Solitary felids are commonly associated with structurally complex habitats, where their foraging success is attributed to stealth and remaining undetected by competitive scavengers. Research in North America suggests that pumas (Puma concolor), a wide-ranging species found throughout the Americas, conform to the general characteristics of solitary felids and avoid open grasslands with aggregating prey. Researchers hypothesize that pumas are limited to structurally complex habitats in North America because of pressures from other large, terrestrial competitors. We explored the spatial ecology of pumas in open habitat with aggregating prey in Chilean Patagonia, where pumas lack large, terrestrial competitors. We tracked 11 pumas over 30 months (intensive location data for 9 pumas with GPS collars for 9.33 ± 5.66 months each) in an area where mixed steppe grasslands composed 53% of the study area and carried 98% of available prey biomass, to track resource use relative to availability, assess daily movements, quantify home ranges and calculate their density. As determined by location data and kill sites, Patagonia pumas were primarily associated with open habitats with high prey biomass, but at finer scales, preferentially selected for habitat with complex structure. On average, pumas traveled 13.42 ± 2.50 km per day. Estimated 95% fixed kernel home ranges averaged 98 ± 31.8 km2 for females and 211 ± 138.8 km2 for males, with high spatial overlap within and between the sexes. In a multivariate analysis, available prey biomass was the strongest predictor of variation in the size of an individual puma's home range. Finally, we determined a total puma density of 3.44 pumas/100 km2, a significantly smaller estimate than previously reported for densi sellsc Patagonia, but similar to


Abstract: The literature on hybridity primarily examines nongovernmental organizations and explores how they acquire hybrid forms and behaviors as a consequence of shifts in policy. The activities of government in these policy changes receive less attention. This article aims to help address this gap through the capturing and theorizing of the role played by government boards at the local level in enacting national policy on hybridization processes within public services. The UK health sector is used as the context for this research as it has been subject to a marketization policy designed to allow local health boards to divest their community health services, which has resulted in the creation of new hybrid organizations. A framework is used that draws on governance theory to conceptualize board actions during these processes. The findings of the case study show a board using a stewardship model of governance, which manifests itself through the exclusion of other stakeholders, such as employees, from making decision about divestiture. However, the board is also shown to offer the prospect of a very different model of governance within the new organization that can more readily be identified as a stakeholder participation model. This case study extends the theory of hybridization by analyzing a governmental context in which a combination of both techniques was deemed necessary. This necessity arises because key stakeholders, such as employees and trade unions, are broadly against these changes and their enactment. Therefore, the sole employment of coercion would be unlikely to succeed in securing employee commitment once hybridization had taken place, hence, incentives are needed, too.


This chapter discusses teaching based upon pupils' previous knowledge. As the world becomes more and more globalised, it is harder and harder for a teacher to form a picture of the pupils' knowledge when planning instruction. However, without this information about pupils, it is impossible to know if the created learning situations are conducive to learning or if the pupils had already acquired knowledge about the learning object before the learning situation. In this study pupils' previous knowledge is investigated in relation to how English as a Second Language is learnt when pupils have different mother tongues. In a phenomenographic study we found that pupils with three different mother tongues, when placed in the same learning situation, made errors which could be traced back to the structure of their mother tongue. This observation led to a learning study, in which variation theory was the theoretical point of departure, and in which three different research lessons with three different groups of pupils were carried out. The learning object was dependent possessives, and the pupils' mother tongue was Swedish. As there is no differentiation between independent and dependent possessives in Swedish, the pupils could not discern the difference between these two forms. As Swedish has a differentiation between t- and n-gender, the puils wrongly assumed that the difference between my and mine was not connected to dependent and independent possessives but to gender. The results of our study show how teachers who are familiar with the pupils' previous knowledge (mother tongue) can become aware of what mistakes they might make as ESL learners; this knowledge has a profound effect on instruction. In this way, teachers can also predict and plan what information is needed to develop learning situations which provide maximum opportunity to learn. They also understand what kinds of critical aspects are necessary to enable pupils to discern. As a result, teachers are more effective, which is reflected in better pupil results in the classroom.


1. Spatial patterns of recruitment were compared between populations of the rocky shore barnacles (Crustacea: Cirripedia) Semibalanus balanoides, an obligate cross-fertilizer, and Chthamalus montagui, which can self-fertilize. We tested the hypothesis that recruitment depends on a behaviourally mediated interaction at settlement between the effects of adult background density and adult spacing, which limit free space for settlement and mating opportunities, respectively. Recruitment to patches of cleared rock (10- or 30-cm diameter) was compared between replicate shores with background densities of adult barnacles classed as low (?20 per 25 cm2) and high (>4× low). Replicate patches were cleared of all barnacles surrounding a remnant cluster, comprising 0, 1, 2, 4, 8, 16 or 32 adults. 2. For S. balanoides, settlement and subsequent recruitment over 5 months varied in direct proportion to remnant cluster size, except on the shore with the highest background density where recruitment was inversely proportional to cluster size. We interpret this inversion to indicate attraction to potential mates at low adult densities (positive density dependence, an Allee effect) switching to attraction to free space at high density (negative density dependence). The strengths and slopes of the regressions increased from shores with the lowest to the highest overall recruitment of barnacles, but retained significance over a five-fold range in recruitment. Positive effects of cluster size on recruitment were consistent between consecutive years, despite considerable variation in recruitment densities. In contrast, recruitment of C. montagui was generally more weakly proportional to cluster size, except for a strong positive correlation at the shore with the highest recruitment. 3. Dispersion of recruits within treatment patches was accurately modelled by a computer simulation that allowed each barnacle to settle at random between fixed minimum and maximum distances from the nearest other settled barnacle. The model estimated threshold distances by maximum likelihood fit to observed recruitment into concentric annuli around the central adult cluster. Upper thresholds of separation corresponded to penis length for 65% of S. balanoides and 42% of C. montagui patches. Lower thresholds were ?2× cyprid length for 75% of S. balanoides patches, but were larger than this for C. montagui patches.


Transient polymer links are better Very long polymer molecules elongate in shearing flows. This ordering of the chains lowers the viscosity of small-molecule solvents. The chains also reduce the dangers of misting during explosive spreading of the solvents. However, the long polymer chains degrade during normal fuel handling and clog pumping equipment. Wei et al. used telechelic polymers—short chains with reactive end groups—to form extremely long chains in organic solvents (see the Perspective by Jaffe and Allam). These reformable polymers offer the potential for better fuel safety without the drawbacks of covalently bonded long-chain polymers. Science, this issue p. 72; see also p. 32 Very-long-chain polymers that form through hydrogen bonding may improve fuel safety. [Also see Perspective by Jaffe and Allam] We used statistical mechanics to design polymers that defy conventional wisdom by self-assembling into "megasupramolecules" (≥5000 kg/mol) at low concentration (≤0.3 weight percent). Theoretical treatment of the distribution of individual subunits—end-functional polymers—among cyclic and linear supramolecules (ring-chain equilibrium) predicts that megasupramolecules can form at low total polymer concentration if, and only if, the backbones are long (>400 kg/mol) and end-association strength is optimal. Viscometry and scattering measurements of long telechelic polymers having polycyclooctadiene backbones and acid or amine end groups verify the formation of megasupramolecules. They control misting and reduce drag in the same manner as ultralong covalent polymers. With individual building blocks short enough to avoid hydrodynamic chain scission (weight-average molecular weights of 400 to 1000 kg/mol) and reversible linkages that protect covalent bonds, these megasupramolecules overcome the obstacles of shear degradation and engine incompatibility.


The review gives an overview on the relation between obesity and n-CoV disease A review has been done to understand the correlation of obesity with the n-CoV disease by retrieving a maximum of related articles from various search engines like PubMed, Google Scholar, MeSH, Core, Cochrane, bioRxiv, Semantic scholar and so on published from 2000 to 2020 (till date) Obesity is associated with SARS-CoV-2 which enhances inflammatory response in obese people compared to actual standard BMIs Obesity is often specifically related to producing inflammation by triggering a cytokine storm in the lungs, which raises the likelihood of ARDS, thereby requiring respiratory assistance for the main issue Obesity can hinder breathing by hampering the excursion of the diaphragm, inhibit immune responses to critical infection, it is pro-inflammatory and triggers diabetes and even oxidizing tension to worsen cardiovascular activity This study indicates that obese people through respiratory viruses COVID19 are more likely to be hospitalized comparatively The implementation of novel ideas on obesity control of ailments will certainly bring about a massive change Constraining less dependence on recent literature in this area and also upgrading numerous research to increase consciousness among the general public so that they may take measures not to be vulnerable to COVID 19 The current research has shown a strong incidence of obesity in patients participating in medical treatment with SARS-CoV-2 Obesity can be hazard factored to SARS-CoV-2 severity which needs increased attention in susceptible individuals to take preventive measures © 2020 Ubiquity Press All rights reserved


The perception of infant emotionality, one aspect of temperament, starts to form in infancy, yet the underlying mechanisms of how infant emotionality affects adult neural dynamics remain unclear. We used a social reward task with probabilistic visual and auditory feedback (infant laughter or crying) to train 47 nulliparous women to perceive the emotional style of six different infants. Using functional neuroimaging, we subsequently measured brain activity while participants were tested on the learned emotionality of the six infants. We characterized the elicited patterns of dynamic functional brain connectivity using Leading Eigenvector Dynamics Analysis and found significant activity in a brain network linking the orbitofrontal cortex with the amygdala and hippocampus, where the probability of occurrence significantly correlated with the valence of the learned infant emotional disposition. In other words, seeing infants with neutral face expressions after having interacted and learned their various degrees of positive and negative emotional dispositions proportionally increased the activity in a brain network previously shown to be involved in pleasure, emotion, and memory. These findings provide novel neuroimaging insights into how the perception of happy versus sad infant emotionality shapes adult brain networks.


