In recent years many cities have seen an increase in bicycle traffic. This is a development that benefits both the environment and the individual cyclist. When the need for bicycle parking is not met several problems arise such as an increase in bicycle thefts, jammed sidewalks and a decreased interest in using bicycles. My aim with this paper has been to answer the question of how to create parking facilities in an urban environment based on cyclists' needs. Through a literature survey, following the method "Trattmodellen" (the funnel model) the question has been answered and divided under the headings cyclist, bike, bicycle racks, bicycle garage and bicycle operators and hosts. Cyclists want to park in a secure bike rack near their destination point, a distance of 25 meters is optimal. Front wheel holding racks are easy to park in but provide little security. A frame holding bike rack affords greater security but at the cost of intuitiveness. There are also racks that combine front wheel and frame holding. All racks can be combined with canopies for protection from precipitation, this raises the rack's status significantly. Bicycle Hosts can, by clearing away scrap bicycles in bicycle racks and making the streets tidy, also contribute to a higher status. At stations and nodes a bicycle garage can be needed. In addition to indoor parking, a garage can also provide services such as showers, a repair shop and a cafe. The main conclusion of this work is that there is a relationship between the duration for which the bike is parked, the distance the cyclist is willing to walk from the parking area to the target point and the requirement for secure bicycle racks. Based on this connection bicycle parking can be planned with various types of bicycle racks at various distances so that all cyclist's needs are met. Solving the bicycle parking issue will lead to an increase in bicycle traffic. However, to drastically increase bicycle traffic on the expense of car traffic more is required. Apart from bicycle parking we need a change in attitude, both in society at large and among planning and creative landscape architects.


The article investigated the use of serial publications in Adeyemi College of Education Library, Ondo, by the academic staff of the School of Arts and Social Sciences. Questionnaire was the main instrument of collecting data from the respondents. Also, complete enumeration sampling method was used. Out of the 49 questionnaires administered, 30 (61.2%) were returned and found useful for analysis. The study found that 20(66.7%) used the serial section of the Library while 10 (33.3%) did not. Also, 12 (6.6. %), 6(20%) and 12 (40%) used the section very often, often and rarely, respectively. It was inferred from the result that those that were not using the section did so because of the notion that there is non-availability of new journals in their areas of interest. It was recommended that the serial section should send list of recent journals and photocopies of contents' table to relevant departments to improve the use of the section.


The demand for money (M1) for the US is estimated with annual data from 1960 to 2008 and its stability is analysed with the extended Gregory and Hansen (1996b) test. In addition to estimating the canonical specification, alternative specifications are estimated which include a trend and additional variables to proxy the cost of holding money. Results with our extended specification showed that there has been a structural change in 1998 and the constraint that income elasticity is unity could not be rejected by subsample estimates. Short run dynamic adjustment equations are estimated with the lagged residuals from the Fully Modified Ordinary Least Squares (FMOLS) estimates of cointegrating equation and also with the General to Specific (GETS) approach.


Overviews that combine single effect estimates from published studies generally use a summary statistic approach where the effect of interest is first estimated within each study and then averaged across studies in an appropriately weighted manner. Combining multiple regression coefficients from publications is more problematic, particularly when there are differences in study design and inconsistent reporting of effect sizes and standard errors. This paper describes the use of a hierarchical model in such circumstances. Its use is illustrated in a meta-analysis of the metabolic ward studies that have investigated the effect of changes in intake of various dietary lipids on blood cholesterol. These studies all reported average blood cholesterol for groups of individuals who were studied on one or more diets. Thirty-one studies had randomized cross-over designs, 12 had matched parallel group designs, 12 had non-randomized Latin square designs and 16 had other uncontrolled designs. The hierarchical model allowed the different types of comparison (within-group between-diet, between matched group) that were made in the various studies to each contribute to the overall estimates in an appropriately weighted manner by distinguishing between-study variation, within-study between-matched-group variation and within-group between-diet variation. The hierarchical models do not require consistent specification of effect sizes and standard errors and hence have particular utility in combining results from published studies where the relationships between a dependent variable and two or more predictors have been investigated using heterogeneous methods of analysis.


Background: Sensor-based recordings of human movements are becoming increasingly important for the assessment of motor symptoms in neurological disorders beyond rehabilitative purposes. ASSESS MS is a movement recording and analysis system being developed to automate the classification of motor dysfunction in patients with multiple sclerosis using depth-sensing computer vision. It aims to provide a more consistent and finer-grained measurement of motor dysfunction than currently possible. Objectives: To test the usability and acceptability of ASSESS MS with health professionals and patients with multiple sclerosis. Methods: A prospective, mixed-methods study was carried out at three centres. After a one-hour training session, a convenience sample of 12 health professionals (6 neurologists and 6 nurses) used ASSESS MS to capture recordings of standardized movements performed by 51 volunteer patients. Metrics for effectiveness, efficiency and acceptability were defined and used to analyse data captured by ASSESS MS, video-recordings of each examination, feedback questionnaires and follow-up interviews. Results: All health professionals were able to complete recordings using ASSESS MS, achieving high levels of standardisation on three out of four metrics (movement performance, lateral positioning, and clear camera view but not distance positioning). Results were unaffected by patients' level of physical or cognitive disability. ASSESS MS was perceived as easy to use by both patients and health professionals with high scores on the Likert-scale questions and positive interview commentary. ASSESS MS was highly acceptable to patients on all dimensions considered, including attitudes to future use, interaction (with health professionals) and overall perceptions of ASSESS MS. Health professionals also accepted ASSESS MS, but with greater ambivalence arising from the need to alter patient interaction styles. There was little variation in results across participating centers, and no differences between neurologists and nurses. Conclusions: In typical clinical settings, ASSESS MS is usable and acceptable to both patients and health professionals, generating data of a quality suitable for clinical analysis. An iterative design process appears to have been successful in accounting for factors that permit ASSESS MS to be used by a range of health professionals in new settings with minimal training. The study shows the potential of shifting ubiquitous sensing technologies from research into the clinic through a design approach that gives appropriate attention to the clinic environment.


Desirable requirements for volume capacity and precision of volume change devices for triaxial testing are studied, and operational requirements for devices suitable for automatic datalogging are reviewed. Two devices that fulfill these requirements have been constructed by the writer by combining existing design principles. One device consists of a buret system with differential pressure measurements, and the other device operates on the principle of a double acting piston in which rolling diaphragms and a displacement transducer are the main components. In addition to their ability to measure volume changes, each device is outfitted with a pressure transducer and valves to provide all necessary means for performance and measurements required for (CD) and (CU) tests.


Milk production in Malawi is stagnating although neighbouring countries steadily increase outputs. In this paper, we explored the determinants of the performance of dairy smallholders. As indicators of on-farm performance we used annual milk yield, calving intervals, and annual dairy income. Regression models revealed that milk yield was negatively related with farmer's age, female farmer, and household size, but positively influenced by farmers' experience. Calving intervals were strongly associated with labour costs and breeding method. Income from dairying was only associated with farmers' education but varied strongly with region. Regional effects existed for all performance indicators which may partly be rooted in land scarcity in the south and the efforts of development agencies to promote dairying in the northern and central regions. Results also revealed a tendency for pure breeds to produce higher outputs, but crossbreeds due to lower costs provided better income. Thus, we recommend that experienced farmers become involved in extension programs to provide comprehensive services that help farmers make more efficient use of their scarce assets, and thus realise more of the animals' genetic potential with regard to the three observed performance indicators.


Abstract. In this paper we propose a new algorithm for digital terrain (DTM) model reconstruction from very high spatial resolution digital surface models (DSMs). It represents a combination of multi-directional filtering with a new metric which we call normalized volume above ground to create an above-ground mask containing buildings and elevated vegetation. This mask can be used to interpolate a ground-only DTM. The presented algorithm works fully automatically, requiring only the processing parameters minimum height and maximum width in metric units. Since slope and breaklines are not decisive criteria, low and smooth and even very extensive flat objects are recognized and masked. The algorithm was developed with the goal to generate the normalized DSM for automatic 3D building reconstruction and works reliably also in environments with distinct hillsides or terrace-shaped terrain where conventional methods would fail. A quantitative comparison with the ISPRS data sets Potsdam and Vaihingen show that 98-99% of all building data points are identified and can be removed, while enough ground data points (~66%) are kept to be able to reconstruct the ground surface. Additionally, we discuss the concept of size dependent height thresholds and present an efficient scheme for pyramidal processing of data sets reducing time complexity to linear to the number of pixels, O(WH) .


current Internet, hosts are identified using IP addresses that depend on the topological location of the hosts. In other words, the IP addresses are semantically overloaded since they identify both the hosts and topological locations. These dual operations of the IP address causes problems when the host has to change its IP address due to mobility. The location information changes, but it should not affect the identity information of the host. The Host Identity Protocol (HIP) is rather new concept that separates the identity and location information. The separation is done by introducing a new layer between the transport and network layers of TCP/IP stack called HIP Layer that maps host identifiers to network locators. In this paper, we will discuss how the mobility problem is addressed by HIP, the simulation of the Registration and the Base Exchange protocols in HIP Layer along with the estimation of the Handover Latency. And we will compare TCP/IP with HIP over TCP/IP. The Handover Latency is the Metric we are used to compare between the two.


We calculate the effective long-term convective velocity and dispersive motion of an ellipsoidal Brownian particle in three dimensions when it is subjected to a constant external force. This long-term motion results as a "net" average behavior from the particle rotation and translation on short time scales. Accordingly, we apply a systematic multi-scale technique to derive the effective equations of motion valid on long times. We verify our theoretical results by comparing them to numerical simulations.


