ABSTRACT Liritzis, I.; Westra, A., and Miao, C., 2019. Disaster geoarchaeology and natural cataclysms in world cultural evolution: An overview. Journal of Coastal Research, 35(6), 1307–1330. Coconut Creek (Florida), ISSN 0749-0208. Human records of short-term, catastrophic, geological processes, mainly in coastal or fluvial environments, and related phenomena in historic and prehistoric times have to be considered as functions of event intensities and impacts (and damages) caused on ancient human settlements and lives. Catastrophic events, such as, floods, earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, tsunamis, and the collapse of ancient cultures, in particular, those allied to the birth of myths and legends, are the subject of long-lasting, vivid debate. Longer-term, more-or-less consecutive, geological processes and climatic fluctuations have a more pronounced effect on human history. Historical accounts provide many descriptions about cultural evolution in a recurrent manner. The geoarchives (geology, sedimentology, and geomorphology) and the human record (archaeology and history) are considered documentary evidence of these past events. Astronomical causes have introduced severe phenomena (warming, heavy precipitation, monsoons, droughts) imposed on ancient societies, including catastrophic meteor impact. Terrestrial upheavals and astronomical impacts have introduced a nonlinear character of a quasiperiodic nature in transforming human cultural evolution and reshaping the earth's surface. The transient nature of geological, geophysical, and proxy climatic indices, as well as, astronomical phenomena within the solar system, exhibit a wide spectrum of quasiperiodic frequencies as variable and effective environmental factors, which, in addition to anthropogenic factors, reshape the human context. Several conspicuous examples have been reported on mythological deluges and their relation to natural catastrophes. The Anthropocene sea level rise and climatic episodes have had a decisive and prominent role on coastlines and human settlements. Alluvial sediments, sedimentary deposits, and land modifications have drastic effects on settlements. These effects were memorized as floods, deluges, and fallen sky. World examples of disasters derived from the coastal Mediterranean, the Great Flood of Gun-Yu in China, and those from South America, Mesopotamia, and the Middle East and others, were critically assessed with scientific methods.


The many-body problem is usually approached from one of two perspectives: the first originates from an action and is based on Feynman diagrams, the second is centered around a Hamiltonian and deals with quantum states and operators. The connection between results obtained in either way is made through spectral (or Lehmann) representations, well known for two-point correlation functions. Here, we complete this picture by deriving generalized spectral representations for multipoint correlation functions that apply in all of the commonly used many-body frameworks: the imaginary-frequency Matsubara and the real-frequency zero-temperature and Keldysh formalisms. Our approach separates spectral from time-ordering properties and thereby elucidates the relation between the three formalisms. The spectral representations of multipoint correlation functions consist of partial spectral functions and convolution kernels. The former are formalism independent but system specific; the latter are system independent but formalism specific. Using a numerical renormalization group (NRG) method described in the accompanying paper, we present numerical results for selected quantum impurity models. We focus on the four-point vertex (effective interaction) obtained for the single-impurity Anderson model and for the dynamical mean-field theory (DMFT) solution of the one-band Hubbard model. In the Matsubara formalism, we analyze the evolution of the vertex down to very low temperatures and describe the crossover from strongly interacting particles to weakly interacting quasiparticles. In the Keldysh formalism, we first benchmark our results at weak and infinitely strong interaction and then reveal the rich real-frequency structure of the DMFT vertex in the coexistence regime of a metallic and insulating solution.


In a December 2014 opinion, the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) torpedoed the draft accession agreement that would have enabled the EU to accede to the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) on the grounds of its incompatibility with the EU's constitutional structure. The opinion has been widely criticized as evidence of the CJEU's unwillingness to be bridled by another international court and its anxiety over losing its self-proclaimed primacy within Europe's juridical space. This short essay argues that the Court's reasoning is symptomatic of an hubristic attitude of "European exceptionalism" that pervades the self-understanding of EU institutions, not least the Court itself. According to the exceptionalist narrative, the enlightened character of EU institutions exempts them from the normative constraints designed to check more imperfect forms of political organization such as nation-states. The paper submits that this is a more alarming, not to mention ironic, stance for a supranational Court to espouse than either institutional self-importance or exaggerated anxiety over constitutional incompatibility.


The study of thermal hydraulics of a hexagonal sub-assembly is essential to ensure the safe operation of liquid metal cooled fast reactors. Identifying the dryout location in fuel sub-assembly (FSA) is a precursor to the determination of safe Critical Heat Flux (CHF) margins. In this study, a sub-channel analysis code coupled with a film thickness model is employed to predict the CHF location in a hexagonal sub-assembly. A simple post-CHF heat transfer model is proposed and validated against the experimental data. The nature of flow resistance changes and operating conditions would significantly influence the occurrence of CHF. To this end, the effect of blockage (0.0 ≤ b ≤ 0.3) and axial power distribution (APD) on CHF is systematically investigated in a hexagonal sub-assembly. It was observed that the presence of blockage causes coolant flow maldistribution which results in an early occurrence of CHF for higher mass flux (G > 1500 kgm−2s−1) and lower inlet subcooling (ΔTsub ≤ 30 K) conditions for b = 0.3. Furthermore, a comparative study of uniform and sinusoidal heat flux distributions is performed. It was noticed that sinusoidal APD causes the early occurrence of CHF compared to uniform APD.


Humpback whales Megaptera novaeangliae in the North Atlantic Ocean were severely depleted by exploitation. With legal protection since 1955, substantial recovery is likely to have occurred, but information on abundance and rates of increase has been limited. We present an assessment of humpback whale abundance in the North Atlantic Ocean based upon capture- recapture estimates using naturally marked individuals. These data result from a long-term collabo- rative effort combining large-scale dedicated projects and incidental data collection, leading to extensive geographical coverage. The application of robust statistical techniques produces estimates of greater accuracy and precision than has previously been possible. Abundance estimates ranging from 5930 to 12 580 individuals, with coefficients of variation (CVs) from 0.07 to 0.39, were calculated for the West Indies breeding population using data from 1979 to 1993. The most precise estimate for the West Indies breeding population is 10 752 (CV = 0.068) for 1992 and 1993. Due to application of new analytical methods, these estimates are larger and more precise than those previously published from similar time periods. The average rate of increase for the West Indies breeding population over a 14 yr period was estimated to be 0.031 (SE = 0.005). The best available estimate for the entire North Atlantic population of humpback whales is 11 570 (95% CI 10 290 to 13 390) based upon samples from 1992 and 1993. However, this estimate may be biased downwards to an unknown extent due to heterogeneity in capture probabilities that do not influence the West Indies estimates.


We present a modified Gabor-like setup able to recover the complex amplitude distribution of the object wavefront from a set of inline recorded holograms. The proposed configuration is characterized by the insertion of a condenser lens and a spatial light modulator (SLM) into the classical Gabor configuration. The phase shift is introduced by the SLM that modulates the central spot (dc term) in an intermediate plane, without an additional reference beam. Experimental results validate the proposed method and produce superior results to the Gabor method.


Consumers' trust beliefs are considered amongst the most important psychological states influencing their online behavior. Understanding the antecedents of consumer trust is thus of both academic and practical interest. Research into these antecedents has however been disconnected, and has not been integrated to provide an answer as to which are the most significant antecedents of trust. To address this problem, we synthesized the antecedents of trust in e-service through a meta-analysis of 67 previously published studies. The findings showed that structural assurance (STA), reputation (REP), perceived usefulness (PU), system quality (SYQ) and service quality (SEQ) demonstrate the strongest effect sizes on trust. Furthermore, vendor size (SIZ) and privacy protection (PRC) also affect trust, but to a lesser degree. Moreover, we found trust can be usefully integrated with constructs from the TAM and IS Success models. We considered explanations for identified heterogeneity in effect sizes through moderator analysis. We found that cultural context of the study almost moderated all the effect sizes, and certain effect sizes were also moderated by factors such as the type of e-service and the use of student samples. Results are important to guiding future e-services research and helping practitioners to better build e-service promotion strategy.


The question that initiated this article was: 'What does national identity mean in this transnational era, given Okwui Enwezor's comment that one can witness "the terrible nearness of distant places" within the globalized circuits of international exhibitions?' It may well be that thinking about 'difference' would be better understood in light of these nearnesses and distances. In this article we are attuned to these spaces as a means of thinking about national identity as what is to be grappled with for a realistic rendering of cultural translation. Starting from Walter Benjamin's discussion of translation's vital emphasis on there having to be a reciprocal relationship between languages, this article's main concern lies in the cultural translation taking place in the visual. When transmitting certain meanings of artworks from one culture to another, there is no such thing as a 'transparent' translation between the two in the visual. As a consequence, we are led to turn to the realm of un-translatability, with all of the challenges that this presents. In this article, we intend to examine this global issue in a 'local' way, so it is fitting, then, to consider Korean contemporary art on British soil in terms of cultural translation. In reading Korean art within a British context, we seek to reveal the distance between the two cultures; a cultural distance which is at once both translatable and un-translatable. To this end, we first consider the works of contemporary artists such as Chan Hyo Bae, Eem Yun Kang and U Ram Choe, who have either exhibited or are currently working in Britain. These works are utilized as examples in which the artists are seen to expose different ways of keeping their 'transnational' position in representing their work while being categorized as 'Korean'. Following this, we then concentrate on two extended case studies: Nam June Paik and his nomadic way of eluding nationality by way of global resettling; and Mee Kyoung Shin's concern with cultural translation as sculpture. We examine how, through her work, she sheds light on the translation taking place between different cultures when crossing the dubious border of 'nationality'.