The tumor suppressor Rb promotes apoptosis through a transcription-independent mechanism. The tumor suppressor retinoblastoma (Rb) is a transcriptional coregulator that inhibits cell cycle progression and promotes expression of proapoptotic genes. Hilgendorf et al. found that Rb also functions at mitochondria to promote apoptosis. Using immortalized rat fibroblasts and primary human IMR90 fibroblasts, the authors demonstrated that overexpression of Rb enhanced cell death in response to tumor necrosis factor–α (TNF-α), even in the presence of the protein translation inhibitor cycloheximide, and that knocking down endogenous Rb reduced TNF-α–induced cell death. The ability of Rb to mediate cell death in mouse embryonic fibroblasts required the proapoptotic protein Bax, which promotes permeabilization of the outer mitochrondrial membrane. Like Bax, Rb was present in the outer mitochondrial membrane fraction of lysates from mouse livers. Experiments in cultured cells and with liposomes were consistent with Rb promoting the membrane permeabilization activity of Bax. Bax and Rb coimmunoprecipitated from IMR90 cell lysates, and in vitro binding assays indicated that Rb interacted directly with Bax and promoted its conversion into its active conformation. Transgenic expression of an engineered form of Rb that localized exclusively to mitochondria inhibited the growth of Rb–/–;p53–/– osteosarcoma xenografts in mice. This nontranscriptional role for Rb is similar to that of p53, which is a transcription factor that also promotes apoptosis through a nontranscriptional mechanism at mitochondria. In related commentary, Attardi and Sage consider these findings in the context of the history of Rb research. K. I. Hilgendorf, E. S. Leshchiner, S. Nedelcu, M. A. Maynard, E. Calo, A. Ianari, L. D. Walensky, J. A. Lees, The retinoblastoma protein induces apoptosis directly at the mitochondria. Genes Dev. 27, 1003–1015 (2013). [Abstract] [Full Text] L. D. Attardi, J. Sage, RB goes mitochondrial. Genes Dev. 27, 975–979 (2013). [Abstract] [Full Text]


BACKGROUND
A number of typical complications have been associated with Keller resection arthroplasty. Recurrent valgus deformity, cock-up deformity, and a flail toe may be difficult problems for the treating surgeon because options for salvage are limited. In this study, we evaluated arthrodesis of the first metatarsophalangeal joint as a salvage technique following a failed Keller procedure. In addition, the outcomes of motion-preserving procedures were reviewed in a separate series.

METHODS
Arthrodesis of the first metatarsophalangeal joint was performed in twenty-eight patients (twenty-nine feet, group A), and either a repeat Keller procedure or an isolated soft-tissue release was performed in eighteen patients (twenty-one feet, group B). The patients were evaluated at least twenty-four months postoperatively, with a personal interview and a clinical examination with use of a modification of the hallux metatarsal-interphalangeal scale. Radiographs were also made for the group treated with the arthrodesis.

RESULTS
In group A, the average duration of follow-up was thirty-six months and fusion was achieved in twenty-six of the twenty-nine feet. Satisfaction was excellent or good in twenty-three cases, and the postoperative score according to the modified hallux metatarsal-interphalangeal scale averaged 76 points (maximum, 90 points). A repeat arthrodesis was necessary in five feet because of malposition or pseudarthrosis. In group B, the average duration of follow-up was seventy-four months. Satisfaction was excellent or good in only six cases, and the patient was dissatisfied in eleven cases. The score according to the modified hallux metatarsal-interphalangeal scale averaged 48 points. Valgus deviation and cock-up deformity had recurred in the majority of the feet at the time of follow-up.

CONCLUSIONS
Although it is more technically demanding, we recommend arthrodesis for salvage following a failed Keller procedure since it may be associated with a higher rate of patient satisfaction and better clinical results.


Extended steep-spectrum radio emission in a galaxy cluster is usually associated with a recent merger. However, given the complex scenario of galaxy cluster mergers, many of the discovered sources hardly fit into the strict boundaries of a precise taxonomy. This is especially true for radio phoenixes that do not have very well defined observational criteria. Radio phoenixes are aged radio galaxy lobes whose emission is reactivated by compression or other mechanisms. Here, we present the detection of a radio phoenix close to the moment of its formation. The source is located in Abell 1033, a peculiar galaxy cluster which underwent a recent merger. To support our claim, we present unpublished Westerbork Synthesis Radio Telescope and Chandra observations together with archival data from the Very Large Array and the Sloan Digital Sky Survey. We discover the presence of two sub-clusters displaced along the N-S direction. The two sub-clusters probably underwent a recent merger which is the cause of a moderately perturbed X-ray brightness distribution. A steep-spectrum extended radio source very close to an AGN is proposed to be a newly born radio phoenix: the AGN lobes have been displaced/compressed by shocks formed during the merger event. This scenario explains the source location, morphology, spectral index, and brightness. Finally, we show evidence of a density discontinuity close to the radio phoenix and discuss the consequences of its presence.


With the increasing trend of mobility of the human population, vehicles have to face the problem of primary energy resources scarcity. The vehicles need higher efficiency and better adaptation to the alternative energy sources. The need to improve the efficiency of the vehicle energy system motivates to search for innovative solutions during the design process. The main design criteria for modern sustainable development of vehicle powertrain are the high energy efficiency of the conversion system, the competitive cost and the lowest possible environmental impacts. These objectives are most of the time antagonistic. To cope with this challenge the automotive engineers need a structured optimization methodology. A multi-objective optimization methodology is being applied as search for the best powertrain design solutions. This kind of approach named "multi-objectives optimization" is based on genetic algorithms, which are based on the process of natural selection. An innovative decision- making methodology, using this optimization technic is currently under development at PSA Peugeot Citroen. The idea is to obtain simultaneously a population of possible design solutions corresponding to the most efficient energy system definition for a vehicle. These solutions are optimal from a technical, economic and environmental point of view. In this article the methodology is applied on a hybrid electric vehicle study in order to define the powertrain configuration of the vehicle, estimate the cost of the powertrain equipment and show the environmental impact of the technical choices on the lifecycle perspective of the vehicle. For that a physical model of a hybrid electric vehicle is made. This model is coupled with a cost model for the vehicle and life cycle assessment (LCA) technics are used for the environmental assessment. After multi-objective optimization, the outcoming solutions from the Pareto frontiers curve are analysed.


Abstract Tryptanthrin and (E,Z)-3-(4-hydroxy-3,5-dimethoxybenzylidene)indolinone (indolinone) were recently isolated from Isatis tinctoria as potent anti-inflammatory and antiallergic alkaloids, and shown to inhibit COX-2, 5-LOX catalyzed leukotriene synthesis, and mast cell degranulation at low µM to nM concentrations. To assess their suitability for oral administration, we screened the compounds in an in vitro intestinal permeability assay using human colonic adenocarcinoma cells. For exact quantification of the compounds, validated UPLC-MS/MS methods were used. Tryptanthrin displayed high permeability (apparent permeability coefficient > 32.0 × 10−6 cm/s) across the cell monolayer. The efflux ratio below 2 (< 1.12) and unchanged apparent permeability coefficient values in the presence of the P-glycoprotein inhibitor verapamil (50 µM) indicated that tryptanthrin was not involved in P-glycoprotein interactions. For indolinone, a low recovery was found in the human colon adenocarcinoma cell assay. High-resolution mass spectrometry pointed to extensive phase II metabolism of indolinone (sulfation and glucuronidation). Possible cardiotoxic liability of the compounds was assessed in vitro by measurement of an inhibitory effect on human ether-a-go-go-related gene tail currents in stably transfected HEK 293 cells using the patch clamp technique. Low human ether-a-go-go-related gene inhibition was found for tryptanthrin (IC50 > 10 µM) and indolinone (IC50 of 24.96 µM). The analysis of compounds using various in silico methods confirmed favorable pharmacokinetic properties, as well as a slight inhibition of the human ether-a-go-go-related gene potassium channel at micromolar concentrations.


Jordan is a rich country with natural resources. Silica sand is considered as one of these resources. Composites in which Jordanian silica sand is used as a reinforcement can be manufactured to improve the properties of polymers. In this work, Bakelite was taken as a matrix material. To study how the properties of this new material can be controlled, it was decided to study the variables that may affect these properties. In this study, the effect of the processing parameters such as applied load and cooling rate, and their interaction with the material parameters such as particle size and reinforcement content on the compressive load capacity of the manufactured composite were investigated. It was found that a higher compressive load capacity can be achieved with the increase of the applied load during manufacturing, the increase of the content of the reinforcement, and the increase of the particle size. The effect of the cooling rate depended on the sand content. For example, samples of low sand content (5 and 25%) showed no significant effect. In contrast, samples of high sand content (35 and 50%) showed that the higher the sand content, the lower the strength is.


