What is Search Engine Optimization (SEO)? SEO is a marketing discipline focused on growing visibility in organic (non-paid) search engine results. SEO encompasses both the technical and creative elements required to improve rankings, drive traffic, and increase awareness in search engines. There are many aspects to SEO, from the words on your page to the way other sites link to you on the web. Sometimes SEO is simply a matter of making sure your site is structured in a way that search engines understand. SEO isn't just about building search engine-friendly websites. It's about making your site better for people too. This guide is designed to describe all areas of SEO—from finding the terms and phrases (keywords) that generate traffic to your website, to making your site friendly to search engines, to building links and marketing the unique value of your site. If you are confused about this stuff, you are not alone, and we're here to help.


The need to rank items based on user input arises in many practical applications such as elections, group-decision making and recommendation systems. The primary challenge in such scenarios is to decide a global ranking based on partial preferences provides by users. The standard approach to address this challenge is to ask users to provide explicit numerical ratings (cardinal information) of a subset of items. The main appeal of such an approach is the ease of aggregation. However, the rating scale as well as the individual ratings are often arbitrary and may not be consistent from one user to another. A more natural alternative to numerical ratings requires users to compare pairs of items (ordinal information). In contrast to cardinal information, such comparisons provide an "absolute" indicator of the user's preference. However, it is often hard to combine or aggregate comparisons to obtain a consistent global ranking. In this work, we provide a tractable framework for utilizing comparison data as well as first-order marginal information for the purpose of ranking. We treat the available information as partial samples from an unknown distribution over permutations. Using the Principle of Maximum Entropy, we devise a concise parameterization of distribution consistent with observations using only O(n2) parameters, where n is the number of items in question. We propose a distributed, iterative algorithm for estimating the parameters of the distribution. We establish the correctness of the algorithm as well as identify the rate of convergence explicitly. Using the learnt distribution, we provide efficient approach to (a) learn the mode of the distribution using 'maximum weight matching', (b) identification of top k items, and (c) an aggregate ranking of all n items. Through evaluation of our approach on real-data, we verify effectiveness of our solutions as well as the scalability of the algorithm.


Abstract History (sometimes) matters for the location and sizes of cities and neighborhood segregation patterns within cities. Together with evidence on rapid neighborhood change and self-fulfilling expectations, this implies that nature might not completely determine the spatial structure of the economy. Instead, the spatial economy might be characterized by multiple equilibria or multiple steady-state equilibrium paths, where history and expectations can play decisive roles. Better evidence on the conditions under which history matters can help improve theory and policy analysis.


Eastern Gray Squirrel Ecology and Interactions with Western Gray Squirrels Aaron N. Johnston Chair of Supervisory Committee: Associate Director and Professor Stephen D. West School of Environmental and Forest Sciences Populations of State-threatened western gray squirrels (Sciurus griseus) have declined in areas invaded by introduced eastern gray squirrels (S. carolinensis) in the Western United States, but little is known about competitive interactions between these species. The western gray squirrel is an ecologically important member of oak woodlands, and intensive efforts to recover this species are underway in Washington. We tracked eastern and western gray squirrels with radio-telemetry for over four years to investigate resource use and interactions between species on Joint Base Lewis-McChord near Tacoma, WA. Following a pre-treatment monitoring period of 1-2 years, we experimentally removed eastern gray squirrels from two sites and monitored both species at two control sites for up to 2.5 years to measure competitive effects on western gray squirrels based on measures of spatial-partitioning, body mass, fecundity, and survival rates. We also described dietary overlap between species based on foraging observations and examination of fungal spores in fecal pellets collected from squirrels during the study. Dietary overlap for most food resources was high between eastern and western gray squirrels but they did not share space and had little overlap in their use of habitat types. Western gray squirrels were found primarily in coniferous uplands with little cover of understory vegetation, whereas eastern gray squirrels were in riparian areas with deciduous trees and dense cover of understory vegetation. Following removal treatments, few western gray squirrels used areas formerly occupied by eastern gray squirrels, and we found no increases in body mass, fecundity, or survival for western gray squirrels. Although interspecies avoidance or competitive interactions may occur in habitats suitable for both species, such habitats were rare on our study area. Coexistence of eastern and western gray squirrels appears possible where distinctly different upland and riparian habitats occur in an area.


SABET, M., A. AYNEHBAND and A. MOEZZI, 2009. Genotype and N rates effect on dry matter accumulation and mobilization in wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) in sub tropical conditions. Bulg. J. Agric. Sci., 15: 514-527 In wheat, the supply of assimilate to grain originates from current assimilation transferred directly to kernels and from the remobilization of assimilates stored temporarily in vegetative plant parts. The field experiments were conducted at the experimental farm of Faculty of Shahid Chamran University of Ahvaz, Iran, during 20082009 growing seasons. Experimental design was split-plot, N rates as main plots and wheat cultivars as sub-plots. Different stem and internode weight and length, their effects and relationships among stem segments and dry matter accumulation and mobilization were measured at 10-d intervals in 4 old and modern wheat cultivars grown under different N rates. Our results showed that, the main effect of genotype, nitrogen rate and interaction of G×N were significant. Internode length, weight, and specific weight were increased with N application. Mobilized dry matter was more in no N application than in high N application for peduncle (157 vs. 113 mg), penultimate (200 vs. 140 mg) and the lower internodes (329 vs. 190 mg). High N application decreased mobilization efficiency, expressed as percentage of maximum dry mater mobilized, in the peduncle, penultimate, and the lower internodes by 28, 19, and 35%, respectively. Therefore, partitioning of stem reserves into different internodes and their specific weights, play a key role in differences between old and modern wheat cultivars for accumulation and mobilization of dry matters. In general, the old cultivar Chenab and modern cultivar Dena showed relatively the greatest rate and extent of dry matter accumulation and subsequent mobilization in main stem. Genotypes with greater rates of dry matter accumulation and mobilization are exposed less to depressing effect of nitrogen deficiency than those with lower rates. Dry matter mobilized from all three segments of main stem in all genotypes examined in this trial increased in response to no application of N.


An essential text for the aspiring student paramedic, Fundamentals of Paramedic Practice makes paramedic science and pre-hospital care accessible, straightforward and exciting. It assumes no prior knowledge of the subject, presenting the must-have information that students need about both the theory and practice of what it means to be a paramedic. With extensive full-colour illustrations throughout, as well as activities and scenarios, this user-friendly textbook will support paramedic students throughout their course.


This paper presents some ideas which might be incorporated into a functional model of language production based on an incremental application of the semantics-to-syntax linking procedure of Role and Reference Grammar (RRG). After a brief outline of syntax, semantics and their interrelationship as seen in RRG, the idea of incrementality in language production is introduced, with particular reference to the work of Ferreira (2000). A dynamic implementation of the linking procedure for a simple sentence is then proposed. The problems raised by information (topic, focus) structure in more complex sentences are then addressed, and an example is worked through in detail. The paper concludes with a brief section which sets this work within the context of a wider research programme.


Migraine is an episodic headache disorder affecting as many as 10% of people worldwide. Familial hemiplegic migraine (FHM) is an autosomal dominant subtype of severe migraine accompanied by visual disturbances known as aura. Migrainous aura is caused by cortical spreading depression (CSD) - a slowly advancing wave of tissue depolarization in the cortex. More than half of FHM cases are caused by mutations in the CACNA1A gene, which encodes a neuronal Cav2.1 Ca2+ channel, resulting in increased Ca2+ flow into dendrites and excessive release of the excitatory neurotransmitter glutamate. In this issue of the JCI, Eikermann-Haerter et al. show that transgenic mice with FHM-associated mutations in Cacna1a have increased susceptibility to CSD compared with wild-type animals, likely due to augmentation of excitatory neurotransmission (see the related article beginning on page 99). Additional as-yet-undefined channel mutations may similarly render the migraine brain more susceptible to the initiation of CSD, with implications not only for the genesis of migraine but also for the hypoxic injury that accompanies its worst manifestation, complicated migraine.


Metabolic engineering in plants can be used to increase the abundance of specific valuable metabolites, but single-point interventions generally do not improve the yields of target metabolites unless that product is immediately downstream of the intervention point and there is a plentiful supply of precursors. In many cases, an intervention is necessary at an early bottleneck, sometimes the first committed step in the pathway, but is often only successful in shifting the bottleneck downstream, sometimes also causing the accumulation of an undesirable metabolic intermediate. Occasionally it has been possible to induce multiple genes in a pathway by controlling the expression of a key regulator, such as a transcription factor, but this strategy is only possible if such master regulators exist and can be identified. A more robust approach is the simultaneous expression of multiple genes in the pathway, preferably representing every critical enzymatic step, therefore removing all bottlenecks and ensuring completely unrestricted metabolic flux. This approach requires the transfer of multiple enzyme-encoding genes to the recipient plant, which is achieved most efficiently if all genes are transferred at the same time. Here we review the state of the art in multigene transformation as applied to metabolic engineering in plants, highlighting some of the most significant recent advances in the field.


