INTRODUCTION Much has been said and written about a new business ethic of sustainability in which corporations voluntarily assume responsibility for shifting our economy to a trajectory that has lower environmental impacts and less environmental risks. As a basic principle, this is easy to agree with. Businesses can and should do more. But what does this mean for public policy? Should government simply step aside, becoming in essence a facilitator, information provider and cheerleader? More specifically, what does this mean when shifting to a more sustainable trajectory is costly? Can and should we rely on business to lead the way? What should be the role of government? What should be the policy position of corporate leaders? In 1992, the Canadian government signed the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change and set a target to reduce Canada's greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions back to their 1990 levels by the year 2000. To this end, the federal government launched in 1993 the National Action Program on Climate Change, which included the Voluntary Challenge and Registry (VCR). Corporations in the VCR were asked to submit an action plan for GHG reduction and provide regular progress reports, all on a voluntary basis. By 2000, the VCR had 757 action plans from firms covering more than 50% of industrial GHG emissions. The impact of the VCR on GHG-related business decisions is in dispute. During the period 1993--2000, emissions of several industrial sectors increased only marginally, although those of the fossil fuel production and electricity generation sectors grew significantly. In a recent report, the Analysis and Modelling Group (1999, 43)--an entity of the National Climate Change Process created in 1998--estimated that the VCR and related initiatives had reduced national GHG emissions by 35 megatonnes (Mt) of carbon dioxide equivalent [(C[O.sub.2]e).sup.2] from what they otherwise would have been on an annual basis over the period 1993--98 (a 5% decrease). The method used to estimate this effect was not explained. In contrast, the Pembina Institute (Bramley, 2002) suggested that the VCR had little effect, a conclusion based on the evolution of aggregate industrial emissions (24% increase in the period 1990-2000), lack of program coverage (less than 55% of total industrial emissions), and case studies of the target setting and emission accounting practices of some individual firms. In addition to the VCR, the National Action Program on Climate Change included a package of voluntary GHG reduction programs directed at providing information and inducements to consumers and businesses. While these programs have not been assessed for their individual impacts, the national GHG trend has not been encouraging. Figure 1 shows that from 1990 to 1999, Canada's total C[O.sub.2]e emissions grew by 20%, from 607 to 726 C[O.sub.2]e (Environment Canada, 1999; Environment Canada 2002). Ironically, even though there were no voluntary GHG reduction programs in the previous decade, GHG emissions grew by only 6% between 1980 and 1990. The dramatic increase in the period 1990--2000 was driven in part by the preference of consumers for less efficient vehicles and greater vehicle use. But it was also caused by corporate investment decisions resulting in substantial expansion of the oil and gas sector, a greater use of fossil fuels in electricity generation, stable or slightly increasing emissions in some other industrial sectors, and massive marketing expenditures to promote energy intensive products such as sport utility vehicles. More recently, Canada negotiated in 1997 a Kyoto Protocol target of reducing national emissions by 2010 to 6% below their 1990 level. Current projections, however, anticipate emissions in 2010 at about 240 MT above this target (Figure 1), meaning that a reduction of 30% from the business-as-usual trend is required within less than 10 years (Government of Canada, 2002). …


To measure the influence of proximity effects in electron-beam lithography on the optical properties of planar photonic crystal (PPC) waveguides we propose a PPC structure called the "PECmeter." The PECmeter consists of nearly identical PPC waveguides which only differ in the number of rows of holes along the waveguide. The difference in the number of rows does not influence the modal properties directly but changes the diameter of the holes neighboring the waveguide through the proximity effect. The operation principle of the PECmeter is demonstrated using energy-intensity simulations of a W3 waveguide (three missing rows of holes) mini stop band. The principle is confirmed experimentally with structures fabricated in the InP-based material system and measured by the end-fire transmission technique. The results clearly show that the application of proximity-effect correction (PEC) is crucial for the fabrication of PPC waveguides. We demonstrate that when using the midpoint-equalization PEC method a near-to-perfect correction with sub-nm hole-radius uniformity can be achieved. We show the PECmeter to be sensitive enough to detect hole-radius changes as small as ∆R=0.4 nm.


Microbial Biofilms provides an overview of the formation, structure/architecture, cell-to-cell interactions, and dispersal of fungal and bacterial biofilms. The target audience is biofilm researchers, but this second edition of the book should also be useful for healthcare practitioners seeking a better understanding of microbial biofilms in healthcare delivery.

The number of published papers pertaining to microbial biofilms in healthcare and public health has continued to grow since the publication of the first edition of Microbial Biofilms in 2004. For example, a search using PubMed for 2004–2016 identified 488 publications when using the search terms "biofilm and healthcare-associated infection" and 7,303 publications using the search terms "biofilm and public health," compared to 73 and 1,459 publications, respectively, for 1992–2003. The current edition addresses this level of interest; several of the contributions in this book specifically focus on the role of biofilms in disease processes (Chapters 6, 7, 8, 14, and 19) or biofilm susceptibility to antimicrobial agents (Chapters 2 and 13).

Chapter 1 provides a balanced comparison of static and continuous flow methods for growing biofilms that should be beneficial for researchers investigating biofilm development or dispersion, and for applied studies evaluating new treatment strategies for biofilm prevention and control. This beginning can enable those new to the field to evaluate the benefits and drawbacks of different biofilm testing methods for specific applications. Chapter 1 also provides a helpful but brief discussion of the use of "omic" approaches (i.e., genomic, metagenomic, transcriptomic, and proteomic) in the study and characterization of biofilms.

Protocols to evaluate biofilm control strategies in vivo are needed, since in vitro methods may not predict performance under the more robust conditions provided in an animal model (1). Published animal model protocols for evaluating biofilm control are few. Chapter 3 provides several animal models for the evaluation of fungal biofilms (primarily Candida spp.), including vascular catheter, urinary catheter, and subcutaneous implant model systems. However, animal model systems for the characterization of bacterial biofilms are not described.

Several recent papers have used culture-independent methods to characterize biofilms on indwelling medical devices (2–4). With the exception of a brief discussion in Chapter 1, very little information is provided on the benefits and drawbacks of culture-independent methods to characterize clinically relevant biofilm communities.

Chapter 13 provides an excellent overview of antimicrobial tolerance in biofilms, with a good summary of the factors that can influence susceptibility. I found particularly helpful the use of tolerance factors to compare reduced susceptibility of different biofilm-associated organisms toward biocides, antiseptics, and antibiotic drugs. Tolerance factors were plotted as a function of antimicrobial agent molecular weight, substratum material, and biofilm density, providing the reader a method for quickly visualizing these patterns for a wide range of organisms. This information can be very helpful when developing experimental approaches to evaluate biofilm control strategies.

In summary, Microbial Biofilms is a useful compendium suitable for students and a practical guide for researchers investigating new biofilm treatment strategies. The emphasis on the role of biofilms in the pathogenesis of various microbial diseases, as well as discussions of biofilm tolerance and antimicrobial resistance should also be helpful and interesting to anyone working in the field of healthcare delivery.


Presently there is no clear evidence for the ability of mature osteogenic lineage cells to dedifferentiate. In order to identify and trace mature osteogenic lineage cells, we have utilized transgenic mouse models in which the dentin matrix protein 1 (Dmp1) promoter drives expression of GFP (active marker) or Cre recombinase (historic label) in preosteocytes/osteocytes. In long bone chip outgrowth cultures, in which cells on the bone surface were enzymatically removed, cells with previous activity of the Dmp1 promoter migrated onto plastic and down-regulated Dmp1-GFP expression. Dmp1Cre-labeled cells from these cultures had the potential to re-differentiate into the osteogenic lineage, while the negative population showed evidence of adipogenesis. We observed numerous Dmp1Cre-labeled osteoblasts on the surface of bone chips following their in vivo transplantation. Our data indicate that cells embedded in bone matrix are motile, and once given access to the extra bony milieu will migrate out of their lacunae. This population of cells is phenotypically and functionally heterogeneous in vitro. Once the preosteocytes/osteocytes leave lacunae, they can dedifferentiate, potentially providing an additional source of functional osteoblasts.


Scholars in folklore and anthropology are more directly involved in various aspects of medicine such as medical education, clinical pastoral care, and negotiation of transcultural issues than ever before. Old models of investigation that artificially isolated "folk medicine", "complementary and alternative medicine," and "biomedicine" as mutually exclusive have proven too limited in exploring the real-life complexities of health belief systems as they observably exist and are applied by contemporary Americans. Recent research strongly suggests that individuals construct their health belief systems from diverse sources of authority, including community and ethnic tradition, education, spiritual beliefs, personal experience, the influence of popular media, and perception of the goals and means of formal medicine. This book explores the diversity of these belief systems and how they interact in competing, conflicting, and sometimes remarkably congruent ways. This book contains essays by leading scholars in the field and a comprehensive bibliography of folklore and medicine.


The F-theory vacuum constructed from an elliptic Calabi-Yau threefold with section yields an effective six-dimensional theory. The Lie algebra of the gauge sector of this theory and its representation on the space of massless hypermultiplets are shown to be determined by the intersection theory of the homology of the Calabi-Yau threefold. (Similar statements hold for M-theory and the type IIA string compactified on the threefold, where there is also a dependence on the expectation values of the Ramond-Ramond fields.) We describe general rules for computing the hypermultiplet spectrum of any F-theory vacuum, including vacua with non-simply-laced gauge groups. The case of monodromy acting on a curve of A_even singularities is shown to be particularly interesting and leads to some unexpected rules for how 2-branes are allowed to wrap certain 2-cycles. We also review the peculiar numerical predictions for the geometry of elliptic Calabi-Yau threefolds with section which arise from anomaly cancellation in six dimensions.