Knowledge of the behavioural ecology of a species is important for the development of
conservation initiatives. With an understanding of how behaviour has evolved under
given environmental and phylogenic constraints, it is possible to predict the response of
a population to novel circumstances such as anthropogenic disturbance. Little is known
about many aspects of the behaviour of dugongs (Dugong dugon). This species is
difficult to observe as dugongs are benthic feeders, usually occurring in turbid waters.
They tend to be wary of boats or divers and individuals cannot easily be distinguished.
As dugongs occur in shallow, coastal waters, they are particularly vulnerable to human
impacts; however, these impacts have not previously been quantified through direct
observations of dugong behaviour.
To overcome the difficulties in observing dugongs, I developed a blimp-cam, which
allowed me to video dugongs from a blimp tethered to my research vessel. The use of
the blimp-cam was facilitated by selecting Moreton Bay, Queensland, as my study site,
where dugongs are readily located in clear, shallow waters. I used this technology to
obtain baseline information about dugong behaviour, and investigated the function of
the large herds persistently formed by dugongs in Moreton Bay. I then observed the
response of dugongs to boats and pingers (acoustic alarms used on fishing nets to
reduce marine mammal bycatch) to determine the risk of boat strikes and effects of
disturbance from these two sound sources.
At a height of 50m the blimp-cam provided an overhead view of dugongs at water
depths of up to 4m, and distances of up to 200 m via a monitor on board the research
vessel. Using a remote control, I could scan large herds of dugongs or continually
observe individuals. Through focal follows of individual dugongs I developed an
ethogram and a daily time budget for dugongs in Moreton Bay.
Dugongs spent most of their time feeding (41%), travelling (32%), and surfacing
(ascending to, and descending from, surface, 18%), and relatively little time resting
(7%), socialising (6%) or rolling (1%). Environmental variables accounted for little of
the variability in the proportion of time dugongs spent in each behavioural category.
Time budgets did not differ significantly between single individuals and mothers with calves. However, mothers spent significantly more time feeding and surfacing, and less
time travelling than their calves. Calves were observed suckling for mean bout lengths
of 87 s. The mean submergence time for all individuals was 75 s, but was significantly
shorter for calves (72 s) in comparison to their mothers (82 s). Submergence times were
not affected by depth (< or ≥ 1.5 m), but were affected by behaviour.
Dugongs spent 3.5% of the day resting at the surface of the water, during which time
they are particularly vulnerable to boat strike. Mother-calf pairs appear most vulnerable
to boat strike because they spend more time near the surface than single individuals.
Calves are especially vulnerable as they rise or submerge by crossing onto their
mother's back during a quarter of their dives, and spent 13% of their time travelling and
resting over their mothers' back.
I found that individual dugongs spent significantly more time feeding while in large,
dense herds than when in smaller groups or scattered, suggesting that these herds are
formed primarily to facilitate feeding. Dugongs did not seek large herds for resting, and
calves were less likely to be surrounded by dugongs other than their mothers, than
single individuals. These observations suggest that dugongs do not shelter in herds
when most vulnerable to shark attack, and that herds are unlikely to have a predatory
defence function. Herd structure was fluid, with individuals changing nearest
neighbours after an average of 1 min, and showing no obvious preference for nearest
neighbour type (single individual or mother-calf pair). Thus there was no evidence of a
social function for these herds. My results support the theory that seagrass distribution
and seasonality, sediment type, a lack of other disturbance of seagrass beds, and a yearround
presence of dugongs on the Moreton Banks facilitate cultivation grazing.
Observations of the response of dugongs to boats passing opportunistically provided
information on the risk of boat strikes. Unlike controlled passes which were restricted to
the below-planing speed limit of the study area, independent boats were often travelling
above this limit. Only boats travelling above planing speed were observed passing
directly over the top of dugongs. I hypothesise that the distance of the flight threshold
for dugongs remains constant regardless of boat speed. Thus the speed of an
approaching boat determines the time dugongs have to evade the boat, and speed is the
main factor affecting the risk of boat strikes. Controlled experiments were conducted to determine the effects of boats on dugong
behaviour. The behaviour of focal dugongs during a 4.5 min time sample was not
significantly affected by whether there was a boat passing, the number of consecutive
passes made (1 to 5 passes), or whether the pass was continuous or included a stop and
restart during the pass. During the subsurface interval of the focal dugong that
corresponded with the control boat's closest approach time, the travel distance, travel
direction and subsurface time were not correlated with the boat's approach distance.
However, during this subsurface interval dugongs were less likely to remain feeding if
the boat passed within 50 m than if it passed at a greater distance. Mass movements of
dugong feeding herds in response to boats were obvious but only lasted an average of
122 sec. These movements occurred in response to boats passing at all speeds, and at
distances of less than 50 m to over 500 m. Relatively low levels of boat traffic in
Moreton Bay in winter mean that a maximum 0.8 – 6% of feeding time may be
interrupted by boats. However, if the number of boats registered in Queensland
continues to increase at the current rate, the rate of disturbance is likely to increase.
The response of dugongs to pingers was tested to determine whether these alarms may
prevent dugongs from using important habitat areas. An array of two 10kHz 'BASA'
pingers did not cause an observable response by dugongs. There was no significant
difference in the rate of dugong movement away from the focal arena surrounding the
pingers, orientation of the dugongs, or the presence or absence of feeding plumes, while
the pingers were active compared to when inactive.
The observed responses suggest that boat strikes are currently a bigger threat to dugongs
than disturbance from boats or pingers, and support speed restrictions for boats in areas
commonly used by dugongs. My results also reflect the need for detailed risk
assessments to be conducted in areas where dugong habitat overlaps with areas of high
boat traffic, and prior to future developments that will increase boat traffic. Further
studies that build on the fundamental knowledge of dugong behaviour gained through
this research will provide an understanding of human impacts in a wide range of
habitats and aid in developing appropriate anthropogenic mortality targets for dugongs.


Critical Race Theory as a movement is best understood through the lens of founding voice Richard Delgado. Delgado's prolific and fearless writings have inspired thousands and launched theories that have literally changed the course of race law in the United States. In fact, two explosive movements were born in the United States in the 1970s. While the founding of both movements was humble and lightly noticed, both grew to become global phenomena that have profoundly changed the world. Founded by prescient agitators, these two movements were borne of disaffect, disappointment, and near desperation — a desperate need to give voice to oppressed and dispossessed peoples. America in the 1970s bore witness to the founding of two furious movements: Critical Race Theory and hip-hop.Critical Race Theory (CRT) was founded as a response to what had been deemed a sputtering civil rights agenda in the U.S. Driven primarily by law professors of color, it targeted the law by exposing the racial inequities supported by U.S. law and policy. Hip-hop, on the other hand, was founded by emerging artists, musicians, and agitators in the South Bronx neighborhoods of New York City, primarily driven by young African American disaffected youth, as a response to a faltering music industry and abject poverty. While these two movements, Critical Race Theory and hip-hop, seem significantly separated by presentation, content, and point of origin, they share startling similarities. Among the many similarities between Critical Race Theory and hip-hop, the closest link is the use of narrative in response to racism and injustice in a post-civil rights era. Further, Critical Race Theory and hip-hop share a fundamental desire to give voice to a discontent brewed by silence, and a dedication to the continuing struggle for race equality in the United States. Both Critical Race Theory and hip-hop strive toward their mutual goals of radical realignment and societal recognition and change of race and law in America. One of the most important voices in the nascent days of the CRT movement was founding voice Richard Delgado, who along with Derrick Bell, introduced the world to CRT. Delgado published the explosive articles "The Imperial Scholar" and "A Plea for Narrative." Delgado's early CRT publications represented an effort to educate and enlighten the civil-rights generation, emerging scholars of color, and the rest of the legal world to the inequities and discrimination inherent in a legal system that systematically disadvantages minority citizens in the U.S. Delgado's voice was so important during the founding of CRT that he is revered today as a true pioneer in race jurisprudence in the United States.Similarly, no early hip-hop voice seized the attention of both fans and critics alike the way that Ice Cube and N.W.A. did when "Straight Outta Compton" shocked the nation at its release. When Ice Cube, Eazy-E, Dr. Dre, MC Ren, and DJ Yella (as N.W.A.) released "Straight Outta Compton," the album dropped profoundly on the consciences of inner-city youth, the nation, and eventually, the globe. Never before had such an intensely angry, ferocious, rebellious record been released and embraced by the consuming public. Cuts like "Fuck tha Police," "Gangsta Gangsta," and "Straight Outta Compton" resonated with inner-city youth. Both Ice Cube and Richard Delgado furiously challenged convention and status quo America.


The soil-microbe complex was investigated in terms of the relationship between the physical soil structure and related functional characteristics. The use of CT scanning technology provided a means of obtaining high-resolution digital reconstructions of the internal soil structures in three dimensions thus allowing, for the first time, the internal architecture of soil to be investigated. The investigation of soil structure was facilitated through the development of a theoretical modelling framework that acted as a virtual laboratory. A suite of metrics was implemented within the modelling framework to allow the quantification of the physical soil structure. The analysis of a range of CT imaged soil structures via the quantification metrics showed that the micro-structure of soil can span a range of porosities and textures. The metric values obtained for individual structures characterise the features of the structures that play an influential role in mediating the functional value of a sample. A model that simulates soil structure in three dimensions from two-dimensional data is shown to reproduce the key structural characteristics of soil at the micro-scale. Data extracted from the CT imaged soil samples were extracted to parameterise the model and thus the simulated soil structures were validated against the original CT imaged structure using the quantification metrics. In general, the model adequately reconstructed the variation found across the CT imaged samples. However, for low porosity samples the complex pore architectures were not captured. The soil structures were used to simulated oxygen transport through the microenvironment to microbial active sites thus allowing the examination of the impact of physical structure on microbial respiration. The results presented show that soil structure is the determining factor in bulk respiration of the soil microenvironment.


