La pensee nationaliste de Lionel Groulx. By Frederic Boily. (Sillery, Canada: Les editions du Septentrion. 2003. Pp. 229. $28.00.) Frederic Boily, a political scientist, addresses the nationalist rationale of Lionel Groulx (1878-1967), priest, man of letters, the foremost French-Canadian historian during the first half of the twentieth century, and doyen of Quebec nationalism. With reason, therefore, Boily declares Groulx "a creator of French-Canadian national identity"(p. 21, all translations mine). To do this, as Boily aptly observes in regard to French Canada,"Groulx had to devise an account of its origins and designate the founders of the nation: he needed to show the historic antecedence of the people so as to posit their perenniality throughout time" (p. 31). In this vein Boily asserts that Groulx embraced "organicist nationalism, namely, the school of thought that conceptualizes the nation as an historical being whose birth and development one can trace across the ages, just like the life of an individual" (p. 210). Boily signals the German philosopher Johann Gottfried Herder (1744-1803) as the source of such thinking and contends that, "The espousal of Herderian logic allowed Groulx to specify what distinguishes the French-Canadian nation from its neighbors, particularly by establishing Catholicism and language as the salient characteristics of its national ethos" (p. 211). Meanwhile, Boily ultimately attributes Groulx's idea of the state to the philosopher Johann Gottlieb Fichte (1762-1814), who epitomized German idealism. Boily predicates that: To see clearly his views on the State we must set Groulx back within a specific tradition which, on the principle of the nation's historic precedence, postulates its primacy over the State. In the organicist national construct the State lies inextricably linked to the nation . . . the one who gave credence to this concept is Fichte. (p. 118) A noted pedagogue in contemporary French-Canadian society, Groulx, according to Boily, further followed Fichte in the conception of education as "a process that endeavors to integrate individuals into the nation and deepen their attachment to it" (pp. 176-177). Boily also identifies Groulx's thought with Martin Heidegger (1889-1976). He maintains that in the spirit of this German philosopher Groulx decries post-World War II "technology for causing an entirely unparalleled state of affairs in human history since the sudden technological explosion so inverted the existing relationship between humanity and the world that it even altered individuals' souls" (p. 97). To make his case Boily rallies around these German philosophers a host of French political thinkers familiar to Groulx. Boily especially mentions the conservative champion of Catholicism, Joseph de Maistre (1753-1821), his liberal counterpart Charles de Montalembert (1810-1870), and the fervid nationalist writers Maurice Barres (1862-1923) and Charles Maurras (1868-1952). Between their thought and Groulx's Boily perceives "profound structural analogies" (p. 129) so that the reader frequently encounters quotations from Groulx immediately qualified by statements like: "This echoes what Herder wrote in 1769" (p. 39); "again calling to mind Heidegger" (p. 96);"in line with Fichte's argumentation" (p. 121). Boily necessarily resorts to analogizing because, as he confesses, Groulx "to my knowledge never quotes Herder" (p. 25). This apparently also holds true for Fichte and Heidegger. Their absence from the Groulxian corpus, one of the largest in Canadian literature, vitiates Boily's thesis. Moreover, with regard to Herder and Groulx, Boily admits that the latter's "personal library, although well stocked, does not contain a sole work by this thinker" (p. 25). Indeed it does not have a single book by or about Herder, Fichte, or Heidegger-a fact that undermines Boily's theory since Groulx's extant private collection includes hundreds of philosophical titles. …


Abstract Since 1992, General Strain Theory (GST) has earned strong empirical support and has been applied to several key correlates of crime (e.g., age, sex, community), but researchers have yet to fully consider how GST may aid in explaining racial differences in offending. While most explanations focus on macro level and macro-micro control processes, we argue that GST complements these explanations by highlighting the emotional and motivational social psychological processes that underlie criminal behaviour, thereby filling an important theoretical gap. In particular, we argue that African-Americans are likely to experience more and qualitatively unique types of strain compared to Whites, and that these strains in turn lead to higher levels of negative emotions among African-Americans. Further, we argue that the unique social conditions in which many African-Americans live may disproportionately lead them to cope with strain and negative emotions through crime. We believe these theoretical insights can guide future empirical research to create a fuller understanding of racial differences in offending.


Summary form only given. The protein folding problem is to study how a protein dynamically folds to its so-called native state - an energetically stable, three-dimensional configuration. Understanding this process is of great practical importance since some devastating diseases such as Alzheimer's and bovine spongiform encephalopathy (Mad Cow) are associated with the misfolding of proteins. In our group, we have developed a new computational technique for studying protein folding that is based on probabilistic roadmap methods for motion planning. Our technique yields an approximate map of a protein's potential energy landscape that contains thousands of feasible folding pathways. We have validated our method against known experimental results. Other simulation techniques, such as molecular dynamics or Monte Carlo methods, require many orders of magnitude more time to produce a single, partial, trajectory. We report on our experiences parallelizing our method using STAPL (the standard template adaptive parallel library), that is being developed in the Parasol Lab at Texas A&M. An efficient parallel version enables us to study larger proteins with increased accuracy. We demonstrate how STAPL enables portable efficiency across multiple platforms without user code modification. We show performance gains on two systems: a dedicated Linux cluster and an extremely heterogeneous multiuser Linux cluster.


The study of human experts in the areas of design and manufacturing has lead to two hypotheses concerning the problem solving methods which these engineers utilize to attack difficult problems. The basis of both hypotheses is a modular approach to problem solving. One hypothesis addresses the nature of the modules utilized while the other hypothesis deals with the organization of the modules. A knowledge-based system has been designed and implemented under the philosophy expressed in these hypotheses. The domain is the design and manufacture of riveted joints in sheet metal. Special emphasis is given to the integration of design knowledge and manufacturing knowledge for the concept of "designing for manufacturability". The implementation is described in some detail and two example problems are presented with their solutions.


Appositives have been argued to provide a powerful argument in favor of a multidimensional semantics, one in which certain expressions fail to interact scopally with various operators because their meaning is located in a separate semantic dimension (Potts 2005, 2007). On this view, appositive relative clauses and nominals have an unexceptional syntax but a semantics that radically differs from that of superficially related constructions (restrictive modifiers on the one hand, presupposition-triggering expressions on the other) - hence the development of new semantic tools. An older line of research (e.g. McCawley 1998) posited instead that appositives have an unexceptional (and conjunctive) semantics, but a very non-standard syntax; in a nutshell, the view was that even when appositives appear to be deeply embedded, they can be attached to higher propositional nodes than meets the eye. This chapter reviews the phenomenological differences between appositives and superficially similar constructions, notably restrictive modifiers, presupposition triggers, and parentheticals. It introduces accounts based on a rich semantics, in particular Potts's bidimensional framework and more recent accounts in terms of 'post-suppositions'. It revisits arguments in favor of a syntactic approach to some 'wide scope' phenomena, following work by McCawley, and discusses various phenomena that have been taken to suggest that in other cases appositives can have genuinely narrow scope. And it lays out some data that suggest that sometimes the content of appositives 'projects' in a non-trivial way, possibly reminiscent of presupposition projection. While the issues continue to be the objet of vigorous debates, they offer a particularly interesting case study in the division of labor between syntax, semantics and pragmatics.


In light of the ever increasing costs of education, as well as the increasing amount of compensation being given to professional athletes, the amount of pressure put on young athletes to perform at a high level is tremendous. ... To allow collegiate coaching staffs adequate opportunity to scout and compile statistics on player performance, the student-athlete must be given a certain amount of playing time in his or her respective sport - the more playing time on the field or court, the better opportunity coaching staffs have to evaluate the athlete. ... While courts have generally not recognized a proprietary interest in extracurricular athletic participation, one athlete, swimmer Joscelin Yeo, sought protection of her interest in playing time based on a reputational interest she had achieved through prior competition. ... Therefore, it seems possible that there may be a viable cause of action against a coach and school for limiting a student-athlete's playing time if it can be established that the student-athlete had a valuable athletic reputation. ... " The rise in complaints that Ferraro has seen may be attributed to the rise in compensation given to athletes in the form of athletic scholarships (as educational costs rise), professional athlete salaries, and the possibilities for extra-sport income once professional status is obtained (i.e. product endorsement), generating pressure to achieve the prize. ...


Owing to increased performance capabilities over their LED counterparts, Gallium Nitride (GaN) based Laser Diodes (LDs) are becoming more prevalent in several applications, including lighting, visible light communications, medical spectroscopy, and atom cooling. For many of these applications, a tunable, precise wavelength is necessary such that chromatic aberrations are minimized and that specific wavelengths with narrow linewidth can be utilized for atomic transitions or filtered communications systems. This paper discusses one method of achieving single-mode lasing operation in GaN LDs, namely the deeply-etched sidewall grating Distributed Feedback (DFB) LD. Optical characteristics of such devices will be discussed, as well as their feasibility for optical communications.


This article investigates how and to what extent member states comply with EU obligations in terms of process and outcome. The aim is to demonstrate how norm-conform behaviour unfolds, or fails to unfold, in an interaction between a member state and the European Commission. The empirical focus is on recent rule of law crises in France, Hungary and Romania. The argument is that member states engage in symbolic and/or creative compliance, designed to create the appearance of norm-conform behaviour without giving up their original objectives. The cases illustrate that creative and symbolic compliance strategies may be successfully employed by member states because they enable the Commission to disengage from conflicts it judges too costly and yet maintain its credibility, and are conditioned by the visibility of failure to change facts on the ground. The implication is that, at times, not only is compliance symbolic, but also to some extent is enforcement.