When can a $d$-dimensional rectangular box $R$ be tiled by translates of two given $d$-dimensional rectangular bricks $B_1$ and $B_2$? We prove that $R$ can be tiled by translates of $B_1$ and $B_2$ if and only if $R$ can be partitioned by a hyperplane into two sub-boxes $R_1$ and $R_2$ such that $R_i$ can be tiled by translates of the brick $B_i$ alone $(i=1,2).$ Thus an obvious sufficient condition for a tiling is also a necessary condition. (However, there may be tilings that do not give rise to a bipartition of $R.$) There is an equivalent formulation in terms of the (not necessarily integer) edge lengths of $R,$ $B_1,$ and $B_2.$ Let $R$ be of size $z_1\times z_2\times \cdots\times z_d,$ and let $B_1$ and $B_2$ be of respective sizes $v_1\times v_2\times \cdots\times v_d$ and $w_1\times w_2\times \cdots\times w_d.$ Then there is a tiling of the box $R$ with translates of the bricks $B_1$ and $B_2$ if and only if (a) $z_i/v_i$ is an integer for $i=1,2,\ldots, d;$ or (b) $z_i/w_i$ is an integer for $i=1,2,\ldots,d;$ or (c) there is an index $k$ such that $z_i/v_i$ and $z_i/w_i$ are integers for all $i\neq k,$ and $z_k=\alpha v_k+\beta w_k$ for some nonnegative integers $\alpha$ and $\beta.$ Our theorem extends some well known results (due to de Bruijn and Klarner) on tilings of rectangles by rectangles with integer edge lengths.


Anthropogenic influences frequently produce more lasting effects on the landscape than natural forces (Hook, 1994). Many areas of the world have been altered to accommodate human needs. Throughout history, rivers have been diverted or dammed in attempts to provide safe travel routes, irrigation, or energy. Gifford Point is as much a product of human forces the need for a stable, navigable waterway as it is of the Missouri River from which it was originally formed. This study explores the factors contributing to geomorphic changes to the point during the past 100 years with emphasis on anthropogenic changes resulting from river stabilization in the 1930s. The main question posed for this study was: What geomorphic changes were produced by United States Army Corps of Engineers river channelization work and how did these changes compare to Gifford Point's pre-stabilization geomorphology? This study explored the factors contributing to that geomorphic change. The problem was approached by visually interpreting historical material such as maps, satellite imagery, and aerial photographs to determine the geomorphology prior to and after river stabilization. Substrate and dendrochronological samples obtained from an area of the point which had undergone stabilization work, along with field checks and interviews were used to verify information obtained from historical material. The shift of Gifford Point from a northeast-southwest orientation in the early 1800s to its current east-west position was illustrated by overlaying a series of historical maps (1851 1975). Aerial photographs (1938, 1972, and 1982) and a 1985 Landsat Thematic Mapper (TM) image provided information regarding landcover and geomorphic changes resulting from the United States Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) river channelization work, farming, and logging operations. Substrate samples provided a picture of the point's geologic structure and flood history. Dendrochronology played a key role in estimating when surfaces of the point stabilized above the mean-annual-ffow level and, along with historical material, helped delineate the most stable area of the point. Results indicate that anthropogenic processes have produced the most substantial changes during the past 100 years. The results also suggest that tree age corresponds well with point stabilization and can be used to estimate when surfaces first reach an elevation above-mean-annual flow. This study also provides the ground work for more selective studies of the processes affecting the point's morphology.


This paper documents an increase in the volatility of output at the firm level in the United Kingdom, in keeping with recent research for the United States. Evidence at the sectoral level suggests that this may have arisen as a result of increased product market competition. This greater volatility at the firm level has also occurred at a time of greater macroeconomic stability, commonly referred to as the 'Great Stability'. National accounts data for 31 sectors in the economy show that the fall in aggregate volatility is mostly a result of lower covariance between sectors rather than individual sectors becoming less volatile. This suggests a possible role for structural change in explaining the causes of the 'Great Stability'.


Abstract The legitimacy of international institutions has in recent years received growing interest from scholars, yet analyses of stakeholder perceptions of the legitimacy of institutions that coexist within a governance field have been few in number. Motivated by the proliferation of institutions in the field of global climate and energy governance, this study maps stakeholder perceptions of legitimate institutions and their sources of legitimacy in global renewable energy governance. Specifically, the article makes three contributions to the existing literature. Theoretically, it unpacks the legitimacy concept and offers a multidimensional conception of legitimacy. Methodologically, it captures these different dimensions of legitimacy by relying on three open survey questions. Empirically, it maps legitimacy perceptions among climate and energy experts and not only shows which institutions are considered most legitimate, but also why they are considered legitimate and how this varies between different stakeholders. The article thereby contributes to the literature on legitimacy by providing new insights into the sources of legitimacy among international institutions that operate under institutional complexity.


Occupational therapy has focused on activity as a catalyst for understanding human roles and interactions, regardless of whether disability or chronic illness is present. Parenting is an important interactional activity accompanied by specific role expectations. This investigation examined the interaction patterns of mothers with multiple sclerosis and their daughters. Thirty-one mothers with multiple sclerosis and their daughters aged 8 to 12 years were compared with 34 mothers without disabilities and their daughters aged 8 to 12 years. Videotaped mother-daughter interactions during a work task and a play task were scored by two raters for 11 different behaviors. These behaviors were collapsed into three behavioral composites--receptiveness, directiveness, and dissuasiveness--for statistical analysis. Statistical analysis revealed no significant differences between the two groups on the behavioral composites for either mothers or their daughters. The two tasks stimulated a different pattern of mother-daughter interactions. For both members of the dyad, interactions during the work task were more directive and less dissuasive than those in the play task. The clinical implication of this finding indicates the importance of understanding the influence of the task selected when observing interaction. Because of recent social and legal changes, understanding parenting and chronic illness is critical.


The Nippon Kan, a theatre hall built by Seattle's Japanese immigrants, went dark when President Roosevelt signed Executive Order 9066 in 1942, removing Americans of Japanese descent from the West Coast. Au Yong's auto-ethnographic essay addresses how nostalgia and identity affect performances in the present, incorporating voiceovers, program notes, and the ruminations of a pianist to complicate his memories of Woman, Monkey, and Kabuki Joe, which premiered at the Nippon Kan. Winner of TDR's Student Essay Contest for 2003.


Purpose – This chapter develops the case for a global Greenscape. It introduces the green global marketplace (Greenscape) to better understand the global green market.Design/methodology/approach – The chapter introduces current green market practices and adopts case study methodology to present three distinct green cases related to renewable energy, process technology and wastewater recycling and their international market activities. The chapter offers discussion on findings and incorporates the novel technique of discourse analysis using Leximancer 3.0.Findings – The case shows how the Greendex Report (2012) positions Brazil, India, China and Russia at the top of the markets for green product penetration. The developed nations of USA, France and Canada make up the bottom rankings. The chapter finds essential elements for creating the global Greenscape and marketing of green technologies.Research limitations/implications (if applicable) – Empirical research testing success pathways and destination opportunities is desirable.Practical implications (if applicable) – The 'success and failure criteria' identify how planning, patent and partnerships are essential for successful entry. Specific market research on G(reen) markets, market information, marketing functions for market entry and market diffusion for renewable products and process technologies such as supply chain elements, and how these interrelate with achieving sustainability goals is essential for successful entry.Originality/value of chapter – The chapter offers a novel and original approach to international green market penetration and offers analysis related to the new world BRIC countries that have been little explored.


This paper presents a methodology to identify the required lead time and accuracy of flow
forecasting for improving hydropower generation of a reservoir, by simulating the benefits (in terms of electricity
generated) obtained from the forecasting with varying lead times and accuracies. The benefit-lead time
relationship was investigated only for perfect inflow forecasts, with a few selected forecasting lead times: 4,
10 days and 1 year. The water level and the release from the reservoir were then optimized. Based on the optimization
results, the "threshold" lead time was identified, beyond which, further extension of the forecasting
lead time will not benefit significantly. In order to investigate the benefit-accuracy relationship, the forecasting
lead time was fixed to be 4 days, and the stochastic nature of the inflow was considered by means of generating
noised synthesized inflow series for optimization. Noised inflow series were generated to mimic the
flow forecasting with different levels of accuracy. These synthesized flow forecasting series served as input
into the optimization model to simulate the benefits. The optimization model consists of two discretized deterministic
dynamic programming (DDDP) models, one for long-term (monthly) and one for the short-term
(daily) optimization. They were coupled together so that both short-term benefits (in a time horizon of flow
forecasting lead time) and long-term benefits (in a time horizon of one year) were considered and balanced.
The Qingjiang river in China and a reservoir on its main channel were taken as case study. The results revealed
that the "threshold" lead time is about 30 days. A perfect inflow forecasting with 4 days lead time will
realize 86% of the theoretical maximum electricity generated in one year. For inflow forecasting with a fixed
lead time of 4 days and different forecasting accuracies, the benefits can increase by 3 to 11% (which is quite
substantial) compared to the actual operation benefits. It is concluded that the definition of the appropriate
lead time will depend mainly on the physical conditions of the basin and on the characteristics of the reservoir.
The derived threshold lead time (about 30 days) is not feasible with the present flow forecasting techniques,
but gives a theoretical upper limit for the extension of forecasting lead time. Criteria for the appropriate
forecasting accuracy for a specific feasible lead-time should be defined from the benefit-accuracy
relationship, starting from setting a preferred benefit level, in terms of percentage of the theoretical maximum.
Inflow forecasting with a higher accuracy does not always increase the benefits, because these also depend on
the operation strategies of the reservoir.