This article compares the hiring patterns of start-ups and incumbent firms to analyze whether start-ups offer relatively more job opportunities to disadvantaged workers. Using administrative linked employer–employee data for Germany that provide the complete employment biographies of newly hired workers, the authors show that young firms are more likely than incumbents to hire applicants who are older, foreign, or unemployed, or who have unstable employment histories, arrive from outside the labor force, or were affected by a plant closure. Analysis of entry wages shows that penalties for these disadvantaged workers, however, are higher in start-ups than in incumbent firms. Therefore, even if start-ups provide employment opportunities for certain groups of disadvantaged workers, the quality of these jobs in terms of initial remuneration appears to be low.


With the increasing development of the social economy and the improvement of people's living quality, tourism has become an important way for people to relax themselves and enjoy their leisure time. Studying legal liability of the tour operators, on one hand, can protect the travel consumers' legitimate rights. On the other hand, it can promote the resolution of travel disputes and the healthy development of the whole tourism industry in the long run. This paper mainly studies on the four aspects of the legal liability: the tour operator's contracting negligence liability, the flaw warranty liability and the liability of compensation for mental injury of default as well as the issues about which the third person needs to bear liability for involved in the tourism contract.


The process of model building in the environmental sciences and when dealing with ecosystems is discussed. Two types of modeling approaches need to be distinguished: An algorithmic one, which has been used traditionally in physics, meteorology, and other branches where biological degrees of freedom are either absent or neglectable; and an interactive one, which is a new framework in computer science and seems to be most suitable in cases where organisms (including humans) as agents in ecosystems are to be taken into account. The first modeling approach is exemplified by state models in dynamic systems theory and expresses the correspondence imposed by laws of nature between inferential entailment in a formal system and causal entailment in natural systems. Modeling is to be separated from simulation. In the first case simulation is a less restrictive type of modeling in which the description of non-interactive behaviour is the purpose and no constraints on the correspondence to internal states are imposed. The second (new) modeling approach is exemplified by interactive simulation models. It is able to express the correspondence in behaviour imposed by engineering standards (or cultural norms in general) between documentation, training and application in interactive choice situations such as games or ecosystem management. It generalises the notion of simulation for interactive problems. In an idealised situation the strictest correspondence between behaviour in a natural and a virtual system is expressed as bisimulation. The principles for model building are shortly demonstrated with examples.


Background: Results of the Charnley-Williams method of intramedullary fixation for treatment of congenital pseudarthrosis of the tibia have varied, in part because of variations in surgical technique. The outcomes of three variations of this procedure were compared to determine which technique was the most likely to result in union. Methods: The results in twenty-three consecutive patients with congenital pseudarthrosis of the tibia were reviewed at four to fourteen years following initial surgical treatment with an intramedullary rod. Three types of procedures were performed: type A, which consisted of resection of the tibial pseudarthrosis with shortening, insertion of an intramedullary rod into the tibia, and tibial bone-grafting combined with fibular resection or osteotomy and insertion of an intramedullary rod into the fibula; type B, which was identical to type A except that it did not include fibular fixation; and type C, which consisted of insertion of a tibial rod and bone-grafting but no fibular surgery. The outcome was classified as grade 1 when there was unequivocal union with full weight-bearing function and maintenance of alignment requiring no additional surgical treatment; grade 2 when there was equivocal union with useful function, with the limb protected by a brace, and/or valgus or sagittal bowing for which additional surgery was required or anticipated; and grade 3 when there was persistent nonunion or refracture, requiring full-time external support for pain and/or instability. Results: Eleven patients (48%) ultimately had a grade-1 outcome; nine, a grade-2 outcome; and three, a grade-3 outcome. The final outcome was not associated with either the initial radiographic appearance of the lesion or the age of the patient at the time of the initial surgery. The results following type-A and B operations were better than those after type-C procedures. Surgery on an intact fibula resulted in a lower prevalence of grade-3 outcomes than was found when an intact fibula was not operated on (p = 0.05). Transfixation of the ankle joint by the intramedullary rod did not decrease the prevalence of grade-3 outcomes. Conclusions: There is little justification for a type-C operation, as it either resulted in a persistent nonunion or failed to improve an equivocal outcome in every case. Leaving an intact fibula undisturbed to maintain stability or length also was not successful in this series. In addition, the presence of fibular insufficiency (fracture or a pre-pseudarthrotic lesion) was highly prognostic for subsequent valgus deformity (occurring in ten of twelve cases), whether or not the fibula eventually healed.


This paper presents an initial comparative-historical synthesis of Romance affirmative imperative morphology. It explores its implications for morphological change generally. Imperatives emerge as a recurrent locus of suppletion and defectiveness, which can uniquely escape morphological changes affecting other parts of the paradigm, yet provide the basis for analogical remodelling and compound noun formation. We compare our findings with some made for imperatives in non-European languages and with evidence from acquisitional literature, to suggest that imperative forms are learned earlier than other wordforms in the paradigm, and may become primary exponents of the lexical meaning of the verb.


Data transferring in scientific workflows gradually attracts more attention due to large amounts of data generated by complex scientific workflows will significantly increase the turnaround time of the whole workflow. It is almost impossible to make an optimal or approximate optimal scheduling for the end-to-end workflow without considering the intermediate data movement. In order to reduce the complexity of the workflow-scheduling problem, most researches done so far are constrained by many unrealistic assumptions, which result in non-optimal scheduling in practice. A constraint imposed by most researchers in their algorithms is that a computation site can only start the execution of other tasks after it has completed the execution of the current task and delivered the data generated by this task. We relax this constraint and allow overlap of execution and data movement in order to improve the parallelism of the tasks in the workflow. Furthermore, we generalize the conventional workflow to allow data to be staged in(out) from(to) remote data centers, design and implement an efficient data-aware scheduling strategy. The experimental results show that the turnaround time is reduced significantly in heterogeneous distributed systems by applying our scheduling strategy. To reduce the end-to-end workflow turnaround time, it is crucial to deliver the input, output and intermediate data as fast as possible. However, it is quite often that the throughput is much lower than expected while using single TCP stream to transfer data when the bandwidth of the network is not fully utilized. Multiple TCP streams will benefit the throughput. However, the throughput does not increase monotonically when increasing the number of parallel streams. Based on this observation, we propose to improve the existing throughput prediction models, design and implement a TCP throughput estimation and optimization service in the distributed systems to figure out the optimal configurations of TCP parallel streams. Experimental results show that the proposed estimation and optimization service can predict the throughput dynamically with high accuracy and the throughput can be increased significantly. Throughput optimization along with data-aware workflow scheduling allows us to minimize the end-to-end workflow turnaround time successfully.


We propose a type and effect system for authentication protocols built upon a tagging scheme that formalizes the intended semantics of ciphertexts. The main result is that the validation of each component in isolation is provably sound and fully compositional: if all the protocol participants are independently validated, then the protocol as a whole guarantees authentication in the presence of Dolev-Yao intruders possibly sharing long term keys with honest principals. Protocols are thus validated in the presence of both malicious outsiders and compromised insiders. The highly compositional nature of the analysis makes it suitable for multi-protocol systems, where different protocols might be executed concurrently.


In this study the effects of 1800 MHz GSM–like radiofrequency electromagnetic waves (RF–EMW) exposure on bovine semen was monitored. The experimental samples were analyzed in vitro in four time periods (0, 30, 120 and 420 min) and compared with unexposed samples (control). Spermatozoa motility was determined by computer assisted semen analyzer (CASA). Evaluation of the percentage of motile spermatozoa showed significant (P < 0.001) decrease in experimental groups after 120 and 420 min of culture when exposed to microwaves, in comparison to control. Similar spermatozoa motility inhibition was detected for the percentage of progressively motile spermatozoa, too. Average path distance decreased significantly (p < 0.001) in experimental groups after 30 and 420 min of culture. Path velocity increased in the experimental groups exposed to RF–EMW after 30 minutes of culture, but subsequently decreased after 420 min of culture, in comparison to control. This indicates a possible initial stimulation and subsequent velocity inhibition of bovine spermatozoa under RF–EMW exposure. Changes in spermatozoa motility were also detected for some fine parameters, too. A significant decrease (P < 0.001) was noted for amplitude of lateral head displacement in the experimental group after 420 minutes of culture. Detailed in vitro motility analysis of bovine spermatozoa exposed to microwave radiation suggested that the parameters of path and velocity at the beginning of the culture significantly increase, but after longer culture (420 minutes) a significant decrease occur in the experimental group as compared to control. In general, results of this experiment indicate a negative time–dependent effect of 1800 MHz RF–EMW radiation on bovine spermatozoa motility.


Context: Modified Ballard Score is used for assessment of gestational age of a neonate. It is most accurate when done between first 12-20 hours of life, but its validity is known only up to 7th day of life and not beyond it. Aim: To assess the validity of Modified Ballard Score for assessment of gestational age after 7th day of life. Materials and method: The study was conducted in the NICU of Katihar Medical College, Katihar. It is an observational study carried over a period of 3 months, in which 44 neonates were examined in accordance to the physical and neuromuscular criteria of Modified Ballard Score on days 1,3,7 and 10 of life and the result was then compared to the gestational age as calculated from a first trimester ultrasonography report or mother's LMP, whichever was available. Result: Out of 44 subjects, the gestational age from Modified Ballard Score on day 10th of life was accurate in accordance to mother's LMP or first trimester ultrasonography report in 24. Statistical analysis done using IBM SPSS Statistics 24 model revealed a p value of 0.000. Hence, it can be concluded that modified Ballard score is valid after 7 days of life. Conclusion: Since the Modified Ballard Score is observed to be significant on day 10th of life in most of the cases according to the study, therefore, it can be used to assess gestational age of a neonate after 7 days of life.