Steel-concrete composite bridge has been widely used in recent years, it can take full advantage of the characteristics of the steel and concrete, greatly saves the cost of bridge. Traditional composite structure, pouring concrete in the erection of steel beams, this method of construction causing long bridge construction period and the place concrete quality is not reliable. Against the disadvantages, Scholars put forward the concept of prefabricated composite structures. According to the analysis of its stress, this paper put forward the Finite element modeling method of Prefabricated Steel-Concrete Composite Bridge, it can accurately simulate each construction stage. KeywordsPrefabricated Composite, Finite element modeling method, construction stage


Background: Antimicrobial sensitivity pattern from clinical isolates can reveal important information that can help in drafting the hospital antibiotic policy as well as help improve prescribing patterns and patient outcome in a particular region.Methods: Data from the results of the antimicrobial sensitivity pattern of clinical isolates of the patients between 1stJuly and 31st December 2018 were collected on a pre-designed and pre tested case study form and analysed with the help of descriptive statistics.Results: A total of 75 blood culture reports were obtained which showed 58 gram positive cultures. Further 46 of the gram positive samples were positive for Coagulase negative Staphylococcus. A total of 305 urine samples were obtained for culture which showed gram negative cultures. Paediatric and medicine wards were the common yielding sites. A total of 242 pus reports were obtained which showed 47 gram positive cultures. A total of 154 wound swab samples were obtained which showed 47 gram positive cultures. For pus and wound swab samples, surgery wards were the common yielding sites. Common gram negative organisms seen were Klebsiella sp., E. coli, Citrobacter sp., Pseudomonas, Proteus and Enterobacter. Gram positive organisms were commonly resistant to Erythromycin, orally active Penicillins, Vancomycin and Teicoplanin and gram negative organisms were commonly resistant to Cephalosporins, Aminoglycosides, Colistin, Fluroquinolones and Meropenem.Conclusions: This study showed that over six months samples of body pus, wound swab, blood culture and urine showed high levels of resistance to commonly used antibiotics. This would provide an outline for development of an effective hospital Infection Control Policy.


Abstract Fibromyalgia (FM) is a recognised chronic pain syndrome that is diagnosed without any special investigations. This syndrome constitutes widespread pain in a specific distribution, for a specific period of time, as well as tenderness over at least 11 out of 18 clearly defined tender points. This syndrome is a common cause of other conditions commonly encountered in general practice and this article provides a practical and clinical approach to diagnosis and treatment.


Revised version of portion of a paper presented at final conference of the Mapping
frontiers, plotting pathways: routes to North-South cooperation in a divided island
programme, City Hotel, Armagh, 19-20 January 2006


We study the temperature and pressure dependence of the structural and electronic properties of the iron pnictide superconductor BaFe${}_{2}$As${}_{2}$. We use density functional theory-based Born-Oppenheimer molecular dynamics simulations to investigate the system at temperatures from $T=5$ to 150 K and pressures from $P=0$ to 30 GPa. When increasing the pressure at low temperature, we find the two transitions from an orthorhombic to a tetragonal and to a collapsed tetragonal structure that are also observed in zero temperature structure relaxations and in experiment. These transitions are considerably smeared out at finite temperature, with the critical pressure for the first transition increasing with temperature. We also analyze the electronic structure of BaFe${}_{2}$As${}_{2}$ at finite temperature and the effect of the structural oscillations on the band structure and Fermi surface in comparison to known zero-temperature results. Our results should be helpful for resolving some open issues in experimental reports for BaFe${}_{2}$As${}_{2}$ under high pressure.


In this paper, a probability-based rendering (PBR) method is described for reconstructing an intermediate view with a steady-state matching probability (SSMP) density function. Conventionally, given multiple reference images, the intermediate view is synthesized via the depth image-based rendering technique in which geometric information (e.g., depth) is explicitly leveraged, thus leading to serious rendering artifacts on the synthesized view even with small depth errors. We address this problem by formulating the rendering process as an image fusion in which the textures of all probable matching points are adaptively blended with the SSMP representing the likelihood that points among the input reference images are matched. The PBR hence becomes more robust against depth estimation errors than existing view synthesis approaches. The MP in the steady-state, SSMP, is inferred for each pixel via the random walk with restart (RWR). The RWR always guarantees visually consistent MP, as opposed to conventional optimization schemes (e.g., diffusion or filtering-based approaches), the accuracy of which heavily depends on parameters used. Experimental results demonstrate the superiority of the PBR over the existing view synthesis approaches both qualitatively and quantitatively. Especially, the PBR is effective in suppressing flicker artifacts of virtual video rendering although no temporal aspect is considered. Moreover, it is shown that the depth map itself calculated from our RWR-based method (by simply choosing the most probable matching point) is also comparable with that of the state-of-the-art local stereo matching methods.


Highly soluble iodide/triiodide (I−/I3−) couples are one of the most promising redox-active species for high-energy-density electrochemical energy storage applications. However, to ensure high reversibility, only two-thirds of the iodide capacity is accessed and one-third of the iodide ions act as a complexing agent to stabilize the iodine (I2), forming I3− (I2I−). Here, we exploit bromide ions (Br−) as a complexing agent to stabilize the iodine, forming iodine–bromide ions (I2Br−), which frees up iodide ions and increases the capacity. Applying this strategy, we demonstrate a novel zinc/iodine–bromide battery to achieve an energy density of 101 W h Lposolyte+negolyte−1 (or 202 W h Lposolyte−1), which is the highest energy density achieved for aqueous flow batteries to date. This strategy can be further generalized to nonaqueous iodide-based batteries (i.e. lithium/polyiodide battery), offering new opportunities to improve high-energy iodide-based energy storage technologies.


The problems of investigation of contemporary illuminants characteristics are considered. Particularly the LED lamps of the following trade marks were tested: «Maxus», «Electrum», «Lemaso». Photometric and electrotechnical parameters, stated by the producers, were tested. The investigation revealed that the stated illuminants' power did not correspond to the actual experimental data, in some cases the 8% exceeding was registered (Lemaso). On the other hand, the actual power of "Maxus" and "Electrum" LED lamps was lower than stated, -22,5 % and -2,35 % accordingly. The low power coefficient is the major drawback of LED lamps in Ukrainian market. Its actual value ranges are 0,4–0,65, whereas its minimal value for a LED lamp of 5-25 Watt power is considered to be not less than 0,8.


The workload of drivers has been increasing in modern times due to the growing use of In-Vehicle systems. The higher task demand resulting from these extra visual and auditory stimuli presents an increasingly challenging problem for drivers, and has become a growing safety concern, as the higher workloads can adversely affect driving performance and must be balanced against the benefits from in-vehicle systems. Existing models suggest that when the induced workload is relatively low, drivers can deal with this increased demand by using different coping strategies; however, when the workload increases above a certain level, drivers' performance decreases. These models are relatively simplistic and do not describe the extent to which drivers' coping strategies can impact on the relationship between workload and performance, which are difficult to observe by traditional measures. The literature suggests that visual behaviour or eye movements, with its physiological nature, combines attributes of both attention state and human behaviour, and can be used to provide sensitive, diagnostic, and instantaneous measurements to investigate the impact of increased workload on performance, and explore associated coping strategies. An on-road experiment was therefore conducted to observe drivers' behaviour when their workload was increased by in-vehicle secondary tasks, and the impact this had on their performance, using eye movement as well as traditional vehicle control and manoeuvring measurements. The field experiment was run under two driving scenarios of Car-Following and Free-Driving, on two road sections in Hampshire over a period of three months, using the Transportation Research Group's Instrumented Vehicle (IV) and a FaceLabTM eye monitoring system. An Operation Simulation System was developed for drivers to perform a series of in-vehicle auditory and visual tasks through touch screen and audio systems, which reflected two different types of workload (i.e. mental and visual), with three levels of difficulty. Surveys were also conducted during and after each test run to assess drivers' workload perception and gain an understanding of their experiences of performing the tasks, and a database established to organise all the information collected to enable subsequent analyses to be conducted readily. The results show that drivers' behaviour was significantly impacted by additional tasks, and their secondary task performance decreased steadily with task complexity. The effects were consistent across the two Scenarios, although driving performance generally deteriorated more for the visual tasks than auditory ones, which reflects the higher conflict of visual and manual resource caused by these tasks, and all drivers took action to compensate either by increasing their headways in Car-Following, or reducing their speed in Free-Driving. The effects were reflected in their visual behaviour, which showed higher blink rates and shrunk visual searching range for the auditory tasks, i.e. a higher mental workload over baseline driving, and higher saccade and more visual transactions between different objects for the visual ones. Differences were also found in the driving and visual behaviour of individual driver characteristics groups, including gender and different experience groups. While traditional performance measurements showed many differences in behaviour due to the extra in-vehicle tasks, the different coping strategies adopted by drivers were typically observed only through the analysis of their visual behaviour. The use of these additional measurements provides an improvement to existing models for describing the relationship between workload and performance in dual-tasking.


Due to its application in various dynamic systems, the free vibration behavior of a single-degree-of-freedom (SDoF) oscillator system with nonperiodic time-varying parameters has been the subject of recent interest. When dealing with this subject, past investigators have often isolated two special states of free vibration from the governing equation of motion. Naturally, this leads to the examination of solutions to two separate equations making it a tedious process given that each equation is different and equally complicated to solve. This paper presents a single equation that does not discriminate between the two special free vibration cases. The equation allows the description of all possible free vibration states and the two commonly investigated cases become its special cases. The procedure is illustrated by analyzing the free vibration behavior of a SDoF oscillator system subjected to a linear time-varying mass, constant stiffness, and damping. The solution established here highlights the critical role played by negative damping on the instability of the system. Based on this role, a minimum damping criterion that ensures stability is defined in terms of the natural frequency and the rate of change of mass of the principal system. Finally, the solution is used further to develop a numerical procedure for analyzing systems with arbitrary time-varying mass. A numerical example demonstrates that the proposed method converges to the exact solution more rapidly compared with other generic time stepping techniques.