This paper provides an overview of the history of development research at the World Bank and points to new future directions in both what we research and how we research. Six main messages emerge. First, research and data have long been essential elements of the Bank's country programs and its contributions to global public goods, and this will remain the case. Second, development thinking is in a state of flux and uncertainty; it is time to reconsider both the Bank's research priorities and how it does research. Third, a more open and strategic approach to research is needed—an approach that is firmly grounded in the key knowledge gaps for development policy emerging from the experiences of developing countries, including the questions that policy makers in those countries ask. Fourth, four major sets of problems merit high priority for our future research: (i) securing economic transformation; (ii) broadening opportunities to participate in the benefits of, and contribute to, such transformation; (iii) dealing with emerging risks at all levels; and (iv) assessing the results of development efforts, including external assistance. Fifth, a new multipolar world requires a new multi-polar approach to knowledge; the Bank must learn from, and collaborate with, developing-country researchers and institutes. Sixth, greater emphasis must be given to producing the data and analytic tools for others to do the research themselves and providing open access to those tools.


The economic analysis of many health policies requires evaluation of the benefits of programs that may prolong human lives. This article contributes to the development of credible values for longevity, demonstrating the feasibility of applying stated-preference market-research techniques to a new area of preference revelation and framing the problem as extending longevity under realistic health states associated with advanced age. Respondents to the authors' stated-preference survey clearly indicated that quality of life affects the value of quantity of life. The results demonstrate the sensitivity of life-extension values to specific health and activity-limitation conditions. The article also discusses problems that remain to be solved before valid and reliable longevity values can be obtained.


What do we talk about when we talk about religion? Is it an array of empirical facts about historical human civilizations? Or is religion what is in essence unpredictable-perhaps the very emergence of the new? In what ways are the legacies of religion-its powers, words, things, and gestures-reconfiguring themselves as the elementary forms of life in the twenty-first century?Given the Latin roots of the word religion and its historical Christian uses, what sense, if any, does it make to talk about religionin other traditions? Where might we look for common elements that would enable us to do so? Has religion as an overarching concept lost all its currency, or does it ineluctably return-sometimes in unexpected ways-the moment we attempt to do without it? This book explores the difficulties and double binds that arise when we ask What is religion? Offering a marvelously rich and diverse array of perspectives, it begins the task of rethinking religionand religious studiesin a contemporary world. Opening essays on the question What is religion?are followed by clusters exploring the relationships among religion, theology, and philosophy and the links between religion, politics, and law. Pedagogy is the focus of the following section. Religion is then examined in particular contexts, from classical times to the present Pentacostal revival, leading into an especially rich set of essays on religion, materiality, and mediatization. The final section grapples with the ever-changing forms that religionis taking, such as spirituality movements and responses to the ecological crisis.Featuring the work of leading scholars from a wide array of disciplines, traditions, and cultures, Religion: Beyond a Concept will help set the agenda for religious studies for years to come. It is the first of five volumes in a collection entitled The Future of the Religious Past, the fruit of a major international research initiative funded by the Netherlands Organization for Scientific Research.


Ancient Genomics The Denisovans were archaic humans closely related to Neandertals, whose populations overlapped with the ancestors of modern-day humans. Using a single-stranded library preparation method, Meyer et al. (p. 222, published online 30 August) provide a detailed analysis of a high-quality Denisovan genome. The genomic sequence provides evidence for very low rates of heterozygosity in the Denisova, probably not because of recent inbreeding, but instead because of a small population size. The genome sequence also illuminates the relationships between humans and archaics, including Neandertals, and establishes a catalog of genetic changes within the human lineage. A close-up look provides clues to the relationships between modern humans, Denisovans, and Neandertals. We present a DNA library preparation method that has allowed us to reconstruct a high-coverage (30×) genome sequence of a Denisovan, an extinct relative of Neandertals. The quality of this genome allows a direct estimation of Denisovan heterozygosity indicating that genetic diversity in these archaic hominins was extremely low. It also allows tentative dating of the specimen on the basis of "missing evolution" in its genome, detailed measurements of Denisovan and Neandertal admixture into present-day human populations, and the generation of a near-complete catalog of genetic changes that swept to high frequency in modern humans since their divergence from Denisovans.


Aster glehni (AG) has been used in cooking and as a medicine to treat various diseases for over hundreds of years in Korea. To speculate the protective effects of AG on skin barrier, we estimated the protein levels of biomarkers related to skin barrier protection in human keratinocytes, HaCaT cells treated with sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS), or 2,4-dinitrochlorobenzene (DNCB). The protein levels for keratin, involucrin, defensin, tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNFα), peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor delta (PPARδ), 5′ adenosine monophosphate-activated protein kinase (AMPK), serine palmitoyltransferase long chain base subunit 2 (SPTLC2), and transient receptor potential cation channel subfamily V member 4 (TRPV4) were evaluated using western blotting or immunocytochemistry in HaCaT cells. AG extract increased the protein levels of PPARδ, phosphorylated AMPK, SPTLC2, keratin, involucrin, and defensin compared to the SDS or DNCB control group. However, TNFα expression increased by SDS or DNCB was decreased with AG extract. The order of action of each regulatory biomarker in AG pathway was identified TRPV4→PPARδ→AMPK from antagonist and siRNA treatment studies. AG can ameliorate the injury of keratinocytes caused by SDS or DNCB through the sequential regulation of TRPV4→PPARδ→AMPK pathway.


While the public blames the United States Supreme Court's decision in Citizens United v. FEC for the outsized political influence of the superwealthy, experts in the field know that the constitutional constraints on our ability to limit the political influence of moneyed elites long-predate Citizens United and pose a formidable barrier to effective campaign finance reform. Nevertheless, the most consistent calls in legal circles are for yet more campaign finance reform. This Article argues that it is time for those serious about curtailing the influence of money in politics to recognize that the struggle for effective campaign finance reforms has run its course. Renewed democratic accountability requires an organized, informed, and representative electorate. The field of election law must, therefore, come to grips with the evidence that the apparent crisis of representation is attributable to profound social and political changes since the 1970s, foremost among them, a transformation of civic associations critically linked to legal choices. While increasing the representativeness of the electorate that turns out to vote must remain a key priority for the field, it is time to attend to the ways that law might encourage civic reorganization — just getting voters out on election days is too little too late. In making this argument, this Article defends two controversial claims: First, the First Amendment tradition poses a formidable barrier to curtailing the influence of moneyed interests regardless of the composition of the Supreme Court. Second, the widespread skepticism in the field that the electorate can be a source of democratic accountability is overstated: The fact that voters, as individuals, are incapable of monitoring elected officials does not foreclose the possibility that voters, as groups, could demand democratic responsiveness. In fact, the historical record reveals that ordinary citizens can exercise influence over the officials elected to represent them when they are well organized and vote.


It is well known that many realistic mathematical models of biological systems, such as cell growth, cellular development and differentiation, gene expression, gene regulatory networks, enzyme cascades, synaptic plasticity, aging and population growth need to include stochasticity. These systems are not isolated, but rather subject to intrinsic and extrinsic fluctuations, which leads to a quasi equilibrium state (homeostasis). The natural framework is provided by Markov processes and the Master equation (ME) describes the temporal evolution of the probability of each state, specified by the number of units of each species. The ME is a relevant tool for modeling realistic biological systems and allow also to explore the behavior of open systems. These systems may exhibit not only the classical thermodynamic equilibrium states but also the nonequilibrium steady states (NESS). This thesis deals with biological problems that can be treat with the Master equation and also with its thermodynamic consequences. It is organized into six chapters with four new scientific works, which are grouped in two parts: (1) Biological applications of the Master equation: deals with the stochastic properties of a toggle switch, involving a protein compound and a miRNA cluster, known to control the eukaryotic cell cycle and possibly involved in oncogenesis and with the propose of a one parameter family of master equations for the evolution of a population having the logistic equation as mean field limit. (2) Nonequilibrium thermodynamics in terms of the Master equation: where we study the dynamical role of chemical fluxes that characterize the NESS of a chemical network and we propose a one parameter parametrization of BCM learning, that was originally proposed to describe plasticity processes, to study the differences between systems in DB and NESS.


Abstract Genetic factors may explain part of the interindividual variability in hypnotizability. A new avenue that may provide more comprehensive understanding of the phenotypic effects of genetic variations is the study of gene–trait interaction. In this study, the authors investigate the relationship of the dopamine-related COMT and the serotonin-related 5-HTTLPR polymorphisms to hypnotizability by taking individual differences in executive attention into account. Homozygosity for the COMT Met allele, putatively linked to the capability or proneness to dissociate from reality, was associated with high hypnotizability only if paired with high-attention ability. The finding can be integrated into hypnosis theory and represents a case of gene–trait interaction suggesting that investigating the effects of a gene in the context of relevant psychological traits may further elucidate gene-brain-behavior relationships.


This study focuses on the microstructure and texture evolution of a Ti-5Al-5Mo-5V-3Cr alloy during cold rolling and annealing treatments. Three samples with different initial microstructures were cold rolled to a 40% reduction in thickness. The starting microstructure of one sample was single β phase while two other specimens were α+β phases with different α particle sizes, distributed in β grains. For all three samples, the average size of primary β grains was 150 µm. The cold rolled specimens were then annealed at 860 °C (10 °C above the β transus temperature) for 5 minutes followed by water quenching. Microstructure development during cold rolling and recrystallization was studied by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and electron backscatter diffraction (EBSD) technique. Microstructure investigations showed that massive amount of shear bands occurred during the cold rolling of the single β phase sample while only a few shear bands were observed in the α+β cold rolled microstructures. The cold rolled texture of the sample comprised of a single β phase contains a gamma fibre (//ND) and a partial alpha fibre (//RD). Annealing treatment decreased the intensity of the cold rolled texture in the single β phase sample. Also, it was found that the presence of α precipitates changes the common annealing texture observed in the single β phase specimen.


