This dissertation aims to understand and elucidate the journeys of educational entrepreneurs in the K-12 education space. This qualitative investigation was motivated by three research questions: (1) What are some of the instigating, contributing, and continuing factors that motivate a business or an educational professional toward educational entrepreneurship? (2) How do the studied individuals describe and analyze their journeys from professionals to edupreneurs, and what were key turning points along the way? (3) How can individual stories of educational entrepreneurs help illuminate the topics surrounding educational reform, student and community needs, and teacher professionalism? To date, the literature examining educational entrepreneurship remains sparse, and this dissertation attempts to provide greater understanding regarding this specialized nexus of the business and educational fields. The research considered and described the phenomenological experience of educational entrepreneurship, presenting it in narrative form organized by significant themes derived from the semi-structured interviews of five experienced entrepreneurs. The resulting interview data was condensed into five significant themes: (1) The nature of the niche; (2) The world of business versus the world of education; (3) Challenges, epiphanies, and bumps in the road; (4) Educational entrepreneurship; (5) Lessons learned and hard-earned advice. The major findings from the research indicate that edupreneurs tend to enter entrepreneurship through the realization of a specific need or niche, and often find both challenge and reward in the opportunity to make a difference in the lives of students. The space of educational entrepreneurship is idiosyncratically viewed as a nexus between the business and education worlds wherein entrepreneurs must develop deep understandings of the educational service or product, client(s), pacing, and growth/scaling potential. Edupreneurs offer unique perspectives to issues of school improvement and reform due to their unique entrepreneurial lens, a persistent focus on alternate approaches and niche solutions, the potential for universal solutions to problems, and the entrepreneurial tendency toward ongoing innovation and adaptation. This study provides support for the notion that educational entrepreneurs offer valuable experience and insight into both the practical and philosophical realms of education. TABLE OF CONTENTS DEDICATION ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ABSTRACT CHAPTER ONE ................................................................................................................


In many domains, including law, decisionmakers often resort to heuristics, which others have aptly described as "shortcuts that simplify and speed up decision making" by, for example, "ignor[ing] some of the available information" to arrive at "adequate, though often imperfect, answers to difficult questions." In this paper, I argue that a patent system that more readily accepts the use of damages heuristics may better serve public policy than one that requires patent owners to substantiate every aspect of their claimed damages with rigorous proof. More specifically, policymakers confronted with the choice between a proposed heuristic and an open-ended, nonheuristic standard (or an alternative heuristic) ideally should choose the proposed heuristic when the sum of the administrative and error costs associated with its use is lower than the sum of the administrative and error costs resulting from the use of the nonheuristic (or alternative heuristic). To be sure, there often may be no easy way to evaluate whether this condition is satisfied — due both to the paucity of the evidence and to the fact that the cost one attributes to error depends in part on the value one places on the importance of accurate damages calculations to patent policy. Nevertheless, I will argue that, at least in some recurring situations, policymakers can reach a reasoned conclusion whether or not use of a particular heuristic is likely to improve social welfare; and that, more generally, the patent system would benefit if courts were more mindful of both the necessary tradeoffs to be made in calculating damages and where the gaps in our knowledge lie.


We report an improved design and successful demonstration of single photon avalanche diode (SPAD) detectors fabricated in a standard nwell 0.5 mum CMOS technology. The detectors are implemented as circular junctions between p+ and nwell regions. Two techniques are used to suppress perimeter breakdown: guard rings at the edges of the junctions, formed using lateral diffusion of adjacent nwell regions, and a poly-silicon control gate over the diffused guard rings and surrounding regions. The detectors exhibit a breakdown voltage of -16.85 V, ~4 V higher than simple diode structures in the same technology. The detector exhibits a thermal event rate of 16000 counts/s at room temperature at an excess bias voltage of 1.15 V.


Data operations and command centers are crucial for managing today's Internet-based economy. Despite advances in automation, the challenges placed on operations professionals continue to increase as they work individually or in teams to repair or proactively avoid service disruptions. Although there have been a few studies of collaborative work in military supervisory control centers, due to the sensitive nature of work in operating centers, there have been few studies on the activities that take place in commercial data centers. In this case study of a large, complex data operations and control center, activity theory is used to guide and interpret observations of individual and collaborative work. This resulted in a model of data operations activities, and the identification of tensions that arise within and between these activities. This model is of value to interaction engineers in the first phase of a user-centered engineering methodology. Using this model, we provide some recommendations for reducing some of the tensions we found, and discuss significant opportunities and challenges in this new domain for the HCI community.


OBJECTIVES Acquired or intrinsic multiple drug resistance (MDR) is one of the limitations for successful chemotherapy. In this study, MDR mechanisms developed after paclitaxel and vincristine application in MCF-7 cell line were investigated. METHODS Paclitaxel and vincristine were applied to MCF-7 cell line in stepwise manner. The resistance levels of the cells were determined by XTT test. The levels of all of the genes in resistant and sensitive cells were determined by microarray assay. RESULTS MCF-7/400nMPac and MCF-7/120nMVinc cells are 150- and 30-fold resistant compared to sensitive MCF-7. Upregulation of MDR1 gene is found to be important in resistance. The expression levels of the genes encoding detoxifying enzymes were upregulated and some apoptotic gene levels were downregulated. Changes in expression levels of metastatic genes, some oncogenes, cell cycle, and tubulin-related genes were found. CONCLUSION According to these results, change in expression level of MDR1 gene seems to be important in resistance in MCF-7 cells.


Based on the laboratory experiment of steel fiber reinforced concrete (SFRC), a total of 10 specimens have been designed according to the aggregate interface condition, steel fiber ratios and different-strength concrete. These specimens were computed by MFPA2D in micro-structure level. Comparing the result of SFRC with plain concrete beams, this paper validated the positive effect of steel fiber in crack-resistant and the flexural strength improvement of SFRC beam, analyzed the sensitivity of steel fiber to concrete with different strength, and provided the stress field and elastic modulus images. The numerical results gave the whole failure process of crack initiation, propagation, and interpenetrated. These results provide useful information toward understanding the flexural behavior of SFRC and have great significance to comprehend the flexural failure process of SFRC beam.


INTRODUCTION
This study was conducted to evaluate the seroprevalence of West Nile virus (WNV) in the horse population of northern Serbia. Furthermore, it aimed to provide insight and an updated overview on the circulation of this re-emerging pathogen in this part of southeastern Europe. At the time of manuscript preparation, no clinical cases of WNV infection in horses were reported in this area.

METHODOLOGY
Between 2007 and 2011, a total of 252 equine serum samples were collected from seven different locations in northern Serbia. The presence of WNV-reactive IgG antibodies was examined by using commercial and in-house ELISAs. Selected ELISA-positive samples were re-tested by a WNV lineage 2 plaque reduction neutralization test 90% (PRNT-90).

RESULTS
In 28.6% of the 252 tested equine serum samples antibodies against WNV were detected. The results obtained with the in-house ELISA corresponded to the outcome of the commercial kit in 90% of the samples. All selected WNV antibody ELISA-positive samples were confirmed by PRNT-90 with neutralizing antibody titers of 1:23 to > 1:512.

CONCLUSION
This study confirms the circulation of WNV in northern Serbia. No striking regional differences in seroprevalences were identified suggesting WNV circulation also in other parts of Serbia. Distances between wetlands or forests and stud farms do not appear to have an influence on WNV seroprevalence.


This article examines the role of secrecy in the Church of Scientology, focusing on one of the most confidential and least studied aspects of the Church's advanced auditing levels—Operating Thetan VIII. I use this example as a way of highlighting the complex ethical and epistemological problems in the study of secrecy in new religions. Here, I suggest an alternative approach to the study of secrecy by shifting our gaze away from the attempt to uncover the content of the secret and instead focusing on the more visible forms and strategies through which secrets are maintained, transmitted, revealed and concealed. I trace the "history of a secret" by examining five periods and five key strategies in the Operating Thetan materials from the late 1960s to the present: the advertisement of the secret; secrecy as an adorning possession; the litigation of the secret; the liability of the secret; and the irrelevance of the secret. Finally, I conclude with reflections on the comparative implications of this example for the study of new religions more broadly.


The eikonal or local-normal-mode (LNM) approximation method is presented and applied to the investigation of the radiation loss of a TE guided mode that is due to a narrowing linear taper in slab geometry using a weak-coupling approximation. An exact expression for the total radiation loss is given within the limits of the theory, these limits being small refractive-index changes per wavelength. An approximation to the loss expression is evaluated numerically, indicating that the total radiative loss is roughly exponentially dependent on mode number and on taper step size, at least for weak tapers. The method developed here is not restricted to tapered structures but can be readily adapted to any type of longitudinal disturbance.


