Purpose: This qualitative paper is about social reporting in response to an incident that involved the loss of human life. It examines Loblaw's disclosures following the Rana Plaza building collapse that killed over 1,100 Bangladeshi workers. Design/methodology/approach: This article draws on Suchman's (1995) comprehensive legitimacy typology to interpret Loblaw's disclosures about the collapse in both mass media coverage of the tragedy and the company's quarterly, annual and corporate social responsibility (CSR) reports. Findings: Loblaw worked on many fronts to secure stakeholders' support in the aftermath of the fatal incident. Through their social disclosures, Loblaw simultaneously managed exchange, dispositional, consequential, procedural, structural, personal and cognitive legitimacy, striving to demonstrate that, notwithstanding the incident, the company was still conforming to its social contract. Practical implications: This research operationalizes all aspects of Suchman's legitimacy typology in the context of social reporting. In particular, the paper further develops the concept of cognitive legitimacy. This should be of benefit to other CSR researchers. Social implications: The loss of human life during business operations is one of the most terrible events an organization can face. Corporate activities leading to loss of human life are obviously far from being socially acceptable. Stakeholders are likely to disapprove such activities and reconsider their support, which can threaten the survival of the organization. It is thus of utmost importance to understand the strategies used by corporate managers in their attempt to secure ongoing stakeholder support. Originality/value: This paper innovates by focusing specifically on social disclosures about a negative event. In so doing, it also contributes to a small, but important, literature within CSR research that examines incidents resulting in the loss of human life. The paper adapts and applies Suchman's legitimacy framework to interpret social reporting in response to a specific instance of loss of life, the Rana Plaza building collapse. Finally, this paper mobilizes the notion of cognitive dissonance to further develop Suchman's notion of cognitive legitimacy.


Lamins A and C, also known as A-type lamins, are type V nuclear intermediate filament proteins which form an interlacing meshwork of filaments subjacent to the inner nuclear membrane termed the nuclear lamina. A-type lamins have been implicated in DNA replication, gene transcription regulation, apoptosis, regulation of growth promoters and nuclear migration. Traditionally, expression of A-type lamins has been associated with differentiated cells. As such, mutations in A-type lamins have been associated with a diverse range of genetic diseases, including premature ageing syndromes and with increased proliferation, especially in tumours.
In colorectal cancer, expression of A-type lamins, have been shown to impart an adverse prognosis. In order to understand the underlying biological processes responsible for this adverse outcome in patients with colorectal cancer, I sought to clarify the expression profile of A-type lamins and their binding partners in normal colonic/rectal mucosa, prior to investigating the expression of A-type lamins in colorectal cancers. I used fresh tissue specimens obtained from patients with colorectal cancer for my experiments. A unique finding was the expression of lamin A in the putative stem cell niche of colonic / rectal mucosal crypts.
Further studies in the form of a microarray analysis, revealed a very complex picture of up regulation involving various signalling cascades in the cancer samples expressing A-type lamins. There was no evidence to suggest a direct involvement of A-type lamins influencing the Wnt signalling cascade, however, direct involvement of other signalling cascades, such as the IGF signalling cascade, Shh signalling cascade and TGF-β signalling cascades were noted. These signalling cascades were known to influence the Wnt signalling cascades and hence could play a crucial role in the pathogenesis of colorectal cancers expressing A-type lamins.
In addition to these important signalling cascades, other key genes involved in apoptosis, growth promoters, cell adhesion, stem cell regulation, oncogenes and tumour suppression, were noted to have a unique expression profile in the cancer sample expressing A-type lamins, not observed in the cancer sample lacking A-type lamin expression. These observations were suggestive of A-type lamins having a diverse range of actions via, as yet, undefined pathways. It would appear that A-type lamins were imparting a more motile, less adherent phenotype with stem cell like features in colorectal cancers expressing A-type lamins. This could explain the observed poor prognosis of patients with colorectal cancers expressing A-type lamins.
Creatine kinase brain (CKB), was also identified as an additional, potential, prognostic indicator in the Duke's B group of patients with colorectal cancer expressing A-type lamins. This potential marker, in conjunction with A-type lamin expression could be used to identify a sub group of Duke's B patients at high risk. Whether adjuvant therapy in this group would help improve their long term survival is unknown since no study has been done to assess this.


The main goal of this work is the analysis of the procedure for material characterization aimed at elasto-visco-plastic models and their implementation in FEM codes. This will be done in order to perform stress analysis of structural components under repeated cyclical loads and high temperatures The overall development involves theoretical, numerical and experimental methodologies. The study of state of the art of material models, available in FEM codes, has allowed the evaluation of the limits of stress analysis on components subjected to repeated cyclical loads and high temperature. The initial study has also highlighted the necessity to implement complex material models. Traditionally this lack has been faced through the use of factors of safety, which are developed and refined on the basis of the experience and historical backgrounds. For systems where efficient design is of the utmost importance (for example the minimum weight design of an aircraft structure), it is possible that the traditional factors of safety may be overly conservative, so that optimal efficiency cannot be achieved. The implementation of complex material models allows simulating the real material behaviour and taking into account the non-linear interaction between creep and fatigue for structural analysis and life prediction. The results are more dependable and allow reducing the traditional factors of safety, consequently lead to a significant improvement in the designing of structural components. The process of material characterization has been developed through the following phases: designing the necessary experimental data base, choosing the constitutive laws, describing the iterative procedure for determining the coefficients of material model and the procedure of model validation, performed by comparisons between experimental data and simulated ones. It has been described how a poor experimental data base influences the material characterization process and the limits of an automatic procedure. Guidelines have been provided for designing experimental tests able to identify the optimized model parameters. In this way, it will be possible to determine material models with wide range of validity and to allow reducing time and costs of a characterization process. A methodology of structural analysis has been developed through the comparison with procedures of tested validity, in way to allow a correct and safe implementation of elasto-visco-plastic material models. An elasto-visco-plastic analysis on a combustion chamber of aeronautical engine has been performed and component life determined, taking into account the interaction between fatigue and creep.


Although most geographical entities represented as objects in a GIS have crisp boundaries, in reality they have indeterminate boundaries and fuzzy spatial extent. This is due to the fact that they are distributed continuously in space and time. Furthermore, measurement procedures generally produce data with a limited accuracy, which lead to the uncertain description of geographical entities. Because of these facts, uncertainties exist in the crisp object description of geographical entities. When temporal information is applied to analyze their change, these uncertainties will influence the final results of mapping. Therefore, the effects of the uncertainties on monitoring geographical entities should be studied, in order to provide accurate information to decision makers. This paper discusses the indeterminate nature of geographic entities and its effect on change detection when they are monitored through time. The concepts of fuzzy objects and fuzzy change detection are applied to describe heterogeneous objects or objects with indeterminate boundaries, several measures for fuzzy change detection are presented to evaluate the change processes of the objects. A practical example of the dynamics of sediments along the Dutch coast is elaborated to demonstrate the approach and the concepts proposed.


SuperGen is a Belt Integrated Starter Generator (B-ISG) combined with a novel electro-mechanical power split transmission system providing variable speed centrifugal supercharger capability, all in one compact package. This paper initially discusses the analysis of SuperGen's application to a gasoline SUV in order to examine the B-ISG power and voltage mild hybrid functionality trade-off versus fuel consumption reduction on drive cycle. A significant engine down speeding was also applied based on the low speed torque enhancement afforded by SuperGen's boosting capability, both transiently, and sustainably at steady state engine operation. This has been demonstrated and reported on the well-published Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) Ultraboost project. Finally, the part load "boost-on-demand" was used to evaluate advanced combustion modes not easily achievable with conventional turbocharger technology, namely; aggressive Miller cycle with early inlet valve closing; EGR diluted stoichiometric homogenous operation and un-throttled lean stratified combustion.


Background: Controlled vocabularies in the molecular biology domain exist to facilitate data integration across database resources. One such tool is the Gene Ontology (GO), a classification designed to act as a universal index for gene products from any species. The Gene Ontology is used extensively in annotating gene products and analysing gene expression data, yet very little research exists from a library and information science perspective exploring the design principles, philosophy and social role of ontologies in biology.

Aim: To explore how molecular biologists, in creating the Gene Ontology, devised guidelines and rules for determining which scientific concepts are included in the ontology, and the criteria for how these concepts are represented.

Methods: A domain analysis approach was used to devise a mixed methodology to study the design of the Gene Ontology. Concept analysis of a GO term and a critical discourse analysis of GO developer mailing list texts were used to test whether ontological realism is a tenable basis for constructing objective ontologies. A comparison of the current GO vocabulary construction guidelines and a study of the reasons why GO terms are removed from the ontology further explored the justifications for the design of the Gene Ontology. Finally, a content analysis of published GO papers examined how authors use and cite GO data and terminology.

Results: Gene Ontology terms can be presented according to different epistemologies for concepts, indicating that ontological realism is not the only way objective ontologies can be designed. Social roles and the exercise of power were found to play an important role in determining ontology content, and poor synonym control, a lack of clear warrant for deciding terminology and arbitrary decisions to delete and invent new terms undermine the objectivity and universal applicability of the Gene Ontology. Authors exhibited poor compliance with GO data citation policies, and in re-wording and misquoting GO terminology, risk exacerbating the semantic problems this controlled vocabulary was designed to solve.