Transactional memory (TM) is an appealing abstraction for programming multi-core systems. Potential target applications for TM, such as business software and video games, are likely to involve complex data structures and large transactions, requiring specific software solutions (STM). So far, however, STMs have been mainly evaluated and optimized for smaller scale benchmarks.
 We revisit the main STM design choices from the perspective of complex workloads and propose a new STM, which we call SwissTM. In short, SwissTM is lock- and word-based and uses (1) optimistic (commit-time) conflict detection for read/write conflicts and pessimistic (encounter-time) conflict detection for write/write conflicts, as well as (2) a new two-phase contention manager that ensures the progress of long transactions while inducing no overhead on short ones. SwissTM outperforms state-of-the-art STM implementations, namely RSTM, TL2, and TinySTM, in our experiments on STMBench7, STAMP, Lee-TM and red-black tree benchmarks.
 Beyond SwissTM, we present the most complete evaluation to date of the individual impact of various STM design choices on the ability to support the mixed workloads of large applications.


2. Debt Collection Lawsuits in New York City In New York City, nearly all consumer debt cases are litigated in the city's Civil Court. The Civil Court was established in 1962 (187) and has monetary jurisdiction over claims up to $25,000. (188) By volume, the Civil Court is the largest civil jurisdiction court in the United States and its filings comprise 25% of the New York State Unified Court System's total filings. (189) Every consumer debt lawsuit in Civil Court begins with the purchase of an index number and the filing of a summons and complaint. (190) After filing the summons and complaint with the clerk, the plaintiff serves the summons and complaint on the defendant pursuant to the service rules of New York's CPLR. (191) Debt collection law firms retained by debt buyer or original creditor plaintiffs rely on process server agencies to serve defendants. (192) Although there has been, (193) and continues to a lesser extent to be, service abuse in consumer debt cases in New York City, key reforms have been adopted by the Civil Court. (194) For example, the Civil Court's Section 208.6(h) notice created a new notice form that the court is required to send to each defendant, informing the defendant that they have been sued and that if a judgment is entered in the plaintiff's favor, the plaintiff may be able to seize the defendant's property, garnish the defendant's wages, or both. (195) If this notice is returned as undeliverable or the plaintiff fails to produce an affidavit of service showing that 208.6(h) service was made, a default judgment may not be entered by the clerk on behalf of the plaintiff. (196) This notice is required in addition to the normal service requirements found in the state's procedural rules. (197) Between May 2008 and September 2009, 28,422 of these notices were returned to the court as undeliverable. (198) Moreover, New York City requires process servers licensed by the DCA (199) to carry an electronic device with global position system to establish the time, date, and place when service was attempted or carried out, (200) to pass an examination, (201) and to maintain records of service. (202) There is a great disparity in legal representation in consumer debt lawsuits. While 100% of debt collector plaintiffs are represented by counsel, only 4% of defendants have legal representation. (203) As a result, many defendants fail to take advantage of all available defenses and enter into settlement agreements with plaintiff's counsel. (204) Typically, the plaintiff's attorney will ask the defendant to discuss the case in the hallway before they go before the judge. (205) According to one report, plaintiffs' counsel uses these discussions to pressure unrepresented defendants into one-sided and sometimes unaffordable settlement agreements. (206) It has also been alleged that plaintiffs' counsel strategically use repeated adjournments to further develop their cases, hoping that unrepresented defendants will not be able to make subsequent court dates because of work or other reasons, which could result in default judgments for the plaintiffs. (207) Debt collector plaintiffs have several causes of action against consumer defendants. Some collectors pursue breach of contract actions against consumer defendants. Under this cause of action, debt buyers allege that the consumer entered into a credit agreement, subsequently breached that agreement, and caused the creditor to incur damages as a result of the breach. (208) To satisfy a breach of contract action, collectors must produce a contract and evidence of individual charges that make up an unpaid balance. (209) Debt collectors also pursue "account stated" causes of action against consumer defendants. (210) In this cause of action, the plaintiff argues that an account statement was sent to the defendant, it was accepted as correct, and the defendant agreed to pay the amount stated on the account. (211) Thus, for an account stated cause of action, a plaintiff must produce "(1) prior transactions that establish a debtor-creditor relationship between the parties, (2) an express or implied agreement between the parties as to the amount due, and (3) an express or implied promise from the debtor to pay the amount due. …


To properly operate closed industrial control networks, it is required that communication with nearly constant delay bounds be supported. In [9] the authors introduced FlexTDMA in order to provide this support, and with minimal delay-jitter in an asynchronous network, under unicast communication. In this paper we consider how periodic on-off traffic and frame loss are managed in the presence of network component clock drifts and bandwidth loads, and introduce the FlexTDMA+ protocol. This protocol includes three improvements over FlexTDMA: baseline preemption, partial baselining and baseline deadline density control. In this paper we consider the relative value of each of these improvements, individually and in combination, has in handling these network conditions.


Background: The EAT-Lancet Commission drew on all available nutritional and environmental evidence to construct the first global benchmark diet capable of sustaining health and protecting the planet, but did not consider cost. We added data on food prices and calculated affordability to guide intervention towards improved diets around the world.

Methods: We obtained retail price observations used by the World Bank to measure poverty, and identified the most affordable foods to meet EAT-Lancet targets. We compared total cost per day to each country's gross national income, computed the fraction of people for whom the most affordable EAT-Lancet diet exceeds household income, and measured affordability relative to a least-cost diet with only essential nutrients.

Findings: We found prices for 744 items across 159 countries, revealing that the most affordable EAT-Lancet diets cost a global average of $2·89 per day (IQR: 2·41-3·16) in 2011, of which the largest share was the cost of fruits and vegetables (31·2 %), followed by legumes and nuts (18·7 %), meat, eggs & fish (15·2 %) and dairy (13·2 %). This diet costs a small fraction of available resources in high-income countries, but is not affordable for the world's poor. We estimated that the cost of an EATLancet diet exceeded household income for at least 1·56 billion people. The EAT-Lancet diet is also more expensive than the minimum cost of sufficient nutrients; on average, by a factor of 1·64 (IQR: 1·41-1·78).

Interpretation: Current diets differ greatly from EAT-Lancet targets. Improving diets is affordable in many countries, but for many people would require some combination of higher income, nutrition assistance, and lower prices. Data and analysis on the cost of healthier foods is needed to inform both local interventions and systemic changes.

Funding Statement: This study was funded by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation through the project Advancing Research on Nutrition and Agriculture (AReNA), Phase II (Investment ID: OPP1177007). The cost of nutrient adequacy component draws on data and methods from a related project funded by UKAid and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, entitled Changing Access to Nutritious Diets in Africa and South Asia (CANDASA, OPP1182628).

Declaration of Interests: The authors state: "None."

Ethics Approval Statement: Not required.


The region along the Lower Pra River Basin has been studied for dissolved Hg concentration in the surface water of the river and its tributaries which serve as source of drinking water for communities along the basin. The study area encompassed 6 communities in the Mpohor Wassa East district of the Western Region of Ghana with a population of 122,595. Samples of surface water were collected from locations in the period September 2006 to March 2007 spanning the wet (rainy) seasons and dry seasons chronologically. The seasonal variation in dissolved mercury concentration during the wet and dry seasons in the study area was also investigated. The dissolved Hg concentration in surface water was assessed using cold vapor AAS. The average dissolved Hg concentration in the main river (48.40 ± 26.08 ng/mL) and in the tributaries (27.59 ± 18.23 ng/mL) were above the WHO guideline value of 1.0 ng/mL. The trend in contamination levels along the river Pra suggested incidence of both remote pollution and localized pollution occasioned by artisanal alluvial gold mining activities within this enclave using mobile rigs which constitute rafts with mechanized dredging equipment mounted on them.


Bank-led infrastructure financing in India has subsided in a reflection of the micro-prudential risks faced by banks. Bond-based financing is constrained by an incomplete bond market. Foreign borrowing is particularly inappropriate as it forces currency mismatch upon infrastructure projects. In the search for innovative methods of infrastructure financing this paper introduces the possibility of "User right" as one component of infrastructure financing. The key insight is to harness users, from amongst the universe of investors, as financiers with a high yield tradeable debt instrument that derives its value from a rebate on user charges. Liquidity would come about through trading at exchanges, which would yield a liquidity premium. Users as bond-holders would have the incentive to perform monitoring functions, which would enhance accountability. Public interest vested in public infrastructure may improve existing institutional mechanism.


graphic Information Systems & Remote Sensing through the Environmental Studies Program at Colby College. The course is taught by Philip Nyhus, Assistant Professor of Environmental Studies. Additional assistance is provided by Dr. Manuel Gimond, GIS and Quantitative Analysis Specialist. ATLAS OF MAINE vol. 4, Spring 2009 Colby College Environmental Studies Program Mayflower Hill, Waterville, ME 04901 USA www.colby.edu/environ/courses/ES212/aom09 Aroostook


This paper outlines the inflation objective for monetary policy in Australia, which we describe as seeking to achieve a broad central tendency for inflation of between 2 and 3 per cent over the long run – a "thick point" – rather than a narrow target band. It also provides a more detailed rationale for this objective. In doing so, the paper discusses the issues relevant in determining the appropriate mean inflation rate at which policy should aim, the degree of variation of inflation around that central point, and how policy should respond to shocks. A simple model of the economy is presented which attempts to address these issues in a consistent framework.


