We propose a simple design for microfabricated junctions that allows an equal and regular distribution of droplets between the two outlets of a T junction. It relies on establishing a connection between the two outlets shortly after the junction to provide short-time memory to the device and induce perfect alternation in the choice of the outlet. We experimentally demonstrate the benefits of this simple passive device by a direct comparison to junctions without bypasses.


Arsenic trioxide (As2O3) induces clinical remission in acute promyelocytic leukemia (APL) with minimal toxicity and apoptosis in APL-derived NB4 cells at low (1 to 2 micromol/L) concentration. We examined the basis for NB4 cell sensitivity to As2O3 to identify experimental conditions that would render other malignant cells responsive to low concentrations of As2O3. The intracellular glutathione (GSH) content had a decisive effect on As2O3-induced apoptosis. Highly sensitive NB4 cells had the lowest GSH and the sensitivity of other cell lines was inversely proportional to their GSH content. The t(14;18) B-cell lymphoma cell line had low GSH levels and sensitivity to As2O3 at levels slightly higher than in APL cells. Experimental upmodulation of GSH content decreased the sensitivity to As2O3. Ascorbic acid and buthionine sulfoxide (BSO) decreased GSH to a greater extent, and rendered malignant cells more sensitive to As2O3. As2O3-induced apoptosis was not enhanced by ascorbic acid in normal cells, suggesting that the combination of ascorbic acid and As2O3 may be selectively toxic to some malignant cells. Ascorbic acid enhanced the antilymphoma effect of As2O3 in vivo without additional toxicity. Thus, As2O3 alone or administered with ascorbic acid may provide a novel therapy for lymphoma.


In the context of the freshwater crisis, accounting for water withdrawal could help planners better regulate water use in different sectors to combat water scarcity. However, the water withdrawal statistics in China are patchy, and the water data across all sectors at the city level appear to be relatively insufficient. Hence, we develop a general framework to, for the first time, estimate the water withdrawal of 58 economic–social–environmental sectors in cities in China. This methodology was applied because only inconsistent water statistics collected from different data sources at the city level are available. We applied it to 18 representative Chinese cities. Different from conventional perceptions that agriculture is usually the largest water user, industrial and household water withdrawal may also occupy the largest percentages in the water‐use structure of some cities. The discrepancy among annual household water use per capita in the urban areas of different cities is relatively small (as is the case for rural areas), but that between urban and rural areas is large. As a result, increased attention should be paid to controlling industrial and urban household water use in particular cities. China should specifically prepare annual water accounts at the city level and establish a timetable to tackle water scarcity, which is a basic step toward efficient and sustainable water crisis mitigation.


The present paper is an attempt to give an integrated account of certain developments in North Germanic syntax: (1) Modern Icelandic and Faroese have so-called oblique subjects, i.e. dative, accusative or even genitive NPs with essentially the same distribution and syntactic rule properties as modern Mainland Scandinavian subjects. (2) Both Old and Modern Icelandic have a rather intricate system of lexical case assignment which differs from, e.g., the predominantly structural case assignment of Modern German. (3) Old Icelandic has DO-IO as well as IO-DO order, whereas Modern Icelandic, like non-case-marking Modern Mainland Scandinavian, to a greater extent has IO-DO. — On the basis of these data it is argued that after the North Germanic shift to SVO, the development has been in the direction of a modern topologically, not morphologically oriented syntax both in the non-case-marking and the case-marking languages. Among other things, this explains why case assignment has remained lexical and idiosyncratic in Icelandic instead of shifting to a simpler system of structural case assignment.


Objective: To compare the characteristics of children and adolescents with concussive head injury (CHI) sustained during organised sports or other leisure physical activity. Methods: This was a case series study reviewing the medical records retrospectively over a four year period of children 6–16 years presenting to the emergency department with a CHI after participating in sport and/or recreation activity. Results: There were 592 cases of sport and recreation related concussion over the study period (2000–2003). Most of the patients (n  =  424, 71.6%) were male, with half (n  =  304, 51.4%) being older than 10 years of age. A total of 152 (25.7%) cases of CHI were related to playing sports. Most cases (71.2%) were mild concussion. The cause of injury was a fall (n  =  322, 54.4%) or a collision. Nearly a quarter of the children (n  =  143, 24.2%) were admitted to hospital, with imaging performed in 134 (22.7%). Most children were treated appropriately and no adverse events were reported. Conclusions: A severe CHI in a child is six times more likely to have resulted from organised sport than from other leisure physical activities. Outcomes for CHI in children is excellent, although their management places a considerable burden on emergency services. The need for activity restriction and the benefits of this in reducing long term cognitive effects of CHI are uncertain.


The aims of this research are to know: ( 1) amputation mechanism, endorsement, andreporting of Income Tax in FKIP UNS ( 2) resistance in executing amputation, endorsement andreporting [of] Income Tax [in] FKIP UNS. According to target of this research hence thisresearch use the descriptive method qualitative. Type of is source of data used in this researchcover the informan, observation and event. this Research data is obtained with the observationtechnique, circumstantial interview, and documentation. This research represent the researchqualitative, hence technique cuplikan used more selective having the character of that isemphasized at the quality of the understanding of information to accurate problems. Frominferential research result 1) crosscut production of PPh Section 21 in FKIP UNS can begrouped to become the: salary, honorarium, functional allowance, overtime DIK.S, to faction IIIto to the 2) PPh Section 21 which have been cut to Exchequer pass the BNI Branch the slowestUNS date of 10 next month;moon takwim. Reporting PPh section 21 conducted by Head OfficeUNS, FKIP only as Owner of Advanced Money Work The ( PUMK) 3) Amputation PPh section22 conducted by treasurer FKIP that is at the time of conducting payment for the buying ofgoods and service to its client. Endorsement PPh Section 22 this conducted by treasurer FKIP[of] while reporting Bursar of DIK.S of Head Office UNS. As does PPh Section 21 bursar FKIPonly as Owner of Advanced Money Work The ( PUMK ) 4) Amputation PPh section 23conducted by treasurer FKIP that is at the (time) of [doing/conducting] payment to service giverTaxpayer. Endorsement PPh Section 23 this conducted by treasurer FKIP, while reportingBursar of DIK.S of Head Office UNS, bursar FKIP only as Owner of Advanced Money Work the( PUMK) 5) Execution of Amputation and reporting PPh Section 21, PPh Section 22 and PPhSection 23 in general no resistance.


Abstract Though the most common source of long-term migration in countries which permit it, family migration has until recently attracted little attention from academics and policy makers due in part to its conceptualization as female and a dependent form of migration that is of little relevance to the labour market. However, during the past decade there has been a growing body of academic literature generated through a collective interest in transnational migration (Bryceson and Vuorela 2002); international marriages, including those by men moving as the imported spouse (Charsley 2011, Williams 2010); gender, generation and families in migration (Kraler et al. 2011); migrant families and multicultural societies (Grillo 2008), and families caring across borders (Baldassar et al. 2007).


Health Behaviors, Hardiness, and Burnout in Mental Health Workers by Jeremiah Brian Schimp MA, Bethel University, 2004 BA, Cornerstone University, 2002 Dissertation Submitted in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy Psychology Walden University January 2015 Abstract Burnout has emerged as a significant and costly issue in the modern workforce. Researchers have not fully explored the role of individual health behaviors and personality in burnout among mental health workers. The knowledge gap addressed in this study was the connection between health behaviors, what mental health workers do to take care of themselves, and hardiness, the characteristic way they perceive and interpret environmental challenges. The purpose of thisBurnout has emerged as a significant and costly issue in the modern workforce. Researchers have not fully explored the role of individual health behaviors and personality in burnout among mental health workers. The knowledge gap addressed in this study was the connection between health behaviors, what mental health workers do to take care of themselves, and hardiness, the characteristic way they perceive and interpret environmental challenges. The purpose of this study was to examine the influence of health behaviors and hardiness among mental health workers on the 3 dimensions of burnout as measured by the MBI-HSS: emotional exhaustion, depersonalization, and personal accomplishment. The conservation of resources model and the theory of hardiness provided the framework for selecting variables and interpreting the results. An online survey research design was used with a sample of mental health workers from two nonprofit mental health organizations. A total of 223 participants were recruited through invitations sent to their work e-mail addresses. Statistical analysis included 5 stepwise regression analyses run for each of the 3 burnout dimensions. The results indicated that hardiness was the strongest predictor and was retained in the final model for all the burnout measures. Anger/Stress, a health-compromising behavior, was significantly predictive of Emotional Exhaustion in the final model, and age was included in the final model for Depersonalization. These results suggest that mental health workers are better able to maintain their emotional energy and compassion for clients through the cultivation of hardiness and management of stress; the implications will inform the development of training materials focused on stress management and adapting to change. Health Behaviors, Hardiness, and Burnout in Mental Health Workers by Jeremiah Brian Schimp MA, Bethel University, 2004 BA, Cornerstone University, 2002 Dissertation Submitted in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy


Over the last few years, iterative reconstruction methods have become an important research topic in x-ray CT imaging. This effort is motivated by increasing evidence that such methods may enable significant savings in terms of dose imparted to the patient. Conceptually, iterative reconstruction methods involve two important ingredients: the statistical model, which includes the forward projector, and a priori information in the image domain, which is expressed using a regularizer. Most often, the image pixel size is chosen to be equal (or close) to the detector pixel size (at field-of-view center). However, there are applications for which a smaller pixel size is desired. In this investigation, we focus on reconstruction with a pixel size that is twice smaller than the detector pixel size. Using such a small pixel size implies a large increase in computational effort when using the distance-driven method for forward projection, which models the detector size. On the other hand, the more efficient method of Joseph will create imbalances in the reconstruction of each pixel, in the sense that there will be large differences in the way each projection contributes to the pixels. The purpose of this work is to evaluate the impact of these imbalances on image quality in comparison with utilization of the distance-driven method. The evaluation involves computational effort, bias and noise metrics, and LROC analysis using human observers. The results show that Joseph's method largely remains attractive.


