The ability to provide and implement software solutions is a fundamental component of a computer scientist curriculum. Commonly referred to as the ability to program, this task involves the development of programs to address everyday problems. Over the last decade teaching practices have evolved alongside programming languages to facilitate the learning process. While abstracting the level of understanding has helped students with the fundamentals of software development, issues related to students' engagement and motivation are still not adequately addressed. With motivation being a vital component of the students' life cycle and at the basis of their engagement, the concept of software engineering introduced in the class needs to be revised and become more engaging so as to be practised thoroughly by the students.
To address these challenges, educators have devised numerous frameworks to allow students to hone their programming skills. The idea of embedding gaming aspects into the learning cycle has led to the development of techniques such as serious games and game-based learning, while more recent techniques have been unified under the term gamification. Several researchers have incorporated the gamification concept into computer science classes in order to improve students' engagement with the teaching material, with early evaluations confirming the effectiveness of this approach. The present study focuses on the use of a gamification platform to create stimulating content and increase motivation. Students were presented with a new gamification system designed to attract and hold their attention through a number of programming challenges in the form of a contest. The results of the experiment demonstrate the students' behavioural changes towards a deeper cognitive engagement. The paper then further discusses the challenges that have arisen in this new learning environment, such as demotivation of students with low contest rankings.
Teaching how to write good software has been part of an ongoing debate for the last decade. With student motivation being a central component, this paper discusses the use of a gamification environment to engage students with the teaching material and reinforce the concepts of software engineering introduced in class.


Throughout the history of war, there have been many instances when the cold has ravaged armies more effectively than their enemies. Delineated risk factors are restricted to negro origins, previous cold injury, moderate but not heavy smoking and the possession of blood group O. No attention has been directed to the possibility that abnormal blood constituents could feasibly predispose to the development of local cold injury. This study considers this possibility and investigates the potential contribution of certain components of the circulating blood which might do so. Three groups of soldiers from two of the battalions who served during the war in the Falklands Islands in 1982 were investigated. The risk factors which were sought included the presence or absence of asymptomatic cryoglobulinaemia, abnormal total protein, albumin, individual gamma globulin or complement C3 or C4 levels, plasma hyperviscosity or evidence of chronic alcoholism manifesting as high haemoglobin, PCV, RBC, MCV or gamma glutamyl transpeptidase (GGT). No cases of cryoglobulinaemia were isolated and there was no haematological evidence to suggest that any of those men who had developed cold injury, one year before this study was performed, had abnormal circulating proteins, plasma hyperviscosity or indicators of alcohol abuse. Individual blood groups were not incriminated as a predisposing factor although the small numbers of negroes in this series fared badly. Although this investigation has excluded a range of potential risk factors which could contribute to the development of cold injury, the problem persists. Two areas of further study are needed: the first involves research into the production of better protective clothing in the form of effective cold weather boots and gloves and the second requires the delineation of those dietary and ethnic factors which allow certain communities to adapt successfully to the cold. A review of the literature in this latter area is presented.


Aim of the study is to report the experience in the last three years about endourological treatment of newborns affected by genito- and urinary malformation, implying critical urinary tract dilatation and bladder mass requiring a neonatal operative management. Seven - four males and three female - patients were treated cystoscopically during the neonatal period. Three newborns with a posterior urethral valves (PUV), underwent a successful ablation of PUV. In a male with infected persistent large mullerian duct and subsequent acute urinary retention, a cystoscopically-assisted catheterization was performed. Two females, one with cloaca and the other with high persistent urogenital sinus and massive associated hydrometrocolpos underwent a cystoscopical drainage of the vagina and a positioning of a balloon catheter into the bladder. Another female with a bladder mass had a endoscopical biopsy. Thanks to modern neonatal operative urethrocystoscope, today is possible to treat early many pathological genito-urinary conditions in newborns.


We report findings from a mixed-methods study to compare birth outcomes and experiences between vulnerable women who had or had not received targeted support from a specialist midwifery team and/or a third-sector organisation. Sociodemographic and birth-related outcome data from a 12-month birth cohort were used to explore differences between a) vulnerable and non-vulnerable women; and b) vulnerable women who had and those who had not received targeted support. Seventeen women who had or had not received targeted support were interviewed. Vulnerable mothers were significantly more likely to be younger, from a minority ethnic group, access care later in pregnancy and have a baby born earlier and at a lower birth weight. A higher percentage of women who received targeted support had a spontaneous birth, a vaginal presentation at birth and were less likely to use anaesthesia during labour when compared with unsupported vulnerable women. Targeted support was associated with reassurance, increased parental confidence and wellbeing. Key practice and policy-based implications are considered. Gill Thomson


Postphenomenological Investigations: Essays on Human–Technology Relations provides an introduction to the school of thought called postphenomenology and showcases projects at the cutting edge of this perspective. Postphenomenology presents a unique blend of insights from the philosophical traditions of phenomenology and American pragmatism, and applies them to studies of user relations to technologies. These studies provide deep descriptions of the ways technologies transform our abilities, augment our experience, and shape the world around us. This book proceeds with a preface by Don Ihde, postphenomenology's founder, and a detailed review of the main ideas of this perspective by the editors Robert Rosenberger and Peter-Paul Verbeek. The body of this volume is composed of twelve postphenomenological essays which reflect the expansive range, detail-orientation, and interdisciplinarity of this school of thought. These essays confront a broad assortment of topics, both abstract and concrete. Abstract topics addressed include metaphysics, ethics, methodology, and analysis of the notions of selfhood, skill training, speed, and political activism. Just a few of the concrete topics studied include human-like interactive robots, ethics education, image interpretation in radiology, science fiction tropes, transportation history, wearable computing, and organ donation protocols for brain-dead bodies. The volume concludes with constructive critiques of postphenomenology by Andrew Feenberg, Diane Michelfelder, and Albert Borgmann, all figures whose work is relevant to postphenomenological projects.


Using Gray's "seasonal genesis parameter" (SGP) as a metric, we investigate the large-scale environmental factors and the associated circulation changes attributing to rare tropical cyclone (TC) formation in the western North Pacific (WNP) in the first-half years of 1983, 1998, and 2016, which are known to be the decaying phase of the 1982/83, 1997/98, and 2015/16 super El Niño events. A budget analysis of SGP shows that decreases in relative vorticity and specific humidity, due to the existence of a Philippine Sea anticyclonic anomaly, are the major factors attributing to strong suppression of TC formation mentioned above. From a broader basin-scale view, we demonstrate that this Philippine Sea anticyclone could also be a response resulting from the descending branch of a northwest-and-southeast tilting anomalous overturning (Walker) circulation forced by asymmetric SST anomalies typical of the Cold Tongue El Niño. Article history: Received 13 January 2019 Revised 17 June 2019 Accepted 23 June 2019


The cation-exchange properties of bentonite and kaolinite, treated with a wide range of concentrations of a vinyl acetatemaleic acid copolymer, and an isobutylene-maleic acid co-polymer were studied. Results obtained by two different methods indicate that there is a definite clay-conditioner interaction between bentonite and these conditioner materials. Very low concentrations of conditioner caused a marked decrease in the cation-exchange capacities of bentonite suspensions. Slightly higher concentrations increased the exchange capacity for both a monovalent and a divalent cation. A further increase in concentration resulted in a second decrease in exchange capacity which persisted for all higher conditioner concentrations used.


In this paper, we propose and evaluate six methods for the segmentation of skin lesions in dermoscopic images. This set includes some state of the art techniques which have been successfully used in many medical imaging problems (gradient vector flow (GVF) and the level set method of Chan et al.[(C-LS)]. It also includes a set of methods developed by the authors which were tailored to this particular application (adaptive thresholding (AT), adaptive snake (AS), EM level set (EM-LS), and fuzzy-based split-and-merge algorithm (FBSM)]. The segmentation methods were applied to 100 dermoscopic images and evaluated with four different metrics, using the segmentation result obtained by an experienced dermatologist as the ground truth. The best results were obtained by the AS and EM-LS methods, which are semi-supervised methods. The best fully automatic method was FBSM, with results only slightly worse than AS and EM-LS.


This paper presents part of a research project about online communities in Saudi Arabia. The paper will address one of the research sub-questions, that is: What are the key features of participation in online communities in Saudi Arabia? The results presented in this paper are drawn from one of the techniques of data collection used in this research, that is, silent observation, which was conducted over a one-year period. In addition, the paper will discuss briefly the research design, including the research procedures. In its final section, some of the findings from this part of the project are presented.


During the past decades, malnutrition has attracted increasing scientific attention and is by now regarded as a true geriatric syndrome characterized by multifactorial causality, identified by symptoms and accompanied by frailty, disability and poor outcome. This viewpoint summarizes our present knowledge and the usual current handling of malnutrition in older people and highlights the urgent need for action in this field. Age-related changes in the complex system of appetite regulation, resulting in the so-called anorexia of aging, predispose older adults to a decrease in food intake which may lead to malnutrition, if additional risk factors like health or social problems occur. Consequently, malnutrition is widespread in the older population, notably in those who are institutionalized. Despite the fact that effective interventions are available, prevention and treatment of malnutrition do not currently receive appropriate attention. As an important first step towards better awareness, screening for malnutrition should become a mandatory integral part of the comprehensive geriatric assessment. Furthermore, practical local guidelines should be implemented in all geriatric hospital wards and nursing homes in order to improve nutritional care in the daily routine. Important to note is that reasonable nutritional management is not possible without qualified staff in adequate numbers allowing appropriate individual nutritional care. Regarding future research, studies at the cellular, metabolic and clinical levels and the linking of information from different research approaches are required to better understand the transition from good nutritional health and independence of old people to malnutrition, functional impairment and poor health. In parallel to well-designed observational and intervention studies, standardized documentation of nutritional information in daily routine would enable the uniform collection of data for research as well as for political decisions. In summary, the time is ripe for better inclusion of nutrition in geriatric health care. This will not only bring about improved nutritional status and outcome, and thus individual benefit for the affected person, but also economic benefits both for the institution and the health-care system.