Conclusions: The failure of the Gene Ontology to define what is meant by a molecular function, the exercise of power by GO developers in clearing contentious concepts from the ontology, and the strict adherence to ontological realism, which marginalises social and subjective ways of classifying scientific concepts, limits the utility of the ontology as a tool to unify the molecular biology domain. These limitations to the Gene Ontology design could be overcome with the development of lighter, pluralistic, user-controlled 'open ontologies' for gene products that can work alongside more traditional, 'top-down' developed vocabularies.


Abstract. Comprehensive aircraft observations are used to characterise surface roughness over the Arctic marginal ice zone (MIZ) and consequently make recommendations for the parametrisation of surface momentum exchange in the MIZ. These observations were gathered in the Barents Sea and Fram Strait from two aircraft as part of the Aerosol–Cloud Coupling And Climate Interactions in the Arctic (ACCACIA) project. They represent a doubling of the total number of such aircraft observations currently available over the Arctic MIZ. The eddy covariance method is used to derive estimates of the 10 m neutral drag coefficient (CDN10) from turbulent wind velocity measurements, and a novel method using albedo and surface temperature is employed to derive ice fraction. Peak surface roughness is found at ice fractions in the range 0.6 to 0.8 (with a mean interquartile range in CDN10 of 1.25 to 2.85  ×  10−3). CDN10 as a function of ice fraction is found to be well approximated by the negatively skewed distribution provided by a leading parametrisation scheme (Lupkes et al., 2012) tailored for sea-ice drag over the MIZ in which the two constituent components of drag – skin and form drag – are separately quantified. Current parametrisation schemes used in the weather and climate models are compared with our results and the majority are found to be physically unjustified and unrepresentative. The Lupkes et al. (2012) scheme is recommended in a computationally simple form, with adjusted parameter settings. A good agreement holds for subsets of the data from different locations, despite differences in sea-ice conditions. Ice conditions in the Barents Sea, characterised by small, unconsolidated ice floes, are found to be associated with higher CDN10 values – especially at the higher ice fractions – than those of Fram Strait, where typically larger, smoother floes are observed. Consequently, the important influence of sea-ice morphology and floe size on surface roughness is recognised, and improvement in the representation of this in parametrisation schemes is suggested for future study.


Child maltreatment (CM) is a pervasive social problem in the United States that occurs across all socioeconomic, religious, cultural, and ethnic groups (United States Department of Health & Human Services, 2012). Though the causes of CM are complex and involve multiple factors, researchers have found that specific parenting factors are associated with child maltreatment, including harsh discipline practices, hostile attributions, difficulties with emotion regulation, maternal substance abuse, and a parent's personal history of child abuse (Azar, 2002; Belsky & Jaffee, 2006; Mayes & Truman, 2002). Improving parenting through parenting programs is one of the most important approaches to reducing CM (Barth, 2009). The primary purpose of this study was to determine the impact of a manualized, group-based, parenting program on mothers in residential treatment for substance abuse. The Circle of Security-Parenting© (COS-P; Cooper, Hoffman, & Powell, 2009) program is a shortened, eight session version of the original Circle of Security® protocol that has shown efficacy in working with parents at risk for CM (Cassidy et al., 2010; Hoffman, Marvin, Cooper, & Powell, 2006). A secondary purpose involved assessing if COS-P can positively impact three measurable social information processing and attachment variables associated with child maltreatment: (a) hostile attributions (b) emotion regulation, and (c) harsh discipline practices. Utilizing action research methodology, qualitative, quantitative, and secondary data sets were gathered. Quantitative results indicated that some participants who attended the majority of COS-P sessions showed reliable change (Jacobson & Truax, 1991) from pretest to posttest, with the largest changes in parental discipline practices. Qualitatively, COS-P participants, staff members at the agency, and the group researcher/facilitator overwhelmingly commented positively on the new curriculum, with the only noted weakness being more time needed with the curriculum. Further, a review of the participant's background demographic data indicated that participants who had reliable change (i.e., change that was larger than measurement error) on their dependent pretest to posttest measures differed from those who did not have reliable change on their measures on three background variables: education level, self-reported personal history of CM, and time in residential treatment. Results indicate that COS-P is a well-received, engaging program that may impact the parenting factors associated with CM for mothers in residential substance abuse treatment.


Ultralight graphene foams have recently attracted attention due to their unique properties and applications, but few analogues of metal oxides possible to prepare. Here, a new monolith of three-dimensional titania has been prepared for the first time by a simple lyophilization treatment of exfoliated titanate nanosheets in colloidal suspension. The robust and shape-formable foam is of a density as low as 5 mg cm−3. It possesses a porous layered architecture, large interlayer spacing, and large and negatively charged specific surface area, which exhibits excellent hygroscopicity and capacity for metal cation adsorption. In both mechanical compression and heavy metal ion absorption from water, it demonstrates remarkable recyclability and fast kinetics, capable of full recovery and repeated operation. Significantly outperforming all other inorganic sorbents, it may find applications in decontamination/enrichment/recovery of toxic, radioactive and valuable metal ions.


The unlimited proliferative and developmental potential harbored by stem cells promised to be the ideal source of testing and transplant material necessary to cure many human diseases. In 2006 induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) eliminated host versus graft problems for stem cell therapy and provided new disease modeling avenues (1). Since then, a wide variety of articles on the differentiation of iPSCs towards specific cell lineages again have promised to provide the long-awaited host-specific models and cellular sources to study various human diseases (2,3). However, iPSCs are routinely virally reprogrammed and highly variable (1,4), which raises concerns about their tumorigenicity and reproducibility. Unlike viral reprogramming, small molecules interact with the pre-existing molecular machinery and so can bypass any dormant virus-related tumorigenicity. Also, small molecules could potentially reduce the variability of reprogramming and subsequent differentiation of iPSCs, given the robustness of their production and optimization.


The Invisible Hand offers a radical departure from the conventional wisdom of economists and economic historians, by showing that 'factor markets' and the economies dominated by them -- the market economies -- are not modern, but have existed at various times in the past. They rise, stagnate, and decline; and consist of very different combinations of institutions embedded in very different societies. These market economies create flexibility and high mobility in the exchange of land, labour, and capital, and initially they generate economic growth, although they also build on existing social structures, as well as existing exchange and allocation systems. The dynamism that results from the rise of factor markets leads to the rise of new market elites who accumulate land and capital, and use wage labour extensively to make their wealth profitable. In the long term, this creates social polarization and a decline of average welfare. As these new elites gradually translate their economic wealth into political leverage, it also creates institutional sclerosis, and finally makes these markets stagnate or decline again. This process is analysed across the three major, pre-industrial examples of successful market economies in western Eurasia: Iraq in the early Middle Ages, Italy in the high Middle Ages, and the Low Countries in the late Middle Ages and the early modern period, and then parallels drawn to England and the United States in the modern period. These areas successively saw a rapid rise of factor markets and the associated dynamism, followed by stagnation, which enables an in-depth investigation of the causes and results of this process.


Abstract : This report describes the results of the first phase of a domain analysis performed by the SEI's Domain Analysis Project. The report establishes the context and scope of the movement control domain within command and control (C2) systems and in particular, ATCCS. It discussed the purpose of a domain analysis and presents an overview of the method being used to perform the analysis. The report describes both the Army's use of ATCCS in achieving the Army mission and the ATCCS software development strategy. A brief description of Army C2 systems lays a foundation for defining movement control and its context in the ATCCS structure. Within this context, the report identifies the key areas within movement control that will be explored during the remainder of the domain analysis. The report also describes the approach for performing the analysis and includes appendices providing additional information about ATCCS, relevant terms, and acronyms. domain analysis, movement control domain, command and control.


Alcohol consumption has occurred for thousands of years World over and for some people it has become a pass-time habit. Nearly every country in the world has citizens who consume alcohol to an extent that, they abuse the substance. It is noted that in many parts of the world, drinking alcoholic beverages is a common feature of social gatherings. Despite there being measures to control alcohol consumption in many societies, many people still abuse the substance. Citizens of various nations start drinking alcohol at ages that vary according to locality. The enforcement of minimum legal drinking ages also varies widely among countries. In many nations the law is not generally enforced unless alcohol is abused and associated with behavioral problems. This study was undertaken to explore the role of formal education in mitigating alcohol abuse by pupils in Zambia. Data was collected in selected schools in the Northern Zone of Lusaka district. Ten secondary schools were sampled six government, two private and two community schools. The research design was a combination of qualitative and quantitative. Self administered questionnaires were given to randomly selected pupils and the sample representative in the selected schools was 22 respondents per school, involving two administrators, four teachers and sixteen pupils. For qualitative approach one to one interviews using semi-structured interview guide was conducted with pupils and teachers. Focus group discussion guide with pupils were used by the researcher. The findings of the study revealed that the causes of early alcohol intake were well known among the pupils themselves, peer influence being the main one. Findings on the second objective which was to establish the extent of sensitization of pupils on alcohol abuse, revealed that there was inadequate sensitization in schools. The findings further showed that the gap on sensitization was created owing to lack of deliberate policy on alcohol abuse. The study also revealed that the pupils knew that alcohol abuse had an effect their learning achievements and this was the third objective. The findings also showed that among the suggested measures to be taken, the respondents recommended formal education as the most favoured intervention.