Abstract.
 Trapania bonellenae, a new species from Bonaire, Netherlands Antilles belonging to the nudibranch family Goniodorididae, is characterized by having a unique translucent grey color with a pattern of black pigment, a complex network of opaque white lines covering almost the entire notum and very elongate extra-branchial and extra-rhinophoral appendages. The radular teeth are characterized by a very long and narrow subterminal cusp. A phylogenetic analysis of all species of Trapania for which there is enough morphological information available, reveals that the new species is most closely related to a group of mostly Indo-Pacific species. The support and resolution for this clade are weak and more research is necessary.


Pathogen timetrees are phylogenies scaled to time. They reveal the temporal history of a pathogen spread through the populations as captured in the evolutionary history of strains. These timetrees are inferred by using molecular sequences of pathogenic strains sampled at different times. That is, temporally sampled sequences enable the inference of sequence divergence times. Here, we present a new approach (RelTime with Dated Tips [RTDT]) to estimating pathogen timetrees based on the relative rate framework underlying the RelTime approach. RTDT does not require many of the priors demanded by Bayesian approaches, and it has light computing requirements. We found RTDT to be accurate on simulated datasets evolved under a variety of branch rates models. Interestingly, we found two non-Bayesian methods (RTDT and Least Squares Dating [LSD]) to perform similar to or better than the Bayesian approaches available in BEAST and MCMCTree programs. RTDT method was found to generally outperform all other methods for phylogenies in with autocorrelated evolutionary rates. In analyses of empirical datasets, RTDT produced dates that were similar to those from Bayesian analyses. Speed and accuracy of the new method, as compared to the alternatives, makes it appealing for analyzing growing datasets of pathogenic strains. Cross-platform MEGA X software, freely available from http://www.megasoftware.net, now contains the new method for use through a friendly graphical user interface and in high-throughput settings. AUTHOR SUMMARY Pathogen timetrees trace the origins and evolutionary histories of strains in populations, hosts, and outbreaks. The tips of these molecular phylogenies often contain sampling time information because the sequences were generally obtained at different times during the disease outbreaks and propagation. We have developed a new method for inferring timetrees for phylogenies with tip dates, which improves on widely-used Bayesian methods (e.g., BEAST) in computational efficiency and does not require prior specification of population parameters, branch rate model, or clock model. We performed extensive computer simulation and found that RTDT performed better than the other methods for the estimation of divergence times at deep node in phylogenies where evolutionary rates were autocorrelated. The new method is available in the cross-platform MEGA software package that provides a graphical user interface, and allows use via a command line in scripting and high throughput analysis (www.megasoftware.net).


Sable antelope, Hippotragus niger, populations have declined substantially in Kruger National Park, South Africa despite large-area protection from land use and poaching. Since Africa's large mammal populations are restricted to protected areas, understanding how to manage parks for biological diversity is critically important to the sustainability of faunal populations into the future. To better understand the drivers of sable decline, we analyzed landscapes where herds persist in the Pretoriuskop region of Kruger – identified by GPS collar telemetry data from eight individuals in five herds remaining in this area, and compared them to landscapes where sable herds have recently disappeared. We mapped these landscapes with satellite-based spectral data on vegetation greenness and fire frequency and Carnegie Airborne Observatory LiDAR (Light Detection and Ranging) data on 3-D vegetation structure. Within their home ranges, sable herds consistently selected areas with high fire frequency, high tree cover and low shrub cover. However, there were no consistent differences in habitat features between the home ranges of current sable herds and areas formerly supporting herds. Locally deteriorating habitat conditions were therefore not responsible for the decline in sables in this region of the park. Our study also illustrates how multi-sensor, 3-D mapping of ecosystems provides a means to assess causes and consequences of changing animal habitats over time.


A fossil cave and associated sediments and fossil fauna located on the Greek island of Rhodes in the eastern Aegean Sea is reported here, and the depositional history discussed. The sediments were deposited during the late Pliocene, in the interstitial space between basement boulders of up to 1500 tons. The depositional history of the cave comprises eight stages. From initial flooding, the basin experienced a continuous transgression with sea‐level rise in excess of 500 m, followed by a rapid, forced regression of similar magnitude. The recognition of a succession of fossil communities illustrates this transgression, with a seemingly abrupt shift from endolithic to epilithic biota dominance late in the transgressive cycle. The communities recording the increasing water depth from 0 to >150 m are: The Gatrochaenolithes torpedo (bivalve boring) and Entobia gonioides (sponge boring) ichnocoenosis, with peak distribution between 0 and 1 m water depth; the E. gonioides – E. magna ichnocoenosis, with 1–5 m depth peak distribution; the exclusive E. magna ichnocoenosis, with 5–40 m depth peak distribution; and the E. gigantea ichnocoenosis, with a peak distribution approaching 150–200 m. Below this depth, an epilithic community without boring organisms takes over, characterized by the calcareous sponge Merlia cf. normani, and the inarticulate brachiopod Novocrania turbinata. Simultaneously with the succession of the endo‐ and epilithic cave wall fossil communities, skeletal calcarenite accumulated on the cave floor; the erosional remnants of this sediment are insufficient to further expand the overall transgression–regression model.


The demand for high performance, more flexible and reconfigurable dc-dc converters has pushed dc-dc converter designers to seek for alternative ways to control the pulse-width modulated switch inside the dc-dc converter. During the past few years, efforts have been put forward both by academics and power semiconductor industries to phase out the most commonly used analog PWM controllers with digital controller with its associated software. This paper presents an experimental result of designing and building a 5W synchronous buck converter that employs a microcontroller to process the output voltage signal and translate it into PWM signal to control the switches inside the buck converter and hence regulating the output voltage. Design requirements, procedures, component selections and measurement results will be described in this paper. In addition, operating performance of the buck converter as a result of implementing the digital controller will also be discussed, along with the description of the actual schematics and the final printer circuit board of the circuit.


Analysing Qualitative Data in Psychology equips students and researchers in psychology and the social sciences to carry out qualitative data analysis, focusing on four major methods (grounded theory, interpretative phenomenological analysis, discourse analysis and narrative analysis). Assuming no prior knowledge of qualitative research, chapters on the nature, assumptions and practicalities of each method are written by acknowledged experts. To help students and researchers make informed methodological choices about their own research the book addresses data collection and the writing up of research using each method, while providing a sustained comparison of the four methods, backed up with authoritative analyses using the different methods.


Model validation is an important step in travel demand modeling. It serves to ensure that the calibrated model produces outputs that are consistent with the observed data. In the Florida Standard Urban Transportation Model Structure (FSUTMS), various consistency checks for the validation of the distribution and assignment models are suggested for highway networks. These checks involve the comparison of predicted link volumes with ground counts at screenlines, cordon lines, and/or cutlines. Statistics such as systemwide vehicle-miles-traveled (VMT), vehicle-hours-traveled (VHT), link volume by facility type, area type, facility size (in term of number of lanes), and volume group Root Mean Square Error (RMSE) are major criteria used for validation. Errors between model outputs and what are observed from the actual networks may come from such sources as measurement, sampling, model misspecification, prediction, and aggregation process. In this study, sampling and model misspecification errors were considered in deriving accuracy standards for highway networks. The required number of count stations to be sampled for each type of facility to achieve a specific accuracy standard at a certain level of confidence was also derived and a general rule of thumb was recommended for validation purposes. For transit networks, the accuracy standards were derived to account for statistical variability, aggregation errors, and prediction errors. Errors in modal share subjected to aggregation and prediction variability were derived for both multinomial logit and nested logit models. However, no results are presented due to a lack of data support.


While restoration methods have been extensively studied in ultrasound (US) imaging, only few recent works have focused on modeling and understanding the blur from a physical point of view even in simple configurations, such as lossless homogeneous media. Despite a highly nonstationary blur due to diffraction effects, many techniques rely on simplistic approximations based on shift-invariant models or sectional methods and their efficiency has not been demonstrated for plane-wave (PW) and diverging-wave (DW) imaging. In this paper, we first propose a physical model of nonstationary blur in the context of PW and DW imaging. The blur operation is expressed as a composition of a U.S. propagation operator and a delay-and-sum operator, each of which has derived in previous works. We show that such a composition leads to a standard model of nonstationary blur as a Fredholm integral of the first kind. Second, we describe an approximation of the blur in the discrete domain based on the above decomposition coupled with an appropriate discretization of the latent element-raw-data space. We show theoretically and empirically that its evaluation, using such an approximation, scales linearly instead of quadratically with respect to the grid size, better than shift-invariant approaches. Through simulations and in vivo experimental data, we demonstrate that using the proposed model in the context of maximum-a-posteriori image restoration results in a higher image quality than using state-of-the-art shift-invariant models.


Families with disabled children are susceptible to poverty because low income is compounded by high costs. Combing caring with employment is extremely difficult, so families are heavily reliant upon benefits. But do disability benefits provide financial security for families who are susceptible to high levels of poverty and social exclusion? This qualitative study, based on semi-structured interviews with 20 families who have a disabled child or children, investigates their experience of applying for disability living allowance (DLA) and how they use additional benefit income. Families report that DLA makes a significant difference, not just for the disabled child but for the whole family. However, the fact that DLA is repeatedly downrated or withdrawn generates considerable fluctuations in income and high levels of stress and ill health. The report outlines issues that must be addressed if reduce poverty amongst disabled children is to be reduced.