Feeding of fibrous agricultural by-product is the most appropriate strategy to reduce the cost of feeding of ruminants. However, these by-products have low nutritive values and the use of tree foliages as supplement could improve the utilisation of these fibrous feeds. A study consisting of three experiments was conducted with the aim of enhancing the utilization of rice straw by supplementation of the diet with mulberry foliage in sheep.
The first experiment evaluated the effect of adding fermentable energy in the mulberry-rice straw basal diet by in vitro gas production technique. Molasses supplementation to mulberry-urea treated rice straw based (TRSM) significantly (P<0.05) improved fermentation of the diet as indicated by the increase in gas production, microbial biomass yield and proportion of propionic acid. Supplementation of molasses at 5% level was sufficient to improve fermentation of the diet.
The second experiment was carried out based on the result from the first experiment. It was postulated that mulberry supplementation also provide fermentable nitrogen and energy in the rumen. Therefore in the second experiment was conducted to compare the effect of mulberry foliage or urea-rice bran mixture supplementation on nutrient digestibility, N utilization, rumen fermentation and fibre degradation. Sheep were fed urea treated rice straw basal diet and three different supplements namely; (i) mulberry, (ii) 50% of the mulberry replaced with urea-rice bran mixture and (iii) mulberry was replaced by to rice bran and urea. DMI, nutrient digestibility, nitrogen balance, and efficiency rumen microbial protein synthesis was similar in sheep fed on urea treated rice straw based diet supplemented by mulberry foliage or urea-rice bran mix. Hence, mulberry supplementation at 30% level in urea treated rice straw basal diet provided fermentable energy and protein. The rate of protein degradability of mulberry in the rumen was reduced in sheep fed mixed urea-rice bran supplement. Supplementation of mulberry or urea-rice bran mixed to urea treated rice straw basal diet resulted in similar fibre degradation of rice straw or urea treated rice straw. Hence, mulberry or urea-rice bran mixture offers an alternative source of fermentable nitrogen and energy to improve the utilisation of rice straw by sheep.
The third experiment determined the effect of mulberry and mulberry-leucaena foliage supplementation on feed utilization, rumen fermentation and growth of lambs fed urea-treated rice straw basal diet. In an in vitro gas production study, mulberry was mixed with either one of the two leucaena varieties (Leucaena leucocephala hybrid and Leucaena leucocephala local) at 2 levels (25 and 50%). Supplementation of leucaena to mulberry decreased in vitro true organic matter digestibility (IVOMD), the rate of gas production and protein digestibility in the rumen buffered medium. Protein digestibility in acid pepsin which is an estimate of protein availability in intestine was increased. Tannin derived from leucaena hybrid supplementation to mulberry at ratio 1:1 was most effective level to decrease protein digestion in the rumen, but increased the protein digestibility in acid pepsin incubation. In a feeding trial, supplementation level at 30% of mulberry-leucaena mixture at the ratio of 1:1 to urea treated rice straw basal diet showed similar effect to mulberry or rice bran supplementation on nutrient digestibility, N balance, microbial protein synthesis and body weight gain. Hence, supplementation of either mulberry-Leucaena mixture or mulberry or urea-rice bran mixture provided the critically deficient nutrient required by rumen microbes to stimulate rumen fermentation digestion and thus the efficiency forage utilization.
It is concluded that mulberry utilization improved when molasses was also supplemented to the rice straw basal diet. In addition, mulberry supplementation also provided the fermentable energy and nitrogen. However, due to the rapid microbial fermentation of mulberry protein in the rumen, mixing of Leucaena that has high tannin content with mulberry could reduce protein degradability in the rumen (in vitro). Feeding of Leucaena-mulberry mixture had similar effect to mulberry supplementation on growth of lambs.


Emotional/behavioral difficulties (EBDs) are increasingly diagnosed in children, constituting some of the most common chronic childhood conditions. Left untreated, EBDs pose long-term individual and population-level consequences. There is a growing evidence of disparities in EBD prevalence by various demographic characteristics. This article builds on this research by examining disparities in access to medical care for children with EBD. From 2008 to 2011, using data from the US National Health Interview Survey (N = 31,631) on sample children aged 4–17, we investigate (1) whether having EBD affects access to care (modeled as delayed care due to cost and difficulty making an appointment) and (2) the role demographic characteristics, health insurance coverage, and frequency of service use play in access to care for children with EBD. Results indicate that children with EBD experience issues in accessing care at more than twice the rate of children without EBD, even though they are less likely to be uninsured than their counterparts without EBD. In multivariable models, children with EBD are still more likely to experience delayed care due to cost and difficulty making a timely appointment, even after adjusting for frequency of health service use, insurance coverage, and demographic characteristics.


Lofexidine has been shown to be as effective as clonidine at controlling some of the symptoms of withdrawal from opioid use. It may have a small additional benefit for maintaining abstinence in patients switched to buprenorphine or methadone for long-term maintenance.


This paper investigates the role of works councils in job satisfaction. Using the recently developed Linked Personnel Panel, we consider both the direct and indirect impact via further training. Basic estimates on an individual level do not reveal clearly direct effects, but on an establishment level, the existence of a works council increases the average job satisfaction in a company. In more extended approaches, we also find a positive, weakly significant link on an individual level accompanied by positive training with regard to job satisfaction if we control for personal characteristics, working conditions, firm size, collegiality variables and industry dummies. Firms with industry-wide bargaining agreements drive this result. The effects are stronger if the firm carries the training costs and if the share of trained workers within the firm measures training. The direct impact of works councils remains positive but becomes insignificant if Lewbel's instrumental variables estimator is applied.


Objective: To examine objectively determined sedentary behavior and physical activity (PA) during and outside working hours in full-time office workers. Methods: A total of 170 participants wore an ActiGraph GT1M accelerometer for 7 days. Time spent sedentary (<100 counts/min), in light-intensity PA (100 to 1951 counts/min), and moderate-to-vigorous PA (≥1952 counts/min) was calculated for workdays (including working hours and nonworking hours) and nonworkdays. Results: Participants accumulated significantly higher levels of sedentary behavior (68% vs 60%) and lower levels of light-intensity activity (28% vs 36%) on workdays in comparison with nonworkdays. Up to 71% of working hours were spent sedentary. Individuals who were most sedentary at work were also more sedentary outside work. Conclusions: Those who are most sedentary at work do not compensate by increasing their PA or reducing their sedentary time outside work. Occupational interventions should address workplace and leisure-time sedentary behavior.


My social media engagement with research interlocutors is shaped by my positionality as a 'halfie' anthropologist based abroad who conducts ethnographic research on violence and peacemaking in the Philippines and the diaspora. On the one hand, social media connectivity facilitates certain research processes, networking, activism, and solidarity building. Yet with social media's security issues and amid shifting political tides, such connectivity poses ethical and security risks, resulting in social media-specific ethical concerns. I demonstrate these points through an account of my engagement with Facebook, a ubiquitous platform for communicating among Filipinos. In the process, I reflect on some of the ways in which social media connectivity between researcher and interlocutors reconfigures the relationality, temporality, hierarchies, and affect of the ethnographic 'field'.


Real-time scheduling algorithms for multiprocessor systems have been the subject of considerable recent interest. For such an algorithm to be truly useful in practice, support for semaphore-based locking must be provided. However, for many global scheduling algorithms, no such mechanisms have been proposed. Furthermore, in the partitioned case, most prior semaphore schemes are either inefficient or restrict critical sections considerably. In this paper, a new flexible multiprocessor locking scheme is presented that can be applied under both partitioning and global scheduling. This scheme allows unrestricted critical-section nesting, but has been designed to deal with the common case of short non-nested accesses efficiently.


Here James Mittelman explains the systemic dynamics and myriad consequences of globalization, focusing on the interplay between globalizing market forces, in some instances guided by the state, and the needs of society. Mittelman finds that globalization is hardly a unified phenomenon but rather a syndrome of processes and activities: a set of ideas and a policy framework. More specifically, globalization is propelled by a changing division of labor and power, manifested in a new regionalism, and challenged by fledgling resistance movements. The author argues that a more complete understanding of globalization requires an appreciation of its cultural dimensions. From this perspective, he considers the voices of those affected by this trend, including those who resist it and particularly those who are hurt by it."The Globalization Syndrome" is among the first books to present a holistic and multilevel analysis of globalization, connecting the economic to the political and cultural, joining agents and multiple structures, and interrelating different local, regional, and global arenas. Mittelman's findings are drawn mainly from the non-Western worlds. He provides a cross-regional analysis of Eastern Asia, an epicenter of globalization, and Southern Africa, a key node in the most marginalized continent. The evidence shows that while offering many benefits to some, globalization has become an uneasy correlation of deep tensions, giving rise to a range of alternative scenarios.


Researchers have long been interested in understanding the "climate" in undergraduate engineering programs. These themes are particularly important for underrepresented groups in engineering such as women. We examine how students perceive climate and how these attitudes vary by gender. Using a repeated cross-sectional design, we compare populations at three institutions from 1995 (N=2279) to 2009 (N=1590) to understand how students' perceptions have changed. Overall, the climate seems to have improved from 1995 to 2009. However, women and men differ in some perceptions of climate. We analyzed student responses from a framework of considering structural factors, faculty factors, and factors related to student agency. Women and men respond similarly on items measuring quality of teaching, perceptions of being taken seriously by faculty, and perceptions of cooperative relationships between male and female students. However, women score differently from men on items measuring perceptions of fairness, participation in study groups, and issues of diversity. Improving recruitment and persistence of women requires a nuanced understanding of the climactic conditions that promote their success.


This document discusses the issues associated with mobility management
for dual stack mobile nodes. Currently, two mobility management
protocols are defined for IPv4 and IPv6. Deploying both in a dual
stack mobile node introduces a number of problems. Deployment and
operational issues motivate the use of a single mobility management
protocol. This document discusses such motivations. The document also
discusses requirements for the Mobile IPv4 (MIPv4) and Mobile IPv6
(MIPv6) protocol so that they can support mobility management for a
dual stack node. This memo provides information for the Internet
community.