Gene transcription is regulated by post-translation modifications. Histone deacetylases (HDACs) remove acetyl groups from histone and non-histone factors inhibiting transcription. Proinflammatory cytokines such as TNFα activate the canonical nuclear factor-κB (NF-κB) pathway. Earlier we established a cytoprotective role for NF-κB in the heart. Though a causal relationship for HDAC1 and NF-κB has been established, the impact of HDAC1 on TNFα signaling is unknown. Herein, we demonstrate that HDAC1 provides a molecular switch for determining cell survival in the TNFα pathway. In contrast to vehicle-treated control cells, TNFα-treated cells displayed a marked increase in NF-κB gene transcription. Notably, cells treated with TNFα were indistinguishable from vehicle controls cells with respect to viability. Interestingly, HDAC activity was reduced in cells treated with TNFα. Conversely, in the presence of HDAC1, NF-κB gene transcription by TNFα was repressed, resulting in mitochondrial perturbations and widespread cell death. Heterologous fusion proteins comprised of yeast Gal4 DNA binding domain fused in frame to the NF-κB p65 transactivation domain were preferentially repressed by HDAC1. Moreover, transcription mediated by Gal4VP16 protein from herpes virus was unaffected by HDAC1 in cardiac myocytes. Mutations that abrogate known catalytic activities of HDAC1, small interference RNA, or pharmacological inhibition of HDAC1 restored NF-κB signaling and suppressed cell death induced by TNFα. These data provide the first evidence for an obligate link between HDAC1 and canonical TNFα pathway for cell survival of cardiac myocytes.


A new method for the analysis of the diffraction of a plane wave impinging on a perfectly conducting circular cylinder in front of a generally reflecting surface is presented. The surface is characterized by its complex reflection coefficient, enabling us to treat a wide class of reflecting surfaces. The presence of the surface is taken into account by means of a suitable expansion of the reflected field in terms of cylindrical functions. The method gives the solution of the scattering problem in both the near and the far field regardless of the polarization state of the incident field. Numerical examples for dielectric interfaces are presented, and comparisons are made with results presented in the literature.


This paper uses a recent household survey and the CEQ framework to revisit and extend previous research on the impact of fiscal policy on income redistribution, and poverty in South Africa. We find, in accordance with previous research, that direct taxes and cash transfers are overall progressive and reduce inequality and poverty. Our disaggregated analyses, however, reveal that medical and interest tax benefits are regressive. We also find that certain social transfers provided to some minority population groups are not particularly well targeted. Periodically reviewing the effectiveness of fiscal policy at disaggregated levels would help to further improve the effectiveness of fiscal policy.


Short days (SDs) in autumn induce growth cessation, bud set, cold acclimation, and dormancy in trees of boreal and temperate forests, and these responses occur earlier in northern than in southern genotypes. Nevertheless, we know little about whether this variation results from differential perception of SDs or differential downstream responses to the SD signal or a combination of the two. We compared global patterns of SD-regulated gene expression in the stems of hybrid poplar (Populus trichocarpa × Populus deltoides) clones that differ in their SD-induced growth cessation in order to address this question. The timing of cessation of cambial cell division caused by SDs differed between the clones and was coincident with the change in the pattern of expression of the auxin-regulated genes. The clones also differed in the timing of their SD-regulated changes in the transcript abundance of genes associated with cold tolerance, starch breakdown, and storage protein accumulation. By analyzing the expression of homologs of FLOWERING LOCUS T, we demonstrated that the clones differed little in their perception of SDs under the growth conditions applied but differed substantially in the downstream responses manifested in the timing and magnitude of gene expression after SD treatment. These results demonstrate the existence of factors that act downstream of SD perception and can contribute to variation in SD-regulated adaptive photoperiodic responses in trees.


It's about integrating individual clinical expertise and the best external evidence

Evidence based medicine, whose philosophical origins extend back to mid-19th century Paris and earlier, remains a hot topic for clinicians, public health practitioners, purchasers, planners, and the public. There are now frequent workshops in how to practice and teach it (one sponsored by the BMJ will be held in London on 24 April); undergraduate1 and postgraduate2 training programmes are incorporating it3 (or pondering how to do so); British centres for evidence based practice have been established or planned in adult medicine, child health, surgery, pathology, pharmacotherapy, nursing, general practice, and dentistry; the Cochrane Collaboration and Britain's Centre for Review and Dissemination in York are providing systematic reviews of the effects of health care; new evidence based practice journals are being launched; and it has become a common topic in the lay media. But enthusiasm has been mixed with some negative reaction.4 5 6 Criticism has ranged from evidence based medicine being old hat to it being a dangerous innovation, perpetrated by the arrogant to serve cost cutters and suppress clinical freedom. As evidence based medicine continues to evolve and adapt, now is a useful time to refine the discussion of what it is and what it is not.

Evidence based medicine is the conscientious, explicit, and judicious use of current best evidence in making decisions about the care of individual patients. The …


Computation is a central concept in computer science. The mathematical theory of computation, with its historical origins that predate the computer, has been most influential in the development of programming languages, tools and methodologies. The study of psychological aspects of computation is by comparison a new concern that has developed largely as a post hoc investigation of contemporary methods of programming; it has yet to make a serious impact upon computer science theory. In this paper, we shall argue that concerns about perception and interpretation that are significant in psychology should be a primary source of insight into the new models of computation that will shape future developments in computer programming. To this end, we reconsider fundamental issues concerning the nature of computation and its relationship to mathematics and cognition. In particular, we shall explain how computation has to be understood with reference to • physical processes that are perceived to undergo changes of state • conceptual methods for interpreting state changes in computational terms. Brief references to our work on agent-oriented programming using definitionbased representations of state will be used to explain our thesis.


Abstract
The hybrids of four subspecies of Oncomelania hupensis were exposed to infection with miricidia of four strains of Schistosoma japonicum geographically related to the parent snails. The results permitted the postulation that when a strain of S. japonicum infects a snail, it will also usually develop in hybrids of which one snail parent is susceptible to infection. Oncomelania hupensis hupensis is susceptible to all strains of S. japonicum that infect man, while the Changhua race of Oncomelania hupensis formosana is susceptible only to the Formosan (zoophilic) strain of the parasite. However, hybrids of these snails served as intermediate hosts for both the human and the zoophilic strains of the parasite. Infected hybrid snails survived twice as long as infected unhybridized snails. A lower infection rate and later shedding of cercariae was observed in hybrids and snails infected with unnatural geographical strains than in snails infected with geographically related strains.


The  American  Cancer  Society  predicted  that  230,480 women would  be  diagnosed with,  and 39,520 women would  die  from  breast  cancer  (BC)  in  the  United  States  in  2011. While  the incidence of  female BC has been decreasing, BC  remains  the  second  leading  cause of  cancer death among women  in the United States. Cancer cachexia, the cancer‐related  loss of muscle, affects up to 25% of BC patients and is associated with poor prognosis and decreased quality of life. Alterations to the dystrophin glycoprotein complex (DGC), a transmembrane, multi‐subunit protein complex with structural and signaling roles, have been reported in mammary tumors of BC patients and  skeletal muscles of  cachectic  cancer patients. However,  this  complex  is most frequently  studied  for  its  role  in Duchenne muscular dystrophy  (DMD),  a  severe, progressive muscle wasting disease. Despite the similar alterations reported  in these diseases,  it  is unclear whether alterations  in the DGC  in one tissue can  impact the progression of disease  in another. Purpose: The purpose of the studies described in this dissertation was to identify differences in body  composition,  energy  expenditure  and  plasma  cytokine  content  between  the C57BL/10ScSn‐Dmd/J  (mdx) mouse model of DMD and C57BL/10ScSnJ  (BL/10) control mice and to determine whether systemic alteration of the DGC (as observed in the mdx mouse) alters the  growth  of  E0771  murine  mammary  tumors.  Results:  There  were  differences  in  body composition and plasma cytokine profiles between mdx and BL/10 mice. We also  found  that, relative  to  controls,  the  tumor–induced  increase  in  cytokines  that  promote  invasion  and iii metastasis was not as severe in mdx mice. Conclusions: This study revealed several differences between mdx and BL/10 mice and provides support for the suggestion that the mdx mouse may not be an accurate model of DMD. In addition, the  improved cytokine profile of tumor‐bearing mdx mice  suggests  that  the  acute phase of DMD may be protective  against BC  invasion  and metastasis.  Further  research  should  confirm  this effect and determine whether alterations  in the DGC of the mdx mouse are directly or indirectly responsible.