Empirically, not much is known about the mechanisms how labor market programs like job search assistance and training operate to support finding a job. This paper provides novel evidence to open the "blackbox": it causally links the program interventions to the dynamics of search behavior, beliefs and non-cognitive skills. The study is based on a unique combination of a randomized field experiment with detailed register data and a panel of repeated surveys. The tested coaching program, focused on older job seekers, turns out to increase the job finding of participants by 9 percentage points (72% vs. 63% in the control group). The treatment effect is driven by a reduction of reservation wages and an increase in search efficiency. Moreover, I find short-run effects on motivation, self-confidence and beliefs. The job seekers overestimate their chances slightly less with respect to job interviews and salaries. Overall, the focus on realistic expectations and on search strategy appears to be important for program success. The experiment shows that evaluation designs which directly assess behavior can provide a fruitful base for targeted policy design.


Abstract Nematodes are the most damaging pathogens of cotton and one of the most important pathogens of peanut. Weeds can support nematode reproduction and reduce the effectiveness of crop rotation as a management tool. This study documents the relative host status of tropical spiderwort for (1) the reniform nematode and the southern and peanut root-knot nematodes and (2) the fungal pathogen southern stem rot. A reproductive factor (RF) was calculated for each nematode (final number divided by initial number). Galling was estimated (0–10 scale) for the root-knot species. The southern root-knot nematode reproduced well on tropical spiderwort, with a gall rating of 3.1 and an RF of 15.5. The peanut root-knot nematode also reproduced well on tropical spiderwort, with a gall rating of 2.1 and an RF of 7.2. Trials with the reniform nematode were analyzed independently. In the first trial with the reniform nematode, the RF was 2.4 on tropical spiderwort and 1.4 on cotton. In the second trial, the RF was 3.6 on tropical spiderwort and 13.5 on cotton. The severity of symptoms caused by southern stem rot was estimated on a scale of 0 to 10. In the first trial, peanut had a disease severity rating of 4.0 and tropical spiderwort had a rating of 1.4, and the fungus could be seen growing on 40% of the tropical spiderwort plants. In the second trial, peanut had a disease severity rating of 10.0 and tropical spiderwort had a rating of 5.0, but the fungus could be seen growing on all of the tropical spiderwort plants. It appears that tropical spiderwort is a sufficiently good host for some of the primary nematode and fungal pathogens of major crops in the southeastern United States that its presence at typical plant population densities will greatly reduce the pathogen-suppressive effects of crop rotation. Nomenclature: Tropical spiderwort, Commelina benghalensis L. COMBE; cotton, Gossypium hirsutum L.; peanut, Arachis hypogaea L.; peanut root-knot nematode, Meloidogyne arenaria, reniform nematode, Rotylenchulus reniformis; southern root-knot nematode, Meloidogyne incognita; southern stem rot, Sclerotium rolfsii.


Roughly 20% of the United States is underlain by limestone or dolomite. Shallow karst, riddled with cavities and fractures enlarged by dissolution, poses a costly problem for engineers and developers. Nearly every conceivable geophysical method—microgravity, ground-penetrating radar, electromagnetics, seismic reflection, refraction tomography, seismic surface waves, resistivity, spontaneous potential, and induced polarization—has been conscripted in the war against damage caused by subsidence. In this paper, we will discuss two unusual methods that we have tested for mapping the extent of shallow karst: smoke tests and mise-a-la-masse resistivity. Both methods presuppose at least one borehole intersecting a cavity. Given the highly irregular nature of karst networks, the discovery of a cavity though drilling is sufficient to alert engineers that the site poses a potential problem, but little else can be determined using just the driller's log from a single borehole. The two methods we discuss provided a s...


Practical in approach with simple, safe advice on how to use plants to heal, herbalism is one of the oldest and most widespread medical therapies. With the increased concern about the effects that modern day pharmaceuticals and drugs have on our bodies, more and more people are turning to herbalism as a means of treating ill-health in their family The Complete Illustrated Guide to Herbs covers the history and origins of herbal medicines across many cultures and traditions as well as the more practical application of herbalism to everyday ailments. Step-by-step information and photography on how to make all forms of herbal preparations, including oils and teas as well as recipes and detailed Materia Medica of the most useful herbs for home treatment ensure that readers can practice herbalism safely at home.


We present an analytical model that extends BSP to cover both oblivious synchronization and group partitioning. There are a few oversimplifications in BSP that make difficult to have accurate predictions. Even if the numbers of individual communication or computation operations in two stages are the same, the actual times for these two stages may differ. These differences are due to the separate nature of the operations or to the particular pattern followed by the messages. Even worse, the assumption that a constant number of machine instructions takes constant time is far from the truth. Current memory hierarchies imply that memory access vary from a few cycles to several thousands. A natural proposal is to associate a different proportionality constant with each basic block, and analogously, to associate different latencies and bandwidths with each "communication block". Unfortunately, to use this approach implies that the evaluation parameters not only depend on given architecture, but also reflect algorithm characteristics. Such parameter evaluation must be done for every algorithm. This is a heavy task, implying experiment design, timing, statistics, pattern recognition and multi-parameter fitting algorithms. Software support is required. We have developed a compiler that takes as source a C program annotated with complexity formulas and produces as output an instrumented code. The trace files obtained from the execution of the resulting code are analyzed with an interactive interpreter, giving us, among other information, the values of those parameters.


Although immigration reform has proved elusive for more than forty years, presidents from both parties have issued crucial executive actions that regulate inflows of new immigrants and the status of those already in the US. We focus on a particular class of executive actions, those related to granting immigrants Temporary Protected Status (TPS), exploiting the fact that immigrants who hold TPS receive access to the formal US labor market regardless of their legal status. Harnessing the New Economics of Labor Migration (NELM), we hypothesize that granting TPS to immigrants increases remittances to crisis-affected countries, decreasing the demand for both legal and illegal entry into the United States. We find robust statistical support for this hypothesis, and we also use synthetic control methods to evaluate TPS as a policy lever in prominent TPS-eligible countries. Our findings shed light on potentially unintended consequences that flow from providing labor market access to immigrants in the United States.


Annual monitoring of potato tuber moth (PTM) was made in 2008/09 in15 districts of Nepal to understand the distribution and seasonal abundance. The locally made pheromone trap was installed and observed in 24 hours intervals. The activity of PTM was observed in plain, mid hills (below 2200 masl) and high hill districts. The population of PTM was found more in mid-hills than in plain whereas PTM was absent in high hill districts. The highest average number of PTM was observed in May (480±238 moth/month) with no adult moths in October to December in plain whereas 522±174 moth/month was observed in July and 18±4 moth/month in December in mid-hills of Nepal. The seasonal abundance of PTM observed from March to July (74±63 to 126±100 moth/month) in Plain and March to October (191±157 to 104±60 moth/month) in mid-hills. The understanding of PTM population dynamics could be useful to make suitable management decision.


ABSTRACT In the past, population growth in Australia's Northern Territory, as in other peripheral parts of high-income countries, has been driven by internal labour migration and migration from outside of Australia. These have been contributing to the high population turnover experienced in peripheral areas. Since 2010, the Northern Territory has experienced low (and even negative) population growth, and public policy is currently focused on migration as a lever to reverse this trend. However, the extent to which the characteristics of migrants influence the potential for longer-term population growth is poorly understood. This paper uses a new method to analyse the contributions of various types of migrants to both population turnover and retention. Two major sets of findings emerge: First, the significance of separating newer in-migrants from longer-term residents when analysing migration patterns; and secondly, the contribution of age, gender, Indigenous status, international origin, wages and industry of employment to the Northern Territory's population turnover. The research suggests that current forms of migration favour people who are likely to stay for only short periods, and have high wage demands. The main policy inference is that long-term population growth will likely not eventuate unless new forms of migration can be stimulated.


Mobile phones have been established as devices for the interaction with objects from the everyday world, such as posters, advertisements or points of interest. However, the usage of physical mobile applications is often still restricted by fixed content and behavior, whose authoring usually requires a considerable coding effort. This paper presents an approach to an authoring tool that separates the creative process of authoring content and behavior for mobile applications from its technical deployment. The tool supports non-technical users in the creation of content and behavior for the mobile guiding application MOPS that associates its content with points of interest in the real world through Physical Mobile Interaction.


Scholars generally agree that the separation of church and state, as an approach to the Religion Clauses, has been in decline for decades. Yet the Supreme Court's recent decision in Hosanna-Tabor Evangelical Lutheran School v. EEOC is strongly and unanimously separationist, and none of scholars' explanations for separationism's decline adequately explain Hosanna-Tabor.I argue that previous scholarship fails to explain Hosanna-Tabor because it has been insufficiently attentive to what "separationism" means and the ways in which separationist approaches to the Religion Clauses can differ from each other. It has therefore failed to appreciate the ways in which the Supreme Court's separationist principles have evolved rather than being repudiated, in particular the Court's increased willingness to see free private choice as an adequate buffer between church and state and the Court's increasingly narrow understanding of what counts as religion for separationist purposes.These evolving aspects of the Court's approach to separationism help make sense of Hosanna-Tabor, in which free private choice was not an issue and the church's interests at stake were clearly part of the religious sphere. Further, they lead to a few predictions about the future of separationism and recommendations for pro-separationist scholars and activists.


The United States Department of Agriculture Soil Conservation Service (SCS) provides assistance to growers in the Southwest Florida area for the evaluation, improvement and management of farm irrigation systems. Water, a limited resource in Southwest Florida, is conserved by maintaining and improving system and water management efficiency. SCS personnel use established irrigation system evaluation procedures for spray jet, drip and sprinkler systems. New procedures are also being developed for the evaluation of subsurface irrigation systems. Based on the evaluation results, if a system falls below SCS standards and specifications, the grower is given recommendations to improve system performance. If modifications are made, the system is re-evaluated to document the improvement in efficiency. The evaluation results also provide specific soil, crop and irrigation system data used to develop a suitable water management plan for the grower. The grower is also assisted with soil moisture measurement devices, such as tensiometers and water table observation wells, conserving water by producing accurate irrigation scheduling.