Introduction: Thyroid carcinoma including into four types papillary, follicular, medullary, and anaplastic is the most common endocrine malignancy. Medullary thyroid carcinoma (MTC) is one of the most aggressive forms of thyroid cancer and it accounts for up to 10% of all types of this disease. The mode of inheritance of MTC is autosomal dominant and is closely related to mutations of gain of function (missense mutations) in the RET proto-oncogene, well known in MTC development. MTC occurs as hereditary (25%) and sporadic (75%) forms. Hereditary MTC also has two syndromic (multiple endocrine neoplasia type 2A, B; MEN2A, MEN2B) and non-syndromic (Familial MTC, FMTC) types. Increasing advances in molecular biology, genomics, and proteomics have led to personalized therapeutic interventions. Over the last two decades, the genetic basis of tumorgenesis has provided useful screening tools for affected families. Advances in genetic screening of the RET have enabled early detection of hereditary MTCs and prophylactic thyroidectomy for relatives who may not show any symptom of the disease. In this review we emphasize the main RET mutations in the syndromic and non syndromic forms of MTC, and have tried focus on the importance of RET genetic screening for early diagnosis and management of MTC patients.


Taking a fresh look at mistaken identity in the work of an author who helped to introduce the device to comedy, Professor Traill shows how the outrageous mistakes many male characters in Menander make about women are grounded in their own emotional needs. The core of the argument derives from analysis of speeches by or about women, with particular attention to the language used to articulate problems of knowledge and perception, responsibility and judgment. Not only does Menander freely borrow language, situations, and themes from tragedy, but he also engages with some of tragedy's epistemological questions, particularly the question of how people interpret what they see and hear. Menander was instrumental in turning the tragic theme of human ignorance into a comic device and inventing a plot type with enormous impact on the western tradition. This book provides new insights into his achievements within their historical and intellectual context.


Abstract Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris L.) sapwood lumber was collected after kiln drying and preservative treatment with Celcure AC 800 (a copper-amine wood preservative). Distribution of the preservative throughout the lumber was visually examined. Not all, but some samples showed specific localized areas without any preservative distribution throughout their entire length. Those samples were assessed further for anatomical properties, specifically in impregnated and unimpregnated areas. Additional study was conducted on the morphological nature and redistribution of lipophilic extractives using three different histochemical staining methods. Intrinsic wood properties – especially the frequency of axial resin canals and the percentage of canals blocked – were found to be responsible for the irregular distribution of the preservative. Furthermore, the inability to create continuous and frequent interstitial spaces due to the collapse of thin-walled ray cells throughout the lumber resulted in un-even distribution of preservatives. Staining techniques were useful to localize places with more or less abundance of extractives (e.g., fats) in impregnated and unimpregnated wood, which varied considerably. Histochemical observations revealed information pertaining to the kiln dry specific distribution and redistribution of extractives between the areas. Moreover, resin reallocation and modification in ray parenchyma and resin canals induced by kiln drying would be another reason for the impregnation anomalies.


We propose a two dimensional infinite horizon model of public consumption in which investments are decided by a winner-take-all election. Investments in the two public goods create a linkage across periods and parties have different specialities. We show that the incumbent party vote share decreases the longer it stays in power. Parties chances of winning do not converge and, when the median voter is moderate enough, no party can maintain itself in power for ever. Finally, the more parties are specialized and the more public policies have long-term effects, the more political cycles are likely to occur.


In this thesis, we present a novel approach for achieving phase desynchronization in a pulsecoupled oscillator network. Ensuring phase desynchronization is a difficult problem, and existing results are constrained to a completely interconnected network and a fixed number of oscillators. Our approach is more robust than previous approaches, removing the constraint of a fixed number of oscillators. The removal of this constraint is significant because it allows the network to receive and drop nodes freely without any change to the phase update strategy. Also, to our knowledge, our approach is the first to prove the convergence to the desynchronized state for a topology that is more general than the all-to-all topology. More specifically, our approach is applicable to any circulant and symmetric network topology, including the circulant symmetric ring topology. Rigorous mathematical proofs are provided to support the result that any circulant symmetric network with ordered phases under our proposed algorithm will converge to uniform phase desynchronization. Simulation results are presented to demonstrate the algorithm's performance, as well as experimental results on a physical system to further illustrate applications of pulse-coupled oscillator networks.


Fast and energy efficient data collection in an energy constraint ad-hoc sensor network is always a challenging issue. The network topology and interferences causes significant effects on data collection and hence on sensors' energy usage. Various approaches using single channel, multichannel and convergecasting had already been proposed. Here in this paper we have shown data collection performance using multi-frequency in channel assignment, and effect of network topology, for moderate size networks of about 50-100 nodes. For the study we have used some realistic simulation models under many-to-one communication paradigm called convergecast, a single frequency channel and TDMA technique to have minimum time slots for convergecasting.


This article aims to analyze the extent to which good governance principles applicable to Nordic companies may be an appropriate good governance tool for a public or organizational entity.
The company is an advanced organizational invention for its purpose, and Nordic companies are generally regarded as highly productive and well run. Nordic companies approached as small-scale units of governance are therefore analyzed in this article as examples of the implementation of good governance principles and practices. In Nordic corporate law, a set of self-regulatory norms are a prominent part of what constitutes good corporate governance. The principles underlying these self-regulatory norms are scrutinized in this article, and the Norwegian Code of Practice for Corporate Governance is at the heart of the analysis. The norms are generally detailed and operationalized, and as such they may serve as examples of how concerns, such as accountability, transparency, predictability, conflicting interests and loyalty, clarity and equality, are put into practice. The norms also advocate value and standard setting. Although there are significant differences between the corporate sphere and the public or organizational sphere, the similarities are in many ways greater, and corporate norms may serve as good governance tools when scaled up to other issue domains or levels as done in this article.


We developed the simulation model of deep Si etching for MEMS fabrication. This model includes the physical effect of ions under the presence of plasma molding, chemical etching by radicals, and the formation of a passivation layer on the wafer. The simulation was carried out in SF6/O2 in two-frequency capacitively coupled plasma using an extended vertically integrated computer aided design for device processing (VicAddress). We estimated the local characteristics of plasma structures (such as potential distribution, ion velocity distribution) near an artificial microscale hole pattern on the wafer. In this case, the sheath thickness is comparable to or even smaller than the size of the hole. Thus, the sheath tends to wrap around the hole on the wafer. The distorted sheath field directly affects the incident flux and velocity distributions of ions. The angular distribution of ions at the edge of the hole is strongly distorted from the normal incidence. The ion flux becomes radially nonuniform in the vicinity of the hole pattern. That is, the etching profile is distorted particularly at the bottom corner because of the removal of the passivation layer by energetic ion under the presence of plasma molding.


Because relevant observations from space began only in 1979 with Nimbus-7, it is impossible to correlate direct measurements of small changes in solar irradiance with terrestrial temperature over a number of solar cycles. Yet there is recent evidence that some feature of solar change over a cycle may have a larger influence on climate than would result from merely introducing the additional amount of heat delivered to Earth's atmosphere at solar minimum. It would be useful to check this possibility over several solar cycles. To do this, we would need a sufficiently reliable proxy for irradiance change that at least survives a test against the space observations. Sunspot area is a fairly straightforward parameter to measure, and is associated with the extent of magnetic activity known to correlate strongly with solar irradiance change. We have tested the use of sunspot area as a long-term proxy for solar irradiance change, using observations made at the Coimbra Solar Observatory, from which we obtain both statistically weighted sunspot numbers and sunspot areas over the period 1980-1992. These are both correlated with solar irradiance values measured from Nimbus-7 spacecraft over the same time period, to see if sunspot area offers affords a strong positive correlation and also a distinct advantage over sunspot number as a useful proxy that can then be compared with terrestrial temperature records. Preliminary results yield a positive correlation of 0.71 for sunspot area, but further tests are being conducted and will be reported.


characterize musicality and reveal its phenotypical variation between individuals and across societies. The latter allows us to differentiate between cognitive, biological and environmental aspects of mu-sicality. The research will contribute to a 'phenomics of musicality', providing a robust and relatively unbiased way of identifying the human capacity for music. Overall, the project serves as an important first step in a larger research programme, that has the aspiration to lay a new, interdisciplinary foundation for the study of musical-ity.


Using the framework of Desmet and Rossi-Hansberg (forthcoming), we present a model of spatial takeoff that is calibrated using spatially-disaggregated occupational data for England in c.1710. The model predicts changes in the spatial distribution of agricultural and manufacturing employment which match data for c.1817 and 1861. The model also matches a number of aggregate changes that characterise the first industrial revolution. Using counterfactual geographical distributions, we show that the initial concentration of productivity can matter for whether and when an industrial takeoff occurs. Subsidies to innovation in either sector can bring forward the date of takeoff while subsidies to the use of land by manufacturing firms can significantly delay a takeoff because it decreases spatial concentration of activity. JEL Classifications: O11; O18; O33; N13; N93; R12.