Orbital synthetic aperture radar (SAR) C‐band data acquired by ERS‐1/2 in vv‐polarization and Radarsat in hh‐polarization during the period from 1996 to 1999 were used to evaluate their combined information potential for classification of land cover in the arid environment of Kuwait. Individual SAR scenes were orthorectified using a digital elevation model (DEM) of Kuwait, radiometrically adjusted for incidence angle effects, and mosaics were generated for the whole country. The data were coregistered as multichannel composites and integrated with geographical information system (GIS) layers of roads, hydrology, soils and vegetation. An adaptive spatial filter was used to increase the number of effective independent looks prior to generation of feature vectors based on SAR backscatter power values. A total of 13 classes of the joint ERS‐1/2 and Radarsat images were identified based on Bhattacharya distance and geospatial pattern. The C‐band radar backscatter observed by ERS and Radarsat was found to be related to vegetation cover, surface roughness, percentage of coarse material in the surface layer and moisture conditions. These factors are not independent, but are known to be correlated. The complexity of these dependencies made unambiguous classification of surface material difficult when using C‐band data alone. Nevertheless, class labels were assigned using a maximum likelihood supervised classification incorporating field measurements and ancillary data such as soil, and surface sediment maps. When used in a simple two‐class classification (e.g. low vs. high vegetation cover fraction, or smooth vs. rough soils), the overall accuracy of the combined ERS and Radarsat data was between 70 and 80%. The generated dataset is amenable to several label definitions based on the requirements of the intended use.


This essay provides an overview of progresses achieved for women in the Americas by virtue of the use of the human rights model to further women's rights and attain betterment of their lives. Specifically, this work reviews the location of Latinas both within and outside the United States fronteras. As women of color within larger U.S. society and as women within their comunidad Latina, Latinas experience different multifaceted subordinations. A human rights model that recognizes the multidimensional nature of gendered racial discrimination and of racialized gender discrimination can serve to improve the lives of Latinas as well as non-Latina women worldwide. In order to develop this theme, this work first explores the limitations as well as the promises of the human rights structure. Specifically, in Part I, this essay analyzes existing international protections on the basis of race and sex and explores the cultural dimensions of both race and sex-based oppressions. Part II reviews the protections offered to women by the regional Inter-American system, many of which replicate the protections afforded by the international model. Part III explores the impact that the Inter-American system of protections has had on effecting positive change for women in the laws of many states in the Americas. After providing a general overview of the significance of and need for change, this segment analyzes case law, executive initiatives and codes, and domestic constitutional changes to demonstrate the positive effect that sex and race protections afforded by the international and regional systems have on the lives of Latinas. It also enumerates certain areas where further attention to Latinas' location is necessary. Finally, Part III elucidates that, notwithstanding many advancements, there remain multiple locations of oppression and inequality, conditions with respect to which true equality for Latinas is but an aspiration. Following this factual presentation of Latinas' realities, this work sets out a proposal for reform that is applicable not only to Latinas both inside and outside United States fronteras, but also to women worldwide. Within that proposal are two major suggestions. First, it urges the use of an expanded anti-violence paradigm that rejects as violence against women any acts - public or private - that result in the subjugation of women or their continued existence as second class citizens. Second, it sets out a series of inquiries to guide the analysis of whether any project or proposal will effectively work against the interest of full equality for women. This work concludes that, while there is much work yet to be done to eradicate women's unequal location in their myriad societies and communities, the human rights idea provides much cause for celebration and hope.


In chapter 1, the field of statistics is discussed in general terms. Then, Bayes' theorem is presented together with the posterior distribution. Finally, we consider maximum likelihood estimation and its relation to a two-step inference procedure. The thesis proceeds to introducing several numerical methods in chapter 2. One of the main methods is Hamiltonian Monte Carlo (HMC). In order to understand HMC, which is a type of Markov chain Monte Carlo (MCMC) algorithm, we first study some theory of Markov chains. Furthermore, MCMC and some examples of its well-known algorithms are encountered. As HMC is based on Hamiltonian dynamics (that originate from the field of physics), a short illustration of the dynamics is given. Furthermore, the system of differential equations used in HMC is discussed, as are several different numerical integration schemes and methods for developing them. A numerical integration scheme is a necessary part of the HMC algorithm. Paper 1 covers HMC and finding more efficient numerical integration schemes to be used in the algorithm. It is clear that there are situations where the MCMC algorithms perform poorly, especially with regards to time consumption. For certain latent variable models we should consider alternative numerical methods to MCMC. For these models, one could use integrated nested Laplace approximation (INLA). Although INLA has not been used in the model specification here, we are interested in some of the theory it applies. INLA is an efficient alternative for latent Gaussian models and uses some important properties of Gaussian fields (GFs) and Gaussian Markov random fields (GMRFs). From INLA, we here more specifically consider the relation between the computationally demanding covariance matrix and the sparse precision matrix. These two matrices are directly connected to GFs and GMRFs respectively, and we examine some the computational advantages that come with GMRFs compared to GFs. We use the template model builder (TMB) that uses automatic differentiation and Laplace approximation in the process of finding the maximum likelihood estimation of the parameters of the marginal likelihood. The combination in TMB gives the ability to handle complex latent variable models, and this is the methodology that is used for the spatial models in paper 2 and paper 3. In chapter 3 we look at the field of spatial statistics. This includes its uses and the different types of spatial data that we have. Spatial data are separated by what kind of location information that is available and what type of problem we want to model. Moreover, we discuss the stochastic partial differential equations (SPDE) approach. This is an approach that is able to link GFs and GMRFs using a triangulated grid. This grid, a weak solution to the SPDE and its use with spatial models are examined. To understand the SPDE approach we also consider the Matérn covariance function, which is the covariance function for certain GFs. The SPDE approach is essential for the results of paper 2 and paper 3. The spatial and spatio-temporal models are also


PURPOSE/OBJECTIVES
To evaluate the prevalence, severity, and attribution of symptoms, as well as the interference with management of comorbidities, in patients who have been prescribed oral anticancer agents (OAs).

DESIGN
Descriptive exploratory study.

SETTING
A comprehensive cancer center and two community-based oncology programs in the midwestern United States.

SAMPLE
30 adults undergoing OA treatment.

METHODS
Five phone interviews were conducted during eight weeks. Linear mixed effects and generalized estimating equations were used to examine symptoms and interference over time.

MAIN RESEARCH VARIABLES
Symptoms and comorbid conditions.

FINDINGS
The mean age of participants was 65.1 years. Fifteen participants were female, 25 were Caucasian, and 23 had comorbidities. Twenty-one patients had late-stage cancer, and rates of adherence were 90%. Fatigue, sleep disturbance, and numbness or tingling in hands and feet were highly prevalent symptoms. Younger age was associated with higher symptom severity (p < 0.01) and interference (p = 0.01). Patients with more comorbidities tended to report higher symptom severity. Simultaneous IV chemotherapy was not a predictor of symptom severity or interference over age and comorbidity. Symptoms were most frequently attributed to cancer and its treatment. Patients with a greater number of comorbidities were more likely to include comorbidities in symptom attribution and reported interference from the OA with managing comorbid conditions.

CONCLUSIONS
Symptoms may be more severe in patients prescribed OAs who are younger and have comorbid conditions. More comorbidities and absence of simultaneous IV chemotherapy increased the likelihood of inclusion of chronic conditions in symptom attribution. Patients reported that OA treatment interfered with comorbidity management.

IMPLICATIONS FOR NURSING
Nurses need to take comorbidities into account when caring for patients prescribed OAs because the chronic conditions may influence symptom severity and the ability to manage symptoms.


Abstract The European Convention on Human Rights has been signed by both the UK and Sweden as well as other European states, providing legal justification for accommodating the educational needs of religious minorities. This legal entitlement is explored in the paper, with particular reference to parental choice for schools based on an Islamic ethos. How the UK and Sweden have responded to accommodate the religious convictions of Muslim families is the focus of discussion, drawing on historical and policy backgrounds. The paper also draws on the theoretical work of Kumashiro and the concept of 'Education for the Other', examining the positioning of minority groups within the broad context of a multicultural society and the challenge of accommodating religious convictions in a climate of increasing support for cultural assimilation.


1.
The worldwide trade in aquarium fish is a multi-billion dollar industry. One of the most popular and expensive species traded is the Asian arowana Scleropages formosus. As a result of over-harvesting for the aquarium fish trade, S. formosus is now endangered and commercial international trade in the species is prohibited under CITES. Despite this, very little is known about S. formosus in the wild.

2.
Interviews were conducted with 62 local villagers at four sites in Koh Kong province, south-west Cambodia, to obtain information on the reproduction, historical and current harvest and trade, and population trends of S. formosus.

3.
The spawning season of S. formosus in Cambodia begins towards the end of the dry season (March–April) and is approximately 3 months in duration. Each male mouth-broods an average of 30 juveniles. Harvesters target S. formosus fry and juveniles, and typically kill or frighten brooding males into releasing their offspring in order to harvest them.

4.
The prices obtained by harvesters for S. formosus has been increasing since collection began, and currently averages $US11–13 per juvenile. After collection, fish are transported through a series of larger towns, most ultimately bound for Thailand. The current number of S. formosus harvested from the wild in Cambodia is almost certainly highly unsustainable, with all respondents indicating that local S. formosus population abundance had declined dramatically in recent years. It is also likely that a number of populations have already become locally extinct.

5.
Strengthening legislation to protect the species within Cambodia, increasing enforcement of cross-border trade, and an investigation into alternative low-impact income generation opportunities for local communities is vital. There is also an urgent need to gather detailed information on the distribution, population abundance and threats facing S. formosus in Cambodia, and in other countries throughout its range.

Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.


