically unprecedented stock market boom. Even before 9/11 there were indications that the Clinton bubble would collapse into recession. Bush's response was to give big tax breaks to the rich, introduce more anti-labor measures, and cut social spending at both the federal and state levels. Both Clinton and Bush have applied free-market policies only selectively within the U.S. itself, when such policies have most benefited the interests of business. At the same time, through the IMF, the U.S. has compelled developing countries to slash public spending, deregulate financial markets and dismantle trade barriers virtually across the board. Argentina's embrace of this policy package culminated in financial ruin. Throughout Asia and Africa, sweatshops and poverty are the testaments to a bankrupt economic model. Pollin concludes by exploring concrete proposals that would promote full employment, economic growth and increased equality in the U.S. and throughout the less developed countries, drawing on the spreading movements for living wages, the Tobin Tax on financial speculation, and more generally workable alternative to neoliberal globalization.


The aim of this study was to incriminate the vector (s) of visceral leishmaniasis
in Northern Pakistan. Two contrasting disease foci were studied- Azad Jammu &
Kashmir (AJK) and Northern Areas (NA) through monthly sampling.
Studies on the systematics defined morphologically variable species of the
subgenera Phlebolomus (Larrousslus) and P. (Adlerius). Morphological characters
of all the species belonging to these subgenera were intensively studied. The species
belonging to the subgenus Phlebotoinus (Larroussius) were identified as P. major,
P.keshishiani, P.kandelakii burneyi and P. spA. and those belonging to subgenus
Alderius as P.hindustanicus and P. salangensis. Species belonging to other subgenera.
P (Phlebotomus) papatasi, P (Paraphlebtomus) sergentli and P (Paraphlebtomus)
alexandri were easily identified.
The longitudinal entomological studies were carried out in Bagh district (Rehra
village) in AJK and Chilas district (Hudur village, 1200m and Thor village, 1700m)
in Northern Areas between April 1991 and November 1991 and in the same months
in 1992. Sampling was done using CDC-light traps, sticky-paper traps and mouth
aspirators. In addition, a general survey was also undertaken at higher altitudes in
Northern Areas and AJK.
A total of 9656 Phlebotomus sandflies were collected (8797 during the
longitudinal studies and 859 during the general survey). Nine species of Phlebotomus
were found,Phlebotomus (A) salangensis for the first time and a new species P.
(Larroussius) sp. A. The species composition and relative abundance of species differed
within and between the two areas. In Northern Areas P. papatasi (35.75%) followed
by P. sergenti (19%) were dominant at the lower altitude of Hudur village but
P. keshishiani (29.66%) was most abundant at the higher altitude of Thor village,
whereas in AJK, P. hindustanicus (64.62%) was predominant.
Species differed in their seasonal abundance. In Northern Areas P. papatasi and
P. sergenti showed peak activity in June and July and P. keshishiani in August. In AJK
P.hindustanicus showed a clear peak in June preceding the monsoon. The activity was
found to be positively correlated with temperature in Northern Areas and negatively
correlated with rainfall in AJK.
The dominant anthropophilic species included P. papatasi at lower altitudes
(Hudur village), P.keshishiani at higher altitudes (Thor village) in Northern Areas and
P.hindustanicus in AJK. Most biting occurred around midnight between -2200-2400
hours with a second peak between 0400-0600 hours in Northern Areas. None of the
sandflies were found biting human volunteers in AJK. Blood-meal analysis revealed
that the dominant species P.papatasi, P. sergenti, P. keshishiani and P. hindustanicus
have a range of hosts mainly human, bovines and dogs. Monthly sampling with dog
baited traps also showed P. keshishiani and P. hindustanicus as the dominant species
attracted to the potential reservoir host (dog).
Females of P.keshishiani (754), P. salangensis (36), P. alexandri (15) and
P.hindustanicus (301) were dissected for natural infections with Leishmania
promastigotes and squash blots probed by Leishmania infantum specific DNA probe
(LUCA D2 200 BP). Only P.hindustanicus was found to be naturally infected with
Leishinania infantum, (parasites identified by DNA hybridization) in AJK. This species
is the principal vector involved in the transmission of VL in AJK.
From ecological studies it is concluded that the transmission of visceral
leishmaniasis takes place at higher altitudes in Northern Areas and that P. keshishiani
is the vector.


In this Article, I attempt to build an empathy bridge between readers and a group of undocumented immigrants living in the American southwest, applying original qualitative research to scarcity theory. While the original empirical study discussed here was designed to bring out the financial realities of the participants, including their credit and banking habits, we uncovered some unrelated themes, including a general feeling among participants of being taken advantage of on the basis of immigration status, as well as an unwillingness to use the court system to right wrongs, even when there was a clear legal right to do so. We conclude that being undocumented has many predictable deleterious consequences, as well as some relatively unpredictable ones.


Roughly one third of U.S. greenhouse gas emissions are travel-related, and much of these are from routine, short trips that can be controlled by individual consumers. Because of this, sustainability advocates encourage greater use of alternative transportation modes such as mass transit and non-motorized transport to help limit carbon dioxide emissions. However, the efficacy of such prescriptions is contingent upon the social and physical context of a given place, that is, how these recommendations are received or put into practice by the intended audiences. This case study of Atlanta, Georgia's mostly African American Cascade community examines the influence of the broader social context of consumption as social practice and the built environment as factors influencing decisions about sustainable mobility (i.e., mass transit use and neighborhood walking), both inside and outside of Cascade. Not surprisingly, lower income residents routinely use mass transit, while middle- and upper-income earners are reluctant users of Atlanta's mass transit system (MARTA). Lack of use by those with higher incomes is due mainly to the availability of personal automobiles and inefficiencies in system design attributable to a history of racial politics that restricts MARTA to just two of metropolitan Atlanta's twenty-eight counties. Neighborhood walkability is encumbered by the lack of sidewalk space for higher income individuals and fear of crime for those with lower incomes. The social practice of status signaling via automobile purchasing may also inhibit African Americans' use of mass transit. [Climate Change; African American Communities; Atlanta, GA]