TV portraits of the miners' strike of 1984/5 stressed the violence of the pickets and responsible policing. This book challenges those images, looks at the impact of the strike on participants, and reflects on ongoing controversies and community pride.

The book is organised into three parts. In the early chapters, participants look back: Peter Smith speaks of his honest determination not to become a 'professional sacked miner', and Siân James tells of her excitement and pride at her community's defence of a valued way of life.

Political controversies are examined: Was the strike the result of careful planning on the part of the Thatcher government and/or the NUM? How and why were the striking miners, at Orgreave coke works in June 1984, injured, arrested and vilified? Why were miners determined not to be 'constitutionalised' or balloted out of their jobs? How did the BBC and ITV misrepresent police action and show miners as 'out of control'? Why did miners in Yorkshire, Nottinghamshire and elsewhere support, or oppose, the strike?

The final section examines enduring issues, especially the Orgreave Truth and Justice Campaign. Is a more critical assessment of Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher long overdue? Why is miners' history and heritage, as seen in the Durham Miners' Gala, so fondly celebrated?


We measured the dispersion of the absolute-differential Raman crosssections of ammonium nitrate (NH4NO3), pentaerythritol tetranitrate (PETN), trinitrotoluene (TNT), nitroamine (HMX), and cyclotrimethylene-trinitramine (RDX) in acetonitrile and water solutions between 204 and 257 nm. The ultraviolet (UV) resonance Raman/differential Raman cross-sections of NH4NO3, PETN, TNT, HMX, and RDX dramatically increase as the excitation wavelength decreases deep into the UV to 204 nm. NH4NO3, PETN, and RDX are best resonance-enhanced by the 204 nm excitation used here, while the optimum excitation wavelength for TNT and HMX is ~230 nm. The excitation profile of TNT roughly follows its absorption band shape. The excitation profiles for the different Raman bands of each explosive molecule differ, indicating that multiple-excitation wavelength spectra are not redundant and can offer additional information on the species present. We see no evidence of any nonlinear spectral response or sample degradation at the fluences and spectral accumulation times used here. However, we previously observed such phenomena at longer spectral accumulation times and higher fluences. These results are promising for the development of standoff deep-UV Raman methods for explosive molecule determinations.


In this work we investigate and demonstrate benefits of a Bayesian approach to imitation learning from multiple sensor inputs, as applied to the task of opening office doors with a mobile manipulator. Augmenting policies with additional sensor inputs, such as RGB + depth cameras, is a straightforward approach to improving robot perception capabilities, especially for tasks that may favor different sensors in different situations. As we scale multi-sensor robotic learning to unstructured real-world settings (e.g. offices, homes) and more complex robot behaviors, we also increase reliance on simulators for cost, efficiency, and safety. Consequently, the sim-to-real gap across multiple sensor modalities also increases, making simulated validation more difficult. We show that using the Variational Information Bottleneck (Alemi et al., 2016) to regularize convolutional neural networks improves generalization to held-out domains and reduces the sim-to-real gap in a sensor-agnostic manner. As a side effect, the learned embeddings also provide useful estimates of model uncertainty for each sensor. We demonstrate that our method is able to help close the sim-to-real gap and successfully fuse RGB and depth modalities based on understanding of the situational uncertainty of each sensor. In a real-world office environment, we achieve 96% task success, improving upon the baseline by +16%.


A Review of Orbital Involvement in Patients with Primary Paranasal Sinus Space Occupying Lesions in a South-East Asian Tertiary Centre
Objective: To study the ophthalmic symptoms, signs and the outcomes after therapeutic intervention in patients with various space occupying lesions (SOL) of paranasal sinuses (PNS) in a tertiary referral centre in South-East Asia.
Patients and Methods: Retrospective review of all the cases with primary sinus SOL presenting with orbital involvement seen at the ophthalmic plastic service between January 1, 2000 and December 31, 2011.
Results: There were a total of 22 cases. Mean age was 51.5 years and male to female ratio was 2:1. Presenting ophthalmic signs were proptosis (77.3%), palpable mass (63.6%), ophthalmoplegia (54.6%), pain (36.4%) and poor vision (13.6%). All cases were co-managed by Eye and ENT surgeons, with 15 cases first detected by ophthalmologists and 7cases by otolaryngologists. Of the 22 cases, 10 (45.5%) cases were neoplasms, 9 (40.9%) were paranasal sinus mucoceles and 3 cases were dysplastic lesions. Mean follow up period was 23 months (3 months to 69 months).
Conclusion: PNS SOL cases can present with ophthalmic signs and symptoms to the ophthalmologists and often may be the first presentation. Diplopia and ophthalmoplegia are the most common ophthalmic disorders signifying orbital involvement by a PNS SOL. The outcome largely depends upon the primary etiology of the sinus lesion and efficacy of the multi-disciplinary approach.


This article discusses the research findings that suggest that the extent of learner participation should be partial in senior secondary school management in Botswana. This extent of learner participation enables learners to be involved in school management aspects in which they can meaningfully participate, whilst allowing the school management to take decisions in aspects in which the learners cannot meaningfully participate. It should also be noted that there are two types of partial participation which the learners could use. One type is where the majority of the learners may feel they need to personally participate certain management aspects. The other type is where the learners feel they can participate through representation by persons who they deem capable of doing so. Meaningful learner participation in some aspects of school management is expected to improve discipline.


Objective: To explore the national survey of pharmacy leadership at the Ministry of Health with emphasis on pharmacy Working Environment. Methods: It is a ninety days cross-sectional national survey of pharmacy leadership practice at Ministry of Health. The survey modified from self-assessment of 360 leadership and with pharmacy leadership literature. The electronic format of the survey through the survey monkey system and distributed through emails. All analysis is done through the survey monkey system. The survey divided into several parts for analysis, and discussion. Part one: practice management, part two: planning and organizations, part three: communications strategies, part four: problem-solving and decision making, part five: performances management, part six; working environment, and part seven: professional development. The study explored the part number six: National Survey of Pharmacy leadership: Working Environment. Results: The survey distributed to one hundred hospitals, the response rate, was forty-two hospitals (42%) with seventy-pharmacy leaders. The gender distribution of responders was Male 43 (63.24%) and female 25 (36.76%) while the nationality was Saudi 69 (98.57%) and non-Saudi 1 (1.43%). The majority of pharmacy leadership described the current environment as work culture A 24 (38.1%) and work culture C 23 (36.5%). The most of them preferred work culture B 20 (31.25%) and Work culture A 19 (29.69%). The average score Cultural Awareness skills were 2.48 (82.65%) with the highest score was Full respect for people who are not sharing the same region 2.73 (90.99%). The majority of pharmacy leaders agreed the higher Management within the organization recognizes strong job performance 31 (46.27%), the Employees proactively identify future challenges and opportunities 33 (53.23%), and Employees in my organization willingly accept change 31 (47.69%). Most of the pharmacy leaders (70%) though that is the maximum time should become pharmacy leader at his or her position four to five years. Conclusion: The pharmacy leaders had some challenges with workplace environment. Targeting to review pharmacy workplace and implement the new model of the culture environment is required. Also, further with another a detail investigation of pharmacy workplace environment is highly recommended at healthcare organizations in Saudi Arabia. Key word: Pharmacy leadership, Working environment, Ministry of health, Saudi arabia.


The old-fashioned, repressed, un-moisturized man has been banished to the hinterlands and a new breed is taking center stage. He is a man of style, sophistication, and security, just as strong and confident as his predecessor, but far more diverse in his interests, his tastes, and, most importantly, his self-image. He may be seen at an NBA game one night and an art gallery opening the next. Able to navigate any social setting, he is informed, influential, intriguing, and very much in vogue these days. He is the new male ideal: the metrosexual man.So how can the average Joe keep up with this new version of cool? How should he behave, what shoes should he wear, and what CDs should he have in his collection? Answers to these questions and so many other pressing concerns can be found in The Metrosexual Guide to Style. Filled with entertaining anecdotes, famous quotes, helpful hints, dos and don'ts, recommendations and potential pitfalls, this handy guidebook covers everything from dining out to fashion and personal style, home decor to the Metro-mindset. It is the one-stop shop for the impeccably groomed and savvy modern man.


The world is troubled and full of misunderstandings. It seems a new world order of fundamentalist violence and meaningless atrocity is upon us, whilst civilised instruments for cooperation and compromise are becoming increasingly ineffective. In this timely book, Stephen Chan explores the historical and philosophical roots of difference and discord in the international system. He begins with the introduction of the Westphalian system, showing how, throughout the 20th century, new states - from the Middle East, Asia and Africa - entered that system with reservations, preconditions, and great efforts to introduce new forms of concerts and congresses but without seriously challenging the international status-quo. By contrast, the 21st century has brought turmoil and change in the form of militant Islam - be it the Taleban, Al Qaeda, or ISIS - whose varied roots and fluid emergence have so far prevented the West from being able to understand and combat it. Developing Kissinger's suspicion of Saudi Arabia as an Islamic state in Westphalian dress, Chan argues that what is at stake today is not the development of a new Caliphate or an old radicalism - but the effort to supplant and replace the Westphalian system itself. This is the complex and challenging reality to which a truly modern and persuasively relevant plural international relations must now adapt. Whether it can do so remains to be seen.