Theory of mind (ToM; Premack & Woodruff, 1978) broadly refers to humans' ability to represent the mental states of others, including their desires, beliefs, and intentions. We propose to train a machine to build such models too. We design a Theory of Mind neural network -- a ToMnet -- which uses meta-learning to build models of the agents it encounters, from observations of their behaviour alone. Through this process, it acquires a strong prior model for agents' behaviour, as well as the ability to bootstrap to richer predictions about agents' characteristics and mental states using only a small number of behavioural observations. We apply the ToMnet to agents behaving in simple gridworld environments, showing that it learns to model random, algorithmic, and deep reinforcement learning agents from varied populations, and that it passes classic ToM tasks such as the "Sally-Anne" test (Wimmer & Perner, 1983; Baron-Cohen et al., 1985) of recognising that others can hold false beliefs about the world. We argue that this system -- which autonomously learns how to model other agents in its world -- is an important step forward for developing multi-agent AI systems, for building intermediating technology for machine-human interaction, and for advancing the progress on interpretable AI.


The manipulation of the bands of a multispectral sensor for the simulation of a other band represents an attractive possibility for the handling of the data of remote sensing. This work presents a simulation technique for the MUX/CBERS-3. MUX (Multispectral Camera) is a Sino-Brazilian camera that is under development and will be launched on the platform CBERS-3. This study analyzes images generated with worse visual aspect taking in account the attributes of the sensors. Visual and statistics tests were accomplished to confirm the effectiveness of the methodology. The result of this processing is an image containing specific information, extracted and enhanced from the original images. The objective of this study is to propose a generic simulation method of spatial resolution based on the determination of the Modulation Transfer Function (MTF) by Zernike polynomials. The simulated images is important in all applications where is necessary work with images with different resolutions in order to compare the impact of change in terms of the visual analysis, resolution or performance of procedures for automatic image analysis. This research contributes to feasibility studies for future sensors, which is a very common practice to develop simulation procedures before of the construction of the sensor, where potential errors can be identified. This paper suggests a methodology for simulating band which consists of applying the techniques of filtering and resampling of images for the approximation of the desired spatial resolution.


OBJECTIVE
The purpose of this study was to evaluate the influence of preoperative type I and II immune responses on blood transfusion requirements.

DESIGN
A prospective and observational trial.

SETTING
A postcardiac surgery unit of a university hospital.

PARTICIPANTS
Seventy-one consecutive patients undergoing elective cardiac surgery.

INTERVENTIONS
Blood samples drawn for laboratory analysis and immunologic study.

MEASUREMENTS AND MAIN RESULTS
Patients were divided into 2 groups according to blood transfusion requirements: < or = 2 units (n = 35) and >2 units of red blood cells (n = 36). The preoperative immune response was assessed by flow cytometry, measuring the proportion of CD4+ T helper cells producing cytokines, including Th1 response (interferon-gamma and tumor necrosis factor-alpha [TNF-alpha]) and Th2 response (interleukin 4 and 10). Two logistic regression analyses (including and not including immunologic variables) were used to select and weight perioperative variables associated with an increased risk of transfusion. Three variables were found to be independent predictors of transfusion requirements when immunologic variables were not included: preoperative platelet count, preoperative hemoglobin, and hypertension. When all the variables were included, preoperative hemoglobin, cardiopulmonary bypass time, and the preoperative proportion of CD4+ T cells producing TNF-alpha were associated with an increased risk of transfusion (Hosmer-Lemeshow, 0.33; c-index, 0.93), but preoperative platelet count and hypertension were not.

CONCLUSIONS
A low preoperative Th1 immune response, as assessed by the proportion of CD4+ T-helper-producing TNF-alpha, was associated with a higher blood transfusion rate.


Abstract:  Others have investigated the role that DNA profiling could play as a method for identifying the perpetrator of manual strangulation. These studies have demonstrated that it is possible to collect offender DNA from the skin surface of a victim following physical contact. It is not known whether nonself biological material is normally present on the skin surface due to adventitious transfer occurring during innocent everyday interactions. To test the hypothesis that detectable amounts of nonself DNA are normally present on the skin surface of healthy adult individuals due to the adventitious transfer of DNA occurring during normal day‐to‐day social interactions, we designed an experiment in three phases. Phase 1 was used to deduce which DNA collection, extraction, and amplification methods were suited to investigating this question. During phase 2, the neck surface of 24 healthy adult volunteers was swabbed. DNA was extracted using the QIAamp DNA mini kit and amplified using the SGM Plus PCR amplification kit, using 28 PCR cycles. The work carried out during phase 3 involved a simulated assault to investigate primary and secondary transfer of DNA during physical contact. It was found that 23% of neck areas swabbed during phase 2 of this investigation showed nondonor alleles in the resulting DNA profile, with 5% of areas showing six or more nondonor alleles. The results of phase 3 showed that primary, secondary, and zero transfer of victim and/or offender DNA could be observed after physical contact and that alleles from an unknown source could still be detected in this more controlled experiment. The data presented in this paper demonstrate that DNA profiles generated after swabbing the skin surface of healthy adults can include components of an unknown source, present due to adventitious transfer. These components, if present in large quantities, have the potential to interfere with DNA profile interpretation of swabs taken for the investigation of physical assault by DNA profiling.


Introduction: Difference in factors affecting elderly energy consumption leads to difference in their energy consumption. This study aims to investigate Activity related energy consumption and associated factors in physical Activity of Kashan city elderly. Methods: This descriptive cross-sectional study conducted in 2014. The study populations were elderly above 60 years old covered by health care center in Kashan, Iran. The subjects selected by multi stage-cluster sampling method. The sample size was 400-subject according to Cochran formula and previous studies. The Cluster sizes were different according to gender and living area. The demographic characteristics, body mass index, and energy consumption for physical activity were recorded in the questionnaires. Data analyzed by SPSS 16. Descriptive statistics, Kolmogorov-Smirnov test, spearman correlation coefficient, KruskalWallis, Mann-Whitney U test and ordinal regression used in data analysis. The significance level for all the tests was 0.95. Results: The females in this study were 237 subjects (59.2%). The average age and activity energy consumption of studied population were 67.6±6.8 years 326.21±364.84 MET, respectively. According to the results 85% of elderly were in lack and low level of activity energy consumption. Elderly men had more activity energy consumption than elderly women (P<0.05). Our results indicated signification relationship between energy gender (P=0.01), marital status (P=0.003), living place (P=0.011), education (0.025), and dependency for movement (P=0.00) and activity energy consumption in the studied population. In addition Effective predictors of activity energy consumption in the studied population were gender (CI=0.720, 2.469, P=0.00), current job (CI=0.157, 1.669, P=0.018), living place (CI=0.444,1.891, P=0.002), and dependency for movement (CI=1.084,-2.343, P=0.00). Conclusion: As most of the studied elderly were at low level of activity energy consumption, it can be concluded that current educational programs are insufficient or ineffective. Changing the current trends and paying attention to the factors associated with elderly activity can enhance the situation.


Examination of the timing and patterns of daily activity are crucial in understanding when children accumulate the highest levels of physical activity. The objectives of this study were to examine moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA) patterns accrued by time of day among Kenyan children, and compare activity patterns in Kenya to those of Canadian children. Physical activity and body weights of participating children were measured by accelerometry and anthropometry, while supplementary self-report data were captured by questionnaires. Data were collected as part of a larger International Study of Childhood Obesity, Lifestyle and Environment (ISCOLE) in Nairobi for ISCOLE-Kenya and in the Ottawa Region for ISCOLE-Canada. A total of 555 Kenyan and 541 Canadian children 9 to 11 years were included in the analyses. In Kenya, boys, under/healthy weight, and children attending public (lower socioeconomic status (SES)) schools were found to have significantly higher MVPA levels compared to girls, overweight/obese, and children attending private (higher SES) schools respectively. MVPA on weekdays was higher than on weekend-days. Activity profiles among Kenyan and Canadian children were very similar; however, Kenyan children had significantly higher MVPA and lower sedentary time on weekend-days. MVPA patterns among urban Kenyan children were largely similar to those of urban Canadian children when assessed by sex, BMI category, and weekday/weekend days. However, in the Kenyan sample, unlike in many higher income countries, lower SES was associated with higher MVPA.


Wolframite-type ZnWO4 crystals were grown from molten NaCl using the flux method at temperatures between 700 and 1100 °C. Centimeter-order, idiomorphic single crystals of ZnWO4 were easily obtained from a solute concentration of 40 mol% at 1100 °C, with well-defined facets at {010}, {101}, {−101}, {130}, and {041}. As the heating temperature decreases, the size of the ZnWO4 crystals also decreases. However, millimeter-order ZnWO4 single crystals were still grown from a NaCl flux at 700 °C, whereas solid-state reactions gave only indefinite, micron-order particles even at 1100 °C. It is assumed that NaCl and ZnWO4 form a eutectic composition, resulting in effective crystal growth through a liquid-phase process even below the melting point of NaCl (∼800 °C). In addition, the large-scale evaporation of molten NaCl should facilitate the supersaturation of ZnWO4 crystals, resulting in centimeter-order growth at 1100 °C. The crystallographic characteristics of the flux-grown ZnWO4 crystals were also evaluated; elemental analysis and microscopic observations revealed a highly crystalline nature with respect to chemical stoichiometry, impurities, crystal defects, and regularity of the lattice.