We have demonstrated image transmission through a multimode fiber by using optical phase conjugation. By using the wave-front reversal properties of degenerate four-wave mixing, we have compensated for the degradation of the image that is due to modal dispersion in a fiber.


BACKGROUND
An association between the ABO blood group and the risk of certain malignancies, including pancreatic and gastric cancer, has been reported previously. However, it is unclear whether this association is valid for gastrointestinal stromal tumors (GIST). In this study, ABO blood groups and the Rh factor were investigated in a series of GIST cases.

MATERIAL AND METHODS
In 162 patients with GIST, blood group and Rh factor were examined and compared with a control group of 3,022,883 healthy volunteer blood donors of the Turkish Red Crescent between 2004 and 2011. The relationship of blood groups with tumor size, mitotic activity, and age were also evaluated.

RESULTS
Overall, the ABO blood group and Rh factor distributions of the 162 patients with GIST were similar to those of the general population. There were no significant differences between both ABO blood types and Rh factor in terms of tumor size, mitotic activity, and age.

CONCLUSION
This is the first study reported on this issue. In our study, we didn't find any relationship between GIST and ABO blood group and Rh factor. However further studies with larger number of patients are needed to establish the role of blood groups in this population.


Recent research has shown the promise of using propositional reasoning and search to solve AI planning problems. In this paper, we further explore this area by applying Integer Programming to solve AI planning problems. The application of Integer Programming to AI planning has a potentially significant advantage, as it allows quite naturally for the incorporation of numerical constraints and objectives into the planning domain. Moreover, the application of Integer Programming to AI planning addresses one of the challenges in propositional reasoning posed by Kautz and Selman, who conjectured that the principal technique used to solve Integer Programs--the linear programming (LP) relaxation--is not useful when applied to propositional search.

We discuss various IP formulations for the class of planning problems based on STRIPS-style planning operators. Our main objective is to show that a carefully chosen IP formulation significantly improves the "strength" of the LP relaxation, and that the resultant LPs are useful in solving the IP and the associated planning problems. Our results clearly show the importance of choosing the "right" representation, and more generally the promise of using Integer Programming techniques in the AI planning domain.


The United States has committed itself to many international institutions that make decisions affecting this country's rights and duties under international law. These international decision-making bodies include the International Court of Justice at the Hague, the North American Free Trade Agreement arbitration panels, and the Dispute Settlement Body of the World Trade Organization. The very important question arises of what effect, if any, such bodies' decisions should have in U.S. courts. In 2004, the "principal judicial organ of the United Nations," (1) the International Court of Justice (ICJ), determined that the United States had failed to comply with the Vienna Convention on Consular Relations' requirement (2) that foreigners arrested in the United States be informed of their right to contact their consulate for assistance. (3) The case, known as Avena, involved fifty-two Mexican nationals tried and convicted of capital crimes in the United States. (4) The ICJ decision held that California, Texas, and seven other states caused the United States to violate the Vienna Convention when they failed to inform fifty-one of these individuals of their right to contact the Mexican consul in conjunction with their arrests. (5) Most importantly, the ICJ ruled that the United States must remedy these violations by providing "review and reconsideration of the convictions and sentences of the Mexican nationals." (6) The ICJ further determined that the general procedural default rules should not apply to such claims. (7) Soon thereafter, one of the fifty-one individuals, Jose Medellin, argued in the Fifth Circuit that the Avena decision bound courts in the United States. (8) The Fifth Circuit disagreed and followed its own precedent in determining that the Vienna Convention did not create a private cause of action for individuals in U.S. courts and that Medellin's claim was procedurally defaulted. (9) After losing in the Fifth Circuit, Medellin filed a petition for certiorari, which the Supreme Court granted. (10) More than a month before oral argument, however, President George W. Bush issued a memorandum stating that the United States would "discharge its inter-national obligations under the [Avena judgment], by having State courts give effect to the [ICJ] decision in accordance with general principles of comity in cases filed by the 51 Mexican nationals addressed in that decision." (11) Based on this memorandum, Medellin filed a successive state habeas petition, and thereafter the Supreme Court dismissed its writ of certiorari as improvidently granted. (12) Although the Supreme Court never reached the merits of Medellin's claim, the Court recently seized the opportunity to shed light on the proper deference U.S. courts owe ICJ rulings in two consolidated cases, Bustillo v. Johnson and Sanchez-Llamas V. Oregon. (13) Those cases involved Mexican and Honduran nationals who were not among the fifty-one individuals affected by the President's Avena memorandum. …


Common wisdom as well as well-grounded analytical arguments suggest that stronger punishment of deviant behavior meted out by a principal typically prompts the agents to better conform with his objectives. Addressing the specific issue of donor-beneficiary relationships in the context of participatory development programs, we nevertheless show that greater tolerance on the part of donors may, under certain conditions, favor rather than hurt the interests of the poor. Also, greater uncertainty surrounding the donor's knowledge regarding the poor's preference may have the same paradoxical effect. Critical features of our framework are: (i) communities are heterogeneous and dominated by the local elite in dealing with external agencies, (ii) the elite choose the project proposed to the donor strategically, knowing that the latter has a certain amount of tolerance toward elite capture and an imperfect knowledge of the poor's priorities.


Abstract Implantation involves a complex set of events, including apoptosis in endometrial cells. Apoptosis in human endometrium coincides with the implantation window, suggesting a potential role for steroid hormones in its regulation. Fas ligand (FasL) is one of the mediators of apoptosis in differentiated cells and in embryonic development. Interaction of FasL with its receptor, Fas, induces apoptosis through autocrine and paracrine signaling. We hypothesized that FasL expression in human endometrium is cycle-dependent and that sex steroid hormones regulate FasL expression. We first studied menstrual cycle-dependent expression of FasL in human endometrium by immunohistochemistry in 24 samples. We then investigated the in vitro regulation of FasL expression by ovarian steroid hormones. Throughout the menstrual cycle immunohistochemical staining intensity was stronger in the functional layer of endometrium than it was in the basal layer. FasL immunoreactivity increased gradually through the mid- and late-proliferative phases in both endometrial stromal and glandular cells. Strong FasL expression was observed throughout the late-proliferative and secretory phases. Semiquantitative reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction analysis in cultured endometrial glandular cells demonstrated that estradiol and progesterone stimulate FasL mRNA expression. Western blot analysis in endometrial glandular and stromal cells in culture revealed that estradiol alone and in combination with progesterone up-regulated FasL protein expression. These results suggest that estradiol and progesterone may have a role in the regulation of maternal immunotolerance for the implantation of a semiallograft embryo by inducing FasL expression. We speculate that increased FasL expression may mediate the apoptosis of endometrial cells and thus may play a role in trophoblast invasion.


We analyse a very rich and unique panel database which provides information on exports at the firm-product level. A stylised fact in the data is that many firms add as well as drop products from the export mix in any given year. Motivated by recent theory we investigate what determines the survival of products in the export mix. Estimating hazard models we find evidence that is consistent with the view that characteristics of the product as well as that of the firm matter. This suggests, in line with theory, that there are firm- as well as firm-product specific competencies that are important for shaping firms' export mix.


This book brings together a group of internationally-reputed authors in the field of digital literacy. Their essays explore a diverse range of the concepts, policies and practices of digital literacy, and discuss how digital literacy is related to similar ideas: information literacy, computer literacy, media literacy, functional literacy and digital competence. It is argued that in light of this diversity and complexity, it is useful to think of digital literacies - the plural as well the singular. The first part of the book presents a rich mix of conceptual and policy perspectives; in the second part contributors explore social practices of digital remixing, blogging, online trading and social networking, and consider some legal issues associated with digital media.


We present results from development and testing of lightweight actuators made of the piezoelectric polymer PVDF. The prototype being developed is intended for microgravity applications in space and has been tested aboard NASA's Reduced Gravity Platform. The design has been driven by the requirements for a full 3D environment. Incorporation of additional electrical leads into the actuators themselves may remove the need for a separate umbilical to the suspended experiment. Linear equations describing the displacement of piezoelectric bimorphs were developed and applied to the bellows actuator including the epoxy layer. Properties for the piezoelectric layers were obtained from the literature; properties for the epoxy layer were obtained through ultrasonic testing. To assess the validity of the assumed linearity of the actuator, we conducted nonlinear finite element analysis, which indicated a high degree of linearity on contraction and up to a maximum of 5% deviation on expansion to full deflection (about 6 mm). We have developed and tested a proportional-plus-derivative (PD) control system for use with the actuator in 1D using a novel folded pendulum to simulate a zero-g environment. Passive and active characteristics are both in agreement with theoretical predictions.