[1] Impact basin formation is a fundamental process in the evolution of the Moon and records the history of impactors in the early solar system. In order to assess the stratigraphy, sequence, and ages of impact basins and the impactor population as a function of time, we have used topography from the Lunar Orbiter Laser Altimeter (LOLA) on the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO) to measure the superposed impact crater size-frequency distributions for 30 lunar basins (D ≥ 300 km). These data generally support the widely used Wilhelms sequence of lunar basins, although we find significantly higher densities of superposed craters on many lunar basins than derived by Wilhelms (50% higher densities). Our data also provide new insight into the timing of the transition between distinct crater populations characteristic of ancient and young lunar terrains. The transition from a lunar impact flux dominated by Population 1 to Population 2 occurred before the mid-Nectarian. This is before the end of the period of rapid cratering, and potentially before the end of the hypothesized Late Heavy Bombardment. LOLA-derived crater densities also suggest that many Pre-Nectarian basins, such as South Pole-Aitken, have been cratered to saturation equilibrium. Finally, both crater counts and stratigraphic observations based on LOLA data are applicable to specific basin stratigraphic problems of interest; for example, using these data, we suggest that Serenitatis is older than Nectaris, and Humboldtianum is younger than Crisium. Sample return missions to specific basins can anchor these measurements to a Pre-Imbrian absolute chronology.


We present DR.DECR (Dense Retrieval with Distillation-Enhanced Cross-Lingual Representation), a new cross-lingual information retrieval (CLIR) system trained using multi-stage knowledge distillation (KD). The teacher of DR.DECR relies on a highly effective but computationally expensive two-stage inference process consisting of query translation and monolingual IR, while the student, DR.DECR, executes a single CLIR step. We teach DR.DECR powerful multilingual representations as well as CLIR by optimizing two corresponding KD objectives. Learning useful representations of non-English text from an English-only retriever is accomplished through a cross-lingual token alignment algorithm that relies on the representation capabilities of the underlying multilingual encoders. In both in-domain and zero-shot out-of-domain evaluation, DR.DECR demonstrates far superior accuracy over direct fine-tuning with labeled CLIR data. It is also the best single-model retriever on the XOR-TyDi benchmark at the time of this writing.


Acoustic scene reconstruction is a process that aims to infer characteristics of the environment from acoustic measurements. We investigate the problem of locating planar reflectors in rooms, such as walls and furniture, from signals obtained using distributed microphones. Specifically, localization of multiple two- dimensional (2-D) reflectors is achieved by estimation of the time of arrival (TOA) of reflected signals by analysis of acoustic impulse responses (AIRs). The estimated TOAs are converted into elliptical constraints about the location of the line reflector, which is then localized by combining multiple constraints. When multiple walls are present in the acoustic scene, an ambiguity problem arises, which we show can be addressed using the Hough transform. Additionally, the Hough transform significantly improves the robustness of the estimation for noisy measurements. The proposed approach is evaluated using simulated rooms under a variety of different controlled conditions where the floor and ceiling are perfectly absorbing. Results using AIRs measured in a real environment are also given. Additionally, results showing the robustness to additive noise in the TOA information are presented, with particular reference to the improvement achieved through the use of the Hough transform.


Reproductive performance of female cattle is one of the important factors that need to be known in supporting the efficiency of beef cattle breeding programs so that the dam can produce calves every year. This study aimed to evaluate the potential and reproductive performance of female Bali cattle to preparing a baseline for cattle breeding production in SL-SPR Maju Bersama, Sungai Lilin District. Three hundred and thirty female Bali cattle owned by 247 farmers were measured and recorded based on their production and reproduction performance. Data were collected by interview and observation. Data were analyzed using statistical and descriptive methods. Reproductive performance obtained is the age first calving 1098±120 days; calving interval 457,25±8,75 days; days open 109,25±8,57 days and service per conception 5,46±0,42. The average female cattle have a BCS value of 3 (43%). The result showed that the breeding of Bali cattle at SL-SPR had sufficient potential, but it was necessary to improve performance. The basic data obtained can be used to start a breeding business to increase populations and improve the genetic quality of Bali cattle.


For several decades, total revenues raised by estate and gift taxes have roughly equalled those raised by excise taxes on alcohol and tobacco.' Yet no law journal has ever asked me to write on alcohol or tobacco excise taxes. The law firms of America do not routinely have divisions devoted to excise tax planning. We do not hear of the suffering of widows and orphans (or even of farmers and small businesses) because of alcohol and tobacco taxes. Philosophers and economists do not routinely debate the merits of such taxes. Perhaps most significantly, increases in such excise taxes do not arouse fears that we are about to eliminate the concept of private property in this country and embrace socialism, or even communism. The estate tax, however, evokes just such responses.2


The privatization of public water services in the United States has grown dramatically in recent years in response to political and ideological interest in privatizing public services, arguments about economic efficiencies, and the realities of overwhelming public costs related to water quality standards, infrastructure upgrade needs, and operational complexities. Many states have expressly enacted statutes authorizing municipalities to transfer services, operation and management, and even ownership of public water systems to private firms. This article systematically evaluates the status of water privatization in the U.S., the legal authority for privatization and its limits, and the most common and significant issues in water privatization. These issues include: 1) the unique characteristics of water services; 2) operational efficiency and capital cost savings; 3) rates; 4) service quality and reliability, and water quality; 5) take-or-pay contracts; 6) long-term capital investment, maintenance, and public agency capacity; 7) environmental protection and impact; 8) global commerce in water; 9) security of water supplies and terrorism; 10) equity; 11) public employees; 12) public opinion; and 13) the limited authority of regional public water institutions. The article makes a case for a state legislation to protect the public and ensure accountability to the public when public water systems are considering privatization. It identifies specific model elements of a comprehensive state statute governing water privatization, including considerations when evaluating privatization proposals and conditions that should be imposed on private water firms. The article takes the position that the term "privatization" can mean any number of different arrangements, which are neither inherently good nor bad. The desirability of privatization arrangements depends on the context, the need, the nature of the arrangement, and legal controls imposed to ensure accountability to the public.


This report aims to highlight some of the successful financial management practices adopted by Urban Local Bodies (ULBs) in India when implementing sewerage schemes. The findings are presented in two parts, the first part of the report discusses the approach adopted for capital financing of sewerage schemes in the state of Tamil Nadu, and the second part presents the findings from a review of the operational expenditure and revenue generation of various ULBs across the country. The aim of the report is to share successful capital financing and cost recovery practices adopted by ULBs in India and enable improvement in provisioning of sewerage systems (only where feasible and economically viable, typically only in larger towns with a population greater than 50,000) and ensure availability of sufficient funds for proper Operation and Maintenance (O&M) of the schemes implemented.


Developing a statement of teaching philosophy is established practice for teaching faculty in American higher education, with such statements routinely used in job applications, appointment reviews, and promotion decisions across the disciplines, but less often discussed in other countries. Teaching librarians may also produce a teaching philosophy statement if they are applying for a job with academic status or promotion to a tenured position; and the process of developing a teaching philosophy can have wider benefits for librarians, encouraging reflective practice and promoting the educational mission of libraries. Statements are usually developed through individual reflection, often with peer support and feedback. Key elements include discussion of your beliefs and thoughts about how learning occurs, and how teachers can facilitate or intervene in the process; consideration of what goals you have for your students, in relation to the subject matter at hand and for their education generally; articulation of your teaching or learning support style, i.e., how you prefer to behave and interact with learners; and description of what methods of instruction, assessment, and evaluation you use. Sentence completion activities, question prompts and guided reading can be used to stimulate thinking, as well as sharing examples from statements produced by others.


Abstract Elemental analysis of neutron-induced gamma-ray spectra is a significant technology in the detection of chemical agents, explosives, etc. The hard part of this problem is the very complicated and uncertain background signals of the gamma-ray spectra. Also, the background signals are always changing as the searched objects change, thus further complicating the gamma-ray spectra analysis process. We can define a typical or average background spectrum if the variation of background spectrum is not too large, then we use this background spectrum to identify a gamma-ray signal. We tested both the direct summation approach and the Gaussian fitting approach in our computer algorithms. We found these two different approaches have individual advantages and disadvantages when they are applied in calculations of the signal significance level. In the end, we combined the direct summation approach with the Gaussian fitting approach in our computer algorithms in the actual calculations of the signal significance level. Based on our previous preliminary MCNP simulations results, we used phosphorus powder to simulate the chemical agent sarin and used our automated computer algorithms to calculate the single-line and multiple-line signal significance levels. Presented in this paper are some results in which we used our experimental data to test our average background spectrum and our computer algorithms. Our calculated results show the average background spectra that we defined are appropriate for the elemental analysis in searching for the chemical agent, and our computer algorithms, in which we combined the direct summation approach with the Gaussian fitting approach, function well. From a multiple-line analysis, our calculated results show that in the real application of this neutron-induced gamma-ray detection technique the detection time can be reduced to 15 s or less for detecting small quantities of chemical agents.


: Altmetrics are an alternative to traditional measurement of the impact of published resources. While altmetrics are primarily used by researchers and institutions to measure the impact of scholarly publications online, they can also be used by archives to measure the impact of their diverse online holdings, including digitized and born-digital collections, digital exhibits, repository websites, and online finding aids. Furthermore, altmetrics may fill a need for user engagement assessments for cultural heritage organizations. This article introduces the concept of altmetrics for archives and discusses barriers to adoption, best practices for collection, and potential further areas of study.


Microsoft Windows Server 2003 Unleashed, 3rd Edition is the first book on the market to cover Windows Server 2003 R2. This latest edition will keep the text viable with the major "R2" update being released from Microsoft late in 2005. Many of the Windows Server 2003 titles have not been revised since release in 2003 even though Microsoft has released a service pack and now the R2 update.This book will provide detailed guidance focused on the most commonly used yet most complicated planning, installation, migration, and problem solving topics that challenge IT professionals. This title goes far beyond the basic installation and setup information found in hundreds of other resources and focus on the less understood yet most important details for system configuration, tips, tricks, and techniques to successfully implement and administer a Windows networking system.