I recently returned from a trip to Guantanamo Bay Naval Base, where I spent a week at Camp Justice — the site of the Military Commissions proceedings for the alleged terrorists and war criminals who have been held on the base since the "War on Terror" began after 9/11. I was observing military commission proceedings in the case of high-value detainee Abd al Hadi al-Iraqi, who was allegedly "one of Osama bin Laden's closest advisors." He has been charged with "Denying Quarter, Attacking Protected Property, Using Treachery or Perfidy, and Attempted Use of Treachery or Perfidy in a series of attacks in Afghanistan and Pakistan between about 2003 and 2004, and Conspiracy to commit law of war offenses." I was tasked with observing the proceedings to ascertain whether they comply with human rights principles and relevant rules of law. During the course of this weeklong adventure, I learned a number of Guantanamo lessons, which I detail in this brief essay.


Pans are a common feature in certain portions of the southern African landscape. One aspect of pan formation may relate to the nature of the geology upon which the pan forms. Klippan, located south of Witbank, Mpumalanga Province, was mined through by opencast methods which exposed the Permian Vryheid Formation (Karoo Supergroup) underlying the pan. This consists of clastic sedimentary strata (conglomerate, sandstone, and siltstone) and coal of the number 1 and 2 seams. Detailed investigations of these strata, based on borehole logs, examination of the pit highwall, structural analysis, photographic mosaics and lateral facies analysis, reveal that the geological succession underlying the pan is no different from the strata elsewhere in the adjacent coalfield. The sequence below the number 1 coal seam and above the number 2 coal seam does not exhibit any extraordinary lithologies, weathering features, sedimentary structures or compactional features that would have caused the pan to have formed at this particular location. The conclusion is that the subsurface geology did not play a role in pan formation. However, on a regional basis, underlying geology does play a role in pan formation as clearly observed in the Witbank – Middelburg region as pans are confined primarily to rocks of the Karoo Supergroup and virtually no pans occur in the pre-Karoo lithologies that surround this northern edge of the Karoo basin.


India's cities are projected to grow by 300 million people by 2050, but this demographic transition may exacerbate fragile communal and infrastructural tensions. To address these challenges, the 'Smart Cities' agenda attempts to leverage India's rapid embrace of technology to generate societal positive developmental outcomes in urban areas that emphasize the use of Internet and communications technologies (ICTs). However, local, regional and national government agencies struggle to balance embracing technology with inclusive development that protects civil rights and liberties. While the benefits are often stated, the acceleration of technology use in urban development can also create exclusionary cities, and many technologies that drive India's modernization have also facilitated riots and violence between communities. This article explores these contradictions, examining scholarship on Smart Cities and ICTs in the context of the 2015–2016 Patel/Patidar agitation in Gujarat. We conclude by offering forward pathways for the Smart Cities and mobile technology agendas that support inclusive urban growth and development in India but are also mindful of civil liberties.


In the formation of a carbon nanotube (CNT) nucleus, a hemispherical fullerene end-cap, a specific pattern of six pentagons encodes what unique (n,m) chirality a nascent CNT would inherit, with many possible pentagon patterns corresponding to a single chirality. This configurational variety and its potential role in the initial stages of CNT catalytic growth remain essentially unexplored. Here we present large-scale calculations designed to evaluate the intrinsic energies of all possible CNT caps for selected chiralities corresponding to tube diameters d ≲ 1 nm. Our quantitative analysis reveals that for all chiral angles χ the energy scale variability associated with the CNT caps is small, compared to that of the CNT/catalyst interface. Such a flat energy landscape cannot therefore be a dominant factor for chiral distribution and lends further credibility to interface-controlled scenarios for selective growth of single-walled CNT of desired chirality.


Piezoelectric materials are essential parts of the electronics and electrical equipment used for consumer and industrial applications, such as ultrasonic piezoelectric transducers, sensors, actuators, transformers, and resonators. In this review, the development of piezoelectric materials and the figures of merit for various electromechanical applications are surveyed, focusing on piezoelectric crystals, i.e., the high-performance relaxor-PbTiO3-based perovskite ferroelectric crystals and nonferroelectric hightemperature piezoelectric crystals. The uniqueness of these crystals is discussed with respect to different usages. Finally, the existing challenges and perspective for the piezoelectric crystals are discussed, with an emphasis on the temperature-dependent properties, from cryogenic temperatures up to the ultrahigh-temperature usage range.


Beaches belong to the least studied ecosystems, although they contain typical habitats for a large amount of specialised terrestrial invertebrates. This specific beach fauna was quite diverse along the Belgian coast at the beginning of the twentieth century. Especially species bound to organic matter, washed up on the tide line, were well represented. As a result of the development of mass tourism, most of our beaches are subject to mechanical beach cleaning and the supple+ion of sand. These activities are believed to be responsible for the degradation of the original habitat. However, documentation on this topic was scarce and evidence of negative effects on local biodiversity was lacking. Therefore/ the main goal of this research was to make an inventory of the terrestrial arthropod fauna on Flemish beaches and analysing temporal and spatial variation/ in function of abiotic components such as the degree of recreation and the intensity of mechanical beach cleaning. The main conclusion is that a high degree of recreation and mechanical beach cleaning indeed has a negative influence on the richness of the species bound to organic de+ritus and also induces a change in community structure of terrestrial invertebrates along the Flemish coast. Secondly, predators and even parasites are also indirectly influenced by these anthropogenic disturbances, as a result of the declining prey population. Excluding or at least reducing these impacts along certain sections of the Flemish coast, might ensure the preservation of the organic detritus on the tide line and hence its associated beach fauna.


Methodological guidelines for object-oriented software construction that improve the reliability of the resulting software systems are presented. It is shown that the object-oriented techniques rely on the theory of design by contract, which underlies the design of the Eiffel analysis, design, and programming language and of the supporting libraries, from which a number of examples are drawn. The theory of contract design and the role of assertions in that theory are discussed.<<ETX>>


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Sponges (phylum Porifera) fall short of being considered true animals, Eumetazoas, because of their unique tissue organization. This organization is questionability multicellular because of their cell-to-cell nutrient transfer and lack of epithelialization. Sponge cells have, however, been shown to have cell to cell communication and recognition within an individual. To assess the degree of a sponge's ability to act as a coherent metazoan organism by recognizing and repairing damage to a specific area, three morphologically different demosponge sponges of the species Halochondria panicea, Phakellia sp. and Mycale sp. were wounded and monitored. Both growth and regeneration were evaluated by observing surface area of growth per unit time with regards to overall percent area change and oscula formation respectively in the field over an 18-day period by time series photographs and analyzed with ImageJ software. The individuals of the Phakellia sp. could not display results due to environmental disturbance. The intertidal encrusting sponges, Mycale sp., Halochondria panicea, both showed signs of overall growth in the wounded region without a statistical difference between the two species (P=0.877). The new outside growth rate of the entire sponge opposed to healing growth rate of the wounded region in both sponge species also proved to be statistically insignificant (Halochondria panacea P=0.114 and Mycale sp. P=0.343). Regeneration by oscula formation was observed in both encrusting species after day two for Mycale sp. and by day 10 in Halochondria panicea. These results further show that growth and regeneration in a specific wounded region may be an adaptation to remain a specific shape for the entire sponge individual as well as to maintain survival in a competitive environment such as the intertidal.


A wide diversity of wing shapes has evolved, but how is aerodynamic strategy coupled to morphological variation? Here we examine how wing shape has evolved across a phylogenetic split between hawkmoths (Sphingidae) and wild silkmoths (Saturniidae), which have divergent life histories, but agile flight behaviors. Combined with kinematics of exemplar species, we find that these two diverse sister families have evolved two distinct strategies for agile flight. Each group has evolved distinct wing shapes in phylogenetic PCA-space. The notoriously agile hawkmoths have not evolved wing shapes typical of maneuverability, but rather ones that reduce power. Instead their kinematics favor maneuverability, primarily through higher wingbeat frequency. In contrast, silkmoths evolved maneuverable wing shapes and use kinematics that reduce power. Therefore, multiple strategies have evolved to achieve similar aerodynamic performance. We suggest flapping wings provide flexible aerodynamics through kinematics and might release morphological constraints, enabling the diversity of wing shapes across extant flyers.


Robust dynamic optimization problems involving adaptive decisions are computationally intractable in general. Tractable upper bounding approximations can be obtained by requiring the adaptive decisions to be representable as linear decision rules (LDRs). In this paper we investigate families of tractable lower bounding approximations, which serve to estimate the degree of suboptimality of the best LDR. These approximations are obtained either by solving a dual version of the robust optimization problem in LDRs or by utilizing an inclusion-wise discrete approximation of the problem's uncertainty set. The quality of the resulting lower bounds depends on the distribution assigned to the uncertain parameters or the choice of the discretization points within the uncertainty set, respectively. We prove that identifying the best possible lower bounds is generally intractable in both cases and propose an efficient procedure to construct suboptimal lower bounds. The resulting instance-wise bounds outperform known worst-case bounds in the majority of our test cases.


