This study examined the gender difference in students' perceived discussion strategies in face-to-face and online asynchronous contexts. A survey of 363 university students and follow-up interviews of 20 participants was conducted to examine any gender differences within each context and between the two contexts. The Discussion Strategies Scale was developed to examine students' discussion strategies for both contexts in four dimensions: comprehension, interaction, elaboration and anxiety. The results show that no gender difference was found within the face-to-face context; however, within the online asynchronous context, the females perceived themselves better than did the males regarding their elaboration strategies. Although both genders experienced less anxiety in asynchronous discussion, the males perceived themselves as having better strategies in face-to-face discussion than in asynchronous discussion and the females perceived themselves as having about the same level of sophistication in both contexts. This study provides an in-depth observation of how both genders adapt themselves to different discussion contexts. We conclude that female students adapted themselves, as strategic learners, better than the males in asynchronous learning situations in which the male students were not as active as they were in traditional face-to-face discussion contexts.


Brain cancer incidence rates in the United States have been increasing in both adults (1) and children (2). The possibility that aspartame, a widely ingested artificial sweetener, may be a cause of brain cancer in humans was suggested in a recent report by Olney et al. (3). From a descriptive analysis of national cancer data, they noted increased brain cancer incidence rates in the United States that coincided with the introduction of aspartame into food stuffs in the early 1980s. As part of a population-based case– control study of environmental and nutritional risk factors for pediatric brain tumor occurrence, we collected data on aspartame consumption before the date of diagnosis for case patients (or a comparable reference date for control subjects) from the biologic mothers of study children by in-person interview. The methodology for the study has been published previously (4). Briefly, case patients were 19 years of age or older and were diagnosed with a primary brain tumor between 1984 and 1991 in 19 West Coast counties of the United States. Control subjects were recruited using random-digit dialing and were frequency-matched by age at diagnosis, year of birth, sex, and study site. We present data on aspartame consumption among the subset of participants from the Los Angeles and San Francisco sites where questions on aspartame consumption were added to the original questionnaire midway through the interviews. Our analysis of the child's exposure was conducted on 56 case patients and 94 control subjects who were born in 1981 or later (to correspond with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration [FDA] approval of aspartame). We also evaluated brain tumor risk in relation to mother's consumption of aspartame during pregnancy and breast-feeding for 49 case patients and 90 control subjects who were in utero in 1981 or later. We calculated odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals and adjusted for the frequency-matched variables with the use of unconditional logistic regression. Additional adjustment for known or suspected risk factors (maternal vitamin use, cured meat consumption, passive smoke exposure, x-ray exposure, head injury, and family history of brain cancer) did not change our results. Case children were no more likely than control children to consume foods containing aspartame, either from all sources of aspartame combined (OR 4 1.1) or from diet drinks (OR 4 0.9) (Table 1). There was no suggestion of a dose–response relation based on age at first consumption, number of years of consumption, or frequency of consumption. We observed no elevated brain tumor risk to the child from maternal consumption of aspartame during pregnancy nor did we find elevated risks during any trimester of pregnancy or during breast-feeding (Table 2). Additionally, we found no evidence for an aspartame–brain tumor association when the analysis was stratified by histologic subgroups (astroglial, primitive neuroectodermal, or all others). These findings are not consistent with an aspartame–brain cancer relation, although our study sample was small and the confidence intervals of our risk estimates are relatively wide. Recall bias is unlikely to have affected these results, or we would expect to see elevations in risk; however, it is conceivable that exposure misclassification that was randomly distributed between case patients and control subjects could have masked a true effect, if the true effect was weak. We are aware of no other epidemiologic studies that have evaluated brain cancer risk from aspartame consumption. There have been numerous studies (5-8) related to the potential neurotoxic effects of aspartame. However, few experimental or biochemical reports related to the carcinogenicity of aspartame are in the scientific literature. Before approval of aspartame for human consumption, the FDA and an FDAappointed public board of inquiry reviewed several studies to determine if aspartame can induce brain neoplasms in mice or rats. The mice studies were negative, but interpretation of two of the three rat studies differed initially between the FDA and its board of inquiry. These differences were resolved, and the FDA commissioner concluded that aspartame did not contribute to brain tumor formation in rats (7-10). A subsequent rat study also found no association between aspartame and brain tumor occurrence (11). Because some dietary constituents can be nitrosated in the stomach to form potentially carcinogenic N-nitroso compounds (12), Shephard et al. (13) evaluated the mutagenic activity of aspartame after nitrosation. They observed only a weak mutagenic effect of nitrosated aspartame at concentrations considerably higher than normal human intake levels. On the basis of the kinetics of nitrosation of mutagenic intermediates, Shephard et al. concluded that the terminal amino group of aspartame, not the amide function, was primarily nitrosated. It would be nitrosation of the amide function, not the terminal amino group, that could produce a potential brain carcinogen, based on the ability of the related nitrosoureas to induce brain tumors in laboratory animals (14). Thus, our review revealed little biologic or experimental evidence that aspartame is likely to act as a human brain carcinogen.


This paper is a preliminary discussion of the connections between environmental and human security through the notion of environmental refugees. The concept of environmental refugees appeared in a 1985 paper that argued while the term may be legitimate, such a category of refugees would constitute a minor part of the world's refugee population, if at all. Later discussions by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) and Norman Meyer contradict this position with estimates of up to 200 million environmental refugees by 2050. These latter predictions are currently endorsed by non-governmental organisations (NGOs) working in the areas of refugees and global environmental issues. Of particular interest has been Friends of the Earth's Climate Justice campaign, and Rising Tide International's Climate Justice Network. These NGOs and others argue that this humanitarian impact of global climate change presents significant issues for the Asia Pacific region. Environmental refugees are estimated to flow in the millions in Australia's neighbourhood as a result of global warming. However, environmental refugees do not appear in the 1951 Refugee Convention, which conceives of refugees mainly in terms of political and social rights, particularly as expressed in the Universal Declaration on Human Rights. Thus, while NGOs present a convincing case for the legitimacy of the rights of environmental refugees, international law does not recognise their plight. This paper argues that the NGO focus on environmental justice within these campaigns opens up critical space for the concept of environmental refugees and new discussions around a human right to environment.


BACKGROUND
Family physicians can play a vital role in preventing gun violence, and better data on which to base their interventions might result in more effective prevention efforts. Using Washington State data, two assumptions on which interventions can be based were tested: compared with urban areas, rural areas have (1) a higher percentage of gun deaths from shotguns and rifles, and (2) a higher percentage of gun deaths from suicides and accidents

METHODS
From 1990 to 1996, 4,271 gun deaths on Washington death certificates were classified as rural or urban. The data were retrospectively sorted and analyzed by gun type (handguns, rifles, shotguns, or other) and by intent (suicide, homicide, or accidental death).

RESULTS
Compared with urban settings, rural areas had a higher percentage of gun deaths from shotguns and rifles and a higher percentage from suicides and accidents (P < .01). Two similarities, however, stand out as more important than the confirmed hypothesized differences: handguns accounted for more than 50% of gun deaths, and suicides accounted for nearly 70% of gun deaths in both urban and rural areas.

CONCLUSIONS
Family physicians might want to focus their firearm safety efforts on preventing handgun deaths and suicides, which accounted for most gun deaths in rural and urban areas. Also, data from this study suggest that deaths from shotguns and rifles as well as accidental and suicide gun deaths deserve special attention in rural areas.


this LibGuide now provides access to any remaining resources, as well as summarizing how copyright restrictions are being applied during this virtual learning period, what COVID-19 information is openly available, and what other open access resources are


Inarguably, arts festivals are important cultural assets for communities, contributing to the expression, celebration, and creation of local culture. Most research on arts festivals tends to be on the evaluation of their "impact," focusing either on economic measurements or audience satisfaction (e.g., Williams and Bowdin, 2007). Less attention has been given to understanding the process of artistic creation and how the local context influences creative production. An understanding of the process and the factors that influence creative practice can help unearth and map intangible cultural assets. However, research on creativity and creative production tends to look at how individuals generate ideas, focusing on their particular skills, processes, and cognitive characteristics (for an overview of approaches to creativity, see Sternberg, 1999). Yet creative practitioners very rarely operate in isolation; they operate within a complex environment that influences their practice in a fundamental way (see, e.g., Amabile, 1996). Our understanding to the interactions among artists and with their environment and intended audience is much more limited.

This chapter aims to contribute to our understanding of creative practice, the development of cultural projects in arts festivals, and their impact by taking into consideration both the creative practitioners and the influences, networks, and contexts that interact with their work. Taking the Fuse Medway Festival (U.K.) as a case study, this chapter narrates the use of a mixed methods approach to cultural mapping, using cognitive maps and interviews to explore how we can culturally map the artistic creative process and unearth the factors and interactions that influence it. This work is crucially informed by complexity theory.

The chapter begins by introducing our theory-informed perspective on creative practice and creative work and by briefly outlining some core literature on festivals. We then present in more detail the case study, our methodology, the data collected, and the results achieved. The final conclusion reflects more generally on the value of complexity science, its contribution to understanding creative practice, and its implications for cultural mapping.


