This article presents the design and a first pilot evaluation of the computer-based training program Calcularis for children with developmental dyscalculia (DD) or difficulties in learning mathematics. The program has been designed according to insights on the typical and atypical development of mathematical abilities. The learning process is supported through multimodal cues, which encode different properties of numbers. To offer optimal learning conditions, a user model completes the program and allows flexible adaptation to a child's individual learning and knowledge profile. Thirty-two children with difficulties in learning mathematics completed the 6–12-weeks computer training. The children played the game for 20 min per day for 5 days a week. The training effects were evaluated using neuropsychological tests. Generally, children benefited significantly from the training regarding number representation and arithmetic operations. Furthermore, children liked to play with the program and reported that the training improved their mathematical abilities.


We study the long time behaviour of a large class of diffusion processes on $R^N$, generated by second order differential operators of (possibly) degenerate type. The operators that we consider {\em need not} satisfy the Hormander condition. Instead, they satisfy the so-called UFG condition, introduced by Herman, Lobry and Sussman in the context of geometric control theory and later by Kusuoka and Stroock, this time with probabilistic motivations. In this paper we study UFG diffusions and demonstrate the importance of such a class of processes in several respects: roughly speaking i) we show that UFG processes constitute a family of SDEs which exhibit multiple invariant measures and for which one is able to describe a systematic procedure to determine the basin of attraction of each invariant measure (equilibrium state). ii) We use an explicit change of coordinates to prove that every UFG diffusion can be, at least locally, represented as a system consisting of an SDE coupled with an ODE, where the ODE evolves independently of the SDE part of the dynamics. iii) As a result, UFG diffusions are inherently "less smooth" than hypoelliptic SDEs; more precisely, we prove that UFG processes do not admit a density with respect to Lebesgue measure on the entire space, but only on suitable time-evolving submanifolds, which we describe. iv) We show that our results and techniques, which we devised for UFG processes, can be applied to the study of the long-time behaviour of non-autonomous hypoelliptic SDEs and therefore produce several results on this latter class of processes as well. v) Because processes that satisfy the (uniform) parabolic Hormander condition are UFG processes, our paper contains a wealth of results about the long time behaviour of (uniformly) hypoelliptic processes which are non-ergodic, in the sense that they exhibit multiple invariant measures.


Background The number of retracted scientific publications has risen sharply, but it is unclear whether this reflects an increase in publication of flawed articles or an increase in the rate at which flawed articles are withdrawn. Methods and Findings We examined the interval between publication and retraction for 2,047 retracted articles indexed in PubMed. Time-to-retraction (from publication of article to publication of retraction) averaged 32.91 months. Among 714 retracted articles published in or before 2002, retraction required 49.82 months; among 1,333 retracted articles published after 2002, retraction required 23.82 months (p<0.0001). This suggests that journals are retracting papers more quickly than in the past, although recent articles requiring retraction may not have been recognized yet. To test the hypothesis that time-to-retraction is shorter for articles that receive careful scrutiny, time-to-retraction was correlated with journal impact factor (IF). Time-to-retraction was significantly shorter for high-IF journals, but only ∼1% of the variance in time-to-retraction was explained by increased scrutiny. The first article retracted for plagiarism was published in 1979 and the first for duplicate publication in 1990, showing that articles are now retracted for reasons not cited in the past. The proportional impact of authors with multiple retractions was greater in 1972–1992 than in the current era (p<0.001). From 1972–1992, 46.0% of retracted papers were written by authors with a single retraction; from 1993 to 2012, 63.1% of retracted papers were written by single-retraction authors (p<0.001). Conclusions The increase in retracted articles appears to reflect changes in the behavior of both authors and institutions. Lower barriers to publication of flawed articles are seen in the increase in number and proportion of retractions by authors with a single retraction. Lower barriers to retraction are apparent in an increase in retraction for "new" offenses such as plagiarism and a decrease in the time-to-retraction of flawed work.


Farmers are increasingly using alternative fertilizer inputs such as manures and composts due to the high cost of inorganic fertilizers. However, different organic amendments have varied characteristics and thus also their effects on soil properties and the growth and yield of crops. The study was conducted to determine the characteristics and nutrient content of organic amendments, evaluate the decomposition rate and nitrogen mineralization rate of the various organic amendments, and examine the effects of different organic amendments on pechay. Four organic amendments used include swine manure, chicken dung, mudpress, and vermicast. These were analyzed for total elemental analysis, microbial decomposition, and nitrogen mineralization rate. A pot experiment was carried out to test the effects of these amendments on the growth and yield of pechay. Results showed that organic amended soil significantly increased the rates of microbial decomposition and nitrogen mineralization, organic material content, and the growth and yield of pechay. In terms of total elemental analysis, chicken dung had the highest content of essential nutrients such as P, K, Ca, and Cl as compared to mudpress, vermicast, swine manure, hence, has good potential as source of organic fertilizer for vegetable production. High amounts of heavy metals such as lead, strontium, nickel, copper, and zinc were detected in the swine manure. amendments, total elemental analysis, nitrogen mineralization, pechay.


During disease outbreaks, composting has been used to safely dispose of carcasses and infectious solid manure. However, optimized methods have not been established to use liquid manure (> 80% water content, WC) from dairies as the substrate for mortality composting. In April of 2007, a 3×2 factorial study was conducted in wooden compost bins (240 × 240 × 140 cm) lined with 0.5 mm plastic to a height of 50 cm. Three levels (LO, 95 kg; MED, 236 kg; HI, 606 kg wet wt.) of liquid manure (91% WC) were applied to barley straw containing a single calf mortality (avg. wt 130 kg). Compost temperature and carcass degradation were evaluated in each bin over 52 d. As an indication of compost efficiency, viability of 4 types of weed seeds (wild buckwheat, Polygonium convolvulus L, BW; dandelion, Taraxacum officinale, DL; stinkweed, Thlaspi arvense L., SW; and wild oat, Avena fatua, WO) was determined from seeds retained at the laboratory (Control) or from those placed in sealed nylon bags (50 μm pore size) embedded at 3 locations in each bin. Initial C: N ratios ranged from 58:1 (HI) to 68:1 (LO), while initial WC was 64, 52 and 42% for the HI, MED and LO treatments, respectively. Rate of compost heating and peak temperature (58.6 vs. 46.5°C) was increased (P < 0.05) for HI as compared to LO. Rate of temperature decline was lower (P < 0.05) and calf decomposition was visibly superior for HI as compared to LO. Viability of WO was eliminated by all compost treatments, but that of BW increased (P < 0.05) in MED and LO as compared to Control. Although HI did not eliminate BW viability, this treatment showed the the most promise for incorporating liquid manure as a substrate in contained mortality compost.


Meningococcal disease remains a major global cause of meningitis and septicaemia. In Europe and other industrialised countries, serogroup B (MenB) is responsible for most cases of invasive meningococcal disease (IMD) in young children and adolescents. An effective vaccine against MenB has been challenging to develop because its polysaccharide capsule is similar to human foetal nerve cells and is, therefore, poorly immunogenic. 4CMenB (Bexsero) is a novel, multicomponent, recombinant protein-based vaccine that includes major antigens on the surface of most meningococci. 4CMenB also includes the outer membrane vesicle (OMV) of the New Zealand MenB outbreak strain, containing additional major and minor surface antigens. It is this OMV component that makes the vaccine very reactogenic.1

Around 50%–60% of infants will develop fever ≥38.5°C when 4CMenB is given with other routine immunisations.1 The fever usually peaks after 6 hours and subsides within 24–48 hours. Prophylactic paracetamol significantly decreases the rate of fever after vaccination, as well as other local and systemic reactions. However unlike some previous studies, prophylactic paracetamol does not reduce the immune response to 4CMenB or any of the other routine infant immunisations. Consequently, the UK has recommended three doses of paracetamol to be given to infants receiving 4CMenB with their routine vaccinations at 2 months and 4 months of age. Prelicensure and postlicensure studies have reported that around 1%–2% of parents will still remain sufficiently concerned to seek additional medical attention following 4CMenB vaccination. Cost-effectiveness analysis in the UK included the costs of treating medically attended adverse reactions.

In the UK, 4CMenB was introduced into the national infant immunisation programme in September 2015 and …


Abstract. The global observation, assimilation and prediction in numerical models of ice super-saturated (ISS) regions (ISSR) are crucial if the climate impact of aircraft condensation trails (contrails) is to be fully understood, and if, for example, contrail formation is to be avoided through aircraft operational measures. Given their small scales compared to typical atmospheric model grid sizes, statistical representations of the spatial scales of ISSR are required, in both horizontal and vertical dimensions, if global occurrence of ISSR is to be adequately represented in climate models. This paper uses radiosonde launches made by the UK Meteorological Office, from the British Isles, Gibraltar, St. Helena and the Falkland Islands between January 2002 and December 2006, to investigate the probabilistic occurrence of ISSR. Each radiosonde profile is divided into 50- and 100-hPa pressure layers, to emulate the coarse vertical resolution of some atmospheric models. Then the high resolution observations contained within each thick pressure layer are used to calculate an average relative humidity and an ISS fraction for each individual thick pressure layer. These relative humidity pressure layer descriptions are then linked through a probability function to produce an s-shaped curve which empirically describes the ISS fraction in any average relative humidity pressure layer. Using this empirical understanding of the s-shaped relationship a mathematical model was developed to represent the ISS fraction within any arbitrary thick pressure layer. Two models were developed to represent both 50- and 100-hPa pressure layers with each reconstructing their respective s-shapes within 8–10% of the empirical curves. These new models can be used, to represent the small scale structures of ISS events, in modelled data where only low vertical resolution is available. This will be useful in understanding, and improving the global distribution, both observed and forecasted, of ice super-saturation.