Recent studies show that food hypersensitivity, such as food allergy or food intolerance, has the potential to affect direct, indirect and intangible economic costs experienced by individuals and their families. This research assesses the direct and indirect economic costs of food hypersensitivity at the household level in the Netherlands, Poland, and Spain.A self-administered postal survey was conducted (n=1558). Respondents with food hypersensitivity were clinically diagnosed cases recruited through clinical centres in Poland and Spain. In the Netherlands, food hypersensitivity cases were recruited through hospitals, patient organisations and advertisements. The controls formed the baseline sample and were obtained from households in which none of the members had food hypersensitivity. The monetary value of indirect costs, forgone time, was calculated using the opportunity cost method. The indirect and direct costs were expressed in purchasing power parity. Analysis of co-variance on the cost items was used to test the within-country differences between respondents with food hypersensitivity and respondents without food hypersensitivity, as well as across the three countries.The average total direct and indirect costs across all countries for families with food hypersensitive family members are not higher than for households without food hypersensitive members. However, the intangible costs for food hypersensitive individuals appear to be higher than for individuals in the control group.These results do not support the hypothesis that all food allergies incur high costs to the individual. However, being hypersensitive to foods may have a negative impact on quality of life compared to people who are not food hypersensitive.


The 2015 Electricity Profiles contains electricity profiles for about 230 countries and territories, providing detailed information on production, trade and consumption of electricity, net installed capacity and thermal power plant input and efficiency for most countries, on an internationally comparable basis. It is published by the United Nations Statistics Division with the aim of providing an overall picture of the electricity sector of such countries and areas. Electricity production and electric installed capacity are disaggregated by source, as coming from Combustible fuels, Hydro, Nuclear and Other sources; and by type of producer, whether from main activity producers or autoproducers.


Over the past 20 years, the biomedical research community has been delivering hundreds of breakthroughs expected to extend human lifespan beyond thresholds imaginable today. However, much of this research has not yet been adopted into clinical practice, nor has it been widely publicized. Biomedicine will transform our society forever by allowing people to live longer and to continue working and contributing financially to the economy longer, rather than entering into retirement and draining the economy through pensions and senior healthcare. Old age will become a concept of the past, breakthroughs in regenerative medicine will continue, and an unprecedented boom to the global economy, with an influx of older able-bodied workers and consumers, will be a reality. A leading expert in aging research, author Alex Zhavoronkov provides a helicopter view on the progress science has already made, from repairing tissue damage to growing functional organs from a single cell, and illuminates the possibilities that the scientific and medical community will soon make into realities. The Ageless Generation is an engaging work that causes us to rethink our ideas of age and ability in the modern world.


Work began immediately after the eruption of Mount St. Helens to restore Columbia River navigation, provide 100 year flood protection for the downstream communities located along the Cowlitz River, prevent deposition of sand and gravel into the Cowlitz/Columbia River Basin as far upstream as possible to minimize dredging, prevent Spirit Lake and others from overtopping debris barriers, and to minimize environmental impacts. More than 50 agencies plus approximately 50 contractors were involved with work that spanned ten years and cost a total of $507 million. Unlike other engineering projects, which are original actions - ingenious, beneficial, but not strictly necessary -the Mount St. Helens recovery project represents a human response to catastrophic events beyond human control. No choice existed about whether or not to respond, rather the choices lay entirely in how to respond.


Measuring the similarity between data points often requires domain knowledge, which can in parts be compensated by relying on unsupervised methods such as latent-variable models, where similarity/distance is estimated in a more compact latent space. Prevalent is the use of the Euclidean metric, which has the drawback of ignoring information about similarity of data stored in the decoder, as captured by the framework of Riemannian geometry. We propose an extension to the framework of variational auto-encoders allows learning flat latent manifolds, where the Euclidean metric is a proxy for the similarity between data points. This is achieved by defining the latent space as a Riemannian manifold and by regularising the metric tensor to be a scaled identity matrix. Additionally, we replace the compact prior typically used in variational auto-encoders with a recently presented, more expressive hierarchical one---and formulate the learning problem as a constrained optimisation problem. We evaluate our method on a range of data-sets, including a video-tracking benchmark, where the performance of our unsupervised approach nears that of state-of-the-art supervised approaches, while retaining the computational efficiency of straight-line-based approaches.


When selecting a concrete mix design, it is always desirable to compose the aggregates as densely as possible, i.e. with maximum packing. That minimises the necessary amount of binder which has to fill the cavities between the aggregates for a constant concrete workability. Apart from an obvious economic benefit, a minimum of binder in concrete results in less shrinkage and creep and a more dense and therefore probably a more durable and strong concrete type. The paper presents a packing model which can be used to optimise the aggregate, both the theory behind, the available computer program and the necessary experimental measurements. Further, the application of packing calculations for concrete mix design to select the types and amounts of materials, to select the amount of binder, and to design the air void system will be described


This paper reports on an experimental study comparing two groups of seven Chinese students of English who practiced oral presentations with computer feedback. Both groups imitated teacher models and could listen to recordings of their own production. The test group was also shown flashing lights that responded to the standard deviation of the fundamental frequency over the previous two seconds. The speech of the test group increased significantly more in pitch variation than the control group. These positive results suggest that this novel type of feedback could be used in training systems for speakers who have a tendency to speak in a monotone when making oral presentations.


Disturbances of the cerebral blood flow were induced by compressing the tube connected to the carotid arteries or depressing the perfusion pressure by a modification of the cat brain perfusion method devised by Geiger et al. In these experiments the amount of cerebral blood flow was rapidly and drastically decreased and then restored to normal flow rate, and changes taking place in EEG during these experiments were studied. The results are briefly sum-marized as follows. 1. When the cerebral blood flow is rapidly and drastically decreased, within several to 10 odd seconds EEG turns to low voltage, then high voltage slow activities appear followed by flattening. When the cerebral blood flow is restored there appear bursts of high voltage slow activities at first, then fast activities gradually make their appearance, but the high voltage slow activities gradually diminish, finally returning to the original EEG These changes coincide well with those changes in EEG clinically observable as in the case of circulatory disturbance of the brain. 2. Aspects of the EEG changes differ according to the rate of decrease in the cerebral blood flow, and in the decrease of about 20-24% cerebral blood flow, EEG shows apparently no appreciable changes, but the frequency autoanalyzer reveales a slight decrease in the fast activities and an increase of slow activities. 3. In the instance where the cerebral blood flow is decreased 21-35%, EEG increases high voltage slow activities. 4. Where the cerebral blood flow decrease amounts to over 37% or it has transiently ceased, EEG takes the foregoing course and then is flattened. 5. Under the diminished conditions of cerebral blood flow, the decrease in the fast activities and the increase in the slow activities are found. The faster the EEG activity, the greater is its decrease, and the slower the EEG activity, the greater is its increase. 6. At the recovery stage of the cerebral blood flow, the rate of increase in the faster activities is high and slow activities are diminished 7. At the time when the cerebral blood flow is decreasing and also at the recovery stage when there appear high voltage slow activities, some of EEG's take the pattern of spike and wave complex.


This paper investigates how universities may affect regional entrepreneurship through the localisation decisions of entrepreneurial alumni. Empirically a comprehensive, individual-level dataset from Sweden for the period 2003-2005 is employed. The results suggest that even when controlling for their spatial history, individuals have an increased propensity to set up in the region where they studied. This effect is found to substitute for both urbanisation economies and localisation economies as drivers of regional-level entrepreneurship. Thus, the present analysis provides evidence on how universities affect regional economic development that complements the strong focus on spin-off activities by university researchers in previous studies.


Local currency bond markets in East Asia and the Pacific have grown impressively since the 1997 Asian crisis, but policy authorities in the region realize they still have some work to do to allow the markets to realise their true potential. Hence, there have been a variety of regional initiatives to develop these markets. One of these initiatives is the Asian Bond Fund II, which was established by 11 central banks in East Asia and the Pacific in 2005. In creating a regional index bond fund and eight single-market funds, the central banks worked together to identify and come up with ways to reduce market impediments in eight local currency bond markets. Moreover, they built into the regional fund's structure an incentive mechanism for reducing impediments further.


In this paper, we describe a comprehensive high-level synthesis system for control-flow intensive as well as data-dominated behaviors. We propose a new control-data flow graph model to preserve the parallelism inherent in the application, as well as to facilitate high-level synthesis. Our algorithm, which is based on an iterative improvement strategy, performs clock selection, scheduling, module selection, resource allocation and assignment simultaneously to fully derive the benefits of design space exploration at the behavior level. The system can be used to optimize area, power or energy, by selecting the cost function accordingly. Experimental results show that for energy-optimized designs, energy is reduced by up to 79.4% (an average of 42.2%), with an average of 24.8% area overhead, compared to area-optimized designs. For power-optimized designs, power is reduced by up to 70.8% (an average of 56.7%), with an average of 25.2% area overhead, compared to area-optimized designs. No Vdd scaling is performed to obtain the above results.