This report is a summary of a Learning Exchange Summit held on the 14th November 2013 in Edinburgh which provided a reflective space for those involved in residential care as policymakers, practitioners and researchers to meet together and share learning. The Summit was jointly organised by the Centre for Excellence for Looked after Children in Scotland (CELCIS) and Jenny Molloy of Hackney Child Consultancy. The impetus for the Summit came from Jenny Molloy's contribution at the 2013 Scottish Institute for Residential Child Care (SIRCC) annual conference. Jenny's insights provoked a powerful response among participants and encouraged CELCIS and Hackney Child to bring together learning from both north and south of the border. The aim of the Summit was to explore residential child care in Scotland and England and consider how we can make improvements in what we do, wherever we work. It brought together participants from Scotland and England from government, national bodies, services and academics with an interest in residential child care.


This article reports on a study of a networked learning approach among remote social work practitioners in a large, rural local authority. The intervention was a blended approach that combined facilitation, face-to-face meetings, online communications and access to e-library resources. The intervention was focused on discussions of case management issues for three fictional cases. A method of text analysis used in community of enquiry research was implemented to examine participant discourse. Findings indicate that practitioners developed a community of enquiry that privileged face-to-face communication. Online resources were primarily used as supplementary communication. Practitioners engaged with the community of enquiry approach and used explicit knowledge to inform discussions of case planning.


AIMS AND OBJECTIVES
To explore patient and family perceptions of team effectiveness of teams those include nurse practitioners in acute and primary care.

BACKGROUND
Nurse practitioners provide safe and effective care. Patients are satisfied with the care provided by nurse practitioners. Research examining patient and family perceptions of team effectiveness following the implementation of nurse practitioners in teams is lacking.

DESIGN
A descriptive qualitative design was used.

METHODS
We used purposeful sampling to identify participants in four clinical specialties. We collected data from March 2014-January 2015 using semi-structured interviews and demographic questionnaires. Content analysis was used. Descriptive statistics were generated.

RESULTS
Participants (n = 49) believed that the teams were more effective after the implementation of a nurse practitioner and this was important to them. They described processes that teams with nurse practitioners used to effectively provide care. These processes included improved communication, involvement in decision-making, cohesion, care coordination, problem-solving, and a focus on the needs of patients and families. Participants highlighted the importance of interpersonal team dynamics. A human approach, trust, being open to discussion, listening to patient and family concerns and respect were particularly valued by participants. Different processes emerged as priorities when data were examined by speciality. However, communication, trust and taking the time to provide care were the most important processes.

CONCLUSION
The study provides new insights into the views of patients and families and micro-level processes in teams with nurse practitioners. The relative importance of each process varied according to the patient's health condition. Patients and providers identified similar team processes. Future research is needed to identify how team processes influence care outcomes.

RELEVANCE TO CLINICAL PRACTICE
The findings can support patients, clinicians and decision-makers to determine the processes to focus on to promote effective team functioning, and involve patients and families as team members.


Background Low/ered cholesterol is linked to aggression in some study designs. Cases/series have reported reproducible aggression increases on statins, but statins also bear mechanisms that could reduce aggression. Usual statin effects on aggression have not been characterized. Methods 1016 adults (692 men, 324 postmenopausal women) underwent double-blind sex-stratified randomization to placebo, simvastatin 20mg, or pravastatin 40mg (6 months). The Overt-Aggression-Scale-Modified–Aggression-Subscale (OASMa) assessed behavioral aggression. A significant sex-statin interaction was deemed to dictate sex-stratified analysis. Exploratory analyses assessed the influence of baseline-aggression, testosterone-change (men), sleep and age. Results The sex-statin interaction was significant (P=0.008). In men, statins tended to decrease aggression, significantly so on pravastatin: difference=-1.0(SE=0.49)P=0.038. Three marked outliers (OASMa-change ≥40 points) offset otherwise strong significance-vs-placebo: statins:-1.3(SE=0.38)P=0.0007; simvastatin:-1.4(SE=0.43)P=0.0011; pravastatin:-1.2(SE=0.45)P=0.0083. Age≤40 predicted greater aggression-decline on statins: difference=-1.4(SE=0.64)P=0.026. Aggression-protection was emphasized in those with low baseline aggression: age<40-and-low-baseline-aggression (N=40) statin-difference-vs-placebo=-2.4(SE=0.71)P=0.0016. Statins (especially simvastatin) lowered testosterone, and increased sleep problems. Testosterone-drop on statins predicted aggression-decline: β=0.64(SE=0.30)P=0.034, particularly on simvastatin: β=1.29(SE=0.49)P=0.009. Sleep-worsening on statins significantly predicted aggression-increase: β=2.2(SE=0.55)P<0.001, particularly on simvastatin (potentially explaining two of the outliers): β=3.3(SE=0.83)P<0.001. Among (postmenopausal) women, a borderline aggression-increase on statins became significant with exclusion of one younger, surgically-menopausal woman (N=310) β=0.70(SE=0.34)P=0.039. The increase was significant, without exclusions, for women of more typical postmenopausal age (≥45): (N=304) β=0.68(SE=0.34)P=0.048 – retaining significance with modified age-cutoffs (≥50 or ≥55). Significance was observed separately for simvastatin. The aggression-increase in women on statins was stronger in those with low baseline aggression (N=175) β=0.84(SE=0.30)P=0.006. No statin effect on whole blood serotonin was observed; and serotonin-change did not predict aggression-change. Conclusion Statin effects on aggression differed by sex and age: Statins generally decreased aggression in men; and generally increased aggression in women. Both findings were selectively prominent in participants with low baseline aggression – bearing lower change-variance, rendering an effect more readily evident. Trial Registration Clinicaltrials.gov NCT00330980


Water is an essential comonomer in a supramolecular polymer that is used as a recyclable, water-activated glue. Although the concept of structural water that is bound inside hydrophobic pockets and helps to stabilize protein structures is well established, water has rarely found a similar role in supramolecular polymers. Water is often used as a solvent for supramolecular polymerization, however without taking the role of a comonomer for the supramolecular polymer structure. We report a low–molecular weight monomer whose supramolecular polymerization is triggered by the incorporation of water. The presence of water molecules as comonomers is essential to the polymerization process. The supramolecular polymeric material exhibits strong adhesion to surfaces, such as glass and paper. It can be used as a water-activated glue, which can be released at higher temperatures and reused many times without losing its performance.


Abstract. South Africa holds significant mineral resources, with a substantial fraction of these reserves occurring and being processed in a large geological structure termed the Bushveld Igneous Complex (BIC). The area is also highly populated by informal, semi-formal and formal residential developments. However, knowledge of air quality and research related to the atmosphere is still very limited in the area. In order to investigate the characteristics and processes affecting sub-micron particle number concentrations and formation events, air ion and aerosol particle size distributions and number concentrations, together with meteorological parameters, trace gases and particulate matter (PM) were measured for over two years at Marikana in the heart of the western BIC. The observations showed that trace gas (i.e. SO 2 , NO x , CO) and black carbon concentrations were relatively high, but in general within the limits of local air quality standards. The area was characterised by very high condensation sink due to background aerosol particles, PM 10 and O 3 concentration. The results indicated that high amounts of Aitken and accumulation mode particles originated from domestic burning for heating and cooking in the morning and evening, while during daytime SO 2 -based nucleation followed by the growth by condensation of vapours from industrial, residential and natural sources was the most probable source for large number concentrations of nucleation and Aitken mode particles. Nucleation event day frequency was extremely high, i.e. 86% of the analysed days, which to the knowledge of the authors is the highest frequency ever reported. The air mass back trajectory and wind direction analyses showed that the secondary particle formation was influenced both by local and regional pollution and vapour sources. Therefore, our observation of the annual cycle and magnitude of the particle formation and growth rates during nucleation events were similar to results previously published for a semi-clean savannah site in South Africa.


This is an essay on the critical history of the thought of the Victorian-era judge, Sir James Fitzjames Stephen. It discusses some of the themes in his major work, "The History of the Criminal Law of England." And it reflects on a cluster of questions involving criminal punishment: whether Stephen had a "theory" of punishment; if not how best to characterize his thought; and whether his views and understanding of the aims and functions of punishment remain relevant. The essay explores Stephen's positive and critical contributions, and it concludes that Stephen's major insight was methodological. His view is that the reasons for punishment cannot be separated from the obligations and the nature of the judicial office. He was neither a punishment retributivist nor a punishment consequentialist, but a punishment jurist.