We investigate the performance of different variants of a suitably tailored Tabu Search optimisation algorithm on a higher-order design problem. We consider four objective func- tions to describe the performance of a compressor stator row, subject to a number of equality and inequality constraints. The same design problem has been previously investigated through single-, bi- and three-objective optimisation studies. However, in this study we explore the capabilities of enhanced variants of our Multi-objective Tabu Search (MOTS) optimisation algorithm in the context of detailed 3D aerodynamic shape design. It is shown that with these enhancements to the local search of the MOTS algorithm we can achieve a rapid exploration of complicated design spaces, but there is a trade-off be- tween speed and the quality of the trade-off surface found. Rapidly explored design spaces reveal the extremes of the objective functions, but the compromise optimum areas are not very well explored. However, there are ways to adapt the behaviour of the optimiser and maintain both a very efficient rate of progress towards the global optimum Pareto front and a healthy number of design configurations lying on the trade-off surface and exploring the compromise optimum regions. These compromise solutions almost always represent the best qualitative balance between the objectives under consideration. Such enhancements to the effectiveness of design space exploration make engineering design optimisation with multiple objectives and robustness criteria ever more practicable and attractive for modern advanced engineering design. Finally, new research questions are addressed that highlight the trade-offs between intelligence in optimisation algorithms and acquisition of qualita- tive information through computational engineering design processes that reveal patterns and relations between design parameters and objective functions, but also speed versus optimum quality. © 2012 by the authors. Published by the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics, Inc.


One of the most common criticisms of currency devaluation is that it causes disproportionate suffering among the poor. This study examines the distributional impact of price changes associated with devaluation in Rwanda using a simplified household-firm model based on household budget data. The study approximates the welfare impact on each household in the sample, making use of 'willingness-to-pay' measures of welfare impact which are theoretically superior to the standard 'consumer surplus' measure. The results indicate that price changes associated with devaluation have a proportionately greater negative impact on the real income of urban households than rural, and within each sector a greater impact on high income households than low-income. The main reason for this pattern is that rural and low-income households tend to be insulated from price changes by being less integrated in the cash economy.


This article considers the recent reform of the law to make it easier for unmarried fathers to transmit British citizenship to their children. It is suggested that this reform is interesting for the broader trends which it reflects: a movement towards formal equality between mothers and fathers, and between marital and non-marital children, and a related enhanced reliance on the genetic link as a means of grounding legal fatherhood. While the reform discussed here has received little critical attention, these broader shifts have been anything but uncontroversial in other contexts.


Liberal thought is based on the fundamental question of consent versus coercion. The autocracies and slavery systems of the past were based on coercion whereas today's democracy in the political sphere and employment system in the economy are based on consent. This paper retrieves an almost forgotten contractarian tradition, dating from at least the Middle Ages, that based political autocracy and economic slavery on explicit or implicit voluntary contracts. Hence the democratic and antislavery movements had to hammer out arguments not simply in favor of consent and against coercion, but arguments based on the distinction between contracts to alienate (translatio) sovereignty versus contracts to only delegate (concessio) self-governance rights. They argued that the alienation contracts were in a certain sense inherently invalid so that those basic rights were inalienable even with consent. These inalienable rights arguments from the democratic and antislavery movements are also retrieved, arguments that liberal thought neglects when the basic question is simplistically posed as consent versus coercion. Finally, it is noted that the basic inalienable rights argument - that a de facto person cannot fit the de jure role of a thing even with consent - applies equally well to the employment contract which can be seen collectively as a contract for the employees to alienate management rights over their work to the employer or individually as the contract to rent oneself to the employer for limited periods rather than to sell oneself as in the self-enslavement contract. In conclusion, the paper considers various paths to get from the employment relation in a firm to a democratic firm where the members are the people working in the firm.


In this paper, we study the problem of safe online learning to re-rank, where user feedback is used to improve the quality of displayed lists. Learning to rank has traditionally been studied in two settings. In the offline setting, rankers are typically learned from relevance labels created by judges. This approach has generally become standard in industrial applications of ranking, such as search. However, this approach lacks exploration and thus is limited by the information content of the offline training data. In the online setting, an algorithm can experiment with lists and learn from feedback on them in a sequential fashion. Bandit algorithms are well-suited for this setting but they tend to learn user preferences from scratch, which results in a high initial cost of exploration. This poses an additional challenge of safe exploration in ranked lists. We propose BubbleRank, a bandit algorithm for safe re-ranking that combines the strengths of both the offline and online settings. The algorithm starts with an initial base list and improves it online by gradually exchanging higher-ranked less attractive items for lower-ranked more attractive items. We prove an upper bound on the n-step regret of BubbleRank that degrades gracefully with the quality of the initial base list. Our theoretical findings are supported by extensive experiments on a large-scale real-world click dataset.


The three-dimensional multiple multipole program (MMP) code based on the generalized multipole technique is outlined for readers who are not familiar with its concepts. This code was originally designed for computational electromagnetics. Rayleigh expansions and periodic boundary conditions are two new features that make MMP computations of arbitrary periodic structures efficient and that at the same time allow us to take advantage of the benefits of other MMP features, including surface impedance boundary conditions and a variety of available basis functions for modeling the electromagnetic field. The application of three-dimensional MMP to a simple grating of highly conducting wires with rectangular cross sections illustrates the high accuracy and the fast convergence of the method as well as the use of surface impedance boundary conditions. A more complicated biperiodic array of helical antennas demonstrates the application of thin-wire expansions in conjunction with regular MMP expansions. This model can be considered a simulation of a thin, anisotropic chiral slab with interesting characteristics.


Significance Apicomplexan parasites include organisms that cause widespread and devastating human diseases such as malaria, cryptosporidiosis, and toxoplasmosis. These parasites are named for a structure, called the "apical complex," that organizes their invasion and secretory machinery. We found that two proteins, apical cap protein 9 (AC9) and an enzyme called ERK7, work together to facilitate apical complex assembly. Intriguingly, ERK7 is an ancient molecule that is found throughout Eukaryota, though its regulation and function are poorly understood. AC9 is a scaffold that concentrates ERK7 at the base of the developing apical complex. In addition, AC9 binding likely confers substrate selectivity upon ERK7. This simple competitive regulatory model may be a powerful but largely overlooked mechanism throughout biology. Apicomplexan parasites use a specialized cilium structure called the apical complex to organize their secretory organelles and invasion machinery. The apical complex is integrally associated with both the parasite plasma membrane and an intermediate filament cytoskeleton called the inner-membrane complex (IMC). While the apical complex is essential to the parasitic lifestyle, little is known about the regulation of apical complex biogenesis. Here, we identify AC9 (apical cap protein 9), a largely intrinsically disordered component of the Toxoplasma gondii IMC, as essential for apical complex development, and therefore for host cell invasion and egress. Parasites lacking AC9 fail to successfully assemble the tubulin-rich core of their apical complex, called the conoid. We use proximity biotinylation to identify the AC9 interaction network, which includes the kinase extracellular signal-regulated kinase 7 (ERK7). Like AC9, ERK7 is required for apical complex biogenesis. We demonstrate that AC9 directly binds ERK7 through a conserved C-terminal motif and that this interaction is essential for ERK7 localization and function at the apical cap. The crystal structure of the ERK7–AC9 complex reveals that AC9 is not only a scaffold but also inhibits ERK7 through an unusual set of contacts that displaces nucleotide from the kinase active site. ERK7 is an ancient and autoactivating member of the mitogen-activated kinase (MAPK) family and its regulation is poorly understood in all organisms. We propose that AC9 dually regulates ERK7 by scaffolding and concentrating it at its site of action while maintaining it in an "off" state until the specific binding of a true substrate.


Today's agriculture is embedded with advance services like GPS, sensors etc, that enable to communicate to each other, analyse the data and also exchange data among them. IT provides services in the form of cloud to agriculture. Agriculture-Cloud and IT offers expertise service to farmers regarding cultivation of crops, pricing, fertilizers, disease detail method of cure to be used etc. Scientists working at Agriculture research stations can add their discoveries, suggestions regarding modern techniques for cultivation, usage of fertilizers, can obtain cultivation history of the region etc. In this paper, our study was based on is to design and implement a simple Cloud based application on Agriculture System which is based on Agri-Cloud that enhance agriculture production and also enhance the availability of data related to research projects in field and also in lab. The impact of doing it would cut the cost, time, and make the communication system much faster and easier. We performed the simulation and experiments by using PHP server, mySQL database.


So far, various approaches have been proposed to explain the progress of science. These approaches, which fall under a fourfold classification, are as follows: semantic, functional, epistemic, and noetic approaches. Each of these approaches, based on the intended purpose of science, defines progress on the same basis. The semantic approach defines progress based on the approximation to the truth, the functional approach based on problem-solving, the epistemic approach based on knowledge accumulation, and the noetic approach based on increased understanding. With a stratified description of the world, Roy Bhaskar sees science as the movement toward deeper layers aimed at discovering productive mechanisms. He also explains progress based on the layering and acquisition of knowledge of the underlying layers. But because he believes in the social nature of science and considers knowledge a social product and subject to change, he acknowledges the fallibility of cognition. Hence, it is believed that moving to a new layer does not necessarily lead to the progress of science. However, it is possible that by acquiring knowledge about the new layer, our previous knowledge will be revised and corrected. In this article, while expressing the Bhaskar theory of scientific progress and explaining its contingency with respect to the fallibility of cognition, we pursue a basic goal. This goal is summarized in the review of all four approaches in order to show their lack of attention to the fallibility of cognition and its effect on explaining progress. What has been done in this article is based on two phases: explaining the contingency of the progress of science for Bhaskar and examining the four approaches to the progress of science in order to show their inattention to the fallibility of cognition. In his philosophy, referring to the two dimensions of transitive and intransitive, Roy Bhaskar considers the purpose of science to be the acquisition of knowledge about intransitive objects, and this knowledge is achieved through a social activity. Since this cognition is a social product and belongs to the transitive dimension of science, it will be fallible and subject to change. Bhaskar concludes with philosophical arguments that the world contains generative mechanisms, but that it is the task of science to discover their nature and exactly what mechanisms are at work. This requires work in two theoretical dimensions, namely the use of conceptual tools and a practical dimension, that is, the use of experimental tools. Now, as the theoretical and technical conditions under which cognition is formed and evaluated are themselves expanding and subject to change and modification, our knowledge may also be expanded or corrected. In this study, it was found that the semantic approach is unaware of the effect of fallibility on the evidence used to estimate the approximation to the truth and, consequently, progress. The functional approach ignores this effect in solving the problems posed by theories. The epistemic approach does not take into account the fallibility of evidence used to justify and validate the evidence, and finally, the noetic approach neglects the effect of the fallibility on what the explanation and prediction are based on. These have led to these approaches, which consider the satisfaction of the criteria in question necessarily leads to progress.