This article presents a preliminary report of an audit of the current state of research methods teaching in UK qualifying social work education. The audit is part of a wider ESRC funded study to provide baseline data for setting progress objectives towards building research capacity in the discipline and profession.The place and purpose of research teaching in social work education is strongly contested. Less contestable, however, is the lack of attention to research in qualifying social work curricula in all four UK countries, despite their differing prescribed curricula but common adherence to the QAA Benchmark Statement and the National Occupational Standards. The marginalisation of research teaching is underlined by the paucity of UK literature on the topic, compared with American and other writing. Reasons for this range from lack of time, staff skill and resource, to more fundamental reservations and resistance on the part of educators, students and practitioners towards engaging with research. At the heart of such ambivalence lies fundamental debate about the nature of the social work discipline, and the relationship between research and practice. Before we may tackle the task of building research capacity, we must better understand existing education practices and the challenges for research teaching faced. This paper offers preliminary observations from the audit, based on a survey of undergraduate and masters qualifying social work programmes across all four countries, with in-depth enquiry into a smaller sample from each. The survey examines what research methods are taught, how, where, when and by whom. Most importantly, it considers why these choices are made, and the challenges and possibilities presented for building research capacity and research mindedness at qualifying level.


Variations in body and skull morphology may exhibit geographic differences evidencing distinct population stocks. The objectives of the present study were to analyze such variation to test the hypothesis of a disjunct distribution of the franciscana ( Pontoporia blainvillei ) off the southeastern coast of Brazil. Body length and 39 cranial variables were measured from bycaught animals to considere sexual, ontogenetic and geographic variations. The areas studied were Espirito Santo (ES) (18°30'S-19°40'S), northern Rio de Janeiro (NRJ) (21°35'S-22°25'S) and Sao Paulo (SP) (23°30'S-25°30'S). Franciscanas from NRJ and SP presented significant sexual dimorphism, with the means for the metric characters larger for females than for males. Sexual dimorphism for franciscanas from ES was not examined due to limited sample size. The growth pattern for body and skull did not indicate clinal variation. The asymptotic values obtained for franciscanas from SP were smaller than the values obtained for franciscanas from NRJ and ES. Canonical discriminant analysis of the cranial metric characters indicated significant differences among the three geographic areas. Differences between areas ES and NRJ accounted for 85%; of the variation (axis 1). The remaining 15%; (axis 2) was due to difference between the area SP from the others. The geographic variation supports the hypothesis stock division in southeast Brazil; allopatry might be present. Therefore, three franciscana stocks from the southeastern coast of Brazil should be considered distinct for conservation and management actions.


In recent years, the intensification of human activities has led to an increase in waste production and energy demand. The treatment of pollutants contained in wastewater coupled to energy recovery is an attractive solution to simultaneously reduce environmental pollution and provide alternative energy sources. Hydrogen represents a clean energy carrier for the transition to a decarbonized society. Hydrogen can be generated by photosynthetic water splitting where oxygen and hydrogen are produced, and the process is driven by the light energy absorbed by the photocatalyst. Alternatively, hydrogen may be generated from hydrogenated pollutants in water through photocatalysis, and the overall reaction is thermodynamically more favourable than water splitting for hydrogen. This review is focused on recent developments in research surrounding photocatalytic and photoelectrochemical hydrogen production from pollutants that may be found in wastewater. The fundamentals of photocatalysis and photoelectrochemical cells are discussed, along with materials, and efficiency determination. Then the review focuses on hydrogen production linked to the oxidation of compounds found in wastewater. Some research has investigated hydrogen production from wastewater mixtures such as olive mill wastewater, juice production wastewater and waste activated sludge. This is an exciting area for research in photocatalysis and semiconductor photoelectrochemistry with real potential for scale up in niche applications.


We study a model where the aggregate trading of currency speculators reveals new information to the central bank and affects its policy decision. We show that the learning process gives rise to coordination motives among speculators leading to large currency attacks and introducing non-fundamental volatility into exchange rates and policy decisions. We show that the central bank can improve the ex ante effectiveness of its policy by committing to put a lower weight ex post on the information from the market, and that transparency may either increase or decrease the effectiveness of learning from the market, depending on how it is implemented.


The growth of 3C-SiC on (001) silicon substrates by means of vapor phase epitaxy is described. The growth mechanisms are discussed with the aid of structural and morphological characterizations performed by X-ray diffraction, transmission electron microscopy, and atomic force microscopy. Raman spectroscopy was used to study the residual stress. A large shift of Raman peaks with respect to the expected values for the bulk is observed and explained by the relaxation of Raman selection rules due to lattice defects. The stress and stress gradients through the film thickness are observed and studied on micrometer-sized structures such as membranes and cantilevers. Local Raman peak fluctuations are observed on millimeter-sized membranes, while cantilevers show different degrees of curling depending on film thickness.


A post-stack inversion of 2D seismic data was conducted to estimate the spatial distribution of acoustic impedance associated with gas and hydrates in the Ulleung Basin, East Sea, Korea constrained by logs from three boreholes drilled on its continental margin. A model-based inversion was applied to a Plio-Quaternary succession composed of alternations of unconsolidated mass-flow deposits/turbidites. A comparison of seismic reflections and synthetic data computed from impedance logs is shown for two zones. An upper (steep) slope zone contains a moderately continuous, possibly bottom-simulating reflector feature along the corresponding section. This feature may be associated with a lithology boundary near a drill site in addition to, or instead of, a stability boundary of gas hydrates (i.e., gas below and hydrates above). The lower (gentle) slope zone has locally cross-cutting reflection patterns that are more likely to be attributed to gas- and hydrate-related physical phenomena than to spatiotemporal changes in lithology. This seismic inversion is informative and useful, making a contribution to enhance the interpretability of the seismic profiles for a potential hydrate recovery.


Obesity is a worldwide problem that leads to a number of chronic conditions, including diabetes, hypertension, heart disease, chronic kidney disease, and some cancers (1). Obesity results from the slow and steady accumulation of fat as a consequence of eating more carbon-containing compounds in foods than are needed for daily energy expenditure. The effects of obesity are exacerbated in the presence of fat accumulation in the liver, muscle, visceral fat depot, and other organs (2). The mechanisms for ectopic fat accumulation reflect many factors, including genetics, inflammation, dietary fat, fructose, and positive energy balance among others.

The question of whether obesity or ectopic fat accumulation during ingestion of excess calories is influenced differentially by diet has been an intriguing question for more than 100 years (3,4). In this issue, the article by Rosqvist et al. (5) adds another dimension to our understanding of overeating and fat accumulation. The investigators asked whether overeating with a diet with additional polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA) would reduce formation of ectopic fat compared with overeating with a diet high in saturated fatty acids (SFA). Their study included 39 normal, but very lean, young men and women, 37 of whom were included in the analyses. For 7 weeks, participants ate muffins enriched with either SFA, as palm …


This study investigates the relationship between relative price variability and inflation in three regions in Malaysia namely Peninsular Malaysia, Sabah and Sarawak. Using monthly time series data from January 1970 until Mac 2005, this study utilizes the non-linear time series technique of STAR and LSTAR models. Based on the empirical evidence, it is clearly shown that the relative price variability has non-linear characteristic. In addition, inflation is also significant and positively related to influence the relative price variability in all the three regions. The empirical findings also reveal that the relationship between the relative price variability and inflation is in the form of non-linear. The findings support the menu-cost theory which stipulates that the variability of price will increase when there is an increase in the general price level. Beside that, the stochastic components of relative price variability have shown persistency in all the regions. The study implies that the price control policy and the implementation of monetary policy should also be focused to control relative price stability among the group of goods.


Background

Neuroleptic drugs with potent D-2 receptor blocking properties have been the traditional treatment for tics caused by Tourette Syndrome. Pimozide is the most studied of these. Use of these medications is declining because of concerns about side effects, and new atypical neuroleptics are now available. The true benefit and risks associated with pimozide compared to other drugs is not known.

Objectives

To evaluate the efficacy and harms of pimozide in comparison to placebo or other medications in the treatment of tics in Tourette Syndrome.

Search strategy

We cross-referenced pimozide and its proprietary names with Tourette Syndrome and its derivations, as MeSH headings and as text words, and searched the Cochrane Movement Disorders Group Trials Register, the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials (CENTRAL) (The Cochrane Library 2007, Issue 4), MEDLINE (1950-April 2007), and EMBASE (1980-April 2007). Reference lists of relevant articles were reviewed for additional trials.