This study aims to contribute to the understanding of the factors which underpin the effectiveness of managerial teams. The research focuses on examining a selected range of characteristics and competences of team members and their process interaction within the team to produce differing outcomes.
The literature on teams and teamworking is vast, often providing confusing and contradictory evidence. Much of the evidence to support the advantages and benefits is anecdotal and case study based, with authors highlighting a need for more empirical research. In addition the complexity of the field confounds clarity of research studies and findings. Attempts have been made to illuminate the relationships between the variables impacting on team performance through the development and examination of models. This study takes, as a basis for modelling, the Hackman and Morris (1975) Group Interaction Process model.
The research is based on data from 54 management teams drawn from three organisations. The measures employed to examine the characteristics and competences of team members, based on and informed by the literature, are the Belbin Team Roles, the Supra-Competences (derived from the Job Competences Survey), the Watson-Glaser Critical Thinking Appraisal and the Productive Thinking Test (a measure of divergent thinking). Established instruments were selected to measure team processes and team outcomes. These were adapted for this study, based on initial qualitative research with 40 managers from one of the participating organisations.
The literature, and previous research, led to the development of eleven hypotheses. These related to:
i) the impact of' balance' of both team roles and competences on team processes and outcomes;
ii) the impact of thinking styles on team processes and outcomes;
iii) the impact of team processes on team outcomes; and
iv) the mediation effect of team processes on input factors in leading to positive team outcomes.
Initial analysis of the qualitative data provided support for many of the team effectiveness factors encountered in the literature and added some new insights into these factors. The quantitative data was examined using correlational, t-test and multiple regression analyses. Results of these analyses provided support for seven of the eleven hypotheses. Notably, evidence is presented to support the concept of team role mix proposed by Belbin. In addition there is evidence of a similar 'mix' phenomenon in relation to team competences (a concept which has previously only been the subject of theoretical consideration). The study has also provided evidence to support the concept of team processes as a mediator variable, and provides evidence from one of the larger samples of senior management teams encountered in the literature. It has also provided illumination of the complexities involved in analysing the performance of management teams. Furthermore, instruments to study teams have been refined in the current research and this, together with the overall findings, provides a potentially valuable platform for further research in this field.


The creation and development ofcustomer relationship has become a strong marketing tool for most suppliers inthe current business world. In addition, the development of relationships hasbecome the main topic for market researchers since they believe that, customersand suppliers are valuable assets of a firm. Most suppliers also face thedilemma of how they should adapt to their customers needs and requirementsbecause adaptations always tighten the bonds of both the supplier and thecustomer and make them more dependent on each other. In order to identify thereasons why firms place much importance on the development of customerrelationships, the authors have undertaken a qualitative study. This study wasbased on why ABB Automation develops relationship with its customer's base. Thedata collected was analyzed to identify the reasons behind the company'sdecisions.


Multispecies fisheries management is the first step towards ecosystem-based fisheries management. Multispecies management accounts for a number of species and their physical, biological, and economic interactions. These interactions increase complexity in understanding stock dynamics and optimal catch. To address the issue of identifying optimal catch of stochastically growing multi stocks, we have formulated and applied a time-continuous stochastic model. The model, applied in prey-predator ecosystem, contributes to sustainable yet optimal management of multispecies marine fisheries. The findings suggest that the optimal catch for stochastically growing stocks in a multispecies interaction ecosystem is different from the deterministic catch.


Many international agencies and donors that have implemented peacebuilding activities in a variety of countries and situations acknowledge, in theory, the importance of placing local communities at the center of peacebuilding activities. In practice, however, debate continues on how to operationalize community-centered approaches and whether they can be used successfully to promote peace. This paper thus unpacks the voice of 'the local' to understand the mechanisms of peacebuilding together with development. By conducting focused group discussions (FGD) in three villages in Timor-Leste and utilizing a community-based rating system for ten key areas, we found that external efforts are perceived differently with respect to location and time. The 2006 political turmoil in the capital had different impacts on local communities. External actors responded as 'intervenors' by dispatching an international force along with the provision of humanitarian assistance in urban areas. In rural districts, they maintained capacity-building activities, thus playing the role of 'mentors'. Findings also show that local communities continue to suffer from poor quality water and lack of qualified teachers and are requesting further involvement from the national government. At the same time, some Timorese nationals have attempted to tackle issues of unsettled land ownership and insecurity at the community level while the formal justice and police services remain underdeveloped. In response, external actors have taken on the role of 'facilitator' to assist with the functionalization of a traditional customary system for conflict resolution. Thus, they contribute to the generation of hybrid forms of peace, which evolved from the interactions of different groups. The analysis underscores the challenge of assessing the external actor's role in regard to the needs of local communities by location, sector and timing.


This paper investigates the decision making of firms with two different objectives – profit maximization and sales maximization, and compares their responses when encountering a higher per unit production cost or if per unit tax is imposed. The discussion in this paper is a follow up of Li and Yao [1], except in this case, a more comprehensive literature review is provided, and a very restricted result previously proposed has been substantially expanded to a few more general propositions.