Studies of turbulent combustion in the past mainly focus on problems with single-regime combustion. In practical combustion systems, however, combustion rarely occurs in a single regime, and different regimes of combustion can be observed in the same system. This creates a significant gap between our existing knowledge of combustion in single regime and the practical need in multi-regime combustion. In this work, we aim to extend the traditional single-regime combustion models to problems involving different regimes of combustion. Among the existing modeling methods, Transported Probability Density Function (PDF) method is attractive for its intrinsic closure of treating detailed chemical kinetics and has been demonstrated to be promising in predicting low-probability but practically important combustion events like local extinction and re-ignition. In this work, we focus on the model assessment and advancement of the Large Eddy Simulation (LES)/ PDF method in predicting turbulent multi-regime combustion.Two combustion benchmark problems are considered for the model assessment. One is a recently designed turbulent piloted jet flame that features statistically transient processes, the Sydney turbulent pulsed piloted jet flame. A direct comparison of the predicted and measured time series of the axial velocity demonstrates a satisfactory prediction of the flow and turbulence fields of the pulsed jet flame by the employed LES/PDF modeling method. A comparison of the PLIF-OH images and the predicted OH mass fraction contours at a few selected times shows that the method captures the different combustion stages including healthy burning, significant extinction, and the re-establishment of healthy burning, in the statistically transient process. The temporal history of the conditional PDF of OH mass fraction/temperature at around stoichiometric conditions at different axial locations suggests that the method predicts the extinction and re-establishment timings accurately at upstream locations but less accurately at downstream locations with a delay of burning reestablishment. The other test case is a unified series of existing turbulent piloted flames. To facilitate model assessment across different combustion regimes, we develop a model validation framework by unifying several existing pilot stabilized turbulent jet flames in different combustion regimes. The characteristic similarity and difference of the employed piloted flames are examined, including the Sydney piloted flames L, B, and M, the Sandia piloted flames D, E, and F, a series of piloted premixed Bunsen flames, and the Sydney/Sandia inhomogeneous inlet piloted jet flames. Proper parameterization and a regime diagram are introduced to characterize the pilot stabilized flames covering non-premixed, partially premixed, and premixed flames. A preliminary model assessment is carried out to examine the simultaneous model performance of the LES/PDF method for the piloted jet flames across different combustion regimes.With the assessment work in the above two test cases, it is found that the LES/PDF method can predict the statistically transient combustion and multi-regime combustion reasonably well but some modeling limitations are also identified. Thus, further model advancement is needed for the LES/PDF method. In this work, we focus on two model advancement studies related to the molecular diffusion and sub-filter scale mixing processes in turbulent combustion. The first study is to deal with differential molecular diffusion (DMD) among different species. The importance of theDMD effects on combustion has been found in many applications. However, in most previous combustion models equal molecular diffusivity is assumed. To incorporate the DMD effects accurately, we develop a model called Variance Consistent Mean Shift (VCMS) model. The second model advancement focuses on the sub-filter scale mixing in high-Karlovitz (Ka) number turbulent combustion. We analyze the DNS data of a Sandia high-Ka premixed jet flame to gain insights into the modeling of sub-filter scale mixing. A sub-filter scale mixing time scale is analyzed with respect to the filter size to examine the validity of a power-law scaling model for the mixing time scale.


This book traces the continuous history of the faith from the time it was preached by Zoroaster down to the present day - a span of about 3,500 years. First taught among nomads on the Asian steppes, Zoroastrianism became the state religion of the three great Iranian empires and had a remarkable influence on other world faiths: to the east on northern Buddhism, to the west on Judaism, Christianity and Islam. With the conquest of Iran by the Muslim Arabs, Zoroastrianism lost its secular power, but continued to survive as a minority faith. Despite its antiquity, it remains a living religion.


Theorists of deliberation and deconstruction each claim commitments to a more open and legitimate democracy than existing liberal democracy. Eschewing traditional foundations such as natural law, historical inheritance, or the constitutive formation of the nation, they seek to develop a theory of democracy that is more inclusive in conditions of social diversity and complexity. This article investigates the meaning of the open political space that fosters the democratic experience under such conditions. First, a sociologically informed political theory, such as Jürgen Habermas' powerful if flawed attempt, is required to conceive participation in the democratic political sphere. Drawing on Jacques Derrida and others, the author then argues that deconstructive insights that introduce an openness to the non-identical contribute to a more complete democratic theory, offering a crucial mode of democratic inclusion of the other and an acknowledgment of difference that might assist in reforming current institutions. Thus a blend of Habermasian orientation toward deliberation and deconstruction's ethical sensibilities presents a promising development of democratic possibilities.


An updated classification of Polyalthia in Peninsular Malaysia is presented. A synopsis (listing of species with synonymy and typification, and keys to species) is presented for the genera Huberantha , Maasia , Monoon and Polyalthia sensu stricto . One new species ( Polyalthia pakdin I.M.Turner & Utteridge sp. nov.) is described and a conservation assessment presented for it. Monoon xanthopetalum Merr. represents a new record for Peninsular Malaysia. Six new lectotypes are designated.


With the collapse of high-profile corporations in Australia such as Cobar Mines, National Textiles Ltd and Ansett Airlines, the Howard Coalition Government in Australia (1996-2007) in 2000 established the Employee Entitlements Support Scheme (EESS). EESS was later replaced by the General Employee Entitlements and Redundancy Scheme (GEERS), funded by taxpayers to provide limited protection for employee entitlements in the event of corporate insolvency. However, the increased level of insolvencies between 2007and 2009 due to the economic downturn in Australia, placed greater financial pressure on GEERS to provide protection for employees who had lost their jobs and entitlements. As a consequence, the Rudd Government was required to supplement the reserves of GEERS to cope with applications for relief. In this paper the impact of the financial crisis on the GEERS budget is examined.


The U.S. spends far more per person than any other country in the world in treating cancer, without demonstrably superior results. Though the pursuit and pace of innovation in oncology are perhaps unmatched and promise great benefit for cancer patients, this explosion of innovation has been accompanied by dramatic increases in cost, often without significant increases in patient survival. These trends have led to a growing interest in addressing value--understood as treatment benefits or quality weighed against economic cost--in cancer care. In February 2009, the Institute of Medicine convened a group of experts with diverse perspectives, including those of clinical oncology, patient advocacy, the insurance industry, pharmaceutical manufacturing, health economics, and bioethics, to identify challenges to value in cancer care, suggest potential solutions, and discuss what value entails in oncology. This article presents many of the ideas that emerged from this symposium, including ways to correct misaligned economic incentives, improve clinical communication, and generate evidence to promote value in cancer care.


Whether you have a garden suffering from lack of attention, damaged from weather events or suffering pest attacks, Australian Garden Rescue will guide you through practical solutions, helpful tips and preventative tactics to minimise future harm.

Best-selling author Mary Horsfall explores how our harsh climate can impact gardens, including the effects of bushfires, floods, frost, storms and heatwaves. She also addresses various pests from possums, snails and caterpillars to fungal problems and weeds.

With an emphasis on environmentally friendly strategies and simple advice, this highly illustrated guide will provide tactics for gardeners repairing recent damage or tackling prolonged neglect. Regardless of your garden's size or location, this book should be part of your gardening toolkit.


We present a comprehensive data description for Ks-band measurements of Sgr A*. We characterize the statistical properties of the variability of Sgr A* in the near-infrared, which we find to be consistent with a single-state process forming a power-law distribution of the flux density. We discover a linear rms–flux relation for the flux density range up to 12 mJy on a timescale of 24 minutes. This and the power-law flux density distribution implies a phenomenological, formally nonlinear statistical variability model with which we can simulate the observed variability and extrapolate its behavior to higher flux levels and longer timescales. We present reasons why data with our cadence cannot be used to decide on the question whether the power spectral density of the underlying random process shows more structure at timescales between 25 minutes and 100 minutes compared to what is expected from a red-noise random process.


OBJECTIVE To examine the effect of moderate alcohol intake with a meal on gluco e homeostasis in diabetic patients. RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS Alcohol (1 g/kg, an aperitif before, wine during, and a drink after a meal) or an equal amount of mineral water was given during a dinner. Blood glucose and insulin concentrations were measured before, uring, and after the meal until the next morning. This study was conducted at the Helsinki University Hospital Metabolic Ward and the Finnish Diabetes Association Education Center. The participants in the study included 10 type I diabetic patients treated with insulin and 16 type II diabetic patients treated with diet alone or with diet and oral drugs. In each subject, we examined hypoglycemic episodes or differences in blood glucose or serum insulin concentrations between alcohol and the control study. RESULTS In type I diabetic patients, blood glucose and insulin concentrations were virtually identical in both studies. In type II diabetic patients, alcohol slightly enhanced the meal-induced insulin secretion resulting in lower blood glucose concentrations next morning. No hypoglycemic glucose concentrations were observed in either group after alcohol ingestion. CONCLUSIONS Moderate alcohol intake with a meal does not lead to hypo- or hyperglycemia in diabetic patients.