Selection criteria

All randomized, controlled, double blind studies comparing pimozide to placebo or other medications for the treatment of tics in Tourette Syndrome were considered for inclusion in this review. Both parallel group and crossover studies of children or adults, at any dose and for any duration, were included.

Data collection and analysis

Data was abstracted independently by two authors onto standardized forms and disagreements were resolved by discussion.

Main results

Six randomized controlled trials were included (total 162 participants, age range 7 to 53 years).  Pimozide was compared with: placebo and haloperidol (two trials), placebo (one trial), haloperidol (one trial), and risperidone (two trials). Methodological quality was rated 'fair' for all studies. Studies used different outcome measurement scales for assessing tic severity and adverse effects. Significant clinical heterogeneity made meta-analysis inappropriate. Pimozide was superior to placebo in three studies, though it caused more side effects than placebo in one of these. Pimozide was inferior to haloperidol in one of three studies (the other two showed no significant difference between the drugs), which also showed significantly fewer side effects associated with pimozide. No significant differences between pimozide and risperidone were detected.

Authors' conclusions

Pimozide is an effective treatment for tics in Tourette Syndrome, though the number of trials comparing its effect to placebo and other drugs is limited. Trials of longer duration (minimum six months) are needed to investigate the longer-term effects of pimozide compared to atypical neuroleptics.  Future trials should use the Yale Global Tic Severity Scale to assess the main outcome measure, and quantify adverse events with the Extrapyramidal Symptoms Rating Scale.

Plain Language Summary

Pimozide is an effective treatment for tics in Tourette Syndrome.

Pimozide is a well-studied drug used to treat the tics (uncontrolled movements and noises) caused by Tourette Syndrome.  There are concerns about side effects associated with pimozide, so it would be helpful to know how it compares to other drugs, and newer drugs.  The review authors searched the medical literature for clinical trials that compared pimozide to other drugs, or a dummy drug (placebo), for treating tics in patients with Tourette Syndrome. The trials identified showed that pimozide was more effective at reducing tics than placebo.  It was slightly less effective than the drug haloperidol, but showed fewer side effects. There were no important differences between pimozide and risperidone for either reduction of tics or side effects. In future, if trials could be run for longer, it would help the investigation of the nature of side effects caused by these drugs.


We build a quantitatively relevant macroeconomic model with endogenous risk-taking. In our model, deposit insurance and limited liability can lead banks to make risky loans that are socially inefficient. This excessive risk-taking can be triggered by aggregate or sectoral shocks that reduce the return on safer loans. Excessive risk-taking can be avoided by raising bank capital requirements, but unnecessarily tight requirements lower welfare by limiting liquidity producing bank deposits. Consequently, optimal capital requirements are dynamic (or state contingent). We provide examples in which a Ramsey planner would raise capital requirements: (1) during a downturn caused by a TFP shock; (2) during an expansion caused by an investment-specific shock; and (3) during an increase in market volatility that has little effect on the business cycle. In practice, the economy is driven by a constellation of shocks, and the Ramsey policy is probably beyond the policymaker's ken; so, we also consider implementable policy rules. Some rules can mimic the optimal policy rather well but are not robust to all the calibrations we consider. Basel III guidance calls for increasing capital requirements when the credit to GDP ratio rises, and relaxing them when it falls; this rule does not perform well. In fact, slightly elevated static capital requirements generally do about as well as any implementable rule.


Glycemic control in intensive care patients is complex in terms of patients' response to care and treatment. The variability and the search for improved insulin therapy outcomes have led to the use of human physiology model based on per-patient metabolic condition to provide personalized automated recommendations. One of the most promising solutions for this is the STAR protocol, which is based on a clinically validated insulin-nutrition-glucose physiological model. However, this approach does not consider demographical background such as age, weight, height, and ethnicity. This article presents the extension to intensive care personalized solution by integrating per-patient demographical, and upon admission information to intensive care conditions to automate decision support for clinical staff. In this context, a virtual study was conducted on 210 retrospectives intensive care patients' data. To provide a ground, the integration concept is presented roughly, but the details are given in terms of a proof of concept using Bayesian Network, linking the admission background and performance of the STAR control. The proof of concept shows 71.43% and 73.90% overall inference precision, and reliability, respectively, on the test dataset. With more data, improved Bayesian Network is believed to be reproduced. These results, nevertheless, points at the feasibility of the network to act as an effective classifier using intensive care units data, and glycemic control performance to be the basis of a probabilistic, personalized, and automated decision support in the intensive care units.


There were three broad aims for this thesis. These included (1) an investigation of the relationships between the intensity and directional dimensions of trait anxiety, state anxiety and performance in sport, (2) a detailed exploration of mechanisms mediating observed relationships, using the theory of Rational Emotive Behaviour Therapy (REBT) as a framework, and (3), based on the findings of this exploration, an assessment of the efficacy of a tailored REBT treatment as a means of modifying harmful trait anxiety directional interpretations, resulting in changes at the state level and ultimately changes in performance. A total of 189 competitors from the sports of freestyle skiing, athletics, and ten-pin bowling participated in Study 1. Each competitor provided general demographic information, information pertaining to their overall skill level, and also completed the Competitive Trait Anxiety Inventory version 2 – directional (CTAI-2-D), Sport Anxiety Scale (SAS), and Competitive State Anxiety Inventory version 2 – directional (CSAI-2-D) just prior to a competition. Following competition they went on to rate their performance on a scale from very poor to excellent. The results of Study 1 revealed that measures of anxiety correlated as predicted, and provided further support to the utility of directional measures of anxiety as a more precise predictor of skill level and performance than intensity alone measures. In Study 2, six bowlers who obtained negative directional trait anxiety scores on both of the cognitive and somatic subscales of the CTAI-2-D, and six bowlers who obtained positive directional trait anxiety scores on both of the cognitive and somatic subscales of the CTAI-2-D were interviewed on two separate occasions. Interviews were designed to assess the presence and typology of cognitions associated with emotional responses based on the ABC framework adopted in the theory and practice of REBT. Findings from Study 2 provided insight into specific cognitive mechanisms behind directional measures of anxiety, and highlighted the value of REBT as a theoretical model for conceptualising various components of anxiety in sport. In particular, competitors with debilitative interpretive styles were found to endorse self-directed demands, and awfulising, and exhibited secondary emotional disturbance most frequently associated with somatic and behavioural interpretations. In the final study, a total of 60 ten-pin bowlers were allocated to either a six-week course of REBT, a six-week course of a more traditional treatment entailing imagery and relaxation, or a control condition entailing six weeks of befriending. REBT was found to significantly moderate negative directional interpretation scores of anxiety symptoms, and to reduce competitors' endorsement of irrational beliefs (whilst concurrently increasing their endorsement of rational or non-judgemental thinking styles) to a greater extent than the traditional intervention (relaxation and mental imagery), and control condition. Further, although not statistically significant, competitors who underwent the course of REBT showed greater performance gains than the bowlers in the other two conditions. The main implications of these findings are that anxiety research and management practices should focus on the causal role of underlying beliefs, and the relationship competitors have with these beliefs, in the experience of anxiety. Further, the results of this study highlighted that REBT has a significant role to play in the theory and management of anxiety in sport.


After 15 years of great performance, Target's faltering performance during an economic downturn led an activist shareholder to initiate a proxy fight. Target Corporation, the second-largest discount store retailer in the U.S., had competed successfully against industry leader Walmart for years by promoting an upscale discount shopping experience in comparison to Walmart's focus on low prices. This strategy worked well for Target in good economic times. The economic crisis of 2008-2009, however, caused shoppers to abandon Target in favor of Walmart. In the spring of 2009, one of Target's largest shareholders initiated a proxy fight to place his five director nominees on the board. Target won the proxy fight, but still faced questions about whether it had a strategy that could work in both good times and bad. The case describes Target's business strategy and challenges to the strategy by an activist investor Bill Ackman who demands changes to Target's board to help implement the strategic shift that he proposes. The case is used to analyze long term drivers of value for Target and how the strategy has come under pressure. The case allows students to evaluate the merits of the activist investor's challenges to the company's strategy and the board's response to it. In addition, the case describes Bill Ackman's demand for changes on the board and the proxy fight to enable a discussion of the role of the board, board composition, and the proposed SEC proxy voting rules in the context of Target's proxy fight.


The occurrence and the partitioning of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) and seven metals (Al, Cd, Cr, Cu, Ni, Pb and Zn) were investigated in activated sludge wastewater treatment plants by means of passive and active sampling. Concentrations total dissolved and particulate contaminants were determined in wastewater at several points across the treatment system by means of grab sampling. Truly dissolved PAHs were sampled by means of semipermeable membrane devices. Labile (inorganic and weakly complexed) dissolved metals were also sampled using the diffusive gradient in thin film technique. This study confirms the robustness and the validity of these two passive sampling techniques in wastewater. All contaminant concentrations decreased in wastewater along the treatment, although dissolved and labile concentrations sometimes increased for substances with less affinity with organic matter. Solid-liquid and dissolved organic matter/water partitioning constants were estimated. The high variability of both partitioning constants for a simple substance and the poor relation between K(D) and K(OW) shows that the binding capacities of particles and organic matter are not uniform within the treatment and that other process than equilibrium sorption affect contaminant repartition and fate in wastewater.