Chemical composition of locally cultivated fodders was determined to see the effect of varieties and harvesting intervals. Berseem (Trifolium alexandrinum), lucerne (Medicago sativa), oats (Avena sativa), sorghum (Sorghum vulgare), bajra (Pennisetum ryphoidium), mazenta (Maize x Teopak), sadabahar (Sorghum x Sudan grass) and cowpeas (Vigna sinensis) were analyzed for proximate composition, cell wall constituents, macro and micro minerals and carotene contents. In berseem fodder initial cuttings were more creditable with regard to crude protein and carotene contents, while these were low in fibre contents. The second and third cuttings. could be preferred but the varieties did not exhibit any remarkable variability. Variations in minerals were inconsistent. In lucerne fodder the variations due to varieties as well as cuttings with regard to chemical composition were not marked. Initial three cuttings of oats, fodder had better nutritive merits than fourth one which had comparatively less nutrients. Minerals were equally at moderate level but sodium and copper were much less. Carotene was also lesser at 4th growth stage. No prominent variations were found among varieties regarding nutritive values. In sorghum fodder various nutritive components among different varieties were not of high magnitude. Sodium, phosphorus, copper and zinc were much lower in all varieties and at all growth stages. Multicut bajra did not show marked variations in nutritive components due to cuttings. The varietal differences were also not so wide. All four cuttings of different varieties may be equally accepted for animals feeding. Marginal zinc .contents were observed at 3rd and 4th cuts of this fodder. The effect of growth stages on mazenta fodder was not marked, but for sodium and zinc contents, this fodder may fulfil the animal needs. Fourth growth stage had lower CP, the initial three growth stages could therefore be preferred. The growth stages were not much variable with regard to nutrients composition in sadabahar fodder. All the four stages of cutting could be equally preferred for feeding provided these are equally palatable. Cowpeas fodder did not show wide compositional variation among different growth stages. The nutritive value remained fairly constant during all the stages of cutting.

It may be concluded that there was no prominant discrimination for varietal selection in any fodder. Remarkable differences however, were found with variable trends for different nutritive components. Further the first three cuttings/growth stages of all fodders seemed to be more nutritive. The fourth stage/cut may also be acceptable provided it is palatable.


While there is a popular perception that Canada is a water-rich country, the Saskatchewan River basin (SRB) in Western Canada exemplifies the multiple threats to water security seen worldwide. It is Canada's major food-producing region and home to globally significant natural resource development. The SRB faces current water challenges stemming from (1) a series of extreme events, including major flood and drought events since the turn of the 21st century, (2) full allocation of existing water resources in parts of the basin, (3) rapid population growth and economic development, (4) increasing pollution, and (5) fragmented and overlapping governance that includes the provinces of Alberta, Saskatchewan, and Manitoba, various Federal and First Nations responsibilities, and international boundaries. The interplay of these factors has increased competition for water across economic sectors and among provinces, between upstream and downstream users, between environmental flows and human needs, and among people who hold different values about the meaning, ownership, and use of water. These current challenges are set in a context of significant environmental and societal change, including widespread land modification, rapid urbanization, resource exploitation, climate warming, and deep uncertainties about future water supplies. We use Sivapalan et al.'s (2012) framework of socio-hydrology to argue that the SRB's water security challenges are symptoms of dynamic and complex water systems approaching critical thresholds and tipping points. To Sivapalan et al.'s (2012) emphasis on water cycle dynamics, we add the need for governance mechanisms to manage emergent systems and translational science to link science and policy to the socio-hydrology agenda.


Technical change is one of many factors underpinning success in elite, fixation/diversification stage performers. Surprisingly, however, there is a dearth of research pertaining to this process or the most efficacious methods used to bring about such a change. In this paper we highlight the emergent processes, yet also the lack in mechanistic comprehension surrounding technical change, addressing issues within the motor control, sport psychology, coaching and choking literature. More importantly, we seek an understanding of how these changes can be made more secure to competitive pressure, and how this can be embedded within the process of technical change. Following this review, we propose the Five-A Model based on successful coaching techniques, psychosocial concomitants, the avoidance of choking and principles of effective behaviour change. Specific mechanisms for each stage are discussed, with a focus on the use of holistic rhythm-based cues as a possible way of internalising changes. Finally, we suggest the need for further research to examine these five stages, to aid a more comprehensive construction of the content and delivery of such a programme within the applied setting.


Is the philosophical idea of nihilism compatible with a project of emancipation based on concepts such as autonomy, equality and freedom? This is the question to which Vattimo's contribution seeks to provide a response. For Vattimo, the notion of nihilism is inseparable from that of hermeneutics, understood as the historically situated character of universal claims. Rather than undermining emancipation, for Vattimo a nihilistic hermeneutics is precisely what frees us from foundations, and should thus be understood as an emancipatory force. The article tries to counter a purely tragic understanding of nihilism with the constructive political horizons opened up by a nihilistic hermeneutics, which allows us to think anew the ideas of freedom and equality.


Today, lots of online communities co–exist where users suggest and discuss ideas and problems. However, the diversity of such idea networks and the high launch rate of new platforms make it hard to keep track of the current idea community landscape. This article presents an approach to integrate arbitrary online ideation platforms that allow users to publicly utter and discuss new ideas or provide solutions to previously announced problems. We introduce our prototypical implementation of the approach that provides a single point of access for innovation managers, problem solvers and solution seekers.


Fine-scale knowledge of how anthropogenic effects may alter habitat selection by wolves (Canis lupus) is important to inform conservation management, especially where wolf populations are expanding into more populated areas or where human activity and development are increasingly encroaching on formerly pristine environments. From 1999 to 2003, we documented rendezvous sites (n1⁄4 31) used by wolves (n1⁄4 6 packs) in a previously unstudied wolf population in the southern Apennines, Italy (Pollino National Park [PNP]), where conditions are ideal to unveil behavioral adaptations of wolves living in human-dominated landscapes.We adopted a hierarchical, multi-scale habitat selection approach by using a set of environmental, topographic, and anthropogenic factors within multi-grain resource selection functions (MRSFs) at the landscape and the territory extent. Habitat selection by wolves was scale-dependent and different habitat components affected wolves at different grains. When establishing a territory at the landscape scale, wolves avoided areas featuring high densities of humans, paved roads, and trails, and they preferentially located territories where higher forest cover and rough terrain enhanced concealment and ensured reduced accessibility by humans. Concurrently, wolves also selected open areas and, at coarse grain, areas of high density of dirt roads and trails to enhance hunting and traveling efficiency. When selecting rendezvous sites within territories, wolves still selected for forest cover and lessened avoidance of anthropogenic features apparent at the lower order of selection. When choosing rendezvous sites, wolves also avoided low-use anthropogenic linear features and rough terrain, unveiling trade-offs in selection decisions across different spatial and temporal scales. Our results reinforce the notion that occurrence of wolves in human-modified landscapes is shaped by avoidance of anthropogenic pressure, but they also indicate that rendezvous site selection by wolves conform to a hierarchical decision-making process that is extentand grain-dependent. Spatially explicit models of rendezvous site selection such as the one we developed for PNP enhance management effectiveness for strategies such as regulating human access and activity during the pup rearing seasons, preventing human persecution, mitigating livestock depredations, and designing cost-effective monitoring programs. 2018 The Wildlife Society.


Abstract The literature on policy convergence has identified numerous facets and causal drivers of convergence. Distinguishing four dimensions of convergence (object, benchmark, drivers and directed process) helps clarify why and in what form policy convergence may occur (or not). Thus, depending on, for example, the object of analysis (policy outcome or instruments used), the same empirical case may give rise to opposing assessments. Furthermore, both economic and political drivers are necessary to account for successful policy convergence: economic convergence partly explains why countries may face similar problems, and political mechanisms explain why they might choose similar policies to solve a given problem. This article illustrates the multifaceted character of convergence for the dynamic field of renewable energy policies in the European Union. The empirical results indicate temporary convergence in the case of policy support instrument choices and conditional convergence in terms of renewable shares. However, the results suggest divergence of public R&D subsidies targeting renewables.


Results of a regional-scale monitoring campaign were compared with two meso-scale to sub-continental modelling studies, for SO2 and NO2 and O3 respectively (Fourie, 2006, Zunckel et al., 2006, van Tienhoven et al., 2006, Van Tienhoven and Zunckel, 2004). However, a direct validation of the monitored results with modelled results could not be carried out, as available modelling studies dealt with different periods from the monitoring study.
For this study, three monitoring sites were selected for comparison with modelling results. These sites were strategically selected to be representative of the entire region. Site Elandsfontein in the centre of the industrial Highveld, site Amersfoort, downwind from the central pollution source region and site Louis Trichardt, a remote site. Sulphur, nitrogen and ozone species comparisons were considered in turn. The comparisons were carried out for equivalent annual (and seasonal) cycles. The comparisons produced mixed results. For sulphur and nitrogen species in most cases, depending on site and season, modelling results ranged between significant underestimates to overestimates. Ozone modelling almost always overestimated the concentrations compared to the measured results.
Despite several limiting factors, constraining the reliability of the comparisons between the modelled and measured results, they were important as the distribution of the gases showed patterns that imply understanding of the source and fate of these pollutants. The uncertainty in the magnitude of the model inaccuracies as well as margin of error of the measured data remained. Thus a modelling validation is recommended using the concurrent period with fewer uncertainties.