The objective of the study was to evaluate the effects of nutritional treatments, which differed after calving, on energy levels and sources on plasma metabolite profiles and live weight (LW) changes as an indication of the nutritional status in Holstein cows. During the dry period, pregnant heifers (n = 69) and dry cows (n = 153) from Elsenburg Research Farm were maintained under similar feeding and management conditions. After parturition, cows had ad libitum access to cultivated irrigated kikuyu-ryegrass pastures, and were assigned to three concentrate groups, according to calving date, parity, LW and the milk yield of their previous lactation. The groups were supplemented with various levels and types of concentrate, of which the energy was provided by starch and fat. The control group was offered 7 kg/cow/day of a control concentrate supplement for both primiparous and multiparous groups, while concentrates in treatment groups were fed at 11.6 and 12.6 kg/cow/day for primiparous and multiparous groups, respectively. The control supplement was a maize-based concentrate, which contained low levels of starch. The concentrate components of the treatments consisted of high starch-low fat (HSLF) and a high starch-low fat/low starch-high fat (HSLF-LSHF) combination. The HSLF supplement was a glucogenic concentrate, which contained maize as the energy source. The HSLF-LSHF supplements consisted of a glucogenic concentrate, which was offered for the first 60 days in milk (DIM) as per the HSLF treatment, and was followed from 61 DIM with a lipogenic concentrate containing wheat bran and calcium (Ca) salts of long-chain fatty acids as the energy sources. The results showed that all cows mobilized their body fat reserves, as was evident in changes in plasma non-esterified fatty acids (NEFA) before and after calving. Postpartum plasma NEFA and β-hydroxybutyrate (BHB) did not differ significantly between nutritional treatments in multiparous cows. However, the postpartum levels of plasma NEFA and BHB were significantly higher for the control, indicating a status of advanced negative energy balance (NEB) and possible subclinical ketosis compared with HSLF and HSLF-LSHF treatments in primiparous cows. Postpartum plasma urea levels decreased significantly in both primiparous and multiparous animals in the control group, compared with the HSLF and HSLF-LSHF groups. As affected by time, postpartum LW was significantly lowest and LW loss was significantly highest in cows that received the control supplements compared with HSLF and HSLF-LSHF supplements for primiparous and multiparous cows. In addition, LW lossnadir and the number of days to reach it significantly increased in primiparous cows that received the control concentrate, compared with those of the HSLF and HSLF- LSHF treatments. However, this trend was not observed for multiparous cows. The findings of this study showed that HSLF and HSLF-LSHF treatments improved the nutritional status, as was evident in the reduced extent of NEB and limited LW loss of dairy cows, compared with those in the control group. Keywords : Concentrate, dairy cattle, energy nutrients, nutritional status, pasture


The objective of the present experiment was to test the oxytocin effect on embryonic survival during the luteolysis risk period in post-mating alpacas. Forty-three adult alpacas that were receptive to the male and bearing an ovarian follicle >7 mm of diameter were selected. They were mated with fertile males and the copula lasted for >10 minutes. Ovulation was secured with con 1 ml of GnRH i.m. (Day 0). Within the group of alpacas with a corpus luteum confirmed by trans-rectal echography on day 7, 30 were randomly selected and assigned into two similar groups. One group received 40 IU oxitocin on days 9, 10 and 11 post-mating days distributed in 4 doses of 10 IU every 5 hours. The second group was considered as control. The embryonic survival was evaluated based on sexual receptivity on days 8, 10, 11, 12 and 40 post-mating and confirmed on day 40 by ultrasonography. The oxytocin treated alpacas resulted with embryonic survival of 100% on days 8 and 10, 93.3% on days 11 and 12, and 86.7% on day 40 after mating, whereas non-treated alpacas had 100, 80, 66.7, 46.7 and 46.7%, on days 8, 10, 11, 12 and 40 after mating respectively, with significant differences between groups on days 12 and 40 (p<0.05). In conclusion, exogenous oxytocin reduced the embryonic mortality in alpacas before 40 days of pregnancy.


This paper focuses on two core tax design issues that arise in addressing current fiscal challenges. It first explores the idea, prominent in troubled Eurozone countries, of a "fiscal devaluation": shifting from social contributions to the VAT as a way to mimic a nominal devaluation. Empirical evidence is presented which suggests that in Eurozone countries this may indeed improve the trade balance in the short-run, though, as theory predicts, the effects eventually disappear. The paper then assesses the wider scope for VAT reform in meeting fiscal consolidation needs, developing and beginning to apply a methodology for finding additional VAT revenue in ways less distortionary and fairer than further raising the standard rate.


A design approach for the generation or suppression of sub-harmonic frequencies in non-linear circuits under large-signal drive is described. A standard Harmonic-Balance algorithm is first used for the large-signal analysis at fundamental frequency and higher-order harmonics; a conversion matrix is then computed for the calculation of potential frequency conversion between harmonic and sub-harmonic frequency components. Cross-frequency stability circles are drawn based on the conversion matrix, and the condition for the insurgence of sub-harmonic instabilities is set as the fulfilment of the Barkhausen oscillation criterion between different frequencies. The instability can be either imposed or avoided by suitably choosing the loads at sub-harmonic frequencies.


In Chris Abani's Graceland, the city is a spatio-temporal terrain connecting diverse worlds. It is a place of dialogue and conflict, a 'city of attractions' (Highmore 45) and distractions, dystopia and utopia. As an urban space, Abani's Lagos is seen through a rookery, a tenement city called Maroko and through the life story of the sixteen-year-old protagonist, Elvis Oke. The plot development alternates between Lagos the city in the present and Afikpo, Elvis's countryside home — in the past. This shift in time and space moves memory between Afikpo and Lagos, and plots the simultaneity of dystopian and utopian living in the present Lagosian cityscape. The dystopian existence portrayed in the poverty, deprivation and filth intermingles with utopia — the surreality of dreams, wishes, hopes and the connected imagination of worlds apart. Maroko's life-blood is found in the hope of flight and the power of imagination triggered by the pervasive forms of mass media available for consumption. This journal article is available in Kunapipi: http://ro.uow.edu.au/kunapipi/vol34/iss1/12


Birds face many challenges during a breeding attempt including predation, food availability, pathogens and parasite load. Cyanistes caeruleus (blue tit) prefer human placed nest boxes, however the stable microclimate presented within the nest box exacerbates the challenges posed by ectoparasites and potentially pathogenic bacteria, with reductions in breeding success reported. The addition of green plant material to help control these deleterious effects has been reported within Mediterranean climes but comparable studies have not been undertaken in temperate regions.
This study introduces novel molecular approaches including next generation sequencing methods to assess the nest microbiome. This approach avoids the culturing bias of previous work in this area. Terminal-Restriction Fragment length Polymorphism (T-RFLP) analysis was used to assess bacterial richness progression through the breeding attempt with more traditional methods used to assess bacterial load. DNA barcoding was performed to identify bacteria, ectoparasites and vascular plant fragments present within the nest with vegetation surveys conducted around a subset of nests to assess if any active selection of plant material was occurring.
Bacterial species richness and load were relatively stable between nest build and clutch completion with a significant increase in both post fledging, following the introduction of nestling faeces in the nest and reduced time for nest sanitation. DNA barcoding provided marked increases in the taxonomic knowledge of nest dwelling biota with 169 bacterial taxa, thirteen species of ectoparasite and 154 vascular plant taxa identified.
Although ectoparasites and pathogenic bacteria were detected within the nest no effect was seen upon hatching or fledging success. It is more likely that a reduction in fitness would be observed post fledging. A high proportion of plant material containing volatile compounds was recorded within the nest, however active selection could not be confirmed.


Background
Efforts to expand access to reproductive health care in Pakistan date as far back as the early 1950s. Despite such efforts, the fertility rate has declined at a slower pace compared to that in neighbouring countries.

Aims
To explore the underlying reasons and challenges for long-time low contraceptive use among female clients and key service providers of community-based family planning programmes in Pakistan.

Methods
A qualitative study was carried out with a total of 10 focus group discussions and 7 in-depth interviews with female clients and key service providers. The data were analysed using qualitative content analysis.

Results
The intra-family dynamics, that is, influence of husbands and mothers-in-law, were significant in shaping the decision-making and choice of family planning methods. In addition, inadequate counselling skills, insufficient training for service providers, weak supportive supervision, interrupted supply of contraceptives, and delays in salary disbursement were among the key family planning programme challenges.

Conclusion
Despite a well-designed community-based FP programme, providers' counselling skills need to be enhanced. However, this has to be combined with sufficient training, supportive supervision and contraceptive availability.


The present study focuses on hydrogeochemical data from a Hercynian granitic mass where a new underground hydraulic circuit for a hydropower plant is being developed between two reservoirs and near another existing and operating underground hydraulic circuit. The main goal of this work is to assess the use of multivariate statistics to distinguish groundwater from different flow systems, to aid in evaluating the possible infiltration of water from the existing hydraulic circuit into the new one. Sampling points were selected inside the tunnels (eight points at the new circuit and one point at the existing circuit), near the surface (five points along the new circuit major axis) and on Venda Nova dam reservoir (one point). Based on laboratory determinations of major ions, three distinct groups of waters with different physicochemical characteristics and spatial distribution were established by cluster analyses. The relations of these groups with the characteristics of the occurrences are discussed with the support of principal component analysis. A hydrogeochemical conceptual model for groundwater flow systems related to infiltration and water–rock interaction in this granite rock mass is proposed based on multivariate statistical analyses and geological information. Supplementary material: Sample point coordinates, data results of physical–chemical parameters and elements, statistical data results of physical–chemical parameters and elements, and isotope data are available at https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.c.2857303.v1.


Among several contesting views about the purpose of development and how progress should be evaluated, human rights and capabilities (or human development) stand out as two approaches that are concerned first and foremost with the well-being of individuals, their freedom, dignity and empowerment. These two approaches contrast sharply with the dominant development frameworks that emphasize economic growth as the essential objective. Though human rights and capabilities share these common commitment to human priorities, they are distinct concepts and fields that have developed separately. The aim of this volume is to explore the relationship between them in order to enhance the understanding of both as theoretical paradigms, as public policy frameworks and as approaches to development. The book includes contributions from some of the leading scholars in the two fields of capabilities approach and human rights. It covers the essential aspects of this relationship: addressing the complementarities between human rights and capabilities as theoretical concepts; how the concept of capabilities can contribute to resolving some key theoretical issues in human rights; how the social science analysis and methods of the capabilities approach can clarify human rights concepts and strengthen human rights advocacy; and how human rights norms can strengthen public policy and mobilize collective action to demand greater accountability in placing human priorities first in public policy. Human Rights and the Capabilities Approach raises many questions for further inter-disciplinary conversation and further research.