This paper seeks to characterise the gendered and sexualised power relations of both female and male strip clubs, and to signal what this means for establishing positive definitions of female desire. It is argued that while it is not useful to present female strippers, or female patrons of male strip clubs as purely passive victims of male heterosexism within these venues, it is equally damaging to assume that these venues represent a whole-scale challenge to conventional oppressive gender and sexual relations for women. Some research has even suggested that both strippers and their patrons are engaged in a 'mutually exploitative' power relationship. Moreover, further empirical research documents key points where female dancers have perhaps wielded 'more' power over patrons at certain moments, and female dancers have highlighted feelings of empowerment and highlighted potential for gender and sexual relations which position women as passive to be subverted within stripping. However, such feelings are often temporally specific and are not applicable to all women in the strip industry. It may be particularly hard for these to manifest in women concentrated in the least economically-rewarding areas of the industry who have less 'power' to resist compromising their bodily boundaries. Furthermore, it is argued that women watching male strippers does little to reverse the 'male gaze', and nor does this male occupation carry as much negative social stigma with it as female stripping suffers. It is thus argued that the overwhelming picture, stemming largely from accounts of former dancers and from empirical studies of individual clubs, suggests these venues in fact do very little to challenge normative hetero-oppressive sexual scripts.


Combining insight from a variety of linguistic perspectives including Hallidayan functional linguistics and relevance theory, Tony Bex demonstrates how written texts operate within society to convey meaning. This book:- * looks at a wide variety of written genres - advertisments, letters, poetry and literature * provides an accessible and comprehensive survey of genre theory * proposes a challenging new way of analysing genre which emphasises communicative function * unusually, considers the relevance of linguistic theories of genre to the study of literary texts. * includes numerous exercises and annotated bibliographies Variety in Written Discourse will be of interest to all students of language and communication. In addition, it will be an invaluable text for those interested in literature, as well as English for Specific Purposes.


Higher Education is expected to build on a scientific ground and the link between teaching and research is meant to be strong. This is an old assertion strongly connected in a historical perspective to an extensive amount of research about the theory and practice nexus. Albeit more than three and a half decenniums of reforms and efforts in Sweden, since teacher education became a part of the university and higher education system 1977, teacher education in Sweden is still criticized in this matter. In this project the ambition is to map research on research-based teacher education and complementary. The aim is to analyse questions raised and research result outcomes in this research genre. The result indicates that research on a research-based teacher education foremost focuses and discusses organizational, institutional and administrative factors; treatment of content in teacher education is rare. The result is analysed in a broad perspective of sociological theories of knowledge. Using information science research, a model linking teaching to research is suggested in the aim to enhance teacher education and teacher student qualifications emphasizing the critical ones. Keywords: theory practice nexus, research-based education (research-led education, research-oriented education), teacher education, research content, information science, sociology of knowledge.


Phase-retrieval algorithms have been developed that handle a complicated optical system that requires multiple Fresnellike transforms to propagate from one end of the system to the other including the absorption by apertures in more than one plane and allowance for bad detector pixels. Gradientsearch algorithms and generalizations of the iterative-transform phase-retrieval algorithms are derived. Analytic expressions for the gradient of an error metric, with respect to polynomial coefficients and with respect to point-by-point phase descriptions, are given. The entire gradient can be computed with the number of transforms required to propagate a wave front from one end of the optical system to the other and back again, independent of the number of coefficients or phase points. This greatly speeds the computation. The reconstruction of pupil amplitude is also given. A convergence proof of the generalized iterative transform algorithm is given. These improved algorithms permit a more accurate characterizationof complicated optical systems from their point spread functions.


Background: In today's dynamically changing business environment, organizations are constantly striving to improve their organizational performance, and the use of business intelligence (BI) aids in this process. This is a key reason why BI has captured the attention of many academicians and practitioners. Most of the research on BI highlights its importance and the ways in which it facilitates decision-making; however, there is limited research on how the use of BI tools and applications benefits the organization by enabling it to convert the millions of dollars spent on BI investment into business value. This study validates the "business value of BI" framework by evaluating the business value creation process for BI tools in the UAE. Method: The data for this empirical study were collected via interviews with 15 middle managers from various industries in the UAE, with a focus on BI tools and the use of BI in their organizations. Results: The results show that a business value creation process for BI exists and that it is divided into three subprocesses: the BI conversion process, BI use process, and BI competitive process. Conclusions: The use of BI has become necessary for organizations to compete effectually. The results of this study identify the various BI tools that organizations in the UAE use. Furthermore, the results highlight the business value creation process of BI tools and how the effective use BI offers an information advantage that facilitates decision-making and eventually promotes financial and non-financial benefits for the organization.


We study theoretically and experimentally the competing blockade and anti-blockade effects induced by spontaneously generated contaminant Rydberg atoms in driven Rydberg systems. These contaminant atoms provide a source of strong dipole-dipole interactions and play a crucial role in the system's behavior. We study this problem theoretically using two different approaches. The first is a cumulant expansion approximation, in which we ignore third-order and higher connected correlations. Using this approach for the case of resonant drive, a many-body blockade radius picture arises, and we find qualitative agreement with previous experimental results. We further predict that as the atomic density is increased, the Rydberg population's dependence on Rabi frequency will transition from quadratic to linear dependence at lower Rabi frequencies. We study this behavior experimentally by observing this crossover at two different atomic densities. We confirm that the larger density system has a smaller crossover Rabi frequency than the smaller density system. The second theoretical approach is a set of phenomenological inhomogeneous rate equations. We compare the results of our rate equation model to the experimental observations in [E. A. Goldschmidt, et al., PRL 116, 113001 (2016)] and find that these rate equations provide quantitatively good scaling behavior of the steady-state Rydberg population for both resonant and off-resonant drive.