The history of deontic expressions in several languages reveals some naturalness in (a) constructions involving BE plus infinitive/gerundial, (b) thematic object initially surfacing in the nom, (c) reanalysis via case accommodation in neuters to a structure in which the thematic object surfaces in the acc, and (d) animates being first to adopt the change obligatorily. Neuters permitted two analyses of the theme argument: (i) nom subject; (ii) acc object. BE and non-neuters of most word-classes favor the nom subject analysis. In Latin, impersonals in -um favored an object analysis. In Latin and OE the possibility of analyzing the agentive dative as a quirky subject in the (OE) type us is to ponder the word/what is us to ponder shifted the cues in favor of an analysis of the theme as structural object, whence overt acc objects.


Background: We set out to explore whether patients with life-threatening illnesses and their informal carers consider they experience significant spiritual needs, in the context of their overall needs, how spiritual concerns might vary by illness group and over the course of the illness, and how patients and their carers think they might be supported in addressing spiritual issues. Methods: Three-monthly qualitative interviews for up to one year with 20 patients with inoperable lung cancer and 20 patients with end-stage heart failure and their informal carers. Results: We conducted 149 in-depth interviews. Spiritual concerns were important for many patients in both groups, both early and later in the illness progression. Whether or not patients and carers held religious beliefs, they expressed needs for love, meaning, purpose and sometimes transcendence. The different experiences of lung cancer and heart failure raised contrasting patterns of spiritual issues and needs. Carers voiced their own spiritual needs. Patients and carers were generally reluctant to raise spiritual issues, but many, in the context of a developing relationship with the researcher, were able to talk about such needs. Conclusions: Spiritual issues were significant for many patients in their last year of life and their carers. Many health professionals lack the necessary time and skills to uncover and address such issues. Creating the opportunity for patients and carers to discuss spiritual issues, if they wish, requires highly developed communication skills and adequate time.


A compact extended Mie solution to electromagnetic scattering from a cluster of spheres is obtained through indirect mode matching. Our interest is focused on interactions among member spheres, as manifested in multiple scattering from the cluster. We therefore define and investigate the interactive-backscattering cross section of the cluster and the interaction length of member spheres. Numerical results are presented to probe the effect of sphere spacing as well as the effect of look direction and incident polarization on interactive backscattering from silicate clusters. Moreover, we present a brief extinction and absorption study of a soot particle near a cloud droplet.


Lignin is a major component of lignocellulosic biomass and is responsible for much of its recalcitrant nature. Enzymatic breakdown of lignin into valuable products potentially represents an additional revenue stream in biofuels production. Many enzymes have been characterized which perform oxidative catalysis of lignin decomposition. However, the nature of the decomposition products from a given enzyme-catalyzed reaction depends on competition between depolymerization of lignin and repolymerization of the resulting depolymerization products, resulting in either polymeric products or small, aromatic species. The latter have greater value, as aromatic monomers can be used as precursors in the production of fuels and specialty chemicals via chemical or synthetic biological routes. An understanding of the factors that control the equilibrium between depolymerization and polymerization remains elusive. In this study we investigated this equilibrium for a versatile peroxidase from B. adusta using several lignin model compounds containing β-ether bonds as substrates and characterized the effects of reaction conditions (pH, addition of H2O2 and mediators) on catalysis. In tandem, quantum chemistry calculations of free energy changes of relevant chemical reactions and of electron spin density distributions of radical species were performed. Due to the low oxidation potential of the neutral radical, this enzyme is unable to oxidize non-phenolic lignin subunits. The results indicate that for phenolic lignin dimers the versatile peroxidase first produces a neutral radical via oxidation of the 4-OH position, followed by polymerization and depolymerization reactions. Selection between polymerization and depolymerization reaction pathways was found to be dependent on the functional group at the 5 position of the guaiacyl group (G5). In the case of a hydrogen atom at the G5 position (guaiacylglycerol-β-ether), the unpaired electron is distributed between the 4-OH and G5 positions, resulting in polymerization. However, substitution of G5 with a methoxy group (S-O-4) results in roughly equal distribution of the unpaired electron at G1 and 4-OH, leading to extensive side chain cleavage. The degradation pathway of phenolic β-O-4 was identified as Cα-aryl cleavage rather than Cα–Cβ.


The medication use has been increasing continuously. In this field rational medication use is of great importance.. Decrease of functions due to age can cause important changes on pharmacokinetics of medications and this decrease has big variability. Pharmacokinetic changes and drug interactions cause the unpredictable increase in plasma drug levels ve increase in the incidence drug side eefects. Phamacokinetic properties of medications have to be very well known and medication doses must be individualized and also at the beginning of the medication low-doses must be used. All patients have to be observed continuously and all side effects are to be taken into consideration and we must be prepared for any kind of unintended effects.


This two volume set presents work on topics central to the economics of agriculture - the quantitative representation of technology, market expectations, household production behaviour, consumer behaviour with uncertain quality and safety of goods, and issues of imperfect competition in food marketing. Volume Ia treats issues in agricultural production, representing the consequences of decades of work deepening and widening the original focus of agricultural economics on farm management. In addition to the theory and estimation of production and supply behaviour in agriculture, chapters are devoted to topics on which major advancements have been made: technological change; returns to agricultural research; the industrial structure of agriculture; land institutions and markets; and human capital and finance. Two chapters are further specialized to rural labour and household issues: migration and the role of women in developing countries. Volume Ib deals with the economics of agricultural products after they leave the farm. Seven chapters explain developments in application of dual approaches in household economies, the industrial organization of food marketing, marketing margins between farm and retail prices, spatial price analysis, commodity storage and price stabilization, commodity futures and options markets, and the economics of food safety. Volumes Ia and Ib each follow their specialized chapters with a synthesis chapter that brings together and assesses the main themes and issues of the field, and volume Ib concludes with an overall synthesis of the state of and prospects for agricultural economics as applied economic science.


Risk assessment is an effective and commonly practiced process in industry, including oil and gas sector, as a basis for designing new pipeline terminals and stations and managing integrity of existing facilities. A holistic risk assessment method, which could be qualitative or quantitative, includes both the likelihood and consequence assessments of an undesired event. Prior to 2015, Enbridge Pipelines employed a qualitative risk assessment algorithm to assess the likelihood and consequence of a failure of liquids pipeline facilities.
 Over the past decade Enbridge has identified a number of shortcomings with the qualitative approach, necessitating the development and use of Quantitative Risk Assessment (QRA) to support consistency and defensibility in risk-informed decision making. A QRA requires rigorous quantitative algorithms to measure public and environmental safety, and potential business consequences of an undesired event at a facility. While significant literature has been produced, and considerable effort has been expended to quantify the potential impacts of a flammable product release on public safety, very limited work has been done on the quantitative measurement of environment related impacts. In particular, limited research has been successful in aggregating environmental consequences, public safety and business consequences to estimate the total consequence of a liquid hydrocarbon release within a pipeline facility.
 The consequence assessment of an unwanted event conducted through QRA can be combined with the associated likelihood to provide a quantitative measure of risk. This risk level may be used to support organizations in making risk informed decisions and in analyzing and treating facility risks, specifically in the:
 • Identification of top risk facilities and high consequence functional areas;
 • Identification of assets posing the most risk and worst case consequences;
 • Understanding of system reliability risk and opportunities to optimize facility operation;
 • Prioritization of facility maintenance projects in the capital and operating budget processes;
 • Supporting regulatory requirements and expectations;
 • Presentation of risk down to the equipment or component level; and
 • Understanding of residual risk and achieved risk reduction.
 This paper describes the development of a consequence model that monetizes the quantitative measure of public and environment safety, and potential business losses for a liquid product release at pipeline facilities. The proposed model characterizes the severity of impact of released product, expressed in dollars per event, as a function of system volume, proximity and category of receptors, asset location, and available controls.


Classical wind energy conversion systems are usually passive generators. The generated power does not depend on the grid requirement but entirely on the fluctuant wind condition. A dc-coupled wind/hydrogen/supercapacitor hybrid power system is studied in this paper. The purpose of the control system is to coordinate these different sources, particularly their power exchange, in order to make controllable the generated power. As a result, an active wind generator can be built to provide some ancillary services to the grid. The control system should be adapted to integrate the power management strategies. Two power management strategies are presented and compared experimentally. We found that the "source-following" strategy has better performances on the grid power regulation than the "grid-following" strategy.


The mutation lin-26(n156) prevents vulva formation in C. elegans by transforming the vulval precursor cells into neurons or neuroblasts. We have isolated and characterized three new lin-26 alleles, which result in embryonic lethality. These mutations cause a few other hypodermal cells to express a neural fate and most hypodermal cells to degenerate. lin-26 encodes a presumptive zinc-finger transcription factor. Our data indicate that lin-26 is required for cells to acquire the hypodermal fate.