The paper investigates the pronunciation of the labiodental fricative [v] and the labial-velar approximant [w] in the word-initial position in English utterances by Slovak speakers. The objective of the study is to explore which of the two consonants appear to be more problematic for Slovak learners of English. 40 students from a Slovak university produced spontaneous monologues in English, which were recorded using a computer and a standard microphone. Afterwards, two native English speakers conducted a subjective auditory analysis in an attempt to identify errors in the subjects' pronunciation. The results demonstrate that Slovak learners of English frequently encounter difficulties in pronouncing the two consonants, sometimes substituting [v] for [w] and vice versa. The data obtained indicate that the subjects were beset with problems mispronouncing the two sounds to almost the same degree. Possible causes of the erroneous pronunciation seem to involve native language interference, devoting extra effort to approach authentic English pronunciation, and the neglect of pronunciation instruction.


The 1990's dealt a blow to traditional Heckscher-Ohlin analysis of the relationship between trade and income inequality, as it became clear that rising inequality in low-income countries and other features of the data were inconsistent with that model. As a result, economists moved away from trade as a plausible explanation for rising income inequality. In recent years, however, a number of new mechanisms have been explored through which trade can affect(and usually increase) income inequality. These include within-industry effects due to heterogeneous?firms; effects of offshoring of tasks; effects on incomplete contracting; and effects of labor-market frictions. A number these mechanisms have received substantial empirical support.


Different forms of psychotherapy are effective for cluster C personality disorders, but we know less about what in-session processes promote change. Contrasting successful and unsuccessful cases may elucidate processes that facilitate or impede outcome and offer suggestions for clinical practice and future research. In this exploratory outcome-process study, 10 successful and 10 unsuccessful cases were selected from a randomized trial comparing cognitive therapy and short-term psychodynamic psychotherapy for cluster C personality disorders. Videotaped sessions were rated with the Psychotherapy Process Q-Set (PQS). The treatments were compared in terms of which PQS items differentiated successful and unsuccessful cases, as well as their resemblance with PQS prototypes of "ideal treatments." Therapists' behavior in early sessions was also explored. Results indicate that successful cases in our sample were characterized by a more active and engaged patient. In contrast, unsuccessful cases were characterized by a more directive or "controlling" therapist stance. Correlations with PQS prototypes were moderate to strong in both successful and unsuccessful cases, suggesting that optimal and suboptimal interpersonal processes may be independent of adherence to particular treatments. Exploration of therapist behaviors in early sessions indicated that therapists were more likely to adjust their way of working in the successful cases. Our result suggests that patient engagement and therapists' early efforts to improve the therapy relationship may be pivotal for successful outcome, whereas therapist controlling behavior may obstruct the treatment process, regardless of therapy model used. The impact of these in-session processes should be examined more closely in larger samples in future studies. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2019 APA, all rights reserved).


The rotation of the Earth is not regular. It changes on virtually every timescale we know in both position of the rotation axis and rotation rate. Even in our daily lives we sometimes experience the consequences of such changes, such as the second that is subtracted or added to clocks at the beginning of a new year. Although this second is not much more than a curiosity for most of us, the rotational changes it implies can influence our lives in a more fundamental sense. There are indications that the emergence of the great ice ages some two million years ago was triggered by a gradual shift of the rotation axis over the Earth's surface, combined with wandering of the continents and associated changes in ocean currents. The geological record shows that times during which there was wide-spread glaciation have been followed by times during which virtually no glaciation occurred, and vice versa, several times. The fact that we are currently living in an interglacial period of a 100,000 year glaciation cycle is also attributable to changes in the position of the rotation axis. Changes in insolation resulting from the periodic rotational changes due to the gravitational interaction between the Earth and the other members of the solar system trigger the onset and decay of the large polar ice sheets. This so-called Milankovitch cycle is responsible for the relatively mild climates we have now, instead of the severe glacial circumstances that governed the planet some 10,000 years ago. Rather than worrying about foregoing temperatures, we are troubled by an enhancement of the greenhouse effect and concomitant sea-level changes by fossil fuel combustion. The causes of these rotation changes are as diverse as the timescales on which the changes in rotation take place. Grossly, they can be divided into two categories: astronomical and geological. The effects they induce differ mainly in the way the rotation axis shifts. Extra-terrestrial causes generally induce shifts of the rotation axis with respect to the distant stars, but not with respect to the Earth's surface. Terrestrial causes generally induce shifts of the rotation axis with respect to the Earth's surface, but not with respect to the distant stars. For an observer in outer space it looks in this latter case as though the Earth were shifting as a rigid unit underneath its rotation axis, which remains fixed in position with respect to him. For an Earthbound observer, however, the polar axis seems to wander with respect to a fixed point on the ground. Some of the driving mechanisms are established with high certainty, of others we know little at the moment or virtually nothing, like the Chandler wobble. Two of the signatures for which the driving mechanisms are thought to be known are the present-day secular shift in the direction of Canada (that is, on the northern hemisphere) with a magnitude of some 10 meters per 100 years, and the satellite-derived non-tidal secular change in the second degree harmonic of the gravitational potential field. Basically all theories which have been published during the last decade relate both these signatures exclusively to post-glacial rebound and recent changes in the ice - water distribution over the Earth's surface. The main theme of this thesis is that this is not correct. It is shown that also various tectonic processes are contributing to these changes in rotation and gravitational potential field.


ABSTRACT. Radiation-induced sterile insect technique is a biologically based, environment-friendly method for the suppression or eradication of a number of insect pests. Although the basic mechanisms underlying the technology have been well studied, little is known about the cell responses in organisms. Characterization of the metabolic shift associated with radiation exposure in sterile insects would be helpful for understanding the detailed mechanism underlying this technique and promote its practical application. In this article, a metabolomic study was performed to characterize the global metabolic changes induced by radiation using untreated and 40 Gy 60Co&ggr;-irradiated testes of Japanese pine sawyer, Monochamus alternatus Hope. Differential metabolites were detected and tentatively identified. Many key metabolites in glycolysis and the tricarboxylic acid cycle, as well as most fatty and amino acids, were elevated in irradiated male M. alternatus, presumably resulting from depression of glycolysis and the tricarboxylic acid cycle, each of which are important pathways for energy generation Adenosine Triphosphate (ATP) in insect spermatozoa. The findings in this article will contribute to our knowledge of the characteristic metabolic changes associated with irradiation sterility and understand the molecular mechanisms underlying radiation-induced sterile insect technique.


The rapid development of technology and information has influenced students' learning styles and has led to a shift in information seeking from paper books to e-books. The purpose of this study is to measure the competence of students on the ionic liquid material, including ionic liquid knowledge, attitude, and skills, as well as website knowledge. The research sample is Chemical Engineering students in a private polytechnic in Indonesia and taken through a purposive sampling technique. This website-based learning is tested on students through the experiential learning model. Data collection was carried out by filling out a Likert scale competency test at the beginning and the end of the study. The results revealed that website-based ionic liquid learning attracted the attention of students, but not all students can do it independently yet. The learning still has to be combined with lecturers' explanations as reinforcing concepts. The implications of this research are expected to be used as recommendations in enriching the Chemical Engineering education curriculum by adding website-based ionic liquid material.


The spectral properties of a one-dimensional photonic crystal bounded with a resonance-absorbing nanocomposite layer are investigated. The bulk concentrations of metal nanoparticles dispersed in a transparent nanocomposite matrix are determined at which the effective permittivity takes near-zero values. The transmission, reflection and absorption spectra of the investigated structures at the normal incidence of light are calculated. The demonstrated possibility of formation of the optical Tamm states at the interface between the photonic crystal and nanocomposite is ensured by the near-zero real and imaginary parts of the permittivity or only the imaginary part of the permittivity at the zero real part. The specific features of field localization at the optical Tamm state frequencies are examined.


Electronic commerce is the exchange of goods and services using computers and associated networks as the operating infrastructure (Kalakota and Whinston, 1996). The focus of this paper is to explore the effect electronic commerce could have on marketing services. Past research has drawn a distinct line between goods and services. Zeithaml (1981) identified characteristics unique to services and generalizable across service organizations. Four characteristics discussed in this paper are intangibility, heterogeneity, inseparability, and perishability (Zeithaml et al., 1985). Each of these dimensions can be related to one or more service related problems. Automation of service related activities could fundamentally solve these types of problems. This paper explores the fundamental changes in these characteristics when marketing services are viewed from an electronic commerce perspective.


Herein, we present the European Society for Vascular Surgery Guidelines pertinent to the secondary prevention of cerebrovascular events in patients with carotid artery stenosis including lipid lowering therapy, antiplatelet therapy and other risk factor modification. These recommendations are based on current evidence from clinical trials. There is a need for aggressive prevention treatment in patients with carotid artery disease. We also discuss the diagnosis and grading of carotid artery stenosis.


Regulatory oversight of capital markets has intensified in recent years, with a particular emphasis on expanding financial transparency. A notable instance is efforts by the Financial Accounting Standards Board that push firms to identify and report performance of individual business units (segments). This paper seeks to address short-run and long-run consequences of stringent enforcement of and uniform compliance with these segment disclosure standards. To do so, we develop a parsimonious model wherein a regulatory agency promulgates disclosure standards and either permits voluntary compliance or mandates strict compliance from firms. Under voluntary compliance, a firm is able to credibly withhold individual segment information from its competitors by disclosing data only at the aggregate firm level. Consistent with regulatory hopes, we show that mandatory compliance enhances welfare by increasing transparency and leveling the playing field. However, our analysis also demonstrates that in the long run, if firms are unable to use discretion in reporting to maintain their competitive edge, they may seek more destructive alternatives. Accounting for such concerns, in the long run, voluntary compliance can provide an upside for all parties. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.