On October 1, 2009, the People's Republic of China orchestrated a grand military parade celebrating the 60th anniversary of the founding of the republic. Amid China's ascendancy in the world, this national ceremony provides a rhetorical prototype to examine its communicative phenomena and sociopolitical circumstances. Deploying public memory as the conceptual framework to investigate this spectacle, I argue that the Chinese government mobilized a publicity campaign to project its national identity as an ancient, emergent superpower. To this end, the Chinese government exploited historico-cultural resources to consummate its communist leadership as historically continuous, politically orthodox, and ideologically legitimate. The parade's problematic historical representation and memorial invocation, though attaining political and ideological credentials, reveal discursive dynamics and dilemmas in the increasingly contested, globalizing sphere of Chinese politics and communication.


Succinate dehydrogenase subunit B and D (SDHB and SDHD) mutations represent the most frequent cause of hereditary pheochromocytoma and paraganglioma (PPGL). Although truncation of the succinate dehydrogenase complex is thought to be the disease causing mechanism in both disorders, SDHB and SDHD patients exihibit different phenotypes. These phenotypic differences are currently unexplained by molecular genetics. The aim of this study is to compare disease dynamics in these two conditions via a Markov chain model based on 4 clinically-defined steady states. Our model corroborates at the population level phenotypic observations in SDHB and SDHD carriers and suggests potential explanations associated with the probabilities of disease maintenance and regression. In SDHB-related syndrome, PPGL maintenance seems to be reduced compared to SDHD (p = 0.04 vs 0.95) due to higher probability of tumor cell regression in SDHB vs SDHD (p = 0.87 vs 0.00). However, when SDHB-tumors give rise to metastases, metastatic cells are able to thrive with decreased probability of regression compared with SDHD counterparts (p = 0.17 vs 0.89). By constrast, almost all SDHD patients develop PGL (mainly head and neck) that persist throughout their lifetime. However, compared to SDHB, maintenance of metastatic lesions seems to be less effective for SDHD (p = 0.83 vs 0.11). These findings align with data suggesting that SDHD-related PPGL require less genetic events for tumor initiation and maintenance compared to those related to SDHB, but fail to initiate biology that promotes metastatic spread and metastatic cell survival in host tissues. By contrast, the higher number of genetic abnormalities required for tumor initiation and maintenance in SDHB PPGL result in a lower penetrance of PGL, but when cells give rise to metastases they are assumed to be better adapted to sustain survival. These proposed differences in disease progression dynamics between SDHB and SDHD diseases provide new cues for future exploration of SDHx PPGL behavior, offering considerations for future specific therapeutic and prevention strategies.


Empirical data from the Tokyo Metropolitan Expressway show how relations between traffic flow, density and speed evolve as the data are aggregated spatially and temporally. Considering larger geographic areas or longer time frames consistently reduces scatter associated with fundamental traffic flow relationships, according to quantitative results presented here. We argue that econometric results largely explain the somewhat counterintuitive finding. The relatively strong explanatory power of traffic flow relationships in aggregated data stems from correlations between observations of traffic on adjacent links and at adjacent points in time, as well as loop detector observational error. The data actually support a stronger claim that estimates of flow across a large area based on the aggregate fundamental diagram outperform estimates based on the summation of terms from link


Background Despite safety-related concerns, psychotropic medications are frequently prescribed to manage behavioural symptoms in older adults, particularly those with dementia. We assessed the comparative safety of different classes of psychotropic medications used in nursing home residents. Methods We identified a cohort of patients who were aged 65 years or older and had initiated treatment with psychotropics after admission to a nursing home in British Columbia between 1996 and 2006. We used proportional hazards models to compare rates of death and rates of hospital admissions for medical events within 180 days after treatment initiation. We used propensity-score adjustments to control for confounders. Results Of 10 900 patients admitted to nursing homes, atypical antipsychotics were initiated by 1942, conventional antipsychotics by 1902, antidepressants by 2169 and benzodiazepines by 4887. Compared with users of atypical antipsychotics, users of conventional antipsychotics and antidepressants had an increased risk of death (rate ratio [RR] 1.47, 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.14–1.91 for conventional antipsychotics and RR 1.20, 95% CI 0.96–1.50 for antidepressants), and an increased risk of femur fracture (RR 1.61, 95% CI 1.03–2.51 for conventional antipsychotics and RR 1.29, 95% CI 0.86–1.94 for antidepressants). Users of benzodiazepines had a higher risk of death (RR 1.28, 95% CI 1.04–1.58) compared with users of atypical antipsychotics. The RR for heart failure was 1.54 (95% CI 0.89–2.67), and for pneumonia it was 0.85 (95% CI 0.56–1.31). Interpretation Among older patients admitted to nursing homes, the risks of death and femur fracture associated with conventional antipsychotics, antidepressants and benzodiazepines are comparable to or greater than the risks associated with atypical antipsychotics. Clinicians should weigh these risks against the potential benefits when making prescribing decisions.


Despite some political, economic, and social gains, an overwhelming number of Black men in the United States face daily threats to their physical and psychological well-being. Although there have been calls for increased training in cultural competence in the fields of mental health, education, and medicine, the steadily increasing rates of racial disparities in these fields indicate that there remains a need to develop effective strategies to engage, treat, and foster resilience in marginalized communities. The authors offer Sites of Resilience (SOR) (Brown, 2004; Payne, 2001, 2005, 2006) as the theoretical lens for better understanding resilience and the Cultural Context Model (CCM) (Almeida, 1998, 2003; Almeida, Dolan-Del Vecchio, & Parker, 2008) as a clinical model for engaging and treating street life oriented Black men in need of mental health services. A clinical case study of "Kode" illustrates how SOR theory and the CCM can be applied to create a therapeutic milieu that promotes healing and liberation. These approaches may increase client engagement, retention, as well as bolster street life oriented Black men's ability to better negotiate their environments.


Safe and effective principles and strategies for recovery from trauma. Trauma recovery is tricky; however, there are several key principles that can help make the process safe and effective. This book gives self help readers, therapy clients, and therapists alike the skills to understand and implement eight keys to successful trauma healing: mindful identification of what is helpful, recognizing survival, having the option to not remember, creating a supportive inner dialogue, forgiving not being able to stop the trauma, understanding and sharing shame, finding your own recovery pace; mobilizing your body, and helping others. This is not another book promoting a new method or type of treatment; rather, it is a necessary adjunct to self-help and professional recovery programs. After reading this book, readers will be able to recognize their own individual needs and evaluate whether those needs are being met. They will have the tools necessary to put themselves in the drivers seat, navigating their own safe road to recovery.


A series of classical Dihydropyrimidone (DHP) derivatives were synthesize from o-hydroxy aldehydes. Azosalicyaldehydes were prepared from various substituted anilines with salicylaldehyde by the reported process. These Azosalicyaldehydes were reacts with ethylacetoacetate and urea in presence of ZnCl2 catalyst under 70-80°C temperature gives reported DHP products rather than oxygen bridged tricyclic product. The present method is founds eco-friendly, highly efficient, and clean method for the selective synthesis of DHP derivatives.


BACKGROUND
  Hospital clinicians are increasingly expected to practice evidence-based medicine (EBM) in order to minimize medical errors and ensure quality patient care, but experience obstacles to information-seeking. The introduction of a Clinical Informationist (CI) is explored as a possible solution.

AIMS
  This paper investigates the self-perceived information needs, behaviour and skill levels of clinicians in two Irish public hospitals. It also explores clinicians' perceptions and attitudes to the introduction of a CI into their clinical teams.

METHODS
  A questionnaire survey approach was utilised for this study, with 22 clinicians in two hospitals. Data analysis was conducted using descriptive statistics.

RESULTS
  Analysis showed that clinicians experience diverse information needs for patient care, and that barriers such as time constraints and insufficient access to resources hinder their information-seeking. Findings also showed that clinicians struggle to fit information-seeking into their working day, regularly seeking to answer patient-related queries outside of working hours. Attitudes towards the concept of a CI were predominantly positive.

CONCLUSION
  This paper highlights the factors that characterise and limit hospital clinicians' information-seeking, and suggests the CI as a potentially useful addition to the clinical team, to help them to resolve their information needs for patient care.


A total of 392 individuals were enrolled in the study divided into two main groups (196 melasma cases and 196 control group). Melasma prevalence and diagnosis were done by screening different groups of population on clinical basis with the aids of Wood's light examination (by the same dermatologist). The study was carried out at the departments of microbiology and dermatology in Basrah medical college during the period from October 2003 to the end of March 2005. The study showed that melasma was more prevalent in age intervals of 21-30 years and 31-40 years presented in 45.7% and 38.2% respectively. The prevalence of melasma among dermatological clinic attendants was 0.57% while the prevalence among pregnant women, female teachers and male outdoor workers were presented in 37.9%, 17.5% and 14.2% respectively. Melasma was more frequent among brown skin patients (75.5%) compared to white (18.3%) and black (6.1%) colored skin (P<0.01). Also non-seborrhoeic skin patients was more affected (63.2%) than seborrhoeic skin (37.6%) patients (P<0.01). However, sun exposure for 4-6 hours daily was the leading aggravating factor (59.7%) of the total melasma cases although drugs and cosmetics (18.4%) and emotional factor (40.3%) had significant (P<0.01) effect on prevalence of melasma in the community.