Binary logit models are used to predict coverage, knowledge and perceptions of superannuation on the basis of individual demographic, socioeconomic and financial characteristics. The data is drawn from the 2003 ANZ Survey of Adult Financial Literacy in Australia and relates to 3,548 respondents. Knowledge of superannuation is defined, amongst other things, in terms of understanding superannuation fees and charges and statements, recognising the voluntary and compulsory nature of additional employee and employer contributions and the recognising the lower taxation of superannuation compared to other investments. Factors examined include gender, age, ethnicity, occupation, educational level and family structure, along with household income, savings, and mortgage and non-mortgage debt. The evidence suggests that knowledge of superannuation is unevenly spread across respondents, even those with superannuation funds. Such knowledge is generally lowest for females, those from a non-English speaking background, those with low levels of secondary education and persons aged less than thirty. Knowledge is generally better for professionals, those aged over forty or retired and the university educated. The models best predict the overall coverage of superannuation and for those with superannuation, the compulsory nature of employer contributions and the ability to read and understand superannuation statements.


The road toll in terms of deaths and serious injury arises from impacts that result in transfers of forces that are in excess of human tolerance values. Effective and efficient injury prevention measures therefore must bring the energy and force transfer down to tolerable levels. The most direct methods for doing so firstly recognise the laws of physics and engineering involved in impacts and secondly draw on fundamental physical principles for effective countermeasure development. In considering countermeasure options for reducing the harm potential in crashes, certain design concepts need to be kept in mind to ensure the effectiveness of any proposals. This paper reviews some of these fundamental principles, and demonstrates their applicability by reference to the range of crashes occurring on the road today. The paper discusses the need for safety researchers, and vehicle and infrastructure designers to recognise and apply these principles to reduce current system failures leading to serious injury. (a) For the covering entry of this conference, please see IRRD abstract no. E202589.


We present a detailed analysis of the evolution of GP populations using the problem of finding a program which returns the maximum possible value for a given terminal and function set and a depth limit on the program tree (known as the MAX problem). We confirm the basic message of \citeGathercole:1996:aicrtd that crossover together with program size restrictions can be responsible for premature convergence to a sub-optimal solution. We show that this can happen even when the population retains a high level of variety and show that in many cases evolution from the sub-optimal solution to the solution is possible if sufficient time is allowed. In both cases theoretical models are presented and compared with actual runs. Experimental evidence is presented that Price's Covariance and Selection Theorem can be applied to GP populations and the practical effect of program size restrictions are noted. Finally we show that covariance between gene frequency and fitness in the first few generations can be used to predict the course of GP runs.


This article reviews the seminal Supreme Court decision governing access to partnership status in professional settings in the context of a sex discrimination challenge. As women entered the workforce in record numbers, they thrived against the backdrop of the 1964 Civil Rights Acts. There were still obstacles however, to the complete participation of women in the workforce one generation later. Although legal precedent existed for the equal treatment of women in low and middle management jobs, this was not the case for women seeking executive and partner-level jobs. The Supreme Court considered this issue in the case, Price Waterhouse v. Hopkins. In a plurality decision, the Court struggled with enunciating a coherent paradigm for deciding what is and what is not permissible to consider in partnership decisions, and this lack of clarity is discussed in detail. It is important though, to understand that the Hopkins case reflects the all-too-common reality of a woman's questioning the legitimacy of a partnership decision, and subsequently, our society's struggle with appropriate factors of admission to partnership. Hopkins raises issues, and that perhaps the next generation will be better equipped to resolve these issues.


Despite extensive
clinical research in non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), overall survival is
still poor. Racotumomab-alum is an anti-idiotypic cancer vaccine that targets
NeuGcGM3 tumor associated ganglioside. The aim of this study was to evaluate
safety and efficacy of racotumomab-alum in advanced NSCLC patients with
progressive disease. This expanded access program included 86 histologically
confirmed NSCLC patients, 18 years or older age, with advanced disease and
without therapeutic option, with ECOG performance status ≤3, adequate organ
functions and signed informed consent. The primary endpoint was overall
survival and toxicity was measure assessed treatment-related toxicity according
CTCAEv3. The study was approved by ethical review boards of participant institutions.
Racotumomab-alum treatment consisted in 5 biweekly intradermal doses (1 mg/mL)
during the induction phase of treatment (2 months). The maintenance phase
consisted in monthly re-immunizations until unacceptable toxicity or PS
worsening. The median overall survival time of all patients treated with racotumomab-alum
was 8.96 months. The survival rates at 12 and 24 months were 42.8% and 28.0%,
respectively. Patients that completed the induction phase of treatment (five
doses or more) reached a median OS of 12.1 months. The most common adverse events were injection site
reaction, bone pain, cough and asthenia. Racotumomab-alum cancer
vaccine could be considered an effective and safe treatment option as
second-line therapy for advanced NSCLC. Further clinical studies should be
conducted to confirm this result.


A digital method for the discrimination of neutron and γ-ray events from an organic scintillator has been investigated by using frequency gradient analysis (FGA) based on the Fourier transform. Since the scintillation process and the photomultiplier tube (PMT) anode signal are often very noisy, most pulse-shape discrimination methods in a scintillation detection system (e.g., the charge comparison (CC) method or pulse gradient analysis (PGA)) using time-domain features of the signal depend greatly on the associated de-noising algorithm. In this research, the performance of the new FGA method and the PGA method have been studied and compared on a theoretical basis and then verified by time-of-flight (TOF). The frequency-domain features extracted by the FGA method exhibit a strong insensitivity to the variation in pulse response of the photomultiplier tube (PMT) and can be used to discriminate neutron and γ-ray events in a mixed radiation field. It is shown that the FGA method results in an increased figure of merit (FOM) which corresponds to a reduction in the area of overlap between neutron and γ-ray events. The FGA method has the potential to be implemented in current embedded electronic systems to provide real-time discrimination in standalone instruments.


CompCert is the first commercially available optimizing compiler that is formally verified, using machine-assisted mathematical proofs, to be exempt from mis-compilation. The executable code it produces is proved to behave exactly as specified by the semantics of the source C program. This article gives an overview of the use of CompCert to gain certification credits for a highly safety-critical industry application, certified according to IEC 60880. We will briefly introduce the target application, illustrate the process of changing the existing compiler infrastructure to CompCert, and discuss performance characteristics. The main part focuses on the tool qualification strategy, in particular on how to take advantage of the formal correctness proof in the certification process.


In this paper, we introduce a broad family of adaptive, linear time-frequency representations termed superposition frames, and show that they admit desirable fast overlap-add reconstruction properties akin to standard short-time Fourier techniques. This approach stands in contrast to many adaptive time-frequency representations in the existing literature, which, while more flexible than standard fixed-resolution approaches, typically fail to provide for efficient reconstruction and often lack the regular structure necessary for precise frame-theoretic analysis. Our main technical contributions come through the development of properties which ensure that our superposition construction provides for a numerically stable, invertible signal representation. Our primary algorithmic contributions come via the introduction and discussion of two signal adaptation schemes based on greedy selection and dynamic programming, respectively. We conclude with two short enhancement examples that serve to highlight potential applications of our approach.


How a Systematic Approach to Uncertainty Quantification Renders Molecular Simulation a Quantitative Tool in Predicting the Critical Constants for Large n-Alkanes Richard Alma Messerly Department of Chemical Engineering, BYU Doctor of Philosophy Accurate thermophysical property data are crucial for designing efficient chemical processes. For this reason, the Design Institute for Physical Properties (DIPPR 801) provides evaluated experimental data and prediction of various thermophysical properties. The critical temperature (Tc), critical density (ρc), critical pressure (Pc), critical compressibility factor (Zc), and normal boiling point (Tb) are important constants to check for thermodynamic consistency and to estimate other properties. The n-alkane family is of primary interest because it is generally assumed that other families of compounds behave similarly to the n-alkane family with increasing chain-length. Unfortunately, due to thermal decomposition, experimental measurements of Tc, ρc, and Pc for large n-alkanes are scarce and potentially unreliable. For this reason, molecular simulation is an attractive alternative for estimating the critical constants. However, molecular simulation has often been viewed as a tool that is limited to providing qualitative insight. One key reason for this perceived weakness is the difficulty in quantifying the uncertainty of the simulation results. This research focuses on a systematic top-down approach to quantifying the uncertainty in Gibbs Ensemble Monte Carlo (GEMC) simulations for large n-alkanes. We implemented four different methods in order to obtain quantitatively reliable molecular simulation results. First, we followed a rigorous statistical analysis to assign the uncertainty of the critical constants when obtained from GEMC. Second, we developed an improved method for predicting Pc with the standard force field models in the literature. Third, we implemented an experimental design to reduce the uncertainty associated with Tc, ρc, Pc, and Zc. Finally, we quantified the uncertainty associated with the Lennard-Jones 12-6 potential parameters. This research demonstrates how uncertainty quantification renders molecular simulation a quantitative tool for thermophysical property evaluation. Specifically, by quantifying and reducing the uncertainty associated with molecular simulation results, we were able to discern between different experimental data sets and prediction models for the critical constants. In this regard, our results enabled the development of improved prediction models for Tc, ρc, Pc, and Zc for large n-alkanes. In addition, we developed a new Tb prediction model in order to ensure thermodynamic consistency between Tc, Pc, and Tb.


Abstract:The eleven countries of Southeast Asia vary widely by type of regime and quality of governance. Those that are the most democratic are not always the best governed, and the reverse is also true. Based on evidence from these countries, this essay explores two propositions—one normative, the other empirical. The normative argument is this: Good things ought to go together. Because democracy is more humane than dictatorship, democracy in Southeast Asia should also do a better job delivering security, welfare, and other public goods. The empirical argument, whose validity would bolster the normative one, is this: Good things do go together. Democracy and governance, however, do not co-vary in Southeast Asia. These two good things do not go together. Gaps exist, and they are worth minding, in theory and in practice.