One of the foremost chroniclers of the contemporary black experience offers an undeluded perspective on the 1980s. Here are crack, AIDS, and the Reagan rollback of the major advances of the civil rights movement. But Nelson George also shows how black performers, athletes, and activists made increasing inroads into the mainstream. This fast-paced, chronological retrospective profiles personalities from Bill Cosby to Louis Farrakhan and explores such flashpoints as the first rap single and the infamous Willie Horton ad campaign.On the web: http: //www.nelsongeorge.com/


Twenty-eight months after the onset of the global financial crisis of August 2008, the evidence on post-crisis GDP growth emerging from a sample of 51 advanced and emerging countries is flattering for inflation targeting countries relative to their peers. The positive effect of IT is not explained away by plausible pre-crisis determinants of post-crisis performance, such as growth in private credit, ratios of short-term debt to GDP, reserves to short-term debt and reserves to GDP, capital account restrictions, total capital inflows, trade openness, current account balance and exchange rate flexibility, or post-crisis drivers such as the growth performance of trading partners and changes in terms of trade. We find that inflation targeting countries lowered nominal and real interest rates more sharply than other countries; were less likely to face deflation scares; and had sharp real depreciations without a relative deterioration in their risk assessment by markets. While the task of establishing causal relationships from cross-sectional macroeconomics series is daunting, our reading of this evidence is consistent with the resilience of IT countries being related to their ability to loosen their monetary policy when most needed, thereby avoiding deflation scares and the zero lower bound on interest rates.


Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) was used to study the process of infiltration in an undisturbed core of coarse sandy loam during a repeated ponded infiltration experiment (RPI), in which the first infiltration was conducted into a naturally dry sample and the second infiltration into a wet sample. The primary aim was to assess the change in distribution of entrapped air in the undisturbed soil sample and its influence on steady‐state flow rates. The RPI experiment was conducted on a sample 8.9 cm in diameter and 8.4 cm high. Concurrently with the MRI monitoring, pressure heads and fluxes were measured. Multiple‐slice maps of longitudinal relaxation time (T1), which is a parameter related to the surface/volume ratio, and proton density (M0), related to the water content, covered almost the entire volume of the sample. The T1 mapping was conducted during four stages of the experiment: steady‐state flow of the first (I1) and second (I2) infiltrations and the equilibrium stage after drainage of the sample (Stages D1 and D2). During I1 and I2, the highest values of M0 and T1 were detected in the upper 3 cm of the sample, which is in good agreement with findings of computer tomography showing lower sample density and higher porosity in this region. The drop in the quasi‐steady‐state flow rate that was observed between the I1 and I2 runs corresponded to the decline in T1 and M0 in the upper 4 cm of the sample. The decrease in T1 indicates replacement of water in large pores with trapped air, while a lower M0 signifies a general decrease of water content in the affected areas.


The oomycete pathogen Phytophthora infestans causes potato late blight, and as a potato and tomato specialist pathogen, is seemingly poorly adapted to infect plants outside the Solanaceae. Here, we report the unexpected finding that P. infestans can infect Arabidopsis thaliana when another oomycete pathogen, Albugo laibachii, has colonized the host plant. The behaviour and speed of P. infestans infection in Arabidopsis pre-infected with A. laibachii resemble P. infestans infection of susceptible potato plants. Transcriptional profiling of P. infestans genes during infection revealed a significant overlap in the sets of secreted-protein genes that are induced in P. infestans upon colonisation of potato and susceptible Arabidopsis, suggesting major similarities in P. infestans gene expression dynamics on the two plant species. Furthermore, we found haustoria of A. laibachii and P. infestans within the same Arabidopsis cells. This Arabidopsis - A. laibachii - P. infestans tripartite interaction opens up various possibilities to dissect the molecular mechanisms of P. infestans infection and the processes occurring in co-infected Arabidopsis cells.


This chapter focuses on the design and fabrication of different types of flexible and inflexible wearable fractal for modern wireless applications with body-areanetworks (BANs). A wearable antenna is intended to be a part of clothing used for modern wireless communication purposes. Fractal technology allowed us to design compact antennas and integrate multiple communication services into one device. The proposed antennas were simulated and measured by CST simulator version 2017 and Agilent N9918A VNA respectively. Furthermore, these antennas were fabricated using folded copper. The measured results agree well with the simulated results.


It is possible to characterize the Swedish standardization praxis as very extensive. Standardizing institutions such as the Swedish Academy and the Language Council are occupied with pronunciation, orthography, morphology, syntax, vocabulary, without any formal restrictions. But there are several modifying factors. First, none of the standardizing institutions has a supreme position; misleading measures by one of them are corrected by the others. Second, the standard language norm does not seem to be a central battlefield of symbolic language conflicts in Sweden, in contrast to multilingualism. Third, it seems that most of the Swedes are well integrated in the speech community and easily identify themselves with the idea of the standard norm; thus they are linguistically self confident to question the standard, without disclaiming it. Fourth, the standardiser often leaves the writer some choice (with the exception of spelling). The causes and effects of this standardization praxis are discussed in the paper.


This analysis utilizes death certificate data from the Multiple Cause of Death (MCOD) files to better measure the specific drugs involved in drug poisoning fatalities. Statistical adjustment procedures are used to provide more accurate estimates, accounting for the understatement in death certificate reports resulting because no drug is specified in between one-fifth and one-quarter of cases. The adjustment procedures typically raise the estimates of specific types of drug involvement by 30% to 50% and emphasize the importance of the simultaneous use of multiple categories of drugs. Using these adjusted estimates, an analysis is next provided of drugs accounting for the rapid increase over time in fatal overdoses. The frequency of combination drug use introduces uncertainty into these estimates and so a distinction is made between any versus exclusive involvement of specific drug types. Many of the results are sensitive to the starting and ending years chosen for examination, with a key role of prescription opioids for analysis windows starting in 1999 but with other drugs, particularly heroin deaths, becoming more significant in more recent years and, again, with confirmatory evidence of the importance of simultaneous drug use.


Asylum is never far from the headlines at the moment. In the media, in Parliament and at 'street' level it is a topic everyone appears to have an opinion about. Much of the content of these discussions is negative and frightening, serving to heighten concerns around the presence of asylum seekers and other migrants. This book has arisen out of a desire to separate truth from fiction and myth from reality, not least because the consequences of this distorted vision are experienced in the most brutal of ways by those so defined. 'What are they doing here? A Critical Guide to Asylum and Immigration' is aimed at both the specialist professional working with asylum seekers and refugees, and also the numerous non-specialists who increasingly find that they are involved with this group, either professionally or personally. By focusing on specific themes which arise in practice, it should inform and contextualise as well as challenge some deep-seated ideas which permeate current thinking.


Critical Path Method (CPM) scheduling is currently the dominant scheduling system in use in construction. Location Based Management System (LBMS) is increasingly being used as an alternative in the US, particularly in hospital construction. The goal of this paper is to provide a critical evaluation of one such LBMS implementation by comparing it to a CPM implementation run in parallel. Three hypotheses drove this research. First, LBMS requires more person-hours than CPM to manage the schedule. Second, LBMS provides real-time information to make educated decisions about production control. Third, the subcontractors' start dates are controlled better than their production rates. Both systems are currently being used on a 1 million GSF OSHPD hospital in Northern California. Standard task lists were used to compare the different scheduling time requirements. CPM and LBMS reports were then compared to analyze the different deliverables. Finally, LBMS production data was reviewed against CPM actuals and planned start dates to evaluate the most effective method of subcontractor scope management. The results indicate that more time is required to update the CPM compared to the LBMS schedule on the standard task list. However, CPM supports many legacy processes such as change management. Production rates were controlled better than start dates in this project, contrary to our hypothesis.


The spatial phase-shift technique has been successfully applied to an out-of-plane speckle interferometry system. Its application to a pure in-plane sensitive system has not been reported yet. This paper presents a novel optical configuration that enables the application of the spatial phase-shift technique to pure in-plane sensitive dual-beam speckle interferometry. The new spatial phase-shift dual-beam speckle interferometry (SPS-DBSP) uses a dual-beam in-plane electronic speckle pattern interferometry configuration with individual aperture shears, avoiding the interference in the object plane by the use of a low-coherence source, and different optical paths. The measured object is illuminated by two incoherent beams that are generated by a delay line, which is larger than the coherence length of the laser. The two beams reflected from the object surface interfere with each other at the CCD plane because of different optical paths. A spatial phase shift is introduced by the angle between the two apertures when they are mapped to the same optical axis. The phase of the in-plane deformation can directly be extracted from the speckle patterns by the Fourier transform method. The capability of SPS-DBSI is demonstrated by theoretical discussion as well as experiments.


Abstract The investigation of insulation debris generation, transport, and sedimentation becomes more important with regard to reactor safety research for pressurized water reactors and boiling water reactors when considering the long-term behavior of emergency core coolant systems during all types of loss-of-coolant accidents (LOCAs). The insulation debris released near the break during a LOCA incident consists of a mixture of disparate particle populations that varies with size, shape, consistency, and other properties. Some fractions of the released insulation debris can be transported into the reactor sump, where it may perturb/impinge on the emergency core cooling systems. Open questions of generic interest are, for example, the particle load on strainers and corresponding pressure drop, the sedimentation of the insulation debris in a water pool, and its possible resuspension and transport in the sump water flow. A joint research project on such questions is being performed in cooperation with the University of Applied Sciences Zittau/Görlitz. The project deals with the experimental investigation and the development of computational fluid dynamics (CFD) models for the description of particle transport phenomena in coolant flow. While the experiments are performed at the University of Applied Sciences Zittau/Görlitz, the theoretical work is concentrated at Forschungszentrum Dresden-Rossendorf. In the current paper the basic concepts for CFD modeling are described and feasibility studies including the conceptual design of the experiments are presented.


