During photosynthesis, two multi-protein complexes, photosystems (PS) I and II work in tandem to convert the light-energy absorbed by the light-harvesting antennae into chemical energy, which is subsequently used to assimilate atmospheric carbon dioxide into organic carbon compounds. This is the main nutritional basis for life on Earth. The photosynthetic antenna of higher plants comprises at least ten different pigment-binding proteins (LHC), which play important roles in photosynthesis. Chlorophyll and carotenoid molecules associated with the LHC proteins are organised into an array, which can be modulated, thereby optimising light-harvesting processes and protection against oxidative damage under conditions of excessive light absorption. All ten LHC proteins have been conserved through eons of evolution, suggesting that there are strong evolutionary pressures to retain all ten proteins, and hence that each protein has a unique function. The light-harvesting antenna of higher plant PSI consists of at least four proteins, Lhca1-4, collectively called LHCI. By constructing transgenic Arabidopsis thaliana plants in which each Lhca gene has been individually repressed or knocked-out, a collection of plants with different Lhca protein contents was obtained. The objective was to use these plants to study the structure, function and regulation of the Lhca proteins in vivo. The major findings of this work are as follows. Removing single Lhca proteins influenced the stability of the other Lhca proteins, showing that there is a high degree of inter-dependency between the polypeptides in LHCI, and hence that a full set of Lhca proteins is important for maintaining the structural integrity of LHCI. This has provided insight into the organisation of LHCI by revealing clues about the relative positions of each Lhca protein in the antenna complex. The physiological consequences of removing individual Lhca proteins were dependent on the degree of antenna depletion. Plants with relatively small antenna changes could compensate, to some extent, for the loss of LHCI, while larger depletions had profound effects on whole plant resulting in growth reductions. The fitness of each Lhca plant was assessed by measuring their seed production in the harsh conditions in the field. We found that all Lhca-deficient plants produced fewer seeds under some conditions, with seed-production compared to wild type varying between 10-80% depending on the extent of LHCI reduction. Therefore, we conclude that each Lhca protein is important for plant fitness, and hence for the survival of the species. PSI is characterised by a pool of pigments absorbing light in the red end of the solar visible spectrum, thought to be especially important for plants in dense vegetation systems where the incident light is enriched in wavelengths higher than 690 nm. A majority of these pigments are situated on LHCI and, based on in-vitro studies, were thought to be mainly associated with Lhca4. Using our plants, we have established that red pigments are indeed present on all Lhca proteins and that these pigments become even more red upon association with PSI.


A case of persistent bronchospasm after anesthesia induction Stergiouda Z, Gkiouliava A, Koraki E, Zarzava E, Trikoupi A We report a case of persistent bronchospasm after anesthesia induction. The case refers to an elective surgery of an ulcerous formation in the intergluteal cleft. Bronchospasm is not an unusual event in the immediate intubation period, especially in patients with respiratory disease, but in most cases resolves uneventfully. In this patient, despite thorough treatment in the operation room, ausculatory findings remained unchanged, with progressive worsening of arterial blood gases. After this event, the surgery was postponed and the patient was transferred to the ICU for further management. In this article we describe the steps that were taken in order to manage this adverse event and ensure patient's safety and successful outcome.