May need to go to this link to download: http://papers.ssrn.com/abstract=1328557. The Holocaust art movement has led to significant and controversial restitutions from museums. This article focuses on two emotionally driven claims to recover a suitcase stolen from a murdered man and watercolors a woman was forced to paint for Josef Mengele to document his pseudo-scientific theories of racial inferiority and his cruel medical experiments. Both claims are asserted against the Auschwitz-Birkenau State Museum in Poland, and the museum has refused to return the objects. These claims provide insightful case studies to examine the emotional and ethical aspects of such disputes. Drawing from a number of disciplines, this article demonstrates the inadequacy of the dominant frameworks influencing the cultural property field, which are grounded in property law, morality and utilitarianism, for evaluating the Holocaust-related claims. This article also demonstrates that the International Council of Museums (ICOM) Code of Ethics provides a useful construct for evaluating the claims. ICOM Principle 6.7, which calls on museums to promote well-being, should be the guiding light for museums deciding whether to return Holocaust-related objects. The article concludes that the Auschwitz-Birkenau State Museum's refusal to return the objects is faulty ethically, counter to its mission, and reflective of the inadequacy of Poland's approach to post-war restitution.


Extracted from text ... DEDUCTIONS
Moneyweb's TAX BREAKS September 2006 7
If in doubt, tax it - SARS
officials in denial mode
By PENELOPE WEBB
DURING Alice's surreal adventure
through the looking glass where
she finds that the chessmen, particularly
the red and white queens, are
alive, she is scolded by the queens.
"She's in that state of mind, " said
the White Queen, "that she wants to
deny something - only she doesn't
know what to deny!"
Doesn't that sound like SARS
at times? Increasingly, certain
branch offices of SARS,
Johannesburg in particular, are acting
imperiously and with little
regard to the ..


Light emitting diode (LED)-based process zone illumination and coaxial imaging using a matching narrow bandpass filter give images of a sufficient quality to be used in a novel seam tracking and process monitoring laser welding tool. Features of the image can be determined every 10 ms. Variations in the features imaged (area, aspect ratio and centre position), along with changes in the noise levels of photodiode-monitored process emissions, allow for the detection of welding process defects, including contamination of the cover slide, joint gaps, incorrect settings of beam focus or gas shielding flow rate, and loss of full penetration on loss of power or an unexpected increase in material thickness.


In "The Difference Principle Would Not Be Chosen behind the Veil of Ignorance," Johan E. Gustafsson argues that the parties in the Original Position (OP) would not choose the Difference Principle to regulate their society's basic structure. In reply to this internal critique, we provide two arguments. First, his choice models do not serve as a counterexample to the choice of the difference principle, as the models must assume that individual rationality scales to collective contexts in a way that begs the question in favor of utilitarianism. Second, the choice models he develops are incompatible with the constraints of fairness that apply in the OP, which by design subordinates claims of rationality to claims of impartiality. When the OP is modeled correctly the difference principle is indeed entailed by the conditions of the OP.


ECOS-09 (Earthquake Catalog of Switzerland 2009) is the current earthquake catalog of Switzerland. It integrates the following basic information:

The Macroseismic Earthquake Catalog of Switzerland, with events from AD 250, revised and supplemented to 2008;
Yearly reports of the Swiss earthquake commission since 1879;
Earthquake locations of the instrumental networks of the SED since 1975;
Supplemented by 12 earthquake catalogs from neighboring and international agencies.

The macro-seismic part of the catalog is based on the analysis of observed and historical impacts of earthquakes on people and the environment. The epicenters and earthquake magnitudes are estimated from this information. The instrumental part of the catalog is based on the analysis of measured ground-motion, from which the location of the epicenter and the magnitude can be directly computed. ECOS-09 covers the period AD 250 to the end of 2008. The available data covers Switzerland and bordering regions (Swiss coordinates (km): 460-882 / 20-350; geographical coordinates approx.: 5.6-11.1E / 45.4-48.3N). Hours are given in UTC (Coordinated Universal Time).


This paper describes the content and delivery of a Data Warehousing and Mining course that was developed for students in the Eberly College of Business at Indiana University of Pennsylvania. This elective course introduces students to the strategies, technologies, and techniques associated with this growing MIS specialty area. Students learn what is involved in planning, designing, building, using, and managing a data warehouse. Students also learn about how a data warehouse must fit into an over-all corporate data architecture that may include legacy systems, operational data stores, enterprise data warehouses, and data marts. In addition, students are exposed to the different data mining techniques used by organizations to derive information from the data warehouse for strategic and long-term business decision making.


The legal doctrine that assign blame for international crimes are numerous, unclear, ever-changing and often conceptually problematic. In this Essay, I question the prudence of retaining the radical doctrinal heterogeneity that, in large part, produces this state of disarray. Instead of tolerating different standards of participation across customary international law, the ICC statute and national systems of criminal law, I argue for a universal concept of participation that would apply whenever an international crime is charged, regardless of the jurisdiction hearing the case. Although I have argued elsewhere that a unitary theory of perpetration should serve this role, I here attempt to remain agnostic about the content of the universal system for which I advocate. In so doing, I isolate the question of universality from the theory of responsibility that would fill it, querying why so much energy is invested in generating treaties to harmonize definitions of international crimes, when no comparable initiative exists for the modes of participation these crimes couple with. I conclude this call for a universal notion of participation in atrocity by suggesting that the current disarray in this domain is more a challenge for academics and states than litigators and judges.


BACKGROUND
Multidrug resistance (MDR) is one of the major concerns in the treatment of cancer and one of the major causes of therapy failure. The overexpression of an ABC transporter, the ABCB1, is often associated with MDR in cancer. Previously it was observed that hydantoin compounds can modulate the activity of the ABCB1 pump.

MATERIALS AND METHODS
Fourteen hydantoin derivatives were synthesized and studied for their capacity to increase accumulation of ethidium bromide (EB) by mouse lymphoma cancer cells that were transfected with the human ABCB1 gene and overexpress the human ABCB1 pump.