This paper describes the application of the Effective Boltzmann Machine (EBM) to musical style recognition. After it has been trained with examples of four-part chorales, the EBM is able to distinguish different styles of chorales in unseen pieces of music. Our earlier studies showed that the EBM has many desirable properties. In particular, it is able to complete arbitrary length contextual sequences from learned local context, and synthesise musical harmony for polyphonic music. ln this paper we show that the EBM is able to distinguish chorales from the Baroque period from Norwegian chorales. In summary, the EBM is able to distinguish, firstly, between chorales present in the training set and those that are not. Secondly, the EBM is also able to distinguish chorales of different styles, where one style was used in the training set. We also show that two different EBMs (one trained from examples from Choralbuch and the other trained from Norwegian chorales) are able to distinguish between two different harmonised styles of the same chorale melody. The EBMX system is a PC-based graphical interface, interactive system implementing the EBM for recognition and harmonisation of short musical pieces.


Resistivity measurements are used to study vortex dynamics in a high quality superconducting YBa2Cu3O7-δ twinned single crystal. Nine gold contacts have been deposited on one sample surface, allowing us to perform different kinds of investigations. Firstly, simple longitudinal resistivity data reveal the vortex phase transition. When the magnetic field is slightly tilted away from the twin planes, this transition is presumably of first order, separating a vortex liquid phase from a solid vortex lattice or Bragg glass. If on the other hand the magnetic field is parallel to the crystallographic c-axis, that is along the twin boundaries, the solid phase then apparently becomes a Bose glass. Secondly, measurements of the orientation and magnitude of the electric field as a function of the current direction in the ab plane yield much information about the influence of the twins on the vortex dynamics. We observe a partially guided vortex motion along the dominating twin plane family, already apparent in the vortex liquid, and becoming progressively more and more pronounced as the temperature or the magnetic field is reduced. There is no sharp change of the twin influence at the vortex phase transition. We also show that standard resistivity measurements in twinned samples, in which the current is applied along the a or b-axis, should be interpreted carefully, precisely because as a consequence of this guided motion the electric field is no longer parallel to the current. Finally, the mixed state Hall effect is studied, with particular focus given to the vortex phase transition. We observe the usual Hall anomaly, that is, a sign reversal of the Hall effect in the mixed state, and show that the often reported Hall resistivity scaling law ρxy ∝ ρxxβ remains unchanged in the vortex solid phase (ρxy is the Hall resistivity and ρxx the longitudinal resistivity). When the magnetic field is parallel to the twin boundaries, we obtain the critical exponent β = 2, naturally corresponding to a constant Hall conductivity below and slightly above the vortex phase transition. In the presence of a tilted magnetic field the exponent is then β = 1.4. In this case, we observe a sharp change of behavior in the Hall conductivity right at the vortex lattice melting point, its slope becoming much larger in the vortex solid phase. This effect being strongly dependent on the current density, we interpret it as a result of vortex pinning. Hence this demonstrates that the Hall conductivity is pinning dependent, hopefully solving a long term controversy with regards to this topic. We review some theoretical models concerning the Hall anomaly as well as the Hall scaling law in light of our data. A novel phenomenological model for the Hall resistivity scaling law is also given, directly inspired from the theory of percolation in metallic conductors.


Stanley Surrey (1910-1984) was arguably the most important tax scholar of his generation. Surrey was a rare combination of an academic (Berkeley and Harvard law schools, 1947-1961 and 1969-1981) and a government official (Tax Legislative Counsel, 1942-1947; Assistant Secretary for Tax Policy, 1961-1969). Today he is mostly remembered for inventing the concept of tax expenditures and the tax expenditure budget. This paper will argue that while Surrey was influential in shaping domestic tax policy for a generation and had an impact after his death on the Tax Reform Act of 1986, his longest lasting contributions were in shaping the international tax regime, since the concept of the single tax principle that shapes contemporary international tax reform efforts can be traced directly to his writing and activities both in academia and in the government.


The scope of contemporary higher education is wide, and concerns about the performance of higher education systems are widespread. The number of young people with a higher education qualification is expected to surpass 300 million in OECD and G20 countries by 2030. Higher education systems are faced with challenges that include expanding access, containing costs, and ensuring the quality and relevance of provision. The project on benchmarking higher education system performance provides a comprehensive and empirically rich review of the higher education landscape across OECD countries, taking stock of how well they are performing in meeting their education, research and engagement responsibilities.


In this paper, we propose a novel algorithm to extrinsically calibrate a camera to a 3D reference object that is not directly visible from the camera. We use the spherical human cornea as a mirror and calibrate the extrinsic parameters from its reflection of the reference points. The key contribution of this paper is to present a cornea-reflectionbased calibration algorithm with minimal configuration; there are three reference points and one mirror pose. The proposed algorithm introduces two constraints. First constraint is that the cornea is virtually a sphere, which enables us to estimate the center of the cornea sphere from its projection. Second is the equidistance constraint, which enables us to estimate the 3D position of the reference point by assuming that the center of the camera and reference point are located the same distance from the center of the cornea sphere. We demonstrate the advantages of the proposed method with qualitative and quantitative evaluations using synthesized and real data.


Heat transfer enhancement in mini / micro scale channels is desired in most compacted devices. Typically, these devices experience a high heat generation. In this regard several approaches were invented to increase heat dissipation rates. Taylor flow provides a promising technique to enhance heat transfer within mini / micro scale channels.
Taylor flow parameters and channel geometries are experimentally and theoretically studied to improve the thermal performance of mini / micro channels. The present dissertation aims to investigate heat transfer enhancement using the Taylor flows of gas-liquid and liquid-liquid flows in straight and curved tubes. The influence of the liquid slug length on heat transfer is examined when the isothermal boundary condition is applied to the heat transfer surface. This study also examines the effect of nanoparticle inclusion in the continuous and Taylor flows as new achievement in this regard. This dissertation will address heat transfer enhancement in the mini scale tubes over eight chapters as follows.
The first chapter provides a brief introduction and shows the originality, novelty, and importance of using the Taylor flows in the heat transfer enhancement. The second chapter summarizes a survey on the past attempts to investigate heat transfer of Taylor flows. The third and fourth chapters are devoted to study heat transfer in Taylor flows of gas-liquid and liquid-liquid in mini scale straight tubes. These experiments examine the effect of the liquid slug length on the thermal behavior of the Taylor / slug flows. In the fifth and sixth chapters, the thermal behavior of Taylor flows inside curved / coiled geometry are experimentally studied, and new empirical models were developed using the experimental data. The experiments considered the effects of three parameters, tube curvatures, liquid slug ratios, and Prandtl numbers. The seventh chapter addresses the heat transfer enhancement of nanofluids and compares with the conventional liquids. The study demonstrated the effect of nanoparticle concentration on heat transfer in continuous and Taylor flows.
The last chapter provides a summary and conclusion of the present study. Recommendations for the future studies are also stated to highlight the important aspects for further investigation.


INTRODUCTION I. SENATE PROCEDURES GOVERNING DEBATE II. CREATION OF THE FILIBUSTER A. The "Dignified Senate" B. The Inadvertent Creation of the Opportunity To Filibuster C. The First Filibusters III. THE CONSTITUTIONAL OPTION TO AMEND FORMALLY THE STANDING SENATE RULES A. The Senate Adopts a Formal Cloture Rule (1917) 1. The "Willful Eleven" 2. The Constitutional Option Is Introduced 3. Cloture Established B. The Vandenberg Ruling and Wherry Amendment: Cloture Broadened But Made More Difficult (1948-1949) C. The Return to Cloture by Two-Thirds Present (1953-1959) 1. The Civil Rights "Gravedigger" 2. The Constitutional Option Is Re-introduced (1953) 3. Nixon's Advisory Opinion (1957) 4. The Constitutional Option Preempted: The Leadership Pushes Through a Compromise (1959) D. Three-Fifths Cloture Reform (1960-1975) 1. The "Biannual Ritual" Continues (1961-1971) 2. The Leadership Forges a Three-Fifths Compromise (1975) E. The Constitutional Option. An Action-Forcing Mechanism IV. THE CONSTITUTIONAL OPTION TO RENDER NEW RULES PRECEDENT A. A Plan of Action B. The Plan in Action 1. An 1890 Variant of the Constitutional Option by Precedent 2. Later Models To Change Senate Procedures by Precedent: Four Examples a) A Precedent To End Post-Cloture Filibusters (1977) b) A Precedent Limiting Amendments to Appropriations Bills (1979) c) A Precedent Governing Consideration of Nominations (1980) d) Precedents Concerning Rule XII's Voting Procedures (1987) V. CHANGING SENATE PROCEDURES VIA STANDING ORDERS CONCLUSION INTRODUCTION In the United States Senate, the majority has the power to decide what will be debated, but the minority can often determine whether that debate will ever end in a final vote. No one questions that a majority of a quorum can exercise the rulemaking power. But, for almost any debatable proposition, forty-one members can prevent the Senate from taking a final vote, even though as many as fifty-nine Senators support the proposition. (1) In addition, the Senate cloture rule provides that for any change to the Senate rules (including the rules governing debate), one-third of members present and voting plus one can prevent the Senate from resolving a filibuster and taking a vote. (2) And Senate Rule V declares that these rules are perpetual: "The rules of the Senate shall continue from one Congress to the next Congress unless they are changed as provided in these rules." (3) At issue is whether the Senate cloture rule is carried over from one Congress to the next by Rule V and binds successor majorities. If so, the conclusion would seem to be that absent a change of heart among a sufficient minority, even a substantial majority is helpless to overcome a filibuster on a rules change. But what if the current Senate cloture rule is not binding? In 1979, faced with a potential filibuster on his rules-change proposal, Senator Robert C. Byrd (D-WV) raised the possibility that the U.S. Constitution provides the majority with a method for overriding the Senate's cloture rule: The Constitution in article I, section 5, says that each House shall determine the rules of its proceedings. Now we are at the beginning of Congress. This Congress is not obliged to be bound by the dead hand of the past. .... The first Senate, which met in 1789, approved 19 rules by a majority vote. Those rules have been changed from time to time.... So the Members of the Senate who met in 1789 and approved that first body of rules did not for one moment think, or believe, or pretend, that all succeeding Senates would be bound by that Senate. …