The current study intends to examine validity of Capital Asset Pricing Model in Istanbul Stock Exchange with special orientation to the cement industry and the power and distribution sector. The present paper presents the background of the research area and analyses the prior academic research and analysis conducted on examination of the validity of the Capital Asset Pricing Model in particularly the Istanbul Stock Exchange. The paper also clearly expounds the aims and objectives of studying the concept and comprehending the nature of association between the stock beta and profit. Furthermore, the study also explicates illustratively the importance of inspecting the compatibility for utilizing Capital Asset Pricing Model. The study therefore intends to select two different sectors under the Istanbul Stock Exchange and examine the implementation of the model for relating different risk return association in the industry. Again, the learner intends to associate diverse segments and perform regression analysis founded on data on both cement sector as well as the power generation and distribution industry.


We investigate efficiency of four-wave mixing (FWM) generation in quasi-distributed erbium-doped fiber (EDF) sections under general power evolution conditions. Measured FWM efficiencies are found to be in a good agreement with newly developed formulae applicable to waveguides with spatially and spectrally varying gain. Inoue's work describing FWM process in multiple amplified spans is generalized. A new theory of FWM generation in optical links amplified by a set of quasi-distributed nodes is developed and used to analyze multiple span L-band link.


OBJECTIVE
The aim of this study was to explore the relationship between chiropractic students' coping styles and levels of resilience with their physical injuries, perceived levels of stress, and well-being.

METHODS
A questionnaire was distributed to the entire student body of the chiropractic program at Murdoch University, and gathered demographic variables and responses to the Connor-Davidson Resilience Scale, Perceived Levels of Stress Scale, Everyday Feelings Questionnaire, and Coping Inventory for Stressful Situations. Linear regression analysis was used to calculate for significant relationships.

RESULTS
Of 244 students, 194 (81%) completed the surveys. Being female and not having recovered from an injury within 12 months was significantly associated with lower levels of well-being and higher levels of stress. Being female, possessing an increased use of an emotional-based coping style, and having lower levels of well-being were associated with higher levels of stress (R2 = 0.65, F(6,164) = 50.47, p < .001). Lower levels of well-being were associated with being female, higher perceived levels of stress, lower levels of resilience, and an increased use emotional coping styles (R2 = 0.64, F[6,164] = 49.5, p < .001).

CONCLUSION
It is possible to identify chiropractic students at the university who are at risk of experiencing low levels of well-being and high levels of stress. These students may benefit from interventions aimed at enhancing their coping style choices and increasing their resilience levels. Future studies are recommended to see if these findings are consistent across chiropractic programs nationally and internationally.


Abstract Objective. The aim of this study was to evaluate the elemental alterations of Ag soldering alloys used in space maintainers after intra-oral exposure. Materials and methods. Twenty devices were fabricated by using two different soldering alloys; US (Dentaurum Universal Silver Solder, n = 10) and OS (Leone Orthodontic Solder, n = 10). All devices were manufactured by the same technician. Surface morphology and elemental quantitative analysis of the soldering alloys before and after intra-oral placement in patients was determined by scanning electron microscopy and energy-dispersive X-ray microanalysis (SEM/EDX). Statistical analysis was performed by t-test, Mann Whitney tests and Pearson's correlation. For all tests a 95% confidence level was used (α = 0.05). Results. Both soldering alloys demonstrated substantially increase in surface roughness after intra-oral aging. Statistical analysis illustrated a significant decrease in the Cu and Zn content after treatment. OS demonstrated higher Cu release than US (p < 0.05). The remaining relative concentrations of Cu and Zn after the treatment did not show any correlation (p > 0.05) with intra-oral exposure time, apart from Zn in OS (r = 0.840, p = 0.04). Conclusions. Both soldering alloys demonstrated a significant Cu and Zn reduction after intra-oral exposure that may raise biocompatibility concerns.


This research guide was created to assist Game Art and non-Game Art majors in finding introductory resources related to the curriculum and topics.


Objective: Methods for reducing dental disease have traditionally focused on health education rather than targeting psychosocial determinants of the core behaviours through behaviour change strategies. This study tested a novel intervention in the form of a children's story (Kitten's First Tooth) embedded with behaviour change techniques (Abraham and Michie, 2008) with the aim of investigating how effective the intervention was at improving parents' efficacy and intention to enact oral health behaviours for their child Methods: A controlled before and after study conducted in a deprived area of England (n=149; child mean age 4 years) with an intervention and control group. Changes in task specific parental self-efficacy (PSE) and intention were measured using the Oral Health Behaviours Questionnaire (OHBQ; Adair et al., 2004) at baseline and 3 months following intervention. Results: Of the 149 participants, 129 returned both baseline and evaluation questionnaires (retention 86.6%), 125 of these pairs of questionnaires were used in the analysis (83.4%). The OHBQ was analysed using a general linear model (ANCOVA). A significant difference was found in favour of the intervention group for PSE related to child tooth brushing behaviours (F(1,1)=12.04, p=0.001), however no change was observed for PSE related to control of dietary sugars. Conclusions: A theorized children's story can be effective as an oral health promotion intervention by supporting parents to improve their child's oral health-related behaviour. Change was observed for child tooth brushing but not sugar control. This may reflect story contents or may be indicative of difficulties of changing dietary behaviour. 5


Introduction

Coronary heart disease (CHD) is one of the leading global causes of morbidity and mortality. The underlying biological mechanisms are well understood, and a host of causal risk factors for the disease have been identified, mainly related to diet, smoking and physical activity. Evidence-based treatments for the disease are also available, reducing mortality and improving quality of life.
The decline in CHD mortality rates observed in most developed countries since the 1960s represents a most remarkable epidemiological phenomenon. However, this decline is not universal, and may now be in jeopardy. Thus, the mortality decline has recently plateaued in young adults in the United States. Furthermore, the absolute burden of disease is set to increase mainly because of an increasingly ageing population, and will represent a heavy burden to high, middle and low income countries alike. Furthermore, CHD incidence may rise in future because of recent adverse trends in major CHD risk factors, namely the worldwide increases in obesity and diabetes prevalence observed since the 1980s. Moreover, new technology and improved treatments are decreasing case fatality in CHD patients, increasing life expectancy and thus expanding the pool of patients surviving with clinically apparent disease. Finally, and crucially, important socioeconomic inequalities persist, perhaps reflecting disease determinants. The complex interplay of these factors and potential changes over time together suggest that the CHD epidemic may still be evolving. Further attention is therefore essential.
The analysis of time trends in disease specific mortality can thus potentially help us to understand the population dynamic of diseases such as CHD, warn about key changes and perhaps offer some novel insights for better prevention and control. However, most previous analyses have been focused on age-adjusted rates that might conceal important differences by age or by socioeconomic status, which might provide further understanding of trend drivers.

Aims and objectives:

My aim is to study recent coronary heart disease mortality time trends in different countries, in order to better understand the current state of the CHD epidemic. Furthermore, I will analyze the relative importance of CHD treatments and risk factors as drivers of the mortality trends. Finally, I will consider the Public Health implications of my findings.

My objectives therefore are:
1. To summarize our current understanding of Coronary Heart Disease (CHD) causation
2. To describe recent CHD mortality time trends focusing on age and gender specific trends by identifying periods with similar rate of change in diverse populations (England & Wales, the Netherlands, Poland and Australia).
3. To describe recent CHD mortality time trends by Socio-Economic Status in England and Scotland.
4. To quantify the role of risk factors and evidence-based treatments as drivers of the CHD mortality trends, first using a modelling approach in Poland, and then in England while also considering socioeconomic factors.
5. To consider the public health policy implications of dynamic trends in coronary heart disease mortality.

Methods

CHD mortality trends were analysed using the joinpoint regression approach. Widely used in cancer epidemiology, but rarely in CHD, this method explores trend data to find points in time ("joinpoints") that define segments where the trend has a constant pace of change. The key strength of this technique is objectivity- (it avoids the detection of potentially biased patterns when trends are described using time intervals defined subjectively by the researcher). Joinpoint avoids this potential bias by essentially removing the observer from the selection process, instead using a formal and objective exploration of the time-series data. My analysis therefore focused on age-adjusted rates, then age and gender specific rates. The analysis for Scotland and England also considered socio-economic status (using area-based measures of material deprivation).
The contributions of risk factors and treatments to the observed CHJD mortality trends in Poland were studied using the IMPACT model, a comprehensive, population-based model of CHD epidemiology. The model goal is to quantify the decline in coronary heart disease deaths in the Polish population between 1991 and 2005 which might be explained by risk factor changes and by treatments. The model is comprehensive, incorporating all usual treatments for coronary heart disease and heart failure plus all major cardiovascular risk factors, including smoking, blood pressure, cholesterol, diabetes, obesity and physical activity.
Similar analyses but also exploring the socio-economic differences were conducted in England, using a modified IMPACT model (IMPACTsec). That was used to estimate the contribution of risk factors and evidence based treatments to the observed decline in mortality in England between 2000 and 2007, for each quintile of the index of multiple deprivation.