Background Better information on lung cancer occurrence in lifelong nonsmokers is needed to understand gender and racial disparities and to examine how factors other than active smoking influence risk in different time periods and geographic regions. Methods and Findings We pooled information on lung cancer incidence and/or death rates among self-reported never-smokers from 13 large cohort studies, representing over 630,000 and 1.8 million persons for incidence and mortality, respectively. We also abstracted population-based data for women from 22 cancer registries and ten countries in time periods and geographic regions where few women smoked. Our main findings were: (1) Men had higher death rates from lung cancer than women in all age and racial groups studied; (2) male and female incidence rates were similar when standardized across all ages 40+ y, albeit with some variation by age; (3) African Americans and Asians living in Korea and Japan (but not in the US) had higher death rates from lung cancer than individuals of European descent; (4) no temporal trends were seen when comparing incidence and death rates among US women age 40–69 y during the 1930s to contemporary populations where few women smoke, or in temporal comparisons of never-smokers in two large American Cancer Society cohorts from 1959 to 2004; and (5) lung cancer incidence rates were higher and more variable among women in East Asia than in other geographic areas with low female smoking. Conclusions These comprehensive analyses support claims that the death rate from lung cancer among never-smokers is higher in men than in women, and in African Americans and Asians residing in Asia than in individuals of European descent, but contradict assertions that risk is increasing or that women have a higher incidence rate than men. Further research is needed on the high and variable lung cancer rates among women in Pacific Rim countries.


Oak decline poses a substantial threat to forest health in the Ozark Highlands of northern Arkansas and southern Missouri, where coupled with diseases and insect infestations, it has damaged large tracts of forest lands. Forest Health Monitoring (FHM) crown health indicators (e.g. crown dieback, etc.), collected by the U.S. Forest Service's Forest Inventory and Analysis (FIA) program, provide a method of assessing forest health. These data were obtained for the Ozark Highlands for the years 2003-2007; and levels of red oak crown dieback were calculated at the plot level along with basal area and age. Also, calculations of Normalized Difference Moisture Index (NDMI) were derived from Landsat TM imagery, annual temperature range was calculated from mean temperature data, and percent slope was calculated from a Digital Elevation Model. Quantile regression analysis was then utilized to determine the relationship between the predictor variables and red oak dieback at various quantiles of dieback. Red oak crown dieback has increased throughout the period since a low in 2004. The quantile regression analysis also indicated a difference in the relationship between the variables from linear regression estimates at higher quantiles (e.g. 90th-95th). This indicates that data at the upper tail of the distribution may point to causal relationships between variables. NDMI has the most significant relationship with red oak crown dieback although additional research is needed to determine if there is any interaction between this and other variables.


The European Semester is the European Union's annual cycle of economic policy guidance and oversight. Although monitoring the achievement of Europe 2020 Strategy targets, some of which focus on energy and climate change, is among the key actions of the European Semester, the reviewers so far have concentrated on economic policies in the aftermath of the financial and economic crisis. The circular economy is currently part of the European Commission's agenda for jobs, growth and investment, which are important themes of the Semester. Against this background, this paper assesses the extent to which the European Semester genuinely takes the circular economy into account in its review process. Based on a close examination of the 2017 cycle of the Semester and interviews with experts in the field, our analysis shows that the exercise has devoted limited attention to the circular economy. Several explanations are offered for this situation, along with recommendations for the way forward.


In this paper we analyze the book that was hailed by Paul Krugman and the Financial Times as the book of the Year of 2014, through the lenses of the Intellectual Capital. Published in French in 2013, and translated into English in 2014, Thomas Piketty's Capital in the 21 century became a worldwide sensation and best seller because of the deepness of its analysis and the controversy of its findings. In a nutshell Piketty claims that contrary to the neoclassical forecast, the Inequality in the world might grow, due to a shock between forces of convergence and forces of divergence. Furthermore, Piketty also claims that only redistribution policies can reduce the inequality trend, and calls for a new set of social policies. All this is very impressive but for us what matters most is how to put IC in the analysis. In this context we analyze Piketty's ideas using the concepts and theories on Intellectual Capital (Bonfour and Edvinsson 2005; Edvinsson and Malone, 1997; Kaplan and Norton, 1994), and we also recall what the main theories on inequalities are (Coleman, 1991, Atkinson 1983 or Stiglitz 2012), and about Welfare States (Esping Andersen, 1990). We find that in the History of socio-economic thought Intellectual Capital and Inequalities have been marching in separate paths: not only the paradigms of analysis are totally different, but only one handful of empirical studies exist that bring together IC and inequalities. The fact is crucial for our paper because we believe that IC in fact increases inequality and explains growing inequality. We also found that Piketty almost does not address IC directly in his entire book, a fact that by itself speaks volumes about the position of IC in the world of socio-economic thought. Pikettys' analysis, for all its importance, and novelty, is traditional and surprisingly old fashioned when it comes to considering Intangibles. He never uses IC, he seems to be unware of IC analysis. However we also think that most of Piketty's analysis would gain strength if IC is considered (as we believe it certainly should be) as a major force of inequality in the economy of the 21 century. In the discussion of the paper we point out nine ways in which the inclusion of IC in the analysis could benefit Piketty's conclusions; the seven ideas relate to IC itself, KM and the knowledge economy, super-professionals, billionaires, Human Capital, social policies and development, taxes on wealth, modern slavery, and the rise of political oligarchies in the 21 Century with relation to technology. The paper is limited because it is basically theoretical. We consider the paper is original because for the first time someone attempts to put together inequality (which is Piketty's point of view) and intellectual capital (which is IC science point of view), as we describe in the theoretical part of the paper. Furthermore we are sure, and demonstrate that both fields should be linked in the future. Finally we believe that our comments on the book which result in the empirical part of the paper are a first step in what we think must be a long road of scientific research.