Introduction US Hispanics, particularly younger adults in this population, have a higher prevalence of uncontrolled hypertension than do people of other racial/ethnic groups. Little is known about the prevalence and predictors of antihypertensive medication adherence, a major determinant of hypertension control and cardiovascular disease, and differences between age groups in this fast-growing population. Methods The cross-sectional study included 1,043 community-dwelling Hispanic adults with hypertension living in 3 northern Manhattan neighborhoods from 2011 through 2012. Age-stratified analyses assessed the prevalence and predictors of high medication adherence (score of 8 on the Morisky Medication Adherence Scale [MMAS-8]) among younger (<60 y) and older (≥60 y) Hispanic adults. Results Prevalence of high adherence was significantly lower in younger versus older adults (24.5% vs 34.0%, P = .001). In younger adults, heavy alcohol consumption, a longer duration of hypertension, and recent poor physical health were negatively associated with high adherence, but poor self-rated general health was positively associated with high adherence. In older adults, advancing age, higher education level, high knowledge of hypertension control, and private insurance or Medicare versus Medicaid were positively associated with high adherence, whereas recent poor physical health and health-related activity limitations were negatively associated with high adherence. Conclusion Equitable achievement of national hypertension control goals will require attention to suboptimal antihypertensive medication adherence found in this study and other samples of US Hispanics, particularly in younger adults. Age differences in predictors of high adherence highlight the need to tailor efforts to the life stage of people with hypertension.


AIM
to analyze expression of biomarkers CXCR4, IL11-RA, TFF1 and MLF1P, and clinicopathology in advanced breast cancer patients with bone metastatic.

METHODS
this is a cross-sectional study. Analysis was done against a total of 92 breast cancer patients, including 46 bone metastatic patients and 46 non-bone metastatic patients. Immunohistochemistry and microarray analysis was performed in 81 formalin fixed paraffin embedded (FFPE) samples from 81 patients were used. Data were collected through medical records, immunohistochemistry (IHC), and microarray with nanoString nCounterTM.

RESULTS
this article is part one of a two stage reporting research results. In part one we got the results of the IHC analysis, IL11-RA with cut-off ≥103.5 showed OR 3.803 (95 % confidence interval [CI], 1.375-10.581), p=0.010, MLF1P with cut-off ≥83.0 OR 2.784 (95% CI, 1.009-7.681), p=0.048, and ER+ OR 7.640 (95 % CI, 2.599-22.459), p<0.000, were associated with bone metastastic incidences in advanced breast cancer, and were statistically significantly different. A combination of IL-11RA, MLF1P and ER+, showed an accuracy of approaching 80% to discriminate between bone metastatic and non bone metastatic in advanced breast cancer patients.

CONCLUSION
IL11-RA, MLF1P, and ER+ were the determinants that were associated with increasing bone metastasis incidence.


The Editor of Artificial Life would like to express his gratitude to the people listed below, who anonymously reviewed papers for the journal during the preparation of Volume 20. Their generosity, judicious judgment, and prompt response substantially helped us publish a journal that both is timely and has exacting scientific standards. The responsibility for sustaining the quality and relevance of the journal rests largely in the hands of our reviewers. We at the journal, and all of our readers, are deeply indebted to them. It is a genuine pleasure to thank them collectively for their dedicated service. (If anyone has been inadvertently omitted from this list, we sincerely apologize and ask them to let us know so that we can include their name in a future list of reviewers.)


This document constitutes an addendum to the June 2006, Closure Report for Corrective Action Unit 322: Areas 1 & 3 Release Sites and Injection Wells as described in the document Recommendations and Justifications for Modifications for Use Restrictions Established under the U.S. Department of Energy, National Nuclear Security Administration Nevada Site Office Federal Facility Agreement and Consent Order (UR Modification document) dated February 2008. The UR Modification document was approved by NDEP on February 26, 2008. The approval of the UR Modification document constituted approval of each of the recommended UR modifications. In conformance with the UR Modification document, this addendum consists of: • This cover page that refers the reader to the UR Modification document for additional information • The cover and signature pages of the UR Modification document • The NDEP approval letter • The corresponding section of the UR Modification document This addendum provides the documentation justifying the cancellation of the URs for: • CAS 01-25-01, AST Release • CAS 03-25-03, Mud Plant AST Diesel Release These URs were established as part of Federal Facility Agreement and Consent Order (FFACO) corrective actions and were based on the presence of contaminants at concentrations greater than the action levelsmore » established at the time of the initial investigation (FFACO, 1996; as amended August 2006). Since these URs were established, practices and procedures relating to the implementation of risk-based corrective actions (RBCA) have changed. Therefore, these URs were re-evaluated against the current RBCA criteria as defined in the Industrial Sites Project Establishment of Final Action Levels (NNSA/NSO, 2006c). This re-evaluation consisted of comparing the original data (used to define the need for the URs) to risk-based final action levels (FALs) developed using the current Industrial Sites RBCA process. The re-evaluation resulted in a recommendation to remove these URs because contamination is not present at these sites above the risk-based FALs. Requirements for inspecting and maintaining these URs will be canceled, and the postings and signage at each site will be removed. Fencing and posting may be present at these sites that are unrelated to the FFACO URs such as for radiological control purposes as required by the NV/YMP Radiological Control Manual (NNSA/NSO, 2004f). This modification will not affect or modify any non-FFACO requirements for fencing, posting, or monitoring at these sites.« less


Keynote Speech to the Nineteenth Annual NINE Spring Training Conference, March 10, 2012 Katsusuke Nagasaki's breath billowed as he loitered outside the Yomiuri newspaper's Tokyo offices. The morning of February 22, 1935, was chilly. But that was good, nobody would look twice at his bulky overcoat. Matsutaro Shoriki, the owner of the Yomiuri newspaper, was late. Nagasaki strolled up and down the block, trying to remain inconspicuous. Finally, at 8:40 a.m. a black sedan cruised down the street. Nagasaki halted in front of a bulletin board by the building's entrance. He studied the announcements as a short, balding man with thick-framed glasses emerged from the car. As Shoriki began to climb the stairs into the building, Nagasaki strode forward, pulling a short samurai sword from beneath his coat. The blade flashed through the air, striking Shoriki's head. The bloodied newspaper owner stumbled forward, as Nagasaki fled. (1) Later that day, Nagasaki walked into a local police station and gave a detailed confession. The primary reason for the assassination attempt: Shoriki had defiled the memory of the Meiji Emperor by allowing Babe Ruth and his team of American all-stars to play in the stadium named in honor of the ruler. Three months earlier, nearly a half million Japanese had lined the streets of Tokyo to welcome the ballplayers to Japan. The players' motorcade was led by Ruth in an open limousine. At thirty-nine, he had grown rotund and just weeks before had agreed to part ways with the New York Yankees. But to the Japanese, he still represented the pinnacle of the baseball world. Sharing the car was his former teammate Lou Gehrig. The rest of the All American baseball team, distributed three or four per car, followed: Connie Mack, Jimmie Foxx, Earl Averill, Charlie Gehringer, Lefty Gomez, Lefty O'Doul, and a gaggle of lesser-known stars. Only one player didn't seem to belong--a journeyman catcher with a .238 career batting average named Moe Berg. Although he was not an all-star caliber player, his off-the-field skills would explain his inclusion on the team. Berg was a Princeton University and Columbia Law School graduate who had already visited Japan in 1932. He was multilingual, causing a teammate to joke that Berg could speak a dozen languages but couldn't hit in any of them. Berg would eventually become an operative for the Office of Strategic Services (oss), the forerunner of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), and many believe that the 1934 trip to Japan was his first mission as a spy. The pressing crowd reduced the broad streets to narrow paths just wide enough for the limousines to pass. Confetti and streamers fluttered down from multistoried office buildings, as thousands waved Japanese and American flags and cheered wildly. "Banzai! Banzai, Babe Ruth!" echoed through the neighborhood. Reveling in the attention, the Bambino plucked flags from the crowd and stood in the back of the car waving a Japanese flag in his left hand and an American in his right. Finally, the crowd couldn't contain itself and rushed into the street to be closer to the Babe. Traffic stood still for hours as Ruth shook hands with the multitude. (2) Ruth and his teammates stayed in Japan for a month, playing eighteen games in twelve cities. But there was more at stake than sport: Japan and the United States were slipping toward war as the two nations vied for control over China and naval supremacy in the Pacific. Politically Japan was in turmoil. From the 188os through 1920s, Japan had enjoyed a form of democracy. This period saw great strides in modernization, a flourishing of the arts, and close ties to the United States. Yet, as Japan's power grew, so did its nationalism. A growing minority of Japanese citizens felt that the country should take its place among the world powers by expanding its military and colonizing its neighbors. Ultranationalist societies began assassinating liberal politicians and members of the free press. …


As Malaysia move towards as a developed country, it is expected that the electricity consumption in domestic and commercial sectors will increase as well as more industrials and households need. This study is to investigate the electricity profile in domestic and commercial sectors by monitoring some appropriate appliances that contribute high electricity consumption. The characteristics for every major loads are examined and the potential energy saving is compared to an efficient electrical appliances in order to obtain the effective energy consumption. Questionnaires have been used to collect respondents, appliances and equipments information. For appliances and equipments measurement data, power quality equipment has been. Samples for domestic sector involved 150 respondents from three residential classes which are high, middle and rural. While for commercial sector, 100 respondents are involved which are restaurant, hotel, workshop, and store/office. It shows, in domestic sector, refrigerator appliance consumed high electricity meanwhile in commercial sector; compressor equipment contributed high consumption in electricity. It is also indicated that by using efficient electrical appliances it can reduce the amount of electricity consumption. However, instead of using high efficient appliances, human factor also contribute significant impact on reducing electricity consumption. By integrating between human factor, high efficient appliances/equipment and government policy, the electricity consumption can be used and managed wisely. Therefore the strategies to build energy efficient society have been proposed in order to achieve efficient electricity consumption.


The design of the Human Resource Management Certificate at the University of Calgary was the culmination of a two-year review process. Although the issue of declining enrolment initiated the review, many other issues became apparent. The process of informal and formal investigations that were undertaken are outlined, as are the actions taken. The challenges of resource constraints, collaborative investigation, the climate of competition in post-secondary institutions, and issues of credit transferability are highlighted along with the lessons learned. The process and results may benefit other continuing education programmers.