This article aims to address the paucity of research into the impact of social support resources – family, friends and significant others – on post-purchase emotional and cognitive dissonance amongst young consumers. For the purposes of the study, a quantitative survey was undertaken of 564 randomly selected undergraduate purchasers of smart phones at six Jordanian universities. Data analysis revealed that social support had a statistically significant impact on emotional dissonance for males in the group. It had no bearing on emotional dissonance amongst females in the survey. However, the findings indicate an influence upon levels of cognitive dissonance experienced by both males and females. Consumer cognitive dissonance appears to increase in direct proportion to levels of familial influence surrounding the purchase. This study is one of only a limited number offering empirical evidence of the effects of social support systems on post-purchase dissonance.


In the very near future, the vast majority of mobile phones will be NFC-enabled. The NFC technology, other than adding extra features to mobile devices, adds a new way for attackers to break into these. To be sure that attackers will go after this technology, it is enough to think that the killer feature foreseen for this technology it will be the possibility for the user to pay on the fly with his phone, by simply putting the smartphone in close proximity to the payment device. The aim of this paper is to draw the attention to one aspect related to the security of NFC devices, the NFC Data Exchange Format (NDEF). In this paper will be introduced techniques for testing NDEF, as well as to propose a new solution for fuzz testing NDEF on smart phones.


Designing distributed computing systems is a complex process requiring a solid understanding of the design problems and the theoretical and practical aspects of their solutions. This comprehensive textbook covers the fundamental principles and models underlying the theory, algorithms and systems aspects of distributed computing. Broad and detailed coverage of the theory is balanced with practical systems-related issues such as mutual exclusion, deadlock detection, authentication, and failure recovery. Algorithms are carefully selected, lucidly presented, and described without complex proofs. Simple explanations and illustrations are used to elucidate the algorithms. Important emerging topics such as peer-to-peer networks and network security are also considered. With state-of-the-art algorithms, numerous illustrations, examples and homework problems, this textbook is suitable for advanced undergraduate and graduate students of electrical and computer engineering and computer science. Practitioners in data networking and sensor networks will also find this a valuable resource. Additional resources are available online at www.cambridge.org/9780521876346.


This Essay, based on a keynote address prepared for delivery at the 2016 annual symposium of the Japanese American Society for Legal Studies, explores the future of the election law jurisprudence in the United States. The February 2016 death of United States Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia — a brilliant, bombastic, conservative jurist — provides an opportunity to reflect on how the ideological views of members of the Supreme Court have shaped elections and campaign rules in the United States for many decades. His death reveals that the replacement of even one Justice on a closely divided Court can flip national rules for American elections by 180 degrees.The Court's election decisions have affected everything from role of money in elections, to the rules for drawing legislative districts, to the proper judicial response to partisan manipulation of voting rules. One case in which Justice Scalia was in the majority even decided a disputed presidential election, the 2000 contest between Republican George W. Bush and Democrat Al Gore.Justice Scalia wrote strong opinions in divided election law cases, stating that limits on corporate spending in elections worked are unconstitutional censorship; that courts do not have judicially manageable tools to decide when partisan legislators take self-interest too much into account in drawing legislative districts; and that state governments should have a mostly free hand in crafting election rules, even when the rules may be chosen for partisan reasons and when they may severely burden a small number of voters. He also controversially defended the end of vote counting in the 2000 Florida election.His conservative positions stand in stark contrast with the more liberal positions that have emerged in election law cases: that courts should defer to legislatures on the need to limit money in politics; that courts have the power and tools to limit partisan excesses in redistricting; and that courts should police cutbacks in voting rights which may burden voters and be unjustified by any important state interests.Justice Scalia expressed his views with wit, intellect, sarcasm, and force, crafting rhetorically effective opinions which nonetheless usually failed to capture the votes of even one of his liberal colleagues. With his death and his potential replacement by a more liberal Justice, many of the positions he espoused could soon be repudiated, and the rules for regulating politics in the United States may change dramatically.Whether or not Justice Scalia's positions endure on the Supreme Court, his views provide a benchmark against which to judge liberal and conservative approaches to law and politics and to understand the intersection of constitutional election law jurisprudence and real political power in the coming decades.I consider the state of American election law on money in politics, partisan gerrymandering, and election administration through Justice Scalia's opinions in three major cases: Austin v. Michigan Chamber of Commerce, Vieth v. Jubelirer, and Crawford v. Marion County Election Board. I conclude with some brief thoughts on the Bush v. Gore decision ending the 2000 election and the future of American election law at the Supreme Court after Justice Scalia. I suggest that there are dangers ahead for both American democracy and the Supreme Court's legitimacy given the current combination of a Supreme Court with great power over election rules and the Court's new division not just along ideological lines but also along partisan lines. We should expect to see election rules shift along with partisan Supreme Court majorities, raising concerns about American democracy.


The RIBA Plan of Work 2013 is the definitive framework for the contemporary building design and construction process. It provides a stage-by-stage model to assist all members of the project team to manage the process from inception to completion and beyond. This practical guide explains how the RIBA Plan of Work 2013 can be applied for optimal results in construction projects, revealing the Plan of Work as much more than just a project framework. It can be used as a tool to ensure best outcomes and guide thinking across a range of key themes including whole life costs, procurement routes, BIM, and social and environmental sustainability. With useful explanations of the various stages and technical terms, this book is packed with guidance and tips for using the Plan of Work to ensure genuinely integrated projects. Intended as complementary to the RIBA Plan of Work 2013 Online, the RIBA Job Book, and Assembling the Project Team, it is aimed at construction professionals industry-wide, from architectural practices to clients and contractors, as well as students studying for their professional examinations.


For generations, automotive manufacturing has made an outsized contribution to the Canadian economy. The industry's growth was supported by active industrial policy, including an evolving combination of incentives: low-cost, high-quality labour, access to the largest market in the world, and investment inducements; and deterrents: market access and trade-related levers and threats. In recent years, many of the advantages Canada made for itself have eroded. The rise of new competitors, shifting philosophies surrounding trade, cost pressures, and a new paradigm with respect to investment incentives have challenged policy-makers. Several attributes previously considered the preserve of advanced countries like Canada are now evident in lesser developed jurisdictions, a phenomenon that this paper terms the commoditisation of automotive assembly. It is the result of standardised production processes and the automotive industry's ability to recruit top tier talent, particularly in less developed countries. This phenomenon is evident in the convergence of quality results and capital intensity across geographic boundaries and economic strata, expanding production in lesser developed countries, the emergence of luxury vehicle production in those countries, and stagnation of final assembly production in developed countries.


Perineal endometriosis is a rare disease characterized by the presence of ectopic endometrial stroma and glands in the perineum. Most commonly observed in the episiotomy scar after normal vaginal deliveries, perineal endometriosis is not often considered in the differential diagnosis of perineal masses. This could lead to unnecessary investigations and inadequate patient treatments. Scar endometriosis is an infrequent type of extrapelvic endometriosis. Scar endometriosis can be a diagnostic challenge in Fine needle aspiration cytology (FNAC) smears that at times, is the first diagnostic modality in some cases. The challenge is amplified when the clinical details are limited and cytopathological features reveal nuclear atypia.


During the Jim Crow era, the Democratic Party dominated the American South, presiding over a racially segregated society while also playing an outsized role in national politics. This book provides an entirely new understanding of electoral competition and national representation in this exclusionary one-party enclave. Challenging the notion that the Democratic Party's political monopoly inhibited competition and served only the Southern elite, the book demonstrates how Democratic primaries—even as they excluded African Americans—provided forums for ordinary whites to press their interests. Focusing on politics during and after the New Deal, the book shows that congressional primary elections effectively substituted for partisan competition, in part because the spillover from national party conflict helped compensate for the informational deficits of elections without party labels. The book draws on a broad range of historical and quantitative evidence, including archival materials, primary election returns, congressional voting records, and hundreds of early public opinion polls that illuminate ideological patterns in the Southern public. Defying the received wisdom, this evidence reveals that members of Congress from the one-party South were no less responsive to their electorates than members from states with true partisan competition. Reinterpreting a critical period in American history, this book reshapes our understanding of the role of parties in democratic theory and sheds critical new light on electoral politics in authoritarian regimes.


An extensive geophysical tool box is available with which to construct models of subsurface flow paths in complex aquifers using a combination of surface and borehole methods. These methods include electromagnetic and seismic sounding from the surface and downhole-imaging methods based on acoustic, optical, and electrical properties of rocks surrounding the borehole. However, such methods are inherently limited in hydrogeophysics because of the need to measure properties such as rock alteration or local fracture density that are indirectly related to subsurface flow rather than directly sampling the hydraulic parameters (permeability, storage coefficient, and hydraulic head) of subsurface flow paths. High-resolution borehole flow profiles provide an opportunity to relate geophysical characterization to hydraulic properties as an integral part of the standard geophysical logging program. Single-borehole flow analysis provides information on the hydraulic properties of flow paths in the limited region immediately adjacent to the borehole. Cross-borehole methods, where flow is measured in one borehole while an adjacent borehole is stressed, characterize the large-scale flow paths that connect the individual flow zones identified in individual boreholes.