This article examines how women in South Africa, in challenging marital violence, navigate relations of patriarchal domination through appeals to the state, familial channels, or a combination of both. Using Kandiyoti's concept of "patriarchal bargains," the article describes how women during family meetings draw upon the state to challenge patriarchy within intimate partnerships and reassert control within their marriages. However, by drawing on the state for support, women have to navigate the patriarchal domination at the macro level as the state continues to act as an oppressive entity, particularly as it continues to constrain women's access to justice.


This article considers what evidence juries need to help them apply the defence of self-defence where a woman claims she has killed an abusive partner to save her own life. Drawing on recent research and cases we argue that expert evidence admitted in these types of cases generally fails to provide evidence about the nature of abuse, the limitations in the systemic safety responses and the structural inequality that abused women routinely face. Evidence of the reality of the woman's safety options, including access to, and the realistic support offered by, services such as police, housing, childcare, safety planning and financial support should be presented. In essence, juries need evidence about what has been called social entrapment so they can understand how women's safety options are deeply intertwined with their degree of danger and therefore with the question of whether their response (of killing their abuser) was necessary based on reasonable grounds. We consider the types of evidence that may be important in helping juries understand the concept and particular circumstances of social entrapment, including the role of experts in this context.


The anchoring effect can be found when a decision shows cognitive prejudice towards the initial information given. Several studies have argued that such an effect is present even for judges in the courtroom. This paper seeks to find a relationship between judges' decisions on penalty sentences and the sentences recommended by prosecutors. In this study, 2,773 actual court cases are considered in the analysis, and quantile regression is used to show that the sentencing decisions judges make are anchored by the recommendations of prosecutors. However, this reliance on recommendations differs according to the seriousness of the crime committed. Specifically, at the lowest penalty levels, a one-month increase in the prosecutors' sentencing recommendation results in a 0.25-month increase in the judges' sentence, while at the highest sentence level, the judges' sentences increase by 0.78 months under an identical condition. The results of this research indicate the need to create more objective and clear sentencing guidelines in the future in an effort to mitigate the psychological pressure experienced by judges with regard to serious offences or heinous crimes.


"Fascinating, no matter where you place yourself on the ideological spectrum." "Wired"Now in paperback, a stunning breakdown of the modern military-industrial complex an omnipresent, hidden-in-plain-sight system of systems that penetrates all our lives.From iPods to Starbucks to Oakley sunglasses, historian Nick Turse explores the Pentagon's little-noticed contacts (and contracts) with the products and companies that now form the fabric of America. He investigates the remarkable range of military incursions into the civilian world: the Pentagon's collaborations with Hollywood filmmakers; its outlandish schemes to weaponize the wild kingdom; its joint ventures with Marvel Comics and NASCAR. Similarly disturbing is the way in which the military, desperate for fresh recruits, has tapped into the "culture of cool" by making "friends" on MySpace.A striking vision of this brave new world of remote-controlled rats and super-soldiers who need no sleep, "The Complex" will change our understanding of the militarization of America. We are a long way from Eisenhower's military-industrial complex: this is the essential book for understanding its twenty-first-century progeny."


This article provides the first harmonized quantitative evidence on the rise of mass education across the provinces (today's NUTS 3) of Italy and Spain in the period c . 1861–1921. Visual analysis of this new dataset suggests that an important factor linked to the expansion of schooling was the feminization of the teaching profession, something that has been largely neglected so far in quantitative historical studies of educational development. This hypothesis is put to the test using panel-data models. The results show that the feminization of teaching went hand in hand with the rise of schooling rates by prompting more girls to enrol into primary education. By the beginning of the twentieth century, Italy's gross enrolment rate had surpassed that of Spain—partly as the result of increasing feminization within the primary-school teaching profession.


We read with interest the two recent reports of lymphoma in patients with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) (Farrell et al, Gut 2000;47:514–19 and Palli et al, Gastroenterology 2000;119:647–53). We believe the report from Farrell of four cases of lymphoma in a cohort of 782 patients (of whom 238 had received immunosuppression) considerably overestimates the relative risk of lymphoma in IBD patients. They calculate a relative risk of lymphoma as 31 for the whole cohort and 59 for the group treated with immunosuppressives (compared with the general population). Immunosuppressive therapy is well recognised as increasing the risk of developing non-Hodgkin's lymphoma (NHL) in organ transplant patients. The risk of NHL is increased in other inflammatory conditions, such as rheumatoid arthritis and psoriasis, although how much is attributable to the underlying disease and how much is due to the drug is unclear. For IBD, if the incidence of lymphoma is indeed increased, is this due to drug or disease? Two recent reviews 4 have examined this question in detail. Several large well designed population based studies have been performed specifically to examine the baseline risk of lymphoma in IBD. In none of these studies does the relative risk for NHL significantly exceed one, while only one study (Palli et al) has shown an excess risk of Hodgkin's disease (relative risk 9.3; 95% confidence interval 2.5–23.8). A number of smaller case series have been published which show an increased incidence of NHL. This type of study, although interesting, should not be regarded as evidence of increased risk as case ascertainment bias is likely to exist. Several studies have specifically addressed the question of immunosuppression in IBD. In total, only 11 cases of lymphoma were described in more than 4000 patients who had received immunotherapy, with over 17 000 patient years of follow up. Extrapolating these data to lymphoma rates in the general population may be unreliable, particularly as lymphoma rates vary widely geographically, by sex and age. We believe that compared with the other known risks of immunosuppression, such as myelosuppression and infection, the risk of developing lymphoma (if it does exist) is likely to be of minor clinical significance and to be outweighed by the potential benefit of these treatments in patients with IBD.


This article describes the generational perspectives revealed in the views of three Korean poets, representing three generations of poetic circles, through their appropriations of the Irish poet W. B. Yeats, who experienced colonial rule as they did. Within the history of modern Korean poetry, Kim Ŏk (b. 1896) stands as a representative of the 1920s, Kim Kirim (b. 1908) of the 1930s, and Kim Suyŏng (1921–1968) of the postcolonial years, especially the 1960s. Though different in their styles and perspectives, they shared the roles of poet, literary critic, and translator and were flagship figures in their respective eras. Looking into the works and poetics of these three poets is tantamount to exploring the history of modern Korean poetry spanning the period between the 1920s and 1960s. Drawing on the fact that all three poets were interested in translating and interpreting Yeats, this article aims to trace the genealogy of Korean modernist poetry by exploring the generational differences in their views on poetry through their mediation of Yeats.


Early in his political career, Adolf Hitler declared the importance of what he called 'an anti-Semitism of reason'. Determined not to rely solely on traditional, cruder forms of prejudice against Jews, he hoped that his exclusionary and violent policies would be legitimised by scientific scholarship. The result was a disturbing, and long-overlooked, aspect of National Socialism: Nazi Jewish Studies. "Studying the Jew" investigates the careers of a few dozen German scholars who forged an interdisciplinary field, drawing upon studies in anthropology, biology, religion, history, and the social sciences to create a comprehensive portrait of the Jew - one with devastating consequences. Working within the universities and research institutions of the Third Reich, these men fabricated an elaborate empirical basis for Nazi anti-Semitic policies. They supported the Nazi campaign against Jews by defining them as racially alien, morally corrupt, and inherently criminal. In a chilling story of academics who perverted their talents and distorted their research in support of persecution and genocide, "Studying the Jew" explores the intersection of ideology and scholarship, the state and the university, the intellectual and his motivations, to provide a new appreciation of the use and abuse of learning and the horrors perpetrated in the name of reason.


Seasonal mean temperatures averaged over the European region have warmed at a rate of 0.35–0.52 K/decade since 1980. The last decade has seen record‐breaking seasonal temperatures in Europe including the summer of 2003 and the spring, autumn, and winter of 2007. Previous studies have established that European summer warming since the early twentieth century can be attributed to the effects of human influence. The attribution analysis described here employs temperature data from observations and experiments with two climate models and uses optimal fingerprinting to partition the climate response between its anthropogenic and natural components. These responses are subsequently combined with estimates of unforced climate variability to construct distributions of the annual values of seasonal mean temperatures with and without the effect of human activity. We find that in all seasons, anthropogenic forcings have shifted the temperature distributions towards higher values. We compute the associated change in the likelihood of having seasons whose temperatures exceed a pre‐specified threshold. We first set the threshold equal to the seasonal temperature observed in a particular year to assess the effect of anthropogenic influences in past seasons. We find that in the last decade (1999–2008) it is extremely likely (probability greater than 95%) that the probability has more than doubled under the influence of human activity in spring and autumn, while for summer it is extremely likely that the probability has at least quadrupled. One of the two models employed in the analysis indicates it is extremely likely the probability has more than doubled in winter too. We also compute the change in probability over a range of temperature thresholds which enables us to provide updates on the likely change in probability attributable to human influence as soon as observations become available. Such near‐real time information could be very useful for adaptation planning. © Crown Copyright 2010. Published by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.