Paleotectonic reconstructions for the late Proterozoic have differed over the timing of the Cordilleran rifting between Laurentia and the East Gondwana cratons. Parsimony Analysis of Endemism (PAE) and phenetic clustering of the "Ediacara biota" were carried out, for comparison with competing paleotectonic hypotheses. All analyses show a common pattern of similarities among biotas. The biotas of Charnwood Forest and Newfoundland consistently group together, while the south Australian biota is closest to those of Baltica, northern Laurentia, and Siberia. The biota of southwest North America, though still poorly known, strikingly resembles that of Namibia—not that of northwestern Canada. This pattern is not obviously due to facies-related or preservational bias and is very different from Cambrian biogeographic patterns. The overall pattern is most consistent with the hypothesis that the western margin of Laurentia was in close contact with East Gondwana, with rifting taking place either during or just before the Vendian. This arrangement has been previously proposed as a paleotectonic hypothesis; however, most recent paleomagnetic and structural studies support the alternate hypothesis that this rifting took place more than 100 million years before the Vendian. Resolving this contradiction will require much more data on both organismal distribution and cratonal position.


We introduce a Fourier analysis method to design temporal cloaks for hiding events in time domain. The cloaks are constructed with two linear time-invariant filters with different transfer functions, which can create a temporal gap and then closed it orderly, making any events occurring during the gap not detectable outside. We further reveal that even a no-gap temporal cloak can also hide events. All the analytical results are verified by fast Fourier transformation simulations.


We present a general discussion about the fundamental physical principles involved in a novel class of optical superlenses that permit to realize in the far-field direct non-scanning images with subwavelength resolution. Described superlenses are based in the illumination of the object under observation with surface waves excited by fluorescence, the enhanced transmission of fluorescence via coupling with surface waves, and the occurrence of far-field coherence-related fluorescence diffraction phenomena. A Fourier optics description of the image formation based on illumination with surface waves is presented, and several recent experimental realizations of this technique are discussed. Our theoretical approach explains why images with subwavelength resolution can be formed directly in the microscope camera, without involving scanning or numerical post-processing. While resolution of the order of λ/7 has been demonstrated using the described approach, we anticipate that deeper optical subwavelength resolution should be expected.


This article tackles a question heretofore virtually ignored by scholars and yet to be resolved by the Supreme Court - the justiciability of the Suspension Clause. Following the devastating attacks of September 11, the suspension power is no longer the exclusive province of academic debate. In the wake of those attacks, the Bush Administration apparently asked Congress to suspend the writ of habeas corpus to aid efforts aimed at combating terrorism. Now, five years later, this country is waging a War on Terrorism of indefinite duration and recent counterterrorism legislation has been argued by some to constitute a suspension of the Great Writ. Regardless of whether this legislation is in fact a suspension, the potential for additional terrorist attacks on American soil is unfortunately all too real, and there is good reason to believe that another attack would be met with a clear invocation of the suspension power by Congress. Accordingly, whether the judiciary could review the lawfulness of any such suspension could well be one of the most important legal issues to arise out of the War on Terrorism. In the Supreme Court's recent Hamdi v. Rumsfeld decision, Justice Scalia suggested that the judiciary could not review an exercise of the suspension authority to ensure that Congress had not acted inconsistently with the conditions that the Constitution places on invocation of the suspension authority. (By its very terms, the Suspension Clause requires that there be an "Invasion" or "Rebellion" before Congress may suspend the writ.) This article disputes the conventional wisdom that suspension presents a nonjusticiable political question as reflected in Justice Scalia's Hamdi opinion as well as earlier suggestions to the same effect made by other jurists. The article explores why this view is misguided, highlighting the fact that it can not be reconciled with the purpose of the Suspension Clause, the separation of powers, and the core function of the institution of judicial review. Most principally, the article contends that resolving the justiciability of suspension turns on the purpose and history of the Great Writ as well as how it fits within our broader constitutional scheme. The historic link between the Great Writ and core due process safeguards leads inevitably to the conclusion that the internal predicates required for a valid suspension are inextricably intertwined with the core due process right and, just as protection of the latter has always been understood to fall within the core of the judicial role, the same must hold true for protection of the former. The unique status of the writ as a constitutional remedy and limitations on Congress's ability to compel courts to resolve cases in contravention of the Constitution likewise demonstrate that suspension is not a political question. Ultimately, suspension is indicative of many issues viewed generally as political: that certain legislative decisions are in some respects the culmination of political choices does not preclude a role for the courts in reviewing those choices for compliance with our constitutional values.


This study tries to document linkages between HRD, migration and remittances in South Asia. We have explained in detail the various channels through which HRD promotes migration and remittances, and a case has been made not to consider this process as brain drain – rather it should be viewed by public policy practitioners as brain circulation which can in turn result not just in increased foreign exchange reserves but also increased prospects for transfer of technology and creative ideas. Econometric results suggest that infant mortality, gross primary school enrolment and real per capita GDP have a negative relationship with remittance inflows in South Asia, whereas gross tertiary school enrolment and access to financial instruments have a positive relationship with remittances in these countries. The result indicates that higher levels of education facilitate mobility of labour and allow better opportunities for working abroad.


The use of organochlorine pesticides in rice growing in Laos is widespread. Potential contamination of pesticides to the aquatic organisms and sediments is a major concern. This study investigates the organochlorine pesticide contamination in fish, mollusks, and sediment from five main fishing areas of Vientiane, the capital of Laos. The fishing areas are located within the rice fields around Vientiane.

Fifteen species of freshwater fish and one species of mollusks were homogenized, extracted, fractionated and subsequently analysed with Gas Chromatography Mass Spectrometry (GC-MS). Sediment samples were extracted and fractionated and analysed similarly as those of fish and mollusks.

The target compounds of interest were lindane, chlordane, dieldrin, DDT and its derivatives. The result of this study shows that DDT, lindane, HCH, chlordane and dieldrin were present in 14 of 15 species of fish and mollusks. DDT, chlordane and dieldrin were present in the samples of sediment. This study also shows that lindane and chlordane has the highest concentrations both in fish and mollusk while DDT and its metabolites reveals next highest concentrations. Results show that highest concentrations of DDT, dieldrin and chlordane were observed in sediments.

Results from this study indicate that organochlorine contamination occurs in fish and mollusks. Laotian depends on fish and mollusks for their dietary needs of protein and this is a cause of major concern for potential human health impacts. Furthermore, sedimentary environments where the study were being conducted shows appearance of DDT, dieldrin and chlordane and this would increase the bio-availability of those compounds to the aquatic organisms including fish and mollusks.

Although, this study indicate that the levels of pesticides in fish, mollusk and sediment are below the World Health Organization (WHO) standards, the authority should try their best to reduce pesticide contamination in Vientiane, Laos. This study is the first of its kind in Laos and it provides important base-line information for policy makers and monitoring agencies.


Life history characteristics of the stream mayfly Euthyplocia hecuba (Hagen) (Polymitarcyidae:Euthyplociinae) were studied over a 4-yr period in two tropical streams (Río Tempisquito and Quebrada Marilin) draining primary evergreen forest in northern Costa Rica. Larvae burrow in the substratum of the stream, living under small to large cobbles that are firmly embedded in the stream bottom. Euthyplocia hecuba is sexually dimorphic and one of the largest mayflies of Central America, with maximum larval size of 149 mg (dry mass) for females and 35 mg for males. Mature female and male larvae are about 40% larger in Q. Marilin relative to R. Tempisquito. Subimagoes emerge about 1 h before dawn (∼0400 h); the molt to the imago (or true adult stage) occurs ∼20 min later. Adult emergence and reproduction occurs mainly between June and November. Females mate and then oviposit in riffle areas just before dawn, with the time period gradually changing from 0446 and 0507 h in June to 0508 and 0529 h in October. We found that size of adult males and females gradually declined during the emergence period. Fecundity averaged 984 in October (range 364-2851), with eggs being very large for a mayfly (0.46 × 0.4 mm; 0.017 mg dry mass). The proportion of adult biomass allocated to eggs (reproductive effort) averaged 0.51 but varied according to female size. Median egg development time was 113, 55, and 31 d at 15, 20, and 25°C. The hatch success of eggs was >90% at 15 and 20°C, only 68% at 25°C, and 0% at 10 and 30°C. First instar larvae are relatively large for a mayfly, having a head width of 0.11 mm and a body length of 1.30 mm. Seasonal changes in larval size distribution suggest that larval development takes ∼22 mo to complete and may involve a developmental quiescence or diapause during the first year. A 2-yr life history appears to be the most parsimonious hypothesis given a 2-mo egg development time, the occurrence of two size cohorts of larvae throughout most of the year, and the temporal pattern of maximum and average larval sizes over the course of the sampling period. Our data suggest that seasonality in the developmental dynamics of larvae underlies both the seasonal emergence and decline in dry mass of both adult males and females during the emergence period. The data provide the first evidence for semivoltinism in a tropical mayfly.


Total knee replacement is one of the most common elective surgeries in the world, and presents a number of challenges related to the wear of ultra-high molecular weight polyethylene (UHMWPE). This paper presents an analysis of the surface topographical properties of the worn and unworn condylar surfaces on a small cohort of both wear simulated and retrieved prostheses of varying designs. A number of measurement points were taken on each prostheses in a mixture of worn and unworn areas through the use of focus-variation microscopy (FVM), a non-contact method of surface measurement. Surface areal parameters were extracted from this data to analyse and search for patterns within the data. It was found that in general, worn implant surfaces appear to show smoother, less peak dominated surfaces than unworn area. It was also found that wear simulated and retrieved implants display similar characteristics of surface topography. In addition, variation was noted between different designs of TKR device, with posterior stabilised designs found to be peak dominated and cruciate retaining type implants being valley dominated.