The goal of this study was to assess mineralogy and pedogenic features of sand dunes in a stratigraphic sequence. The purpose was to determine whether these features significantly differ to reflect age differences with depth within the sequence. This study was conducted in Montaña de Oro State Park, located on the central Californian coast eighteen kilometers northwest of San Luis Obispo in San Luis Obispo County. Samples were collected from the vertical exposure of one dune face by stratified random sampling at 1.0-m vertical intervals. Particle size distribution was determined through particle-size analysis by hydrometer and sieve. Electrical conductivity and pH were determined using a 1:1 soil/water paste. Total soil carbon and nitrogen contents were determined by combustion. Pedogenic iron oxides were extracted by ammonium oxalate in the dark and citrate-bicarbonate-dithionite, and then quantified by flame atomic absorption spectrometry. Sand mineralogy of fifteen thin sections was analyzed by polarized light microscopy. Grain counts quantified the sand mineralogy of the thin sections. Total carbon significantly decreases with soil depth and age reflecting modern development of soil at 0 to 1 meters within the stratigraphic sequence. Certain morphologic and mineralogic features, including an increase in nitrogen content and the presence of fossilized fungal hyphae, suggest that a buried A horizon may be preserved 9 to 10 meters below the crest of the modern dune complex. Using relative dates compiled from previous research, it was determined that the soil at 9 to 10 meters depth was developed 15-ka to 30-ka after sand deposition during a eustatic sea level lowstand. The presence of fossils in general suggests that the ancient soil was rapidly covered. v ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS


What is the best way to govern ourselves? The history of the West has been shaped by the struggle to answer this question, according to Pierre Manent. A major achievement by one of Europe's most influential political philosophers, "Metamorphoses of the City" is a sweeping interpretation of Europe's ambition since ancient times to generate ever better forms of collective self-government, and a reflection on what it means to be modern.Manent's genealogy of the nation-state begins with the Greek city-state, the "polis." With its creation, humans ceased to organize themselves solely by family and kinship systems and instead began to live politically. Eventually, as the "polis" exhausted its possibilities in warfare and civil strife, cities evolved into empires, epitomized by Rome, and empires in turn gave way to the universal Catholic Church and finally the nation-state. Through readings of Aristotle, Augustine, Montaigne, and others, Manent charts an intellectual history of these political forms, allowing us to see that the dynamic of competition among them is a central force in the evolution of Western civilization.Scarred by the legacy of world wars, submerged in an increasingly technical transnational bureaucracy, indecisive in the face of proliferating crises of representative democracy, the European nation-state, Manent says, is nearing the end of its line. What new metamorphosis of the city will supplant it remains to be seen.


Ultra-wide bandwidth (UWB) is a prospective radio technology for wireless networks. As being approval by FCC, UWB radio has received much attention. In this paper, we propose a new multiple access protocol for time-hopping UWB ad-hoc network. As UWB system is a carrier-less impulse radio system, it is cumbersome to implement the carrier sensing capability needed in popular approaches such as carrier-sense, multiple access with collision avoidance (CSMA/CA) MAC protocols. The novel multiple access scheme to detect the busy medium and reduce the probability of collisions in TH UWB ad-hoc network is given out and evaluated. In UWB TH modulation, the spreading codes for target node are used. In our scheme, another binary PN sequence according to the destination node is also added to the modulation scheme to sense the busy medium before transmission. Communications outside the definition of directly transmission region (DTR) have to relay over intermediate nodes.


Food factors (FF) are nutrients and other related substances present in processed foods for special dietary uses related to health promotion and disease prevention. Due to the nutritional and other favorable effects of FF, their health risk assessment is more complex than the established food safety risk assessment (FSRA) that addresses excessive intakes of food additives and contaminants. For FF, risk assessment adds a new dimension to also address risks posed by inadequate intake of these food constituents, and is referred to as nutritional risk assessment (NRA). NRA consists of the four standard steps of FSRA: hazard identification, hazard characterization, intake assessment and risk characterization. The added challenges in NRA of FF include: 1) identification of target chemicals for assessment, 2) availability of data on critical biological activities, 3) occurrence of FF in total diet, and 4) information on lower limits and upper limits of daily intakes. Resveratrol, an extensively marketed red wine antioxidant, is used as an example to illustrate the complexity and challenges in the health risk assessment of a FF in a functional food product.


Terahertz (THz) radiation can be generated more efficiently from a low-temperature-grown GaAs (LT-GaAs) photoconductive (PC) antenna by considering the two-photon absorption (TPA) induced photo-carrier in the photoconductor. A rate-equation-based approach using the Drude-Lorentz model taking into account the band-diagram of LT-GaAs is used for the theoretical analysis. The use of transform-limited pulses at the PC antenna is critical experimentally. Previously unnoticed THz pulse features and anomalously increasing THz radiation power rather than saturation were observed. These are in good agreement with the theoretical predictions. The interplay of intensity dependence and dynamics of generation of photoexcited carriers by single-photon absorption and TPA for THz emission is discussed.


This volume presents the most important portions of Erwin Goodenough's classic thirteen-volume work, a magisterial attempt to encompass human spiritual history in general through the study of Jewish symbols in particular. Revealing that the Jewish religion of the period was much more varied and complex than the extant Talmudic literature would lead us to believe, Goodenough offered evidence for the existence of a Hellenistic-Jewish mystic mythology far closer to the Qabbalah than to rabbinical Judaism.Originally published in 1989.The Princeton Legacy Library uses the latest print-on-demand technology to again make available previously out-of-print books from the distinguished backlist of Princeton University Press. These paperback editions preserve the original texts of these important books while presenting them in durable paperback editions. The goal of the Princeton Legacy Library is to vastly increase access to the rich scholarly heritage found in the thousands of books published by Princeton University Press since its founding in 1905.


Filipinos are among the first migrant groups that came to work in Italy, starting from the late 70s. The first wave of migrant workers, majority of them women, did not bring their families with them. But the family reunification program of the government has recently encouraged more Filipinos to bring their children to Italy, especially before they reach 18 years of age. Children who are brought to Italy, the so-called 1.25 and 1.5 generations, i.e., from about 10-18 years old, seem to experience more difficulties adjusting and integrating into Italian schools, even in re-connecting to their parents in Italy. This study undertook a literature review of the situation of migrant children and youth in the United States (US) and in Europe, particularly Italy, in terms of their integration and performance in school and in their families, and their identity formation. Two focus group discussions were also conducted with eleven (11) Filipino youths aged 14-20 who were petitioned by their parents to join them in Italy. Findings from the FGDs support previous studies that show the emotional difficulties faced by migrant children as indicated by communication problems and lack of closeness with their absentee parents. Further, the lack of adequate grounding in speaking and understanding the Italian language as well as socio-psychological preparation greatly impede the migrant youth's capacity to cope with school and to socialize with the Italian natives. They experience difficulties in schools and recognize the advantages of the Philippine educational system. Nevertheless, they firmly intend to remain in Italy so they could be with their parents. They have definite ambitions to finish their studies in order to find good employment and take over the income-earning responsibility from their parents.


This paper explores the evolution of the United Nations Convention on the International Sale of Goods (referred to throughout the text as the "CISG" or the "Convention") jurisprudence through the Willem C Vis Moot ("Vis Moot") casebook. It analyses the CISG issues raised and explored in the seventeen years of the Willem C Vis Moot and draws out notable trends and key themes. Upon the analysis of the trends and themes which have arisen over the past seventeen years, the dissertation discusses how the Vis Moot problems, as well as the winning memoranda, reflect and encapsulate the evolution and developments in the worldwide application and interpretation of the CISG in those areas. The analysis of the Vis Moot problems is thus used as a tool to consider the worldwide jurisprudential developments on the CISG over the past two decades, and identify both those aspects of the Convention that have benefited from considerable analysis, and where comprehensive jurisprudence has already developed, as well as the "gap" areas where further work is required in order to ensure the CISG evolves alongside technological, social, political and legal developments affecting international sale of goods contracts. The dissertation concludes by drawing out the notable trends illustrated by, and set against the backdrop of, the Vis Moot casebook, and the consequent implications of such trends on the current state ofCISG jurisprudence. In particular, these trends and outcomes are assessed as against the overall spirit of the Convention and its goal of achieving, or seeking to achieve, uniform application of rules on international sale of goods contracts. This assessment seeks to capture how this goal of uniformity has been achieved to-date, and where the upcoming challenges may lie in the coming years. Finally, the paper considers the overall importance and impact of the Vis Moot, as an annual global event with manifold benefits, on the interpretation, promotion and development of the CISG.


As the Internet's hourglass architecture connects various resources to various applications, an infrastructure that collects information from various social signals can support an ever-evolving set of socially aware applications and services. Among the proposed infrastructure's features are social sensors to capture and interpret social signals from user interactions, a personal social information aggregator, and a set of social-inference functions as its API for social applications.