Efficient transport is a key ingredient in the competitiveness of an economy. Intra-EU passenger transport has grown more than the population – which means a greater mobility (more kilometres travelled) per person – but less than GDP. The road transport systems affect practically all the environmental elements, and they have a role in every harmful effect the environmental protection is dealing with. At the same time, the degree of the environment pollution and the role of the road transport within total pollution are significantly different. The impacts on nature conservation caused by road transport infrastructure and operation are of greater importance. Beyond direct land use, the separation of the habitats, the separation effect of the highly trafficked lines greatly influence the biodiversity, the survival of the valuable groups of the flora and fauna. From landscaping aspect the increased construction, the implementation of industrial sites experienced along the expressways and also expected along the planned sections may result to unfavourable effect indirectly, especially in the agglomeration.


Epidemiological studies using the histological classification of Page for benign breast disease consistently demonstrate a positive association between atypical hyperplasia and the subsequent development of breast cancer. However, atypical hyperplasia is of either lobular or ductal types, and breast cancer risk in relation to type of atypical hyperplasia has not been Studied extensively. Thus, we investigated prospectively the risk of breast cancer associated with histological subtypes of benign proliferative breast disease, including the types of atypical hyperplasia, among cipants in the Nurses' Health Study who had biopsyconfirmed benign breast disease. Women who subsequently developed breast cancer were matched by year of birth and year of biopsy to participants who were free from breast cancer. Benign biopsy slides were classified according to the criteria of Page. Odds ratios (ORs) of breast cancer and 95% confidence intervals (CIs), adjusted for the matching variables and other breast cancer risk factors, were computed using unconditional logistic regression with benign nonproliferative breast disease as the referent group. Atypical ductal hyperplasia (OR 2.4; 95% CI, 1.3-45) or atypical lobular hyperplasia (OR = 5.3; 95% CI, 2.7-10.4) in a prior biopsy were associated with increased breast cancer risk. Atypical lobular hyperplasia was more strongly associated with the risk of premenopausal breast cancer (OR = 9.6; 95% CI, 3.3-27.8) than with the risk of postmenopausal breast cancer (OR 3.7; 95% CI, 1.3-. 10.2). The association of atypical ductal hyperplasia and breast cancer risk varied little by menopausal status. The magnitude of breast cancer risk seems to vary according to the type of atypical hyperplasia present at biopsy.


Abstract. The dataset described in this paper (ALBMAP) has been created for the purposes of high-resolution numerical ice sheet modelling of the Antarctic Ice Sheet. It brings together data on the ice sheet configuration (e.g. ice surface and ice thickness) and boundary conditions, such as the surface air temperature, accumulation and geothermal heat flux. The ice thickness and basal topography is based on the BEDMAP dataset (Lythe et al., 2001), however, there are a number of inconsistencies within BEDMAP and, since its release, more data has become available. The dataset described here addresses these inconsistencies, including some novel interpolation schemes for sub ice-shelf cavities, and incorporates some major new datasets. The inclusion of new datasets is not exhaustive, this considerable task is left for the next release of BEDMAP, however, the data and procedure documented here provides another step forward and demonstrates the issues that need addressing in a continental scale dataset useful for high resolution ice sheet modelling. The dataset provides an initial condition that is as close as possible to present-day ice sheet configuration, aiding modelling of the response of the Antarctic Ice Sheet to various forcings, which are, at present, not fully understood.


The impact of white roof coatings on energy loads in three nonresidential buildings in Sacramento was assessed using a new approach to statistical analysis. Hourly metered loads were designed to isolate the effects of white roof coatings on building cooling loads from changes in cooling loads due to variations in outdoor temperatures. For this analysis, the basic multiple linear regression model used to weather normalize energy consumption data was expanded to include hourly solar radiation or insolation levels as explanatory variables, along with explanatory variables representing outdoor temperatures. With this statistical modeling approach, the effect of white roofs can be isolated from changes due to variations in outdoor temperatures based on the decrease in regression coefficients representing the effect of solar radiation levels on cooling loads after application of white roofs. Results indicate that the effect of solar insolation levels on cooling energy consumption was significantly decreased after the application of white roofs in all three buildings. Savings estimates based on this approach range from 17% to 39% of total cooling loads, or .35 kWh to .68 kWh per square foot of treated roof area per year.


President Barack Obama came into office with a social welfare policy agenda that aimed to reconstitute what can be understood as the "submerged state": a conglomeration of existing federal policies that incentivize and subsidize activities engaged in by private actors and individuals. By attempting to restructure the political economy involved in taxation, higher education policy, and health care, Obama ventured into a policy terrain that presents immense obstacles to reform itself and to the public's perception of its success. Over time the submerged state has fostered the profitability of particular industries and induced them to increase their political capacity, which they have exercised in efforts to maintain the status quo. Yet the submerged state simultaneously eludes most ordinary citizens: they have little awareness of its policies or their upwardly redistributive effects, and few are cognizant of what is at stake in reform efforts. This article shows how, in each of the three policy areas, the contours and dynamics of the submerged state have shaped the possibilities for reform and the form it has taken, the politics surrounding it, and its prospects for success. While the Obama Administration won hard-fought legislative accomplishments in each area, political success will continue to depend on how well policy design, policy delivery and political communication reveal policy reforms to citizens, so that they better understand how reforms function and what has been achieved.


Guided by the thesis that fascism was the outcome of a dialectic of instrumental reason, I argue that Trumpism is the result of a dialectic of neoliberal reason. The 2008 crisis revealed that widely distributed consumption could no longer be sustained through escalating debt, as it had been since neoliberalizing reforms in the 1970s. Economic crisis has been interpreted through a culture market in which pseudo-individual consumers choose what hyperreal public they prefer and participate in pseudo-activity through social media. Retreat into insular hyperrealities and hostility to dissonant alternatives reinforce each other in an escalating logic generating partisan incivility and fake news. The de-democratization of the state through subservience to private interests and political dysfunction has combined with the consumer's uncompromising mentality as a dissatisfied customer to channel politicization into populism. It aggregates negatively through shared dissatisfaction, driving escalating antagonism between technocratic responsibility and populist responsiveness. These escalating economic, cultural, and political contradictions heighten negative "freedom from" restraints while subverting positive "freedom to" relate meaningfully to the world. This intensifies anxieties and receptivity to authoritarianism as a self-defeating escape from neoliberal freedom. Trumpism exploits precarity, corrupts democratic norms, and licenses misdirected aggression. This neoliberal authoritarianism is inverted fascism. Trump's presidency is more effect than cause.


In complex systems characterized by the presence of private tanks and water scarcity conditions, water managers usually apply intermittent distribution, trying to reduce the water volumes supplied to the users and pipe leakages, or use pressure reduction valves for controlling pressure in the network. The application of pumps as turbines (PATs) appears as an alternative and sustainable solution to either control network pressure or produce energy. In the present paper, the economic benefit of PAT application in water distribution networks was investigated in a small district of Palermo network (Italy). The analysis of energy recovery, carried out by means of a numerical model based on the method of characteristics, shows that PATs can lead to a very attractive economical benefit in terms of energy production.


The first observation of self-focusing of dipolar spin waves in garnet film media is reported. In particular, we show that the quasi-stationary diffraction of a finite-aperture spin wave beam in a focusing medium leads to the concentration of the wave power in one focal point rather than along a certain line (channel). The obtained results demonstrate the wide applicability of non-linear spin wave media to study non-linear wave phenomena using an advanced combined microwave-Brillouin light scattering technique for a two-dimensional mapping of the spin wave amplitudes.


Semi-analytic models are a powerful tool for studying the formation of galaxies. However, these models inevitably involve a signicant number of poorly constrained parameters that must be adjusted to provide an acceptable match to the observed universe. In this paper, we set out to quantify the degree to which observational data-sets can constrain the model parameters. By revealing degeneracies in the parameter space we can hope to better understand the key physical processes probed by the data. We use novel mathematical techniques to explore the parameter space of the GALFORM semi-analytic model. We base our investigation on the Bower et al. 2006 version of GALFORM, adopting the same methodology of selecting model parameters based on an acceptable match to the local bJ and K luminosity functions. Since the GALFORM model is inherently approximate, we explicitly include a model discrepancy term when deciding if a match is acceptable or not. The model contains 16 parameters that are poorly constrained by our prior understanding of the galaxy formation processes and that can plausibly be adjusted between reasonable limits. We investigate this parameter space using the Model Emulator technique, constructing a Bayesian approximation to the GALFORM model that can be rapidly evaluated at any point in parameter space. The emulator returns both an expectation for the GALFORM model and an uncertainty which allows us to eliminate regions of parameter space in which it is implausible that a GALFORM run would match the luminosity function data. By combining successive waves of emulation, we show that only 0.26% of the initial volume is of interest for further exploration. However, within this region we show that the Bower et al. 2006 model is only one choice from an extended sub-space of model parameters that can provide equally acceptable ts to the luminosity function data. We explore the geometry of this region and begin to explore the physical connections between parameters that are exposed by this analysis. We also consider the impact of adding additional observational data to further constrain the parameter space. We see that the known tensions existing in the Bower et al. 2006 model lead to a further reduction in the successful parameter space.


Importance
Within the Veterans Health Administration (VA), the use and cost of low-value services delivered by VA facilities or increasingly by VA Community Care (VACC) programs have not been comprehensively quantified.

Objective
To quantify veterans' overall use and cost of low-value services, including VA-delivered care and VA-purchased community care.

Design, Setting, and Participants
This cross-sectional study assessed a national population of VA-enrolled veterans. Data on enrollment, sociodemographic characteristics, comorbidities, and health care services delivered by VA facilities or paid for by the VA through VACC programs were compiled for fiscal year 2018 from the VA Corporate Data Warehouse. Data analysis was conducted from April 2020 to January 2022.