RESULTS
It was observed that the accumulation of EB by the cells in the presence of four of the newly synthesized hydantoins was strongly increased. Similar but milder effects were also observed for the other seven hydantoins; the remaining three had no activity.

CONCLUSION
The 14 hydantoin compounds studied belong to three different structural groups. Structure-activity relationships were studied and important molecular substituents that were possibly responsible for increased the activity of the molecules were identified. This important information may lead to the continuation of our work and to the future synthesis of more active compounds.


Institutional portfolio management has two main goals: 1) to implement the policy risk of the institutional fund as efficiently as possible, and 2) to add value. While these two goals may be accomplished by beta drivers and alpha drivers, asset managers often attempt to extract alpha from beta drivers. This leads to expensive products that add more beta than alpha. To better manage institutional portfolios, beta products must be separated from alpha products, so that the two goals can be accomplished more effectively. This has implications both for the types of products produced by money managers and the types of products purchased by the institutional investor's staff.


We have applied Kramers-Kronig analysis to reflection spectra to determine the optical constants of ammonium hydroxide and of aqueous solutions of ammonium chloride and bromide. From considerations of the absorption indices k(ν) we conclude that ammonium hydroxide consists of a solution of NH3 in water, in which NH3 molecules are hydrogen bonded to neighboring water molecules. The spectrum of ammonium hydroxide differs from the spectra of ammonium salts, in which bands characteristic of NH4+ ions are prominent. The existence of ammonium hydroxide as an aerosol in planetary atmospheres is briefly discussed.


In a study encompassing 103 students in the sixth grade of the Dutch primary educational system, the effect of written text in combination with spoken text in a digital educational application on young readers is examined. The central question is whether the combination of these two information channels supports automatisation of the reading process of young readers so that it improves text comprehension or whether it causes overloading of the verbal channel. Two versions of the digital educational application WebQuests were used in this research. One version consisted of written texts accompanied by identical spoken texts; the other consisted of written texts only. To each version, half of the participants were randomly subscribed. The texts were informative of nature and their theme was 'the medieval city'. Textual open and multiple choice questions are used to measure text comprehension. The experiment shows that text comprehension of different types of young readers did not show any significant differences between the two versions of presentation. This implies that the study did not find any proof that addition of speech causes an overload of the verbal channel. Neither does it retrieve any significant evidence that it yields a surplus value to the automatisation of the reading process of young readers in digital educational applications.


The main aim of this paper is to construct menarcheal life-table of Nepal using sample survey data. An alternative technique for the construction such as a life-table based on models has been proposed. The construction of such a life-table describes the distribution of the waiting time for getting menarche at birth as well as some specified age or age group of girls (in years). The average expected number of years to attain menarche at birth was found to be 14.8 years. Likewise, if girls who attain 12th birthday, they most likely to wait another 3.2 years for getting menarche among older birth cohort girls while it was 2.4 years among younger birth cohort girls. Only 11 % girls had attained menarche before their 13th birthday. This finding may help for planners and policy-makers to design effective policy in reproductive health and behaviors of females in a country. Key words: menarche; life-table, recall error; memory lapse; logistic distribution DOI: 10.3126/njst.v11i0.4146 Nepal Journal of Science and Technology 11 (2010) 199-204


Title of Dissertation: RAPID HARVEST OF ALGAE FOR BIOFUEL PRODUCTION WITH THE AGGREGATING BACTERIUM BACILLUS SP. STRAIN RP1137 Ryan J. Powell, Doctor of Philosophy, 2014 Directed By: Dr. Russell T. Hill, Professor, University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science Algal biofuels represent one of the most promising means of sustainably replacing liquid fuels. However significant challenges remain before algal based fuels become competitive with fossil fuels. One of the largest challenges is the ability to harvest the algae in an economic and low energy manner. In this dissertation I describe the isolation of the bacterium, Bacillus sp. strain RP1137, which can rapidly aggregate several algae that are candidates for biofuel production. This bacterium aggregates algae in a pH dependent and reversible manner and retains its aggregation ability after paraformaldehyde fixation. The optimal ratio of bacteria to algae is described as well as the robustness of aggregation at different salinities and temperatures. Aggregation is dependent on the presence of calcium or magnesium ions and likely occurs via charge neutralization through binding of calcium ions to the cell surface of both algae and bacteria. I show charge neutralization occurs at least in part through binding of calcium to negatively charged teichoic acid residues. A comparison of the aggregation efficiency of RP1137, Bacillus megaterium QM B1551 and Bacillus subtilis SMY showed that RP1137 and B1551 are equally efficient at aggregating algae while SMY does not aggregate algae. The genome of RP1137 was sequenced to understand the molecular underpinning of the mechanism of aggregation. The difference in aggregation phenotypes between the three bacilli was used to inform a genomic comparison which revealed two putative proteins that are predicted to be bound to the cell wall and are found only in RP1137 and B1551 but not SMY. This work characterizes the conditions under which Bacillus sp. RP1137 aggregates algae and the mechanism by which that aggregation occurs. RAPID HARVEST OF ALGAE FOR BIOFUEL PRODUCTION WITH THE AGGREGATING BACTERIUM BACILLUS SP. STRAIN RP1137


Why are the eggs of the marsh wren deep brown, the winter wren's nearly white, and the gray catbird's a brilliant blue? And what in the DNA of a penduline tit makes the male weave a domed nest of fibers and the female line it with feathers, while the bird-of-paradise male builds no nest at all, and his bower-bird counterpart constructs an elaborate dwelling? These are typical questions that Bernd Heinrich pursues in the engaging style we've come to expect from him-supplemented here with his own stunning photographs and original watercolors. One of the world's great naturalists and nature writers, Heinrich shows us how the sensual beauty of birds can open our eyes to a hidden evolutionary process. Nesting, as Heinrich explores it here, encompasses what fascinates us most about birds-from their delightful songs and spectacular displays to their varied eggs and colorful plumage; from their sex roles and mating rituals to nest parasitism, infanticide, and predation. What moves birds to mate and parent their young in so many different ways is what interests Heinrich - and his insights into the nesting behavior of birds has more than a little to say about our own.