Results

Age-adjusted trends in England and Wales, Scotland, Australia and the Netherlands conceal important recent age specific patterns. In these countries, the age-adjusted rates show continuing declines; however, among young adults a recent period of slowing down of the rate of decline in CHD mortality has been observed. Furthermore, trends are very dynamic, and the patterns can change surprisingly quickly. In the Netherlands, the sustained period of minimal change in young adults was followed by a period of further decline. Poland offers a strikingly different example of trend dynamism. After a period of constant increase, Poland showed a sudden, sharp decline in CHD mortality rates within a period of a very few years. This decline occurred in all age and gender groups, and still continues.
The recent mortality trends are probably attributable more to changes in risk factors rather than medical treatments. For example, using the IMPACT model to study the decline phase of the Polish CHD epidemic, approximately 55% of the observed fall in mortality might be attributed to changes in risk factors, and only about a third to evidence based therapies.
Because of the social patterning of risk factors levels, further insights on the role of risk factors as major contributors to trend changes can be obtained by studying trends in levels stratified by socioeconomic circumstances. Scotland and England offer particular opportunities for detailed studies of trends in CHD mortality using high quality data including socioeconomic status. The resulting picture is complex. The recent flattening in CHD mortality trends observed in young adults was confined to the most deprived groups in Scotland, but was more uniform in England. A marked deterioration of medical care is implausible, meaning that the most likely explanation for this recent flattening of CHD mortality must be adverse trends in major cardiovascular risk factors.
The CHD mortality modelling in England produced intriguing results. As expected, socio-economic patterning of risk factor changes were observed. For example, decline in smoking levels contributed more to the observed decline amongst the more deprived groups. Social patterning was less clear among young adults in England. Moreover, the IMPACT SEC model analysis suggested that approximately half the CHD mortality fall was attributable to improved treatment uptake, with benefits occurring surprisingly equitably across all social groups. A similar analysis of the Scottish trends is therefore urgently needed to gain better insights on the drivers of the socioeconomic patterning underlying the observed trends.

Conclusions

The recent flattening in CHD mortality in young adults seen in many countries experiencing an overall decline in deaths strongly suggests that favourable trends can reverse. Furthermore, the rapid reversal observed in some age groups in the Netherlands and in the entire population in Poland suggests that recovery can occur very quickly.
These rapid mortality changes have been observed in many countries and cannot easily be dismissed as artefact. There is a strong case to mainly attribute these trends to changes in cardiovascular risk factors, since marked deterioration of medical care in these affluent countries appears implausible. This interpretation is also consistent with evidence from the rapid risk reductions observed in randomised drug and diet trials. Furthermore, several populations experienced "natural experiments" when socio-economic events producing beneficial effects on cardiovascular risk factors were rapidly followed by dramatic changes in CHD mortality.
These rapid mortality changes challenge some aspects of our current understanding of CHD causation. Specifically that the temporal relationship between changes in risk factors and changes in fatal outcomes are probably operating over much shorter timescales than previously assumed, within a few years rather than decades.
The public health implications of these findings are thus clear: large changes in CHD burden can be achieved quickly, probably reflecting trends in dietary and other cardiovascular risk factors. Population level prevention interventions might therefore be both powerful and rapid.


The present study was designed to explore the patho-physiological investigation of anorexia of cattle at Sylhet district, Bangladesh. The aim of this study has been conducted to determine the patho-physiological causes of anorexia in cattle during the study period started from September to December in Bishwanath upazila veterinary hospital, Sylhet. Anorexia is one of the most common illness among female cattle in Bangladesh. In this study, a total number of 155 diseased cattle, 100 cattle were found having anorexia due to parasitic, infectious, nutritional deficiency and unknown etiology. Results of this study showed most anorexia developed due to parasitic infestation (41%) which was determined by feces examination and observing the body condition of the animal. The female cattle developed anorexia in higher rate (67%). The early age (less than 1year) of the cattle were found mostly to develop anorexia in cattle, may be due to parasitic and nutritional deficiencies cause. International Journal of Natural Sciences (2015), 5(2) 90-92


Abstract. Oceans are a net source of molecular hydrogen (H2) to the atmosphere. The production of marine H2 is assumed to be mainly biological by N2 fixation, but photochemical pathways are also discussed. We present measurements of mole fraction and isotopic composition of dissolved and atmospheric H2 from the southern and northern Atlantic between 2008 and 2010. In total almost 400 samples were taken during 5 cruises along a transect between Punta Arenas (Chile) and Bremerhaven (Germany), as well as at the coast of Mauritania. The isotopic source signatures of dissolved H2 extracted from surface water are highly deuterium-depleted and correlate negatively with temperature, showing δD values of (−629 ± 54) ‰ for water temperatures at (27 ± 3) °C and (−249 ± 88) ‰ below (19 ± 1) °C. The results for warmer water masses are consistent with the biological production of H2. This is the first time that marine H2 excess has been directly attributed to biological production by isotope measurements. However, the isotope values obtained in the colder water masses indicate that beside possible biological production, a significant different source should be considered. The atmospheric measurements show distinct differences between both hemispheres as well as between seasons. Results from the global chemistry transport model TM5 reproduce the measured H2 mole fractions and isotopic composition well. The climatological global oceanic emissions from the GEMS database are in line with our data and previously published flux calculations. The good agreement between measurements and model results demonstrates that both the magnitude and the isotopic signature of the main components of the marine H2 cycle are in general adequately represented in current atmospheric models despite a proposed source different from biological production or a substantial underestimation of nitrogen fixation by several authors.


Problem statement: In this study researchers introduced a fuzzy time series model depending on fuzzy clustering to solve the problem in which the membership values are assumed as Song and Chissom model and to increase the performance of fuzzy time series model. Approach: Proposed model employed seven main procedures in time-invariant fuzzy time-series and time-variant fuzzy time series models. In the first step: clustering data, in the second step: determine membership values for each cluster, the third step: define the universe of discourse, in the fourth step: partition universal of discourse into equal intervals, in the fifth step: fuzzify the historical data, in the sixth step: build fuzzy logic relationships and the last step: calculate forecasted outputs to increase the performance of the proposed fuzzy time series model. Results: From the evaluations, the proposed model can further improve the forecasting results than the other model. Conclusion: The proposed model is a good model for forecasting values. Selecting membership functions based on fuzzy clustering offers an alternative approach to let the data determine the nature of the membership functions. Our results showed that this approach can lead to satisfactory performance for fuzzy time series.


This year an outstanding hydrobiologist, D. Sc. (Biol.), Professor, Chief Researcher of the Institute of Marine Biological Research RAS Oleg Mironov celebrates the anniversary. The impact of oil and oil products on mass species of marine organisms in the Black Sea was studied under his guidance for the first time. New data were obtained in expeditionary conditions: scientists have studied the patterns of distribution, the abundance, biochemical features and species composition of oil-oxidizing microorganisms in the Black, Red and Mediterranean seas, as well as in various regions of the Pacific, Indian and Atlantic oceans.


This thesis studies the method of gender social stratification and its circumstance in contemporary urban China. Firstly, a 'social class schema' is created after comparing the occupational classification in class schemas of Erikson-Goldthorpe-Portocarero and the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, and taking into consideration of the Standard Occupational Classification system (2010). Later, each stratum is subdivided into three sectors to reflect the Chinese dualist system of state and market, and the divisions in the market. Based on this schema and the data sets from the Chinese Household Income Project, 2002 and 2007, the shares of each social stratum and the earnings distribution are discussed, especially gender comparisons and changes. Moreover, to further scrutinise the differences in the same social stratum and to observe the impact of the household on men and women, the principal component analysis is applied to create a direct and indirect 'Social Class Index' (SCI) for each observation. Both indices are comprehensive and combine many aspects of the social stratification. The indirect 'SCI' also reflects the impact of the household with a changed variable set. After inspecting the composition changes of the social groups constructed on direct and indirect 'SCI,' the adjusted social stratification of genders are illustrated.


Australia's National Crash In-depth Study (ANCIS) is an ongoing retrospective study of real-world modern vehicle
crash performance and occupant injuries undertaken in accordance with the format prescribed by the National
Automotive Sampling System. The study primarily focuses on occupants of crashed vehicles that are hospitalised.
Study method involves interviewing the patient and/or their relatives, perusal of the clinical records and an
engineering assessment of the damaged vehicle. In addition, investigators visit the crash scene to assess various road
and crash characteristics. Ten Victorian and three New South Wales hospitals are currently associated with the study.
It is anticipated that the study will extend to other states Australia-wide and possibly New Zealand. Data have been
collated from 91 cases investigated to date. Statistics and trends regarding various crash configurations such as
frontal, side impact and rollovers have been compiled from this data. Injury patterns and scene data associated with
these crashes will also be discussed. The study findings will assist in the identification of crash injury trends,
emerging vehicle safety problems, as well as confirmation of successful safety developments. Furthermore, a greater
understanding of injury biomechanics and possible counter-measures to these injuries may be gained. These data can
be used for an in-depth evaluation of modern vehicle crash performance and injury outcomes.


Extracted from text ... ROADS AND BRIDGES
IMIESA MARCH 2006 - 29
Fully-functional kerbing, 314 kilometres of tarred roads,
effective stormwater drainage and clear signage have put
Sowetans in a festive mood for the year ahead. This comes
just in time for the March elections and was part of the completion of
the R450-million Soweto Gravel Roads Eradication project. Delegates
attending the 70th annual IMESA conference in Soweto later this
year, will have the opportunity to view the completed project.
Outgoing Johannesburg Mayor, councillor Masondo, launched the
project in 2003 and ensured that all road work achieved full service
standards.
"Some of the ..


This paper reviews two gaming experiments with a game on cost allocation in water resources, carried out with doctoral students. The game is aimed at testing some different methods of cost allocation. Although many repeated game runs are necessary for conclusions, the main results of these two experiments, together with two earlier experiments on the same game but with real decision makers, are as follows:

(1) The method of allocating costs in proportion to demand was far worse as a predictor of outcome than any of the other methods discussed here.

(2) Of the four game theoretic methods, the method preferred from a normative point of view fared worst in all four games.

(3) In none of the four games the solution was in the core.