This article argues that there is no justification for corporate criminal liability. First of all, corporations are not moral agents capable of morally praise- or blameworthy action, and hence are not properly subject to punishment. Secondly, criminal punishment of corporations is inappropriate because 1) it advances none of the legitimate purposes of punishment, 2) it creates an unacceptable risk of prosecutorial error or abuse, and 3) it is not necessary to address a public harm. The only purpose served by threatening corporations with criminal punishment is to shift the balance in power between the prosecution and defense in white collar criminal cases radically in favor of the prosecution. However, this is inconsistent with the inherent liberal bias of the criminal law that embodies the normative assessment that an unrestrained government is a greater danger to citizens' well-being than any number of individual criminals. Corporate criminal liability cannot be theoretically justified because it is directly violative of the theoretical structure of Anglo-American criminal law.


Evaluating the worst-case performance of a reinforcement learning (RL) agent under the strongest/optimal adversarial perturbations on state observations (within some constraints) is crucial for understanding the robustness of RL agents. However, finding the optimal adversary is challenging, in terms of both whether we can find the optimal attack and how efficiently we can find it. Existing works on adversarial RL either use heuristics-based methods that may not find the strongest adversary, or directly train an RL-based adversary by treating the agent as a part of the environment, which can find the optimal adversary but may become intractable in a large state space. In this paper, we propose a novel attacking algorithm which has an RL-based "director" searching for the optimal policy perturbation, and an "actor" crafting state perturbations following the directions from the director (i.e. the actor executes targeted attacks). Our proposed algorithm, PA-AD, is theoretically optimal against an RL agent and significantly improves the efficiency compared with prior RL-based works in environments with large or pixel state spaces. Empirical results show that our proposed PA-AD universally outperforms state-of-the-art attacking methods in a wide range of environments. Our method can be easily applied to any RL algorithms to evaluate and improve their robustness.


Quantifying uncertainty in environmental health impact assessment models is important, particularly if the models are to be used for decision support. This thesis develops a new non-probabilistic framework to quantify uncertainty in environmental health impact assessment models. The framework takes into account two different perspectives of uncertainty: conceptual and analytical in terms of where uncertainty occurs in the model. The first perspective is concerned with uncertainty in the framing assumptions of health impact assessment, whereas the second perspective is concerned with uncertainty in the parameters of a model. The construction of the framework was achieved by focusing on five specific objectives: (i) to describe the complexity of how uncertainty arises in environmental health impact assessment and classify the uncertainty to be amenable for quantitative modelling;(ii) to critically appraise the strengths and limitations of current methods used to handle the uncertainty in environmental health impact assessment; (iii) to develop a novel quantitative framework for quantifying uncertainty from the conceptual and analytical perspectives; (iv) to formulate two detailed case-study examples on health impact assessment of indoor housing interventions; (v) to apply the framework to the two case-studies. After critiquing the uncertainty quantification methods that are currently applied in environmental health impact assessment, the thesis develops the framework for quantifying uncertainty, starting with the conceptual uncertainty (uncertainty associated with the framing assumptions or formulation of the model), then quantifying the analytical uncertainty (uncertainty associated with the input parameters and outputs of the model). The first case-study was concerned with the health impact assessment of improving housing insulation. Using fuzzy cognitive maps, the thesis identifies key indoor factors and their
pathways highly sensitive to the framing assumptions of the health impact assessment. The second case-study was concerned with estimating the uncertainty in the health burdens in England, associated with three ventilation exposure scenarios using fuzzy sets and interval analysis. The thesis presents a wider uncertainty framework as a first step forward in quantifying conceptual and analytical uncertainty in environmental health impact assessment when dealing with limited information.


This paper argues that the Office of the Prosecutor (OTP) of the International Criminal Court (ICC) should immediately reject the attempt of the Palestinian Authority to accede to the jurisdiction of the court. On January 21, 2009, Ali Khashan, Minister of Justice for the "Palestinian National Authority" (PNA) submitted a declaration to the OTP purporting to accept the ICC's jurisdiction under Article 12(3) of the Rome Statute. Article 12(3) referrals, however, can only be effected by States and the PNA has not yet achieved the status of statehood nor claims to be a state. Nevertheless, supporters of the PNA declaration have argued that the court should take an "expansive approach" in "interpreting the meaning of 'state'" solely for purposes of the Rome Statute. This position, known as the "teleological approach," must be rejected because it is nothing more than a thinly veiled attempt to transform the ICC into a court of universal jurisdiction – an approach that was expressly rejected by the drafters of the Statute. Supporters of the "teleological" approach also ask the court to ignore the plain language of the Statute in order to prevent Palestinians from being denied "recourse to justice". Despite this allegation, there is no "lack of recourse" or a "zone of impunity" in this case. The Rome Statute, the UN Charter, and the Israeli justice system all offer adequate remedies. The OTP should also reject the declaration because the PNA is marred by "unclean hands" by openly defying the authority of the Court, violating its representations to be in compliance with Part 9 of the Statute, and by failing to adhere to the Court's principles and objectives. Finally, the PNA declaration is a part of the "Durban Strategy" – a political campaign that uses the rhetoric of human rights and international law in order to attack the legitimacy of the State of Israel. The ICC should not allow itself to be exploited as part of a cynical political campaign. For all of these reasons, the declaration has no merit and should be immediately rejected.


Miscarriages of justice occur far more frequently than we realise and have the power to ruin people's lives. It is crucial for criminal justice practitioners to understand them, given significant developments in recent years in law and police codes of practice.

This text, part of the Key themes in policing textbook series, is written by three highly experienced authors with expertise in the fields of criminal investigation, forensic psychology and law and provides an up-to-date and comprehensive analysis of miscarriages of justice. They highlight difficulties in defining miscarriages of justice, examine their dimensions, forms, scale and impact and explore key cases and their causes. Discussing informal and formal remedies against miscarriages of justice, such as campaigns and the role of the media and the Court of Appeal and the Criminal Cases Review Commission (CCRC), they highlight criticism of the activities and decision-making of the latter and examine changes to police investigation in this area.

Designed to incorporate 'evidence-based policing', each chapter provides questions reflecting on the issues raised in the text and suggestions for further reading.


A set of vertices S is a determining set of a graph G if every automorphism of G is uniquely determined by its action on S. The determining number of G is the minimum cardinality of a determining set of G. This paper studies the determining number of Kneser graphs. First, we compute the determining number of a wide range of Kneser graphs, concretely Kn:k with n≥k(k+1) / 2+1. In the language of group theory, these computations provide exact values for the base size of the symmetric group Sn acting on the k-subsets of 1,..., n. Then, we establish for which Kneser graphs Kn:k the determining number is equal to n-k, answering a question posed by Boutin. Finally, we find all Kneser graphs with fixed determining number 5, extending the study developed by Boutin for determining number 2, 3 or 4.


Whereas the Industrial Revolution attracted workers away from home‐based community settings to central locations, the current proliferation of personal computers and asynchronous telecommunications technologies is reversing this trend. By networking employees from different geographical sites together, these technologies are producing "hybrid" organizational structures that permit their members to work within flexible schedules and in flexible places, even to the point of working at home. The result is the electronically distributed work community: a population of nonproximal coworkers who labor together electronically. This paper presents a springboard for conducting research on telework as it is understood within the context of that community. The paper begins with a brief history of telecommuting and describes its influence on the electronic community and organizational structures in general within the past two decades. The paper concludes by presenting implications for research on telework in the areas of privacy regulation, emergency preparedness, self‐efficacy, temporal aspects of employee behavior, communication patterns, and organizational effectiveness.


The geography of Irish traditional music is a complex, popular and largely
unexplored element of the narrative of the tradition. Geographical concepts such as the
region are recurrent in the discourse of Irish traditional music but regions and their
processes are, for the most part, blurred or misunderstood. This thesis explores the
geographical approach to the study of Irish traditional music focusing on the concept of
the region and, in particular, the role of memory in the construction and diffusion of
regional identities.
This is a tripartite study considering people, place and music. Each of these
elements impacts on our experience of the other. All societies have created music. Music
is often associated with or derived from places. Some places construct or reinforce their
identity through the music and musicians through which they are associated. The thesis
challenges conventional discourse on regional styles that construct an imagined pattern of
regions based on subtle musical differences that may, though are not always, shared by
people in that region and focuses on the social networks through which the music is
disseminated. The thesis also challenges the abandonment of regional styles and the
concept of regions in understanding the complex geographies of Irish traditional music
(Morton, 2001). It seeks to find a middle ground between discourse analysis, musical
analysis, the experience of music and place, and the representation of music and place.
The dissertation is divided into three parts. Part one considers the development of
music geography, noting and critiquing the abandonment of useful paradigms in both
geography and ethnomusicology in search of new ways of understanding. Of particular
interest is the concept of the region but it also considers the study of landscape and the
humanist approach in cultural geography. The second part focuses on the discourse and
study of regions in Irish traditional music and the various agents and processes that shape
the concept of the region in Irish traditional music. The final part presents a case study of
the Sliabh Luachra region combining and applying the various perspectives and
paradigms drawn from geographical, ethnomusicological and anthropological sources. It
attempts to generate an understanding of Sliabh Luachra as a region in the Irish traditional
music narrative that is based on a combination of musical, socio-cultural and
locational/environmental factors.