The manufacturing processes of industrial gases are major consumers of energy as electricity or fossil fuel. A big part of this energy ends up as heat in the process gas at temperatures around 150°C. Today, this thermal energy is generally released to the atmosphere through cooling towers. In this paper, the recovery of waste heat by the production of cooling capacity is considered via a desiccant cooling cycle. The liquid desiccant dehumidification and regeneration processes, uses lithium chloride (LiCl) as a liquid desiccant. The numerical model is upgraded permitting the calculation of the exergy destruction due to water evaporation rate in the regenerator, the desiccant temperature and concentration at the exit of the regenerator. An exergy analysis of the hot exhaust and the desiccant cooling cycle is performed, assessing the global exergy efficiency variation as a function of each operating parameter in the studied cycle and permitting the identification of the optimal design.


Excellent three dimensional preservation of 142 specimens of Alanops magnificus gen. et sp. nov. (Chelicerata: Xiphosura) from the Stephanian Konservat‐Lagerstätte of Montceau‐les‐Mines (Saône‐et‐Loire, France), exposes the carapace design and hitherto unrecorded details of fossil xiphosuran ventral anatomy, and makes possible an interpretation of appendicular functional morphology. All legs are long, slender and chelate. The chelate condition of the fifth leg and the shape of the prosoma (highly vaulted with a subvertical frontal area) indicate that the animal was neither a burrower like Recent xiphosurans (e.g. Limulus) nor an active swimmer as suggested for other extinct forms, but was more likely to have been a benthic crawler. The ability to fold up is attested by both partly enrolled specimens showing appendages withdrawn into the prosomal cavity, and by coaptive devices on the external and internal margins of both prosoma and opisthosoma. The low‐level articulation system at the boundary between the two shields allowed both the carapace closure and the complete outstretching of the animal. The unusually small adult size of Alanops magnificus gen. et sp. nov. combined with the loss of ophthalmic ridges and spines is interpreted as indicating a paedomorphic derivation from a bellinurine stock. The depositional environment (limnic intramontane basin) and faunal association (dominated by syncarids and bivalves) of Alanops indicate that the animal probably lived in fresh water.


pH-sensitive poly(N,N-dimethylaminoethyl methacrylate) hydrogels were synthesized by free-radical crosslinking polymerization using two different crosslinking agents; tetraethylene glycol dimethacrylate (TEGMA) and N,N′-methylenebis(acrylamide) (BAAm). The influence of the polymerization factors such as the type of the crosslinking agent and the gel preparation concentration on the swelling behavior, the gel strength, the effective crosslinking density and the average chain length between the crosslink points for the resulting hydrogels was investigated. The results of the equilibrium swelling measurements in water showed that the linear swelling ratio of the resulting hydrogels increases with increasing gel preparation concentration. The swelling ratio of PDMAEMA hydrogels crosslinked with BAAm is larger than those for hydrogels crosslinked with TEGMA over the entire range of the polymer network concentration. The hydrogels exhibit very sharp pH-sensitive phase transition in a very narrow range of pH between 7.7 and 8.0. From the mechanical measurements, it was also found that the linear swelling ratio of resulting hydrogels depends on the crosslinking density and also the type of the crosslinker used in the preparation. The resulting hydrogels are thought to be good candidates for pH-sensitive drug delivery systems. POLYM. ENG. SCI. 2013. © 2012 Society of Plastics Engineers


Due to its high prevalence and association with cardiovascular diseases, high blood pressure is a health problem in industrialized and developing countries. In industrialized countries, 25% of adults and 60% of people over 60 have high blood pressure. Researches indicated that most risk factors for high blood pressure were related to individuals' behavior and awareness, and educational programs, as one of the essential tools for changing lifestyle of the patients, have a significant impact on reducing risk-related behaviors and increasing healthy behaviors. Job stress is an important factor in occurrence of hypertension and heart disease. This study is an analytical research conducted in Sabzevar, Khorasan Razavi, in 2015-2016. Sabzevar has a population of 320,000 people. The target group of this study includes all the people in Sabzevar who aged between 20-65 (54%). For systolic blood pressure, difference between the number of classes of the two gender was significant (P = 0.006) with men's blood pressure was higher than that of women. In this study, subjects with systolic blood pressure of less than 13.99 were more likely to have normal body mass index. This finding is in line with the results of the research carried out by Winkelmayer. In their study. It was also reported that more than 75% of patients with high blood pressure had BMI> 25%.


Predicting the influences of dust on atmospheric composition, climate, and human health requires accurate knowledge of dust emissions, but large uncertainties persist in quantifying mineral sources. This study presents a new method for combined use of satellite‐measured radiances and inverse modeling to spatially constrain the amount and location of dust emissions. The technique is illustrated with a case study in May 2008; the dust emissions in Taklimakan and Gobi deserts are spatially optimized using the GEOS‐Chem chemical transport model and its adjoint constrained by aerosol optical depth (AOD) that are derived over the downwind dark‐surface region in China from MODIS (Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer) reflectance with the aerosol single scattering properties consistent with GEOS‐chem. The adjoint inverse modeling yields an overall 51% decrease in prior dust emissions estimated by GEOS‐Chem over the Taklimakan‐Gobi area, with more significant reductions south of the Gobi Desert. The model simulation with optimized dust emissions shows much better agreement with independent observations from MISR (Multi‐angle Imaging SpectroRadiometer) AOD and MODIS Deep Blue AOD over the dust source region and surface PM10concentrations. The technique of this study can be applied to global multi‐sensor remote sensing data for constraining dust emissions at various temporal and spatial scales, and hence improving the quantification of dust effects on climate, air quality, and human health.


In the UK 70% of adult services have early warning systems and trigger systems to identify patients at risk of physiological deterioration. Methodological challenges, unvalidated criteria that are not universally applied and insufficient staff education have contributed to difficulties in proving benefit.1

The more rapid physiological decline experienced by children makes it remarkable that these services are not routinely available for children. As simply adapting adult systems for children is inappropriate because of different age-related physiological and developmental factors, there has been an attempt to develop tools specifically for use in the paediatric population.2–6 This survey was designed to identify the prevalence and nature of paediatric early identification systems in the UK to inform future research, policy and the development of appropriate services for children.

View this table:

Table 1 The 36 different parameters used for early identification

A survey was sent to the lead paediatricians, intensivists, anaesthetists and critical care outreach leads of NHS Trusts in the UK caring for children. Personnel were identified from databases held by the Royal College of Paediatrics and …


Does the United States need to be training more physicians? One might think not, given that we currently have more physicians--both in absolute terms and as a percentage of the population--than at any other time in the last fifty years. (1) It may, therefore, be a surprise to discover that the Association of American Medical Colleges has been predicting a serious physician shortage over the upcoming decades. (2) It is calling for a 30 percent increase in U.S. medical school enrollment, an expansion of graduate medical education positions to accommodate the new enrollees, and increased federal funding for GME. It is joined in its prediction by the Council on Graduate Medical Education, (3) which forecasts a 10 percent shortfall of physicians by 2020, and by a veritable flotilla of state and specialty medical society workforce reports and papers. (4) How can the physician-rich United States be facing a shortage? The AAMC's Center for Workforce Studies offers a number of reasons. (5) First, using data from the American Medical Association's Physician Masterfile, the AAMC estimates that nearly a quarter of practicing physicians (24.7 percent) are over age sixty. (6) This large percentage means that in the next decade, retirement will take a large bite out of physician supply. Next, the U.S. Census Bureau predicts a population increase of upward of 50 million between 2006 and 2025; this growth will naturally increase demand for physicians. That expanding population is also aging, and older people demand more medical services than younger ones. Finally, if health reform really does result in more insurance coverage, then that, too, will increase demand for physician services. AAMC estimates that universal health coverage would increase demand by 4 percent. What would a physician shortage mean for the average American? The AAMC predicts a number of negative effects. Patients might have to wait longer to see physicians or specialists. They might have to travel farther for appointments and spend less time with their overburdened physicians. Because they'll experience more difficulty accessing physicians in their offices, some patients will turn to the emergency room for primary care; this will cause crowding and high-cost, inefficient use of ER resources. Other patients, not wanting to face the logistical problems caused by the physician shortage, will delay or curtail their medical visits, sometimes with terrible results. The AAMC also predicts that a shortage could result in the increased use of foreign medical graduates, osteopaths, and clinicians who are not physicians (like nurse practitioners), especially in primary care. Finally, though the AAMC does not particularly emphasize the point, any economist will tell you that when demand for physician services outstrips supply, physicians will raise their prices. Of course, as the AAMC recognizes, these effects would not occur uniformly. Shortages will be worse and demand will change more in some parts of the country than in others, and more serious shortfalls will occur within certain medical specialties. The AAMC cites data predicting shortages in family medicine, general surgery, and emergency medicine, and in specialties that primarily serve the elderly, such as cardiology, oncology, and geriatrics. Here, then, in sum, is the AAMC's case: A serious physician shortage is in the offing because of demographic changes that will dramatically increase demand as it curtails supply through physician retirement. This will decrease quality of care, raise prices, and cause massive dislocation and inconvenience across the United States. We therefore need to quickly increase the supply of U.S.-trained physicians in multiple specialties. Increasing the productivity of individual physicians can help, as can the greater use of nurse practitioners and physician assistants, but the bottom line is more MDs, and soon. It's a compelling argument. But is it right? …