The high elevation and deep incision of the Alps have traditionally been used as an argument for recent tectonic activity that has elevated the belt and increased erosion rates. Normal faulting and horizontal extension, however, dominate current tectonic activity, and isostatic compensation of thinning crust should lead not to increased but to decreased mean elevations. Here we test the idea that enhanced Quaternary erosion of the Alps and isostatic compensation of the mass removed can account for the distribution of present-day geodetically measured rates of vertical movement in the western Alps. Using geophysical relief and Kuhlemann's estimated average erosion rate for the Alps, we quantify the spatial distribution of erosion and the volume of eroded rock, respectively. From these, we obtain a map of rock eroded within a given time span. The calculated isostatic response of the Alpine lithosphere to erosional unloading for a variety of values of the flexural rigidity of the Alpine lithosphere reaches a maximum of [~]500 m since 1 Ma in the inner Swiss Alps, and vertical movement extends across the entire belt, including peri-Alpine basins. Assuming a steady erosion rate since 1 Ma, this rebound accounts for half of the measured vertical motion of 1.1 mm/yr in the southern Valais. Thus, a significant fraction ([~]50%) of the present-day vertical movement results from the isostatic response to enhanced erosion during Plio-Quaternary time


Background and Objective :  One of the purposes for organizing the basic medical science comprehensive examination is for medical students to self-evaluate and prepare prior the National License step 1 examination (National licence). The student's opinions of the examination is necessary to improve the quality of the comprehensive examination.  This study aim to  examine opinions of the 4th year medical students toward comprehensive examination's questions and schedules. Methods : This was a descriptive study  at Faculty of Medicine, Khon Kaen University. A total of  252 4 th year medical students of  the Faculty of Medicine, Khon Kaen University, in the academic year 2015 Newly developed  online Self-administered questionnaire.   SPSS-PC v.19 was used to analyze descriptive statistics (proportions,percentage,frequency,mean,SD) Results : The response rate was 45.6 % (115/252). The respondents felt that 82.7% of the questions in the comprehensive examination were the clinical application whilst 17.4% were recall type of questions. The participating 4th year medical students agreed that the comprehensive examination should be a requirement for further advancement to the clinical year (76.1%) and should be continued. 45.1%of the respondents thought it was appropriate to have the comprehensive examination at four weeks prior the National Licence1 and35.4 % felt that the results of the comprehensive examination should be announced at four weeks prior the National license. The respondents' self-study for the examination had taken more than 7 hours per day (48.6%). Conclusion : The majority of the 4th year medical students felt that the comprehensive examination had clinical application more than recall type of questions. The majority thought announcement for the examination and outcomes should be announced at four weeks prior the National licence1 and they thought it was appropriate to have the comprehensive examination at four weeks prior the National licence1. The majority preferred self-learning prior the examination


Across the country, budget cuts to education have resulted in decreased funds available for extracurricular activities. This trend in policy may have a significant impact on future outcomes, as reflected in student success measures. Using two datasets that were collected over the last two decades, in the present study, the researcher assessed the relationship between participation in extracurricular activities and the future socioeconomic outcomes in respondents' lives, including post-secondary education, full-time employment status, and income. Two existing large-scale longitudinal studies of the U.S. secondary students, i.e., the National Education Longitudinal Study of 1988 (NELS: 88) and the Education Longitudinal Study of 2002 (ELS: 2002), served as data sources. As these surveys were conducted about a decade apart, the information they yielded was suitable for meeting the study aims. Generalized linear models, such as multiple regression and logistic regression analyses, by applying sample weights, were performed to examine the impacts of extracurricular activity participation on the aforementioned outcome measures. The implications of the study findings, including the comparison of the results from two different datasets collected at different time points, were interpreted with respect to school budget policy. Results from the NELS: 88 and ELS: 2002 were also compared to evaluate the trends in the characteristics and performance of U.S. high school students during the 1988-2012 period.


Abstract Background: The release of the results of the oestrogen plus progesterone therapy (EPT) arm of the Women's Health Initiative (WHI) in July 2002 started a worldwide process of reconsideration of the rationale behind hormone therapy (HT). This process was accelerated after the release of the results from the oestrogen-only (ET) arm of the same study. The results of the WHI reinforced the indications of HT to alleviate vasomotor symptoms and to prevent bone loss associated with early menopause, but refuted the possibility of cardioprotective effects and raised uncertainty around the risk of breast cancer for long-term users. In response, new guidelines and position statements were developed to aid healthcare practitioners and patients in various countries, including South Africa. The dissemination and penetration of all this information has been assessed in a number of countries, but the extent of its effect on the South African market is as yet unknown. Accordingly, the aim of this study was to assess the use of HT in the South African private sector from 2001 to 2005. Methods: Monthly HT sales data for January 2001 to October 2005 were obtained from IMS Health (SA). Three successive periods were compared: (1) January 2001 to June 2002 (discontinuation of the WHI oestrogen plus progestogen arm), (2) July 2002 to February 2004 (termination of the WHI oestrogen only arm) and (3) March 2004 to October 2005. Results: Overall, sales of HT fell 6.9% between periods 1 and 2 and 14.6% between periods 2 and 3. The total sales of ET predominated; they were more than double those of EPT. For ET, the sale of conjugated equine oestrogen (CEE) preparations exceeded those of non-CEE ET preparations, while for EPT preparations the reverse was true. The decline in ET sales was mostly accounted for by the fall in sales of CEE, by 9.8% and 20.6% for the two periods respectively. There was an increase in sales of both low-dose CEE and non-CEE, although the magnitude of increase in the case of the latter was much greater. Throughout the entire study period, CEE 0.625 mg tablets were found to account for the greatest sales volumes. Private sector sales represented 74.4% of total national HT sales over this period. Conclusion: The release of the WHI findings resulted in a modest decrease in HT sales in South Africa, although it was less dramatic than sales reported elsewhere. The change in prescribing cannot be attributed to any single factor. Factors such as publicity, adherence to new guidelines, and pharmaceutical marketing may all have contributed. Guidelines need to be updated as the results of new research continue to be published. There is also a need to periodically review prescribing trends, and to assess compliance with evidence-based guidelines, in order to improve the quality of medicines use. The majority of prescriptions for HT in South Africa are written by general practitioners, rather than by specialists. It is thus imperative that guidelines be appropriately framed for this market, as well as interpreted and applied.