Main Outcomes and Measures
VA administrative data were applied using an established low-value service metric to quantify the use of 29 potentially low-value tests and procedures delivered in VA facilities and by VACC programs across 6 domains: cancer screening, diagnostic and preventive testing, preoperative testing, imaging, cardiovascular testing and procedures, and other procedures. Sensitive and specific criteria were used to determine the low-value service counts per 100 veterans overall, by domain, and by individual service; count and percentage of each low-value service delivered by each setting; and estimated cost of each service.

Results
Among 5.2 million enrolled veterans, the mean (SD) age was 62.5 (16.0) years, 91.7% were male, 68.0% were non-Hispanic White, and 32.3% received any service through VACC. By specific criteria, 19.6 low-value services per 100 veterans were delivered in VA facilities or by VACC programs, involving 13.6% of veterans at a total cost of $205.8 million. Overall, the most frequently delivered low-value service was prostate-specific antigen testing for men aged 75 years or older (5.9 per 100 veterans); this was also the service with the greatest proportion delivered by VA facilities (98.9%). The costliest low-value services were spinal injections for low back pain ($43.9 million; 21.4% of low-value care spending) and percutaneous coronary intervention for stable coronary disease ($36.8 million; 17.9% of spending).

Conclusions and Relevance
This cross-sectional study found that among veterans enrolled in the VA, more than 1 in 10 have received a low-value service from VA facilities or VACC programs, with approximately $200 million in associated costs. Such information on the use and costs of low-value services are essential to guide the VA's efforts to reduce delivery and spending on such care.


Relatively little is know about the implications for Medicare spending of downward trends in old age disability in the United States between the mid-1980s and the end of the century. This is in part because uncertainty persists about the extent to which the aggregate disability declines reflect improvements in health versus improvements in the technology, service, and physical environment. This study examines Medicare spending and utilization that occurred over the period of declining disability between 1984 and 1999 and how it differed from what might have been expected had disability not changed and discusses implications for the relationship between disability, Medicare spending, and health. Projections are developed under various assumptions about how disability and spending are likely to change over the over the next several years.


We introduce techniques for rapidly transferring the information stored in one neural net into another neural net. The main purpose is to accelerate the training of a significantly larger neural net. During real-world workflows, one often trains very many different neural networks during the experimentation and design process. This is a wasteful process in which each new model is trained from scratch. Our Net2Net technique accelerates the experimentation process by instantaneously transferring the knowledge from a previous network to each new deeper or wider network. Our techniques are based on the concept of function-preserving transformations between neural network specifications. This differs from previous approaches to pre-training that altered the function represented by a neural net when adding layers to it. Using our knowledge transfer mechanism to add depth to Inception modules, we demonstrate a new state of the art accuracy rating on the ImageNet dataset.


The objective of this study was to produce lightly salted Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar L.) fillets with improved technical and sensory attributes. Brine containing 0, 50, 150 or 250 g/L NaCl with or without additional 25 g/L sodium bicarbonate (NaHCO3) was injected into the fillets. 24 hours after injection, the muscle NaCl concentration ranged from 0.2 to 2.4%, and pH ranged from 6.18 to 6.48. Untreated fillets lost 1% weight, whereas the weight increase was 4% of the fillets injected with NaCl or a combination of NaCl and NaHCO3. Liquid loss (LL) during storage at 4°C for three days were similar for the untreated fillets and the fillets injected with 50 g/L NaCl (LL 12%), while LL was reduced to 7.5% with the addition of NaHCO3 to the 50 g/L brine. LL was the lowest for the groups injected with 250 g/L NaCl. Injection of NaCl resulted in higher lipid oxidation compared with untreated fillets, determined as doubled levels of alkanals (4.3 vs. 10.4 ng/g) and pentenols (8.0 vs. 15.1 ng/g), but addition of NaHCO3 counteracted the action of NaCl as a pro-oxidant. Furthermore, NaHCO3 addition of the 50 g/L brine significantly improved the color of raw and cooked fillets (higher a*-value, Salmo Fan score, red/orange color tone). Sensory assessment of cooked fillet revealed that brine added NaHCO3 gave superior odor (less rancid), flavor (less metallic) and higher scores for tenderness. In conclusion, addition of NaHCO3 to the brine solutions improved liquid retention, storage stability, color, odor and flavor of lightly salted salmon fillets.


A new quadrature tunable pulse generator is presented in this paper using 0.13 μm CMOS for 22-29 GHz ultrawideband (UWB) vehicular radar. A quadrature inductor-capacitor (LC) oscillator is quickly switched on and off for the duration of the pulse, and the amplitude envelope is modulated with an impulse using a variable passive CMOS attenuator. The impulse is realized using a glitch generator (CMOS nand gate) and its duration can be changed over a wide range (375 ps to more than 1 ns). The switching technique used in the quadrature oscillator creates a large initial voltage for fast startup (0.5 ns) and locks the initial phase of the oscillations to the input clock for pulse coherence. The measured phase noise thus matches that of the clock signal, with a relatively low phase noise of -70 dBc/Hz and -100 dBc/Hz at 1kHz and 1 MHz offsets respectively. The entire circuit operates in switched-mode with a low average power consumption of less than 2.2 mW and 14.8 mW at 50 MHz and 600 MHz pulse repetition frequencies, or below 11 pJ of energy for each of the four differential quadrature pulses. It occupies an active area of less than 0.41 mm2 .


Marine bivalves are regularly exposed to biotic and abiotic stressors throughout
the life in their natural habitat. The molecular mechanism with which the intertidal
oysters and mussels manage such situations are mediated through defence and stress
related proteins such as heat shock proteins and antioxidant enzymes. The present study
was aimed at , molecular identification, characterization and expression analysis of the genes
of selected heat shock proteins and antioxidant enzymes in the Indian edible oyster
Crassostrea madrasensis and tropical brown mussel Perna indica. Molecular identification
and complete characterization of the heat shock protein70 (HSP70) gene and the antioxidant
enzyme superoxide dismutase (Cu/Zn SOD) gene of both the species were successfully
carried out. Amino acid sequences were deduced from the full length coding sequences and
used for the identification of the characteristic domains, homology search, and phylogenetic
analysis etc.. The study was also extended to the partial characterization of the gene coding
for heat shock protein90 (HSP90) as well as other antioxidant enzymes such as glutathione
peroxidase (GPX) and catalase (CAT), and an important peptidase gene Leucine
aminopeptidase (LAP) with vital role in protein turnover and salinity tolerance. The sequences
were deposited in NCBI GenBank.
The temperature tolerance limits such as sub lethal temperature (SLT) and lethal
temperature (LT) in both the species were determined as a pre-mediated step for the study
of gene expression induced by exposure to sub lethal thermal shock. The SLT and LT limits
of the candidate species living in the tropical waters were revealed to be higher than their
counterparts in temperate waters. The Indian edible oyster was found to be the most thermo
tolerant among the various oyster species.
A semi quantitative PCR approach was adopted to study the relative gene expressions
in animals exposed to sub lethal temperature as well as in control animals. The genes like
HSP70 and SOD were found to be up regulated on exposure to sub lethal temperature. The
other genes studied were also found to be up regulated in general with slight variations in
the expressions. All the gene expressions were found to be statistically significant (P<0.05).
Gene expressions in oyster and mussel living in their natural habitat were found to show up regulations and down regulations consequent to stressful situations during different seasons.
Keeping in view of the up regulation of the genes, the study was further extended to observe
induced thermal tolerance in them as the same phenomenon was reported in Pacific oysters.
For this, the oysters and mussels recovering from SLT shock were again exposed to
lethal temperatures (LT ) at regular intervals, and their survival was monitored. The oysters
were found to be surviving the LT up to twenty six days post SLT and this is the longest
duration of induced tolerance ever reported in any animal. The mussels were found to tolerate
LT up to one week post SLT. Thus the phenomenon of induced tolerance was established in
the oyster and musses living in the tropical climate.
The relative expressions of the different defence and stress related genes worked out
during this study can be effectively used as biomarkers for monitoring environmental pollution
and to assess the health status of aquatic animals in mariculture. The induced tolerance
observed in this study can be effectively used to select healthy and sturdy brood stock for
selective breeding and thus develop oysters with better environmental adaptability.


Fi nancing smallholder farming has been one of the major concerns of Kenya's development efforts. Many credit programs have evolved over the years but with dismal performance. In a study that sought to find the best way to fund smallholder agriculture, it became necessary to analyze and document smallholders' effective demand for credit. Of particular interest was the comparison of the existing production plans and production plans under strictly profit maximization. Linear programming model was used to formalize observed plans and determine those under profit maximization. Both the activities and the values of outputs under different objectives were compared. Farm Investment Analysis was undertaken to determine the suitability of funding farm activities through credit. The study was undertaken in selected zones of Murang'a and Kisumu districts, being typical smallholder areas. Sample farmers were visited and structured questionnaires administered to cover farm events and physical resources of short rains 1995 and long rains 1996. This formed a basis of formulating the farm plans. Ten years down the road, objectives of smallholders have not changed as have been observed during outreach programs. The results showed that: (i) farmers' activities in the observed plans were different from those under strictly profit maximization; (ii) the observed plans had significantly lower profit than those under profit maximization; and (iii) meeting constraints through credit was only feasible when the objective was profit maximization. Smallholder agriculture, characterized by subsistence production, does not exhibit effective demand for credit, and funding it therefore requires means other than the competitive market.