Passive surveillance on the burden of disease due to diarrhoea will underestimate the burden if families use healthcare providers outside the surveillance system. To study this issue, a community-based cluster survey was conducted during October 2001 in the catchment area for a passive surveillance study in Zhengding county, a rural area of northern China. Interviews were conducted at 7 randomly-selected households in each of 39 study villages. The respondents indicated where they sought initial care for cases of diarrhoea or dysentery among children or adults. In the absence of diarrhoea and dysentery cases in the household in the preceding four weeks, the respondents were asked about healthcare use for a hypothetical case. Overall, 80% (95% confidence interval [CI] 67-93%) would chose the village clinic, 11% village pharmacy (95% CI 1-22%), 4% township hospital (95% CI -1-10%), 4% self-treatment (95% CI 1-8%), and 1% county hospital (95% CI 0-2%). Approximately, 84% of patients would seek treatment for diarrhoea and dysentery at centres participating in passive surveillance, suggesting that passive surveillance will provide a relatively accurate assessment of burden of diarrhoea in Zhengding county.


Feedback is essential in any kind of learning. This study focused on feedback in online learning and conceptualized feedback as a social interaction process. Online learning rests on social interaction, which is affected by feelings of social presence. Therefore, we investigated received and perceived online feedback, and the coherence between them. In addition, we studied the influence of social presence on feedback processes. Sixteen Dutch student teachers, who followed a 1 year customized postgraduate teacher education course, engaged in an online peer coaching program using Skype. Data could be collected from 8 different participants and 966 feedback utterances were analysed. In order to determine the quality of this received feedback, an observational instrument was used. In addition, questionnaires were filled in that addressed student teachers' feedback perceptions and feelings of social presence. Findings showed that participants with higher feedback perceptions received more effective observed feedback than participants with lower perceptions. Feelings of social presence affected perceived and observed feedback, however the social presence items need further validation. This study has practical implications for providing effective online feedback as well as providing a more holistic view on the processes of feedback among teachers.


Hüe et al. and Meresse et al. uncovered evidence for T cell receptor (TCR)-independent T cell cytolytic activity mediated through NKG2D. Celiac disease, a malabsorption disorder of the small intestine triggered by gluten (a protein found in wheat, rye, and barley), is associated with infiltration of the intestinal mucosa by T cells and villous atrophy (see Sollid). NKG2D, an activating receptor found in natural killer cells, also acts as a TCR costimulator in cytotoxic T cells. Its ligands MICA and MICB (MHC class I-related chains A and B) are expressed in intestinal epithelial cells, and their abundance is increased in response to stress. Both groups observed that MIC was overexpressed in intestinal epithelia of patients with active celiac disease. Hüe et al. found that, in patients with inactive disease, MICA expression was stimulated by the gluten component gliadin by way of interleukin 15 (IL-15) (which is overexpressed in celiac disease). In T cell lines derived from celiac patients' intraepithelial lymphocytes (IELs), NKG2D activation stimulated TCR-dependent target cell lysis and, in severe disease, directly stimulated T cell cytotoxicity. Meresse et al. found that exposure of freshly isolated IELs from individuals without celiac disease to IL-15 increased the abundance of NK2GD and enabled NKG2D-dependent cytolysis, whereas IELs from patients with active celiac disease had high levels of NKG2D and cytolytic behavior without IL-15 treatment. Using a combination of pharmacological and Western analysis, the latter group showed that activation of phosphoinositide 3-kinase (PI3K), extracellular signal-regulated protein kinase (ERK), and Jun N-terminal kinase (JNK) was required for NK2GD-dependent cytolysis and that IL-15 promoted PI3K-dependent phosphorylation of ERK. Thus, both groups suggest that the villous atrophy seen in celiac disease is mediated through T cell-mediated destruction of intestinal epithelial cells, which depends on IL-15-dependent stimulation of MIC-NKG2D signaling and can occur independently of TCR activation. S. Hüe, J.-J. Mention, R. C. Monteiro, S. Zhang, C. Cellier, J. Schmitz, V. Verkarre, N. Fodil, S. Bahram, N. Cerf-Bensussan, S. Caillat-Zucman, A direct role for NKG2D/MICA interaction in villous atrophy during celiac disease. Immunity 21, 367-377 (2004). [Online Journal] B. Meresse, Z. Chen, C. Ciszewski, M. Tretiakova, G. Bhagat, T. N. Krausz, D. H. Raulet, L. L. Lanier, V. Groh, T. Spies, E. C. Ebert, P. H. Green, B. Jabri, Coordinated induction by IL15 of a TCR-independent NKG2D signaling pathway converts CTL into lymphokine-activated killer cells in celiac disease. Immunity 21, 357-366 (2004). [Online Journal] L. V. Sollid, Intraepithelial lymphocytes in celiac disease: License to kill revealed. Immunity 21, 303-304 (2004). [Online Journal]


Stem cells have the capacity for both self renewal, and to form all cell types in the body. Interestingly, so called neural stem cells (NSCs) are found in the adult human brain, which is of significance both out of a developmental perspective and from a clinical point of view. At the present moment, the regulation of neural stem cell (NSC) proliferation and fate determination is not completely understood.The overall aim of this thesis was to study the mechanisms that regulate NSC proliferation and fate determination in vitro and in vivo. In particular, the roles of the female sex hormone estrogen and the testosterone analogue nandrolone, as well as the melanocortin α-melanocyte stimulating hormone (α-MSH), were analyzed in this context. Also, the breast cancer susceptibility gene one (BRCA-1), was studied in the brain with emphasis on regions containing NSCs.Our findings show that estrogen and nandrolone have similar effects on NSCs; both decreased NSC proliferation and increased neurogenesis. Estrogen's ability to reduce proliferation was due to increased levels of p21, an inhibitor of cyclin dependent kinases. In contrast, no change in p21 was observed in the case of nandrolone, indicating differential regulation. Adult rats subjected to nandrolone injections had 30% reduced NSC proliferation in the dentate gyrus, indicating profound effects on NSCs in vivo.The melanocortin α-MSH acted as a mitogen by increasing levels of cyclinD1 and retinoblastoma protein; as a result NSC proliferation was doubled.Finally, BRCA-1 is expressed while NSCs proliferate, but is drastically down regulated upon differentiation, indicating that BRCA-1 could be used as a possible NSC marker.In summary, in this thesis estrogen and nandrolone were identified as NSC regulators which decrease proliferation and positively influence neurogenesis. Also, we have identified the hormone α-MSH as a NSC mitogen, and BRCA-1 as a possible NSC marker.


Recent studies have indicated that ZnO superhydrophilic surfaces on copper and aluminum substrates enhance surface wettability and evaporation processes in droplet evaporation and pool boiling experiments. At slightly superheated surface temperatures, droplet evaporation on a nanoporous superhydrophilic surface exhibits onset of nucleation and nucleate boiling effects found in pool boiling processes. This study explores water droplet evaporation and quenching experiments conducted on nanostructured surfaces of a 45° downward facing pyramid copper, aluminum, and 304 stainless steel substrate. The nanostructured surfaces were used to conduct adiabatic droplet deposition, droplet evaporation, and quenching experiments. Through the three experiments and through surface characterization, by means of scanning electron microscopy, the underlying heat transfer performance and mechanism of droplet evaporation and pool boiling on various host metal substrates can be understood. The six surfaces tested were the following: bare copper, aluminum, and 304 stainless steel surfaces; and ZnO nanostructured surfaces on copper, aluminum, and 304 stainless steel. The experimental variables in this study were temperature and time. Through temperature and time measurements, the mean heat flux at varying superheats could be determined. Experimental results indicate the ZnO nanostructure enhances wettability and water evaporation on a variety of metal substrates. The presence of the ZnO nanostructure increases the mean heat flux and critical heat flux (CHF) in comparison to the bare metal surfaces. These results provide insight into the potential of enhancing spray cooling systems by growing a ZnO nanostructure on a heat exchanger fabricated of various metals.


BACKGROUND
Motor impairment is an important criterion in the Clinical Diagnostic Criteria (CDC) of Complex Regional Pain Syndrome type-1 (CRPS-1) as defined by International Association for Study of Pain (IASP).

OBJECTIVE
To describe the changes in musculoskeletal ultrasonography (MSKUSG) in CRPS-1 before and after treatment with ultrasound-guided dry needling (USGDN) in retrospective data from 44 patients.

STUDY DESIGN
Patients irrespective of age, gender, or cause of CRPS were included in this retrospective data analysis; the Budapest criteria for the diagnosis of CRPS were stringently adhered to.

SETTING
The analysis was done at Ashirvad Institute for Pain Management and Research with the database of CRPS patients who were treated between December 2005 and December 2014.