The capital market is to supply and demand of medium and long term capital, with the same role as the financial market in general with the feature length greater maturity. Institution typical secondary capital market is the stock market. The secondary market securities can, in principle an auction market or a market negotiation. In Romania there are two regulated markets of securities i.e. BSE and RASDAQ as separate entities. The coverage of financial instruments, according to EU directives in force, is wide, including both tradable capital market instruments and money market instruments. Futures contract is an understanding between two parts to sell or purchase a particular asset at a predetermined price, the performance of the contract at a future date. Options are contracts between a buyer and a seller and giving the latter the right but not the obligation, to sell or buy any particular asset at a future date, as obtained on payment of a premium to the seller. The options may be for sale when the buyer acquires the right to sell the asset, or may be purchasing, when given the right to purchase the asset. In our country options contracts were introduced for the first time SIBEX, which is currently the only market in Romania where he traded options. This gives the buyer the right but not the obligation to buy or sell a futures contract at a predetermined price, the duration of the contract.


I. INTRODUCTION In the Old Testament, Genesis, chapter 4, verse 9 reads: "the Lord said to Cain, 'Where is your brother Abel?' ? don't know,' he replied. 'Am I my brother's keeper?'"1 Cain's response implies that to know his brother's whereabouts indicates some responsibility for him. By analogy, a public housing authority's reliance on a minor's arrest record to commence an eviction against his family in effect makes the child responsible for his family, which begs the question "Am I my mother's keeper?" Advocates of a one-strike eviction policy, which encourages evictions of entire families on the basis of one household member's or guest's criminal activity,2 would answer "yes." When a housing authority initiates an eviction on the basis of the alleged criminal acts of the child, the parent is often put in the difficult position of either having to force her child out of the home or lose housing for the entire family.3 In 1996, when President Clinton unveiled his "One-Strike and You're Out" strategy to reduce crime in public housing through evictions, he remarked, There is no reason in the world to put the rights of a criminal before those of a child who wants to grow up safe or a parent who wants to raise that child in an environment where the child is safe, in no danger of being shot down in a gang war, and can't be stolen away by drug addiction.4 While many would agree with this statement, it ignores the effect that the one-strike policy has on families when the alleged "criminal" is a child. Furthermore, it overlooks the difficulty of separating the problem of crime in public housing from the innocent tenants who live there. Instead, the policy represents a catchall solution premised on the idea that those who cannot control the behavior of other household members, namely their children, or guests in their homes, are themselves a threat to the well-being of their neighbors. Scholar Susan Popkin explains that past crime-prevention initiatives by the Chicago Housing Authority5 ("CHA") have failed by unrealistically assuming that public housing residents can work together to challenge a common, outside enemy.6 The transformation that the CHA has undergone since its inception is instructive. Pursuant to the United States Housing Act of 1937,7 the Chicago Housing Authority was established to provide temporary housing for low-income people unable to afford '"decent, safe and sanitary dwellings' in the private market."8 During the CHA's early years, its directors envisioned "Teplacflng] slum housing, for both poor whites and poor blacks, with better apartments in good neighborhoods."9 However, the developments that exist today can fairly be categorized as slum housing for poor blacks in crime-ridden neighborhoods. The majority of the housing was built in poor, black neighborhoods, and residents were separated from other parts of the city by expressways or subway lines, resulting in "unimaginable geographic concentrations of poverty."10 With the alarming increase in violent crime that began in the late 1970s and the physical deterioration of the housing stock," public housing in Chicago came to be regarded as "the housing of last resort."12 Today, the CHA is the country's third largest public housing agency ("PHA") consisting of seventeen family developments totaling close to forty thousand units.13 Near the end of the year 2000, approximately sixty percent of these units were occupied.14 Ninety-seven percent of Chicago's public housing is inhabited by African-Americans.15 Ninety percent of public housing households are "on welfare and made up of African-American, single women."16 Only six percent of the families are headed by married couples.17 In the CHA Rockwell development on Chicago's West Side, more than sixty percent of the residents are nineteen and younger.18 The design of most of these "artificially created communities," high-rises surrounded by large open spaces,'9 invited occupation by gangs and drug dealers. …