In Oman, like in all countries of the Gulf region, the building culture is in a crisis. The challenge to balance between a harsh outdoor climate and raised expectations for indoor comfort is not solved in a sustainable way, yet. Due to the availability of fossil fuel at very low costs, energy for cooling buildings is not used efficiently. This is not only wasteful, but also takes away the incentive to innovate. Consequently, the region's building boom of the past decades was a growth without progress. Neither has significant new knowledge been generated locally, nor has external knowledge been transferred to build local capacity in the field of sustainable buildings. To break up this stagnation, The Research Council of the Sultanate of Oman (TRC) started in 2011tofundaprojectinwhichtheGermanUniversityofTechnologyinOman(GUtech) designed, planned, built, and currently operates and monitors a net-zero-energy residential building on its campus.ThispapershowsthatGUtech'sEcoHausisnotonly in a building as a product,but also a process of generating and transferring knowledge by combining teaching, research and practice within one university project.


During the unusually long European drought between 2000 and 2003, the water level of the large and shallow Lake Balaton, Hungary (area = 596 km2, mean depth = 3.25 m), decreased by 28%. Although food availability for zooplankton remained unchanged, and the fish stock declined more than the water mass, the density of populations of several planktonic rotifers, cladocerans, calanoid copepodes, and veligers decreased by 60‐90% simultaneously with the water‐level decrease and regenerated only after the drought. The generally strong turbulence of the lake was intensified during the four consecutive years of low water, as verified by instrumental monitoring of the turbulence intensity and by the estimation of the turbulent kinetic‐energy dissipation rate. In our tank experiments, turbulence conditions similar to those that existed in the lake during low water were simulated, but mineral suspended material was minimized and food was regularly resupplied. Under these experimental conditions, zooplankton taxa showing the highest mortality were the same as those that were most susceptible in situ. Increased turbulence coupled with the water‐level decrease is especially unfavorable for rotifer Keratella, the cladoceran Daphnia, Bosmina, and copepodit and adult stages of the calanoid copepod Eudiaptomus gracilis in this lake.


To isolate a stable tumor cell line capable of producing human interleukin 2 (IL-2; formerly referred to as T cell growth factor), 16 human T and B leukemia cell lines were screened for constitutive and mitogen-stimulated IL-2 production. We found that the T cell leukemia line designated Jurkat-FHCRC produced > 200 U/ml of IL-2 activity after a 24-h stimulation with T cell mitogens. Peak mitogen-induced IL-2 activity was found in supernates harvested from 24-h Jurkat-FHCRC cell cultures stimulated with either 1% phytohemagglutinin or 20 microgram/ml concanavalin A. Addition of the fatty acid derivative phorbol myristate acetate to mitogen-stimulated cultures increased Jurkat-FHCRC IL-2 production to concentrations > 400 U/ml. IL-2 activity observed in such cases represented between 100--300 times that produced in conventional cultures of mitogen- or alloantigen-stimulated normal human peripheral blood or splenic lymphocytes. Jurkat-FHCRC- derived conditioned medium demonstrated equal capacity to promote the sustained in vitro proliferation of either murine or human activated T cell lines confirming the ability of Jurkat-FHCRC cells to produce human IL-2. These studies identify a new source of human IL-2 and establish a valuable reagent for the isolation and further molecular characterization of this immunoregulatory molecule.


Based on a review of published and unpublished reports we analyzed Rapa Nuis (Easter Island) traditional and artisan fisheries. We include information from 2000-2009 on landings, species, fishing grounds, fleet and number of fisherfolks according to the Servicio Nacional de Pesca (SERNAPESCA) and personal communication with SERNAPESCA officials. Presently, 29 species of fishes and two invertebrates are fished (along with a group of species reported as "non-identified"), primarily from the 10 main fishing grounds within 5 nm from the shore. Sporadic fishing trips reach areas up to 25 nm offshore. Statistics about the artisan fleet and number of operative fishers is spotty and unreliable. In 2011 SERNAPESCA reported 123 artisan fishers and 31 boats for the island. Landings occur in five coves, of which Hanga Piko and Hanga Roa are the most important. Between 2000-2009 the mean annual landing ranged between 109-171 ton. The main exploited resources during this period were yellowfin tuna, snoek, Pacific rudderfin, rainbow runner, glasseye, oilfish, deep-water jack and swordfish. We highlight the urgent need to improve fisheries statistics (catch, effort, fishing grounds) in order to develop a science-fishery management and conservation plan, particularly linked with artisan fishery activities. Globally, we identify the need to integrate across fields (i.e., ecology, conservation, fisheries, education, outreach) more broadly in the national research system, to improve the management and conservation of Easter Island's unique marine environment. Within this framework, we identify an urgent need to create a research marine station on the island with permanent personnel, which can focus on this fragile oligotrophic ecosystem.


A record of volcanic activity within the Vatnajokull ice cap has been obtained by combining data from three sources: tephrostratigraphic studies of two outlet glaciers, a 415-m-long ice core from northwestern Vatnajokull, and written records. The record extends back to a.d. 1200 and shows that the volcanic activity has a 130–140 yr period. Intervals of frequent eruptions with recurrence times of three to seven years alternate with intervals of similar duration having much lower eruption frequency. In comparison with other parts of the plate boundary in Iceland, eruption frequency is greater, episodes of unrest are longer, and intervals of low activity are shorter. The high eruption frequency may be the result of a more sustained supply of magma, owing to the area's location above the center of the Iceland mantle plume. When combined with historical data on eruptions and earthquakes, our data indicate that rifting-related activity in Iceland as a whole is periodic and broadly in phase with the volcanic activity within Vatnajokull.


BACKGROUND
Research has shown that heavy alcohol use has a detrimental effect on retrospective memory. Less is known about the effect of alcohol on everyday memory.

METHODS
This study examined self-ratings of two aspects of memory performance: prospective memory (for example, forgetting to pass on a message) and everyday memory (measured by cognitive failures, such as telling someone a joke that you have told them before). To ensure anonymity and expand on the numbers of participants used in previous studies, data were collected by using the Internet. Data from 763 participants remained after data screening.

RESULTS
After controlling for other drug and strategy use, there was clear evidence that differential use of alcohol was associated with impairments in the long-term aspect of prospective memory and with an increased number of cognitive failures.

CONCLUSIONS
These results support and extend the findings of previous research: our findings are consistent with the idea that heavy use of alcohol does have a significant and negative effect on everyday cognitive performance. Possible causes of these impairments are discussed.


Background: Knowing the quality of life of professionals is important because it is related to job performance, better results, and greater productivity, which results in better patient care. Objective: To know the Professional Quality of Life perceived by the nurses at the Geriatric Hospital of Toledo (Spain). Method: A descriptive cross-section study was employed to measure the Professional Quality of Life of all healthcare nurses (69 in total) at the Geriatric Hospital of Toledo. The questionnaire used as a measuring instrument was the Professional Quality of Life - 35. The data obtained was analyzed by means of: descriptive statistics, single-factor ANOVA variance analysis, T Student tests, and simple and multiple regression analysis. The study was approved by both the research commission and the ethics commission at the Hospital Complex of Toledo. Participation in the study on behalf of the nursing staff was voluntary. Results: In total, 45 responses were obtained (65.2%). The overall mean score measured the perceived Professional Quality of Life to be low. In relation to the three dimensions evaluated in the study, the highest average found was in "intrinsic motivation," followed by "workload", and then "management support." In the multivariate analysis, "management support" was shown as the most influential factor in the Professional Quality of Life with a 23% influence (P<0.001), followed by workload with 9% (P = 0.01). Conclusions: The professionals at the participating center perceive their workplace as having an elevated degree of responsibility, a large quantity of work, a high occurrence of rushes and fatigue, and all this with little support on behalf of management. Promotions are scarce or the policies for receiving a promotion are inadequate. The perception of Professional Quality of Life in nursing is low. The obtained results indicate a need for an organizing cultural change based on participation, motivation, and increased management support. Key Words: Work satisfaction, nursing, hospital, care


Abstract. The integration of offshore wind energy into the existing power system is continuously growing. With the increasing distance of the offshore wind farms (OWF) to the onshore AC transmission systems, HVDC systems are emerging as a preferable solution for the connection of OWF due to their techno-economic advantages in comparison to AC subsea connections. Integrating HVDC systems into the existing AC systems poses various planning and technological challenges. To be able to overcome these challenges a variety of studies has to be conducted, e.g. the HVDC system behaviour under faults. Simulations using electromagnetic transient (EMT) tools represent a generally accepted method to conduct the relevant studies. To increase the trust in the developed concepts subsequent hardware demonstrations would be preferable. However, performing these investigations with full-scale components is often not an option due to unavailability and high costs. As an alternative way, Power-Hardware-in-the-Loop (PHiL) approaches are considered. In this context, a new and worldwide unique laboratory demonstrator - the MMC Test Bench - is set up at RWTH Aachen University as part of the Horizon2020 project PROMOTioN. Here, laboratory-scaled Modular Multilevel Converters (MMCs) are used, which are connected on the DC side by cascaded Pi-line segments. The adjacent AC grids (i.e. offshore wind farms, AC transmission networks) are represented by real-time simulators (RTS) and connected to the MMCs via high bandwidth linear power amplifiers (PA). In this work, the MMC Test Bench is initially described. Afterwards, the PHiL set-up to demonstrate the implemented controls for an OWF connected to shore via an HVDC link is explained. To allow the joint operation of the hardware set-up and the RTS in a stable manner, adequate PHIL interfaces algorithms have to be designed and the scaling between the RTS, the power amplifiers and the hardware is explained. The connection of the OWF represents a special challenge for PHiL demonstrations as the OWF represents a weak AC system with the MMC in grid forming mode. In a next step, the results of the successful demonstration of the interconnection of the OWF via an HVDC link with the MMC Test Bench are presented. The system behaviour in stationary and transient operation is analysed based on the wind farm start-up sequence as well as different cases of wind infeed fluctuations. The results are compared to a simulated full-scale model and deviations are discussed.