Though Harley Street has been viewed as the provenance of the medical
elite in Britain, no attempt has been made to systematically examine this
elite in its historical context or to consider the veracity of this view. Hence,
this thesis reconstructs the totality of all the male (n = 657) and female (n =
24) medical practitioners who arrived in Harley Street from 1845-1914 by
undertaking a prosopographical analysis and contextualising the historical
background in which they lived and worked. Over the course of the
nineteenth century, Harley Street became a progressively more fashionable
choice for medical practitioners wishing to establish a practice in London
and in most cases, this address represented the pinnacle of their career
trajectory. It is argued here that an elite medical enclave did, indeed,
establish itself in this geographical area during the period. The group's
reputation was assessed through their medical qualifications, scholarships,
prizes, teaching and hospital posts, publications, public lectures and their
role in medical societies.
Harley Street medical practitioners differed from other London
medical practitioners because they published more material (85 of the
cohort in general and 93 percent of the cohort who qualified MD published
their work, in contrast to up to 50 per cent of London medical practitioners),
had more prestigious qualifications (86 per cent were qualified MD, MB,
FRCP, FRCS or MRCP in contrast to approximately 25 per cent in Greater
London), were members of medical societies (almost 90 per cent of the cohort
in contrast to between 40 and 50 per cent of GPs in Britain), created new medical specialities, established specialist hospitals, took prominent roles in
medical societies and delivered renowned public lectures that were
published in the main medical journals. Moreover, this group wielded
considerable collective editorial control in a wide range of medical
publications. Hence, their efforts greatly facilitated the professionalisation
of medicine in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. Through
their senior hospital and teaching posts the cohort had an important
influence on the next generation of medical practitioners, as these
connections were crucial in attracting new medical practitioners to the
Street. This thesis, therefore, determines whether Harley Street can be
regarded as a measure of the medical elite.


Information system projects usually have numerous uncertainties and several conditions of risk that make their economic evaluation a challenging task. Each year, several information system projects are cancelled before completion as a result of budget overruns at a cost of several billions of dollars to industry. Although engineering economic analysis offers tools and techniques for evaluating risky projects, the tools are not enough to place information system projects on a safe budget/selection track. There is a need for an integrative economic analysis model that will account for the uncertainties in estimating project costs benefits and useful lives of uncertain and risky projects. The fuzzy set theory has the capability of representing vague data and allows mathematical operators and programming to be applied to the fuzzy domain. The theory is primarily concerned with quantifying the vagueness in human thoughts and perceptions. In this article, the economic evaluation of information system projects using fuzzy present value and fuzzy B/C ratio is analyzed. A numerical illustration is included to demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed methods.


Risk assessment represents an essential part of any successful intervention in health and safety at work. The most prominent European methodologies propose multi-method approaches for identifying the risks associated with work-related stress. Nevertheless, the most widely used method is the self-administered questionnaire. By adapting the UK Management Standards approach, the Italian National Workers Compensation Authority (INAIL) developed a checklist for the assessment of objective and verifiable indicators of work-related stress. This checklist is filled in by a steering group composed of homogenous groups of workers. Through a web-platform developed by INAIL, a considerable amount of data over the last 5 years has been collected throughout Italy. The aims of this study are to examine the psychometric properties as well as the practical validity of the checklist in a wide sample of Italian companies. The sample comprised 5,301 homogeneous groups of workers nested within 1,631 organizations. The checklist measures two main areas: (1) the organizational indicators of work-related stress (sentinel events) and (2) four and six factors related respectively to content and context of work. Multilevel and multivariate analyses revealed that the checklist shows adequate factor structure and criterion validity. Results also demonstrate that small companies and the public and healthcare sector show higher risk levels. These results support the use of the checklist as a structured and generalizable tool for assessing and monitoring the risks associated with work-related stress.


This Article approaches prosecutorial misconduct from a pedagogical perspective by exploring the ways in which law school clinicians can teach their students how to confront the problem proactively and in-the-moment, with an eye toward reducing its rate of occurrence and blunting its corrosive effect. Prosecutorial misconduct is a serious problem that strikes at the heart of a criminal defendant's constitutional right to a fair trial. More broadly, it has the potential to impact the integrity of the criminal justice system as a whole. Educating law school students in criminal clinics about this issue before they become prosecutors and criminal defense attorneys serves three important goals. First, such instruction can act as preventative medicine by reducing the likelihood that future prosecutors will step over the line out of ignorance of the applicable case law and court rules or out of a misplaced desire to win at all costs. Second, it enables future defense counsel to develop litigation methods designed to prevent the problem from occurring in the first instance. Third, it can prepare defense counsel to recognize prosecutorial misconduct that proves unpreventable so that she is able to respond effectively in-the-moment rather than belatedly, after the harm has been done. The blended learning approach that is the signature pedagogy of the clinical classroom is well-suited to addressing prosecutorial misconduct because it provides an opportunity for students to engage in a frank and thoughtful dissection of the legal and ethical issues that are inextricably bound up with it. The model I propose combines instruction in black letter law, ethics, and skills acquisition. It also seeks to have clinicians model the process of analyzing and responding to prosecutorial misconduct using examples from their real world experiences. With this approach, students will learn to think critically about their roles and responsibilities as future prosecutors and defense attorneys and to develop sound professional judgment before they enter the whirlwind of practice.


The new time-organized map (TOM) is presented for a better understanding of the self-organization and geometric structure of cortical signal representations. The algorithm extends the common self-organizing map (SOM) from the processing of purely spatial signals to the processing of spatiotemporal signals. The main additional idea of the TOM compared with the SOM is the functionally reasonable transfer of temporal signal distances into spatial signal distances in topographic neural representations. This is achieved by neural dynamics of propagating waves, allowing current and former signals to interact spatiotemporally in the neural network. Within a biologically plausible framework, the TOM algorithm (1) reveals how dynamic neural networks can self-organize to embed spatial signals in temporal context in order to realize functional meaningful invariances, (2) predicts time-organized representational structures in cortical areas representing signals with systematic temporal relation, and (3) suggests that the strength with which signals interact in the cortex determines the type of signal topology realized in topographic maps (e.g., spatially or temporally defined signal topology). Moreover, the TOM algorithm supports the explanation of topographic reorganizations based on time-to-space transformations (Wiemer, Spengler, Joublin, Stagge, & Wacquant, 2000).


Aim of the Study: A retrospective observational study to compare safety and efficacy of high and low doses of recombinant activated factor VIIa (rFVIIa) in severe postcardiac surgical bleeding. Patients and Methods: From 2004 to 2014, all patients who received rFVIIa for bleeding after cardiac surgery were included and arranged in two groups; Group 1: Low dose (40–50 mcg/kg) (n = 98) and Group 2: High dose (90–120 mcg/kg) (n = 156). Results: There was no significant difference in demographic and surgical characteristics of both groups on admission to Cardiac Surgical Intensive Care Unit (CSICU). There was no significant difference between the two groups regarding the reduction in chest tube bleeding in the first 6 h or the transfusion requirement in the 24 h after admission to CSICU. A total of 15 patients (5.9%) had thromboembolic adverse events. (Seven (7.1%) patients in Group 1 compared to 8 (5.1%) patients in Group 2, P = 0.58). There were no significant differences in all-cause mortality at 30 days (2% in Group 1 vs. 3.2% in Group 2, P = 0.6) and at hospital discharge between the two study groups (6.1% in Group 1 vs. 8.3% in Group 2, P = 0.5), respectively. There was no significant difference between the two groups regarding the need for re-exploration, days on mechanical ventilation, CSICU, or hospital stay. Conclusion: In this report, Low-dose rFVIIa showed equivalent efficacy and safety to high-dose rFVIIa. Further prospective randomized studies are needed to confirm these findings.


"Have something to say, and say it as clearly as you can. That is the only secret
of style." --Matthew Arnold Deserved or not, scientists and engineers have a reputation as bad writers. An
average person reading a scientific journal paper will likely come away numb
within a few sentences. Much of that is due to the complexity of the subject and a writing style that assumes a readership of knowledgeable peers. Some of that
reputation is deserved, as many writers in our field either do not value clear and
concise prose or do not know how to achieve it. If you feel that you are not as good a writer as you want to be, what can be
done? Specifically, how can you improve your writing for a scientific journal
paper? Style is a layered concept, and learning to improve your style means
mastering words and grammar first, clear and accurate sentences next, then
paragraphs that communicate complex thoughts well, and finally an organized
whole that contributes to the accumulated knowledge of science (see Chapter 2). If that sounds like a big task, it is because it is. Much of the job of learning to write well is independent of genre (at least in
the case of nonfiction writing). But some aspects of writing a good scientific paper are unique to the scientific style. Thus, I'll begin by talking about good writing in general and end with the scientific style in particular.


We have achieved 62 dB of gain in a four-pass 4 mm × 4 mm × 10 cm flash-lamp-pumped Nd:YAG slab laser amplifier. The zigzag-slab geometry permits the overlap of several beams in a small gain volume and thus provides efficient high-gain unsaturated amplification.