The study of air flow dynamics through the respiratory system is one of the leastresearched areas in the biofluid field. Computational fluid dynamics (CFD) has become an essential tool for analysing the airway flows due to the complex geometries involved. In this research a full process for obtaining the CFD simulation results from a CT scan has been developed. The complete extrathoracic oro-nasal airways, and the upper tracheobronchial region, have been studied in this research. The nasal route up to the trachea was obtained from CT images of a healthy woman, with the help of the free medical reconstruction software InVesalius. The oral cavity and lower airways were modelled from previous bibliographic geometry. The stereolithography file extracted from the scan was joined in a CAD program together with the other geometry and included the outer surface of a person and a far wall to simulate more realistic breathing conditions. The meshing process was performed with Gambit and Tgrid, and simulations were done with the Ansys solver Fluent. The velocity and pressure fields were calculated for the entire range of physiological capacity. The flow behaviour and respiratory effort under different breathing conditions were analysed. The volume airflow and pressure drop curves through oral and nasal routes were compared at difference activity levels. Interesting behaviours were found when comparing different breathing pattern results, and the importance of using a realistic geometry was demonstrated. This study has also provided the basis for the development of simulations starting from scanner data for future research. Some technical aspects in automated scan reconstruction still need to be resolved before this process become a standard tool for rhinology


This article is dedicated to the issue of the adequacy of self-translations of Vladimir Nabokov's small forms of fiction. Different types of transformations of short-story titles in the creative work of the bilingual writer were chosen as the object of the research. The article is characterized by a multidisciplinary approach, uniting aspects of linguistic, literary and cultural studies in the investigation of the self-translation phenomenon, an approach that provides for scientifically-grounded conclusions. The authors of the paper build a typology of structural and semantic changes reflecting the features of Nabokov's interpretations of his own texts. Contrastive comparative, structural, intertextual and cognitive methods were employed as the main research methods. This complex approach to text analysis used in the paper permits an expansion of the idea of the semantics and poetics of separate texts as well as a collection of stories as a whole. The authors pay special attention to investigation of the following types of correlation between the original title and its equivalent: semantic specification, semantic narrowing, semantic broadening and modulation. The authors note that Nabokov in many cases does not follow his own principles of "literality". The specializing character of correlation between the original text and the translation is predetermined by the author's aspiration to convey the exact sense and to emphasize separate connotative shades of meaning, while devices of modulation and semantic broadening perform the function of an author's comment.


This popular introductory linguistics text is unique for its integration of themes. Rather than treat morphology, phonetics, phonology, syntax, and semantics as completely separate fields, the book shows how they interact. It provides a sound introduction to linguistic methodology while encouraging students to consider why people are intrinsically interested in language―the ultimate puzzle of the human mind.

The text first treats such structural and interpretive parts of language as morphology, phonology, syntax, and semantics, then takes a cognitive perspective and covers such topics as pragmatics, psychology of language, language acquisition, and language and the brain. For this sixth edition, all chapters have been revised. New material includes updated examples, new special topics sections, and new discussions of the minimalist program, semantic minimalism, human genetic relationships and historical relationships among languages, Gricean theories, experimental pragmatics, and language acquisition.

The organization of the book gives instructors flexibility in designing their courses. Chapters have numerous subsections with core material presented first and additional material following as special topics. The accompanying workbook supplements the text with exercises drawn from a variety of languages. The goal is to teach basic conceptual foundations of linguistics and the methods of argumentation, justification, and hypothesis testing within the field. By presenting the most fundamental linguistics concepts in detail, the text allows students to get a feeling for how real work in different areas of linguistics is done.


Since 2008, the Federal Reserve has dramatically increased the supply of bank reserves, effectively adopting a floor system for monetary policy implementation. Since then, the behavior of short-term money market rates has been at times puzzling. In particular, short-term rates have been surprisingly firm in recent months, despite the large increase in reserves by the Fed as a part of its response to the coronavirus pandemic. In this post, we provide evidence that both the supply of reserves and the supply of short-term Treasury securities are important factors for explaining short-term rates.


During the Early Triassic the Jameson Land Basin (Central East Greenland) was located around 30° N, in the Northern arid belt, but by the Early Jurassic was positioned at a latitude of approximately 50° N. This study examines the record of this transition through a largely continental succession using clay mineralogy, sedimentology, petrography and heavy mineralogy. The Jameson Land Basin is aligned north–south and is 280 km long and 80 km wide. Following an Early Triassic marine phase the basin was filled by predominantly continental sediments. The Early‐to‐Late Triassic succession comprises coarse alluvial clastics (Pingo Dal Formation) overlain by a succession of fine‐grained evaporite‐rich playa/lacustrine sediments (Gipsdalen Formation), indicative of arid climatic conditions. The overlying buff, dolomitic and then red lacustrine mudstones with subordinate sandstones (Fleming Fjord Formation) record reduced aridity. The uppermost Triassic grades into dark organic‐rich, and in places coaly, mudstones and buff coarse‐grained sandstones of lacustrine origin that belong to the Kap Stewart Group, which spans the Triassic–Jurassic boundary, and appear to record more humid climatic conditions. Clay mineralogy analyses highlight significant variations in the kaolinite/illite ratio, from both mudstone and sandstone samples, through the Triassic and into the earliest Jurassic. Complementary heavy mineral analyses demonstrate that the variations recognised in clay mineralogy and sandstone maturity through the Triassic–Early Jurassic succession are not a product of major provenance change or the effect of significant diagenetic alteration. The observed variations are consistent with sedimentological evidence for a long‐term trend towards more humid conditions through the Late Triassic to Early Jurassic, and the suggestion of a significant pluvial episode in the mid‐Carnian.


A judge's ideology is her set of ideas and principles and her view of how society should work, how power should be allocated, and to what ends it should be used. One way to measure judicial ideology is to find an indicator of a jurist's preferences and isolate it from as many constraining factors as possible. Supreme Court justices are the least constrained of all jurists, particularly when writing non-majority opinions, and the citations they include in them provide a convenient unit of measurement. By determining the ideological polarity of each citation in a non-majority opinion in a concrete set of cases, I produce ideology scores for their authors within the legal fields to which those cases relate. I then compare these estimates with the justices' Segal-Cover scores and median Martin-Quinn scores for that same period to determine their relative accuracy and usefulness in forecasting. INDEX WORDS: Supreme Court Justices, Non-majority opinions, Ideology, Citation DISTILLING JUDICIAL IDEOLOGY


Terrorism is a contested concept. While there are many national and regional definitions, there is no universal legal definition approved by the General Assembly of the United Nations (the one proposed by the Security Council in Res. 1566 (2004) is non-binding, lacking legal authority in international law). The Ad Hoc Committee on Terrorism of the 6 th (legal) Committee of the General Assembly has, with some interruptions, been trying to reach a legal definition since 1972 - but in vain. In the absence of a legal definition, attempts have been made since the 1980s to reach agreement on an academic consensus definition. The latest outcome is the revised definition reprinted below. It is the result of three rounds of consultations among academics and other professionals. A description how it was arrived at can be found on pp. 39 - 98 of Alex P. Schmid (Ed.). The Routledge Handbook of Terrorism Research. London and New York: Routledge, 2011. The same volume also contains 260 other definitions compiled by Joseph J. Easson and Alex P. Schmid on pp. 99 -200.


The Balloon-borne Large Aperture Submillimeter Telescope for Polarimetry (BLASTPol) was a suborbital experiment designed to map magnetic fields in order to study their role in star formation processes. BLASTPol made detailed polarization maps of a number of molecular clouds during its successful flight from Antarctica in 2012. The data reduction and analysis efforts over the three years following the flight have produced a number of important scientific results. The next-generation BLAST instrument (BLAST-TNG) will build off the success of the previous experiment and continue its role as a unique instrument and a test bed for new technologies. With a 16-fold increase in mapping speed, BLAST-TNG will make larger and deeper maps. Major improvements include a 2.5 m carbon fiber mirror that is 40% wider than the BLASTPol mirror and more than 3000 polarization sensitive detectors. BLAST-TNG will observe in the same three bands as BLASTpol at 250, 350, and 500 microns. The telescope will serve as a pathfinder project for microwave kinetic inductance detector (MKID) technology, as applied to feedhorn coupled submillimeter detector arrays. The liquid helium cooled cryostat will have a 28-day hold time and will utilize a closed-cycle 3He refrigerator to cool the detector arrays to 270 mK. This will enable a detailed mapping of more targets with higher polarization resolution than any other submillimeter experiment to date. My thesis describes the 2012 instrument and results while also outlining the motivation for BLAST-TNG and the instrumental design and initial testing. Degree Type Dissertation Degree Name Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) Graduate Group Physics & Astronomy First Advisor Mark Devlin Second Advisor Gary Bernstein


The economics of chemical and biological processes is often dominated by the expense of downstream product separations from dilute product streams. Continuous separation techniques, such as in situ product recovery (ISPR), are attractive in that they can concentrate products from a reactor and minimize solvent loss, thereby increasing purity and sustainability of the process. In bioprocesses, ISPR can have an additional advantage of increasing productivity by alleviating product inhibition on the microorganism. In this work, we developed a liquid–liquid extraction (LLE)-based ISPR system integrated with downstream distillation to selectively purify free carboxylic acids, which were selected as exemplary bioproducts due to their ability to be produced at industrially relevant titers and productivities. Equilibrium constants for the extraction of carboxylic acids into a phosphine-oxide based organic phase were experimentally determined. Complete recovery of acids from the extractant and recyclability of the organic phase were demonstrated through multiple extraction–distillation cycles. Using these data, an equilibrium model was developed to predict the acid loading in the organic phase as a function of the extraction equilibrium constant, initial aqueous acid concentration, pH, organic to aqueous volume ratio, and temperature. A distillation process model was then used to predict the energy input required to distill neat acid from an organic phase as a function of the acid loading in the organic phase feed. The heat integrated distillation train can achieve neat recovery of acetic acid with an energy input of 2.6 MJ kg−1 of acetic acid. This LLE-based ISPR system integrated with downstream distillation has an estimated carbon footprint of less than 0.36 kg CO2 per kg of acetic acid, and provides a green approach to enable both new industrial bioprocesses, and process intensification of existing industrial operations by (1) increasing the productivity and titer of the bioprocess via decreasing end-product inhibition, (2) minimizing downstream separation energy input to less than 20% of the heating value of the product, and (3) generating no waste products.