(4) In every game the coalition formation process started with some smaller coalitions being formed, then going on towards larger coalitions.

(5) There were fairly great differences between the decision makers and the students both with regard to outcomes and the negotiation process.


Network-induced delay, data packet drop-out and perturbation are common problems for networked system. The designing of quantized feedback H∞ controller, focusing on the above problem was studied. In this general model, two logarithms were quantized used for the quantizing of control signal and status signal, and the sufficient condition for the asymptotical stability of the network control systems and the design of quantized feedback controller was proposed according to the Lyapunov stability theory and linear matrix inequality. The quantized feedback controller can make the systems asymptotically stable and meet H∞ performance. The design is confirmed to be efficient by the simulation result.


The measurement of the effectiveness of marketing tools is the utmost gap in surveys of mosaic of marketing effectiveness. Research in this field proposes a wide range of possibilities to measure the effectiveness of marketing tools, nevertheless, measurement of its elements (return and cost of marketing) remains an unexplored field in scientific literature. Hence the authors of this research elaborate on the conceptual essence of marketing tools effectiveness and measurement of its elements. Firstly, different approaches to marketing effectiveness are reviewed. Readers are also introduced to dimensions, components, as well as with a chain of causes and outcomes of marketing effectiveness. Therefore, we attempt a critical evaluation of measurement of marketing tools effectiveness. Finally, estimation of core problems of measurement of return on marketing and marketing cost are generalized.


The aim of this study is to verify reports on the presence of invasive alien catfish, known locally as janitor fish, including their possible impact on freshwater biodiversity in the Agusan Marsh, Northeastern Mindanao in southern Philippines. Morphological analysis, field sampling and questionnaire survey were conducted to determine the exact taxonomic status, habitat, distribution, and the population and size estimates of the fish. The results showed that the South American vermiculated sailfin catfish, Pterygoplichthys disjunctivus, a species earlier reported from Laguna Lake and nearby rivers in Luzon, northern Philippines, has invaded the Agusan Marsh. The exotic fish can be found in lakes, rivers and creeks of the municipalities of Talacogon, La Paz, Loreto, Bunawan, Rosario, San Francisco, Veruela and Sta. Josefa. They may also be present in upstream and downstream areas. Total catches of fishermen ranged from 0 to 146 individuals per fishing trip. Practical control measures to reduce the janitor fish population in the Agusan Marsh were discussed.


Korzybski's great legacy to the human race is his "general semantics" - a system introduced in his seminal books Manhood of Humanity (1921) and Science and Sanity (1933). In general semantics, Korzybski proposed a general theory of sanity involving conscious time-binding, relating science and sanity - and leading to a general theory of psychotherapy. He offered a theory of knowledge and values as possible foundations for human ethics involving standards of evaluation, and unifying principles for improving communication, understanding, and human relationships at intra-personal, interpersonal, national, international, and ecological levels. General semantics constitutes a set of interrelated principles - psychotherapeutic tools centered on "consciousness of abstracting," and "conscious time-binding." "Consciousness of abstracting" refers to moments of conscious awareness when whatever we are doing we remember we have not included everything. "Conscious time-binding" refers to times when we consciously and deliberately use general semantics principles in doing what we do - with an awareness of our interdependency, interrelatedness, and a sense of responsibility and cooperativeness. Korzybski proposed that practicing conscious time-binding will eventually lead us toward timebinding excellence and human excellence. General semantics involves thinking about thinking. Whatever we do we can do better by refining our observations - and based on general semantics principles, modify our thinking. If, as a race, we ever come to realize that to improve our human welfare, we need to modify some attitudes and ways of thinking, I believe general semantics - an extensional discipline with a vast range of applications - qualifies as a thinking model and evaluation standard worth considering in any proposals for improvements. With these and other factors, I think of general semantics - Korzybski's legacy - as "vast" (great in extent or range) and a valuable contribution to our human welfare. I have used the letters "V," "A," "S," "T" to represent some general semantics key terms and principles. I hope you will add some insights emerging from your own continuing studies and applications of general semantics. Standards We have clocks, tapes, scales, laws, rules, regulations, policies, etc., as standards we agree on and refer to in order to avoid problems that would result from differences in the diverse individual evaluation standards we usually unknowingly bring to situations. Without some universally respected standards for human interactions, we can expect increased social unrests and breakdowns, repeating financial crises, and ongoing international conflicts and violence to result from valuing our present ways of thinking as the only possible way. We can think of Korzybski's general semantics as a meta-evaluation standard with science and mathematics as its models. In Science and Sanity (p. 728) Korzybski wrote, "Science and mathematics show the working of the 'human mind' at its best." Korzybski was concerned that in the structure of our languages, our habits of thought and orientations, we preserve "delusional and psychopathological factors" that mainly involve identification and that retard the development of sane human relations. Korzybski predicted that our application of general semantics in any area of our living (personal, interpersonal, and international) will help us achieve a level of general sanity, and avoid many of the inevitable consequences of our 'unsane' behaviors. As individuals, using general semantics principles as our standards, we can check, 'measure', compare, and, when necessary, refine our thinking-feeling-attitude-opinionsjudgments-and behavior. Although the methods and approaches of science and mathematics are generally accepted, general semantics has yet (if ever) to be considered as a foundation for a universal evaluation standard. In terms of their own advancement in understanding the limits of the system, students of general semantics might find it an interesting and rewarding exercise to explore and discuss racial anthropological factors that might work for and against general semantics' chances of being considered and universally accepted as an evaluation standard. …


Macrofaunal and foraminiferal analyses have shown the Woodbine Shale in South Cumbria to be of latest early Asbian age. Ostracods and solid foraminifera from the Woodbine Shale are described and illustrated for the first time. Several ostracods including Rectobairdia cf. dorssenata, Healdia 'penchfordensis', Bairdia cf. leguminoides, Pustulobairdia cf. confragosa and Microcheilinella subcorbulinoides, previously only known from late Asbian or younger strata, have now been shown to range into the early Asbian. The numerous bairdiids, heavily ornamented ostracods, trilobites, brachiopods and abundant foraminifera suggest a deep, subtidal, marine environment of deposition for the Woodbine Shale. Foraminifera from the underlying Lower Urswick Limestone suggest an early Asbian age for this formation whilst the overlying Upper Urswick Limestone is shown to be of late Asbian age. The foraminiferal assemblages from these beds can be correlated directly with those in the early Asbian Upper Potts Beck Limestone and the late Asbian Knipe Scar Limestone in the Asbian stratotype section at Little Asby Scar, Cumbria.


Net Primary Productivity (NPP) was known as an important index for evaluating the carbon cycling in forest
ecosystem. For tropical forest purpose, due to large area and lack of ground measurement data, we use remotely sensed data to estimate three important parameters of NPP such as light use efficiency (LUE), fraction of photosynthetically active radiation absorbed by vegetation (FPAR), and photosynthetically active radiation absorbed by vegetation (PAR). Basically, the Monteith equation [5] is used to model aboveground NPP in the tropical forest. Rahman et al. [7] proposed a micrometeorological model for estimating continuous field LUE of terrestrial vegetation using MODIS Photochemical Reflectance Index (MODPRI) from the MODIS ocean bands. FPAR is calculated from Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) [2]. PAR is calculated from 0.45 % of incoming shortwave solar radiation (Rs) [4]. In this study, we use data from MODIS in 2000 to 2006 and comparing the result with MODIS17 of NASA Product. The results show that the estimated value for the distribution of NPP over Kalimantan Island by this methods and MODIS17 product were 1185.215 gC/y (2000), 1451.867 gC/y (2001), 1214.269 gC/y (2002), 1294.533 gC/y (2003), 1153.011 gC/y (2004), 1198.719 gC/y (2005), 1224.175 gC/y (2006); 2979.933 gC/y (2000), 3027.867 gC/y (2001), 2884.167 gC/y (2002), 2951.167 gC/y (2003), 2884.250 gC/y (2004), 2921.600 gC/y (2005), 2923.725 gC/y (2006), respectively.


Speculation is the practice in which the speculator is engaged in risky purchase of stock without the intention to maintain it, in an attempt to profit from price movements in the shortest time possible. Wall Street stock market is the largest stock market in the United States of America and the world in terms of turnover and market capitalization. In this paper, we are going to investigate speculation and gambling strategies on earnings management of New York Stock market during the years 2008-2014. The purpose of this paper is to investigate speculation and gambling strategies on earnings management. In this paper, we have investigated earnings management in member companies of the Wall Street stock exchange. This study is carried out using speculation and gambling variables on earnings management. Among the variables, gambling has shown an inverse relationship on earnings management.


Abstract. Atmospheric new particle formation is an important source of atmospheric aerosols. Large efforts have been made during the past few years to identify which molecules are behind this phenomenon, but the actual birth mechanism of the particles is not yet well known. Quantum chemical calculations have proven to be a powerful tool to gain new insights into the very first steps of particle formation. In the present study we use formation free energies calculated by quantum chemical methods to estimate the evaporation rates of species from sulfuric acid clusters containing ammonia or dimethylamine. We have found that dimethylamine forms much more stable clusters with sulphuric acid than ammonia does. On the other hand, the existence of a very deep local minimum for clusters with two sulfuric acid molecules and two dimethylamine molecules hinders their growth to larger clusters. These results indicate that other compounds may be needed to make clusters grow to larger sizes (containing more than three sulfuric acid molecules).