This paper presents a novel implantable, wireless, passive pressure sensor for ophthalmic applications. Two sensor designs incorporating surface-micromachined variable capacitor and variable capacitor/inductor are implemented to realize the pressure sensitive components. The sensor is monolithically microfabricated using parylene as a biocompatible structural material in a suitable form factor for increased ease of intraocular implantation. Pressure responses of the microsensor are characterized on-chip to demonstrate its high pressure sensitivity (> 7000 ppm/mmHg) with mmHg level resolution. An in vivo animal study verifies the biostability of the sensor implant in the intraocular environment after more than 150 days. This sensor will ultimately be implanted at the pars plana or iris of the eye to fulfill continuous intraocular pressure (IOP) monitoring in glaucoma patients.


AbstractParticle reinforced metal matrix composites are now being produced commerically, and in this paper the current status of these materials is reviewed. The different types of reinforcement being used, together with the alternative processing methods, are discussed. Depending on the initial processing method, different factors have to be taken into consideration to produce a high quality billet. With powder metallurgy processing, the composition of the matrix and the type of reinforcement are independent of one another. However, in molten metal processing they are intimately linked in terms of the different reactivities which occur between reinforcement and matrix in the molten state. The factors controlling the distribution of reinforcement are also dependent on the initial processing method. Secondary fabrication methods, such as extrusion and rolling, are essential in processing composites produced by powder metallurgy, since they are required to consolidate the composite fully. Other methods, suc...


The modelling and control of a power-assisted mobile vehicle (PAMV) based on a torque observer are presented. In particular, a human, who recognises the environment, plans the trajectory without danger of collision. The mobile vehicle can generate more power than a human. A human-guided powered mobile vehicle is developed. A dynamic model of this vehicle is constructed by Lagrangian's equation. A torque observer, designed using the Lyapunov stability theorem, is applied to estimate the external human thrust. The observer gain could be well designed by the proposed method. According to the estimated thrust, two driving wheels controlled by two servomotors provide appropriate assisted force for the PAMV. The feasibility of the proposed control frame is proven and the experimental results demonstrate that the proposed system has high precision and efficiency.