William Faulkner's most concentrated and flourishing phase of literary production virtually coincided with the Great Depression, yet the relationship between these two monumental developments in American cultural history has remained for the most part unexplored. Consequently, a more complete understanding of Faulkner can be achieved by redressing this critical oversight. Such an endeavor must involve reconstituting relevant features of historical and cultural context so as to comprehend the forces informing Faulkner's literary production. A critical approach rooted in Marxist literary theory is useful in this regard, for it challenges persistent notions of Faulkner as a writer resistant to contextual influences in the pursuit of an autonomous "art for art's sake" rather than a writer of considerable social insight. Through analysis of aesthetics and ideology as integrated rather than mutually exclusive subjects of inquiry, this study traces the social dimensions of Faulkner's literary production in the thirties and reveals its active participation in the politics of art extant in the cultural context. Posited at the outset, then, is a theory that the aesthetic features of Faulkner's texts are bound to larger ideological formations, thus yielding political implications that are measurable in terms of thematic content and formal structure. Examining Faulkner's fiction in relation to prominent social and cultural issues—specifically, the "Literary Class War," the specter of fascism, and the prospect of agrarian revolution—provides an instructive means of testing this theory. This critical inquiry finds that tensions between narrative disruption and the desire for closure in Faulkner's texts suggest that his fictional voice assimilates, represents, and negotiates the struggle to achieve order in a period of heightened social upheaval


High‐speed optical imaging is introduced as a visualization method to investigate the film‐flow properties of liquids with different surface tensions and viscosities (water, poly‐alpha‐olefin oil, and glycerol) over free rotating surfaces with different surface energies and polarities (steel, and two different diamond‐like‐carbon ‐ DLC coatings, i.e. DLC, and F‐DLC). It was found that the polar surface energy strongly influences the structural dynamics of the liquid film's flow and the film's slip. Namely, a decrease in the polar surface energy results in a less stable film with de‐wetting areas and breakups into streams, as well as in a larger amount of film slip, which was most clearly expressed by the F‐DLC. It was also found that the combination of a high surface tension and a low viscosity provides the largest amount of liquid slip, with the most obvious breakup of the liquid film being observed with water, which clearly exhibits these properties.


Implementations of topic models typically use symmetric Dirichlet priors with fixed concentration parameters, with the implicit assumption that such "smoothing parameters" have little practical effect. In this paper, we explore several classes of structured priors for topic models. We find that an asymmetric Dirichlet prior over the document-topic distributions has substantial advantages over a symmetric prior, while an asymmetric prior over the topic-word distributions provides no real benefit. Approximation of this prior structure through simple, efficient hyperparameter optimization steps is sufficient to achieve these performance gains. The prior structure we advocate substantially increases the robustness of topic models to variations in the number of topics and to the highly skewed word frequency distributions common in natural language. Since this prior structure can be implemented using efficient algorithms that add negligible cost beyond standard inference techniques, we recommend it as a new standard for topic modeling.


Abstract We conducted a study to explore which beetles utilize dead twigs in a Louisiana secondary forest and the effect of debris position on the beetle community. Twigs averaging 14 mm in diameter from one tree of Quercus falcata Michaux (southern red oak) were placed randomly into bundles of ten. At each of three sites, three bundles were laid on the ground, three were propped at the base of a living tree, and three were tied tightly above the ground against the branch of a living woody plant. The bundles were collected 10 months later and each was placed into an emergence chamber. More than 400 adult Coleoptera specimens were collected, representing 35 species within 16 families. Cerambycidae (longhorn beetles) and Curculionidae (weevils) exhibited the highest species richness, with nine and five species, respectively. Species richness was significantly different among treatments. Bundles placed on the ground had the lowest richness, aboveground bundles had the highest, and propped bundles were intermediate. Twelve species (34%) were represented by singletons.


This qualitative research study focuses on the negotiation of identity among British born Muslim women living in London in 2016. Semi-structured narrative interviews were carried out with five British Muslim women with the resulting data analysed using Critical Narrative Analysis. The analysis resulted in two overarching constructions; the construction of the Muslim woman and the construction of the British Muslim, underpinned by gender inequality. These intended to capture the rich and complex intra-psychic negotiations between identities for this population. The findings are discussed from a feminist perspective, and the impacts of broader social and cultural contexts were explored. Observations and suggestions were made in terms of implications for Counselling Psychology as a discipline, as well as the contribution of the study to therapeutic work, and avenues for future research were suggested.


To facilitate software maintenance and evolution, a helpful step is to locate features concerned in a particular maintenance task. In the literature, both dynamic and interactive approaches have been proposed for feature location. In this paper, we present a static and non-interactive method for achieving this objective. The main idea of our approach is to use the information retrieval (IR) technology to reveal the basic connections between features and computational units in source code. Due to the characteristics of the retrieved connections, we use a static representation of the source code named BRCG to further recover both the relevant and the specific computational units for each feature. Furthermore, we recover the relationships among the relevant units for each feature. A premise of our approach is that programmers should use meaningful names as identifiers. We perform an experimental study based on a GNU system to evaluate our approach. In the experimental study, we present the detailed quantitative experimental data and give the qualitative analytical results.


We propose a new measure, the method noise, to evaluate and compare the performance of digital image denoising methods. We first compute and analyze this method noise for a wide class of denoising algorithms, namely the local smoothing filters. Second, we propose a new algorithm, the nonlocal means (NL-means), based on a nonlocal averaging of all pixels in the image. Finally, we present some experiments comparing the NL-means algorithm and the local smoothing filters.


Shortly put, "Risk is the possibility that something undesirable might happen." Behind the Rawlsian veil of ignorance (the original position) are human participants in the social contract who 'agree' to pursue a particular enterprise by allocating the possibility of these undesirable outcomes. The veil of ignorance presumes equality of person, value and participation, and equality in terms of the burden of risk on individuals. In our social contract 'good' or 'bad' outcomes are primarily based on individual luck or chance. Risk analysis enables us to tell a different story about the social contract, one that locates behind this veil of ignorance an institutionalised system of risk-taking behaviour that rigs risks against those least able to manage the fall-out (Dahan and Dine, 2003). This paper utilises the literature on risk analysis to answer the question: how do we resolve the call for reparations for the legacies of the Transatlantic Slave Trade (TAST)?TAST legacies on its descendant human victims with its contemporary and continuing inequalities remain in Europe, the Caribbean, the Americas and Africa. Despite the global platform provided by the UN World Conference Against Racism, Xenophobia and Related Intolerance (2001) to draw attention to the slave trade as a source of contemporary racism against people of African and Afro-Caribbean descent, and national commemorative events marking the abolition of the slave trade since 1807 and linking wealth creation in Western Europe with the destruction of human beings and societies in Africa and the creation of European Chattel Slavery (Blackburn, 1997), scholarship attests to the issues that surround the failure to obtain reparations. Treading in treacle are the recurring themes for and against the case for reparations that include the nature of the claim, the relevant parties, the amount of compensation and the question of causing. Missing in this metanarrative (Walvin, 2008) is a conceptual framework based on an analysis of risk. This paper uses risk analysis as a paradigm that seeks to inform us about the hidden inequalities in liberal democracies plagued by a racism that has its roots in the TAST, the project provides a justification for why we should unearth these inequalities by locating their historical and institutionalised context and offers a tool through which to consider how to reallocate risk through reparations.


Background Throughout the primary literature and within textbooks, the erythrocyte has been tacitly accepted to have maintained a unique physiological role; namely gas transport and exchange. In non-mammalian vertebrates, nucleated erythrocytes are present in circulation throughout the life cycle and a fragmented series of observations in mammals support a potential role in non-respiratory biological processes. We hypothesised that nucleated erythrocytes could actively participate via ligand-induced transcriptional re-programming in the immune response. Methodology/Principal Findings Nucleated erythrocytes from both fish and birds express and regulate specific pattern recognition receptor (PRR) mRNAs and, thus, are capable of specific pathogen associated molecular pattern (PAMP) detection that is central to the innate immune response. In vitro challenge with diverse PAMPs led to de novo specific mRNA synthesis of both receptors and response factors including interferon-alpha (IFNα) that exhibit a stimulus-specific polysomal shift supporting active translation. RNA-Seq analysis of the PAMP (Poly (I∶C), polyinosinic∶polycytidylic acid)-erythrocyte response uncovered diverse cohorts of differentially expressed mRNA transcripts related to multiple physiological systems including the endocrine, reproductive and immune. Moreover, erythrocyte-derived conditioned mediums induced a type-1 interferon response in macrophages thus supporting an integrative role for the erythrocytes in the immune response. Conclusions/Significance We demonstrate that nucleated erythrocytes in non-mammalian vertebrates spanning significant phylogenetic distance participate in the immune response. RNA-Seq studies highlight a mRNA repertoire that suggests a previously unrecognized integrative role for the erythrocytes in other physiological systems.