Current military operations involve complex omnipresent threats, resulting in the need for all soldiers, regardless of occupational speciality, to wear body armour during operational deployment. Body armour is typically comprised of both hard and soft armour and is designed to provide ballistic, fragmentation and stab protection. The weight load and bulk of body armour, which is influenced by the materials used and extent of hard and soft armour coverage of the body, has the potential to affect a soldiers physical mobility on the battlefield. Intuitively it would appear logical that as the external load a soldier carries increases there is an associated decrease in their ability to move on the battlefield. Indeed studies have shown that external load can affect performance of key military tasks and thus compromise mobility when compared to an unloaded state. For example, Holewijn (1992) demonstrated that for every 1kg increase in external load, there was an average performance loss of 1% during tasks including jumping, sprinting, hand grenade throwing and obstacle course completion. The levels of protection proposed as part of the Tiered Body Armour System (Tiered BAS) have not been systematically evaluated and it is therefore unknown whether the weight increments of each level have a significant impact on soldier mobility. This study has quantified performance effects of the Tiered BAS and therefore examined the trade-off between passive protection (body armour coverage and ballistic rating) and active protection (soldier mobility). The results of this study can be reliably employed in conjunction with other important factors (e.g. thermal load) to inform Tiered BAS procurement decisions for the Australian Army. Secondly, results may be used to develop a commander's guide to BAS selection (used in conjunction with threat profile information) on operations. The aim of this study was to assess the impact of different levels of body armour protection (Tiered BAS) on soldiers' mobility. Specifically; Quantify baseline soldier mobility in a military clean skin (MCS) condition. Assess, measure and compare mobility under an Individual Combat Load Carriage Equipment (ICLCE) chest webbing system (control condition) and four levels of Tiered BAS. Underpin findings by correlative investigation with basic physiological and or anthropometric characteristics. Provide summary recommendations of the effects of weight load on soldiers' mobility.


Abstract Context: The effects of osteopathy in the cranial field on visual function—particularly on changes in the visual field and on the binocular alignment of the eyes—have been poorly characterized in the literature. The authors examined whether osteopathy in the cranial field resulted in an immediate, measurable change in visual function among a sample of adults with cranial asymmetry. Study design: Randomized controlled double-blinded pilot clinical trial. Subjects: Adult volunteers between ages 18 and 35 years who were free of strabismus or active ocular or systemic disease were recruited. Inclusion criteria were refractive error ranging between six diopters of myopia and five diopters of hyperopia, regular astigmatism of any amount, and cranial somatic dysfunction. Intervention: All subjects were randomly assigned to the treatment or control group. The treatment group received a single intervention of osteopathy in the cranial field to correct cranial dysfunction. The control group received light pressure of a few ounces of force applied to the cranium without osteopathic manipulative treatment. Measurements: Preintervention and postintervention optometric examinations consisted of distant visual acuity testing, Donder push-up (ie, accommodative system) testing, local stereoacuity testing, pupillary size measurements, and vergence system (ie, cover test with prism neutralization, near point of convergence) testing. Global stereoacuity testing and retinoscopy were performed only in preintervention to determine whether subjects met inclusion criteria. Analysis of variance (ANOVA) was performed for all ocular measures. Results: Twenty-nine subjects completed the trial—15 in the treatment group and 14 in the control group. A hierarchical ANOVA revealed statistically significant effects within the treatment group and within the control group (P <.05) in distance visual acuity of the right eye (OD) and left eye (OS), local stereoacuity, pupillary size measured under dim illumination OD and OS, and near point of convergence break and recovery. For the treatment group vs the control group, a statistically significant effect was observed in pupillary size measured under bright illumination OS (P <.05). Conclusions: The present study suggests that osteopathy in the cranial field may result in beneficial effects on visual function in adults with cranial asymmetry. However, this finding requires additional investigation with a larger sample size and longer intervention and follow-up periods. (ClinicalTrials.gov number NCT00510562)


In both the online and offline world, networks that people form within certain communities are critical for their engagement and growth in those communities. In this work, we analyze the growth of ego-networks on LinkedIn for new employees of companies, and study how the pattern of network formation in the new company affects one's growth and engagement in that company. We observe that the initial state of ego-network growth in a newly joined company shows strong correlations with the future status in the company -- such as network size, network diversity, and retention. We also present some key patterns that demonstrate the importance of the first few connections in the new company as well as how they lead to the phenomena we observed.


Schumpeter's trope of 'creative destruction' aptly describes current transformations of news media whose business models are adjusting to the twin challenges of digitization and the Internet. While most production studies focus on the journalistic labour process, based on current empirical research in the UK press and access to key decision-makers, this article presents case studies of the strategies pursued by the Financial Times and The Telegraph in migrating from print to digital. It shows how new conceptions of the news business are being articulated by managements and how production is being reshaped and increasingly driven by data analytics, and poses questions about the impact of these changes on journalistic practices.


This thesis presents the life and work of the physician William Acton from his education and medical training in Paris up to the introduction of the Contagious Diseases Acts. This thesis aims to re-visit Acton's two works on sexual function and sexual behaviour Prostitution, Considered in Its Moral, Social and Sanitary Aspects, in London and Other Large Cities. With Proposals for Mitigation and Prevention of Its Attendant Evils and The Functions and Disorders of the Reproductive Organs in Childhood, Youth, Adult Age and Advanced Life Considered in Their Physiological, Social and Moral Relations in order to understand Acton's intellectual development up to the middle of his career. The overarching theme of Acton's work identifies the necessity of regulation on a public and private level of sexual dysfunction. Acton's studies of prostitution and of sexual dysfunction in the male both conclude that the effective treatment of diseases such as syphilis and spermatorrhoea was not the intervention of medical curatives, but the regulation of the body. This thesis explores the development of Acton's writing, from medical treatises on diseases to social scientific works on the causes and consequences of diseases and his appreciation of and interaction with contemporary ideas on nature and hereditary predisposition. This work highlights the similarities of his approach to the treatment of prostitution and sexual dysfunction and explores the need for a revision of Acton's contribution to nineteenth century debates on sexuality.


Ecological studies of terrestrial urban systems have been approached along several kinds of contrasts: ecology in as opposed to ecology of cities; biogeochemical compared to organismal perspectives, land use planning versus biological, and disciplinary versus interdisciplinary. In order to point out how urban ecological studies are poised for significant integration, we review key aspects of these disparate literatures. We emphasize an open definition of urban systems that accounts for the exchanges of material and influence between cities and surrounding landscapes. Research on ecology in urban systems highlights the nature of the physical environment, including urban climate, hydrology, and soils. Biotic research has studied flora, fauna, and vegetation, including trophic effects of wildlife and pets. Unexpected interactions among soil chemistry, leaf litter quality, and exotic invertebrates exemplify the novel kinds of interactions that can occur in urban systems. Vegetation and faunal responses suggest that the configuration of spatial heterogeneity is especially important in urban systems. This insight parallels the concern in the literature on the ecological dimensions of land use planning. The contrasting approach of ecology of cities has used a strategy of biogeochemical budgets, ecological footprints, and summaries of citywide species richness. Contemporary ecosystem approaches have begun to integrate organismal, nutrient, and energetic approaches, and to show the need for understanding the social dimensions of urban ecology. Social structure and the social allocation of natural and institutional resources are subjects that are well understood within social sciences, and that can be readily accommodated in ecosystem models of metropolitan areas. Likewise, the sophisticated understanding of spatial dimensions of social differentiation has parallels with concepts and data on patch dynamics in ecology and sets the stage for comprehensive understanding of urban ecosystems. The linkages are captured in the human ecosystem framework.


Social scientists could learn some useful things from philosophy. Here I shall discuss what I take to be one such thing: a better understanding of the concept of utility. There are several reasons why a better understanding may be useful. First, this concept is commonly found in the writings of social scientists, especially economists (see, for example, Sen and Williams, 1982). Second, utility is the main ingredient in utilitarianism, a perspective on morality that, traditionally, has been very influential among social scientists. Third, and most important, with a better understanding of utility comes, as I shall try to show here, a better understanding of "personal welfare". or, in other words, of what may be said to be in people's best interests. Such an understanding is useful to social scientists and philosophers alike, whether for utilitarian purposes or not.


In this paper I try to move away from the Extreme Bounds method of identifying "robust" empirical relations in the economic growth literature. Instead of analyzing the extreme bounds of the estimates of the coefficient of a particular variable, I analyze the entire distribution. My claim in this paper is that, if we do this, the picture emerging from the empirical growth literature is not the pessimistic "Nothing is Robust" that we get with the extreme bound analysis. Instead, we find that a substantial number of variables can be found to be strongly related to growth.


Responses to Marx's Capital: From Rudolf Hilferding to Isaak Illich Rubin is a collection of primary sources, translated from German and Russian, dealing with the reception of the economic works of Karl Marx from the First to the Third International.