Primary industries such as forestry and dairy have responded to economic change over the past four decades. Associated secondary industries such as sawmills and dairy processing factories have also been affected by such change. Globalisation and the reduction of trade barriers have brought greater competitive pressure to bear on local industries and this has had a range of flow-on effects. Exit of less competitive enterprises has occurred, with specific shocks and periods of rapid change affecting both sectors. This paper presents findings from a study on the impacts and implications of economic shocks on small regional towns in Victoria. These shocks include the closure of a key processing facility such as a sawmill or dairy processing factory. The study explored ways in which regional communities are impacted by, and respond to, economic shocks and the ways in which individual and community adaptation occurs. Qualitative and quantitative research methods were used to examine a total of nine case study locations – three of these were analysed in greater depth using qualitative interviews, while the other six were investigated using quantitative and desktop research sources. Many assumptions are attached to the impacts of factory or sawmill closure. There is an expectation of flow-on effects such as declining house prices, increased unemployment and population decline. This paper challenges some of these assumptions by showing the divergence in the experience of towns dealing with such shocks. Reasons for different outcomes include: the specific geographical and social context of towns; the relative importance of industry shocks compared to less visible background trends (such as demographic and social change); and the ways in which individuals may already have adapted to a new economic and social reality, for example, through commuting in response to less stable spatial patterns of employment opportunity.


A new, seemingly useful presentation of zeta functions on complex tori is derived by using contour integration. It is shown to agree with the one obtained by using the Chowla–Selberg series formula, for which an alternative proof is thereby given. In addition, a new proof of the functional determinant on the torus results, which does not use the Kronecker first limit formula nor the functional equation of the non-holomorphic Eisenstein series. As a bonus, several identities involving the Dedekind eta function are obtained as well.


We examined the effects of geminivirus infection on fitness components and on photosynthetic properties of the host plant, Eupatorium makinoi, grown at two irradiance levels in a natural-light greenhouse. Under the low-light condition (13% full sunlight), more than a half of the infected plants died during the 9-mo experiment, while most of uninfected plants survived. Growth rate was also lowered by infection. At high light (50% full sunlight), by contrast, virus infection did not cause mortality despite slight decrease in growth rate. Flowering occurred only at high light, and reproductive outputs of the plants were markedly reduced by the infection. Infected leaves had distinct yellow variegations and, when compared with uninfected leaves, they showed (1) comparable light-saturated photosynthetic rate per unit area, but (2) lower initial slope of light-response curve of photosynthesis on an incident irradiance basis. The lower initial slope was mainly due to reduction of light-harvesting chlorophyll-protein complexes in the variegated parts. Since the differences in plant performance, depending both on infection and on growth irradiance, were largely explained by the differences in growth rate and/or plant size, the reduced photosynthetic production in the infected plants would be a major factor explaining the inferior performance of the host plants.


As frontier exploration in Africa moves into ever-deeper water and new basins, there is an increasing need to mitigate the high costs by reducing risk. One way of doing this is by drawing on knowledge from other areas. The book includes regional papers ranging from syntheses on a continental scale to details of the salt tectonics of the West African margin. It also addresses the need to continue using technologies to their limits by including papers on topics as diverse as gravity interpretation and fluid inclusion studies. The book provides essential reading for those requiring further insight into the origins of Africa's diverse petroleum systems, and will be key to geologists and geophysicists involved in the exploration for and exploitation of oil and gas throughout Africa. Of particular note is the supplementary CD-ROM containing maps of Africa's petroleum basins classified by age of target reservoir system.


Although the First Amendment ordinarily protects the creation, distribution, and possession of visual images, the Supreme Court has declared that those protections do not apply to child pornography. But the Court has failed to define child pornography. Providing a clear definition of the child pornography exception to the First Amendment has become increasingly important because recent years have seen a dramatic increase in the penalties associated with the creation, distribution, and possession of child pornography. This Article proposes a clear definition of the child pornography exception. It argues that an image ought to fall within the exception only if a child was sexually exploited or abused in the creation of the image. That the circulation of an image might inflict privacy or reputational harm on the minor depicted should be insufficient to categorize that image as child pornography for constitutional purposes. This proposed definition would place tangible limitations on child pornography prosecutions; it would prevent prosecution in many cases where the minor depicted is above the age of consent, where the image was created through computer morphing, and where the image is the result of surreptitious filming or photographing of a minor.