To predict global climate change and to implement the Kyoto Protocol for stabilizing atmospheric greenhouse gases concentrations require quantifying spatio-temporal variations in the terrestrial carbon sink accurately. During the past decade multi-scale ecological experiment and observation networks have been established using various new technologies (e.g. controlled environmental facilities, eddy covariance techniques and quantitative remote sensing), and have obtained a large amount of data about terrestrial ecosystem carbon cycle. However, uncertainties in the magnitude and spatio-temporal variations of the terrestrial carbon sink and in understanding the underlying mechanisms have not been reduced significantly. One of the major reasons is that the observations and experiments were conducted at individual scales independently, but it is the interactions of factors and processes at different scales that determine the dynamics of the terrestrial carbon sink. Since experiments and observations are always conducted at specific scales, to understand cross-scale interactions requires mechanistic analysis that is best to be achieved by mechanistic modeling. However, mechanistic ecosystem models are mainly based on data from single-scale experiments and observations and hence have no capacity to simulate mechanistic cross-scale interconnection and interactions of ecosystem processes. New-generation mechanistic ecosystem models based on new ecological theoretical framework are needed to quantify the mechanisms from micro-level fast eco-physiological responses to macro-level slow acclimation in the pattern and structure in disturbed ecosystems. Multi-scale data-model fusion is a recently emerging approach to assimilate multi-scale observational data into mechanistic, dynamic modeling, in which the structure and parameters of mechanistic models for simulating cross-scale interactions are optimized using multi-scale observational data. The models are validated and evaluated at different spatial and temporal scales and real-time observational data are assimilated continuously into dynamic modeling for predicting and forecasting ecosystem changes realistically. In summary, a breakthrough in terrestrial carbon sink research requires using approaches of multi-scale observations and cross-scale modeling to understand and quantify interconnections and interactions among ecosystem processes at different scales and their controls over ecosystem carbon cycle.


Room-temperature-use phase change materials (PCMs) are of vital importance in combining the sustainable development of energy with human comfort. Here, a series of novel epoxy-based polymeric solid–solid PCMs (SSPCMs) were facilely prepared by UV grafting 1-octadecanethiol (ODT) onto an allyl-based epoxy resin (DADGEBA) via thiol–ene click chemistry followed by the epoxy–amine thermal curing process. Therefore, the grafted ODT can be tightly locked in a reliable three-dimensional crosslinking network of the epoxy resin, which provides the PCMs with excellent shape-stable property. Phase change and mechanical properties characterized by DSC, DMA, hardness test, and tensile test can be easily tuned by adjusting the mass ratio of DGEBA and the ODT-grafted-DADGEBA product (D18), which was characterized by FTIR and NMR. XRD and POM analyses proved the crystallinity of EPD18-X PCMs. The structure and morphology of the EPD18-X PCMs were characterized by visual images, SEM, and POM analyses. Microphase separation was observed in all the EPD18-X PCMs, and an obvious phase separation was observed in the EPD18-25 system. However, the phase separation gradually disappeared with the increasing of the D18 content. Thermal recycling tests showed that EPD18-X PCMs can remain stable after 50 DSC thermal cycles. Due to the unique strong encapsulated epoxy curing networks, EPD18-X PCMs have excellent thermal stability with the onset degradation temperature higher than 250 °C. Tunable EPD18-X systems can be applied for room-temperature-use thermal energy storage applications such as buildings, thermoregulated fabrics, and so on.


Sensitivity of the regional climate model RegCM4 to cumulus convection schemes were assessed for the 2015/16 El Ni˜no over the Philippine region. The European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts (ECMWF) Re-Analysis Interim (ERA-Interim) reanalysis was used as boundary conditions to RegCM4 in simulating rainfall from June 2015 to May 2016 at 25 km horizontal resolution. Rainfall was compared with satellite measurements of the Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission (TRMM) and reanalysis data from ERA-Interim with horizontal resolutions of 0.25° and 0.75° respectively. Downscaled rainfall performed better with respect to TRMM depending on the season and choice of cumulus parametrization. Initial findings showed that the Tiedtke cumulus scheme over land andocean performed the best overall especially during the northeast monsoon period. Changing the region, land surface model, and reanalysis dataset may favor a different  scheme.


Objective To better understand the potential disease triggers of neurogenic inflammation in provoked localized vulvodynia (PLV), our objective was to determine whether the types of infiltrating lymphocytes were different in vestibular biopsies from women with primary PLV, secondary PLV, and unaffected controls. Methods Secondary retrospective analysis of archived vestibular biopsies from a series of adult premenopausal women with primary PLV (n = 10), secondary PLV (n = 10), and unaffected controls (n = 4) was performed. All study patients had severe entry dyspareunia for more than 1 year. Subjects were excluded if pregnant, or they had a known infection, or history of generalized vulvodynia. Biopsies were performed during the midfollicular phase. Lymphocyte subtypes were highlighted in histologic sections using antibodies against CD3, CD4, and CD8 and scored as the mean number of T-cell subtypes per high-power field. Flow cytometry was also used to test fresh biopsies from a de novo prospective series of primary PLV (n = 4) and unaffected controls (n = 2). Results Unaffected control biopsies showed more CD8-positive than CD4-positive T cells, similar to previous reports of the gynecologic tract. In contrast, biopsies from women with primary PLV showed significantly more CD4-positive T cells than those from women with secondary PLV and unaffected controls (p = .003). This observation was further supported by flow cytometry. Conclusions CD4-positive T cells are more numerous in vestibular biopsies from premenopausal women with primary PLV. This may be important because subtypes of CD4-positive T cells are specifically recruited by infectious, allergic, or autoimmune triggers. Future studies distinguishing these subtypes may lead to new insights into this common disease.


Urbanization is rapidly overtaking China and India, the two most populous countries in the world. One-sixth of humanity now lives in either a Chinese or Indian city. This transformation has unleashed enormous pressures on land use, housing, and the environment. Despite the stakes, the workings of urban governance in China and India remain obscure and poorly understood. This book explores how China and India govern their cities and how their different styles of governance produce inequality and exclusion. Drawing upon historical comparative analyses and extensive fieldwork (in Beijing, Guangzhou, Wukan, Delhi, Mumbai, and Kolkata), the book investigates the ways that Chinese and Indian cities manage land acquisition, slum clearance, and air pollution. It discovers that the two countries address these issues through radically different approaches. In China, urban governance centers on territorial institutions, such as hukou and the cadre evaluation system. In India, urban governance centers on associational politics, encompassing contingent alliances formed among state actors, the private sector, and civil society groups. The book traces the origins of territorial and associational forms of governance to late imperial China and precolonial India. It then shows how these forms have evolved to shape urban growth and residents' struggles today. As the number of urban residents in China and India reaches beyond a billion, this book makes clear that the development of cities in these two nations will have profound consequences well beyond their borders.


Macrophages increase in number and are highly activated in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). Muscarinic receptor antagonists inhibit acetylcholine-stimulated release of neutrophilic chemoattractants, suggesting that acetylcholine may regulate macrophage responses. Therefore, expression and function of components of the non-neuronal cholinergic system in monocyte-macrophage cells was investigated. RNA was isolated from monocytes, monocyte-derived macrophages (MDMs), lung and alveolar macrophages from nonsmokers, smokers and COPD patients, and expression of the high-affinity choline transporter, choline acetyltransferase, vesicular acetylcholine transporter and muscarinic receptors (M1–M5) ascertained using real-time PCR. M2 and M3 receptor expression was confirmed using immunocytochemistry. Release of interleukin (IL)-8, IL-6 and leukotriene (LT)B4 were measured by ELISA or EIA. All monocyte-macrophage cells expressed mRNA for components of the non-neuronal cholinergic system. Lung macrophages expressed significantly more M1 mRNA compared with monocytes, and both lung macrophages and alveolar macrophages expressed the highest levels of M3 mRNA. Expression of M2 and M3 protein was confirmed in MDMs and lung macrophages. Carbachol stimulated release of LTB4 from lung macrophages (buffer 222.3±75.1 versus carbachol 1,118±622.4 pg·mL−1; n=15, p<0.05) but not IL-6 or IL-8. LTB4 release was attenuated by the M3 antagonist, 1,1-dimethyl-4-diphenylacetoxypiperidinium iodide (4-DAMP; half maximal effective concentration 5.2±2.2 nM; n=9). Stimulation of macrophage M3 receptors promotes release of LTB4, suggesting that anti-muscarinic agents may be anti-inflammatory.


Abstract Although courts justify the constitutional law of libel with consequential reasoning, the true consequences of liability for harmful speech have never been fully explored. We construct an analytical framework for studying libel law, emphasizing both the positive and negative externalities generated by the publication of information. Our model highlights two distinct decisions that a publisher faces, the verification decision and the publication decision. We first demonstrate that a single damage measure for publication of false libelous information, such as the "damages equal harm" measure, cannot simultaneously induce socially optimal decisions regarding verification and publication. We then argue that the damage measure should depend on the efficacy of the verification process. Interestingly, when verification is reasonably effective, the damage award should be set equal to the social benefit from truthful publication. Our analysis provides a theoretical foundation for important elements of current libel law. It also suggests practicable avenues for reform.