If you wish to apply to one of our postings, you may submit an application (cover letter and resume) by following the application instructions found at How to Apply [3]. Your application will be routed to the appropriate Hiring Manager after the posting has been closed. The University thanks all applicants for their interest however, only those candidates considered for an interview will be contacted.


Dissecting Serotonin Receptors Serotonin receptors are the targets for many widely used drugs prescribed to treat ailments from depression to obesity and migraine headaches (see the Perspective by Palczewski and Kiser). C. Wang et al. (p. 610, published online 21 March) and Wacker et al. (p. 615, published online 21 March) describe crystal structures of two members of the serotonin family of receptors bound to antimigraine medications or to a precursor of the hallucinogenic drug LSD. Subtle differences in the way particular ligands bind to the receptors cause substantial differences in the signals generated by the receptor and the consequent biological responses. The structures reveal how the same ligand can activate one or both of the two main serotonin receptor signaling mechanisms, depending on which particular receptor it binds. Structures of serotonin receptor family members in complex with the fungal alkaloid ergot offer clues for drug designers. [Also see Perspective by Palczewski and Kiser] Serotonin or 5-hydroxytryptamine (5-HT) regulates a wide spectrum of human physiology through the 5-HT receptor family. We report the crystal structures of the human 5-HT1B G protein–coupled receptor bound to the agonist antimigraine medications ergotamine and dihydroergotamine. The structures reveal similar binding modes for these ligands, which occupy the orthosteric pocket and an extended binding pocket close to the extracellular loops. The orthosteric pocket is formed by residues conserved in the 5-HT receptor family, clarifying the family-wide agonist activity of 5-HT. Compared with the structure of the 5-HT2B receptor, the 5-HT1B receptor displays a 3 angstrom outward shift at the extracellular end of helix V, resulting in a more open extended pocket that explains subtype selectivity. Together with docking and mutagenesis studies, these structures provide a comprehensive structural basis for understanding receptor-ligand interactions and designing subtype-selective serotonergic drugs.


Rapid detection of antibiotic resistance using whole-genome sequencing (WGS) could improve clinical outcomes and limit the spread of resistance. For this to succeed, we need an accurate way of linking genotype to phenotype, that identifies new resistance mechanisms as they appear. To assess how close we are to this goal, we characterized antimicrobial resistance determinants in >4,000 Staphylococcus aureus genomes of isolates associated with bloodstream infection in the United Kingdom and Ireland. We sought to answer three questions: 1) how well did known resistance mechanisms explain phenotypic resistance in our collection, 2) how many previously identified resistance mechanisms appeared in our collection, and 3) how many of these were detectable using four contrasting genome-wide association study (GWAS) methods. Resistance prediction based on the detection of known resistance determinants was 98.8% accurate. We identified challenges in correcting for population structure, clustering orthologous genes, and identifying causal mechanisms in rare or common phenotypes, which reduced the recovery of known mechanisms. Limited sensitivity and specificity of these methods made prediction using GWAS-discovered hits alone less accurate than using literature-derived genetic determinants. However, GWAS methods identified novel mutations associated with resistance, including five mutations in rpsJ, which improved tetracycline resistance prediction for 28 isolates, and a T118I substitution in fusA which resulted in better fusidic acid resistance prediction for 5 isolates. Thus, GWAS approaches in conjunction with phenotypic testing data can support the development of comprehensive databases to enable real-time use of WGS for patient management.


Customers buying enterprise message systems often ask: Can I track the
messages? Message tracking is the ability to find out the path that a
particular message has taken through a messaging system and the
current routing status of that message. This document describes the
Message Tracking Query Protocol that is used in conjunction with
extensions to the ESMTP protocol to provide a complete message
tracking solution for the Internet. [STANDARDS-TRACK]


Despite numerous studies with various perspectives on the folk legend, the Nordic context is still lacking in studies that combine concepts of queerness and posthumanism with folk legends. This article focuses on Swedish folk legends in Finland that depict erotic encounters between humans and nature spirits. The three example legends used were collected in rural Swedish-speaking parts of Finland in 1890, 1898, and 1917. They all tell of encounters between humans (men) and spirits (females) that take place in nature, a place traditionally perceived as the home of these spirits. The erotic character of the encounters is determined not only by direct sexual interactions, but also within a frame of ambience, language, and acts. By using a combination of queer theory and posthumanist concepts, I challenge the ideas of normative sexual behaviour expressed in the material. A queer reading reveals transgressions within gender-normative behaviour and also interesting contradictions in which gender norms are abided by. The inter-species relationship between human and spirit can be seen as queer, but at the same time, it is normative or pursues normativity. The posthumanist approach results in the dissolution of the theoretical nature/culture dichotomy. The relationship between human and spirit can be viewed as that of companion species; a relationship based on the desire to connect, as well as a mutual past, present, and future.


This research project fully defines and evaluates a new approach in sensory omission testing, based on the same-different test (ASTM E2139-05 2011) and the Thurstonian measure d′. The applications of this new approach were investigated to fully characterise sweet and savoury flavour models and to investigate interactions between flavour compounds. Panels of naive assessors conducted a series of omission tests using both a strawberry (9 volatiles) and a savoury (10 volatiles) flavour model. Using the Thurstonian d′ as a measure of the sensitivity of the discrimination test, results showed that the new approach using the same-different test was more sensitive compared to the more traditional approach using the triangle test: the d′ values obtained using the same-different test were 1.2 to 3.5 times higher than the d′ values obtained using the triangle test. It was hypothesised that the evaluation of three samples in the triangle test generated additional noise related to carry-over, sensory fatigue and memory effects. In particular, the triangle test requires that the three successive stimulus sensations are stored into memory until the discrimination test has been completed. The same-different approach was then successfully applied to (i) determine the relative importance of individual volatiles in ortho- and retronasal flavours (ii) assess interactions between volatiles in mixtures, and (iii) investigate interactions between congruent tastes and aromas in flavours. Results showed that cis-3-hexen-1-ol, 4-hydroxy-2,5-dimethyl-3-furanone and ethyl butanoate play a key role in the strawberry flavour, while sulfur compounds play a major role in the savoury flavour. For both the sweet and the savoury flavours, orthonasal perception was more sensitive to the removal of individual volatiles and this was attributed to different efficiency in delivery to the olfactory receptors. The same-different approach highlighted synergistic, suppressive and blending interactions between volatiles within flavour mixtures. In particular, the presence of 4-hydroxy-2,5-dimethyl-3-furanone increased the assessor sensitivity to the removal of other individual volatiles in the savoury flavour. Cross-modal interactions were highlighted within the strawberry flavour, particularly where congruency between taste and aroma could be identified. The omission approach brings a novel contribution to sensory science as it allows further analyses and a deeper understanding of flavour. This study pioneers the use of the Thurstonian d′ for omission experiments, enabling the relative importance of the individual components of flavour perception to be determined.


In many mechanisms (especially online mechanisms), a strategic agent can influence the outcome by creating multiple false identities. We consider voting settings where the mechanism designer cannot completely prevent false-name manipulation, but may use false-name-limiting methods such as CAPTCHAs to influence the amount and characteristics of such manipulation. Such a designer would prefer, first, a high probability of obtaining the "correct" outcome, and second, a statistical method for evaluating the correctness of the outcome. In this paper, we focus on settings with two alternatives. We model voters as independently drawing a number of identities from a distribution that may be influenced by the choice of the false-name-limiting method. We give a criterion for the evaluation and comparison of these distributions. Then, given the results of an election in which false-name manipulation may have occurred, we propose and justify a statistical test for evaluating the outcome.


According to the 2006 September Labour Force Survey, approximately 22% of the employed (excluding domestic workers and agricultural employment) are engaged in informal sector activities as their main work to sustain themselves and their dependents. Given the large size of the informal sector in relation to the formal sector, it is imperative to understand the dynamics and trends within the informal sector. This paper provides a detailed quantitative descriptive analysis of the South African informal sector between 1997 and 2006 using the October Household Survey and the Labour Force Survey data, adding to the work on informal markets done by authors such as Devey, Skinner & Valodia (2003, 2006a, 2006b), Muller (2003) and Muller & Posel (2004). Such an analysis could not only enhance the informal sector literature currently available, but also increase the depth of analysis available to policy makers.


Background: Nigeria still grapples with low family planning (FP) use and a high fertility rate. This study explores the factors associated with the unmet need for FP and the coldspots of unmet need for FP in Nigeria. Methods: The 2013 Nigerian Demographic Health Survey (NDHS) data was used to investigate the unmet need for FP in Nigeria. A geo-additive model was specified to simultaneously measure the fixed, nonlinear, spatial and random effects inherent in the data. The fixed effect of categorical covariates was modelled using the diffuse prior, the nonlinear effect of continuous variable was modelled using the P-spline with second-order random walk, the spatial effects followed Markov random field priors while the exchangeable normal priors were used for the random effect of the community. The binomial distribution was used to handle the dichotomous nature of the dependent variable. Results: North East (OR: 1.8404, CI: 1.6170, 2.0941), North West (OR: 1.1145, CI: 1.1454, 1.1789), primary education (OR: 1.0441, CI: 0.9680, 1.1286), Hausa (OR: 2.7031, CI: 2.3037, 3.1513), birth interval greater than 12 months (OR: 1.0909, CI: 1.0447, 1.1379), community (OR: 1.6733, CI: 1.5261, 1.7899) and states (OR: 6.0879, CI: 2.5995, 29.6274) significantly increased the unmet need for FP. Conclusion: The unmet need for FP in Nigeria is positively associated with the Northern region, low level of education and birth interval.