Civil and criminal monetary sanctions (fines, penalties, and restitution orders) are primary tools in the enforcement activities of the modern administrative state, particularly in the context of corporate wrongdoing. Although the enforcement literature debates the fairness and efficiency of imposing corporate sanctions, once imposed, those sanctions must be collected to be effective. Yet federal and state agencies are leaving untold billions in collectible fines unrecovered. This is a problem of both theoretical and practical importance, yet it has been largely overlooked. This Article, for the first time, amasses the evidence of pervasive governmental undercollection; rebuts the argument that the problem is due to factors beyond governmental control; examines the root causes of undercollection; and recommends solutions that address the political and economic circumstances that impede reform.


Following an Introduction which explains how "philosophy" is intended, Chapter 1 describes a scale of characters' 'at-homeness' in the body. VW's awareness of the body's role is seen as preliminary to her concept of identity.

Chapter 2 elucidates the concept of identity that emerges from the novels. Identity and self are distinguished and self shown to be analogous to 'soul'. Experiences recorded in VW's diary are shown to be significantly related to her fiction: her idea of 'reality' is related to her idea of soul, or self.

Chapter 3 examines the view of human relationships that is found in the novels. Again, passages from the diary are shown to be closely related to VW's fiction. Relationship points up a lack in human life, reflecting the concept of identity and self outlined above.

Chapter 4 intends to balance the pessimism of the earlier chapters. The development of VW's aesthetic is traced, and To the Lighthouse seen as a successful exemplification of her concept of art's potential for transcendence. The second part of the chapter examines The Waves, seeing it as a product of crisis, and a failure as a work of art. Chapter 5 focuses on VW's sense of the numinous, the 'lack' that has been revealed in the world described by the first four chapters. The religious contours of VW's beliefs and questions emerge more clearly. Time is identified as the key issue.

Chapter 6 is a close reading of the 'Time Passes' section of To the Lighthouse which shows that it is intimately related not only to the rest of that novel, but to the entire emergent "philosophy" of VW.

Chapter 7 examines temporality in the novels in general, especially as manifested by the fact of death. VW's concept of time is seen to be essentially Romantic.

Chapter 8: Between the Acts is seen as the most confident and direct embodiment of VW's faith in 'reality'. The autobiographical and other writings of the last few years of VW's life are seen as an illuminating context for her last novel. The modes of literary creation are ultimately seen to share the mode of being of 'soul' (or self) and, 'reality'.

An appendix gives brief outlines of various concepts of the self from Socrates to R.D. Laing.


The objective of this work was to analyze the distribution of the vegetation cover of several portions of the Tapajos National Forest (TNF) in the State of Para, through phytosociologic and floristic attributes supported by satellite images in primary (PF) and secondary (SF) forest areas. For this it was sampled 35 transects of 10 m ' 250 m in PF areas of high and low plateau, including areas disturber by activities selective logging areas and 29 transects of 10 m ' 100 m in SF areas in several regrowth stages. In each activities of these transects it was surveyed dendrometric information such as DBH (Diameter of Breast Height), total height (TH), and commercial height (CH), besides the location of the individual trees within the samples. The diameters considered for primary and secondary forest areas were 10 cm and 3 cm, respectively. It was inventoried 7666 individuals (6607 dicot trees or shrubs and 1059 palm trees) in a 11.65 ha total sample area distributed over different regions of the TNF. 190 species of trees, shrubs, and palm trees distributed among 153 genera and 46 families were identified in the primary and secondary forest areas. In the PF and SF areas, it was found a diversity index of Shannon-Wiener (H') of 4.44 and 4.09 nits.individuos-1, respectively, indicating a high biological diversity for these two forest types. Using multivariate analysis, it was possible to conclude that exist a structural and floristic difference in the North, Central and South portion of the National Forest. The SF areas presented a large environmental heterogeneity, making difficult to perform the clustering process of their succession stages. Through this work, it was possible to conclude that the support of ETM+/Landsat and RADARSAT-1 images optimized the sampling process of TNF, end allowed to perform the spatial analysis of the regions with higher phytosociologic and floristic differentiation of the National Forest.