The DKIST wavefront correction system will be an integral part of the telescope, providing active alignment control, wavefront correction, and jitter compensation to all DKIST instruments. The wavefront correction system will operate in four observing modes, diffraction-limited, seeing-limited on-disk, seeing-limited coronal, and limb occulting with image stabilization. Wavefront correction for DKIST includes two major components: active optics to correct low-order wavefront and alignment errors, and adaptive optics to correct wavefront errors and high-frequency jitter caused by atmospheric turbulence. The adaptive optics system is built around a fast tip-tilt mirror and a 1600 actuator deformable mirror, both of which are controlled by an FPGA-based real-time system running at 2 kHz. It is designed to achieve on-axis Strehl of 0.3 at 500 nm in median seeing (r0 = 7 cm) and Strehl of 0.6 at 630 nm in excellent seeing (r0 = 20 cm). We present the current status of the DKIST high-order adaptive optics, focusing on system design, hardware procurements, and error budget management.


This paper provides microeconomic evidence on the variation over time of the firm-specific wage premium in Spain from 1995 to 2002, and its impact on wage inequality. We make use of two waves of a detailed linked employer-employee data set. In addition, a new data set with financial information on firms is used for 2002 to control as flexibly as possible for differences in the performance of firms (aggregated at industry level). To our knowledge, there is no microeconomic evidence on the dynamics of the firm-specific wage premium for Spain or for any other country with a similar institutional setting. Our results suggest that there is a clear tendency towards centralization in the collective bargaining process in Spain over this seven-year period, that the firm-level contract wage premium undergoes a substantial decrease, particularly for women, and finally that the "centralization" observed in the collective bargaining process has resulted in a slight decrease in wage inequality.


Adeno-associated viral (AAV) vector-mediated gene replacement for the treatment of muscular dystrophy represents a promising therapeutic strategy in modern medicine. One major obstacle in using AAV vectors for in vivo gene delivery is the development of host immune responses to the viral capsid protein and transgene products as evidenced in animal models and human trials for a range of genetic diseases. Here, we review immunity against AAV vector and transgene in the context of gene delivery specific to muscles for treating muscular dystrophies and non-muscle diseases in large animal models and human trials, factors that influence the intensity of the immune responses, and immune modulatory strategies to prevent unwanted immune responses and induce tolerance to the vector and therapeutic gene for a successful gene therapy.


It has been recognised that South African clinical psychologists need to be trained in more community-oriented forms of practice. Training in this field however seems to involve particular difficulties for students who often struggle with disillusionment and feelings of incompetence that ultimately may in turn deter them from this important work. This article draws from the experience of a clinical psychology training course at the University of Cape Town. Firstly it describes the many sources of anxiety that may confront students in their initial exposure to community work and which might interfere with their capacity to learn. Students' adjustment to the inherent demands of this difficult work is often further hampered by an unproductive division between community work and more conventional forms of psychological practice. In the second part of the article we describe an approach to training which is designed to contain students' anxieties and increase their ability to manage and learn from their experience. This approach has three basic tenets: Firstly it stresses the need to provide students with a limited and carefully structured exposure to community work which matches their developing capacities; secondly it attempts to build bridges between the skills required in conventional psychological practice and those needed for community-oriented work and finally, it emphasises the need for on-going support for both students and their supervisors.


Synthetic boron doped diamond electrodes and microelectrodes were manufd. with techniques usually utilized in microelectronics: HFCVD coating, optical photolithog. and plasma etching. These electrodes were characterized in terms of their electrochem. properties: the overpotentials for O2 and H2 evolution, the reversibility for simple electron transfer reactions (ferri-ferrocyanide), complex electron transfer reactions (oxidn. of org. compds.), chlorine detection and O3 prodn. A comparison with other types of electrodes (IrO2, SnO2) is given concerning hydroxyl radical formation. Ozone prodn. has been measured; showing an electrochem. efficiency of 12-15 % at -2 DegC. Oxidn. of phenol to CO2 can also be achieved without the formation of intermediate. [on SciFinder (R)]


We propose a three-pass method to estimate the risk premia of observable factors in a linear asset pricing model, which is valid even when the observed factors are just a subset of the true factors that drive asset prices or they are measured with error. We show that the risk premium of a factor can be identified in a linear factor model regardless of the rotation of the other control factors as long as they together span the space of true factors. Motivated by this rotation invariance result, our approach uses principal components to recover the factor space and combines the estimated principal components with each observed factor to obtain a consistent estimate of its risk premium. Our methodology also accounts for potential measurement error in the observed factors and detects when such factors are spurious or even useless. The methodology exploits the blessings of dimensionality, and we therefore apply it to a large panel of equity portfolios to estimate risk premia for several workhorse linear models. The estimates are robust to the choice of test portfolios within equities as well as across many asset classes.


In stable resonators any given initially paraxial rays remain close to the axis of the structure and are, in fact, confined within well-defined contours-the envelope of the ray system. Previously, envelopes of rays in empty resonators had been found and their form identified with the variation of the spot size. This geometric optical approach is extended to general resonators, comprising arbitrary arrangements of lenses and convergent or divergent inhomogeneous focusing media. An invariant quadratic form involving parameters descriptive of any of the ray segments that result from a given initial ray segment leads to a differential equation satisfied by the ray segments and their envelope in portions of the resonator. A maximum-minimum problem for the envelope is formulated and solved. In convergent media the envelope function is found to be periodically modulated. The period of the modulation depends only on the properties of the convergent medium; the location of relative maxima and minima, as well as their ratio, depends on both the medium and associated optics. In special cases, results are compared with available solutions of the corresponding electromagnetic problem. A particularly simple resonator is analyzed, and envelope characteristics correlated with the stability limits.


This thesis examines the economic evaluation of forecasting strategies based on past prices, bringing together academics and practitioners techniques Forecasting methods based on past prices are convex and path-dependent dynamic strategies Therefore, they must be able to profitably exploit positive serial dependences in financial prices The most important measure of financial forecasting ability is the rate of return achieved by the predictor The expected return of forecasting strategies is first investigated by applying stochastic modelling Then, the presence of serial dependences in financial prices is tested by comparing expected and observed rates of returns of forecasting strategies According to the academic literature, the expected return of investment strategies is best established by applying stochastic modelling That is done analytically for linear forecasters, assuming that the underlying process of asset returns is not only a random walk with drift but any Gaussian processes The rate of return from financial strategies is zero under the assumption of a random walk without drift, and non-zero in all the other cases Then, it is shown that many forecasting techniques used by market participants are in fact linear forecasters and consequently fall in the scope of this study. Minimising the mean squared error is a sufficient but not necessary condition to maximise returns Under the random walk without dnft assumption, error measures and profits arenegatively correlated but very few in absolute value Only the directional accuracy exhibits high degree of linear association with profits When the true Gaussian process is not known, there are cases for which a decrease in mean squared error does not imply an increase in returns Therefore the mean squared error criterion is of poor use to maximise returns when the true model is not known The directional accuracy is of no further help Market timing ability tests based on the percentage of correct forecasts have very low power in presence of low positive autocorrelations. It is why a test of the random walk hypothesis based on the joint profitability of trading rules is investigated It happens to be powerful against a broad range of linear alternatives Its ruee feature is to exhibit a power almost equal to the best of its components unknown when the true model is unknown It constitutes as well a tool to separate mean from variance non-hnear models Simple tests of adequacy of Gaussian processes are subsequently proposed from the joint profitability of trading rules Applying previous tests, the random walk hypothesis is rejected for daily exchange rates against Dollar, over the period 1982-1992 The hypothesis of normal underlying returns is very weak compared to the independence assumption Among a few Gaussian processes, the price-trend model along with some technical models appear to be the best alternatives to explain observed trading rule returns Statistical forecasters based either on ARMA(1,1) or fractional Gaussian processes do not outperform simple technical rules Taking Into account transaction costs reduce profits to zero for individual but not for institutional Investors who might have to act on strategies that assume the foreign exchange markets exhibit positive dependencies, if not inefficiencies


Abstract:This essay examines the impact of Turkey's growing international links to China, Russia, and other non-Western powers on democratic backsliding by the administration of Recep Tayyip Erdogan. The essay finds that China's and Russia's growing engagement with Turkey since the middle of the first decade of the 2000s, coupled with Turkey's stalled bid for European Union membership, played an important role in deleveraging Western democratizing influence on Turkey. This shift in the international balance opened a window of opportunity for the Erdogan administration to engage in backsliding activities and proved to be a more significant driver for backsliding than other common predictors.


ABSTRACT Intergenerational help and care among members of the family belong to the most important dimensions of contemporary welfare regimes. Recent research has indicated that a major part of caring responsibilities is placed on the middle-aged generation. The 'pivot generation' is expected to provide help to their adult children and grandchildren as well as to their ageing parents. It has been hypothesised that people helping their parents are discouraged from looking after their grandchildren because they experience lack of energy and time. Using data from the four waves of the Survey of Health, Ageing and Retirement in Europe (SHARE), this paper analyses the effect of providing help to ageing parents on the likelihood and intensity of looking after grandchildren. It takes a four-generation perspective: grandchildren, children, parents and grandparents. The results show that the support of parents is not associated with less-frequent and less-intense care of grandchildren. On the contrary, a positive association between caring responsibilities has been observed. The highest tendency to care for grandchildren has been found for people regularly helping their parents. This effect holds after controlling for grandparents' characteristics and country effects. It is suggested that caring responsibilities tend to accumulate rather than compete with one another and therefore could represent a potential risk of overburden for those who have a general tendency to care.