METHODS
The CDC, range of motion at upper extremity joints, dynamometry, Disability of arm, shoulder and hand score (DASH) and ultrasonography were documented on days one, 15, and 45. MSKUSG demonstrated loss of myoarchitecture and reduced bulk.

RESULTS
All 44 patients received USGDN as the sole intervention with medications and physiotherapy. MSKUSG at 15 and 45 days after starting USGDN showed a return of normalcy to the myoarchitecture and muscle bulk increase that coincided with the disappearance of CDC and a progressive and predictable improvement of the DASH scores in all the 44 patients.

LIMITATION
The analysis focuses on only 2 parameters: the musculoskeletal changes of the forearm flexors and extensors on ultrasound guidance and the efficacy of the dry needling treatment. It is not a comparative study with another accepted form of treatment or intervention. We have not looked into the age and gender predilection of the condition owing to the small sample size of the study. Analysis of long term maintenance of relief and rehabilitation of the disability were limited to one year.

CONCLUSION
Myofascial pathology of co-contraction appears to cause CDC of CRPS and probable ischemic loss of myoarchitecture. Relief of co-contraction with USGDN allowed resolution of tenosynovitis causing the CDC and return of normal myoarchitecture.


The objective of this research was to investigate the effects of normal aging and the additional effects of chronic exposure to two experimental diets, one enriched in aluminium, the other enriched in lecithin, on aspects of the behaviour and brain histology of the female mouse. The aluminium diet was administered in an attempt to develop a rodent model of Dementia of the Alzheimer Type (DAT). With normal aging, almost all assessed aspects of behaviour were found to be impaired. As regards cognition, selective impairments of single-trial passive avoidance and Morris place learning were observed. While all aspects of open-field behaviour were impaired, the degree of impairment was directly related to the degree of motoric complexity. Deficits were also observed on non-visual sensorimotor coordination tasks and in olfactory discrimination. Histologically, neuron loss, gliosis, vacuolation and congophilic angiopathy were observed in several of the brain regions/fibre tracts believed to contribute to the control of some of the assessed behaviours. The aluminium treatment had very selective effects on both behaviour and brain histology, inducing several features observed in DAT. Behaviourally, the treatment induced impaired spatial reference memory; reduced ambulation; disturbed olfactory function and induced the premature development of the senile pattern of swimming. Histologically, significant neuron loss and gliosis were observed in the hippocampus, entorhinal cortex, amygdala, medial septum, pyriform and pr-frontal cortex. In addition, the brain distribution of congophilic angiopathy was significantly increased by the treatment. The lecithin treatment had effects on both non-cognitive and cognitive aspects of behaviour. The effects of aging on open-field ambulation and rearing were partially ameliorated by the treatment. A similar effect was observed for single-trial passive avoidance performance. Age-dependent improvements in acquisition/retention were observed in 17-23 month mice and Morris place task performance was improved in 11 and 17 month mice. Histologically, a partial sparing of neurons in the cerebellum, hippocampus, entorhinal cortex and subiculum was observed.


Many standard models of political institutions frame outcomes as a function of the preferences of key decision makers. However, these models, and the empirical analyses they inspire, typically assume decision makers can infer the identities and ideological locations of other decision makers without error. Here, we reveal the substantive importance of this assumption. We show that partisan sorting, a common cause of polarization, can result in reduced uncertainty about the ideologies of key decision makers and the identities of key pivots. When we incorporate estimates of pivot uncertainty into empirical models of executive order issuance, we find lower levels of uncertainty are associated with higher rates of policy-relevant executive order issuance. These results have implications for the study of polarization and the use of models of institutions in political science.


The formation of interfacial oxides during heat treatment of dielectric films on 4H-SiC has been studied. The 4H-SiC surface has been carefully prepared to create a clean and abrupt interface to Al2O3. An amorphous, 3 nm thick, Al2O3 film has been prepared on 4H-SiC by atomic layer deposition and rapid thermal annealing was then performed in N2O ambient at 700 °C and 1100 °C during 1 min. The samples were studied by time-of-flight medium energy ion scattering (ToF-MEIS), with sub-nanometer depth resolution and it is seen that, at both annealing temperatures, a thin SiOx (1  ⩽  x  ⩽  2) is formed at the interface. Our results further indicate that carbon remains in the silicon oxide in samples annealed at 700 °C. Additional electrical capacitance voltage measurements indicate that a large concentration of interface traps is formed at this temperature. After 1100 °C annealing, both MEIS and XRD measurements show that these features disappear, in accordance with electrical data.


The future of higher education is bound up with questions of costs and benefits. This paper will take an economic perspective on student retention in higher education and will argue that, as students have to contribute more financially to their education, and participation in higher education is broadened to a larger proportion of the age cohort, then student attitudes will be increasingly driven by the likely financial return they will get for their investment. They will consequently also need to take into account the risk to that investment in the form of student attrition rates. Equally as institutions compete for students and funding they will also be forced to look at the financial consequences of their retention practices. Finally governments will also take student retention increasingly seriously when looking at the overall benefits of higher education and will increasingly relate institutional funding to student retention. The paper will argue that the financial consequences of student dropout are substantial with very large sums of money at stake for students, institutions and governments. The paper will also attempt to show that there are retention activities which can make a 'profit' to the institutions undertaking them. These activities are mostly 'proactive' contact with individual students and will involve actions more usually described as 'student support' rather than teaching.


Demand for Chinese-to-English translation has increased over recent years. In contrast, resources for training translators for Chinese-to-English are few although increasing now, relative to English-to-Chinese for example. Corpus-based techniques are now more widely acknowledged as being appropriate for the study of translation. A number of Chinese/English parallel translation corpora have been built and applied to the research of translation practice. While such corpus resources have made a significant impact on these research areas, they suffer from problems due to the skewed nature of translated text, or 'translationese'. Obviously, translators and translation systems trained on these parallel corpora would inevitably inherit these features. Comparable corpora such as news articles, science and technology reports from the same period are more readily available. Studying translation revision carried out by native speakers of English may offer one way in to study Chinese-to-English translationese. However, very few quantitative studies of the products of the translation revision process have been carried out for any language pair. In this paper, we develop a framework using techniques from corpus linguistics, to enable the quantitative study of the translation revision process and describe the initial results we obtained. The research fits within a wider project to train language models in software tools that will assist in searching for non-native features of translated English texts.


Abstract. Hill-slopes of several hectares in size represent a difficult scale for subsurface characterisation, as these landscape units are well beyond the scope of traditional point-scale techniques. By means of electromagnetic induction (EMI) and gamma-ray spectroscopy, spatially distributed soil proxy data were collected from a heterogeneous hill-slope site. Results of EMI mapping using the EM38DD showed that soil electrical conductivity (ECa) is highly variable at both temporal and spatial scales. Calibration of the integral ECa signal to a specific target like soil moisture is hampered by the ambiguous response of EMI to the clay-rich hill-slope underground. Gamma-ray results were obtained during a single survey, along with EMI measurements and selected soil sampling. In contrast to ECa, a noticeable correlation between Total Count and K emission data and soil-water content seemed to be present. Relevant proxy variables from both methods were used for k means clustering in order to distinguish between hill-slope areas with different soil conditions. As a result, we obtained a suitable partition of hill-slope that was comparable with a previously obtained zonation model based on ecological factors.


Spatio-temporal incident prediction is a central issue in law enforcement, with applications in fighting crimes like poaching, human trafficking, illegal fishing, burglaries and smuggling. However, state of the art approaches fail to account for evasion in response to predictive models, a common form of which is spatial shift in incident occurrence. We present a general approach for incident forecasting that is robust to spatial shifts. We propose two techniques for solving the resulting robust optimization problem: first, a constraint generation method guaranteed to yield an optimal solution, and second, a more scalable gradientbased approach. We then apply these techniques to both discrete-time and continuoustime robust incident forecasting. We evaluate our algorithms on two different real-world datasets, demonstrating that our approach is significantly more robust than conventional methods.


Geologically recent small gullies on Mars display morphologies consistent with erosion by water or by debris flows. Suggested formation models are divided into two main categories: (1) groundwater or (2) melting of near-surface ice/snow sourced from the atmosphere. We have measured location and orientation and recorded the local contexts of gullies to constrain the likely models of gully formation. More than 22,000 Mars Orbiter Camera Narrow Angle (MOC NA) and >120 Mars Express High Resolution Stereo Camera (HRSC) images in the southern hemisphere were searched for gullies. Discrete gullied slope sections with consistent orientation were recorded rather than individual gullies. Slope setting (impact crater, valley wall, etc.), location, and orientation were recorded for each slope section. More than 750 MOC images with gullies (>900 distinct gullied slope sections) and more than 40 HRSC images (>380 distinct gullied slope sections) were identified. From both MOC and HRSC, gullies were found to be most common between 30 and 50 degrees latitude and to have an overall pole facing preference. The preferred gully orientation for HRSC is southeast rather than south in MOC, owing to illumination effects that make gullies difficult to detect on south- to southwest-facing slopes in HRSC. In both MOC and HRSC surveys, higher-latitude gullies show less preference for pole facing than those at mid latitudes. Both data sets produced similar results, demonstrating that our data are reliable. We suggest that the observed latitudinal and orientation distributions of gullies show that insolation and atmospheric conditions play a key role in gully formation.