The purpose of this descriptive study is to report the outcomes of a case series of children treated with physical therapy for developmental muscular torticollis (DMT). The treatment program described emphasizes parental home programs of positioning and strengthening as opposed to hands-on passive range of motion. We studied a sample of convenience of 23 children (mean age = 18 months, SD = 9.7 months) whose parents agreed to a follow-up evaluation. Initial evaluations were reviewed retrospectively and compared with the follow-up, posttest data. Results showed that at an average of 14 months postinitial examination, 83% of the children had no observable head tilt, only slightly decreased (three to six degrees) passive and active cervical range of motion on the involved sides, and full lateral head righting in all but one child, and there was no residual facial asymmetry or plagiocephaly in 66% of the children. Ninety-five percent of the parents categorized the physical therapy from helpful to very helpful. Overall outcome was judged utilizing a point system that incorporated a variety of clinical aspects of torticollis. Good to excellent results were achieved in 96% of the children based on these criteria.


Introduction: Dr. Camille Parmesan will talk about global warming and its effects on animals and people. All life on earth is adapted to living in areas with a particular climate. Over the past century the actions of human civilization have caused changes in global climate. Dr. Parmesan was one of the first scientists to detect biological changes in response to the recent warming of the earth's atmosphere. She will talk about her work with Edith's Checkerspot Butterfly on the U.S. west coast as well as other documented examples of the effects of global warming from around the world.


Abstract In this article, we present a new approach to the problem of calculating compilers. In particular, we develop a simple but general technique that allows us to derive correct compilers from high-level semantics by systematic calculation, with all details of the implementation of the compilers falling naturally out of the calculation process. Our approach is based upon the use of standard equational reasoning techniques, and has been applied to calculate compilers for a wide range of language features and their combination, including arithmetic expressions, exceptions, state, various forms of lambda calculi, bounded and unbounded loops, non-determinism and interrupts. All the calculations in the article have been formalised using the Coq proof assistant, which serves as a convenient interactive tool for developing and verifying the calculations.


ABSTRACT Background Cognitive theories associate depression with negative biases in information processing. Although negatively biased cognitions are well documented in depressed patients and to some extent in recovered patients, it remains unclear whether these abnormalities are present before the first depressive episode. Method High neuroticism (N) is a well-recognized risk factor for depression. The current study therefore compared different aspects of emotional processing in 33 high-N never-depressed and 32 low-N matched volunteers. Awakening salivary cortisol, which is often elevated in severely depressed patients, was measured to explore the neurobiological substrate of neuroticism. Results High-N volunteers showed increased processing of negative and/or decreased processing of positive information in emotional categorization and memory, facial expression recognition and emotion-potentiated startle (EPS), in the absence of global memory or executive deficits. By contrast, there was no evidence for effects of neuroticism on attentional bias (as measured with the dot-probe task), over-general autobiographical memory, or awakening cortisol levels. Conclusions These results suggest that certain negative processing biases precede depression rather than arising as a result of depressive experience per se and as such could in part mediate the vulnerability of high-N subjects to depression. Longitudinal studies are required to confirm that such cognitive vulnerabilities predict subsequent depression in individual subjects.


Humor is an essential human trait. Efforts to understand humor have called out links between humor and the foundations of cognition, as well as the importance of humor in social engagement. As such, it is a promising and important subject of study, with relevance for artificial intelligence and human– computer interaction. Previous computational work on humor has mostly operated at a coarse level of granularity, e.g., predicting whether an entire sentence, paragraph, document, etc., is humorous. As a step toward deep understanding of humor, we seek fine-grained models of attributes that make a given text humorous. Starting from the observation that satirical news headlines tend to resemble serious news headlines, we build and analyze a corpus of satirical headlines paired with nearly identical but serious headlines. The corpus is constructed via Unfun.me, an online game that incentivizes players to make minimal edits to satirical headlines with the goal of making other players believe the results are serious headlines. The edit operations used to successfully remove humor pinpoint the words and concepts that play a key role in making the original, satirical headline funny. Our analysis reveals that the humor tends to reside toward the end of headlines, and primarily in noun phrases, and that most satirical headlines follow a certain logical pattern, which we term false analogy. Overall, this paper deepens our understanding of the syntactic and semantic structure of satirical news headlines and provides insights for building humor-producing systems.


Interactions between model molecules representing building blocks of proteins and the thiocyanate anion, a strong protein denaturant agent, were investigated in aqueous solutions with intermolecular vibrational energy exchange methods. It was found that thiocyanate anions are able to bind to the charged ammonium groups of amino acids in aqueous solutions. The interactions between thiocyanate anions and the amide groups were also observed. The binding affinity between the thiocyanate anion and the charged amino acid residues is about 20 times larger than that between water molecules and the amino acids and about 5-10 times larger than that between the thiocyanate anion and the neutral backbone amide groups. The series of experiments also demonstrates that the chemical nature, rather than the macroscopic dielectric constant, of the ions and molecules plays a critical role in ion/molecule interactions in aqueous solutions.


This study evaluates the performance of four evapotranspiration methods (Priestley-Taylor, Penman-Monteith, Hargreaves and Makkink) of differing complexity in a semi-arid environment in north China. The results are compared to observed water vapour fluxes derived from eddy flux measurements. The analysis became necessary after discharge simulations using an automatically calibrated version of the Soil and Water Assessment Tool (SWAT) failed to reproduce runoff measurements. Although the study area receives most of the annual rainfall during the vegetation period, high temperatures can cause water scarcity. We investigate which evapotranspiration method is most suitable for this environment and whether the model performance of SWAT can be improved with the most adequate evapotranspiration method. The evapotranspiration models were tested in two consecutive years with different rainfall amounts. In general, the simple Hargreaves and Makkink equations outmatch the more complex Priestley-Taylor and Penman-Monteith methods, although their performance depended on water availability. Effects on the quality of SWAT runoff simulations, however, remained minor. Although evapotranspiration is an important process in the hydrology of this steppe environment, our analysis indicates that other driving factors still need to be identified to improve SWAT simulations. 2.


St. George Tucker was one of the more influential jurists, legal scholars, and legal educators of late eighteenth- and early nineteenth-century America. This essay provides an introduction to this William and Mary Law Review symposium on Tucker and his influence on American law. In addition to serving as both a state and federal judge, and a law professor at William and Mary, Tucker made his mark as an important legal scholar. Although he would eventually be eclipsed in prominence by Joseph Story and James Kent, Tucker was the most significant legal scholar of the early nineteenth century, particularly after publication of his five-volume edition of William Blackstone's Commentaries on the Laws of England in 1803. Tucker's Blackstone included eight hundred pages of essays on a variety of legal and political topics and more than one thousand footnotes in which Tucker examined Blackstone in light of American and Virginian law. Tucker's edition of Blackstone, known as "America's Blackstone," soon became the leading legal text in the United States, enjoying wide circulation throughout the country. Indeed, Tucker's Blackstone, the first major legal treatise on American law, was one of the most influential legal works of the early ninet! eenth century, and the only treatise on American constitutional law until the1820s. Because Tucker wrote many of the essays that appeared in his edition of Blackstone during the early 1790s, and was quite familiar with the ratification controversy and the contemporary debates over the Bill of Rights, his essays on the Constitution offer a fascinating eighteenth-century perspective on the meaning of our central constitutional texts. The United States Supreme Court has cited Tucker's Blackstone in more than forty cases as authority for eighteenth-century understandings of certain points of law including recent cases addressing state sovereign immunity and the ability of states to impose term limits on members of Congress. This symposium on St. George Tucker seeks to renew scholarly interest in one of the more compelling jurists, legal scholars, and legal educators of early America.


Recent advances in nonsilica fiber technology have prompted the development of suitable materials for devices operating beyond 1.55 mu m. The III-V ternaries and quaternaries (AlGaIn)(AsSb) lattice matched to GaSb seem to be the obvious choice and have turned out to be promising candidates for high speed electronic and long wavelength photonic devices. Consequently, there has been tremendous upthrust in research activities of GaSb-based systems. As a matter of fact, this compound has proved to be an interesting material for both basic and applied research. At present, GaSb technology is in its infancy and considerable research has to be carried out before it can be employed for large scale device fabrication. This article presents an up to date comprehensive account of research carried out hitherto. It explores in detail the material aspects of GaSb starting from crystal growth in bulk and epitaxial form, post growth material processing to device feasibility. An overview of the lattice, electronic, transport, optical and device related properties is presented. Some of the current areas of research and development have been critically reviewed and their significance for both understanding the basic physics as well as for device applications are addressed. These include the role of defects and impurities on the structural, optical and electrical properties of the material, various techniques employed for surface and bulk defect passivation and their effect on the device characteristics, development of novel device structures, etc. Several avenues where further work is required in order to upgrade this III-V compound for optoelectronic devices are listed. It is concluded that the present day knowledge in this material system is sufficient to understand the basic properties and what should be more vigorously pursued is their implementation for device fabrication. (C) 1997 American Institute of Physics.


Previous studies suggest that factual learning, that is, learning from obtained outcomes, is biased, such that participants preferentially take into account positive, as compared to negative, prediction errors. However, whether or not the prediction error valence also affects counterfactual learning, that is, learning from forgone outcomes, is unknown. To address this question, we analysed the performance of two cohorts of participants on reinforcement learning tasks using a computational model that was adapted to test if prediction error valance influences learning. Concerning factual learning, we replicated previous findings of a valence-induced bias, whereby participants learned preferentially from positive, relative to negative, prediction errors. In contrast, for counterfactual learning, we found the opposite valence-induced bias: negative prediction errors were preferentially taken into account relative to positive ones. When considering valence-induced bias in the context of both factual and counterfactual learning, it appears that people tend to preferentially take into account information that confirms their current choice


This paper examines whether retailer bargaining power and upfront slotting allowances prevent small manufacturers (who have no bargaining power) from obtaining adequate distribution. In contrast to the findings of Marx and Shaffer (2007), who showed that all equilibria involve limited distribution (i.e., exclusion of a retailer), we show that there is always an equilibrium in which full distribution is obtained, provided that full distribution is the industry profit-maximizing outcome. The key feature leading to this differing result is that we do not restrict each retailer to offering the manufacturer a single tariff.