This article explores the emergent racialisation of Peruvian migrants as one element conditioning the labour segregation that characterises Peruvian insertion in Chile. We understand racialisation as a process of construction of categories in which both individual and collective actors participate, and whose expression is demonstrated by the differentiation and inequality that affects the racialised group. We tackle the articulation of racial differences among individual actors, both Chilean employers and Peruvian migrant workers, to suggest that the attribution of naturalised characteristics to migrants is related to segregation, mobility, and specific trajectories in the labour market.


A comprehensive, practical exploration of the usage and customization of Django's template system, including tutorials on pagination, caching, and internationalization. This book is for web developers and template authors who want to fully understand and utilize the Django template system. The reader should have completed the introductory tutorials on the Django project's website and some experience with the framework will be very helpful. Basic knowledge of Python and HTML is assumed.


A study into the disassembly and organisation steps of the ADOR process has been undertaken through in situ Pair Distribution Function (PDF) analysis. Three aqueous systems (water, 6 M HCl and 12 M HCl) were introduced to a parent zeolite germanosilicate UTL in a cell. Hydrolysis could be clearly seen when UTL was exposed to water over a period of 8 h, forming the disorder layered material, IPC-1P. In hydrochloric acid, the hydrolysis step is too quick to observe and a Ge–Cl containing species could be seen. In 6 M HCl, the rearrangement of the interlayer region began after an induction period of 8 h, with the process still occurring after 15 h. In 12 M HCl, the rearrangement appears to have come to an end after only 6 h.


Organizational development, change and adaptation are complex and challenging tasks that have been widely studied and debated, spanning from general change models and theories on organizational change, to change management theory and strategy literature. Even though issues surrounding organizational change have been extensively studied, the estimated success rates remain particularly low, thus keeping this kind of studies high in the research agenda. This article examines organizational change and adaptation in the context of institutional change. More specifically, the article examines the case of Valio, the biggest Finnish dairy company, and its reorganization and restructuring during the period surrounding Finland's assessment to the EU in 1995. Valio's case is particularly interesting since it involves a well-established "national institution", with rich history and significant economic contribution to the national economy. The purpose of this paper is to explore how Valio's managers perceived the organizational change efforts surrounding the period of EU accession and what change practices were followed. In doing so, the analysis adopts the comprehensive qualitative case study methodology having a descriptive and explorative approach. This approach involves several in-depth interviews with key Valio executives, stakeholders, and industry insiders. The analysis maps and identifies key themes and processes that characterized the change strategy and allowed for the successful organizational change.


Psb31 is a fifth extrinsic protein found in photosystem II (PSII) of a centric diatom, Chaetoceros gracilis . The protein has been shown to bind directly to PSII in the absence of other extrinsic proteins and serves in part as a substitute for PsbO in supporting oxygen evolution. We report here the crystal structure of Psb31 at a resolution of 1.55 Å. The structure of Psb31 was composed of two domains, one major, N-terminal four helical domain and one minor, flexible C-terminal domain. The four helices in the N-terminal domain were arranged in an up-down-up-down fold, which appeared unexpectedly to be similar to the structure of spinach PsbQ, in spite of their low sequence homology. This suggests that the centric diatom PSII contains another PsbQ-type extrinsic protein in addition to the original PsbQ protein found in the organism. On the other hand, the C-terminal domain of Psb31 has a unique structure composed of one loop and one short helix. Based on these structural analysis and chemical cross-linking experiments, residues responsible for the binding of Psb31 to PSII intrinsic proteins were suggested. The results are discussed in relation to the copy number of extrinsic proteins in higher plant PSII.