The p-cycle is the most promising technique used for the survivability of WDM networks. Relevant studies conducted by eminent researchers in this field have suggested that the reliability of the p-cycle can be enhanced further. In order to address the problem, the authors introduced a concept, namely, intercycle switching (ICS), that reduces the length of the p-cycle restoration segment by exploiting an idle p-cycle. This reduction implies a minimized restored path (end-to-end) length and thus improves the quality and reliability of optical transport networks. Through this paper, the authors show how the effectiveness of the ICS approach can be enhanced by considering the restored path during intercycle switching instead of the p-cycle restoration segment, namely, as enhanced ICS (EICS). Furthermore, the authors worked on the optimal allocation of the candidate p-cycle and idle p-cycle (OPIA) to the working paths to choose the restored path optimally where EICS is more effective.


Previous studies have suggested that a specific community of bacteria coexists within the phycosphere of marine dinoflagellates. In order to better understand the dinoflagellate-bacteria relationships, a fosmid clone library was constructed from the metagenome DNA and analyzed. Some of the fosmid clones were end-sequenced. A total of 1501 fosmid clones with insert sizes of 30–40 Kbp were produced. End sequenc-ing of 238 clones showed that 55% of the genes had known functions, 11% were of putative function and 34% were genes of unknown function or had no match in Genbank. There were approximately 14% sequences with no classification and could potentially represent novel genes. Analysis of these partial sequences also revealed some promising enzymes that possess various potential industrial applications such as chitinases, kinases, agarases and oxygenases. The results also showed that the bacterial flora of the Alexandrium tamiyavanichii culture was dominated by the Alpha-proteobacteria, followed by Bacteroidetes and Gamma-proteobacteria. The findings in this study suggested that the bacterial community may play various role in the association with dinoflagellate. This study had also shown that dinoflagellate-associated bacterial community is a valuable source for discovery of novel genes and gene products.


Since the early 1990s, the EU's trade agreements have included a 'human rights clause' requiring the parties to respect human rights and democratic principles. More recently, beginning with the 2008 EU-Cariforum Economic Partnership Agreement, they have also included 'sustainable development' chapters, which contain obligations to respect labour and environmental standards. This article considers the extent to which, legally, these two sets of provisions give the EU the means of implementing its obligations to ensure that its external activities respect human rights and pursue the objective of promoting sustainable development. It also considers the desirability of these differences in the EU's approach to the human rights and democratic principles, on the one hand, and labour and environmental standards, on the other.


The importance of applying unsaturated soil mechanics concepts to geotechnical engineering design has been widely recognized. Soil water characteristic curve (SWCC) and hydraulic conductivity function (HCF) are vital soil properties that govern engineering behavior of unsaturated soils. In this study, a transient water release and imbibitions method (TRIM) is used to measure the SWCC and HCF under drying and wetting states, which accommodates integrated experimental and modeling techniques. The results of saturated hydraulic conductivity tests through flexible wall method are then used as input parameters for simulating experimental data. In general, the model provides a satisfactory fit to experimental data. Soil water characteristic curves (SWCCs) and hydraulic conductivity functions (HCFs) are presented for a variety of soils that were prepared at different molding water contents and compactive efforts. The influences of dry density, molding water content, and hysteresis have been investigated. Dry density affects soil-water characteristic in terms of its air-entry value (AEV), rate of drying, and size of the hysteresis loop. The test results indicate that the SWCC and HCF obtained in terms of volumetric water content is more sensitive to the changes in dry density than molding water content. Based on cohesive soil results, some statistical relations are proposed to estimate wetting-path SWCC and HCF parameters from more easily measured drying curves. Changes in the van Genuchten's fitting parameters and residual volumetric water content are investigated for both drying and wetting conditions, with changes in the kaolin clay content. An Experimental Study on Soil Water Characteristics and Hydraulic Conductivity of Compacted Soils


In the world of research, we often comment that we are closer to colleagues sharing the same interests at the other side of the world than to our colleagues next door. While this may be true, it is also true that local conditions and traditions create variety and enrich our common experience. Placing some body of work in the context of its creators gives us a deeper understanding and appreciation. It also brings us closer as a community. In this spirit, I have started asking colleagues from various countries around the world to offer us their local perspective on design research and education and also to ponder on the role that our journal can play in supporting design in their local context. In future issues I expect to host a few such guest editorials, some contributed by associate editors of the journal. The selection of countries and the order of appearance are circumstantial and reflect no preference or priority. I hope to host as many of these contributions as I can get. The inaugural contribution below comes from France, and I am grateful to Associate Editor Bernard Yannou, Professor at Ecole Centrale Paris, and to Jean-François Petiot, Professor at Ecole Centrale de Nantes, for sharing their insights on the "French Perspective."


A semi-automatic measurement system and diagnostic tool for localization of radiating parts of electronic devices in near-field was developed. A near-field scanning of electromagnetic emission is performed by the system. Maximal spatial resolution of the scanning is 0.2 mm which is sufficient for exact localization of radiating parts in the most cases. Frequency range of the measurement is from 30 MHz to 3 GHz. The advantage of the system is simplicity of implementation, as it is based entirely on commercially produced devices. The test receiver Rohde & Schwarz ESPI7 was used for the measurement of radiation level. The advantageous functions of the receiver such as fast frequency scan and simultaneous measurement with three detectors was utilized. The scanning procedure is controlled by a program which leads a user throughout all measurement steps. The program was made in Agilent VEE Pro. Important part of the measurement is processing of the measured data. Therefore, software for effective data visualization and analysis was developed. The key functions of the program are projection of the measured data on a photograph of the tested device, peak search and highlighting of critical places. Results of the scanning of a main board of a personal computer are presented.


In this paper, we demonstrate the principle of acoustic transmission for communications and power supply, in-vivo. The acoustic transmissions are intended to be used for fixed implanted biomedical devices, such as pacemakers, but more importantly, neural implants were wired and wireless RF communications cannot be used. The acoustic transmissions can be used for both wireless communications and to recharge the device, in-vivo, using conventional piezoelectric power harvesting techniques. Current research in biomedical engineering is looking at implantable devices to regulate conditions such as Parkinson's and other neuromuscular conditions. Transient devices, such as those used in the gastrointestinal track, make use of high frequency RF, were the permittivity of the human body begins to decrease. However, significant power is still required. This results in local tissue heating, due to the absorption of the EM radiation. This heating has side effects that limit the exposure times for safe practices. For neural implants, were the goal is to have the product implanted for long periods of time, without complications and minimal side effects, RF communications cannot currently be used. Acoustic transmissions represent an ideal low power method of communicating with in-vivo biomedical devices, and for recharging them through power harvesting. In this work, we present results showing the performance of the communications channel and sample communications signals, through a biological specimen. The frequency response, transfer function and transient response (at resonance) of the communications channel were measured. Due to the frequency response of the communications channel, PSK was chosen as the modulation method. Successful communication was achieved through the communications channel. We also show the result of preliminary work on harvesting the acoustic signals to provide power for recharging in-vivo Biomedical devices.


Introduction: The ear is a structure of the face with important aesthetic value. The dimensions of the ear and the appearance of its anatomical components change with age, disease and cultural practices which can result in an aesthetically unpleasant form over time. The earlobe is an important anatomical part of the ear and is considerably influenced by the factors above. It is made of fatty tissue and skin and can undergo changes in its proportion and flaccidity, which may be improved by surgical procedures to make it more aesthetically pleasing, providing a more proportional or younger appearance. This article reports the case of a 30-yearold patient who considered his earlobes disproportionate in relation to the rest of his ears and underwent surgery to have them reduced. Methods: A simple and fast recovery surgical procedure was carried out delineating and resecting a part of each of the patient's earlobes. Results: The results proved to be satisfactory as the patient had more proportional earlobes in relation to the rest of his ears achieving aesthetic improvement. Conclusion: The technique described in this article to reduce hypertrophied earlobes proved to be efficient. ■ ABSTRACT


The Creative City is now a classic and has been republished many times. It is an ambitious book and a clarion call for imaginative action in running urban life. It seeks to inspire people to think, plan and act imaginatively in the city and to get an ideas factory going that turns urban innovations into reality. Its aim is to make readers feel: 'I can do that too' and to spread confidence that creative and innovative solutions to urban problems are feasible however bad they may seem at first sight.


Accounts of powerful new forensic technologies such as DNA typing, biometric scanning, and cell site or RFID tracking fill the daily news. Such techniques have already gained renown for helping to exonerate those wrongly convicted, and for exposing the failings of a criminal justice system that too readily relied upon old forms of faulty forensic evidence like handwriting, ballistics, or even fingerprints. Advocates applaud the introduction of a "new paradigm" for forensic evidence, and promise that these new techniques will revolutionize the future investigation and trial of criminal cases. To be sure, these new forensic sciences offer an unprecedented degree of certainty and reliability. Yet that alone does not necessarily render them less susceptible to misuse by the criminal justice system. In fact, as this Article argues, the very characteristics most lauded in these new forensic techniques actually exacerbate the conditions that ultimately caused traditional forensic sciences to fall into disrepute. This Article challenges the new orthodoxy of forensic science. In so doing, it reframes the debate about forensic evidence in the criminal justice system in three respects. First, this Article sets forth a new taxonomy of forensic evidence, and distinguishes between first and second generation sciences by enumerating specific, classifiable characteristics. Second, using that framework, this Article illustrates how the pathologies of the criminal justice system that ultimately tarnished the first generation of forensic evidence are in fact aggravated, rather than relieved, by the particular characteristics of the second generation. Lastly, this Article criticizes current approaches to improving the use of forensic evidence in the criminal justice system for failing to account for the particular characteristics of second generation sciences, and instead advocates for changes tailored to those specific concerns.