Eight marine fish species were obtained from two nearby wet markets (Sungei Besi and Kajang). The fish were analysed
for total viable counts, coliforms, Vibrio parahaemolyticus and histamine-producingbacteria. Total viable count was
determined using Plate Count Agar; coliforms using McConkey Broth; Vibrio parahaemolyticus by TCBS a garand
histamine-producing bacteria were determined using Niven's media. The total counts on all fish from both markets ranged
from 1rf to 1rf per gram offish, coliforms ranged from 1rJ to 1rf pergram, and all thefish examined were positive for
both Vibrio parahaemolyticus and histamine-producing bacteria.


Church discipline: A fair and just pastoral-ecclesiatical act? Is article 60.3 of the Church Order of the Dutch Reformed Church a spiritual offspring of the Church Order of Dordt? Departing from the viewpoint that church discipline is spiritual in nature, article 60.3 of the Church Order of the Dutch Reformed Church states that it should be exercised in a fair and just pastoral-ecclesiatical way. In doing so, this Order should be obedient to the Word of God, the confessions of faith of this church, its church order and the normative character of the church as an institution of society. This requirement, in terms of the formulation of article 60.3, is investigated. In addition, article 60.3 is compared with the Church Order of Dordt to determine whether the former may be regarded as a spiritual offspring of the latter. It is concluded that article 60.3 is indeed scriptural, according to the confessions and determined by the character of the church. It is therefore also an offspring of the Church Order of Dordt.


This paper deals with a novel Plug-and-Play (PnP) architecture for the control and monitoring of Large-Scale Systems (LSSs). The proposed approach integrates a distributed Model Predictive Control (MPC) strategy with a distributed Fault Detection (FD) architecture and methodology in a PnP framework. The basic concept is to use the FD scheme as an autonomous decision support system: once a fault is detected, the faulty subsystem can be unplugged to avoid the propagation of the fault in the interconnected LSS. Analogously, once the issue has been solved, the disconnected subsystem can be re-plugged-in. PnP design of local controllers and detectors allow these operations to be performed safely, i.e. without spoiling stability and constraint satisfaction for the whole LSS. The PnP distributed MPC is derived for a class of nonlinear LSS and an integrated PnP distributed FD architecture is proposed. Simulation results show the effectiveness and the potential of the general methodology.


In 2013 NATO School, Oberammergau, is celebrating its 60th Anniversary. Within the last 60 years NATO School established to be the global leader in multinational military education and individual training. In addition to the resident programme and the mobile training teams NATO School offers, the Advanced Distributed Learning (ADL) Office developed for the last decade a solid online programme enhancing the NATO School's academic curricula.
NATO School's Advanced Distributed Learning (ADL) Office is not only enriching NATO School's course offers, it supports NATO/PfP ADL efforts through a online collaborative platform and two learning management systems(LMS). Currently NATO School has over 37 ADL courses online, which are supporting various resident courses. The idea is the offer NATO School students a basic information about the course topic to allow them to inform themselves prior attending a NATO School course. ADL for pre-learning purposes, as used at NATO School, can be a very useful tool in support of the resident courses. This allows the course director and the lectures to presume certain knowledge on each course topic and address the audience on more detailed issues of the topic. In addition to that ADL must not be seen as a strict pre-learning tool, ADL offers a widespread possibility in individual training and learning, e.g. instructor lead course preparation, e-readings and the building of communities of practise. By using ADL in different ways the Course Director can focus on the specials needs of his audience and tailor not only the ADL course, but especially the resident course to the needs and wishes of the students. Besides the pre-learning ADL courses, NATO School's ADL Office produced also courses of broader interest, which give students supplementary information on current NATO topics, such as e.g. Terrorism, Trafficking in Human Beings, Rules of Engagement, Procurement and Contracting.

ADL at NATO School proved to be not only an additional learning tool which is offered to students it managed to prove that collaborative learning is possible within a NATO / PfP training and education environment. By linking the different efforts, the learner gets most out of the NATO School experience and gets best possibly prepared for the the every day tasks.

This article will discuss how NATO School's ADL Office managed to establish the idea of collaborative learning at NATO School and how the curricula of a institution can be enhanced through various e-Learning tools. The power of global collaboration, which finds it start at the ADL Office at NATO School Oberammergau, proves that within a world of rapid changing threats and challenges on different levels and through different acteurs time and place independent training and teaching is inevitable.

The idea of the knowledge community e-NATO, which has its beginnings in the ADL collaboration through the PfP Consortium, will drive future developments within that area and will continue to enhance and drive the training, tailored to the needs of each individual soldier, seaman of airman.