Business processes –the next generation workflowshave attracted considerable research interest in the last fifteen years. More recently, several XML-based languages have been proposed for specifying and orchestrating business processes, resulting in the WS-BPEL language. Even if WS-BPEL has been developed to specify automated business processes that orchestrate activities of multiple Web services, there are many applications and situations requiring that people be considered as additional participants that can influence the execution of a process. Significant omissions from WS-BPEL are the specification of activities that require interactions with humans to be completed, called human activities, and the specification of authorization information associating users with human activities in a WS-BPEL business process and authorization constraints, such as separation of duty, on the execution of human activities. In this chapter, we address these deficiencies by introducing a new type of WS-BPEL activity to model human activities and by developing RBAC-WS-BPEL, a role based access control model for WS-BPEL and BPCL, a language to specify authorization constraints. DOI: 10.4018/978-1-4666-2136-7.ch015


Over recent years, the food industry has striven to reduce waste, mostly because of rising awareness of the detrimental environmental impacts of food waste. While the edible oils market (mostly represented by soybean oil) is forecasted to reach 632 million tons by 2022, there is increasing interest to produce non-soybean, plant-based oils including, but not limited to, coconut, flaxseed and hemp seed. Expeller pressing and organic solvent extractions are common methods for oil extraction in the food industry. However, these two methods come with some concerns, such as lower yields for expeller pressing and environmental concerns for organic solvents. Meanwhile, supercritical CO2 and enzyme-assisted extractions are recognized as green alternatives, but their practicality and economic feasibility are questioned. Finding the right balance between oil extraction and phytochemical yields and environmental and economic impacts is challenging. This review explores the advantages and disadvantages of various extraction methods from an economic, environmental and practical standpoint. The novelty of this work is how it emphasizes the valorization of seed by-products, as well as the discussion on life cycle, environmental and techno-economic analyses of oil extraction methods.


In today's global knowledge economy, progressive companies must be equipped with a good balance of internal knowledge, both in scope and depth, and must adapt to the rapidly changing business environment. The ability of an organisation to manage knowledge as a corporate strategy is becoming a key competitive advantage. The essence of building an organisation's strength or capability in strategic knowledge management is to deepen the understanding of the exploitation and exploration of knowledge. The impact of strategic knowledge management on organisations embarking on such initiatives will be significant. This is particularly C N C ~ when organisations are. focusing their efforts on improving the performance of their supply chains. Several organisations, implementing supply chain management improvements, have generated savings of millions of rands. This has prompted the CEO's of organisations to shift from individual company performance to what is called supply chain performance. Supply chain performance refers to the extended supply chain's activities in meeting end-customer requirements, including product availability, on-time delivery, and all the necessary inventory and capacity in the supply chain to deliver that performance in a responsive manner. Supply chain performance crosses company boundaries since it includes basic materials, components, subassemblies and finished products, and distribution through various channels to the end customer. It also crosses traditional functional organisation lines such as procurement, manufacturing, distribution, marketing & sales, and research & development. Therefore, increasing international cooperation, vertical integration, along with a focus on core activities, have led to the notion that fums are links in a networked supply chain. This novel perspective has created the challenge of designing and managing a network of interdependent relationships, developed and fostered through strategic collaboration. Despite various attempts to identify stumbling blocks in the path towards improved performance and competitiveness in the non-ferrous foundry industry, no research attempt has yet been made towards a systematic development of a supply chain management strategy. This study identifies and consolidates various supply chain initiatives and factors to develop key supply chain management constructs conducive to advancing the field in the industry. An extensive literature study was undertaken to identify effective supply chain management practices and to develop constructs that could be used in the supply chain management strategy. A questionnaire was then developed based on these different constructs and circulated among industry members to determine their perception of the validity and usage of these supply chain management constructs in their own firms. These constructs would then form the basis for the supply chain management strategy. Furthermore, the results were then discussed to identify any shortfalls or areas for improvement and the possible reasons for these shortcomings. It was found that there is a clear shortfall or uncertainty in the use of information technology as a tool to improve the supply chain performance. There was also no clear indication that the respondents knew the benefits that could be realised from using an information system that could supply information fiom the entire supply chain. Another shortfall that was identified was the willingness to collaborate across the whole supply chain. The respondents were also, very undecided about the use of cross-functional teams, supplier involvement and logistics integration. This paper also describes the characteristics, competitive factors and supply chain management issues related to a non-ferrous foundry as part of the entire supply chain. Despite the industry members W i g aware of most of these issues, there was a clear requirement to integrate these supply chain management processes. The management of knowledge throughout the supply chain was identified as critical to achieving competitive advantage.


Recent rapid immigration of a diverse group of migrant children into an almost exclusively White Irish school population makes Ireland an interesting case study for migrant education. This article explores key points in the careers of migrant secondary school students in Ireland from an equality perspective. The article draws on data gathered as a part of a large-scale study specifically designed to investigate provision for migrant children in Irish schools. The results of the study show that migrant students in Ireland face a number of educational barriers in terms of access to schools, placement in classes, year groups and types of secondary school programme. This disadvantage is likely to impact on their future life-chances in terms of progress to further education and their place in the labour market, as well as their general social positioning in the Irish society.


We investigated the influence of trophic status on the lipid content and polychlorinated biphenyl (PCB) concentrations in planktonic food webs from 19 lakes in southern Sweden. The lipid content in phytoplankton (10-45 mum), microzooplankton (45-150 mum) and large macrozooplankton (>500 mum) was negatively related to the total phosphorus (Tot-P) concentration in lakes. The lipid content in macrozooplankton (>150 Gem) and young-of-the-year roach (Rutilus rutilus) was not related to Tot-P in lakes. On a dry mass basis (ng/g dry mass), the sum of PCB concentrations in phytoplankton and microzooplankton was negatively related to Tot-P in lakes. Thus, the PCB concentrations in phytoplankton and microzooplankton were explained by the decreasing lipid content of these fractions with increasing trophic status of lakes; and when normalized to lipid content (ng/g extractable lipid) we found no differences in PCB concentrations among lakes. We conclude that the lipid content of phytoplankton increased with increased nutrient stress, explaining the negative relationship between lake trophy and phytoplankton organochlorine (OC) concentrations on a dry mass basis. The relationship found between lipids and lake trophy in producers was not transferred in the food chain. (Less)


Acyl carrier protein (ACP) is a universal and highly conserved carrier of acyl intermediates during fatty acid biosynthesis. The molecular mechanisms of regulation of the acpP structural gene, as well as the function of its gene product, are poorly characterized in Bacillus subtilis and other Gram-positive organisms. Here, we report that transcription of acpP takes place from two different promoters: PfapR and PacpP. Expression of acpP from PfapR is coordinated with a cluster of genes involved in lipid synthesis (the fapR operon); the operon consists of fapR-plsX-fabD-fabG-acpP. PacpP is located immediately upstream of the acpP coding sequence, and is necessary and sufficient for normal fatty acid synthesis. We also report that acpP is essential for growth and differentiation, and that ACP localizes in the mother-cell compartment of the sporangium during spore formation. These results provide the first detailed characterization of the expression of the ACP-encoding gene in a Gram-positive bacterium, and highlight the importance of this protein in B. subtilis physiology.


The high proliferation of mobile instant messaging (MIM) among university students creates opportunities for a new wave of mobile learning. However, correlational methods for assessing factors that influence student performance impacts on MIM platforms for learning are blurry. The task-technology fit theory has been widely used in the past in predicting performance impacts of users after using new technology. Despite the momentum gained by this framework in the information systems community, it lacks focus on user characteristics. The purpose of this study is to develop an extended model for task-technology fit through an integration of individual antecedent characteristics. Data were collected from 223 participants using a survey questionnaire. The analysis was performed using the partial least squares approach to structural equation modelling. The findings of the study confirmed the original task-technology fit hypotheses considered in this study. Study findings associated with individual antecedent characteristics indicate that perceived ease of use and perceived usefulness of the academic use of the MIM positively influence task-technology fit, while social influence was found to have no significant bearing on task-technology fit.


Chlorophyll-a (chl-a) concentration is considered to be the main measure of phytoplankton biomass. The location and intensity of the surface chl-a maximum in a coastal area are governed by daylight hours, air and seawater temperatures, and nutrient availability in the euphotic zone. The aim of this study is to model a back-propagation neural network (BP-ANN) for estimating chlorophyll-a concentrations from obtained input values. In this study an ANN structure of 3 input neurons and 1 output neuron is used. The 3 inputs represent sea surface temperature (SST), air temperature, and daylight hours, while the output represents chl-a concen- tration respectively and hidden layers number which is dependent to the application is determined as 20. The ANN structure, which is simulated in MATLAB, estimated the data of the experiments. When compared to current data, it can be said that these are successful results and they provide ANN for estimating chl-a. In our ANN approach, the effects of all input/output parameters can be evaluated and various outputs can be obtained for different environments and predicted maximum chl-a data.


There is disagreement in the literature about the exact nature of the phenomenon of empathy. There are emotional, cognitive, and conditioning views, applying in varying degrees across species. An adequate description of the ultimate and proximate mechanism can integrate these views. Proximately, the perception of an object's state activates the subject's corresponding representations, which in turn activate somatic and autonomic responses. This mechanism supports basic behaviors (e.g., alarm, social facilitation, vicariousness of emotions, mother-infant responsiveness, and the modeling of competitors and predators) that are crucial for the reproductive success of animals living in groups. The Perception-Action Model (PAM), together with an understanding of how representations change with experience, can explain the major empirical effects in the literature (similarity, familiarity, past experience, explicit teaching, and salience). It can also predict a variety of empathy disorders. The interaction between the PAM and prefrontal functioning can also explain different levels of empathy across species and age groups. This view can advance our evolutionary understanding of empathy beyond inclusive fitness and reciprocal altruism and can explain different levels of empathy across individuals, species, stages of development, and situations.