We developed a facile and quantitative method to improve the electron transport properties and resulting device performances of perovskite solar cells based on post-incorporation of various acetylacetonate additives. Previous studies rely on synthesis or soaking processes with limited additive control. Here, our acetylacetonatedbased additives are used as effective intermediate gels to interact with TiO2 nanocrystals using a simple approach. The incorporation process can be controlled effectively and quantitatively using a range of additives from divalent (II), trivalent (III), and tetravalent (IV) to hexavalent (VI) acetylacetonate. Electronic parameters of solar cell devices, such as short circuit current (Jsc) and fill factor (FF), are enhanced, regardless of the different valencies of the additives. Zirconium(IV) acetylacetonate was found to be the most effective additive, with average PCE improved from 15.0% to 15.8%. Detailed characterization experiments including transient photoluminescence spectra, ultra-violet photoelectron spectroscopy, photovoltage decay, and photocurrent decay indicate an improved interface with improved carrier extraction originating from the TiO2 modification.


We investigate Web service composition as a planning problem and use the input-output parameter relations in order to select the constituent services that make up the composite service. Furthermore, we make use of ontological information between the input-output parameters such that a more specific concept can be used instead of a general concept to make the process more flexible. Our proposed approach is based on constructing a dependency graph including the service parameters and Web services themselves. By using this dependency graph, we perform backward chaining starting to search from the desired output parameters, which is in fact the goal, to the available input parameters. In addition to using semantic information through the search, our approach considers non-functional attributes of the services such as service quality. Considering the quality measures, we find the constituent services by making use of depth first search. After finding the required services, our algorithm generates a plan that shows the execution order of each service.


As bee populations continue to decline, farmers face possible crop failures due to insufficient pollination. Crops, however, vary in the degree to which they depend on pollinators, suggesting that some crops may not be as sensitive to variation in pollinator availability and/or abundance as others. The objective of this study was to determine the contribution of biotic and abiotic factors to cranberry pollination. We performed field and greenhouse experiments to compare the effect of biotic (i.e., bee or hand pollination) and abiotic (i.e., wind, agitation) factors on yield. We found that even in the absence of bees, cranberry is able to produce a significant yield. In the field, plants in the abiotic treatments produced higher yields (wind 230 bbl/ac [barrels per acre], agitation 200 bbl/ac) than the closed control treatment (108 bbl/ac), although these yields were not as high as the open, biotic treatment (367 bbl/ac). This corresponds to a contribution of 41% by bees, 30% by non-bee insects, and 29% by mechanical agitation. In the greenhouse, the agitation treatment had, on average, higher berry weight per upright (0.6 g/upright) than the undisturbed control treatment (0.04 g/upright), but again, not as high as the biotic treatment (3.0 g/upright). This confirmed that cranberry does not autogamously self-pollinate indicating that all yields are due to biotic or abiotic vectors moving pollen between flowers. Although bees clearly contribute to cranberry pollination, previous studies have understated the contribution of alternative mechanisms by which cranberry pollen can move between flowers.


Nature Climate Change releases today one of the most comprehensive assessments of the timing and amount of greenhouse gas emissions for each of the world's major economies, considering both currently discussed pledges and scenarios that limit future temperature rise to 2°C. Main key messages of the study led by FEEM are presented in a set of three short videos.


The call of paper of the track "Social Issues in Organizations" invites researchers to explore different aspects of social issues that are impacted by information technology affecting organizations. In this paper, we investigate how social issues - such as electronic monitoring of employees and resistance - are affected by the emergence of mobile technologies. It seems more and more important to explore this issue, at a time when mobility and flexible working practices are becoming increasingly widespread. In this paper we argue that a Foucauldian approach can enrich our understanding of social issues linked with mobile IS deployment, such as electronic monitoring of employees and resistance. To defend our idea, we present the results of four case studies (based on 85 semi-structured interviews and 10 days of observation).


Text Complexity in Graded Readers: A Systemic Functional Look Utilizing the Systemic Functional Linguistic frameworks of taxis, logico-semantic relation, grammatical metaphor, and appraisal, this thesis examines two of the most popular rewrites: Jane Eyre and The Canterville Ghost from the Macmillian Reader, Black Cat Reading and Training, Oxford Bookworm, and Penguin ELT graded reader series. Although a considerable body of literature exists concerning graded readers, the majority of research tends to focus on statistical gains in fluency development or vocabulary acquisition and their retention rather than the linguistic properties of these texts. Furthermore, studies on textual adaptations primarily take a broad corpus-style approach, contrasting altered and unaltered material, rather than materials adapted for beginner, intermediate, and advanced level students. Selected on the basis of researchers' and publishers' ruminations regarding the nature of beginner, intermediate, and advanced materials, the Systemic Functional Linguistic frameworks of taxis, logico-semantic relations, grammatical metaphor, and appraisal structure this investigation of text complexity as both a structural and semantic concern. As far as the researcher is aware, this thesis would appear to be the first of its kind to attempt to explore text complexity in graded readers by comparing semantically equivalent passages across different rewrites of the same title. The results of this study (in terms of a greater percentage of nestled constituents, incongruent realizations, and conflicting appraisal items in the more advanced texts) are indicative of increased structural and semantic complexity by level. These findings suggest that a consideration of text complexity in context—as opposed to de-contextualized word or grammar lists—may be beneficial for students because "personal authenticity" (Van Lier, 1996) and its attendant increased autonomy and motivation can be enabled by teachers and publishers understanding and scaffolding areas of difficulty.


Excerpt] One of the central goals of contemporary feminism has been the full integration of women into the workforce. While broader economic and social forces were decisive in propelling women into full-time employment, the women's movement took as its particular task shaping the nature of that participation. The movement sought to achieve economic equality for women workers through two primary strategies: 1) gaining entry to traditionally male-dominated jobs and training, and 2) upgrading the pay and status of traditionally female-dominated jobs. The clerical sector—with its overwhelming concentration of women workers, its rock-bottom pay scales, and its gender-based work culture—was a logical focus of that second strategic course. Historically, the rate of unionization among clericals has been low. Some feminists blamed this on the indifference of maledominated unions to the particular problems of women in the workforce. Others believed that there were unique circumstances which made clerical workers resistant to traditional trade union approaches. Out of such analyses, a small but determined network of activists shaped an alternative conception of organization for office workers, beginning in the early 1970s.


Background: Empirical business cycle research typically commences with the extraction of a so-called deviation cycle using a time-series smoothing filter. This methodology is appealing for its pragmatism; it is easy to implement, and the output it produces is conveniently interpreted as percentage deviations from the natural level of output. However, recent literature offers staunch criticism of deviation cycle analysis, especially with regards to the assumption implicitly underlying it – that business cycle fluctuations are restricted to distinct intervals on the frequency domain.Aim: Despite its lack of a basis in theory, the analysis of deviation cycles over particular frequency ranges may still yield useful stylised business cycle facts. This, however, hinges on whether the information that a frequency filter captures consistently aligns with relevant theory-based business cycle concepts. Whether this is the case is an empirical matter, and herein lies the rationale for our research.Setting: We investigate the informational content of South Africa's output deviation cycles.Methods: We extract deviation cycles at standard high- and medium-frequency ranges (denoted as short- and medium-term deviation cycles respectively) and analyse their informational overlap with the components of an alternative theory-based estimate of the business cycle, decomposed into demand, supply, domestic and foreign sources of business cycle dynamics.Results: Our findings suggest that the contents of deviation cycles extracted over a high-frequency range do not neatly correspond to the transitory 'demand-driven' business cycle, while cycles extracted over a medium-frequency range correspond closely to the combined path of permanent output shocks.Conclusion: One should thus be cautious of drawing strong conclusions about the nature of business cycles from filter-based deviation cycle estimates, particularly if the objective of the study relies on assuming that high-frequency deviation cycles correspond to transitory demand shocks.


Yosemite Valley has experienced over 600 rock falls since 1850, but determining the exact source areas, volumes, and failure mechanisms for these rock falls has previously been difficult because of a lack of comprehensive imagery of the cliff faces. We obtained high-resolution imagery, acquired before and after large rock falls in Yosemite Valley, California, by combining of gigapixel panoramic photography and terrestrial laser scanning (LiDAR). Following comprehensive baseline image acquisition of Glacier Point in eastern Yosemite Valley, two large rock falls occurred from within the imaged area in October of 2008. We used repeat gigapixel photography acquired with GigaPans to characterize the rock-fall detachment surface and adjacent cliff area in high resolution. Coupled with LiDAR analyses, these photos reveal that the rock falls consisted of a near planar, vertically oriented rock slab with a detachment surface area of 2,409 m2 and a volume of 5,663 m3. These data inform hazard assessment for this and other rock-fall events in Yosemite. Our results demonstrate the utility of high-resolution imaging techniques for quantifying rock falls from the large vertical rock faces of Yosemite Valley.


The aim of this article is to give an account of the interaction between Christianity and African Traditional Religion found in African Christian theology. The comparison is made with special reference to the respective conceptualisations of evil present in each of these traditions. The paper commences with a brief survey of the manner in which the notion of evil features in the Christian Scriptures and tradition. A brief outline of the African world and life view is then presented in order to provide the back-drop against which an analysis of the notion of evil in African Traditional Religion can be attempted. This analysis is mainly made with reference to recent research on witchcraft and spirit beliefs and is followed by a portrayal of the interaction between the traditional Christian views on evil and those found in African Traditional Religion. This interaction exhibits the twofold structure of rejection on the one hand and accommodation on the other.