Nestled in the embrace of Table Bay, not far from the sweeping sands of Bloubergstrand, Robben Island is a haven for sea birds and seals. For centuries, it was also a harsh place of banishment and isolation. This rocky outcrop so close to Cape Town, surrounded by the icy, pounding Atlantic surf that made escape virtually impossible, became a convenient prison for anyone the authorities deemed unsavoury ? from lowly convicts and rebellious Khoekhoen to lepers, from members of the Indonesian nobility and imams thought to be inciting mutiny in the East Indies to regal Xhosa chieftains, and later scores of anti-apartheid activists and prominent black leaders such as Nelson Mandela and Robert Sobukwe.
Today, the actual prison building stands deserted and the lime quarry bakes in the midday sun ? mute testaments to the indomitable spirit of humanity and the will to endure, silent reminders of injustices that must never happen again.
Remembering Robben Island is a heritage title in the Picturesque series of small, full-colour souvenir books. Other titles in the series include Durban & Surrounds, Drakensberg, Cape Town, Garden Route, Swakopmund, South Africa, Namibia, Botswana, Mozambique and Winelands.

Author and award-winning photographer Jacques Claassen?s articles and images have appeared in various newspapers and magazines, from Die Burger, Beeld and De Kat to Insig, to mention a few. He is the author of a travel guide to Cape Town and the Western Cape, which also contained over 200 of his images. He is currently the managing editor of Farming SA and lives in Cape Town with his wife and two sons.


When punitive damage awards create publicity, this could affect the behavior of uncompensated victims, which has implications for the optimal punitive damage multiplier. A new adjusted multiplier is derived that incorporates publicity into the analytical framework. Assuming that all victims receive uniform punitive awards, the result is a lower punitive multiplier relative to the standard result. The extent of the adjustment will depend on the likelihood of publicity, the strength of the publicity, and the number of victims. Plus, under certain litigation cost conditions, if courts allow heterogeneous punitive awards, then efficiency is improved relative to uniform awards.


The insulin-like growth factors IGF-I and Idi -li are potent mitogens for several breast tumor cell lines in culture. Additionally, both IGF-I and IGF-II mRNAs are easily detected in the majority of breast tumor specimens examined, while no breast cancer epithelial cell lines we have studied express authentic IGF-I mRNA, and few lines express IGF-II iiiRNA. Although receptors for insulin, IGF-I, and IGF-II have been described, there is significant cross-reactivity between the various recep tors and ligands in the insulin/insulin-like growth factor family, and it is not clear which receptor or receptors are responsible for the biological effects of these growth factors in this system. Using an RNase protection assay, we examined breast tumor speci mens and breast cancer epithelial cell lines for expression of mRNA encoding the type I and type II IGF receptors as well as the insulin receptor. Virtually all of the specimens examined expressed mRNA for all three receptors. We then examined estrogen-dependent MCF-7 cells for the mitogenic effects of IGF-I and II in the presence of antibodies to both the type I and type II receptors. aIR-3, a monoclonal antibody which blocks the type I receptor, abolished the mitogenic effects of both IGF-I and IGF-II. It did not, however, block the mitogenic effects of insulin. We conclude that type I and type II IGF receptors are ubiqui tously expressed in breast cancer, and our experiments with MCF-7 cells suggest the mitogenic effects of both IGF-I and IGF-II are mediated via the type I IGF receptor.


Nonbinding recommendations, such as provided by fact-finders, are shown to significantly increase voluntary settlements in bargaining. Theoretically, it is unclear whether recommendations will increase settlement rates. A recommendation may reduce outcome uncertainty, thereby "chilling" bargaining and increasing dispute rates. On the other hand, a recommendation may give the parties a focal point around which an agreement is made. Which of these effects dominates is a question that we consider using theory and data from controlled bargaining experiments. The data show the dominance of a focal point effect for suggestions, highlighting their potential role in improving dispute settlement procedures.(JEL C78, C92, J52) Copyright 2005, Oxford University Press.


The magnetic properties of carbon-coated Co and Ni nanoparticles aligned in chains were determined using transmission electron holography. The measurements of the phase change of the electron wave due to the magnetization of the sample were performed. The ratio of remnant magnetization to bulk saturation magnetization Mr /Ms of Co decreased from 53% to 16% and of Ni decreased from 70% to 30% as the particle diameter increased from 25 to 90 nm. It was evident that the inhomogenous magnetic configurations could diminish the stray field of the particles. After being exposed to a 2-Tesla external magnetic field, the Mr /Ms of Co increased by 45% from the original values with the same dependency on the particle size. The Mr /Ms of Ni particles, on the other hand, increased only 10%. The increased magnetization could be attributed to the merging of small domains into larger ones after the exposure to the external magnetic field. The validity of the interpretation of the holograms was established by simulation.


IDENTIFICATION AND CHARACTERIZATION OF THE EXPRESSION PROFILE OF OLIGODENDROCYTE-DERIVED AND ASSOCIATED PROTEINS VIA UNILATERAL X-IRRADATION OF THE RAT OPTIC NERVE Nicholas Withrow Greco, MSG, MS A thesis in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Science in Anatomy at Virginia Commonwealth University Virginia Commonwealth University, 2005 Raymond J. Colello, D.Phil., Associate Professor, Department of Anatomy and Neurobiology Recent studies examining cell-cell interactions during CNS development and following disease or trauma have highlighted our limited understanding of the in vivo functions of the myelinating cell of the CNS, the oligodendrocyte. With this in mind, our laboratory has developed techniques by which a profile of proteins derived from or regulated by oligodendrocytes can be elucidated. Specifically, we have demonstrated that oligodendrocytes can be selectively eliminated from one optic nerve of a rat by treating the animal with a unilateral exposure of X-irradiation at the time of birth. Consequently, this approach allowed us to experimentally create, within the same animal, one optic nerve devoid of oligodendrocytes and their progenitors (the Xirradiated side) and one optic nerve containing the normal oligodendrocyte population (the untreated side). Using this experimental animal model we hypothesized that uncharacterized proteins, derived from and regulated by oligodendrocytes, which are crucial for CNS development can be identified. Specifically, by comparing protein profiles found within the normal myelinating optic nerve versus the X-irradiated optic nerve, where oligodendrocytes are absent, potential oligodendrocyte-derived proteins can be quickly identified. Further verification that these proteins are indeed related to oligodendrocytes and/or the processes of myelination can be obtained by their reappearance in the 2-D gel protein profile of P28 X-irradiated nerves that, as we have shown previously, undergo a delayed myelination. We then employed mass spectrometric analysis to determine the identities of oligodendrocyte derivedregulated proteins. In this thesis, I will begin by describing our current knowledge of the proteins expressed by oligodendrocytes and their role(s) in oligodendrocyte function. This will be followed by a detailed description of the experimental model system we utilized in an attempt to elucidate the complete repertoire of oligodendrocyte-regulated proteins. We will then describe the results generated fiom our methodology and discuss the implications of our findings in relation to the functional cooperation between oligodendrocytes and other cells of the developing central nervous system. The results generated fiom this project should lead to a clearer understanding of the role of oligodendrocytes and'of the array of proteins whose expression patterns are associated with these cells during CNS development.


This paper explores three different scenarios of how the regulatory governance of the network industries in Europe is likely to evolve, namely the emergence of European regulators, differentiated and therefore more fragmented regulation and self-regulation. This evolution it is argued, is made necessary by the fact that the current model regulatory governance of the network industries is not stable, both because the institutions and the technology are still (co-)evolving and because the currently prevailing model of independent, sector-specific national regulatory authorities is being challenged by the dynamics of the network industries, the involved firms, and most importantly by the challenges raised by deregulation be it in economic (competition is still not he norm), in political (problems with the provision of the services of general interest), and especially in technical terms (problems of interoperability, interconnection, capacity management, and system management). In its conclusion the paper confronts these three possible scenarios with the current literature on multi-level governance and concludes that future modes of regulatory governance in Europe can be identified as challenges of multi-level governance.


Speech perception runs smoothly and automatically when there is silence in the background, but when the speech signal is degraded by background noise or by reverberation, effortful cognitive processing is needed to compensate for the signal distortion. Previous research has typically investigated the effects of signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) and reverberation time in isolation, whilst few have looked at their interaction. In this study, we probed how reverberation time and SNR influence recall of words presented in participants' first- (L1) and second-language (L2). A total of 72 children (10 years old) participated in this study. The to-be-recalled wordlists were played back with two different reverberation times (0.3 and 1.2 s) crossed with two different SNRs (+3 dBA and +12 dBA). Children recalled fewer words when the spoken words were presented in L2 in comparison with recall of spoken words presented in L1. Words that were presented with a high SNR (+12 dBA) improved recall compared to a low SNR (+3 dBA). Reverberation time interacted with SNR to the effect that at +12 dB the shorter reverberation time improved recall, but at +3 dB it impaired recall. The effects of the physical sound variables (SNR and reverberation time) did not interact with language.