In order to characterize the bacterial microbiota present within oral cancerous lesions, tumorous and non-tumorous mucosal tissue specimens (approx. 1 cm(3)) were harvested from ten oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) patients at the time of surgery. Any microbial contamination on the surface of the specimens was eliminated by immersion in Betadine and washing with PBS. Bacteria were visualized within sections of the OSCC by performing fluorescent in situ hybridization with the universal oligonucleotide probe, EUB338. DNA was extracted from each aseptically macerated tissue specimen using a commercial kit. This was then used as template for PCR with three sets of primers, targeting the 16S rRNA genes of Spirochaetes, Bacteroidetes and the domain Bacteria. PCR products were differentiated by TA cloning and bacterial species were identified by partial sequencing of the 16S rRNA gene fragments. A total of 70 distinct taxa was detected: 52 different phylotypes isolated from the tumorous tissues, and 37 taxa from within the non-tumorous specimens. Differences between the composition of the microbiotas within the tumorous and non-tumorous mucosae were apparent, possibly indicating selective growth of bacteria within carcinoma tissue. Most taxa isolated from within the tumour tissue represented saccharolytic and aciduric species. Whether the presence of these bacteria within the mucosa has any bearing on the carcinogenic process is a concept worthy of further investigation.


In this thesis, I use a close reading of the silent films of Charlie Chaplin to examine a question of listening posed by Jean-Luc Nancy, "Is listening something of which philosophy is capable" (Nancy 2007:1)? Drawing on the work of Nancy, Jacques Derrida and Gayatri Spivak, I consider a claim that philosophy has failed to address the topic of listening because a logocentric tradition claims speech as primary. In response to Derrida's deconstruction of logocentrism, Nancy complicates the problem of listening by distinguishing between l'ecoute and l'entente . L'ecoute is an attending to and answering the demand of the other and l'entente is an understanding directed inward toward a subject. Nancy could deconstruct an undervalued position of l'ecoute , making listening essential to speech. I argue, Nancy rather asks what kind of listening philosophy is capable of.

To examine this question, I focus on the peculiarly dialogical figure derived from Chaplin that communicates meaning without using speech. This discussion illustrates how Chaplin, in the role of a silent figure, listens to himself ( il s'ecoute ) as other. Chaplin's listening is Nancean resonance, a movement in which a subject refers back to itself as another subject, in constant motion of spatial and temporal non-presence. For Nancy, listening is a self's relationship to itself, but without immediate self-presence. Moving in resonance, Chaplin makes the subject as other as he refers back to himself as other. I argue that Chaplin, through silent dialogue with himself by way of the other, makes his listening listened to. Chaplin refused to make his character speak because he believed speech would change the way in which his work would be listened to. In this way, Chaplin makes people laugh by making himself understood ( se fait entendre ) as he makes himself listened to ( se fait ecouter ). In answer to Nancy's question, I conclude philosophy is capable of meeting the demand of listening as both l'entente and l'ecoute when it listens as Chaplin listens.


An activity designed to characterise patterns of mesoscale (20 to 2,000 km) organisation of shallow clouds in the downstream trades is described. Patterns of mesoscale organisation observed from space were subjectively defined and learned by 12 trained scientists. The ability of individuals to communicate, learn and replicate the classification was evaluated. Nine‐hundred satellite images spanning the area from 48°W to 58°W, 10°N to 20°N for the boreal winter months (December–February) over 10 years (2007/2008 to 2016/2017) were classified. Each scene was independently labelled by six scientists as being dominated by one of six patterns (one of which was "no‐pattern"). Four patterns of mesoscale organisation could be labelled in a reproducible manner, and were labelled Sugar, Gravel, Fish and Flowers. Sugar consists of small, low clouds of low reflectivity, Gravel clouds form along apparent gust fronts, Fish are skeletal networks (often fishbone‐like) of clouds, while Flowers are circular clumped features defined more by their stratiform cloud elements. Both Fish and Flowers are surrounded by large areas of clear air. These four named patterns were identified 40% of the time, with the most common pattern being Gravel. Sugar was identified the least and suggests that unorganised and very shallow convection is unlikely to dominate large areas of the downstream trade winds. Some of the patterns show signs of seasonal and interannual variability, and some degree of scale selectivity. Comparison of typical patterns with radar imagery suggests that even this subjective and qualitative visual inspection of imagery appears to capture several important physical differences between shallow cloud regimes, such as precipitation and radiative effects.


Mating behavior was examined in the parasitoid wasp Spalangia cameroni. Males attempted copulation with both virgins and already mated females. Males attempted copulation regardless of whether they still had sperm. Already mated females rejected attempts to mate again but virgin females would mate with males regardless of whether or not they had sperm left. Males mated with 12-52 females before exhausting their sperm supplies. Males that had mated only once daily exhausted their sperm supplies in their late thirties (days old), if ever; and males that had mated four times daily exhausted their's at 7-13 days. Males produced as many as 438 daughters from their first four matings. Fifty-seven percent (17 of 30) of females that had mated with virgin males exhibited a decrease in proportion of daughters with age, presumably as a result of sperm depletion. Whether or not a female depleted her sperm supplies was not related to her size or the total number of daughters that she had produced.


ABSTRACT This study examined associations between parents' developmentally appropriate beliefs about young children's play and responsive parenting. Low-income parents and their children enrolled in Head Start programmes (n = 231) in the United States participated in the study. Responsive parenting skills (characterized by high levels of warmth and responsiveness, and lower levels of hostility) were related to parents' beliefs endorsing play as valuable (Play Support) for promoting preschool children's social skills and school readiness. Additionally, higher levels of parent depression were negatively associated with Play Support beliefs while higher levels of parent efficacy were positively associated. Parent education showed a positive relation with Play Support beliefs and a negative relationship with beliefs regarding focusing on academic readiness of children without playful learning (Academic Focus). Implications for understanding play-based approaches for promoting children's developmental outcomes within early childhood programmes and family interventions are discussed.


BACKGROUND
Solutions delivered within firm sectoral boundaries are inadequate in achieving income security and better health for poor populations. Integrated microfinance and health interventions leverage networks of women to promote financial inclusion, build livelihoods, and safeguard against high cost illnesses. Our understanding of the effect of integrated interventions has been limited by variability in intervention, outcome, design, and methodological rigour. This systematic review synthesises the literature through 2015 to understand the effect of integrated microfinance and health programs.

METHODS
We searched PubMed, Scopus, Embase, EconLit, and Global Health databases and sourced bibliographies, identifying 964 articles exclusive of duplicates. Title, abstract, and full text review yielded 35 articles. Articles evaluated the effect of intentionally integrated microfinance and health programs on client outcomes. We rated the quality of evidence for each article.

RESULTS
Most interventions combined microfinance with health education, which demonstrated positive effects on health knowledge and behaviours, though not health status. Among programs that integrated microfinance with other health components (i.e. health micro-insurance, linkages to health providers, and access to health products), results were generally positive but mixed due to the smaller number and quality of studies. Interventions combining multiple health components in a given study demonstrated positive effects, though it was unclear which component was driving the effect. Most articles (57%) were moderate in quality.

DISCUSSION
Integrated microfinance and health education programs were effective, though longer intervention periods are necessary to measure more complex pathways to health status. The effect of microfinance combined with other health components was less clear. Stronger randomized research designs with multiple study arms are required to improve evidence and disentangle the effects of multiple component microfinance and health interventions. Few studies attempted to understand changes in economic outcomes, limiting our understanding of the relationship between health and income effects.


We propose a new Eulerian turbulence theory to obtain a closed set of equations for homogeneous, isotropic turbulent velocity field correlations and propagator functions by incorporating constraints of random Galilean invariance. This incorporation generates a few different equations for propagator and the present theory suggests a way to utilize them into the closure solutions of two-time and single-time velocity correlations' equations so as to properly account for random sweeping phenomena. The present theory yields exact solutions when applied to simple model problem of random oscillator.


The problem of multi-class boosting is considered. A new framework, based on multi-dimensional codewords and predictors is introduced. The optimal set of codewords is derived, and a margin enforcing loss proposed. The resulting risk is minimized by gradient descent on a multidimensional functional space. Two algorithms are proposed: 1) CD-MCBoost, based on coordinate descent, updates one predictor component at a time, 2) GD-MCBoost, based on gradient descent, updates all components jointly. The algorithms differ in the weak learners that they support but are both shown to be 1) Bayes consistent, 2) margin enforcing, and 3) convergent to the global minimum of the risk. They also reduce to AdaBoost when there are only two classes. Experiments show that both methods outperform previous multiclass boosting approaches on a number of datasets.


Stock price forecasting models with lower Mean Squared Error (MSE) are more "welcome" than those who have higher MSE. However, this "welcome" may disappear when lower MSE leads to an unexpected loss whereas higher MSE leads to a positive profit in a practical investment. The reason is that MSE aims to evaluate models in the view of "accuracy", which has nothing to do with profit. We therefore propose the concept of "forecasting efficiency" that aims to evaluate models in the view of investment or profit. A comprehensive but concise metric: Relative Profit (RP) is designed to better evaluate which model really pleases investors. Finally, a comparison is made between RP and other popular metrics to demonstrate that RP is a good supplement to forecasting model evaluation.