The cretaceous ostracods of Iraq are poorly known, so the aim of the project was to study their taxonomy and to discover their value in correlation between wells in Iraq and between Iraq and neighbouring countries. The Cenomanian-Santonian ostracods of the superfamily Cytheracea were studied in detail from five wells in central and southern Iraq (East Baghdad Well-3, South Rumaila Well-104, Safawi Well-1, Ghalaisan Well-1, and Kifl Well-2). 5 families, 6 subfamilies, 28 genera, 4 subgenera and 74 species were discovered. Two new genera, Iraqicythereis and Archeocosta (the latter published by Al-Bashir and Keen in 1984 during the preparation of this thesis) and one subgenus Peloriops (Hemipeloriops) are proposed; of the 74 species described 58 are new. Four ostracod biozones and three subzones are proposed for the areas studied on the basis of the Cytheracea ostracods; these are arranged from the base to the top as follows: Veeniacythereis streblolophata - Veeniacythereis maghrebensis - Total Range Zone (A-1); Dumontina? mdaouerensis - Partial Range Zone (A-2); Veeniacythereis ibnalhaithami - Partial Range Zone (A-3); Peloriops (Peloriops) alrazii - Partial Range Zone (A-4). The Veeniacythereis streblolophata - Veeniacythereis maghrebensis - Total Range Zone is subdivided into three subzones: A - Glenocythere bahrreinensis - Total Range Subzone (A-1a), B - Soudanella? alkhansai - Assemblage Subzone (A-1b), and C Cythereis alfarazdaki - Assemblage Subzone (A-1c). The ages of the zones and subzones have been determined from a study of the diagnostic ostracod species and stratigraphic position. A Cenomanian age is assigned to A-1 zone; the A-1a and A-1b subzones are of Lower Cenomanian age; a Lower Turonian age is suggested for the A-2 zone; Upper Turonian-Coniacian for the A-3 zone; and a Santonian age for the A-4 zone. The ostracod zones and subzones have been recognised in each of the wells studied. The age of the formations studied has been determined on the basis of the ostracod fauna and stratigraphic position. The upper part of the Mauddud Formation, and the Ahmadi Formation are assigned to the Lower Cenomanian; the Rumaila Formation is placed in the Upper Cenomanian; the Mishrif Formation is placed in the Upper Cenomanian to Lower Turonian; the Kifl Formation is placed in the Lower Turonian; the Khasib Formation is placed in the Upper Turonian-Lower Coniacian; the Tanuma Formation is placed in the Upper Coniacian, although it may include strata of Santonian age in some localities; and the Sadi Formation is assigned to the Santonian. The Ahmadi/Rumaila contact in Ghalaisan Well-1 is placed at the top of the Soudanella? alkhansal subzone. The lower part of the Rumaila Formation in East Baghdad Well-3 is contemporaneous with the Ahmadi Formation on the basis of the occurrence of the Glenocythere bahreinensis Subzone, and is considered to be of Lower Cenomanian age. In Kifl Well-2 the Maotsi Formation is probably of Upper Cenomanian age and the Mahilban and Fahad Formations may be of Lower Cenomanian age. The base of the Khasib Formation is marked by the appearance of many new ostracod species and genera such as Acanthocythereis, Brachycythere, Buntonia, Paracytheridea, Protobuntonia and Phymacythereis. This indicates a major faunal break between the Mishrif/Kifl Formation below and the Khasib Formation above. This faunal break is marked by an unconformity referred to as the Aruma-Wasi unconformity which is recognised throughout the Arabian Gulf. The ostracod biozones of Iraq have been correlated with corresponding zones in other Middle Eastern and North African countries. Problems of variation in the size of some ostracods have been studied. There is a considerable range in size of Peloriops (Peloriops) ulosa, Rehacythereis arabica, Brachycythere basrahaensis sp. nov., Archeocosta alkhazwinii, Veeniacythereis maghrebensis, and Veeniacythereis ibnalhaithami sp. nov. The size range appears to be continuous, and the smaller specimens are considered to be adult. This size variation appears to exclude precocious sexual dimorphism as well as the possibility of larger and smaller forms belonging to two closely related species. It is difficult to determine whether the size variation is due to environmental or genetic causes. Intra-specific variation in ornamentation of the following species has sbeen studied: Iraqicythereis Kadisiya gen. et sp. nov., Veeniacythereis ibnalhaithami sp. nov., Cythereis? ibnyunusi sp. nov., Peloriops (Peloriops) sphaerommata, Peloriops (Hemipeloriops) djabirbnhaiyani sp. nov., and Metacytheropteron berbericus. This variation may be continuous or discontinuous. In the first case it is difficult to recognise distinct morphotypes, but in the second case it is possible to separate them into distinct morphotypes. The morphotypes appear to represent a case of stable polymorphism. The variation is believed to be genetically controlled. The environments of deposition have been determined by using the characteristic ostracod species and other fauna (e.g. foraminifera), and type of sediment. The Ahmadi Formation was deposited in an open, shallow, neritic environment with restrictions in some areas. The Rumaila Formation is distinguished by its low species diversity and poor fauna, but this is considered to be due to preservation rather than environmental conditions. Generally the Rumaila Formation represents deeper water conditions than those of the Ahmadi Formation, becoming shallower with restrictions from the sea in some areas. The Mishrif Formation indicates open shallow water neritic conditions followed by a shallowing phase associated with oscillations of sea level, or with an influx of fresh water. The Kifl Formation represents shallow water conditions partly connected with the open sea, accompanied with the development of lagoonal areas. The Khasib and the Tanuma Formations indicate open shallow marine conditions (infra-neritic), but in some areas (in East Baghdad Well-3 and Kifl Well-2) coastal conditions are suggested, perhaps with restricted access to the open sea because of the presence of a poor ostracod fauna dominated by Ovocytheridea.


A section of US 52 between Dubuque and Luxemburg, Iowa, was listed in the top 5% of Iowa highways for severe crashes involving impaired drivers and single vehicle run-off-road crashes during 2001–2005, and several crashes have occurred on this roadway near the towns of Luxemburg, Holy Cross, and Rickardsville, Iowa, many on curves. Staff and officials from the Iowa Department of Transportation (Iowa DOT), Iowa State Patrol, Governor's Traffic Safety Bureau, Federal Highway Administration, Center for Transportation Research and Education Dubuque County, and a retired fire chief met to review crash data and discuss potential safety improvements to U.S. Highway 52. This report outlines the findings and recommendations of the road safety audit team to address the safety concerns on this US 52 corridor and explains several mitigation strategies that the Iowa DOT District 6 Office has selected.


This paper unites quantitative and qualitative data from the College Social Life Survey (n = 732) to describe and explain patterns of racial homophily in undergraduate sexual/romantic relationships at an elite university, a closed social setting. It expands the literature on interracial romantic unions by comparing homophily in hookups (uncommitted sexual interactions), dates, and long-term relationships. Although this population embodies many characteristics associated with greater racial mixing (youth, education, status equality, geographical proximity, racial diversity, independence from family), racial homophily is still strongly evident. Variation in levels of homophily among relationship types and among racial groups is explained by differences in desired homophily, social network segregation, and participation in formal race-based student organizations. Black students are particularly socially isolated.


Neuroscience is at a crossroads. Great effort is being invested into deciphering specific neural interactions and circuits. At the same time, there exist few general theories or principles that explain brain function. We attribute this disparity, in part, to limitations in current methodologies. Traditional neurophysiological approaches record the activities of one neuron or a few neurons at a time. Neurochemical approaches focus on single neurotransmitters. Yet, there is an increasing realization that neural circuits operate at emergent levels, where the interactions between hundreds or thousands of neurons, utilizing multiple chemical transmitters, generate functional states. Brains function at the nanoscale, so tools to study brains must ultimately operate at this scale, as well. Nanoscience and nanotechnology are poised to provide a rich toolkit of novel methods to explore brain function by enabling simultaneous measurement and manipulation of activity of thousands or even millions of neurons. We and others refer to this goal as the Brain Activity Mapping Project. In this Nano Focus, we discuss how recent developments in nanoscale analysis tools and in the design and synthesis of nanomaterials have generated optical, electrical, and chemical methods that can readily be adapted for use in neuroscience. These approaches represent exciting areas of technical development and research. Moreover, unique opportunities exist for nanoscientists, nanotechnologists, and other physical scientists and engineers to contribute to tackling the challenging problems involved in understanding the fundamentals of brain function.