Humans and animals are capable of evaluating actions by considering their long-run future rewards through a process described using model-based reinforcement learning (RL) algorithms. The mechanisms by which neural circuits perform the computations prescribed by model-based RL remain largely unknown; however, multiple lines of evidence suggest that neural circuits supporting model-based behavior are structurally homologous to and overlapping with those thought to carry out model-free temporal difference (TD) learning. Here, we lay out a family of approaches by which model-based computation may be built upon a core of TD learning. The foundation of this framework is the successor representation, a predictive state representation that, when combined with TD learning of value predictions, can produce a subset of the behaviors associated with model-based learning, while requiring less decision-time computation than dynamic programming. Using simulations, we delineate the precise behavioral capabilities enabled by evaluating actions using this approach, and compare them to those demonstrated by biological organisms. We then introduce two new algorithms that build upon the successor representation while progressively mitigating its limitations. Because this framework can account for the full range of observed putatively model-based behaviors while still utilizing a core TD framework, we suggest that it represents a neurally plausible family of mechanisms for model-based evaluation. Author Summary According to standard models, when confronted with a choice, animals and humans rely on two separate, distinct processes to come to a decision. One process deliberatively evaluates the consequences of each candidate action and is thought to underlie the ability to flexibly come up with novel plans. The other process gradually increases the propensity to perform behaviors that were previously successful and is thought to underlie automatically executed, habitual reflexes. Although computational principles and animal behavior support this dichotomy, at the neural level, there is little evidence supporting a clean segregation. For instance, although dopamine — famously implicated in drug addiction and Parkinson's disease — currently only has a well-defined role in the automatic process, evidence suggests that it also plays a role in the deliberative process. In this work, we present a computational framework for resolving this mismatch. We show that the types of behaviors associated with either process could result from a common learning mechanism applied to different strategies for how populations of neurons could represent candidate actions. In addition to demonstrating that this account can produce the full range of flexible behavior observed in the empirical literature, we suggest experiments that could detect the various approaches within this framework.


The Embryo Project Encyclopedia is a digital and Open Access publication of the Embryo Project. Begun in 2007, the Encyclopedia and the Embryo Project [2] are funded by the US National Science Foundation [3] in Washington D.C., and by Arizona State University [4] in Tempe, Arizona. The Embryo Project is a collection of researchers who study the historical and social contexts of developmental and reproductive biology [5].


The main objective of the present research was to
assess the environmental impacts of the provision of
potable water supplies and sanitation projects, both during
the construction and operation phases. The research was
related to rural areas of developing countries. Field
research was undertaken in the rural areas of the Northwest
and Central regions of Iran.
Data were obtained by observations and survey from the
field, and a comprehensive questionnaire and literature
review. Interviews were carried out by the author in
households, particularly women, in four villages with a
piped water supply and sanitation facilities, and four
villages without such facilities, in the two different
regions.
To assess the beneficial and negative impacts stemming
from the projects, Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA)
techniques were used. After the application of EIA through
the use of checklist of impacts and the Leopold's matrix,
results demonstrated that the implementation of water
supply and sanitation projects can have several negative
impacts on the natural environment, and positive beneficial
impacts on the social and economic environment. In relation to water supply and sanitation projects,
the most effective EIA method was shown by this study to
be the Leopold's matrix. It can identify both positive and
negative impacts and the interaction between the project
activities and environmental parameters. The most important
recommendations that stem from this research are, that
project planners and water engineers should employ EIA
methods in planning water projects, particularly in the
rural areas of developing countries.


This in a correlational research, which titled is " Influence of Ownership Structure, Proportion of Independent Board, Firm Size and Leverage towards Myopic Management Behavior". The purpose of this research is to know influence from ownership structure, proportion of independent board, firm size, and leverage towards myopic management behavior. Myopic behavior means management behavior to manipulate earnings with cuts allocation in long term intangible asset such as research and development, advertising, employee training etc to meet short term goals. Proxy for myopic behavior in this research is advertising and promotion expense. Sample in this research is all manufacture firm which listed in Indonesi Stock Exchange (BEI). Puposive sampling method used to determain research sample. From this method we collected 284 observation from 71 manufacture firm for 4 years. This research used descriptive statistics to describe minimum, maximum, mean, and standard deviation value from institutional ownership structure, proportion of independent board, firm size and leverage of the firm. To test the hypothesis we used two method. First we use univariate test to know mean defferences between myopic ar non myopic management behavior. Second we use multivariate test with logistic regression according to simultaneous and partial logistic regression. From univariate and multivariate test, we have a consistance result. Both of the result show that institutional ownership percentage, proportion of independent board, and firm size have a positive influence for myopic management behavior. And leverage have negative influence for myopic management behavior.


Selecting sperm by density-gradients in assisted reproductive technologies has a great improvement in keeping DNA integrity and sperm quality. However, study showed that histone retention and DNA methylation were changed in the method of selecting human spermatozoa by density-gradients in assisted reproductive technologies. In the present study, a total of 1874 cycles (1411cycles of using density-gradients method or the combination of density-gradients and swim-up (group A) and 463 cycles of using swim-up only (group B)) of in vitro fertilization (IVF)/Intracytoplasmic Sperm Injection (ICSI) that were performed in our hospital from January 2010 to December 2015 were retrospectively analyzed. Implantation rate, clinical pregnancy rate, miscarriage rate, ectopic pregnancy rate, twin pregnancy rate, still birth rate, prematurity rate, low birth weight rate, live birth rate, macrosomia rate and fetal or baby abnormality rate were compared. There were no significant differences in the clinical items shown above between two groups except for the live birth rate of per transferred cycle. Live birth rate was higher in the group A than group B. We conclude that both using density-gradients (or combination with swim-up) and swim-up method alone to separate sperm are safe to prepare the sperm for IVF and ICSI.


Almost 90 per cent of Hawaii's flora are found nowhere else in the world. This text presents a revised edition of a guide book to these and other plants that comprise some of the most unique ecosystems in the world. In a series of essays, the author weaves cultural and biological, historical and geographic, aesthetic and spiritual aspects of Hawaiian ecology into non-technical accounts of 32 plants important to early Hawaiians.


A bioassay of Selsun(R) for possible carcinogenicity was conducted by applying this substance dermally to ICR Swiss mice. Selsun(R), an antidandruff shampoo, contains 2.5% selenium sulfide. Groups of 50 mice of each sex were exposed to 0.05 ml of 25% or 50% Selsun(R) in distilled water three times a week on a 2-x 3-cm clipped dorsal surface. Vehicle controls consisted of 50 mice of each sex that were clipped and treated with distilled water. Untreated controls consisted of 50 mice of each sex that were only clipped. Surviving mice were killed and necropsied at week 88. Mean body weights of untreated control, vehicle control, low-dose, and high-dose groups were comparable throughout the bioassay. Amyloidosis was a factor in the deaths of most animals after 1 year. In male mice, alveolar/bronchiolar carcinomas or adenomas occurred witha dose-related trend that was significant (P=0.008). The result of the Fisher exact test comparing the incidence in the high-dose group with that in the vehicle controls is also significant, but the incidence of the high-dose group, when compared with that of the untreated controls, is not significant. Under the conditions of this bioassay, dermal application of Selsun(R) was not carcinogenic for ICR Swiss mice. The study was limited, however, by the relatively short lifespan of this strain of mouse. Levels of Evidence of Carcinogenicity: Male Mice: Negative Female Mice: Negative


Migratory birds regularly perform impressive long-distance flights, which are timed relative to the anticipated environmental resources at destination areas that can be several thousand kilometres away. Timely migration requires diverse strategies and adaptations that involve an intricate interplay between internal clock mechanisms and environmental conditions across the annual cycle. Here we review what challenges birds face during long migrations to keep track of time as they exploit geographically distant resources that may vary in availability and predictability, and summarize the clock mechanisms that enable them to succeed. We examine the following challenges: departing in time for spring and autumn migration, in anticipation of future environmental conditions; using clocks on the move, for example for orientation, navigation and stopover; strategies of adhering to, or adjusting, the time programme while fitting their activities into an annual cycle; and keeping pace with a world of rapidly changing environments. We then elaborate these themes by case studies representing long-distance migrating birds with different annual movement patterns and associated adaptations of their circannual programmes. We discuss the current knowledge on how endogenous migration programmes interact with external information across the annual cycle, how components of annual cycle programmes encode topography and range expansions, and how fitness may be affected when mismatches between timing and environmental conditions occur. Lastly, we outline open questions and propose future research directions. This article is part of the themed issue 'Wild clocks: integrating chronobiology and ecology to understand timekeeping in free-living animals'.


We have used low energy electron microscopy and photo emission electron microscopy to study and improve the quality of graphene films grown on Ir(111) using chemical vapor deposition (CVD). CVD at elevated temperature already yields graphene sheets that are uniform and of monatomic thickness. Besides domains that are aligned with respect to the substrate, other rotational variants grow. Cyclic growth exploiting the faster growth and etch rates of the rotational variants, yields films that are 99% composed of aligned domains. Precovering the substrate with a high density of graphene nuclei prior to CVD yields pure films of aligned domains extending over millimeters. Such films can be used to prepare cluster-graphene hybrid materials for catalysis or nanomagnetism and can potentially be combined with lift-off techniques to yield high-quality, graphene based, electronic devices.


Over the years, research on the implications of information technology on network governance structures has explored the "move to the market" and the "move to the middle" hypotheses. The middle is a space in which the logic and modalities of markets and hierarchies are intermingled. There is increasing evidence that most network relations reflect mixed-mode or hybrid logic. Despite the apparent advantages that make the middle so populous or "swollen" (Hennart 1993, p. 472), Kambil et al. (1999) highlight that it is riddled with uncertainty and high transaction costs. They label it "the conflicted middle" and propose that online marketplaces, specifically all-in-one markets, are capable of resolving this conflict. Unfortunately, however, Kambil et al. provide limited insight into both the nature of the conflict that plagues the middle and the ability of all-in-one markets to resolve it.