A legacy effect refers to the impacts that previous conditions have on current processes or properties. Legacies have been recognized by many disciplines, from physiology and ecology to anthropology and geology. Within the context of climatic change, ecological legacies in drylands (eg vegetative patterns) result from feedbacks between biotic, soil, and geomorphic processes that operate at multiple spatial and temporal scales. Legacy effects depend on (1) the magnitude of the original phenomenon, (2) the time since the occurrence of the phenomenon, and (3) the sensitivity of the ecological–soil–geomorphic system to change. Here we present a conceptual framework for legacy effects at short-term (days to months), medium-term (years to decades), and long-term (centuries to millennia) timescales, which reveals the ubiquity of such effects in drylands across research disciplines.


This article describes 3 studies that explore the role of mindsets in the context of stress. In Study 1, we present data supporting the reliability and validity of an 8-item instrument, the Stress Mindset Measure (SMM), designed to assess the extent to which an individual believes that the effects of stress are either enhancing or debilitating. In Study 2, we demonstrate that stress mindsets can be altered by watching short, multimedia film clips presenting factual information biased toward defining the nature of stress in 1 of 2 ways (stress-is-enhancing vs. stress-is-debilitating). In Study 3, we demonstrate the effect of stress mindset on physiological and behavioral outcomes, showing that a stress-is-enhancing mindset is associated with moderate cortisol reactivity and high desire for feedback under stress. Together, these 3 studies suggest that stress mindset is a distinct and meaningful variable in determining the stress response.


Ranaviruses cause systemic infection in fish, amphibians and reptiles. Disease outbreaks associated with ranaviruses have been reported worldwide, and their harmful impact on aquaculture and natural populations of host animals has drawn attention to this group of viruses. In this research, genetic relationships among members of genus Ranavirus, including several known and less studied isolates, were investigated. Sequences of several viral genes, including major capsid protein (MCP), DNA polymerase (DNApol), neurofilament triplet H1-like protein (NF-H1), ribonuclease reductase and subunits (RNRand ) and RNase III, were obtained and the phylogenetic analyses based on the sequence data were performed. The results confirm that the genus Ranavirus encompasses genetically divergent isolates. Most of the ranaviruses characterized to date are closely related to epizootic haematopoietic necrosis virus (EHNV) and frog virus 3 (FV3). Santee-Cooper ranaviruses and grouper iridoviruses cluster separately from the main group of ranaviruses. Methods based on PCR and subsequent restriction enzyme analysis (REA) of viral DNApol and NF-H1 genes were developed for the detection and differentiation of ranaviruses. DNApol PCR was able to detect 13 different ranavirus isolates. The most divergent isolates were distinguished with REA of the DNApol gene, whereas differentiation of the more closely related ranaviruses was accomplished with REA of the NF-H1 gene. Quantitative PCR (qPCR) based on the viral DNApol gene was developed in order to detect a wide range of ranaviruses and to estimate the number of virions by using a standard curve. Another qPCR method targeting the fish glucokinase (GK) gene was developed for the quantitation of piscine host cells. Using both DNApol and GK qPCR, it was possible to obtain a viral load value, virions per host cell, from ranavirus-infected cell cultures and fish tissues. Pathogenicity of nine different ranavirus isolates to rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss) was studied. None of the isolates caused signs of disease, but virus was isolated from few of the fish collected during the challenge trial. The results indicate that persistent ranavirus infections may occur in certain conditions and that rainbow trout could act as a vector species for ranaviruses. In addition, fish epithelial cells were infected with four different ranaviruses in order to study the host immune response to ranavirus infection. The mRNA expression of five host immune response genes was measured with qPCR at seven time points after viral inoculation. Based on the results, even though all ranavirus isolates induced apoptotic changes in the epithelial cells, the immune response elicited varied between different ranaviruses. A strong pro-inflammatory response was elicited by FV3 and EHNV, whereas European catfish virus and doctor fish virus induced a mild increase in the expression of regulatory cytokine TGF. Gene expression of beta-2 microglobulin was enhanced by all viral isolates, indicating that a pathogen presentation pathway based on MHC class I molecules was activated due to ranavirus infection.


Oil palm is one of the most important oil crops in the world. Because of its high productivity and perennial nature, it has been expanding quickly. Commercial plantations consist mostly of the African palm E. guineensis Jacq. However, producers in Latin America are increasingly planting the O × G interspecific hybrid, a cross between African palm (E. guineensis) and the American palm (E. oleifera (Kunth) Cortes). This interspecific hybrid has emerged as a promising solution to diseases such as the bud rot of oil palm because of the apparent partial resistance of this genotype to the disease. This work studied and described the phenology of the O × G interspecific hybrid. The phenology stages were coded using the BBCH scale. The scale for the phenophases was defined using a three-digit code. Due to the nature of the palm, no descriptions were used for stage two (formation of side shoots/tillering) and stage four (development of harvestable vegetative plant parts or vegetative reproductive organs) because these stages do not apply to oil palm. The scale was constructed using germinating seeds, pre-nursery and nursery plants and five year-old palms. For the description of the stem elongation, different age palms of the same O × G hybrid were used. Observations were performed during an 18-month period. Additionally, the interval for the change from one phenology stage to another was determined both in days and degree-days (DD). The interspecific O × G hybrid required 6408 DD from when the spear leaf unfolds until the bunch was ripened and harvested, and 4427.6 DD from leaf unfolding to anthesis.


The aim of the paper is to develop a procedure that allows policy makers to make an ex-ante assessment of a general compulsory amalgamation policy, providing quantitative indications about the possible financial effects. The amalgamation of small municipalities is a widespread practice all over the world. This policy is based on the assumption that local public service provision is characterized by economies of scale and economies of scope. However, population size is not the only determinant of economies of scale, which depend on many other factors. For these reasons, the expected effects of any amalgamation program are uncertain, and ex-post empirical analyses are unable to offer unambiguous indications to policy makers since all programs differ. After a brief discussion of the relevant issues concerning amalgamation, we present the procedure used to simulate the economics and administrative effects of a general compulsory amalgamation policy. The procedure is tested with reference to the municipalities of Veneto, a region of Italy and we provide the results of a number of simulations under alternative amalgamation policies. The main result is that amalgamation policies based only on the a priori rule that small municipalities should merge may be very inefficient because the expenditure reduction following an amalgamation policy may depend to a considerable extent on other territorial and socio-economic characteristics of the municipalities involved.


The signal improvement obtained for a spectroscopic measurement with a multipass cell can be expressed as the gain over a single pass measurement. We develop a unified analysis of amplitude gain and signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) gain for both cw and pulsed systems with application to Rayleigh/Raman spectroscopy, fluorescence, and similar techniques. Our analysis reveals that the SNR gain is dependent on the single pass efficiency, number of passes, and temporal overlap. Increasing the single pass efficiency of a multipass system will increase both the amplitude and SNR gains. While increasing the number of passes always improves the amplitude gain, the SNR gain actually has an optimal number of passes. In particular, what has not been recognized for pulsed systems is that increasing the pulse overlap fraction is equally or even more significant than the number of pass or efficiency increases. For cw systems, the amplitude gain and SNR gain are identical.


Glycerol-3-phosphate acyltransferase (GPAT), responsible for the first committed, rate-limiting, step of glycerolipid synthesis, was purified to homogeneity from the membrane fraction of an oleaginous fungus, Mortierella ramanniana var. angulispora. The enzyme was solubilized from the membrane fraction by pretreatment with 0.05% Triton X-100 and treatment of the resulting pellet with 0.3% Triton X-100. The enzyme was subsequently purified by column chromatography on heparin-Sepharose, Yellow 86 agarose, a second heparin-Sepharose column, Superdex-200 and hydroxylapatite Bio-Gel. Enzyme activity was finally enriched 1308-fold over that of the starting membrane fraction. SDS/PAGE of the purified fraction revealed a single band with a molecular mass of 45 kDa. Native PAGE showed a major band that corresponded to GPAT activity. Enzyme activity was inhibited by thiol reagents, suggesting that it originated from microsomes rather than mitochondria. Purified GPAT depended on exogenous oleoyl-CoA and sn-glycerol-3-phosphate, with the highest activity at approx. 50 and 250 microM, respectively, and preferred oleoyl-CoA 5.4-fold over palmitoyl-CoA as an acyl donor. Anionic phospholipids, such as phosphatidic acid and phosphatidylserine, were absolutely required for activity of the purified enzyme, and their ability to activate GPAT was influenced by the purity of the GPAT preparation. Bivalent cations, such as Mg(2+) and Ca(2+), inhibited purified GPAT activity, whereas 5 mM Mn(2+) elevated activity approx. 2-fold. These results provide new insights into the molecular characterization of microsomal GPAT, which has not been well characterized compared with mitochondrial and plastidic GPAT.


The multi-user virtual world Second Life is an online software platform that allows users to jointly explore realistic three-dimensional environments via avatar characters, communicate via voice and text chat, and collaborate using shared creation tools. Librarians and educators have been developing academic content and services in Second Life for use with students and other constituency groups since 2005. This study surveyed academic librarians working in Second Life to discover their perceptions of virtual world environments for teaching and learning and to gauge the impact of this technology on their work with faculty and students. Sixty-two librarians provided details on various aspects of their professional involvement in Second Life. Findings show that librarians from every type of academic institution, at all levels of advancement, and in every department participate in this virtual world. Results include details of roles and functions, as well as perceived benefits and challenges. Because many adolescents and teenagers worldwide are currently active virtual world participants, academic librarians in Second Life view virtual world technology as a significant near-future educational trend.