Ternary and quaternary metal chelates of some biologically important bivalent transition metal ions viz. Co(II), Ni(II), Cu(II) and Zn(II) formed with biologically significant ligands, viz. Asparagine (A) and Uracil (B) have been investigated. The relevant stability constants and complexation equilibria of quaternary metal chelates in solution at 30±1 oC and at constant ionic strength (I=0.1M NaNO3) have been studied potentiometrically. Equilibrium concentrations of all species in multimetal-multiligand system, concentration of each metal and complexing agent have been calculated. Species distribution curves are obtained by plotting percent (%) concentration of the species obtained through SCOGS computer technique against pH. The distribution curves are finally sketched by running the computer program ORIGIN 4.0. The metal ligand formation constant of MA, MB, MAB and M1M2AB type of complexes follow Irving William order. The order of stability constants of quaternary systems has been observed and solution structures of metal complexes with said ligands have been discussed.


Purpose: The object of the research is the changing climate and its impact on air transport in Poland. The primary objective of the study was to present the most crucial elements of the air transport sector, vulnerable to the more and more frequent climate changes, and vulnerability indicators which allow to evaluate the impact of the change of climatic elements on the operation conditions of air transport. Design/Methodology/Approach: The research process was conducted in two major stages. The first step was to select and indicate elements vulnerable to climatic factors having a key impact on the decisions regarding the essential characteristics of the transport sector while presenting the vulnerability indicators. This was performed with the application of a diagnostic survey using the questionnaire tool. The survey was conducted among the passengers of Warsaw airports in the year 2017. Findings: The current warming of the climatic system entails measurable consequences which soon will have very costly and inevitable consequences both for air transport and economy in Europe and elsewhere, if no fast and firm corrective and remedial actions are taken. Practical Implications: Climate change presents a considerable global threat. The overwhelming majority of recent scientific research and climate change reports confirm that current global warming is the result of human activities. Climate has already started to change, and it is evident that the rate of change is increasing. It has begun to affect air transport, i.e., one of the transport branches most vulnerable to climatic changes. Its sensitivity to climatic conditions should be viewed in relation to three basic elements: infrastructure, means of transport, and social comfort. Appropriate operation of the transport sector, in turn, may be guaranteed only if climatic factors are considered. Originality/Value: Indication of the most crucial elements of the air transport sector, vulnerable to the more and more frequent climate changes, and vulnerability indicators which allow to evaluate the impact of the change of climatic elements on the conditions of operation of air transport.


The traditional reading of Julia de Burgos's (1914–1953) poem "Rio Grande de Loiza" positions the river as a male lover. An ecofeminist reading yields a very different reading and raises other questions about the gendered and sexual message circulating within the poem. In my reading, the river becomes a fluid, lyrical mirror reflecting the poet's quest for transnational and transsexual freedom unbound by female corporeality. Burgos invokes the river as a non-human Other interlocutor in order to deconstruct both the geographic and political boundaries imposed by US colonial hegemony and the sexual ones foisted by patriarchal-oriented Puerto Rican nationalists who viewed sexuality as heteronormative. By the 1930s, landscapes had been appropriated as symbols of the fatherland and a distinct Puerto Rican identity. Burgos's language establishes instead a fluvial proto-feminist discourse of empowerment by imagining multiple sites of corporeal pleasure that transcend national barriers and offers alternative poetic fluid sexualities.


The demand for Elaeis guineensis Jacq. (oil palm) seedlings keeps increasing by the years due to an increased need in replanting of palms over the age of 25 years. In 2006, about 89% of oil palm area was under mature palms. However, replanting of oil palm is faced with major constraint due to the long period of seedling establishment, which usually takes about 11 – 12 month in nursery before seedlings can be transplanted out to the field. Subsequently, cost of seedling establishment and nursery management remains high and economic pay back slows due to relatively late bearing. Development of a new technique that can enhance seedling growth and reduce nursery period would mean generation of high income to oil palm propagators and growers. One possible way to enhance seedling growth and development is by CO2 enrichment although responses to CO2 enrichment can be species dependent. Therefore, the main objective of the study was to examine the effects of CO2 enrichment on the growth and physiological responses of three progenies of oil palm seedlings. It was hypothesized that CO2-enriched palms would increase their relative growth rate (RGR) and total biomass through the enhanced of water use efficiency (WUE) and net photosynthesis (A). In accomplishing the research, two experiments were carried out bearing the following specific objectives, namely: 1) to investigate the effects of different CO2 concentrations on seedling growth, leaf gas exchange and macronutrients status of three oil palm progenies; and; 2) to examine the effects of different durations of CO2 enrichment on growth of oil palm seedlings.
In experiment one, three tenera progenies of oil palm seedlings, Deli Urt, Deli Yangambi and Deli AVROS were exposed to three levels of CO2 enrichment viz ambient CO2 (control) twice ambient carbon CO2 (800 μmol/mol) and thrice ambient CO2 (1200 μmol/mol). The enrichment treatments were carried out continuously for six days per week between 0800 to 1000am for 15 weeks. Treatments were arranged in a Split Plot RCBD design replicated three times. Each treatment consisted of 10 palms with CO2 levels as the main plot and progenies, as the subplot. Results showed there were no interaction between CO2 and progenies enrichment neither were there preference for CO2 by the progenies observed. However, CO2 imposed (p≤0.05) a very marked effect on the growth and the leaf gas exchange parameters although all the variables measured did not differ significantly when palms were exposed to 800 and 1200 μmol/mol of CO2. Exposing seedlings to higher (800 μmol/mol) CO2 concentration resulted in higher total biomass, net assimilation rate (NAR), RGR, plant height, frond number, basal diameter and total leaf area compared to the controlled seedlings. As further increase in CO2 concentration (1200 μmol/mol) occurred, seedlings become acclimatized to increased quantum efficiency of PSII (Fv/Fm). However total chlorophyll content and stomata density (pores/mm2) reduced. Higher CO2 concentration than ambient affected leaf gas exchange. Upon enrichment, net photosynthesis (A) and WUE increased, but there was reduction in stomata conductance (gs) and evapotranspiration rate (E). Increase in WUE under increased CO2 concentration implied that plant could utilize water per unit carbohydrate produced especially when undergoing stress. Seedlings treated with high CO2 increased their apparent quantum yield (α) and A max but light compensation point was reduced.
Nutrient analysis from leaves showed that oil palm seedling treated with high CO2 are deficient in nutrients compared to control. Total N, P, K, Ca and Mg were significantly reduced (p≤0.05) in all the CO2 treatments but total carbon and C:N ratio increased. Enrichment with 800 μmol/mol CO2 was most efficient in enhancing growth and photosynthetic traits of oil palm seedlings although there was no significant difference between the three progenies. Result suggested, that enrichment with CO2 could improve growth of oil palm seedling. The study also proved that a two-hour straight fertilization with CO2 was able to enhance the growth of oil palm seedlings by increasing the photosynthetic rate, WUE and apparent quantum yield (α).
In the second experiment, seedlings were exposed to different duration of CO2 enrichment viz: two hours (0800 – 1000; Control), three hours (0800 – 1100), and four hours (0800 – 1200) at 800 μmol/mol CO2. The treatments were arranged in Randomized Complete Block Design (RCBD) replicated three times, and each treatment consisted of 12 palms. There was no significant difference in frond number, total chlorophyll contents, plant height, basal diameter, leaf area, total plant biomass, leaf area ratio, leaf weight ratio, shoot to root ratio, NAR and RGR when palms were exposed to different duration of CO2 enrichment. The result suggested that enrichment for two hours was efficient to enhance growth of oil palm seedling and that further increase in exposure time to CO2 enrichment did not help to further increase the growth.
The results showed that CO2 at 800 μmol/mol with 2-hours of exposure was effective in increasing plant growth by increasing total biomass, RGR and NAR by 112, 18 and 70% respectively thus reducing the time for plants to be maintained in the nursery by 4 months.


We review the capabilities and costs of various lofting methods intended to deliver sulfates into the lower stratosphere. We lay out a future solar geoengineering deployment scenario of halving the increase in anthropogenic radiative forcing beginning 15 years hence, by deploying material to altitudes as high as ∼20 km. After surveying an exhaustive list of potential deployment techniques, we settle upon an aircraft-based delivery system. Unlike the one prior comprehensive study on the topic (McClellan et al 2012 Environ. Res. Lett. 7 034019), we conclude that no existing aircraft design—even with extensive modifications—can reasonably fulfill this mission. However, we also conclude that developing a new, purpose-built high-altitude tanker with substantial payload capabilities would neither be technologically difficult nor prohibitively expensive. We calculate early-year costs of ∼$1500 ton−1 of material deployed, resulting in average costs of ∼$2.25 billion yr−1 over the first 15 years of deployment. We further calculate the number of flights at ∼4000 in year one, linearly increasing by ∼4000 yr−1. We conclude by arguing that, while cheap, such an aircraft-based program would unlikely be a secret, given the need for thousands of flights annually by airliner-sized aircraft operating from an international array of bases.