The orthogonal frequency division multiple access (OFDMA) scheme has been selected as a potential candidate for many emerging broadband wireless access standards. In this paper, a new joint scheduling and resource allocation scheme is proposed for the OFDMA systems using contiguous subcarrier permutation. The proposed resource allocation algorithm provides contiguous sets of frequency-time resource units following a rectangular shape yielding a reduction on the required burst signalling. The joint scheduling and resource allocation process is divided into two phases: the QoS requirements fulfilment and the input buffers emptying status. For each phase, a specific prioritization function is defined in order to obtain a trade-off between the fairness and the spectral efficiency maximization. The new prioritization scheme provides a reduction of 50% of the 99th percentile from the delivered packets delay in case of non real-time services, and 30% of the packet loss rate in case of real-time services compared to the proportional fair scheduling function. On the other hand, it is also demonstrated that using the rectangular data packing algorithm, the number of required bursts per frame can be reduced up to a few tenths without compromising the performance.


Different geometric shapes of light pipes cause different irradiance distributions. We analytically explore the irradiance distributions of on-axis Lambertian pointlike sources in polygonal total-internal-reflection (TIR) straight light pipes. It is analytically shown that the irradiance of pentagonal light pipes concentrates on the center of the exit plane. Numerical verifications are also provided, and experimental explorations with different shapes of acrylic light pipes are carried out for comparison. We also analyze the influence of light-pipe length on distribution uniformity and deduce the smallest uniform-mixing length/circumradius ratios for polygonal light pipes.


BACKGROUND/AIMS
Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) represents a great challenge to public health, particularly among medical students. The aim of the study was to determine the global prevalence and risk factors of IBS among medical students.

MATERIALS AND METHODS
Data were obtained through searches in PubMed, Ovid, the Cochrane database, Embase, Google scholar, Institute for Scientific Information (ISI) "Web of Science," and Medline from 1990 to June 2015. The search terms included "Irritable Bowel Syndrome" and "Medical students" and "prevalence, risk factors". More than 100 articles were reviewed, scrutinized, and critically appraised for the eligibility criteria, and the relevant articles were selected.

RESULTS
Sixteen studies were identified, and the prevalence of IBS among medical students ranged from 9.3% to 35.5%. The relatively high prevalence among medical students may be attributed to their special stressful learning environment. Some studies found that female gender, family history of IBS, psychiatric stress, anxiety, depression, infections, dietary factors, and sleep disorders were associated with IBS.

CONCLUSION
A relatively high prevalence of IBS was prevalent among medical students. Annual screening of IBS and introduction of stress management courses are recommended.


Green reduction spots in red slate of the Hamburg sequence exposed near Shartlesville, Pennsylvania, have axial ratios of 1.42:1.0:0.28 on the limbs of near-isoclinal folds and 1.0:0.79:0.41 in fold hinge zones. Conodont cusps and denticles within the reduction spots have been brittlely pulled apart and give independent measures of extension in various directions. Comparison of conodont extensions with reduction spot shapes on limbs and hinges indicates that sedimentary compaction of 44% preceded the tectonic strain associated with cleavage formation. This strain, having identical maximum extensions but greater shortening in fold hinges as compared to limbs, was characterized by 41% extension in X, no change in Y, 50% to 59% shortening in Z, and 29% to 42% tectonic volume loss. The general lack of directed overgrowths on grains reflects the large volume loss and contrasts with other slates, where deformation was an almost constant volume process and extension in X compensated for shortening in Z.


Permafrost soils are known to hold around 50% of the global soil carbon pool, mostly as particulate organic carbon (POC). The carbon is often stored deep in the soil profile, because of its redistribution through cryoturbation or simply because of the nature of the depositional processes that led to the storage of carbon in these lower horizons. Soils are rarely wholly vertically exposed, because of the progressive nature of thaw processes, except in thermokarst, river shores and coastlines, where large vertical sections of ice-rich permafrost can be in contact with both the sea and the atmosphere. As arctic permafrost coasts make up 34 % of the world's coastline (ca. 400,000 km) and are often made of ice-rich unconsolidated sediments highly susceptible to coastal erosion as shown by the large rates of erosion recently reported in the literature, it is likely that large quantities of carbon are released from coastal erosion. Current estimates of carbon release by coastal erosion focus solely on particulate organic carbon, emphasizing the overwhelming role of the soil POC in the overall release of total organic carbon from erosion. Dissolved Organic Carbon (DOC) is generally not included in these estimates, as it is considered to be negligible in the equation. Estimations of DOC contents in ground ice, which is overwhelmingly present along arctic coasts do not exist though and this study aimed at investigating DOC contents in massive ice. Along the Yukon Coastal Plain, in the Western Canadian Arctic, massive ground ice bodies such as ice wedges, buried glacier ice, and segregated massive ice form an overwhelming component of the coastal sections. In some cases, virtually pure ground ice occupies as much as 90% of 40 m coastal exposures and erodes at rates approaching 10 m/yr. Here we present the first results of dissolved organic carbon from massive ground ice from Herschel Island (69.583 °N; 139.083 °W) in the Southern Beaufort Sea. First data suggest that Holocene ice wedges possess the highest DOC content of all massive ice types. Buried glacier ice, basal regelation ice or segregation ice show strong internal variation due to their complex interaction with host sediments and their parent organic carbon content. We draw from these results some numbers showing the relevance of DOC in computing sediment budgets for large areas and for the Arctic. We highlight the need to collect samples from a range of exposures affected by other cryogenic processes to get a comprehensive picture of DOC contents in ground ice along arctic coasts.


Abstract : An essential element of secure coding in the Java programming language is well-documented and enforceable coding standards. Coding standards encourage programmers to follow a uniform set of guidelines determined by the requirements of the project and organization, rather than by the programmer's familiarity or preference. Once established, these standards can be used as a metric to evaluate source code (using manual or automated processes). The CERT Oracle Secure Coding Standard for Java provides guidelines for secure coding in the Java programming language. The goal of these guidelines is to eliminate insecure coding practices and undefined behaviors that can lead to exploitable vulnerabilities. Applying this standard will lead to higher quality systems that are robust and more resistant to attack. This report documents the portion of those Java guidelines that are related to concurrency.


We study the electrohydrodynamic stability of the interface between two superposed viscous fluids in a channel subjected to a normal electric field. The two fluids can have different densities, viscosities, permittivities and conductivities. The interface allows surface charges, and there exists an electrical tangential shear stress at the interface owing to the finite conductivities of the two fluids. The long-wave linear stability analysis is performed within the generic Orr–Sommerfeld framework for both perfect and leaky dielectrics. In the framework of the long-wave linear stability analysis, the wave speed is expressed in terms of the ratio of viscosities, densities, permittivities and conductivities of the two fluids. For perfect dielectrics, the electric field always has a destabilizing effect, whereas for leaky dielectrics, the electric field can have either a destabilizing or a stabilizing effect depending on the ratios of permittivities and conductivities of the two fluids. In addition, the linear stability analysis for all wavenumbers is carried out numerically using the Chebyshev spectral method, and the various types of neutral stability curves (NSC) obtained are discussed.


Clinical studies on atherosclerosis agree that multi-contrast MRI is the most promising technique for in-vivo characterization of carotid plaques. Multi-contrast image registration is essential for this application, because it corrects misalignments caused by patient motion during MRI acquisition. To date, it has not been determined which automatic method provides the best registration accuracy in carotid MRI. This study tries to answer this question by presenting an iterative coarse-to-fine algorithm that co-registers multi-contrast images of carotid arteries using three similarity metrics: Correlation Ratio (CR), Mutual Information (MI) and Gradient MI (GMI). The registration algorithm is first applied on the entire images and then only on the Region of Interest (ROI) of the carotid arteries using sub-pixel accuracy. The ROI is defined by an automatic carotid detection algorithm, which was tested on a group of 20 patients with different types of atherosclerotic plaques (sensitivity 91% and specificity 88%). Automatic registration was compared with image alignment obtained by manual operators (clinically qualified vascular specialists). Registration accuracies were measured using a novel MRI validation procedure, in which the gold standard is represented by in-plane rigid transformations applied by the MRI system to mimic neck movements. Overall, automatic methods (GMI = 181 ± 104 μm) produced lower registration errors than manual operators (365 ± 102 μm). GMI performed slightly better than CR and MI, suggesting that anatomical information improves registration accuracy in the carotid ROI.


Dr. Richard Spielman, the Butterworth Professor of Genetics in the School of Medicine of the University of Pennsylvania, passed away on April 25. He was 63 years old. Dr. Spielman, who joined the Penn faculty in 1974, was a world-renowned expert in the fields of human genetics and genomics. His seminal work with Dr. Warren Ewens of the Biology Department, on family-based genetic associations studies, the Transmission Disequilibrium Test (TDT), has been cited more than 2,400 times to date and has had a major impact on the field. His more recent studies with Dr. Vivian Cheung of the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, were the first to investigate the genetics of natural variation of gene expression in humans. Dr. Spielman was committed to teaching both graduate students and medical students. He was the founding chair of the Genomics and Computational Biology Graduate Group, which has become the model for similar programs elsewhere. He also served on multiple academic committees at the School of Medicine over the years. Dr. Spielman received his AB from Harvard College cum laude in 1967, and both master's and PhD degrees in human genetics from the University of Michigan. After completing his postdoctoral training at Michigan in 1974, he joined what was then the Department of Human Genetics at Penn. He served on the editorial boards of several prominent journals, including the Journal of Clinical Investigation, the American Journal of Human Genetics, and Genome Research. He was a member of multiple NIH study sections, and served on the program committee of the American Society of Human Genetics. Dr. Spielman is survived by his wife, Vivian; and daughter, Anita.