An interdisciplinary community collaboration, the medical-legal partnership, can improve health status by providing integrated care for patients from racial or ethnic minority and economically disadvantaged backgrounds. Too often, professionals care for patients in silos without a coordinated, systems approach to solving not only the medical problems but also other non-medical problems that impede access to care, reduce compliance and potentially exacerbate the original medical problem. By combining the health care expertise of hospital professionals with the legal expertise of lawyers, resulting coordinated services provide a more holistic and integrated approach to addressing the multiple determinants of health. This interdisciplinary approach improves access to care, patient health and well-being and access to financial resources for many patients. This article will explain how a collaboration among a large, urban-based health system, a state university law school, and an urban-based legal services organization created, implemented, funds, evaluates and integrates patient-focused legal services into the hospital setting. This integration can improve the health and well-being of the patients served, the revenue stream and financial well-being of the healthcare organization and create interdisciplinary educational opportunities for the professionals working within the collaboration. The article explains the process of building a collaboration, including how to evaluate institutional strengths and community resources, identify and approach partners, formalize partner roles and responsibilities, develop funding strategies, and develop a process to identify success while performing approved human subject research.


At this point in time a higher level of quality in software production is necessary for the effective development and long lasting survival of software organizations. A controlled software process is the key issue for quality. The Capability Maturity Model (CMM) is a successful quality model, which defines the characteristics of such a process. This model defines five maturity levels; each containing a number of precisely described key process areas and goals. It can be used as a successful guide for software process improvement in software organizations of different sizes.

The CMM is particularly appropriate for software process improvement in small software organizations that develop a specific kind of software, namely information systems. The main characteristics of these organizations are restricted resources (people, money) and a specific software process. Quality remains an important issue for such organizations and its achievement requires the ability to suitably measure the software process.

The goal of this dissertation is to define a software measurement model for small software organizations that produce information systems. Our model is consistent with the definition of the fourth maturity level of the CMM.

Our solution is built on two principles. The fourth level of the CMM defines the software process and measurement very precisely, making the implementation of a measurement model rather complicated and complex. Yet small organizations expect a simple, understandable, and practical solution to the problem of measurement. Our solution offers a compromise of both principles: it is consistent with all reasonable demands of the CMM in small organizations and provides a practical and usable solution for typical small organizations.
The complete solution consists of three parts:
a) the software process is consistent with the goals of the fourth maturity level of CMM and expresses software production in a small software organization that develops information systems,
b) the measurement process describes how measurement is done and fits a defined software process, and
c) the measurement information model defines the content of measurement and supports the measurement process.

All three parts compose the model for quantitative tracing of software development.

a) The first step is to accurately define the software process. The CMM is a complex quality model and as such it is too complicated for direct use in a small organization. We examine two solutions to this problem. First, it is possible to replace the CMM with one of two well-known process models that implement CMM principles in a simpler way, or second, it is possible to adapt the CMM for use in small organizations. The Personal Software Process (PSP) and the Team Software Process (TSP) are two suitable models for CMM replacement, but they generate an approximate and incomplete process from the point of view of small organizations. In the second solution we define a form of adaptation of the CMM for small organizations. The combination of both solutions is the basis for our definition of the adaptive software process, which is the final result of the first part of dissertation.

Three innovations are implemented in the adaptive software process. They enable the process to be defined precisely, and at the same time remain dynamically sensitive to changes during software development. First, the software process is defined as a sequence of seven cycles, each consisting of some phases and many steps. Cycles define manageable parts of software development and enable exact planning and timely reactions. Second, each step can be executed in a more or less complete way. This makes our process extendable. Third, our process defines precisely how to forego certain cycles, phases or steps if they are not needed in the concrete software project. In our dissertation we define and demonstrate the implementation of a completely adaptable software process.

In the second part of the dissertation we define the measurement approach, which is integrated in the adaptive software process already described. The measurement approach is based on an adequately defined and well-known approach named the Practical Software Measurement (PSM), which complies with modern measurement standards. The PSM consists of two models: the Measurement Process Model and the Measurement Information Model. We adapt both for use in small organizations.
b) The Measurement Process Model defines four main measurement activities: how to establish and sustain measurement commitment, how to plan measurement, how to perform it, and how to evaluate measurement. In our approach we divide all measurement activities into two parts: the permanent part defines obligatory measurement issues for each project in a small organization, while the special part complies with the special needs of a particular project. The performer of each project development activity has to collect a defined set of measurement data. The measurement results are stored in an automated central repository where some other measurement results are also calculated. In this way we collect low-level measurement data enabling a more accurate measurement and a simplified operational task for the measurement analyst. However, we demand the disciplined operation of each project member in the sense of PSP, even while the measurement activities are executed in a simple and always identical manner.

The analysis of measurement data defines the remaining core measurement activities. We define four types of analysis: assessment, feasibility analysis, performance analysis, and prediction. The first and last types are the most significant in our measurement approach.

Assessment is a crucial type of analysis for punctual planning and this is the reason for its special role in the adaptive software process. In this part we implement some innovations that make assessments more exact. All assessments use statistical methods and are based on data regarding similar past projects.
Prediction is our genuine type of analysis enabling the measurement analyst to dynamically follow any changes in a project's characteristics. It defines a constant set of measurement indicators that present the main relations between current measurement data, planned values, and past project data. We define a fully automated mode of prediction in which indicators dynamically change in correspondence with changes in the current measurement data. Automated prediction can replace other types of analysis that are executed only on demand. All the analysis components of prediction in this model are automated and built into the central repository information system.

c) The last part of the dissertation presents the content of measurement, which is consistent for all the described solutions. The content description has four levels:

• the Measurement Information Model defines the structure of the content description,
• the Meta model describes the characteristics of all levels of measurement data and relations between them,
• collections of measurement entities, attributes, measures, indicators and measurement issues define measurement precisely, and
• the measurement repository implements the described measurement.

In this part we present an original method for the definition of a suitable collection of measures and indicators from a defined set of measurement issues. Our combined method is based on the information needs of a small software organization, but it always measures only a well-defined set of attributes of existing entities. As such it unites the best characteristics of both top-down and bottom-up methods.

Collections of measurement entities, attributes, (basic, composed and calculated) measures, indicators, and measurement issues are the tangible results of our dissertation. They were all defined using our combined method and they are consistent with the adaptive software process. The collection of permanent measurement issues is derived from the goals of the fourth level of the CMM, as well as from the characteristics of a small organization. However, measurement entities (objects of measurement) originate in the adaptive software process. A collection of basic measures directly measures the main characteristics of entities: the size of products, time consummation, progress, resources, costs, and product quality. A collection of composed measures defines ways to unite similar measurement results in new results, while calculated measures describe how to calculate new results based on those already known. A collection of indicators is the main result of the use of the combined method. It represents the connection between measures and measurement issues. Alternatively, indicators are results of the form of analysis we defined in the measurement process.

All three parts of the dissertation define a complete model for the quantitative tracing of software development in a small organization that produces information systems. The model we have created is compliant with the fourth level of the CMM. Our goal was the use of clear concepts, an adaptive specialised definition, and above all practical application.

Our model has been presented to several small software organizations in Slovenia. After the presentation the organization representatives were asked to complete a questionnaire. The results of the questionnaire show that our model is in general appropriate and effective for small software organizations. This is especially true if we take into account the different levels of maturity, diverse goals, and various experiences in the field of software measurement of each organization.


The main goal of this Explanatory Guide is to facilitate the understanding of the legal obligations of the Parties under the Nagoya Protocol on Access to Genetic Resources and the Fair and Equitable Sharing of Benefits Arising from their Utilization (ABS) to the Convention on Biological Diversity. This guide is the product of a fruitful, constructive, and harmonious collaboration with ABS experts from different regions and international institutions who engaged with IUCN in the writing and reviewing of this Guide. This publication serves as an adaptable tool for future ABS capacity-building and awareness raising initiatives, as well as an important reference for countries in their efforts to implement the Nagoya Protocol and operationalize ABS in practice.