This paper presents a systematic approach to the disassembly line (DL) design in meeting the requirement of variant orders for multiple used parts with different due dates. An extended disassembly Petri net model is proposed for the hierarchical modeling in order to derive the disassembly path with the maximal benefit in the presence of some defective components. An algorithm for balancing DLs to maximize the productivity of a disassembly system is presented. The results of simulation runs of the proposed methodology and algorithms applied to a simplified personal computer disassembly are provided. This work lays a foundation for designing efficient industrial automatic and semiautomatic disassembly systems. Note to Practitioners-Disassembly is rapidly growing in importance as manufacturers face increasing pressure to deal with obsolete products in an environmentally responsible and economically sound manner. This process can be performed at a single workstation or on a disassembly line (DL) that is organized as a sequence of workstations, each with one or more machines/operators to handle a certain type of disassembly task. Compared to a single workstation, DL provides higher productivity and greater potential for disassembly automation. However, it still faces serious scheduling and inventory problems because of a high degree of uncertainty in discarded products and disparity between demands for certain parts and their yield from disassembly. To address this challenge, this paper proposes a two-level systematic approach, aiming to maximize system throughput and system revenue by dynamically configuring the disassembly system into many DLs, while considering line balance, different process flows, and meeting different order due dates. The research results can help engineers build better disassembly systems.


Text-to-Image (T2I) generation has long been a popular field of multimedia processing. Recent advances in large-scale vision and language pretraining have brought a number of models capable of very high-quality T2I generation. However, they are reported to generate unexpected images when users input words that have no definition within a language (nonwords), including coined words and pseudo-words. To make the behavior of T2I generation models against nonwords more intuitive, we propose a method that considers phonetic information of text inputs. The phonetic similarity is adopted so that the generated images from a nonword contain the concept of its phonetically similar words. This is based on the psycholinguistic finding that humans would also associate nonwords with their phonetically similar words when they perceive the sound. Our evaluations confirm a better agreement of the generated images of the proposed method with both phonetic relationships and human expectations than a conventional T2I generation model. The cross-lingual comparison of generated images for a nonword highlights the differences in language-specific nonword-imagery correspondences. These results provide insight into the usefulness of the proposed method in brand naming and language learning.


Standard form contracts are typically developed through a negotiated consensus, unless they are proffered by one specific interest group. Previously published plans of work and other descriptions of the processes in construction projects tend to focus on operational issues, or they tend to be prepared from the point of view of one or other of the dominant interest groups. Legal practice in the UK permits those who draft contracts to define their terms as they choose. There are no definitive rulings from the courts that give an indication as to the detailed responsibilities of project participants. The science of terminology offers useful guidance for discovering and describing terms and their meanings in their practical context, but has never been used for defining terms for responsibilities of participants in the construction project management process. Organizational analysis enables the management task to be deconstructed into its elemental parts in order that effective organizational structures can be developed. Organizational mapping offers a useful technique for reducing text-based descriptions of project management roles and responsibilities to a comparable basis. Research was carried out by means of a desk study, detailed analysis of nine plans of work and focus groups representing all aspects of the construction industry. No published plan of work offers definitive guidance. There is an enormous amount of variety in the way that terms are used for identifying responsibilities of project participants. A catalogue of concepts and terms (a "Terminology") has been compiled and indexed to enable those who draft contracts to choose the most appropriate titles for project participants. The purpose of this terminology is to enable the selection and justification of appropriate terms in order to help define roles. The terminology brings an unprecedented clarity to the description of roles and responsibilities in construction projects and, as such, will be helpful for anyone seeking to assemble a team and specify roles for project participants.


The charging of single-walled carbon nanotube (SWCNT) mixtures by reduction via alkali metal atoms is an established first step towards covalent SWCNT functionalization. In this combined density-functional theory and experimental study, we investigate this reduction with respect to differences occurring between tubes of different electronic type (metallic (m) and semiconducting (sc) tubes, respectively). We find that metals, specifically potassium, adsorb stronger to m- than sc-SWCNTs, which can be explained by the different band structures of both tube types. We investigate this trend in detail for a variety of different chiral SWCNTs, finding a potassium coverage dependent preference of m- over sc-SWCNTs, which is predicted to allow for a selective charging of metallic tubes for K/C ratios ≤ 1/200. This selective charging can be translated into the enrichment of m-SWCNTs during dispersion of SWCNT mixtures, since only reduced tubes are dissolved from the bulk material. The results for isolated tubes can be generalized to SWCNT bundle arrangements, which means that the theoretical predicted selective charging is transferable also to this more realistic description of the experimental systems. The theoretical findings regarding an electronic type selective charging of SWCNTs have been verified by an experimental study. By a combination of Raman and absorption/emission spectroscopic analysis, a preferential dispersion of charged metallic carbon nanotubes in THF as solvent was found for the predicted low potassium concentrations. Our results lead to the conclusion that previous m/sc selective reductive functionalization reactions cannot be explained on the basis of an electronic type selective charging step, as these reactions used much higher alkali metal concentrations.


The paper elaborates on the employment intensity of growth. Previous evidence regarding this question is surveyed. Empirical results concerning Europe and selected other industrial countries reveal that the cyclical link between unemployment and growth is still stable in the nineties. However, the relation strongly depends on the variable chosen to represent the labor market situation. Test on an asymmetric relation leads to ambitious results. Cross-country and panel evidence suggest that the employment intensity of growth is influenced by the country's wage setting process, the share of the service sector, and labor market flexibility. A clear-cut importance of exchange rate volatility cannot be found. Some conclusions with regard to economic policy are drawn.


Receptor protein-tyrosine kinases (PTKs) are essential components of the signaling pathways required for cell-cell regulation. Many such pathways have been identified in various cell systems, but there has been little information on receptor PTKs in antigen-presenting cells (APCs) of the immune system. Lu and Lemke have identified three members of the same family of PTKs--Tyro, Axl and Mer--that are involved in regulating the function of APCs, including dendritic cells and macrophages. In mice genetically deficient in one, two, or three of these PTKs, an autoimmune phenotype developed with an increasing level of severity that correlated with an elevated activation status of APCs. These results suggest a direct link between this family of PTKs and the normal regulation of immune responses by APCs. See the Perspective by Schwartzberg. Q. Lu, G. Lemke, Homeostatic regulation of the immune system by receptor tyrosine kinases of the Tyro 3 family. Science 293, 306-311 (2001). [Abstract] [Full Text] P. L. Schartzberg, Tampering with the immune system. Science 293, 228-229 (2001). [Abstract] [Full Text]


We model a higher education system that admits students according to their admission signal (e.g., matriculation GPA, SAT), which is, in turn, affected by their cognitive ability and socioeconomic background. We show that subsidizing education loans increases neither human capital stock nor aggregate consumption, but only yields income redistribution mainly among the upper class. We show that the policies aimed at compensating for poor socioeconomic background result in a higher aggregate consumption, as well as income redistribution from top to bottom. We test the model using a unique dataset that includes proxies of socioeconomic background and cognitive ability. Results show that the high school matriculation GPA is a weak predictor of academic achievements. We demonstrate that, while the high school matriculation GPA is explained by proxies of cognitive ability and socioeconomic background, academic GPA is solely explained by cognitive ability proxies. Finally, the lack of a matriculation certificate is associated with a poor socioeconomic background.


Winter road maintenance operations require many complex strategic and operational planning decisions. The five primary problems involved in this intricate planning procedure include locating depots, designing sectors, routing service vehicles, scheduling vehicles, and configuring the vehicle fleet. The complexity involved in each of these decisions has resulted mainly in research that approaches each of the problems separately and sequentially, which can lead to isolated and suboptimal solutions. After discussing the complexity of the relaxed subproblems that would need to be solved to optimize the intricate winter maintenance operations, the research turns to a heuristic approach to more feasibly address the interrelated problems. This report subsequently presents a systematic, heuristic-based optimization approach to integrate the winter road maintenance planning decisions for depot location, sector design, vehicle route design, vehicle scheduling, and fleet configuration. The approach presented is illustrated through an example of public sector winter road maintenance planning for a rural transportation network in Boone County, Missouri. When applied to the real-world winter road maintenance planning problems for Boone County, the methodology delivered very promising results. The solution methodology successfully achieves the objective of a more integrated and less sequential approach to the problems considered. The integrated solution would allow the Missouri Department of Transportation (MoDOT) to maintain the same high level of service with significantly fewer resources. The results indicate that this methodology is a successful step towards solving realistic multiple-depot problems involving heterogeneous winter maintenance fleets.


A search model of the labor market is augmented to include commuting time to work. The theory posits that wages are positively related to commute distance, by a factor itself depending negatively on the bargaining power of workers. Since not all combinations of distance and wages are accepted, there is non-random selection of accepted job offers. We build on these ingredients to explore in the data the relationship between wages and commute time. We find that neglecting to account for this selection will bias downward the wage impact of commuting, and marginally affect the coefficients on education, age and gender. The correlation between the residuals of the selectivity equation and the distance equation is -0.70, showing the large impact of commute time on job acceptance decisions. We also use the theory to calculate the bargaining power of workers which largely varies depending on demographic groups: it appears to be much larger for men than that for women and that the bargaining power of women with young children is essentially zero.


Recently there has been much interest in polynomial threshold functions in the context of learning theory, structural results and pseudorandomness. A crucial ingredient in these works is the understanding of the distribution of low-degree multivariate polynomials evaluated over normally distributed inputs. In particular, the two important properties are exponential tail decay and anti-concentration. In this work we study the latter property. The important work in this area is by Carbery and Wright, who gave a tight bound for anti-concentration of polynomials in normal variables. However, the proof of their result is quite complex. We give a weaker anti-concentration result which has an elementary proof, based on some convexity arguments, simple analysis and induction on the degree. Moreover, our proof technique is robust and extends to other distributions.