An optimum multiparameter (OMP) analysis was applied to samples collected during a cruise in the northeast North Atlantic with the aim of objectively defining water mass realms and calculating water mass mixing‐weighted average (archetypal) concentrations of dissolved organic carbon (DOC) and nitrogen (DON) and fluorescent dissolved organic matter (FDOM). The profile of archetypal DOC, which retains the basin‐scale variability from the formation area of the water masses to the study area, was modeled with a constant initial concentration of 60 ± 1 mmol kg−1 that decreased linearly with increasing apparent oxygen utilization (AOU) at a rate of −0.20 ± 0.03 mol C per mol of AOU. The archetypal C:N ratio of dissolved organic matter was also modeled with a constant initial molar ratio of 11.5 ± 0.4 that increased at a rate of 0.06 ± 0.01 per μmol kg−1 of AOU. The profile of archetypal FDOM was modeled with a constant initial humic‐like fluorescence of 0.54 ± 0.07 quinine sulfate units that increased at a rate of 0.009 ± 0.001 g equivalent of quinine sulphate per mol of AOU. Only the Denmark Strait Overflow Water departed from this behavior because of the marked terrestrial influence of Arctic rivers during the formation of this water mass. The variability not explained by the archetypal concentrations, which retain the local variability, suggesting that N‐poor DOM was mineralized in the study area, and that the efficiency of the local production of humic‐like substances was directly proportional to the ventilation of the corresponding water mass realms.


The spatial heterogeneity in the structure and the productivity of the vegetation was examined in a tall fescue (Festuca arundinacea Schreb.) pasture rotationally grazed at four stocking densities in the Pampean region of Argentina. The examined pasture was grazed at the stocking densities of 3.6, 4.6, 5.6 and 6.6 animals ha ‐1 with a two-paddock 14-day rotational grazing system. Spatial distribution of plant height was examined as well as the percentages of short patch area (heavily utilized patches) or tall patch area (areas ungrazed or lightly defoliated). In addition, biomass, growth rate and relative growth rate were assessed for both short and tall patches. Grazing generated patchiness in vegetation structure and growth at all stocking densities. Increased stocking density caused an increase in the percentage of the short patch area in the paddocks. Short patches had relatively less live biomass than tall ones, but their relative growth rate was 31% higher than that of tall patches (0.021 ± 0.007 vs 0.016 ± 0.005 g DM g DM ‐1 day ‐1 ). The increase in stocking density enlarged the proportion of short patch areas with higher relative growth rate. The relative growth rate (average between short and tall patches) of the two highest stocking densities was 61.7% higher than that of the low stocking density treatments (0.023 ± 0.006 vs 0.014 ± 0.004 g DM g DM ‐1 day ‐1 ). Although the growth rate of the short patches did not exceed the value of the tall patches, the high value of relative growth rate appeared to indicate a higher photosynthetic capacity of the short patches. Moreover, live biomass did not decrease during the experimental period even in the short patch areas showing that, in the particular conditions of our study, overgrazing did not occur at the range of the stocking density examined.


Magnesium doped strontium formate dihydrate crystals were grown by slow evaporation method. The optimized growth parameters for growing these crystals were determined. The grown crystals were characterized by EDAX, XRD, FTIR and TGA studies. EDAX studies confirmed the entry of the magnesium into the crystal lattice. XRD studies showed that the lattice volume of strontium formate dihydrate crystals increase with doping concentration. Thermogravimetric analysis results obtained showed that the grown crystals were dihydrate. We herein present the results obtained.


This paper analyses a group of 278 "founders" of business active in the United Kingdom during the twentieth century, biographies of whom are included in the Dictionary of Business Biography and Dictionary of Scottish Business Biography. All of the businessmen in this group were highly successful in their field, and the analysis aims to identify common factors behind their success and whether they managed to retain control of the firms they built up. In general, the unspectacular virtues of hard work and basic skills are the only identifiable causes of success; only in a few cases were personal contacts, or strokes of luck, or even help from relations, of crucial significance. Most managed to retain control of their business for a long as they cared to exercise it. The paper concludes that the dazzling rise and occasional crashing fall of the few "showmen" entrepreneurs on whom the press tends to focus attention can mislead into believing that exceptional success must be due to exceptional circumstances or an outstanding personality. An appendix provides a profile of the background and career patterns of the "founders" in the Dictionaries compared with those of "heirs" and "managers".


Moose (Alces alces) populations have experienced unprecedented declines along the southern periphery of their range, including Vermont, USA. Habitat management may be used to improve the status of the population and health of individuals. To date, however, Vermont wildlife managers have been challenged to effectively use this important tool due to the lack of fine-scale information on moose space use and habitat characteristics. To assess habitat use, we combined more than 40,000 moose locations collected from radio-collared individuals (n = 74), recent land cover data, and high resolution, 3-dimensional lidar (light detection and ranging) data to develop Resource Utilization Functions (RUF) by age (mature and young adult), season (dormant and growth), and sex. Each RUF linked home range use to average habitat conditions within 400 m or 1 km of each 30 m2 pixel within the home range. Across analyses, the top RUF models included both composition (as measured through the National Land Cover Database) and structure (as measured through lidar) variables, and significantly outperformed models that excluded lidar variables. These findings support the notion that lidar is an effective tool for improving the ability of models to estimate patterns of habitat use, especially for larger bodied mammals. Generally speaking, female moose actively used areas with proportionally more regenerating forest (i.e., forage < 3.0 m) and more mature forest (i.e., canopy structure > 6.0 m), while males actively used more high elevation, mixed forest types. Further, moose exhibited important seasonal differences in habitat use that likely reflect temporal changes in energetic and nutritional requirements and behavior across the year. Moose used areas with proportionally more regenerating forest (i.e., forage < 3.0 m) during the growth period and female moose had strong positive associations with lidar-derived canopy structure during the growth (but not the dormant) period. Ultimately, the resultant maps of habitat use provide a means of informing management activities (e.g., the restoration or alteration of habitats to benefit moose) and policies around land use that may contribute to population recovery. ALCES VOL. 57: 71–98 (2021)


The effect of exposing WHT mice bearing the Fib/T tumor to a low-oxygen environment (8, 10, and 15% oxygen) for 48 h or 72 h before irradiation was compared, using an in vitro colony-forming excision assay, to the effect obtained when mice were pretreated with air. The response of the Fib/T tumor to radiation delivered in air was improved both by a 48-h and by a 72-h exposure of the animals to 8, 10, and 15% oxygen. However, the greatest tumor sensitization was achieved when mice were kept in 8% oxygen for 48 h before irradiation. These results are interpreted and discussed in relation to increases in the 2,3-DPG concentration, which were shown to occur when mice were exposed to a reduced oxygen environment. The relative importance of two models proposed to explain these findings is assessed. If mice pretreated with air were irradiated in hyperbaric oxygen, a similar tumor response was observed compared to that when mice were exposed to 8% oxygen for 48 h and then irradiated in air.


Using a high-temperature superconducting (HTS) coil as the transmitting coil is an optional way to increase the efficiency and the distance of a wireless power transfer (WPT) system. In practical cases, receiving coils might be not only one, or not convenient to get a low-temperature environment, or not in the same sizes with the transmitting coil. Thus, we constructed a WPT system from one HTS coil to two copper coils, and one of the copper receiving coils had a different size from the HTS transmitting coil. In addition, we placed one HTS relaying coil between the transmitting coil and the receiving coils to increase the efficiency and the distance. Based on this system, we conducted several experiments and analyzed the results. We found that a denser coil could obtain more power in an HTS WPT system and that WPT from one HTS coil to two copper coils was more efficient than WPT from the same HTS coil to one of the two copper coils. We also demonstrated that an appropriate layout of the HTS relaying coil can increase the HTS WPT efficiency.


Abstract : Ever since President Obama announced that the United States would begin drawing down its forces in Afghanistan, the news and commentary on our counterinsurgency efforts have reenergized the discourse on COIN, strategy, and the future of that now painful cliche called population-centric COIN. For the last several years we have heard arguments and observed the practical scholarship of the so-called COINdanistas such as John Nagl and David Kilcullen. We have witnessed various spins on how best to operationalize the COIN objectives of defeating an insurgency and creating stability. Some, such as Mark Moyar, have taken a different approach than specific focus on the population and examined the importance of identifying and empowering the best leadership as the key to a COIN campaign. More recently, we have witnessed the rise of an anti-COIN movement led in spirit and voice by Army Colonel Gian Gentile. The COINtras disparage the very idea of counterinsurgency because the most recent policies pursued in Iraq and Afghanistan failed to nest with their conception of good strategy and the fundamental purpose of our armed forces. Yet despite the energy and proliferation of the COIN discourse by all of these very intelligent and credible scholars, there remains a void, virtually ignored by scholars and pundits alike. That void is filled by the questions surrounding the actual organization of COIN campaigns. In other words, once strategic leaders have determined that the defeat of an insurgency (foreign or domestic) and the establishment of internal stability represent our desired end-state, how should one organize the campaign to best operationalize the critical tasks that bring victory?


We analyzed the first samples of Neoarchean mantle fluid captured as inclusions in fibrous diamonds from the 2.701–2.697 Ga Wawa metaconglomerate (Canada). The K-, Na-, and Cl-rich carbonate-bearing saline fluid inclusions bear a strong resemblance to those of Phanerozoic fibrous diamonds. This similarity in major and trace elements, volatile components, and nitrogen characteristics implies the uniformitarian extension of some mantle processes, including the formation of fluid-rich fibrous diamonds, back to the Neoarchean. Low initial Sr isotope ratios ( 87 Sr/ 86 Sr i = 0.700–0.702) for the diamonds at 2.7 Ga are within error of estimates of Archean depleted mantle or bulk silicate Earth at 2.7 Ga, consistent with a non-enriched, convecting mantle/group I kimberlite-like source of the fluid. Eu anomalies occur in both Neoarchean and Phanerozoic saline fibrous diamond fluid, but not in silicic or carbonatitic fluid varieties. This restriction suggests that interaction with Cl-rich fluid may lead to Eu anomalies in mantle rocks, which therefore should not be automatically assigned to a subduction origin when a petrogenetic history involving saline fluids is suspected.