In recent years, rural markets have acquired importance, as the overall growth of the economy has resulted into considerable increase in the purchasing power of the rural people and preferences of rural people are also getting changed. So, every marketing player is keen to invest in rural markets. Though there is huge potential and substantial growth opportunities in the rural markets, yet there are some challenges too, which caused hurdles in tapping rural markets. This study is a step forward in exploring various strategies to be adopted in the rural market along with the current scenario of rural marketing, highlighting key challenges related to rural marketing.  This paper presents a review of rural markets environment, problems and opportunities in India. The paper describes the challenges and strategies of rural marketing in India. Rural marketing has become the latest mantra of most corporate even MNCs are eyeing rural markets to capture the large Indian market. The rural market consist 70 percent population, twice as entire market of USA and would become bigger than total consumer market in countries like South Korea, and Canada in another 20 years. It exhibits linguistic, regional and cultural diversities and economic disparities. Increase in purchasing power fuelled lot of interest, several companies are exploring cost effective channels like HUL/ITC/ Colgate/Godrej/ Nokia/BPCL.


Osteochondral defects are a frequent cause of knee pain in the population. The majority of the diagnosed cases of osteochondral defects (OCD) are treated with surgical procedures. However, there are emerging alternative and integrative medicine options which have appeared on the horizon. These alternative treatment options are minimally invasive with a significant cost reduction and the potential for an earlier return on function due to a shorter rehabilitation period. The focus of this report will be to demonstrate the efficacy of Ultrasound (US) guided Platelet Rich Plasma (PRP) and Autologous Stem Cell Injections in the treatment of osteochondral Defects.


[Extract]
Clinical psychology training models vary widely in different legal jurisdictions, occasionally even those within the same country. Clinical psychology is also
comparatively new as a health care profession in comparison to other disciplines, suggesting that different factors may influence its development over older professions such as nursing and medicine. There are therefore many factors that
influence what approach is taken to training clinical psychologists. Here I contrast various historical, social, legislative and organizational factors that have influenced
the state of training in clinical psychology in two countries with well-developed training models from opposite hemispheres, Australia and Canada. A final section then explores the progress in developing clinical training in an
equatorial country that is just developing its training of professional psychologists.

Formal training in clinical psychology has a relatively short history. While individuals with an interest in helping those with psychological disturbance have practiced their craft for centuries, systematic training in methods to help people with psychological problems really began in earnest in most countries during the period following World War II. The presence of large numbers of traumatized war
veterans provided the stimulus for the American Department of Veterans Affairs to consult with the American Psychological Association to establish recommendations for formal training in clinical psychology (Committee on Training in Clinical Psychology, 1947). Since that time, the American Veterans Affairs system has continued over the years to be a strong supporter of clinical psychology, providing large numbers of internship settings and employment possibilities for clinical psychologists.

Given its population size and general cultural influence, developments in professional training in the United States provide one model for training that could have a degree of appeal in other countries. However, the actual training
model and system in place in a country will generally depend more upon other factors. For example, local interests and cultural factors often lead to the
development of different models that are better adapted co the local social and historical context. Of particular importance is how such training fits in the local
university educational practices and in the legislative systems that regulate professions.

In this paper, I will contrast developments in Canada, which has close social, cultural, and professional links with the United States (in part due simply to sheer
geographic proximity) with Australia, which has based its clinical training model much more on British traditions, albeit at a substantial geographical distance. The example of Canada also illustrates well the importance of social factors in the regulation of professional training. The final section will summarize developments from a country near the equator, Singapore, which provides a central point to the previous contrast of the North and the South of the globe.


Currently, my research programme includes the 'Science Outside the Classroom' (SOtC) project1 and I am thoroughly enjoying the whole experience! SOtC1 is an exciting collaboration between university, kindergarten and primary school partners in the United Kingdom, Croatia, Spain and Sweden which develops, investigates and evaluates inclusive and innovative ways for young children to build scientific enquiry skills outdoors (Science Outside the Classroom, 2018). SOtC1 educators are working together to find new ways to offer children opportunities to develop key science competencies such as problem-solving, communicating, reasoning, estimating, testing, observing, measuring, comparing, grouping, classifying, evaluating, asking and answering questions, while building non-cognitive skills including resilience, perseverance and confidence in outdoor contexts that promote their agency, physical activity and well-being. In a global context where education is recognised as '…a basic human right and the foundation on which to build peace and drive sustainable development' (United Nations Educational Social and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO), 2017a, 4), SOtC1 may be regarded as important work. We live in times 'characterised by a new explosion of scientific knowledge' and Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) education is considered an important factor for strong economic and social futures (Organisation for Education Co-operation and Development (OECD), 2018, 3; United Nations Educational Social and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO), 2017b). STEM learning can promote important possibilities for building knowledge across disciplines and incorporates, for example, Arts (STEAM) and Environmental Education (E-STEM) (North American Association for Environmental Education (NAAEE), 2016; 2019; Pitt, 2009; Sochacka, Guyotte, and Walthera, 2016). However, there is recognition that many countries - including those with advanced economies - are not educating appropriately to develop a strong STEM workforce for the future (Moser, Aparecido de Oliveira, and Bueno, 2017; National Academy of Sciences, National Academy of Engineering, and Institute of Medicine, 2007). Equally, STEM advances are creating new social and economic inequalities (Li and Ranieri, 2013; Nieminen, 2016; OECD, 2018).


Objectives: This review examines the effects of family economic security policies on child and family health outcomes, formulates a framework for possible mechanisms of effect, and introduces our policy surveillance system to measure changes in state laws affecting social determinants of health. Methods: We carried out a comprehensive review of the published literature on family economic security policies and health outcomes. Results: There is a paucity of studies examining effects of economic policies on child and family health behaviors and outcomes; moreover, even fewer investigate causal pathways from policy to mediating changes in social and physical conditions or health behaviors.Conclusion: State policy variations offer a valuable opportunity for scientists to conduct natural experiments and contribute to evidence linking social policy effects to family and child wellbeing.


Background: Asthma affects more than 300 million people globally, many of whom are undertreated, and thus unnecessarily disabled. Some countries have developed effective asthma strategies, which, when consistently implemented, result in reduction of the burden of asthma to individuals and society (Haahtela T et al. National Asthma Strategies. Chapter in: The Global Asthma Report 2014 www.globalasthmareport.org). There has been no systematic appraisal of the extent of asthma strategies in the world. Methods: The Global Asthma Network (GAN) undertook an email survey of principal investigators of GAN centres in 2014-2015. The survey had 7 questions about the use of asthma management guidelines and one question on whether they had a national asthma strategy: "Has a national asthma strategy been developed in your country for the next five years? For children, for adults?" (Yes/No/Don9t Know ). The survey was sent to 279 investigators in 120 countries. Results: 214 (77%) investigators in 113 (94%) countries completed this question. Of those who responded, 41 were high-income countries and 79 low- and middle- income countries. Of the 113 countries 26% reported a national asthma strategy. Such a strategy was reported in 34% of the 41 high-income countries and in 22% of the 79 low- and middle-income countries. Conclusion: Only 26% countries reported having a national asthma strategy, with low- and middle- income countries having lower rates than high-income countries. As asthma prevalence has risen, especially in the most populated countries in the world, a large reduction in the global burden of asthma could be achieved if more countries had effective asthma strategies.


The scientific innovations of Galileo Galilei are pivotal to our understanding of the laws of the natural world. Drawing on his diverse studies in philosophy, mathematics, mechanics, music, astronomy, and engineering, Galileo developed revolutionary theories that thoroughly changed the disciplines of physics, mathematics, astronomy, and technology. Galileo Galilei traces the great scientist's education, describes his maverick experiments in Padua and Pisa, and recreates the ingenious pathway of his famous discoveries. Often censored and imprisoned for his radical ideas that clashed with fundamental Church doctrines, Galileo persisted in his pursuit of scientific truths to bestow upon future generations the inspiration to challenge conventional views. His theories about the motions of falling bodies, his study of pendulums, and his major discoveries in astronomy made with a self-built telescope are all clearly explained in this volume. Heavily illustrated with photographs, graphics, and technical schemes, Galileo Galilei also features a number of sidebars elucidating important details of the great mans contributions. Oxford Portraits in Science is a collection of scientific biographies for young adults. Written by top scholars and writers, each biography examines the personality of its subject as well as the thought process leading to his or her discoveries. These illustrated biographies combine accessible technical information with compelling personal stories to portray the scientists whose work has shaped our understanding of the natural world.


In agricultural policy in Germany institutional and functional spheres of responsibility are mixed. The constitution of the Federal Republic of Germany warrants a strong position to the federal states in relation to the federal government. But in fact, the decentralized lines of the constitutional law and the clear division of responsibilities between the federal government and the federal states have lost their contours over time. Taking the developments on the revenue side and the expenditure side together, in the national sphere in Germany there is the impression that the various governmental levels form a sturdy "network†. Only at the level of implementation there are quite pronounced decentralized elements. There has been much critical discussion since the late 1970s of this co-operative federalism, the result of the networking of government levels. However, it has not been changed in principle. In the field of agricultural policy this networking is superimposed by the incorporation of the EU. Against the background of changed underlying conditions for integration and increased integration of European agriculture in world trade, the extensive transfer of agricultural policy responsibilities to the EU is in need of revision. In particular, the opening of the EU towards Central and Eastern Europe also requires a consideration of the mechanism of the EU agricultural policy. Recommendations from the viewpoint of fiscal federalism are discussed for a revision in competences and clear demarcation of responsibilities for different fields of agricultural policy.