Many infectious diseases acquired in the garden are age specific; e.g., small children are more likely than adults to get Strongyloides stercoralis or hookworm infections in the appropriate locale. The epidemiological associations with infectious diseases acquired from plants, soil, or animal vectors have been discussed in this chapter. With all of the diseases potentially acquired by working in the garden, the clinician needs to establish a working diagnosis and then arrive at a definitive diagnosis by ordering the appropriate specific tests. Specific infectious diseases including sporotrichosis, histoplasmosis and blastomycosis have also been discussed. The location of the garden and the characteristics of the soil play a part in determining its infectious potential. The most important factor making the garden an infectious and dangerous place is the number and interaction of animals, whether they are pets or in the wild, that temporarily use the garden for part of their daily activities. The diagnostic approach is to utilize epidemiological principles in concert with clinical clues, which together should suggest a reasonable list of diagnostic possibilities.


The contraindications for unicompartmental knee replacement (UKR) remain controversial. The views of many surgeons are based on Kozinn and Scott's 1989 publication which stated that patients who weighed more than 82 kg, were younger than 60 years, undertook heavy labour, had exposed bone in the patellofemoral joint or chondrocalcinosis, were not ideal candidates for UKR. Our aim was to determine whether these potential contraindications should apply to patients with a mobile-bearing UKR. In order to do this the outcome of patients with these potential contraindications was compared with that of patients without the contraindications in a prospective series of 1000 UKRs. The outcome was assessed using the Oxford knee score, the American Knee Society score, the Tegner activity score, revision rate and survival. The clinical outcome of patients with each of the potential contraindications was similar to or better than those without each contraindication. Overall, 678 UKRs (68%) were performed in patients who had at least one potential contraindication and only 322 (32%) in patients deemed to be ideal. The survival at ten years was 97.0% (95% confidence interval 93.4 to 100.0) for those with potential contraindications and 93.6% (95% confidence interval 87.2 to 100.0) in the ideal patients. We conclude that the thresholds proposed by Kozinn and Scott using weight, age, activity, the state of the patellofemoral joint and chondrocalcinosis should not be considered to be contraindications for the use of the Oxford UKR.


Abstract It is hypothesised that the empirical correlation between facial expression and affective experience varies as a function of the correlational design used to compute the coefficients. Predictions about the rank order of five designs were derived based on two assumptions. Female subjects were placed into one of three alcohol conditions (no ethanol, low dose, high dose) and were exposed to 30 slides containing jokes or cartoons. The degree of rated funniness and overt behaviour were intercorrelated using five different designs to analyse the same set of data. The results show that within-subject analyses yielded higher coefficients than between-subjects analyses. Aggregation of data increased the coefficients for within-subject analyses, but not for between-subject analyses. A cheerful mood was associated with hyper-expressiveness, i.e. the occurrence of smiling and laughter at relatively low levels of perceived funniness. It was demonstrated that low correlations between facial expression and affe...


This article presents a linear model predicting optimal size of Distributed Generation (DG) that addresses the minimum power loss. This method is based fundamentally on strong coupling between active power and voltage angle as well as between reactive power and voltage magnitudes. This paper proposes simplified method to calculate the total power losses in electrical grid for different distributed generation sizes and locations. The method has been implemented and tested on several IEEE bus test systems. The results show that the proposed method is capable of predicting approximate optimal size of DG when compared with precision calculations. The method that linearizes a complex model showed a good result, which can actually reduce processing time required. The acceptable accuracy with less time and memory required can help the grid operator to assess power system integrated within large-scale distribution generation.


Consumer-driven health care is the most noteworthy development in health insurance since the widespread adoption of health maintenance organizations and preferred provider organizations in the 1980s. The most common consumer-driven health plan is the high-deductible health plan, which is essentially a catastrophic health insurance plan, often linked with tax-advantaged spending accounts, with very high deductibles, fewer benefits, and higher cost-sharing than conventional health maintenance organization or preferred provider organization plans. The financial risks are significant under high-deductible health plans, especially for low- to moderate-income families and for families whose children have special health care needs. Of concern for pediatricians are the potential quality risks that are predictable in high-deductible health plans, in which families are likely to delay or avoid seeking care, especially preventive care (if it is not exempted from the deductible), when they are faced with paying for care before the deductible is met. This policy statement provides background information on the most common consumer-driven health plan model, discusses the implications for pediatricians and families, and offers recommendations pertaining to health plan product design, education, practice administration, and research.


Background: With sorafenib displaying the highest affinities for Flt3, VEGFR (vascular endothelial growth factor receptor) and Raf and dasatinib for Abl and Src kinases, the profiles of kinases targeted by these inhibitors differ strongly. Materials and Methods: Dose-dependent effects of the inhibitors on freshly isolated chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) cells were assessed as increased phosphatidylserine exposure. Inhibition by sorafenib and dasatinib of survival and anti-apoptotic signaling in CLL cells was examined by Western blot analysis. Results: Sorafenib uniformly induced apoptosis in CLL lymphocytes with a concentration inhibiting by 50% (IC50) of 8 mM, whereas the response to dasatinib was heterogeneous with the onset of inhibition at submicromolar concentrations but with IC50 values below 25 mM in only a few samples. At the respective pharmacologically achievable plasma concentrations, the inhibitors showed more efficient apoptosis induction by sorafenib than by dasatinib and less than additive mutual enhancement in combination. Co-culture with the bone marrow stroma cell line HS-5 increased the viability of untreated CLL cells but did not protect from sorafenib-induced apoptosis. Conclusions: Sorafenib or dasatinib displayed sigmoidal or saturation-type dose-response relationships for apoptosis induction, which were uniform or highly divergent, respectively, among individual CLL samples and therefore might complement each other in their clinical potential for CLL.


This paper reports on metadata research and development supporting memory and reflective learning that is being conducted as part of the Memex Metadata (M2) for Student Portfolios project, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. The paper reviews learning, memory, and reflective learning strategies; introduces the M2 project; presents a reflective learning scenario for a plant biology class; and reviews two metadata developments underlying the M2 project: 1) a context awareness framework (CAF), and 2) an extended metadata framework. The paper concludes with a brief discussion of future research activities.


Location awareness remains the key for many potential future applications of distributed wireless ad hoc sensor networks (WSNs). While the location of a WSN node can be estimated by incorporating Global Positioning System (GPS) devices, it is not suitable to embed GPS receivers in every node considering the cost and size of these devices as well as from an optimization point of view. However, a small number of WSNs nodes called anchor nodes are able to resolve their location either through fixed deployment or using GPS receivers, and thereby provide the reference framework for localization of other nodes. The measurement devices in individual nodes are often erroneous for tiny WSNs nodes, and hence, robustness is a major issue for localization. In this paper, a theoretical localization framework in the presence of noise is postulated, which achieves accurate positioning compared to the existing theoretical approaches. The paired measurement localization (PML) strategy is evaluated through simulations under various noise conditions and environmental modeling, and practically verified by a testbed implementation with real motes. The results corroborate the improved positioning as well as the robustness of PML for ad hoc wireless sensor networks in the presence of noise.


This paper carries forth the conceptual framework for biophilic design that was first laid out by Cramer and Browning in Biophilic Design (2008), which established three categories meant to help define biophilic buildings – Nature in the Space, Natural Analogues and Nature of the Space – and a preliminary list of "biophilic conditions". New research and insights from the neurosciences, endocrinology and other fields have since helped evolve the scientific basis for biophilic design. This paper begins to articulate this growing body of research and emerging design parameters in architectural terms, so that we may draw connections between fields of study, highlight potential avenues for future research, evolve our understanding of biophilic design patterns, and capture the positive psychophysiological and cognitive benefits afforded by biophilia in our design interventions.


The effect of methane seepage from sediments harbouring shallow gas hydrates on standing stocks and the distribution pattern of meiobenthic organisms, in particular Nematoda and Rotifera, was studied at about 800 m water depth at Hydrate Ridge, Cascadia subduction zone, off Oregon. The presence of shallow gas hydrates, buried only a few 10s of centimetres below the sediment surface, was indicated by extensive bacterial mats of chemosynthetic Beggiatoa sp. and clam fields of the bivalve mollusk Calyptogena spp. Mean abundances of meiobenthic organisms integrated over the upper 10 cm of the sediment were highest (1294 ind. 10 cm–2) at clam fields, closely followed by control sediments least affected by gas hydrates (1199 ind. 10 cm–2) and lowest in sediments covered with bacterial mats (762 ind. 10 cm–2). Average meiobenthic biomass was highest at the clam field site (262.2 µg C 10 cm–2), 210.4 µg C 10 cm–2 at the control site and very low in sediments covered with bacterial mats (61.4 µg C 10 cm–2). The dominant taxa of meiobenthic organisms at the investigated sites were nematodes and, unexpectedly, Rotifera that are almost unknown from the deep marine habitat. In terms of abundance, rotifera dominated the meiobenthic community in gas-hydrate-influenced sediments, while control sediments and deeper basins adjoined to Hydrate Ridge were dominated by nematodes. Nematodes were concentrated in the sediment surface at all sites, whereas rotifers were almost evenly distributed at all depths, with a slight preference for deeper sediment horizons. The horizontal as well as vertical distribution of nematodes and rotifers is likely to be determined by competition or predation, and by the high adaptive capability of rotifers to highly sulphidic and anoxic conditions. Estimates of meiobenthic carbon turnover in relation to the bulk organic carbon supply indicate that, in contrast to other meiobenthic communities in cold seep environments, the meiobenthos in the studied gas-hydrate-containing sediments do not benefit from the excess availability of organic carbon via the chemoautotrophic food web. This may be because, for most meiobenthic organisms (other than rotifers), tolerance mechanisms are overwhelmed by the deleterious environmental conditions of reduced oxygen availability and extremely high sulphide fluxes.