Fungi are some of the most important organisms on earth, with considerable industrial and ecological importance, and yet they are probably some of the most poorly studied groups. Springer's Fungal Diversity Research Series which is a continuation of the series published by Fungal Diversity Press is committed to publishing high-quality compilations and books concerning various aspects of fungal biology including dedicated texts on groups of the fungal kingdom as well as on groups of organisms usually studied by mycologists. The series encourages contributions on basic and applied mycology, including monographs, ecology compilations, methodology compilations and edited books dealing with cutting edge research. The series is particularly interested in providing an outlet for important environmental topics in mycology such as effects of global warming on fungi and endangered species. Volumes published in the series will include both multidisciplinary studies with a broad range of coverage, as well as more focused indepth analyses of a particular issues of mycology. By bringing these important organisms to the forefront in print in the Springer Fungal Diversity Research Series we aim to increase awareness of these essential organisms.


The coal-fired power plant of the National Power Corporation (NAPOCOR) in Calaca, Batangas emits an estimated 62.62 tons of coal combustion products (CCPs) per hour on a 24-hour daily basis. Like other coal power plants, the continuous disposal of coal combustions products such as fly ash, bottom ash and boiler slag in landfills or surface impounds creates environmental problems to people living in the neighboring areas. The accumulation of these by products poses a significant environmental risk at the rate these byproducts are being generated. The objective of this study is to determine the engineering properties of Calaca, Batangas bottom ash. These engineering properties can be used to find and assess the possible ways of utilizing and maximizing the potential of such byproduct in a manner that is both environmentally friendly as well as economically viable. Apart from solving the environmental problems related to its disposal, the use of coal combustion byproduct also saves natural resources and energy because it makes waste materials useful through recycling. This study focuses on the determination of the chemical composition, as well as physical and mechanical properties of bottom ash. Keywords: Coal Combustion Byproducts, Bottom ash.


This paper tries to examine and discuss the problems, challenges and Benefits of implementing E-Learning in Nigeria by reviewing the consciousness and willingness of the selected Universities. This study also identifies the enabling factors, the traffic-jam and, forecasts the future growth of E-learning in Nigeria. Survey research method was adopted for the study, and questionnaire was the only instrument used for the data collection. The findings of the study show that out of the 18 universities selected from different specialization areas, i.e three universities from each Geopolitical zone, only 12 responded with usable answers. The response rate was 67%, which is an expected rate for such surveys. Awareness of e-learning among the Universities is very high but investment and commitment to develop an e-learning application is very poor and below expectation according to the study. Most of the staff and students in the universities only use Internet related e- learning site just for the sake of finding related information for their researches, since their libraries cannot afford to provide them with adequate and current materials but not for the sake of real online learning. The study also found out that some of the universities have web page and others are in the trend of creating a web page, which is usually for advertisement of the universities but not for the e-leaning activities. Furthermore, the findings also reveal that staff and the students have also been using e-mail and Internet in addition to developing web pages for transaction of students. The Universities are planning to invest number of funds in future in the selected areas of the e-learning application. The Statistical analysis result shows that there are significant differences across both forms of e-learning activities and type of universities in Nigeria.


The researchers conducted an exploratory qualitative case study to describe the gesturing processes of tutors and students when engaging in secondary mathematics. The use of gestures ranged in complexity from simple gestures, such as pointing and moving the pointing finger in an arching motion to demonstrate mathematics relationships within equations (e.g., distributive property), to more elaborate gestures such as using arm movements to demonstrate spatial relationships in multi-step geometry problems. These gestures were used both in isolation and in combination with research-supported special education interventions such as helping students with learning disabilities to organize their cognitive process and diagram problems. Findings from this study are described with regards to the potential role gesturing may provide as a support for students with learning disabilities as they engage in challenging mathematics.


Understanding the electronic and phononic transport properties of junctions consisting of a scattering region such as a nanoscale region or molecule connected two or more electrodes is the central basis for future nano and molecular scale applications. The theoretical and mathematical techniques to treat electron and phonon transport are leading to model the physical properties of nano and molecular scale junctions. In this thesis, I use these methods not only to understand the experimental observations by experimental collaborators, but also to develop strategies to design and engineer molecular electronic building blocks, thermoelectric devices and sensors. In this thesis, after a discussion about the theoretical methods used to model electron and phonon transport through the nanoscale junctions, I cover four main results in the areas of molecular sensing, new graphene-based molecular junctions, quantum interference rules and thermoelectricity (or thermal management). I demonstrate the discriminating sensing properties of new bilayer-graphene, sculpturene-based nano-pore devices for DNA sequencing. A unique and novel signal processing method is presented to selectively sense the nucleobases based on direct electrical current. Then I consider a newly developed platform for single-molecule device fabrication based on electro-burnt graphene nano-junctions, which allows three terminal device realization at a single molecule level with gating capability. I provide a fundamental understanding of transport phenomena in these junctions. Furthermore, I discuss our newly developed mid-gap transport theory for single molecules, where in the weak coupling regime and in the vicinity of the middle of the HOMO and LUMO gap, a minimal parameter-free theory of the connectivity dependent transport and quantum interference could be used to model conductance measurements in polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons. After these discussion of the electronic properties of the junctions, I consider the phonon transport through the nano and molecular scale devices. This allows me to identify strategies for controlling the transmission of phonons from one side of the junction to another for both low-power thermoelectric and thermal management devices.


One of the challenges with CFD simulations of metal AM is to properly model
the temperature dependent surface tension force driving the melt pool flow. High
density ratio multiphase flows, as between the gas and the liquid metal in melt pool
flow, are considered difficult to model due to the generation of spurious currents
at the interface. At Fraunhofer Chalmers Center (FCC) a state-of-the-art CFD
solver, IBOFlow is developed. In this project the existing surface tension framework
in IBOFlow is improved and extended. A temperature dependent surface tension
model together with a thermo-capillary force is proposed. The new surface tension
framework is assessed and validated so that the melt pool dynamics of metal AM is
accurately modeled.
Different curvature estimation techniques and a technique for calculating the interface
normal direction are thoroughly tested and evaluated in order to reduce the
influence of spurious currents on the results. The numerically calculated curvature
and pressure is evaluated and validated against analytical results for a case involving
a static droplet in equilibrium. Further more a temperature dependent surface tension
model is also proposed and validated together with a thermo-capillary surface
tension force. The benchmark case to evaluate the temperature dependent surface
tension and the thermo-capillary surface tension force include a comparison with
thermo-capillary cavity flow.
The result of the static droplet case show a substantial improvement when calculating
the interface curvature and pressure difference across the interface, with results
in line with exact analytical calculations. Furthermore, these improvements also
substantially reduce the spurious currents around the interface. The temperature
dependent surface tension model and the thermo-capillary surface tension force are
validated against an analytical solution and compared to other numerical results of
the thermo-capillary cavity flow. The results show perfect agreement with analytical
values and outperform other numerical studies on the subject. The improved and
extended surface tension framework is then used to demonstrate simulate a single
line melt of a selective laser melting process on a powder bed.


Since the 1950s children have proven to be among the most effective and enduring
antagonists in the popular horror film, beginning with Rhoda Penmark (Patty
McCormack) of The Bad Seed (1956) and the space-invader infants of Village of the
Damned (1960), and progressing to the possessed child (Linda Blair) of The Exorcist
(1973) and, more recently, the psychic ghost-girl Samara (Daveigh Chase) of The Ring
(2002). Using theoretical approaches adopted from Marxism, feminism, film theory and
cultural studies, this thesis analyses representations of the "child antagonist" in the
horror film across the late twentieth and early twenty-first centuries.
In contrast with the traditionally innocent characterisations of the child in
Western film and literature, the child antagonist brings to the surface the complexities
and contradictions underlying the apparently hannless meanings readily attributed to
the child. This thesis identifies the social and cinematic discourses in which the horror
film situates children. In particular, it demonstrates that the portrayal and behaviour of
child antagonists enables theorisation of the key discourses that construct popular
understandings of childhood, including innocence, class, gender, sexuality, consumer
culture, and parenting. Readings of The Bad Seed and Village of the Damned discuss
the use of child antagonists as representatives of class conflict; an examination of It 's
Alive (1974) considers monstrous offspring as reflections of paternal masculinity;
discussions of The Brood (1979) and The Ring demonstrate the child antagonist's
grounding in ideas of motherhood; an analysis of Alien (1979) considers the film's
creature as a manifestation of anxieties about reproductive technologies; and a chapter
on Hard Candy (2005) addresses the evolution of the child antagonist in light of
contemporary panic over paedophilia. These analyses emphasise the unconscious
symbolic value of the figure of the child, and the crises provoked when that symbolism
is subverted.
Representations of children in popular film are of great cultural and political
significance because of their capacity to reflect and influence public perceptions. The
Abstract Little Terrors
unique prevalence of the child antagonist in the horror film, along with the exclusion of
children as viewers, renders the genre perhaps the primary domain for the examination
of those representations. Through investigation of the child antagonist in horror, this
thesis seeks to construct a clearer view of the cultural conceptualisation of"childhood,"
and the role of horror in charting the relationship between children and adults.