Background Constructivist epistemology offers an explanation of the nature of knowledge and how people learn that has emerged as a prominent approach endorsed by schools of teacher education. This perspective stands in direct contrast to the understanding of knowledge and learning based on behaviorist epistemology. These opposing epistemological views represent two paradigms of educational practice within which the role of authority is positioned very differently, each with its own effect on the way learning is understood. When teachers are asked to redefine the role they take in classrooms, they are essentially being asked to successfully manage a shift between paradigms. This task requires the abandonment of established ways of practice and the development of new strategies of action. Focus of Study This article addresses the following questions: (1) How does a teacher go about reorganizing participation patterns in ways that redefine the habits and modes of experience that are largely taken for granted in schools? (2) What are the results in terms of the distribution of authority and whose knowledge counts? (3) What are the effects on opportunities for learning when such paradigmatic shifts are accomplished? Specifically, the intent of this study is to identify the ways in which authority was a shared construct among members of a fourth/fifth-grade classroom, how members took up the role of authority, and the effect that it had on opportunities for learning. Research Design Three classroom episodes were theoretically sampled as key events from an ethnographic data set collected over one academic year. Using an ethnographic and critical discourse approach designed to study interaction in educational settings, each episode was analyzed to illustrate how authority and the situated processes and practices associated with it were socially constituted through the language of the classroom. Evidence was provided within each set of analyses to show that these episodes were not isolated instances, but reflected established patterns of practice among participants. Conclusions Overall, the findings serve as an example of how shared authority contributes to alternative ways of viewing knowledge and whose knowledge counts, and what it means to be a learner. Most important, this study demonstrates that when shared authority is a consistent classroom practice, what emerges over time is a cultural model within which students can begin to restructure their developing epistemological frames as they revise their notions of knowledge and ways of knowing.


This Article compares current disability jurisprudence with the development of sex equality jurisprudence in the area of discrimination. It demonstrates that current disability law resembles the abandoned, sexist framework for determining sex equality and argues that disability equality cases should receive similar analysis as the more progressive, current sex equality standard. As such, the Article attempts to synthesize case law (14th Amendment Equal Protection jurisprudence) and statutory law (Title VII and the ADA) into a comprehensive overview of the state of current disability law viewed within the context of discrimination law in general.


Abstract In 2011, the Australian government proposed the Murray-Darling Basin Plan to promote a healthy working river system. The proposed Plan seeks to limit surface water (consumptive) use to 10873 GL/year on a long-term average. The controversy prompted by this proposed reduction in extractive allocations has underscored the need for transparent and objective modelling of ecological benefits. In this paper, we investigate the likely ecological outcomes of the proposed plan for the Macquarie Marshes, a Ramsar-listed wetland in the Murray-Darling Basin, using a decision support system (DSS). The DSS uses a detailed wetland hydrological model to drive ecological responses for a range of important species. Our hydrological modelling results indicate that the proposed plan would increase inundation extent significantly with a 33% increase for the median when compared with the current water sharing plan. The increase in inundation extent would improve the hydrologic condition in most wetlands. Our ecological modelling results show that the improved hydrology would enhance the wetland quality for a range of vegetation and water-bird species, although benefits are not distributed evenly across the wetlands. For a number of species, some wetlands within the marshes have habitat quality scores matching the predevelopment scenario and benefits of additional environmental water allocation were noticeable when modelled for a prolonged drought period.


ABSTRACT In December 2014, the International Olympic Committee [IOC] granted full membership to Kosovo. For the young state, which had declared its independence only in 2008, this decision meant that it could take part in the upcoming 2016 Summer Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro. This analysis illustrates the significance of Kosovo's full IOC membership. Arguing that IOC membership can be identified as both the "end" and "beginning" of Kosovo's diplomatic endeavour towards international recognition, the role of sport within this process is illuminated. It mirrors the strategic value of representative sport for a nation-building process as well as its particular significance for public diplomacy in Kosovo. Kosovar political elites shifted their focus towards sport because "traditional" diplomatic efforts, despite being successful to a certain extent, could not break the seemingly cemented status quo considering its United Nations [UN] status. Inclusion in the "Olympic family" represents more than just a symbolic victory for Kosovar diplomacy. The Kosovar nation-building and -branding process, emblematised through the "soft power" of representative sport, could be increasingly used to create symbolic pressure on states that have not yet recognised Kosovo; its ultimate diplomatic goal remains to enter the UN, even if it has to be through "sport's door."


The purpose of this study is to investigate CSR's effect on brand image in order to increase the understanding of CSR as a marketing tool, within the service industry. The research questions of the study are "How does a service-based company's involvement in CSR as a marketing strategy affect the brand image? And how do the different CSR dimensions affect the brand image?"This study has a positive and deductive approach with a cross sectional design. The quantitative method chosen was a questionnaire, more precisely. More specifically, a self-completion survey was conducted on a sample of 73 hotel guests living in a CSR friendly hotel in Malmo, Sweden.


Objective: To evaluate the diagnostic efficacy and safety of EBUS-TBNA for biopsy for pulmonary
sarcoidosis.
Methods: Seventy eight patients with suspected sarcoidosis were retrospectively included in the present
work. The included patients were received either mediastinoscopy (n=491), EBUS-TBNA (n=14),
transbronchial biopsy (EBB) (n=102) or EBUS-TBNA+EBBs (n=3) to obtain tissue specimens for
pathological diagnosis.
Results: The positive rate of EBUS-TBNA+EBB and Mediastinoscopy was 100% which was significant
higher than that of EBUS-TBNA and EBB with statistical difference (p<0.05). The medical expenses
during the hospitalization were significantly different among the groups (p<0.05). The average
hospitalization costs for mediastinoscopy were significantly higher than those for endoscopy such as
EBUS-TBNA (p<0.005). And more than 13 punctures didn't improve the positive rate of diagnosis, but
may increase the risk of bleeding.
Conclusion: EBUS-TBNA is a safe and accurate biopsy technique. The diagnostic positive rate is similar
to the mediastinoscopy with less postoperative complications, and medical costs.


BACKGROUND--Chronic bronchitis causes high morbidity and mortality throughout the world. It is basically a preventable disease. However, few population based studies of chronic bronchitis have been carried out in less developed countries. METHODS--A population based cross sectional survey was conducted to determine the prevalence of chronic bronchitis and associated risk factors in an urban area (Pelotas) of southern Brazil. 1053 subjects aged 40 years and over (90.3% of eligible subjects) were interviewed using the ATS-DLD-78 questionnaire. RESULTS--Of the subjects interviewed 12.7% were classified as having chronic bronchitis. In univariate analyses a significant increase in the relative odds of chronic bronchitis was seen in men (OR = 2.17, 95% CI 1.50 to 3.13), low family income (OR = 2.60, 95% CI 1.47 to 4.47 for lowest quartile), low schooling (OR = 4.65, 95% CI 2.36 to 9.18 for those with no schooling), smoking habits (OR = 6.92, 95% CI 4.22 to 11.36 for smokers of 20 or more cigarettes per day), high occupational exposure to dust (OR = 2.48, 95% CI 1.56 to 3.94), inadequate housing (OR = 2.09, 95% CI 1.22 to 3.58), high level of indoor air pollution (OR = 1.86, 95% CI 1.16 to 2.99), and reported childhood respiratory illnesses (OR = 2.08, 95% CI 1.25 to 3.49). Multiple logistic regression resulted in the identification of the following independent risk factors: family income (OR = 1.99, 95% CI 1.04 to 3.81 for subjects in the lowest quartile compared with those in the highest quartile), schooling (OR = 5.60, 95% CI 2.52 to 12.45 for subjects with no schooling compared with those with nine or more years), smoking (OR = 8.10, 95% CI 4.46 to 14.71 for smokers of 20 or more cigarettes per day compared with non-smokers), and history of major respiratory illnesses in childhood (OR = 2.16, 95% CI 1.20 to 3.85). CONCLUSIONS--Low family income, poor schooling, smoking, and childhood respiratory illnesses were significantly associated with chronic bronchitis.


We developed a portable system for metagenomic analyses consisting of nanopore technology-based sequencer, MinION, and laptop computers, and assessed its potential ability to determine bacterial compositions rapidly. We tested our protocols using mock bacterial community that contained equimolar 16S rDNA and a pleural effusion from a patient with empyema for time effectiveness and accuracy. MinION sequencing targeting 16S rDNA detected all of 20 bacteria present in the mock bacterial community. Time course analysis indicated that sequence data obtained during the first 5-minute sequencing were enough to detect all 20 bacteria species in the mock sample and determine their compositions with sufficient accuracy. Additionally, using a clinical sample extracted from the pleural effusion of a patient with empyema, we could identify major bacteria in a pleural effusion by rapid sequencing and analysis. All of these results are comparable to or even better than the conventional 16S rDNA sequencing results using IonPGM sequencer. Our results suggest that rapid sequencing and bacterial composition determination is possible within 2 hours.Our integrative system is applicable to rapid diagnostic tests for infectious diseases in near future.