Abstract The sedimentation characteristics of two commercial bentonites, Tixoton (organically treated) and Montigel-F (untreated), were investigated using a 3% w/v clay suspension at different concentrations (1, 3.5 and 10%) of NaCl and pH values (2, 7 and 12). Settling rates, floc diameters and sediment volumes were derived from changes in light transmittance using a Turbiscan Ma 2000 instrument. Both bentonite suspensions were unstable (flocculated) in NaCl solutions. The settling rate increased with increasing concentration of NaCl and was directly related to floc diameter. The sediment volume reduced with increasing NaCl concentrations, a result of greater double layer compression caused by increased ionic strength. At comparable salt concentrations, the organically-treated bentonite (Tixoton) settled at a much slower rate and had a greater sedimentation volume. The suspensions of both organically-treated and untreated bentonites were stable (dispersed) above pH 7 and unstable in acidic conditions. The settling rate for Tixoton under acid conditions was much smaller than that for the Montigel-F. Differences in sedimentation characteristics between the two bentonite samples are probably due to the presence of an anionic polymer (carboxymethyl cellulose: CMC) in Tixoton. The viscosity of the bentonite suspensions was also studied. The viscosity of the clay suspension is closely related to clay dispersivity in solution. The CMC was highly effective in increasing the viscosity of the bentonite suspensions, but only under neutral and alkaline conditions.


ABSTRACT Farm-to-school programs are increasing in number across the United States, yet research and evaluation of programs is limited, with only a few studies published in refereed journals. For this article we reviewed 38 studies and report on 15 studies that met the inclusion criteria. These preliminary findings are related to the impacts of farm-to-school programs on behavior of students, school teachers and administrators, food service, farmers and producers, and parents, as well as knowledge gains and attitudinal changes. Further evaluation and research are needed to improve practice and assist programs in meeting their goals.


This paper proposes a simple and efficient Montgomery multiplication algorithm such that the low-cost and high-performance Montgomery modular multiplier can be implemented accordingly. The proposed multiplier receives and outputs the data with binary representation and uses only one-level carry-save adder (CSA) to avoid the carry propagation at each addition operation. This CSA is also used to perform operand precomputation and format conversion from the carry-save format to the binary representation, leading to a low hardware cost and short critical path delay at the expense of extra clock cycles for completing one modular multiplication. To overcome the weakness, a configurable CSA (CCSA), which could be one full-adder or two serial half-adders, is proposed to reduce the extra clock cycles for operand precomputation and format conversion by half. In addition, a mechanism that can detect and skip the unnecessary carry-save addition operations in the one-level CCSA architecture while maintaining the short critical path delay is developed. As a result, the extra clock cycles for operand precomputation and format conversion can be hidden and high throughput can be obtained. Experimental results show that the proposed Montgomery modular multiplier can achieve higher performance and significant area-time product improvement when compared with previous designs.


The hit identification process usually involves the profiling of millions to more recently billions of compounds either via traditional experimental high throughput screens (HTS) or computational virtual high throughput screens (vHTS). We have previously demonstrated that by coupling reaction-based enumeration, active learning and free energy calculations, a similarly large scale exploration of chemical space can be extended to the hit-to-lead process. In this work, we augment that approach by coupling large scale enumeration and cloud-based FEP profiling with goal-directed generative machine learning, which results in a higher enrichment of potent ideas compared to large scale enumeration alone, while simultaneously staying within the bounds of a predefined drug-like property space. We are able to achieve this by building the molecular distribution for generative machine learning from the PathFinder rules-based enumeration and optimizing for a weighted sum QSAR based multi-parameter optimization function. We examine the utility of this combined approach by designing potent inhibitors of cyclin-dependant kinase 2 (CDK2) and demonstrate a coupled workflow that can: (1) provide a 6.4 fold enrichment improvement in identifying < 10nM compounds over random selection, and a 1.5 fold enrichment in identifying < 10nM compounds over our previous method (2) rapidly explore relevant chemical space outside the bounds of commercial reagents, (3) use generative ML approaches to "learn" the SAR from large scale in silico enumerations and generate novel idea molecules for a flexible receptor site that are both potent and within relevant physicochemical space and (4) produce over 3,000,000 idea molecules and run 2153 FEP simulations, identifying 69 ideas with a predicted IC50 < 10nM and 358 ideas with a predicted IC50 <100 nM. The reported data suggest combining both reaction-based and generative machine learning for ideation results in a higher enrichment of potent compounds over previously described approaches, and can rapidly accelerate the discovery of novel chemical matter within a predefined potency and property space.


In 1904, New York nuns brought forty Irish orphans to a remote Arizona mining camp, to be placed with Catholic families. The Catholic families were Mexican, as was the majority of the population. Soon the town's Anglos, furious at this "interracial" transgression, formed a vigilante squad that kidnapped the children and nearly lynched the nuns and the local priest. The Catholic Church sued to get its wards back, but all the courts, including the U.S. Supreme Court, ruled in favor of the vigilantes. "The Great Arizona Orphan Abduction" tells this disturbing and dramatic tale to illuminate the creation of racial boundaries along the Mexican border. Clifton/Morenci, Arizona, was a "wild West" boomtown, where the mines and smelters pulled in thousands of Mexican immigrant workers. Racial walls hardened as the mines became big business and whiteness became a marker of superiority. These already volatile race and class relations produced passions that erupted in the "orphan incident." To the Anglos of Clifton/Morenci, placing a white child with a Mexican family was tantamount to child abuse, and they saw their kidnapping as a rescue. Women initiated both sides of this confrontation. Mexican women agreed to take in these orphans, both serving their church and asserting a maternal prerogative; Anglo women believed they had to "save" the orphans, and they organized a vigilante squad to do it. In retelling this nearly forgotten piece of American history, Linda Gordon brilliantly recreates and dissects the tangled intersection of family and racial values, in a gripping story that resonates with today's conflicts over the "best interests of the child."


In this turbulent business environment of global recession and knowledge economic ages along with the unceasing gravity of knowledge, knowledge management already became the source to improve Industry competitive ability. This study attempted to propose a model for KMI (Knowledge Management implementation), in the Mobile telecommunication industry. In presenting the model for Mobile telecommunication industry which the authors called it; Erfani et al., KMI model; they followed KM(Knowledge
Management) models and took advantage of Deming Cycle model and control project models, they also considered Critical Success Factors (CSFs) and Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) of core process in order to identify valuable knowledge. Erfani et al., KMI model consists of initiation, planning, executing, monitoring, controlling and closing phases. Since knowledge management audit is an important step of KMI, in the first Phase KM cycle would be assessed in the organization under study; in this research KM in the Mobile Telephone Switching Office (MTSO) was assessed based on jashapara's KM cycle; latter includes four loops;
knowledge creation, knowledge organization, knowledge sharing and knowledge leverage. In the second phase of the model the valuable knowledge for the company under study would be identified, in the third phase the procedures for managing the valuable knowledge would be done, in the forth phase the KM statues and it's effect on some productivity keys would be evaluated and in the last phase all the processes would be documented. This paper suggests that by implementing this model organization is able to increase their productivity index and be prosperous in KM. In order to verify and validate the performed research, Erfani et
al., KMI model has been accomplished in the Mobile Telephone Switching Office and other companies, positive
and acceptable results were obtained and organizations total factor productivity increase was achieved which
was appreciated by the organization, for km assessment in the first phase nd after execution phase, Qualitative
method through direct data collection mechanism was used; questioners were delivered and the staffs were interviewed as well the data were analyzed through SPSS software. In identifying CSFs and KPIs; Multi Attribute Group Decision Making (MAGDM) techniques was used. The obtained results indicated that there was improvement in the creating, sharing, organizing and utilizing knowledge and process efficiency index were improved.


This study examines the cloud to ground lightning discharges over the cities of Nairobi and Mombasa including their environs. Ground based and Satellite-derived meteorological data were utilized in this study and included thunder events, total rainfall, number of rainy days, maximum rainfall in 24 hours, relative humidity, minimum and maximum temperature, wind speed and direction and Cold Cloud Duration (CCD). In the context of disaster management, the synergistic approach to risk management involves four closely related phases, one of which is the scientific analysis of specific hazard. This is the phase addressed in this study. A risk indicator based on physical and statistical characteristics of thunderstorms at the two locations was developed by examining the patterns of deviations from the mean thunderstorm events and their frequencies. Various aspects of the lightning risks at the two areas are described and discussed. Model results indicate that higher risks of lightning stroke occurred during the long rains season (March to May) as compared to the short rains (September to November) season. This was attributed to higher frequency of thunderclouds during the long rains season. The rain generating mechanisms during the long rains were observed to have higher frequencies of thunder events. The dry season (December to February and June to August) exhibits lowest lightning stroke risks. It is hoped that the results from this study may be of use to the various sectors of economy that need to take into account the dangers/risks of lightning strokes into their day to day operations so as to minimise or avert disasters from lightning strokes. Some of the sectors that may benefit from the results of this study include the Kenya Oil Refinery Depots, Kenya Power and Lighting Company, the Chemical and construction industries among others.