This is the number one bestselling first book in "The Clifton Chronicles", a multi-generational family saga. "The Clifton Chronicles" is Jeffrey Archer's most ambitious work in four decades as an international bestselling author. The epic tale of Harry Clifton's life begins in 1919, in the backstreets of Bristol. His father was a war hero, but it will be twenty-one tumultuous years before Harry discovers the truth about how his father really died and if, in fact, he even was his father. "Only Time Will Tell" takes a cast of memorable characters from the ravages of the Great War to the outbreak of the Second World War, when Harry must decide whether to take his place at Oxford, or join the fight against Hitler's Germany. In Jeffrey Archer's masterful hands, you will be taken on a journey that you won't want to end, even after you turn the last page of this unforgettable yarn, because you will be faced with a dilemma that neither you, nor Harry Clifton could ever have anticipated.


The digital era has brought with it a shift in the field of literary editing in terms of the amount and kind of textual variation that can reasonably be annotated by editors. However, questions remain about how far readers engage with textual variants, especially minor ones such as small-scale changes to punctuation. In this study we present an eye-tracking experiment investigating reader sensitivity to variations in surface textual features of prose fiction. We monitored eye movements while participants read textual variants from Dickens and James, hypothesising that readers may pay more attention to lexical rather than punctuation changes. We found longer reading times for both types, but only lexical changes also increased reading times for the rest of the sentence. In addition, eye movement behaviour and conscious ability to report changes were highly correlated. We discuss the implications for how such methods might be applied to questions of "literary" significance and textual processing.


Background: Recurrent axillary metastasis following axillary lymphadenectomy for melanoma is associated with a poor prognosis. Radical resection of such axillary recurrences with concomitant reconstruction may not only yield significant palliation of symptoms but also improve disease-free survival. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the outcomes of this radical surgical approach and help determine the risks and benefits for this patient population. Methods: A retrospective review of all patients who underwent axillary reexcision and reconstruction for metastatic melanoma between 1990 and 2000 was conducted at The University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center. Nine patients were identified who underwent flap reconstruction following radical excision of axillary recurrence after a previous lymphadenectomy. Results: A total of 14 flaps were performed on the nine patients (five free flaps and nine pedicled muscle or myocutaneous flaps). Indications for surgery included pain, bleeding, and infection. Seven of the nine patients received perioperative radiation therapy. Palliation of symptoms was achieved in all patients. Free flap survival was 100 percent. Complications occurred in four of nine patients and included seroma, lymphedema, and wound dehiscence. Three patients had second local recurrences necessitating reresection and reconstruction; the mean time to rerecurrence was 6.7 months (range, 2 to 12 months). Four of nine patients were alive with no evidence of disease at the end of the follow-up period, with a mean disease-free interval of 41 months (range, 5 to 77 months). One patient was alive with distant metastasis, and four patients had died of distant metastases. The mean disease-free interval following original lymphedema for the nine patients was 11 months (range, 2 to 40 months). Conclusions: Aggressive resection of axillary recurrence following lymphadenectomy can palliate symptoms in select individuals and may result in long-term disease-free survival. Critical to this evolving surgical strategy is the use of vascularized soft tissue in the form of pedicled or free flaps to provide durable coverage of the resulting resection defect.


User modeling enables in the computation of the traffic density in a cellular network, which can be used to optimize the placement of base stations and radio network controllers as well as to analyze the performance of resource management algorithms towards meeting the final goal: the calculation and maximization of network capacity and throughput for different data rate services. An analytical model is presented for approximating the user distributions in multi-cell third generation wideband code division multiple access (WCDMA) networks using 2-dimensional Gaussian distributions by determining the means and the standard deviations of the distributions for every cell. This model allows for the calculation of the inter-cell interference and the reverse-link capacity of the network. An analytical model for optimizing capacity in multi-cell WCDMA networks is presented. Capacity is optimized for different spreading factors and for perfect and imperfect power control. Numerical results show that the SIR threshold for the received signals is decreased by 0.5 to 1.5 dB due to the imperfect power control. The results also show that the determined parameters of the 2-dimensional Gaussian model match well with traditional methods for modeling user distribution. A call admission control algorithm is designed that maximizes the throughput in multi-cell WCDMA networks. Numerical results are presented for different spreading factors and for several mobility scenarios. Our methods of optimizing capacity and throughput are computationally efficient, accurate, and can be implemented in large WCDMA networks.


The "Spiralia" represent one of the three major clades of bilaterian metazoans. Though members of this clade exhibit tremendous diversity in terms of their larval and adult body plans, many share a highly conserved early pattern of development involving a stereotypic cleavage program referred to as spiral cleavage. This group therefore represents an excellent one in which to undertake comparative studies to understand the origins of such diversity from a seemingly common ground plan. These organisms also present varied and diverse modes in terms of their ecology, development and life history strategies. A number of well established and emerging model systems have been developed to undertake studies at the molecular, genetic, cell and organismal levels. The Special Issue of the Int. J. Dev. Biol. entitled "Spiralian Model Systems" focuses on these organisms and here, I introduce this clade, pointing out different types of studies being undertaken with representative spiralian model systems.


Melon is a popular economic cucurbit in Southwest, Nigeria. In recent time, many young farmers are shifting from melon to watermelon farming due to poor yield and low monetary returns. Hence, this study was carried out to assess decline in melon yield and its contribution to young farmers' diversification into watermelon farming in Oyo state, Nigeria. Purposive sampling technique was used in selecting 75 respondents from five villages in Ibarapa block of the Oyo State Agricultural Development Project (ADP). Data collected were analyzed using descriptive statistics and Pearson Product Moment Correlation (PPMC). Results show that majority of the respondents (77.3%) were between 31-40 years of age and 46.70% had secondary school education. Most of the respondents (80%) cultivated more than 3 ha of land for watermelon. Majority of the respondents (74.7%) intercropped melon with other crops while watermelon was cultivated as a sole crop. None of the respondents either grew improved melon seeds (certified seeds) or applied fertilizers but all respondents cultivated treated watermelon seeds, applied fertilizers and agro-chemicals. The average yields of melon fell from 376.53kg/ha in 2009 to 280.70kg/ha in 2011. However, the respondents were shifting into watermelon production because of available quality seeds and its early maturity, easy harvest and high sales. There was a significant relationship between melon output and young farmers' diversification to watermelon in the study area at p < 0.05. The study concluded that decline in the melon yield discouraged youth to continue melon farming in the study area. It is hereby recommended that certified melon seeds should be made available while extension service providers should provide training support for the young farmers in order to reposition and boost melon production in the study area.


Asset management is a critical link in balancing overall product or service delivery cost of ownership to achieve and sustain customer satisfaction. Current drivers for asset management make it one of the most critical issues on the minds of leaders today. Many are overwhelmed by the enormity of the task they face and they are concerned about their company's ability to design, implement and sustain an effective asset management program. This paper provides practical guidance on the asset management concept, how it fits into the overall business model, benefits to be achieved once a program is implemented, suggested performance measures and an approach to implementation.


Belosaepiid coleoids, an uncommon but distinctive component of Atlantic Eocene biotas, are present in many Gulf Coast Eocene deposits. The youngest and largest Gulf Coast species, Belosaepia ungula Gabb, is available in varied preservational states and common enough to provide a growth series (including hatchlings) that serves as a growth exemplar for Eocene coleoids. B. ungula produces an endoskeleton with major growth changes as skeletal guard tissue is added to the phragmocone during early growth and acquires distinctive features of elongate posterior prong, rugose dorsal callus, and ventral corona, all with characteristic microstructure. However, late stage growth involves dissolution of the guard and distinctive characters are modified or lost. Smooth surface endoskeletons are late stage variants of rugose ones. The heavily calcified portions of skeleton account for only 20-25% of the length. The complete endoskeleton includes a noded proostracum probably covering most of the body. Belosaepiids have a D-shaped siphuncle formed of enlarged septal necks. B. ungula has minute chamberlets in part of the phragmocone. Early formed guard tissue is formed of dense laminae, while late stage tissue grows out as plumes. The prong has a median plane of weakness, but is solid. B. ungula has many characters in common with sepiids, but in exaggerated or reduced form. The endoskeleton is more arched and narrower than sepiid cuttlebones, suggesting a deeper body form than sepiids. It probably had a demersal life habit and lived for 2-4 years, as indicated by growth lamination and banding in the prong.


Introduction: Central nervous system (CNS) vasculitis is rare, including in human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), occurring in less than 1% of patients. Systemic vasculitis affecting the CNS is termed secondary CNS vasculitis, whereas primary CNS vasculitis, referred to as primary angiitis of the CNS (PACNS) refers to an extremely rare disease specifically confined to the CNS. Only some cases of PACNS in HIV patients have been reported in literature. Case Report: We report a case of a 46-year-old female with HIV who developed probable primary CNS vasculitis, which was treated with intravenous cyclophosphamide and glucocorticoids for both induction and maintenance. A systematic literature review regarding PACNS and its therapeutic management is presented in this report. There were no clinical trials for PACNS. Based on the American Academy of Neurology (AAN) classes of evidence for therapeutic effectiveness, most data is of intermediate or weak strength. Conclusion: This case highlights diagnostic and clinical features of PACNS and provides