UV radiation can cause harmful effects to human skin, including premature skin ageing and skin cancer. Historically, sunscreens were developed to filter out UVB (290 nm-320 nm), but now the importance of UVA (320 nm-400 nm) sunscreens is realised. The most common UVA sunscreens are based on dibenzoylmethane (1,3-diphenyl propan-l,3-dione, DBM), of which the most common is Parsol 1789 (4'- methoxy 4'-tertiarybutyl DBM). The photochemistry of these materials has, however, been poorly understood. In this work the photophysics and photochemistry of DBM, Parsol 1789, Parsol DAM and ditertiarybutyl DBM have been studied, along with the respective 0-methylated and C-methylated compounds of DBM and Parsol 1789.DBMs exist primarily as an intra-molecularly bonded enol, which absorbs strongly at λ≈340 nm due to a π,π* transition. The absorption spectra of DBMs also exhibit a smaller peak at λ≈250 nm, due to an n,π* transition of the diketone content. At low temperature the main absorption band of DBMs shifts to longer wavelengths and vibrational structure can be observed. The enol form of DBMs fluorescence at low temperature, (v(_0)'→v''(_0) at λ≈385 nm), and phosphorescence can be observed from both the diketone (λ(_em)≈495 nm,) and enol forms (λ(_em)≈425 nm). Thus the triplet energies of the diketones and enols of the DBMs studied have been measured. 0-methylated DBMs do not possess an intra-molecular H-bond, and the π,π* absorption band falls to lower wavelengths than for chelated DBMs. C-methylated DBMs exist as a diketone structure, and display photophysics typical of an aromatic ketone. It has been suggested that the main process on irradiation of DBM is the formation of a short-lived non-chelated enol, however no direct evidence as to the structure of this species is reported in the literature. Formation of the diketone form of DBM on prolonged irradiation in acetonitrile solution has also been reported, and in this work the quantum yield of this process has been measured; ɸ≈0.01 ± 0.004. In this work, direct (low temperature) IR spectroscopic evidence is presented to prove that the short-lived species produced on irradiation is indeed a non-chelated enol. The infra-red studies also suggest that the non-chelated enol form of DBM form complexes with polar solvents, as has been proposed in the literature. Quantum yields of non-chelated enol formation in cyclohexane at room temperature have been measured to be approximately ɸ=0.5 + 0.07. This work indicates that the rate of transient decay is enhanced by the interaction of the transient molecules with chelated enol molecules or other transient molecules. IR studies of low temperature transient formation confirm the interaction of transient molecules by the observation of inter-molecular hydrogen-bonding. By comparison with the E and Z isomers of 0-methylated DBM it is suggested that at low temperature DBM initially forms a Z-cis non-hydrogen bonded enol, which then converts to an E-trans non-hydrogen bonded enol with further irradiation. The kinetics and the temperature variation of the enol recovery support the theory that there is more than one species formed. The photochemistry of DBM in emulsions has also been studied in this work. It has been shown that the photochemistry occurring on irradiation is similar to that observed in solutions. This indicates that simple solutions are a good model for actual sunscreen formulations. Singlet oxygen is a highly reactive species capable of causing serious biological damage, however this work shows that DBM sunscreens generate singlet oxygen by photosensitisation, with quantum yields ɸ∆≈0.005-0.01. It has also been shown that the lifetime of the excited state of DBM involved in singlet oxygen production is very short, approximately τ <1 µs.


Part of a veritable Bach-Kult deeply affecting musical life in Wilhelmine Germany, fin de sieecle constructs of Bach, as exemplified by merous contributions to the 1905/1906 Bach-Umfrage of the journal Die Musik, declared the composer the fons et origo of progress and a miraculous healerof cultural decay. Bach, however,acquired a progressive modernist image that became inextricably
 intertwined with Wagner9s to form a dialectic alliance ridden with great anxieties. In response to what Reger himself identified as the problem of "Wagneritis" ——a pathological "misunderstanding" of
 Wagner afflicting many of his contemporaries and threatening even his own compositional development——Op. 46 presented a more salutary image of the Romantic composer. As an imaginative synthesis counterbalancing
 Wagner9s presence with Bachian qualities, Op. 46 appropriates crucial aspects of Tristan 9s musical language, conflating them with a ubiquitous theme that consists of Bach9s musically represented
 name. In the final apotheosis of Op. 46, a boastful reference to the dying hero of Strauss9s Death and Transfiguration celebrates Reger9s heroic victory over Wagnerian degeneration and hails a new
 era of cultural progress and health.


Background: The treatment of diseases by use of essential medicines, prescribed by generic names, has been emphasized by WHO and National Health Policy of India. Drugs used in gynaecology are one of the top selling drugs in India; however they are least studied with respect to drug utilization. Thus present study was undertaken to analyze drug utilization pattern of gynecology OPD in a tertiary care hospital. Materials and Methods: A retrospective, cross sectional, observational study of prescriptions in Gynecology OPD. Data was obtained from an electronic medical record database of patients that attended Gynecology OPD during the study period. Prescription records of patients were screened as per inclusion and exclusion criteria and 300 prescriptions were randomly selected by Openepi software. Patient related and drug related information was collected on a customized data collection sheet. Results: The mean age of patients was 30.19+9.83 years and common age of presentation was >18-30 years. In infective cases, vaginal discharge (10.33%) was common, and in non-infective cases, menstrual disorders (24%) were common. The average number of drugs per prescription was 3.47+1.53. In drug category, minerals (30.94%) were most commonly prescribed, followed by antimicrobials (24.98%), and NSAIDs (13.37%). Polypharmacy was observed in 96.33% of the prescriptions. Conclusion: It is only by drug utilization studies that burden of diseases and corresponding utilization of drugs in gynecology can be measured. In our study majority of the drugs prescribed were generic which were from the essential medical list NLEM and WHO.


To what extent was Greta Thunberg a 'polarizing figure' on Facebook, in the period when she received the most extensive media attention? The paper analyses seven months of discussion concerning Thunberg and her message of intergenerational climate justice, using all relevant posts on public Facebook pages in Germany, Sweden, and the UK. We find that there are many similarities in the attitudes expressed and topics discussed on Facebook in the three countries; however, there are also some striking differences in the levels of polarisation. This comparative study provides evidence that the level of polarisation around these topics on Facebook is very low in Sweden and the UK, but high in Germany. In Germany, a group of political actors stand out as particularly polarising, and, in contrast to the other two countries, the topic of intergeneration justice, the core of Thunberg's message, is almost absent from the German Facebook discourse. The study shows that Thunberg was not in general a polarising figure in the three European countries and that neither the affordances offered by the platform nor features of her person, message, or activism explain the observed polarisation around Thunberg on Facebook.


The glucocorticoids and inflammatory cytokines induced by stress can impair bone growth. Impaired bone growth is observed in many children exposed to stress, but whether the underlying cause is psychological or secondary to a variety of chronic disorders is unclear. The growth plate is specifically targeted by stress through many different mechanisms, including increased serum concentrations of proinflammatory cytokines and cortisol, as well as impaired actions of the growth hormone (GH)–insulin-like growth factor–1 (IGF-1) axis. Both glucocorticoids, such as cortisol, and proinflammatory cytokines adversely affect several aspects of chondrogenesis in the growth plate, and these effects can be ameliorated by raising local IGF-1 concentrations. However, this intervention does not completely normalize growth. In children with stress related to chronic inflammation, the cornerstone of improving stress-impaired growth remains the judicious use of glucocorticoids while ensuring effective control of the disease process. Specific immunomodulatory therapy that targets the actions of tumor necrosis factor–α (TNFα) is at least partially effective at rescuing linear growth in many children with juvenile idiopathic arthritis (JIA). Patients who do not respond to anti-TNF treatment may be candidates for therapeutic agents that target other proinflammatory cytokines and for GH intervention. Although GH treatment rescues linear growth in some patients with JIA, it is unknown whether GH can rescue growth in those patients who do not respond to anticytokine therapy. Further experimental and clinical studies are needed to explore these and other new potential treatment strategies that could improve bone growth in patients who do not respond to conventional therapy.


Taking Hebei Province as the concrete analysis object, this essay aims to discuss the generally rising house prices in each city. It makes a detailed analysis of the various factors that affect house prices, and draws final conclusions and relevant suggestions. Problem 1: Math models of city house price. Through the analysis of the affecting factors such as urban population, household consumption level, land cost in each region and the number of real estate enterprises, the essay makes a comprehensive discussion, and establishes a multiple linear regression equation model. The expression is: y = 2398915.227 – 1494.917*x1+0.01*x2-625.169*x3 The essay makes a detailed analysis of the formation of house price, evolution mechanism and speculation of real estate through the above linear regression equation. Problem 2: Model of house price evaluation elements. By analyzing the factors from data obtained from Statistical Bureau of Hebei province, the essay finally gets the variable function of each indicator: y1=-0.185*x1-0.029*x2+0.24*x3+0.3.9*x4+0.245*x5+0.274*x6+0.004*x7 y2=0.482*x1+0.0410*x2-0.005*x3-0.153*x4-0.007*x5-1.00*x6+0.370*x7 And it reaches the final comprehensive evaluation model of principle elements: Z = (4.339*y1+1.508*y2)/21.539 Thus, we get the ranking of each factor on house price. Problem 3: The essay uses grey forecasting method to predict the house price in the next few years on the basis of problem 2 and combines the statistic regression math constructed in problem 1, and makes further analysis over each element, thus obtaining the following predictions: Predictions of house price in the year 2010-2013 2010 2011 2012 2013 11957 14139 16720 19772 Finally, the essay gives the policy suggestions over refraining the speculation of real estate on the basis of the above results: (1) The government shall issue related laws and regulations to encourage residents to buy property in the countryside and villages; (2) The supervision over land development shall be strengthened; (3) The increase of population should be controlled; (4) The constraint of laws and policies shall be strengthened.