Business-to-business exchanges have become a common form of procurement due to their advantages regarding flexibility (such as the ability of being able to quickly change business partners), although the mean procurement prices are generally higher compared to long-term contracts. On the other side, a lot of procurement managers still believe that long-term relationships are the key in the procurement process partly due to cost savings. Two main conflicting opinions on the optimal type of relationship - as it seems. In this thesis, a portfolio approach for risk-hedging supply chains in dynamic business environments is presented, where uncertainties are defined by value ranges in addition to target or mean values. This portfolio approach combines the advantages of both relationship types - spot market and long-term relationship - while avoiding influences of disadvantages. This portfolio approach uses simulation techniques in order to find portfolio and contract settings that coordinate supply chain partners and achieves cost-optimal supply chain performance in dynamic business environments. Furthermore, inventory is used as real option in an approach that is called speculative forward procurement. Speculative forward procurement is shown to be advantageous for the overall performance of supply chains in nearly all simulation settings. The presented model is developed and evaluated using a real supply chain process of the chemical processing industry. If procurement managers use a portfolio approach and speculative forward procurement, it is shown that cost savings of more than 10 % compared to only using the spot market and about 5 % compared to the use of long-term relationships for coordinating settings can be achieved. (author's abstract)


ABSTRACT Remote-sensing data has the potential to revolutionize social science. One of the most prominent examples of this is the Nighttime Lights data set, which provides digital measures of night-time luminosity from 1992 to 2013. This study evaluates the Nighttime Lights data against detailed rural electrification data from the 2011 Census of India. The results suggest that many night-time luminosity measures derived from satellite data are surprisingly accurate for measuring rural electrification, even at the village level and using simple statistical tools. We also demonstrate that this accuracy can be substantially improved by using of better GIS maps, basic geoprocessing tools, and particular aggregations of night-time luminosity. Night-time luminosity performs worse in measuring financial inclusion or proxies of poverty, however, and detects rural electrification less accurately when the supply of power is intermittent. These results offer guidelines for when and how remote-sensing data can be used when administrative data is absent or unreliable.


The Institute for Water Resources has developed a data base to facilitate economic evaluation of channel deepening projects. After extensive research, data elements were selected from various federal agencies, industry and publications. These were integrated to provide a data base which allows analysis down to a ship movement level, complete with ship and voyage characteristics including vessel draft and commodities laden and unladen with their corresponding weights and values. The data base was tailored to personal computer (PC) usage through dBase III software. This allows for ease in data sorting and merging while allowing for conversion to Lotus 1-2-3 spread sheet displays and statistical analysis. By adapting the data to the PC the project manager has greater flexibility and control. The data base has been successfully used in economic evaluation to show existing traffic and statistics on tide riding and underkeel clearance.


The Greenland shark Somniosus microcephalus is the largest fish in Arctic waters and a significant predator that is likely numerous, but little is known about its movement patterns or habitat preferences. In June 2008 and 2009, 20 archival pop-off tags were deployed on Green- land sharks in coastal waters in Svalbard, Norway (~80° N), to address this knowledge gap. Over the period June to December, 14 of the tags reported data. The swimming depth of the sharks was 111 ± 74 m (mean ± SD), but they occupied waters from the surface down to a depth of at least 1560 m (the depth limit of the tags), which is the deepest confirmed record for this species. The sharks displayed a wide range of depths within each 6 h time bin collected by the tags, with no obvious diel movement pattern. They experienced temperatures from �1.5 to 7.4°C (mean ± SD = 3.8 ± 1.4°C). The average depth of swimming increased and temperatures experienced by the sharks decreased from June through December. Most individuals moved north from the tagging area, and travelled a range of distances during their variable deployment times, but most tags popped off <500 km from the tagging site. The average distance travelled varied from 0.6 to 16.6 km d �1 . Two sharks travelled 725 and 980 km, respectively, representing the most northerly (82.4° N) and easterly (40.8° E) locations documented for this species. The movements of the tagged sharks suggest that this species likely ranges broadly in northern waters and likely hunts throughout the water column in Arctic seas.


The purpose of the research described in this paper was to demonstrate that an old Danish multi-family building built in 1896 could be retrofitted to a "nearly-zero" energy building. Three types of retrofit measures were implemented in a "test" apartment to obtain practical experiences. The first measure was the installation of two different types of interior insulation, specifically, an insulation component consisting of an aerogel–stone wool mixture or vacuum insulation panels. The second measure related to the retrofit of windows in which five measures were completed that consisted of applying a secondary frame, a sash mounted on the frame or to coupled frames. The third measure consisted of installing a decentralised mechanical ventilation system with heat recovery. The results showed that following the retrofit the building's theoretical energy use diminished from 162.5 kWh/(m2 year) to 51.5 kWh/(m2 year), corresponding to a reduction in energy use of 68%. The theoretical energy use after retrofitting fulfilled the requirements for new buildings in Denmark. The practical experiences that were retained following the retrofit were that the ventilation system ought to be installed with low noise components, insulation materials must be sized and cut to fit on site, and that new windows were selected. © 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.


Orangutans, like the other great apes, build nests ever day. Nests probably serve to achieve the optimum combination of physical comfort, temperature, and safety against predators and parasites. The chapter describes the basic nest-building technique used by orangutans, and draws attention to various special additions to this basic design, whose presence varies geographically. When nesting during the day, orangutans are more likely to use existing nests, or rebuild existing ones, and when building a new nest, do so much faster than when nesting for the night. Orangutans readily build day nests in fruiting trees, but strongly avoid building night nests in them at most sites. Instead, they build their night nests in a selected range of species, which are often not the most frequently encountered in the forest. What features of the trees causes this striking selectivity remains unclear. Similarly, orangutans build their nests in a variety of structural positions in the tree, and there is no good explanation for the geographic variation in the distribution of positions found among sites.


Educational reform literature is filled with criticism of the omniscient tone that teachers and textbooks assume in history classrooms. Such widely acknowledged criticism often accompanies calls for more ambitious pedagogy. The focus on teachers and texts essentially ignores the ritualized and traditional deference that students afford to the authority of texts and teachers. Disturbing these rituals is essential for reform pedagogy to take root. However, we lack examples of successful classroom alternatives, namely descriptions of challenging history instruction that treats textbooks and teachers from within the discipline. This article provides such an example by considering activities that encourage students to question the omniscient tones of history text and teacher. Using my high school history classroom as a case study, I consider two questions: What might encourage students to raise disciplined suspicions of the typical sources of scholastic authority? Further, what might we learn about history instruction by trying to situate textbooks and teachers within the realm of historical inquiry—that is, making them the objects of students' historical study? The article suggests ways to narrow the gap between reform rhetoric and pedagogical predicament when confronting the classroom authority of text and teacher.


Warming temperatures caused by climate change have the potential to impact spawning phenology of temperate marine fish as some species have temperature-dependent gonadal development. Inter-annual variation in the timing of Atlantic cod (Gadus morhua) spawning in the northern North Sea, central North Sea and Irish Sea was estimated by calculating an annual peak roe month (PRM) from records of roe landings spanning the last three decades. A trend towards earlier PRM was found in all three regions, with estimates of shifts in PRM ranging from 0.9 to 2.4 weeks per decade. Temperatures experienced by cod during early vitellogenesis correlated negatively with PRM, suggesting that rising sea temperatures have contributed to a shift in spawning phenology. A concurrent reduction in the mean size of spawning females excluded the possibility that earlier spawning was due to a shift in size structure towards larger individuals, as large cod spawn earlier than smaller-sized individuals in the North Sea. Further research into the effects of climate change on the phenology of different trophic levels within the North Sea ecosystem should be undertaken to determine whether climate change-induced shifts in spawning phenology will result in a temporal mismatch between cod larvae and their planktonic prey.


A variety of powerful tools for the automated and semi-automated analysis of textual data are increasingly at the disposal of media and communication researchers. Among the assemblage of methods, the school of techniques known as topic modeling has recently attracted particular interest. What utility does one popular type of topic model, latent dirichlet allocation (LDA), have for media and communication research? This paper illustrates some distinct strengths and weaknesses of LDA. We first briefly introduce its conceptual foundations, along with a selection of studies from the social sciences that apply it to different types of content, from newspapers and scientific publications to literary texts and social media. We then present a case study of news coverage of the Syrian civil war. After describing our data, we turn to two facets of the results in particular: the relation of terms and topics and the proportions of topics in documents, aggregated into months. We make the case for contrastive (rather than descriptive) uses of topic modeling that build broader analyses on the initial output of a model, rather than concluding with a list of terms.


For a wireless sensor network (WSN) with a random number of sensors, we propose a decision fusion rule that uses the total number of detections reported by local sensors as a statistic for hypothesis testing. We assume that the signal power attenuates as a function of the distance from the target, the number of sensors follows a Poisson distribution, and the locations of sensors follow a uniform distribution within the region of interest (ROI). Both analytical and simulation results for system-level detection performance are provided. This fusion rule can achieve a very good system-level detection performance even at very low signal-to-noise ratio (SNR), as long as the average number of sensors is sufficiently large. For all the different system parameters we have explored, the proposed fusion rule is equivalent to the optimal fusion rule, which requires much more prior information. The problem of designing an optimum local sensor-level threshold is investigated. For various system parameters, the optimal thresholds are found numerically by maximizing the deflection coefficient. Guidelines on selecting the optimal local sensor-level threshold are also provided.


Hypoxic regions (areas of subnormal oxygen levels) are a common feature with solid tumours that have reached a size of 2-3 mm in diameter. Such regions have characteristically responded poorly to conventional anti-cancer treatments such as radiation or chemotherapeutics. It has been previously demonstrated that the specific targeting of these cells is possible with compounds of specific properties, such as tirapazamine.
This thesis describes an exploration of using transition metal complexes of cobalt(III) and copper(II) as hypoxia-selective prodrugs for use in cancer chemotherapy. The aim has been to use both the lowered pH and lowered oxygen levels found within hypoxic regions to activate prodrugs into their cytotoxic active form. Through doing this, the coordination chemistry of medicinally active N-oxide ligands has been expanded upon, including the first transition metal complexes of tirapazamine and the development of a novel series of heteroleptic complexes featuring an N-oxide and 2,2'-dipyridylamine ligand. The solution properties of the prepared complexes and their uncoordinated ligands have been studied so that their behaviour in biological systems can be better understood. The cobalt(III) heteroleptic complexes are shown to have promise for the purpose of improving delivery of N-oxide based drugs, improving their solubility and altering their delivery and release. The complex of a tirapazamine analogue [Co(tpz-CN)(dpHa)2]2+ was shown to release the cytotoxic N-oxide rapidly under hypoxic conditions, but promisingly, this dissociation appears to be hindered in the presence of oxygen. In vitro cytotoxicity studies on this complex showed it to have the same IC50 value as its N-oxide ligand, providing promise for the heteroleptic system as prodrugs.