Research in string theory over the last several decades has yielded a rich interaction with algebraic geometry. In 1985, the introduction of Calabi-Yau manifolds into physics as a way to compactify ten-dimensional space-time has led to exciting cross-fertilization between physics and mathematics, especially with the discovery of mirror symmetry in 1989. A new string revolution in the mid-1990s brought the notion of branes to the forefront. As foreseen by Kontsevich, these turned out to have mathematical counterparts in the derived category of coherent sheaves on an algebraic variety and the Fukaya category of a symplectic manifold. This has led to exciting new work, including the Strominger-Yau-Zaslow conjecture, which used the theory of branes to propose a geometric basis for mirror symmetry, the theory of stability conditions on triangulated categories, and a physical basis for the McKay correspondence. These developments have led to a great deal of new mathematical work. One difficulty in understanding all aspects of this work is that it requires being able to speak two different languages, the language of string theory and the language of algebraic geometry. The 2002 Clay School on Geometry and String Theory set out to bridge this gap, and this monograph builds on the expository lectures given there to provide an up-to-date discussion including subsequent developments. A natural sequel to the first Clay monograph on Mirror Symmetry, it presents the new ideas coming out of the interactions of string theory and algebraic geometry in a coherent logical context. We hope it will allow students and researchers who are familiar with the language of one of the two fields to gain acquaintance with the language of the other. The book first introduces the notion of Dirichlet brane in the context of topological quantum field theories, and then reviews the basics of string theory. After showing how notions of branes arose in string theory, it turns to an introduction to the algebraic geometry, sheaf theory, and homological algebra needed to define and work with derived categories. The physical existence conditions for branes are then discussed and compared in the context of mirror symmetry, culminating in Bridgeland's definition of stability structures, and its applications to the McKay correspondence and quantum geometry. The book continues with detailed treatments of the Strominger-Yau-Zaslow conjecture, Calabi-Yau metrics and homological mirror symmetry, and discusses more recent physical developments. This book is suitable for graduate students and researchers with either a physics or mathematics background, who are interested in the interface between string theory and algebraic geometry.


This paper describes an eInclusion project supported by the European FP6 research programme, called COGKNOW. The aim of this project is to develop innovative solutions from research that help people in the early stages of dementia maintain their independence and confidence. The project is heavily user-driven and relies also on significant clinical advice and guidance to provide the technical research and development team with strong pathways for development. The project is developing a cognitive prosthetic device that can reinforce feelings of safety, support recreational activities, facilitate communication and most importantly support the person by using a calendar-driven reminding function in the device. COGKNOW is also focused on ensuring that the user-driven and clinically supported development takes cognisance of the potential market for a cognitive prosthetic. Consequently there is a formal assessment of the potential market carried out in the project. At this stage in the project, the functionality identified for the first of three trials in the project has been set out, and this paper introduces these findings and relates them to the proposed business framework.


We demonstrated a diode-pumped Nd:YAG laser with a plano-concave resonator. When the pump power is 1.57 W, the output power of 1123-nm laser is 132 mW at the temperature of 20 oC, and the power change is less than 2% in an hour. A periodicallypoled LiNbO3 (PPLN) was used as outer cavity frequency-doubling crystal and 561-nm laser was observed.


River research and management activities often focus on mesoscale habitat (mesohabitat) classifications such as physical biotopes (e.g. pools, glides, runs, riffles). The size and surface flow characteristics of these features are such that they can easily be mapped from the bank and incorporated into rapid field reconnaissance surveys (e.g. UK River Habitat Survey). Information from such surveys can then be used in physical habitat assessment, habitat modelling and river rehabilitation applications. The results of recent research suggest, however, that only broad associations exist between hydraulics and mesohabitats. So called 'standard' hydraulic variables (depth, mean velocity, Froude number) do not provide adequate discrimination between physical biotopes and may not constitute the most mechanistic descriptors of habitat for plants, benthic invertebrates and fish that have strong associations with high shear zones. Instead, the concept of 'within-biotope hydrodynamic heterogeneity' - defined as spatial and discharge-related variation in turbulent flow properties describing the intensity, periodicity, orientation and scale of turbulence - may hold promise as the foundation for a more effective and ecologically relevant classification. Given the dearth of information on the hydrodynamic characteristics of physical biotopes in UK lowland streams, the first step in testing this conceptual framework was to collect high frequency velocity data from a range of habitats on the Leigh Brook, a third-order stream in Central England. A series of 90 second velocity records was taken from each of four types of physical biotope commonly found on lowland rivers using a 25 Hz Acoustic Doppler Velocimeter (Nortek NDV). Measurements were taken at 60 mm from the bed, in order to characterise nose velocities of trout, and at 0.6 of the flow depth. In discriminating between physical biotopes, turbulent flow properties were at least as important as standard hydraulic variables. Levels of spatial and discharge-related variability in turbulent flow characteristics differed between habitats, providing support for a classificatory framework based on within-biotope hydrodynamic heterogeneity.


This book is a precise and fiercely honest projection of what we know about climate change into the future of one small corner of the planet: the islands of Britain and Ireland. Kohn looks closely at six landscapes and one city to show how our world will have altered over the course of the century. These islands will, compared with the parched Mediterranean lands, let alone a devastated Africa, be fairly benign places to live. But we will have paid a terrible price for our relative good fortune. Our parks will be arid brown fields; private automobile use unheard of; water will be severely rationed; significant stretches of our beloved coastline will have been sacrificed to the sea. Some of our flora and fauna will have vanished; exotic animals and pests will flourish. Vast numbers of marginalized human migrants will be here. Surveillance and restriction of our movements will be taken for granted. Walking in what is left of 'nature' will be nearly impossible. Terrible summer fires in our upland areas will be commonplace. This is a report from the near future that we cannot afford to ignore.


The agility of a robotic system is ultimately limited by the speed of its processing pipeline. The use of a Dynamic Vision Sensors (DVS), a sensor producing asynchronous events as luminance changes are perceived by its pixels, makes it possible to have a sensing pipeline of a theoretical latency of a few microseconds. However, several challenges must be overcome: a DVS does not provide the grayscale value but only changes in the luminance; and because the output is composed by a sequence of events, traditional frame-based visual odometry methods are not applicable. This paper presents the first visual odometry system based on a DVS plus a normal CMOS camera to provide the absolute brightness values. The two sources of data are automatically spatiotemporally calibrated from logs taken during normal operation. We design a visual odometry method that uses the DVS events to estimate the relative displacement since the previous CMOS frame by processing each event individually. Experiments show that the rotation can be estimated with surprising accuracy, while the translation can be estimated only very noisily, because it produces few events due to very small apparent motion.


Conference Aim and Vision: Resilience, as the capacity to deal with change and continue to develop, relates to ecological dynamics and governance questions associated to specific resource systems (agroecosystems, fisheries, forests, rangelands, marine and freshwater ecosystems), and to global issues such as biodiversity conservation, urban growth, economic development, human security and well- being. Human societies are an integral part of the biosphere and sustainable social development depends on the continuous generation of essential ecosystem services. Thus ecosystems change is often considered as one factor decreasing social and ecological resilience. over the past century we have entered a new era where human activities have emerged as a main force shaping the biosphere from local to global scales, as reflected by climate change, vulnerability in the economic system, large losses of biodiversity, and irreversible changes in ecosystems.

This is also a time of unprecedented development challenges: intransigent poverty and inequality constitute a major threat to human welfare and to planetary sustainability. There is an increasing interest in the transformability of social ecological systems i.e., the capacity of society to change the system's state variables when current trajectories become untenable. But a critical dilemma faces humankind: how can more equitable and beneficial social development paths be stimulated in light of these challenges?

The objective of resilience 2014 is to explore and reinforce the multiple links between resilience thinking and development issues. The concepts of adaptation, Transformation and development are central and common to several research communities, including resilience in social and ecological systems, ecological economics, environmental change, Farming Systems (among others). Besides, the term resilience is now being used more widely in policy circles and policy debates. Beyond the academic sphere, business and development communities are increasingly using the resilience concept in their discourses. By now they have built their own sets of notions and practices of resilience, although these meanings sometimes may be at odds with scientific interpretations of resilience. Focusing on resilience, but firmly rooted in the belief that a diversity of approaches can inform each other, the conference will offer the opportunity to articulate and debate their specific paradigms, concepts and methodologies. complex problems require diverse approaches that can generate a constructive debate, and eventually lead to more suitable solution


INTRODUCTION
This study examined the reliability of self-reported smoking history measures. The key measures of interest were time since completely quitting smoking among former smokers; age at which fairly regular smoking was initiated among former and current smokers; the number of cigarettes smoked per day and the number of years of daily smoking among former smokers; and never smoking. Another goal was to examine sociodemographic factors and interview method as potential predictors of the odds of strict agreement in responses.

METHODS
Data from the 2002-2003 Tobacco Use Supplement to the Current Population Survey were examined. Descriptive analysis was performed to detect discrepant data patterns, and intraclass and Pearson correlations and kappa coefficients were used to assess reporting consistency over the 12-month interval. Multiple logistic regression models with replicate weights were built and fitted to identify factors influencing the logit of agreement for each measure of interest.

RESULTS
All measures revealed at least moderate levels of overall agreement. However, upon closer examination, a few measures also showed some considerable differences in absolute value. The highest percentage of these differences was observed for former smokers' reports of the number of years smoking every day.

CONCLUSIONS
Overall, the data suggest that self-reported smoking history characteristics are reliable. The logit of agreement over a 12-month period is shown to depend on a few sociodemographic characteristics as well as their interactions with each other and with interview method.


In an international confrontation, nuclear weapons can provide leverage even if they are not used. The leverage comes from threats of use or increased risk of use. When the confrontation is successfully resolved without nuclear use, exploiting this latent, potential use of nuclear weapons appears to be cost free. But in fact, some fraction of the consequence of a nuclear war should be included in the cost–benefit calculation each time the tactic is employed.