Multitude between Innovation and NegationPaolo Virnotranslated by James CascaitoThe publication of Paolo Virno's first book in English, Grammar of the Multitude, by Semiotext(e) in 2004 was an event within the field of radical political thought and introduced post-'68 currents in Italy to American readers. Multitude between Innovation and Negation, written several years later, offers three essays that take the reader on a journey through the political philosophy of language."Wit and Innovative Action" explores the ambivalence inevitably arising when the semiotic and the semantic, grammar and experience, rule and regularity, and right and fact intersect. Virno unravels the infinite potential and wonders of everyday linguistic praxis and ambiguity. Wit, he argues, is a public performance, and its modus operandi characterizes human action in a state of emergency; it is a reaction, an articulate response, and a possible solution to a state of crisis. "Mirror Neurons, Linguistic Negation, and Mutual Recognition" examines the relationship of language and intersubjective empathy: without language, would human beings be able to recognize other members of their species? And finally, in "Multitude and Evil," Virno challenges the distinction between the state of nature and civil society and argues for a political institution that resembles language in its ability to be at once nature and history.Few thinkers take the risks required by innovation. Like a philosophical entrepreneur, Virno is engaged in no less than rewriting the dictionary of political theory, an urgent and ambitious project when language, caught in a permanent state of emergency impossible to sustain, desperately needs to articulate and enact new practices of freedom for the multitude.Paolo Virno is the author of several books, including A Grammar of the Multitude (Semiotext(e), 2004).


Resource economy, cost-cutting, environmental conservation and the use renewable energies; "integral planning" is a complex challenge requiring the interaction of various disciplines to create modern buildings with optimum efficiency whilst saving material and running costs. Active factors such as construction techniques, building skins, room layout and exterior space should reduce the need for the internal technical facilities and all passive measures exploited to the maximum. Daniel s Advanced Building Systems provides an up-to-date overview of the latest technology in building installations, complete with a wide range of detailed technical plans. It is more than merely a systematic handbook focusing on building technology for students of architecture, civil engineering and mechanical engineering, it is also a reference work enabling the practitioner to draw up initial plans and dimensions.


We present a unified asymptotic framework for transmit antenna selection in multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) multi-relay networks with Rician, Nakagami-m, Weibull, and Generalized-K fading channels. We apply this framework to derive new closed-form expressions for the outage probability and symbol error rate (SER) of amplify-andforward relaying in MIMO multi-relay networks with two distinct protocols: 1) transmit antenna selection with receiver maximalratio combining (TAS/MRC), and 2) transmit antenna selection with receiver selection combining (TAS/SC). Based on these expressions, the diversity order and the array gain with M-ary phase shift keying and M-ary quadrature amplitude modulation are derived.We corroborate that the diversity order only depends on the fading distribution and the number of diversity branches, whereas the array gain depends on the fading distribution, the modulation format, the number of diversity branches, and the average per-hop signal-to-noise ratios (SNRs). We highlight that the diversity order of TAS/MRC is the same as TAS/SC, regardless of the underlying fading distribution. As such, we explicitly characterize the SNR gap between TAS/MRC and TAS/SC as the ratio of their respective array gains. An interesting observation is reached that for equal per-hop SNRs, the SNR gap between the two protocols is independent of the number of relays.


This study presents a protocol analysis that explores job opportunities for unemployed workers in the Peoples Republic of China. Providing the best job opportunities to workers and, as a result, reducing unemployment levels is a top government priority. However, in a rapidly changing economic system, the situation presents itself as a complex problem to the Chinese. The solution to this problem is complicated by the uncertainties involved in evaluating alternatives. We recognize the selection of the best alternative as a multiple criteria decision and apply the AHP approach as an appropriate solution method. Introduction China is rapidly changing from a central planning to a free-market economic system. Under the old system most state-owned enterprises were overstaffed and never pressured to lower production costs. The overriding goal was to meet or exceed the quotas determined by administrators from the central planning office. Therefore the cost of labor utilized in the production of goods was not an issue of concern to managers. However, as the environment changed, domestic as well as international competition forced many enterprises to seek more cost-effective positions. Labor costs became the number one issue in survival planning. This lead most managers to reduce employment levels. As the demand for labor dropped many former employees were unable to find new jobs. As a result, unemployment has become a problem for almost every family in China. The Chinese government realizes that unemployment must be addressed and it is determined to help its workers regain employment. Although something must be done to reduce this high level of unemployment, providing the best solution to the problem is difficult. The situation is complicated because there are numerous ways that the government can help the unfortunate. This paper addresses the problem of finding the best alternative to reduce China's level of unemployment. The Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) was applied to the decision making process for selecting the best strategy to help unemployed workers find a job. Unlike other decision modeling techniques, AHP receives little attention in terms of the amount of exposure by academic textbooks in the area of decision science. Nevertheless, there have been a large number of AHP articles published in the literature. It is also interesting to note that AHP, as a decision modeling technique, has been applied to various decision areas. As reported in Zehedi's (1986) survey these areas of application have been wide spread. They range across the industries of energy, environment, health, manufacturing, architecture, and consulting. They continue through the various fields including sociology, accounting, economic planning, manpower selection, budget allocation, computer selection, portfolio selection, marketing, purchasing, and database system selection. Such a broad area of application suggests fewer restrictive assumptions than other decision modeling techniques. This practical nature of AHP has led to its application in highly diverse areas. This, in turn, has led to the solution of complicated and elusive decision problems. Although AHP has been successfully applied to at least twenty-seven unrelated areas involving decision problems that were diverse in nature, each of the problems had two things in common: they required the decision maker to rate decision alternatives for evaluation and they involved some qualitative elements. These two important features make AHP applicable to most decision problems, especially to those where qualitative variables are required. Among the AHP applications published in the literature, two articles are typical examples where the two features are fully utilized in the problem solving process. In the first article Wabalicks (1987) develops an AHP based methodology for evaluating the costs and benefits of implementing a Flexible Manufacturing System (FMS). …


"The inter-relationships of health, illness and society are matters of intense and growing research and debate. Kevin White has performed an extraordinary service to anyone who would wish to understand or contribute to such debates. His dictionary is authoritative and comprehensive. It provides clear, confident and succinct summaries of key terms, concepts,debates and influential figures in the field of social aspects of health." - Ray Fitzpatrick, Professor of Public Health, University of Oxford The field of Health Studies has grown enormously over the last 30 years. Yet surprisingly, until now, no comprehensive and authoritative Dictionary of key terms has been available. This book fills the gap with over 900 terms used in the health studies field. The dictionary: *Provides one-stop coverage of the social scientific arena in Health Studies *Offers concise definitions of key terms and think *Focuses on global key terms which apply to the entire field rather than the application of terms in different countries. Chosen with finesse and understanding of student needs, the entries provide readers with a key resource in the field of health studies and the sociology of health and illness.


In this paper following problems were analyzed. First, transformation of the agrarian policy of the European Union; Second, the economic analysis of the EU`s arable set-aside program, Third, relation between compensation payments and enlargements of the new member states of the EU. Positive and negative effects of the compensation payments were identified as well as implementation of compensation in the new memberships were researched.


With a diary study of 4and 8-year-olds, we tested the association between daily deviations in anger and aggressive behavior, and whether this link was moderated by feelings of guilt and sympathy. Caregivers reported their children's anger and aggression for 10 consecutive days (470 records; N = 80, 53% girls). To calculate daily anger deviations from average anger levels, we subtracted each child's average anger score (i.e., across 10 days) from his/her daily anger scores. Children reported their guilty feelings in response to vignettes depicting intentional harm, as well as their dispositional sympathy levels. Multilevel modeling indicated that within-child spikes in daily anger were associated with more aggression, above and beyond between-child differences in average anger levels. However, this association was weaker for children who reported higher levels of guilt. Sympathy did not moderate the anger-aggression link. We discuss potential implications for affective-developmental models of aggression and interventions that target anger-related aggression.


Whilst it is realised that children's attitudes are established in the early years there has been a dearth of studies into the socio-cultural factors affecting young children's perceptions of physical activity. It has been recognised that
there is an urgent need for investigators to try and develop insights into how
these children interpret the messages they receive from significant others.
Grounded theory has become accepted as a valuable approach to gathering
and interpreting qualitative data. It encourages the researcher to make
sense of the social world by providing a framework which allows theories to
emerge from data collected in contrast to traditional research methodologies
where the emphasis is on testing set hypotheses.
This study reviews the status of the grounded theory literature and assesses
the potential use of this approach in developing substantive and formal
theories accounting for behavioural phenomena amongst young children.
There exist two almost contrasting approaches to using grounded theory, the
Glaserian and Straussian, both of which are complex and difficult to
understand; if however the researcher is to make an informed choice about
which approach is most suitable it is necessary to evaluate and consequently
choose one of these two approaches.
Fifty four children, seven to nine years of age, were studied over a four year
period, using interview and observational data collection techniques to
establish their activity choices and attitudes towards physical activity. Peers
were found to have a strong influence, particularly in the later years spent in
primary school. The grounded theory analysis produced a core category
subsequently labelled, 'Interpreting Myself - The Identity Profile Continuum'
and composed of three axes. There were also three mediating categories
which, together with the core category serve to account for behavioural
phenomena amongst the sample. Children were found to create an identity for themselves based around the
way that they interpret messages from parents and peers. Identities can
change in different social contexts and over time. As they become older.
however, children begin to accept their identity which contours their
behaviour and attitudes towards both organised sport, physical education and playground activities.