The study sought the opinions of Faculty of Education Students of University of Uyo on the behavioural problems of juvenile street hawkers in Uyo metropolis. Five research hypotheses were formulated to guide the study. This cross-sectional survey employed multi-stage random sampling technique in selecting 200 regular undergraduate students in the Education Faculty of the University of Uyo for the study. The Juvenile Street Hawkers Opinioniare (JUVSHO) developed by the researchers was used in data collection. The hypotheses were tested using chi square statistic at p≤.05 level of significance and appropriate degrees of freedom. Results indicate that juvenile street hawkers develop maladjusted patterns of behaviour, which in turn impair their academic, moral, social, physical, and psychological growth and development thus affecting their future negatively. Based on these findings, it was recommended that government should provide free basic education, improve workers remuneration, provide academic grants and aids to economically disadvantaged parents, and create jobs for unemployed parents, inter alia, in order to keep children from hawking under the guise of subsisting family income at the expense of their total development. Also, the implications of these findings for counselling psychologists in the school system were given.


Increasingly, governments are regulating the "Net" - that is, the Internet and people's activities over it. Because the Net is global in nature, governments are turning to intergovernmental organizations to iron out common approaches. Taken together, these international Net initiatives foray into all areas of government traditionally dealt with by domestic regimes - addressing foreign commercial relations, jurisdiction, infrastructure, security, monetary authority, property, relations between private parties, and citizenship. In agreeing to participate in these federated, power-sharing arrangements, governments are gradually constructing an entire framework for governing the networked world. Given the importance of these rules for the future, those who hold freedom dear must work to build democratic values into this emerging international system.


With the increasing sensitivity of advanced gravitational-wave (GW) detectors, the first joint detection of an electromagnetic and GW signal from a compact binary merger will hopefully happen within this decade. However, current GW likelihood sky areas span , and thus it is a challenging task to identify which, if any, transient corresponds to the GW event. In this study, we make a comparison between recent kilonova/macronova light-curve models for the purpose of assessing potential light-curve templates for counterpart identification. We show that recent analytical and parameterized models for these counterparts result in qualitative agreement with more complicated radiative transfer simulations. Our analysis suggests that with improved light-curve models with smaller uncertainties it will become possible to extract information about ejecta properties and binary parameters directly from the light-curve measurement. Even tighter constraints are obtained in cases for which GW and kilonova parameter estimation results are combined. It will therefore be important to make comparisons and potentially combine parameter estimation with the kilonova and GW results. However, to be prepared for upcoming detections, more realistic kilonova models are needed. These will require numerical relativity with more detailed microphysics, better radiative transfer simulations, and a better understanding of the underlying nuclear physics.


Recommender Systems (RS) aim at suggesting to users one or several items in which they might have interest. These systems have to update themselves as users provide new ratings, but also as new users/items enter the system. While this adaptation makes recommendation an intrinsically sequential task, most researches about RS based on Collaborative Filtering are omitting this fact, as well as the ensuing exploration/exploitation dilemma: should the system recommend items which bring more information about the users (explore), or should it try to get an immediate feedback as high as possible (exploit)? Recently, a few approaches were proposed to solve that dilemma, but they do not meet requirements to scale up to real life applications which is a crucial point as the number of items available on RS and the number of users in these systems explode. In this paper, we present an explore-exploit Collaborative Filtering RS which is both efficient and scales well. Extensive experiments on some of the largest available real-world datasets show that the proposed approach performs accurate personalized recommendations in less than a millisecond per recommendation, which makes it a good candidate for true applications.


The aim of this thesis is to explore the determinants of the Chinese global economic footprint with a particular focus on Sub Saharan Africa (SSA). We argue that China's recent economic growth has created a booming demand for energy resources and that this is a significant determinant for Chinese foreign economic engagement (FEE). Sub Saharan African countries are attractive targets for energy investment because they have many of the resources that China needs. At the same time, China has had a large impact on the development of these countries through its involvement in infrastructural development. The scope of the thesis is twofold: Firstly, we wish to see if energy resources attract Chinese foreign economic engagement. Secondly, we wish to see if there is a potential link between energy resources and the Chinese engagement in the infrastructure sectors of SSA countries. By using instrument variable approach on a pooled cross-sectional dataset we find that energy resources are significant in attracting Chinese foreign economic engagement, and that this attraction is stronger for SSA countries. We also find that energy resources attract additional FEE into the infrastructure sector in general, and especially for SSA countries.


Tobacco is the leading cause of preventable death in the world. It kills more than five million people each year. If current trends continue, tobacco is projected to kill ten million per year by 2020, with 70 percent of those deaths occurring in developing countries. These figures suggest that around 500 million people alive today may eventually be killed by tobacco if they maintain usage. In response to these trends, the member states of the World Health Organization (WHO) negotiated and have now adopted the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC). The FCTC represents the first time that the WHO member states have harnessed the organization's right to develop a binding international convention to protect and promote global public health. The FCTC also represents the first time that states have cooperated worldwide to form a collective response to the cause of an avoidable chronic disease. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] The FCTC was developed as a scientific, evidence-based approach to global tobacco control. The final FCTC text commits member states to implementing proven tobacco-control measures, such as increasing prices and taxes, imposing bans on advertising, promotion, and sponsorship, disclosing tobacco product components, requiring labeling standards and health warnings, promoting public education and awareness campaigns, and conducting research and surveillance programs. On November 29, 2004, Peru became the 40th country to ratify the convention. As a result, on February 28, 2005, the world's first public health treaty came into force. The FCTC provides a legal platform for the adoption and implementation of effective tobacco control strategies worldwide. However, its implications go far beyond tobacco production, promotion, and use. The FCTC is, in essence, an attempt to develop a form of global health governance capable of effectively regulating transnational corporations. Its negotiation entailed wrestling with fundamental questions about the social impacts of globalization, particularly the relationship between trade and health. The negotiations also illuminated the important and evolving role of low- and middle-income countries and nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) in determining the future direction of global public health policy. At the moment, significant barriers to the treaty's long-term success remain in many countries. States that have ratified the treaty must now follow through and implement their commitments. Other states, some of which have been active leaders throughout the FCTC process, now face major challenges in ratifying the treaty at home. Some states are lagging behind the global movement toward effective international tobacco regulation. In all countries, tobacco control programs need increased investment to fulfill the FCTC's potential to save lives. It is important to understand the environment in which the treaty has taken effect in order to outline the steps necessary to ensure its successful implementation. Community-based organizations within the borders of each country signatory to the FCTC have a critical role to play in implementing and monitoring the post-ratification phase. These organizations should be seen as the key players in translating the global political process that has taken place into effective local action. Without their active formal and informal involvement, the value of the FCTC process and the treaty itself will be greatly diminished. The Global Tobacco Environment The FCTC has taken effect within an international environment that promises both major challenges and significant opportunities for success. On the one hand, the FCTC faces a powerful global industry that will undoubtedly try to limit its impact. Seventy-five percent of the world's cigarette market is controlled by just four companies: Philip Morris, British American Tobacco, Japan Tobacco, and the China National Tobacco Corporation. …


Internet-Delivered Psychological Treatments (IDPT) are based on evidence-based psychological treatment models adjusted for interaction through the Internet. The use of Internet technologies has the potential to increase the availability of evidence-based mental health services for a far-reaching population with the use of fewer resources. Despite evidence that Internet Interventions can be effective means in mental health morbidities, most current IDPT systems are tunnel-based, inflexible, and non-interoperable. Hence it becomes essential to understand which elements of an Internet intervention contribute to effectiveness and treatment outcomes. By analogy, adaptation is a central aspect of successful face-to-face mental health therapy. Adaptability to patient needs can be regarded as an essential outcome factor in online systems for mental health interventions as well. While some aspects of rule-based and machine-learning-based adaptation have attracted attention in recent IDPT development, systematic reporting of core components, dimensions of adaptiveness, information architecture, and strategies for adaptation in the IDPT system are still lacking. To bridge this gap, we propose a model that shows how adaptive systems are represented in classical control theory and discuss how the model can be used to specify adaptive IDPT systems. Concerning the reference model, we outline the core components of adaptive IDPT systems, the main adaptive elements, dimensions of adaptiveness, information architecture applied to adaptive systems, and strategies used in the adaptation process. We also provide comprehensive guidelines on how to develop an adaptive IDPT system based on the Person-Based Approach.


Copyright: © 2005 Polish Orthodontic Society. This is an Open Access journal, all articles are distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International (CC BY-NC-SA 4.0) License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/), allowing third parties to copy and redistribute the material in any medium or format and to remix, transform, and build upon the material, provided the original work is properly cited and states its license. Wkład autorów: A Plan badań B Zbieranie danych C Analiza statystyczna D Interpretacja danych E Redagowanie pracy F Wyszukiwanie piśmiennictwa Authors' Contribution: A Study design B Data Collection C Statistical Analysis D Data Interpretation E Manuscript Preparation F Literature Search https://doi.org/10.5114/for.2020.102227


This study investigates the applicability of hydroxide precipitation to complexed metal wastewaters using inorganic cations that may function as ligand sharing agents. Within this context Ca 2+ , Fe 2+ , Fe 3+ , Mn 2+ and Mg 2+ cations with the metals Cd and Cu and EDTA and NTA as ligands are used to define the systems for which theoretical and experimental evaluations are made. Results indicate that calcium is the only cation that effectively binds the ligands that makes it possible to apply the hydroxide precipitation. Fe 2+ and Mn 2+ are not effective due to their rapid oxidation. Mg 2+ is found partly effective but may not be adequate for pretreatment purposes.