A NOVEL BIORELEVANT IN VITRO SYSTEM TO PREDICT THE IN VIVO PERFORMANCE OF ORAL TRANSMUCOSAL PRODUCTS By Poonam R. Delvadia, B. Pharm., M.Pharm. A dissertation submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy at Virginia Commonwealth University Virginia Commonwealth University, 2013 Major Director: H. Thomas Karnes, Ph.D. Professor & Graduate Program Director, Department of Pharmaceutics, School of Pharmacy In vitro dissolution, release and permeation testing is a common practice during drug product research and development. These in vitro tests, if predictive, are referred to as biorelevant tests and can play diverse roles to facilitate and expedite product development in a cost effective manner. Oral transmucosal products (OTPs) are currently tested using compendial and modified in vitro tests which may or may not be good predictors of in vivo performance due to a lack of biorelevance. A critical need for a broadly applicable and biorelevant in vitro system for OTPs has been expressed in the literature and the goal of this research was the development and validation of a biorelevant in vitro method that can facilitate accurate prediction of the in vivo behavior of OTPs. A combined strategy of appropriate apparatus design and relevant physiological and in vitro variable adjustment was investigated to incorporate biorelevance into evaluation of OTPs. A novel in vitro device, the bidirectional transmucosal apparatus (BTA), was designed and fabricated which allowed simulation of the oral cavity and its physiological variables to evaluate OTPs in a more realistic fashion. The BTA was tested using snus (a type of smokeless tobacco) as the OTP product. A simple and selective high performance liquid chromatographic (HPLC) method with photodiode array (PDA) detection was developed and validated to assess in vitro nicotine release and permeation (Linearity: 0.5 – 32 μg/mL; calibration curve accuracy (%recovery, n=5 ): 97.98103.20%; calibration curve precision (%RSD, n=5): 0.15-3.14%). The performance of BTA was compared with the modified USP IV flow through apparatus (USP IV) and a commercially available vertical diffusion cell (VDC). The observed in vitro in vivo relationship (IVIVR) slopes with the USP IV, VDC and BTA were 0.27, 2.01 and 2.11 respectively. The BTA was selected over the VDC and USP IV devices because of better simulation and adjustment of variables to incorporate biorelevance in the test of OTPs. Additionally, the BTA allows study of permeation and release simultaneously unlike VDC and USP IV apparatuses. Further, the different BTA parameters were sequentially screened for their impact on in vitro rate of nicotine permeation that can be employed for the optimization of IVIVR for snus. Based on the results, stimulated saliva swallowing rate (SSSR) and media temperature were considered as significant factors affecting in vitro permeation of nicotine and used to further optimize IVIVR for snus. A 3 multifactorial experimental design integrating SSSR (0.32, 1.66 and 3 mL/min) and media temperature (25, 37 and 45 °C) was employed. Based on the response surface analysis, 0.55 mL/min SSSR and 43 °C media temperature were identified as optimal BTA conditions that would give perfect IVIVR (i.e. IVIVR slope close to one) for snus. The experimental value of IVIVR slope (0.92) at these optimal conditions indicated that the BTA is a valid in vitro system for evaluation of OTPs in a biorelevant manner. The applicability of BTA for predicting nicotine permeation from 'Stonewall', a dissolvable compressed tobacco was also evaluated. However, comparable in vitro nicotine permeation and in vivo nicotine absorption profiles were not obtained (ratio of in vitro permeation to in vivo absorption rate ranged from 0.04 to 0.14 at different in vitro conditions) either due to the unavailability of reliable clinical data or due to inherently different in vivo behavior of Stonewall compared to snus that would require further modification in the BTA. In conclusion, this research demonstrated the potential of the novel in vitro device to be a valuable tool for the prediction of in vivo performance of snus. The application of the novel bidirectional transmucosal apparatus for other types of OTPs will be an interesting subject for further investigation.


Abstract A phone survey was administered to 1,195 growers in six states (Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Mississippi, Nebraska, and North Carolina). The survey measured producers' crop history, perception of glyphosate-resistant (GR) weeds, past and present weed pressure, tillage practices, and herbicide use as affected by the adoption of GR crops. This article describes the changes in tillage practice reported in the survey. The adoption of a GR cropping system resulted in a large increase in the percentage of growers using no-till and reduced-till systems. Tillage intensity declined more in continuous GR cotton and GR soybean (45 and 23%, respectively) than in rotations that included GR corn or non-GR crops. Tillage intensity declined more in the states of Mississippi and North Carolina than in the other states, with 33% of the growers in these states shifting to more conservative tillage practices after the adoption of a GR crop. This was primarily due to the lower amount of conservation tillage adoption in these states before GR crop availability. Adoption rates of no-till and reduced-till systems increased as farm size decreased. Overall, producers in a crop rotation that included a GR crop shifted from a relatively more tillage-intense system to reduced-till or no-till systems after implementing a GR crop into their production system. Nomenclature: 2,4-D, glyphosate; corn, Zea mays L.; cotton, Gossypium hirsutum L; soybean, Glycine max (L.) Merr


A pure and incompressible material is confined between two plates such that it is heated from below and cooled from above. When its melting temperature is comprised between these two imposed temperatures, an interface separating liquid and solid phases appears. Depending on the initial conditions, freezing or melting occurs until the interface eventually converges towards a stationary state. This evolution is studied numerically in a two-dimensional configuration using a phase-field method coupled with the Navier-Stokes equations. Varying the control parameters of the model, we exhibit two types of equilibria: diffusive and convective. In the latter case, Rayleigh-Benard convection in the liquid phase shapes the solid-liquid front, and a macroscopic topography is observed. A simple way of predicting these equilibrium positions is discussed and then compared with the numerical simulations. In some parameter regimes, we show that multiple equilibria can coexist depending on the initial conditions. We also demonstrate that, in this bi-stable regime, transitioning from the diffusive to the convective equilibrium is inherently a nonlinear mechanism involving finite-amplitude perturbations.


Timothy Williamson offers a proof of the counterintuitive claim that, if an object exists, then it exists necessarily. David Wiggins argues that this result reveals the philosophical disadvantage of a first level (or 'ticking over') view of the very 'exists' and the advantage of the second level account offered by Frege and Russell. The author seeks to show how, using an idea of G. Evans but without the use of the resources of 'free logic', all occurrences of 'exist', including its occurrence in true, negative existential, singular statements, can be accommodated to the Frege–Russell view and accorded the intuitively required modal status.


Online marketing is identified as one of the key drivers of European digital economy. Recent studies have shown that advertising is not adding direct value for the advertisers only, but it creates significant additional indirect value and jobs while boosting innovation and creativity. In Europe online advertising has grown dramatically. It is expected that online advertising revenues will surpass television advertising in 2016. Online marketing in Macedonia is still in its nascent stage. It significantly lags behind countries in the region and far behind the developed countries in the European Union at all possible parameters. Online marketing ad spend in Macedonia is still very low. It is estimated to be 3% to 4% of total ad spending. The reasons why Macedonia's online marketing use is still very low, in spite of the relatively high level of Internet penetration and solid infrastructure, are numerous and multifaceted: distorted market forces, lack of official independent company that measures internet traffic, lack of knowledge on online marketing of Macedonian companies, legal framework etc. Policy makers in Macedonia could address the most important obstacles to increased use of online marketing by designing and implementing specific policy instruments and carrying out existing strategies in this area.


While the coming of the m i ddle school clearly presents teachers with a wide range of opportunit i es for exciting new work the problems involved in the new enterprise are equally clear. Secondary teachers ask themselves to what extent their approach and subject mat t er will be applicable to younger children; their · junior colleagues, teachers of general subjects in the main, consider what increased degree of specialization will be required of them. In no subject are the opportunities and problems more apparent than in craft. A speaKer at the Exeter conference reported in Middle Schools - Themes in Education no. 14 (p 15) was enthusiastic about craft opportunities . 'The middle school provides two tremendous advantages. One , boys and girls could have equal opportunity in these schools and secondly a child can start specialised craft work before the age of eleven . ' The section on craft in this publication is helpful, but useful references in this area are not abundant. In Towards the Middle School, DES Education Pamphlet no . 57, good examples are given of planning for heavy craft work. The Middle School - a Symposium comprises eight articles which first appeared in The Teacher and which embody a lot of good sense . Two very good articles on the subject of th i s paper appeared in the TES of 24 July 1970. There is a need for a lot more discussion, however, on what wood and metal work can be done with the middle school age group, what place it should have in the timetable and who should teach it .


Part I of this Note provides an overview of Internet censorship and international law, including the different approaches and theories behind Internet censorship. Part I.A discusses the development of the ICCPR and its application to the Internet. Next, Part I.B-D provides an in-depth overview of the Internet censorship models of three different countries: the United States, the United Kingdom, and China. Part II examines each country's Internet censorship model under Article 19 of the ICCPR, considering Article 19(3)'s three-part test and requirements established by recent UN reports interpreting them. The analysis will also examine each country's copyright laws under Article 19. In Part III, this Note argues that due to the idiosyncrasies of each country's Internet censorship policy and new challenges presented by intellectual property laws, Article 19 of the ICCPR by itself does not provide a clear analysis of a country's Internet policy. Article 19 should be supplemented with parts of Professor Bambauer's framework. The culturally-neutral criterion of the framework mitigates the difficulty of analyzing and comparing countries with different cultural norms and moral values. Moreover, the proposed metric also allows for analysis of indirect chilling effects caused by intellectual property laws. This Note concludes that supplementing Article 19 with the framework proposed by Professor Bambauer is a positive step towards creating a global standard of Internet regulation.


In this paper, we consider a cognitive cooperative relay network (CCRN) that utilizes a decode-and-forward relay in the presence of multiple primary users. Given this system setting, we study the effect of multiple primary transmitters (PU-Txs) and multiple primary user receivers (PU-Rxs) on the outage probability of the considered CCRN. Specifically, power allocation policies for the secondary user transmitter (SU-Tx) and the secondary relay (SR) are formulated, subject to the outage constraint which is imposed by the PU-Rxs as well as the peak transmit power limits given at the SU-Tx and SR. On the basis of these power allocation policies for the SU-Tx and SR, an expression for the outage probability of the CCRN is derived. Numerical examples are presented to show the effect of different system parameters on the outage probability of the CCRN.