This thesis develops an approach for detecting behavioral anomalies using tracks of pedestrians, including specified threat tracks. The application area is installation security with focus on monitoring the entrances of these installations. The approach specifically allows operator interaction to specify threats and to interactively adjust the system parameters depending on the context of the situation. This research has discovered physically meaningful features that are developed and organized in a manner so that features can be systematically added or deleted depending on the situation and operator preference. The features can be used with standard classifiers such as the one class support vector machine that is used in this research. The one class support vector machine is very stable for this application and provides significant insight into the nature of its decision boundary. Its stability and ease of system use stems from a unique automatic tuning approach that is computationally efficient and compares favorable with competing approaches. This automatic tuning approach is believed to be novel and was developed as part of this research. Results are provided using both measured and synthetic data.


The paper compares the EU's 2013 and 2016 digital competence (DigComp) framework with the UK education's 2009 and 2015 digital capabilities (DigCap) framework. The similarities are in the increased focus on data within privacy/overall literacy and the inclusion of well-being. Among the differences, DigComp focuses on life-long learning whereas DigCap is more holistic. This is explained by diverse target audiences, as DigComp has to be relevant to various stakeholders across the EU, whilst DigCap serves the UK higher and further education sector. Although education is dominant within DigCap, both frameworks agree on the importance of digital skills, knowledge and attitudes to the fields of education, training and employment. The paper discusses a UK HE case study of a technology enhanced learning toolkit. It concludes by arguing for a human-centred approach to digital competence and capability frameworks, in which learning, self-development and wellbeing play a vital role.


Permission warnings and privacy policy enforcement are widely used to inform mobile app users of privacy threats. These mechanisms disclose information about use of privacy-sensitive resources such as user location or contact list. However, it has been reported that very few users pay attention to these mechanisms during installation. Instead, a user may focus on a more user-friendly source of information: text description, which is written by a developer who has an incentive to attract user attention. When a user searches for an app in a marketplace, his/her query keywords are generally searched on text descriptions of mobile apps. Then, users review the search results, often by reading the text descriptions; i.e., text descriptions are associated with user expectation. Given these observations, this paper aims to address the following research question: What are the primary reasons that text descriptions of mobile apps fail to refer to the use of privacy-sensitive resources? To answer the research question, we performed empirical large-scale study using a huge volume of apps with our ACODE (Analyzing COde and DEscription) framework, which combines static code analysis and text analysis. We developed light-weight techniques so that we can handle hundred of thousands of distinct text descriptions. We note that our text analysis technique does not require manually labeled descriptions; hence, it enables us to conduct a large-scale measurement study without requiring expensive labeling tasks. Our analysis of 200,000 apps and multilingual text descriptions collected from official and third-party Android marketplaces revealed four primary factors that are associated with the inconsistencies between text descriptions and the use of privacy-sensitive resources: (1) existence of app building services/frameworks that tend to add API permissions/code unnecessarily, (2) existence of prolific developers who publish many ap


This study examines the relationship between types of government and level of public spending. There are two competing perspectives about the consequences of coalition governments for the size of public expenditures. The most common argument is that government spending increases under coalition governments, compared with one-party governments. Another line of thought contends that coalition governments are often stalled in the status quo due to the veto power of each member. Our analysis of public spending in 33 parliamentary democracies between 1972 and 2000 confirms the latter argument that coalition governments have a status quo bias. We find, particularly, that single-party governments are apt to modify the budget according to the current fiscal condition, which enables them to increase or decrease spending more flexibly. By contrast, coalition governments find it difficult not only to decrease spending under difficult fiscal conditions but also to increase it even under a more favorable context, because each member of the coalition has a veto power.


The introduction of data analytics into medicine has changed the nature of patient treatment. In this, patients are asked to disclose personal information such as genetic markers, lifestyle habits, and clinical history. This data is then used by statistical models to predict personalized treatments. However, due to privacy concerns, patients often desire to withhold sensitive information. This self-censorship can impede proper diagnosis and treatment, which may lead to serious health complications and even death over time. In this paper, we present privacy distillation, a mechanism which allows patients to control the type and amount of information they wish to disclose to the healthcare providers for use in statistical models. Meanwhile, it retains the accuracy of models that have access to all patient data under a sufficient but not full set of privacy-relevant information. We validate privacy distillation using a corpus of patients prescribed to warfarin for a personalized dosage. We use a deep neural network to implement privacy distillation for training and making dose predictions. We find that privacy distillation withsufficient privacy-relevant information i) retains accuracy almost as good as having all patient data (only 3% worse), and ii) is effective at preventing errors that introduce health-related risks (only 3.9% worse under-or over-prescriptions).


Background This collaboration enable nine students in Year 11 and two teachers from Our Lady of Sion College to engage with our patients, their families and staff while exploring a number of topics. Aim Debunking myths about death, dying and the meaning of Palliative Care. Methods Patients and family members were interviewed to explore how they have come to understand how the clinical and non-clinical needs of their family members are met. Results Student Victoria reflects on her experiences 'I could use the clichéd phrase "it changed my life, but in all reality, it did so much more than that. I learnt that hospitals do not have to be places that are starch-white and unfriendly nor do doctors and nurses have to be people to fear. I learnt that courage is an intangible, amazing force that comes from the most unlikely people and places. I learnt that death does not have to be feared; especially not when it could be embraced. I learnt that it is possible for death, the end of someone's life, to be a celebration; a celebration of the life that has occurred rather than the death itself…Finally, I learnt to see past the physical or intellectual disabilities and see the person who is inside. The courageous, friendly, funny, intelligent, remarkable person that they truly are". Discussion The students, their families and the school community have a new understanding of Palliative Care. Conclusion This process can be taught to other health care providers—it will create changes in thinking in the community.