The exfoliation of two dimensional (2D) oxides, established on the surface of specific liquid metals, has recently been introduced. One such liquid metal is molten tin, which forms a variety of surface 2D oxides. However, the development behaviour of these surface tin oxides is still unknown. Here the evolution of stoichiometry and thickness from single-layer SnO to highly oxidised multi-layer SnO2 in ambient oxygen is explored.

publisher-specific, author manuscript: http://rsc.li/journals-terms-of-use


In this study, self-consolidating concrete (SCC) was evaluated in drilled shafts and the integrity of drilled shafts was determined using cross-hole sonic logging (CSL), a low-strain nondestructive integrity testing technique. SCC has very high flowability. It was placed in the drilled shafts of the bridge on Route 28 over Broad Run in Bristow in Prince William County, Virginia. There were two bridges at the site; the one carrying the northbound traffic had drilled shafts using conventional concrete with high consistency (i.e., flowability). Half of the shafts of the bridge carrying the southbound traffic were cast with SCC. During placement, properties of the fresh concrete were tested and specimens were prepared to determine the hardened properties. The integrity of the shafts within the reinforcing cage was determined using CSL, with sonic echo/impulse response also used to evaluate several test shafts. The use of acousto-ultrasonic (AU) measurements to determine the cover depth outside the reinforcing cage was also evaluated during laboratory testing. In addition to the Route 28 shafts, three test shafts with conventional and SCC concretes were cast in an area headquarters. These shafts had intentional voids created through the use of sand bags and Styrofoam to investigate further the ability of the nondestructive test equipment. The results indicated that SCC is highly desirable for drilled shafts; it flows easily, filling the hole, and the removal of the temporary casing is facilitated by this highly workable material. CSL is a satisfactory nondestructive method to determine the integrity of shafts. Sonic echo/impulse response also showed promise as a method that complements CSL for determining the integrity of a shaft.


Many investments involve both a long time horizon and risky returns. Making investment decisions thus requires assumptions about time and risk preferences. Such assumptions are frequently contested, particularly in the public sector, and there is no immediate prospect of universal agreement. Motivated by these observations, we develop a theory and method of finding "spaces for agreement." These are combinations of classes of discount and utility function, for which one investment dominates another (or "almost" does so), so that all those whose preferences can be represented by such combinations would agree on the option to choose. The theory combines the insights of stochastic dominance and time dominance and offers a nonparametric approach to intertemporal, risky choice. We then apply the theory to climate change and show using a popular simulation model that even tough carbon emissions targets would be chosen by almost everyone, barring those with arguably "extreme" preferences.


Research into renewable energy is an active field of research, with photovoltaic and wind being the most representative technologies. A promising renewable energy source is Ocean Thermal Energy Conversion (OTEC), based on the temperature gradient of seawater. This technology has two contradictory features, as its efficiency is relatively low while, on the other hand, its energy source is almost unlimited. OTEC research has focused on optimizing energy extraction, with different techniques having been used for this purpose. This article presents a review of the advances and applications of OTEC technology around the world. Throughout the document, the different uses of deep seawater are analyzed; further, the current systems which generate energy through the marine temperature gradient are reviewed, and the main advantages and disadvantages of each method are highlighted. The technical operations, construction variations, and the projects that have been developed around the world and those which are in the planning phase are also detailed. The two main conclusions are that this technology is still under development, but it is quite promising, especially for regions with little access to drinking water. Second, given the high implementation costs and low conversion efficiency, the development of this technology must be sponsored by governments.


Journalism education in the UK has experienced a pattern of explosive growth since the 1970s without agreement over the range and scope of the subject as an academic discipline. Taught mainly by journalists who move into academia later in life, alongside skills of reporting and knowledge of law and public affairs, students can be required to develop complex sets of qualities, skills, behaviours and dispositions without detailed consideration of the attributes and behaviours they may involve. Driven by a mistrust of the critical approach of media studies to the practices of the occupation, academic qualifications are still viewed with suspicion by some practitioners who consider an aptitude for journalism temperamental and innate rather than a set of behaviours that can be taught. This action research project critically integrates academic literature on journalism and higher education with primary data from interviews conducted with a newspaper editor, two academics and a focus group of students. Data gathered suggests that a university education can develop qualities and behaviours such as curiosity, scepticism, tenacity and "news sense" through appropriate tuition by academics with professional experience and exercises that mimic the workplace experience. It identifies a role for journalism education in extending knowledge beyond the subject area and the increasing importance of ethics. Forms of tacit knowledge within the occupation are identified and incorporated into a model of skills, knowledge and qualities required of a good journalist and the dispositions and predispositions that underpin them in order to illuminate, facilitate and develop journalism education and promote further discussion among academics and practitioners about the value of higher education in journalism.


Objectives To evaluate the effectiveness of the Community-based Hypertension Improvement Project (ComHIP) in increasing hypertension control. Setting Lower Manya Krobo, Eastern Region, Ghana. Participants All adult hypertensive community members, except pregnant women, were eligible for inclusion in the study. We enrolled 1339 participants, 69% of whom were female. A total of 552 had a 6-month visit, and 338 had a 12-month visit. Interventions We report on a package of interventions where community-based cardiovascular disease (CVD) nurses were trained by FHI 360. CVD nurses confirmed diagnoses of known hypertensives and newly screened individuals. Participants were treated according to the clinical guidelines established through the project's Technical Steering Committee. Patients received three types of reminder and adherence messages. We used CommCare, a cloud-based system, as a case management and referral tool. Primary outcome Hypertension control defined as blood pressure (BP) under 140/90 mm Hg. Secondary outcomes: changes in BP and knowledge of risk factors for hypertension. Results After 1 year of intervention, 72% (95% CI: 67% to 77%) of participants had their hypertension under control. Systolic BP was reduced by 12.2 mm Hg (95% CI: 14.4 to 10.1) and diastolic BP by 7.5 mm Hg (95% CI: 9.9 to 6.1). Due to low retention, we were unable to look at knowledge of risk factors. Factors associated with remaining in the programme for 12 months included education, older age, hypertension under control at enrolment and enrolment date. The majority of patients who remained in the programme were on treatment, with two-thirds taking at least two medications. Conclusions Patients retained in ComHIP had increased BP control. However, high loss to follow-up limits potential public health impact of these types of programmes. To minimise the impact of externalities, programmes should include standard procedures and backup systems to maximise the possibility that patients stay in the programme.


This thesis takes in to account mainly the cooperative design and human factors from ubiquitous computing design perspective. Areas such as role of cooperative design in ubiquitous computing perspective, the changing attributes of society and the associated issues, the changing shape of public service delivery and need for a change in methodology in ubiquitous computing projects have been discussed. The overall approach is taking advantage of Suchman's idea of 'design as an artful integration of different social as well as technical aspects'. The advantage of the technique has been taken by bringing together social and societal aspects, agenda of governments from IT perspective, human factors and purely designs methodology to frame up in which we need to re-assess ubiquitous computing design methodology. The thesis work comprises literature review, and a case study to pick up on the role of cooperative and participatory design. The probe was specifically in the context of ubiquitous computing design requirements and ubiquitous computing vision


This paper presents a novel application of gamification for collecting high-level design descriptions of objects. High-level design descriptions entail not only superficial characteristics of an object, but also function, behavior, and requirement information of the object. Such information is difficult to obtain with traditional data mining techniques. For acquisition of high-level design information, we investigated a multiplayer game, "Who is the Pretender?" in an offline context. Through a user study, we demonstrate that the game offers a more fun, enjoyable, and engaging experience for providing descriptions of objects than simply asking people to list them. We also show that the game elicits more high-level, problem-oriented requirement descriptions and less low-level, solution-oriented structure descriptions due to the unique game mechanics that encourage players to describe objects at an abstract level. Finally, we present how crowdsourcing can be used to generate game content that facilitates the gameplay. Our work contributes towards acquiring high-level design knowledge that is essential for developing knowledge-based CAD systems.Copyright © 2015 by ASME


We present the first algorithm for constructing 3D vector fields based on their topological skeleton. The skeleton itself is modeled by interactively moving a number of control polygons. Then a piecewise linear vector field is automatically constructed which has the same topological skeleton as modeled before. This approach is based on a complete segmentation of the areas around critical points into sectors of different flow behavior. Based on this, we present the first approach to visualizing higher order critical points of 3D vector fields.