To address these questions, this paper applies a role-theoretic perspective to the study of an e-marketplace that served the energy industry and evolved into an all-in-one market. Relying on an interpretive case study, this paper addresses the following research questions: (1) What is the nature of the conflict that characterizes the conflicted middle? (2) How do e-marketplaces, specifically all-in-one markets, help resolve this conflict? Our research highlights that brokers, trading partners, and agents who operate in the middle (where the contradictory logic of markets and hierarchies are mixed) experience goal, behavior, and identity conflict. All-in-one markets can help resolve these conflicts by supporting role integration at the group level and role segmentation at the individual level.


In public health, politics, and advertising, interactive content spurred increased elaboration from audiences that were otherwise least likely to engage with a message. This study sought to examine interactivity as an agricultural communication strategy through the lens of the Elaboration Likelihood Model. Respondents were randomly assigned a static or interactive data visualization concerning the production of peaches and blueberries in Georgia, then asked to list their thoughts in accordance with Petty and Cacioppo's thought-listing measure. Respondents significantly exhibited higher elaboration with the interactive message as opposed to the static, extending the results of past research in other communication realms to agricultural communication as well. This increase in attitude and cognition encourages agricultural communicators to pursue the use of more interactive elements in their messaging.


The theory behind state-of-the-art schedulability analysis has reached such a level of sophistication that its complete mastering by the average industrial practitioner is practically infeasible. The centrality of automation promoted by model-driven engineering may facilitate the uptake of the front-end of the analysis theory by the industrial world. In this paper we qualitatively evaluate how current approaches to model-based schedulability analysis may employ and feed state-of-the-art analysis equations; we then illustrate a new strategy which, by way of model transformation, warrants a high degree of confidence in and permits an iterative refinement of the input to sophisticated analysis equations. We contend that model-driven engineering is well suited for fitting the most advanced analysis theories and to chart the course for future improvements in the area of model-based schedulability analysis.


Mice treated with 6-hydroxydopamine before they were chronically fed phenobarbital did not develop functional barbiturate tolerance, measured by duration of the loss of righting reflex and hypothermia. Injection of 6-hydroxydopamine caused significant depletion of brain norepinephrine, while brain dopamine levels were not significantly depleted. Intact brain noradrenergic systems seem to be necessary for developing tolerance to the hypnotic and hypothermic effects of the barbiturates.


This paper describes an activity the author has carried out with 72 high school science teachers to enable them to overcome their stereotypical perceptions of engineers. The activity introduced them to notable women in environmental engineering, and raised their awareness of these female engineers' contributions to engineering and society. The results revealed that the activity was effective in countering high school teachers' misconceptions of engineers. By providing detailed information about the personal lives and work experiences of the female engineers, the biographies might be useful in countering existing cultural stereotypes of female engineers and initiating changes in perceptions needed to narrow the gender gap in engineering. Teachers and professors can use the examples of these notable female engineers as role models to inspire their female students to become engineers.


Performance relationships on various behaviorally tested modalities i.e., verbal, and visual-spatial, supported the possibility that lower-level, working memory measures might be predictive of higher-level, long-term memory performances. Experiment 1 examined these relationships as they related to modality and the type of task/test used (Visual-Spatial Working Memory Span vs. Long-Term Memory Ability Tests). Span was related to performance on a standardized test of reading comprehension but not to the ability to mentally rotate objects. Thus, Experiment 2 examined the Span Task, finding that a central executive-consuming secondary task reduced span, but incongruent loop interference did not. This supported the task as a measure of working memory, according to Alan Baddeley's fractionated model, and its use in subsequent experiments. Experiment 3 explored higher-level self-reported memory processes for parking location. Five factors of parking memory: Internal and External Interference Susceptibility, Concern, Confidence, and Strategy, were derived. An episodic component likely underlay both working and long-term location memory processes. As such, Experiment 4 examined the difference between participant's forced ordering and non-forced ordering of locations on the Span Task and as a function of low or high parking factor scores. Overall, inter-factor correlations, their directionality, and correlations with the Span Task logically supported the factors. Individual differences in External Interference and Concern interacted with ordering Span Task terminal and primacy locations, respectively. Lower and higher-level memory process relationships likely exist.


The aim of the paper is to explore the perceptions of secondary education teachers in Greece about their students' information literacy skills and to investigate whether teachers have incorporated some form of information literacy instruction into their teaching to help students familiarize themselves with the research process. Qualitative methods of data collection and analysis were used, as the study sought to illuminate individuals' opinions and understanding of the meanings and values of information literacy, not quantification of responses. The primary method of data collection was semi-structured interviews. The transcripts were analysed thematically using the Atlas.ti software package. The study revealed that information literacy skills are developed in the school context chiefly by the assignment of school work or research projects. Almost all teachers were very critical of students' information skills, but they were not fully aware of how to teach information skills, and the most common way of teaching information literacy was giving advice about specific sources. They appreciated the need to prepare information literate students but they reported various problems in their effort to apply research-based teaching. The paper provides an empirically based, enhanced understanding of students' information literacy competencies from the teachers' point of view. It also raises the issues of the content, structure and organization of information literacy experiences offered in the context of secondary education, from the teachers' perspective.


We compare fees charged by investment banks for conducting IPOs in the U.S. and Europe. In recent years the "7% solution", as documented by Chen and Ritter (2000), has become even more prevalent in the U.S., and is now the norm for IPOs raising up to $250m. The same banks dominate both markets but European IPO fees are roughly three percentage points lower, are much more variable, and have been falling. We review explanations for the gap in spreads and find the evidence consistent with strategic pricing. U.S. issuers could have saved over $1bn a year by paying European fees.


The situated approach in cognitive science and artificial intelligence (AI) has argued since the mid-1980s that intelligent behaviour emerges as a result of a close coupling between agent and environment. Lately, many researchers have emphasized that in addition to the physical environment, the social environment must not be neglected. In this thesis we will focus on the nature of social situatedness, and the aim of this dissertation is to investigate its role and relevance for natural and artificial intelligence. This thesis brings together work from separate areas, presenting different perspectives on the role and mechanisms social situatedness. More specifically, we will analyse Vygotsky's cognitive development theory, studies of primate (and avian) intelligence, and last, but not least, work in contemporary socially situated AI. These, at a first glance, quite different fields have a lot in common since they particularly stress the importance of social embeddedness for the development of individual intelligence. Combining these separate perspectives, we analyse the remaining differences between natural and artificial social situatedness. Our conclusion is that contemporary socially artificial intelligence research, although heavily inspired by empirical findings in human infants, tends to lack the developmental dimension of situatedness. Further we discuss some implications for research in cognitive science and AI.


Members of the Ras subfamily of small-molecule guanosine triphosphatases (GTPases) have been implicated in various signaling pathways affecting cell proliferation and differentiation. Although traditionally viewed as acting exclusively at the plasma membrane, Ras proteins located in intracellular compartments can also activate signaling pathways; moreover, the subcellular localization of Ras activation may affect signaling specificity. Caloca et al. investigated the subcellular localization of Ras protein activation by members of three families of Ras guanosine nucleotide exchange factors (GEFs)--the Son-of-sevenless (SOS), Ras guanosine nucleotide releasing factor (RasGRF), and Ras guanosine nucleotide releasing protein (RasGRP) families. Immunofluorescence analysis revealed that, in COS1 cells transfected with Ras GEFs, different GEFs localized to distinct compartments. Sos1.1 and RasGRP2 were cytosolic, Sos1.2 and RasGRF2 were found in cytoplasm and associated with microtubules and endoplasmic reticulum (ER), and RasGRP1 and RasGRP3 were predominantly localized to Golgi and ER. Localization of RasGRP1 was influenced by cell proliferative status and by treatment with phorbol myristate acetate. The authors used mutational analysis to show that localization of RasGRP1 to ER and Golgi depended on the zinc finger region. Experiments in which a fluorescent protein that bound activated Ras or artificially targeted versions of Ras were coexpressed with RasGEFs showed that, whereas most GEFs activated Ras at the plasma membrane or the ER, only RasGRP1 (but not RasGRP2, RasGRF2, or SOS proteins) stimulated Ras in the Golgi. The differential localization of RasGEFs, the sensitivity of localization to upstream signaling, and the possible effects of localization on downstream signaling add additional complexity to the signaling capacities of the Ras GTPases. M. J. Caloca, J. L. Zugaza, X. Bustelo, Exchange factors of the RasGRP family mediate Ras activation in the Golgi. J. Biol. Chem. 278, 33465-33473 (2003). [Abstract] [Full Text]


Part One identifies common principles that underlie sound performance and rewards management. Chapter One sets the stage for defining these principles by describing how a human resource management strategy is derived from the organizational context and strategy. Chapter Two presents common principles for effectively managing performance. Chapter Three develops principles that should be incorporated into rewards management strategies. Part Two explores the development and execution of "local" performance and rewards management strategies, which can be utilized for different segments of the workforce. The segments of the workforce addressed here are: Executives (Chapter Four), Sales Personnel (Chapter Five), Professionals (Chapter Six), Operating & Administrative Support Personnel (Chapter Seven), Teams (Chapter Eight) and global workforces (Chapter Nine). Part Three addresses how programs to support the local strategies can be developed and how they can be integrated to produce alignment. Guidelines for effective implementation, administration and evaluation are presented. Chapter Ten examines some of the contextual and environmental factors that impact performance and rewards management for public sector and not-for-profit organization workforces. Chapter Eleven focuses on integrating local strategies and executing strategies through program development, implementation and administration. Chapter Twelve provides a model for strategy and program evaluation.