Something has changed in the modern system of American criminal conspiracy law compared to its prior iterations. This article explores that change, arguing that the system of modern criminal conspiracy now gives to the government such great discretion to charge and prove a conspiracy that unpopular ideas and the speech that expresses them have become ready subjects of prosecution.At its center, this article defines the system of modern conspiracy law, which is one of uniformity rather than dynamism. Where dynamic systems of law contain distinct components that perform different tasks (proving actus reus and mens rea, for example), the uniform system of conspiracy law permits virtually all types of evidence to be admitted to prove all of conspiracy's elements, with almost nonexistent evidentiary and constitutional rules to limit this admission. The result is elision of important normative, constitutional, and evidentiary rules designed to ensure both outcome reliability and individuals' rights.This article provides a history of conspiracy law that illustrates the law's qualitative and quantitative expansion toward its modern iteration. That history begins in 1285 England, when conspiracy was limited to agreements to falsely prosecute another and could be charged only where the victim was in fact prosecuted and acquitted. I call this type of conspiracy specific and consequentialist. During its subsequent evolution, the law became what I call general in that it applied to agreements to commit any crime whatsoever and deontological because the substantive target crime no longer had to have been achieved — the conspiracy itself became unmoored from its factual context and a crime. The 18th and 19th century Hawkins and Denman doctrines introduced a moral aspect to conspiracy — condemning agreements that aimed at "wrongful" conduct as much as criminal conduct. The ultimate result was the uniform system of modern conspiracy.This article also provides four normative reforms that respond to conspiracy's systemic uniformity. These reforms are grounded in extant law on conspiracy, treason, and, because speech is the primary type of proof, First Amendment law. These reforms are meant to create dynamism in the system, which should serve both accurate outcomes and defendants' rights.It is important to understand the current system of criminal conspiracy both because of its pervasive use in prosecutions and the growing consensus that the law targets unpopular ideas and speech and produces erroneous outcomes. Now more than ever, reforms to the system of criminal conspiracy are necessary to ensure a legitimate criminal justice system that protects individual rights and ensures reliable outcomes.


Does the quest for best execution on behalf of large institutional orders boil down to optimizing the short-term momentum during their trading? We clip the trades originating from buy-side clients' orders into 5- and 30-minute clusters and find that (1) mostly favorable short-term returns experienced by clients' fills are counterbalanced by adverse returns when executions of parent orders in progress are postponed; (2) although cost curve heuristics for short and longer horizon clusters are mostly alive and well, the "identical twins" positive cost-return relation over longer horizons tends to break down because of adverse selection dominating executions in shorter intervals; and (3) the nature and strength of the cost-return link vary with liquidity, duration, and type of trading intervals. The distinct "signature" patterns behind price trajectories around child order executions vary systematically by spread capture and the algorithmic strategy in place. Multiresolution time frames, trading/nontrading interval taxonomy, and other methodological tools have practical implications for posttrade modeling and transaction cost analytics. TOPICS: Performance measurement, quantitative methods Key Findings • Significant price impact occurs in intervals without own trading. • In contrast to traditional transaction cost analytics at parent order level, no "identical twins" relation between slippage cost and signed returns is found in granular fixed duration (5-minute) intervals. • Although traditional "cost curve" heuristics are (mostly) alive and well, multiple timeframe analytics (full-day, 30-minute, 5-minute, tick-level) and signature price profiles bring new insights into algorithmic trading behavior.


Conventional new buildings in OECD countries with a history of building codes save about 50 % of energy compared to average buildings in the building stock. This improvement, however, is not enough to create a building standard with low lifetime costs nor to reach long-term climate protection targets. Much higher energy savings can already be achieved through proven high-efficiency building concepts bringing net economic benefits among other advantages.
A strategic approach to integrated building design is the key to achieving these high-energy savings at low or no extra cost in residential buildings. In our paper we describe the "Easy Efficiency Approach", which can reduce primary energy consumption by 40 to 60 % compared to conventional new building standards, or by 70% to 80% when compared to the primary energy consumption of the existing building stock, and should be regarded as the minimum. This strategy focuses on low-cost options, mainly passive options. Although it can already significantly reduce energy consumption, this first step will not be sufficient to reach long-term climate protection goals. It is thus necessary to implement and support what we call an "Advanced Efficiency Approach", with savings up to 90% , as compared to new building standards, as soon as possible to avoid lock-in effects. Further improvements, especially through the active use of renewable energies, reduce the net primary energy demand to 0 % and beyond.
According to the chosen strategy clearly defined energy performance ranges, with reference to possible savings, for different climate zones worldwide are given. In verifying this approach simulations with BAT (Best Available Technologies) buildings of different types (single family, multi family, high rise) were carried out in close cooperation with project partners. This data has also been verified through an empirical database of built examples both for energy consumption as well their economic soundness.


The ongoing historic outbreak of COVID-19 not only constitutes a global public health crisis, but also carries a devastating social and economic impact. The disease is caused by a newly identified coronavirus, Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). There is an urgent need to identify antivirals to curtail the COVID-19 pandemic. Herein, we report the remarkable sensitivity of SARS-CoV-2 to recombinant human interferons α and β (IFNα/β). Treatment with IFN-α at a concentration of 50 international units (IU) per milliliter drastically reduces viral titers by 3.4 log or over 4 log, respectively, in Vero cells. The EC50 of IFN-α and IFN-β treatment is 1.35 IU/ml and 0.76 IU/ml, respectively, in Vero cells. These results suggest that SARS-CoV-2 is more sensitive than many other human pathogenic viruses, including SARS-CoV. Overall, our results demonstrate the potent efficacy of human Type I IFN in suppressing SARS-CoV-2 infection, a finding which could inform future treatment options for COVID-19.


Abstract. Small tidal inlets are important features of coastal areas, in terms of provision of access from a back barrier water-body to the ocean as well as periodic circulation of fresh nutrients for the local ecology. Usually, dimensional and geometrical characteristics contribute significantly to morphological stability or instability of a particular inlet and necessitate an individual investigation of any desired location. In other words, generalized usage of previous empirical and experimental research of a different position can hardly be used for other places. In this regard, one of the powerful tools to understand the physical processes of a particular region is to collect as much field data as possible. Such a dataset is used to further analyse and explore the governing processes and can also be used for building a numerical computer model for supplementary studies. In this research, the results of a comprehensive field measurement at Currumbin Creek, Queensland, Australia are presented. This study is part of broader research to investigate the long term evolution of the Currumbin entrance and its adjacent beaches. Currently, an annual dredging campaign is needed to reduce the risk of flooding due to excess rainfall inundations and to maintain water quality. The majority of data were collected over a three month period consistent with the time of the 2012 dredging operation. However, due to the loss of some instrumentation, data collection for some of the parameters was repeated till the middle of May 2013. All collected data included: (1) nearshore waves and tide; (2) creek tidal variation; (3) creek flow discharge and velocity; (4) bathymetric survey of the creek; (5) beach profile evolution survey; and (6) sediment sampling. The measurement showed that the creek entrance is tidally dominated, with flood events having a major role in sediment transport into the creek. The nearshore stations' wave data illustrated the marginal effect of the beach curvature between updrift and downdrift stations. Thus, the historical dataset available from the updrift wave rider buoy will be selected to be used for future numerical modelling. Although changes of some beach profiles were comparatively insignificant, the dramatic changes of the profile lines nearby the inlet channel and also rapid bathymetric change of the flood shoal following the dredging completion are valuable information to better calibrate and interpret a local sediment modelling study for the next phase. Essentially, this evaluation needs to be considered for proposing any alternative maintenance activities.


One cornerstone of current attempts to reform the German public health care system by introducing private insurance schemes is the assumption that economic incentives play an important role in individual decision-making about using medical help. This hypothesis is examined for the case of demand for hospital care which covers the largest part of public insurance expenditures. The paper applies various methods for count data analysis of the frequency of hospital trips. Contrary to comparative studies for other countries, we find that there is no significant impact of insurance schemes on hospitalization. Therefore, the current efforts to reduce expenditures by relying on consumer behavior are unlikely to work.


Hydrodynamic models of seawater quality are multifactorial. In addition to depending on environmental and meteorological parameters, they are very sensitive to the parameterizastion of bacteriological input data, such as polluant load, flow rate, temperature and nature of the effluent. In order to simulate the impact of bacteriological pollution on water quality, a knowledge of these data is essential. Nevertheless, their acquisition is complex because the discharges into the natural environment are usually accidental. In Nice, the general wastewater collector is annually maintained. During this event, the effluents usually collected are discharged into the bay of Nice, via dozen of urban outfalls spread over 4.5km of beach. This paper deals with the numerical modeling of this event. The model used is based on Reynolds-Averaged Navier-Stokes' equations for the calculation of the velocities and water depth (TELEMAC3D). The domain of the model extends from the cape of Nice (East side) to the airport (West side) covering all the beaches. In addition, a measurement campaign was implemented. Sampling at sea and in network was carried out at strategic positions and at regular intervals in order to know the pollution loads of effluents and sea water. These data have been used to establish the performance of the model to simulate a bacteriological pollution at sea. Finally, calibration work has been conducted in order to optimize the computing time of simulations. This last point answer to a strong demand from public authorities who are interested in antipicipating the evolution of pollution in order to control its consequences and provide an effective operational responsens. SimHydro 2021: Decision Support System and models: concepts, design, challenges, implementation and operation 16-18 June 2021, Sophia Antipolis – LARRAUN. et. Al. Three-dimensional simulation of bacterial pollution in Nice Bay for operational applications