Narratives are shaping our understanding of the world. They convey values and norms and point to desirable future developments. In this way, they justify and legitimize political actions and social practices. Once a narrative has emerged and this world view is supported by broad societal groups, narratives can provide powerful momentum to trigger innovation and changes in the course of action. Narratives, however, are not necessarily based on evidence and precise categories, but can instead be vague and ambiguous in order to be acceptable and attractive to different actors. However, the more open and inclusive a narrative is, the less impact can be expected. We investigate whether there is a shared narrative in research for the sustainable economy and how this can be evaluated in terms of its potential societal impact. The paper carves out the visions for the future that have been underlying the research projects conducted within the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) funding programme "The Sustainable Economy". It then analyzes whether these visions are compatible with narratives dominating societal discourse on the sustainable economy, and concludes how the use of visions and narratives in research can contribute to fostering societal transformations.


Dialysis (hemodialysis and peritoneal dialysis) is one of the main therapeutic alternatives for patients with end-stage renal disease. It can be provided in different settings, including the home setting. Published literature shows that home dialysis improves both survival and quality of life, while producing economic advantages. However, there are also significant barriers. Home dialysis patients often report "abandonment issues" by healthcare personnel. This work aimed at assessing the efficiency of the Doctor Plus® Nephro telemedicine system (adopted in the Nephrology Center of the P.O. G.B. Grassi di Roma-ASL Roma 3) in monitoring patient health status and improving the quality of care. From 2017 to 2022, N=26 patients were included in the analysis (mean duration of observation: 2.3 years). The analysis showed that the program was able to promptly identify possible anomalies of the vital parameters and activate a series of interventions aimed at normalizing the altered profile. During the study period, the system issued N=41,563 alerts (N=1.87 alerts per patient/day), of which N=16,325 (39.3%) were clinical and N=25,238 (60.7%) were missed measurements. These warnings ensured stabilization of the parameters, with clear benefits on patients' quality of life. A trend of improvement was reported by patients, regarding their perception of the health state (EQ-5D questionnaire; +11.1 points on the VAS scale), the number of hospital admissions (-0.43 accesses/patient in 4 months), and of working days lost (-3.6 days lost in 4 months). Therefore, Doctor Plus® Nephro represents a useful and efficient tool for home dialysis patients' management.


Nonhuman primates can remember events from their distant past. Furthermore, they can distinguish between very similar events by the process of binding. So far, research into long-term memory and binding has focused on the binding of contextual information, such as spatial surroundings. As such, we aimed to investigate if apes can bind and retrieve other types of information, specifically, social information. We presented great apes with three different object types; they learnt to exchange (via reinforcement) one of the object types with one experimenter and another type with a second, different, experimenter. The remaining object type was not reinforced by either of the experimenters. After a delay of two or ten weeks, we assessed the apes' memory of which object type was exchanged with which experimenter. Additionally, we introduced a new experimenter to see if the apes could infer by exclusion that the remaining object type should be exchanged with the new experimenter. The apes successfully remembered which object types were exchanged, but failed to distinguish which object type was exchanged with whom. This failure to bind an object type to a specific person may have resulted from the apes learning to use a rule based on recency, as opposed to learning a conditional rule involving social information. However, results from a second experiment suggested they fail to incorporate social information even when no other information could guide successful performance. Our findings are consistent with research showing long-term memory in primates, but suggest that social information may not be bound in memory as readily as spatial or contextual information.


Cindemir, U. 2016. Thin films for indoor air monitoring. Measurements of Volatile Organic Compounds. Digital Comprehensive Summaries of Uppsala Dissertations from the Faculty of Science and Technology 1422. 78 pp. Uppsala: Acta Universitatis Upsaliensis. ISBN 978-91-554-9683-8. Volatile organic compounds (VOCs) in the indoor air have adverse effects on the dwellers residing in a building or a vehicle. One of these effects is called sick building syndrome (SBS). SBS refers to situations in which the users of a building develop acute health effects and discomfort depending on the time they spend inside some buildings without having any specific illness. Furthermore, monitoring volatile organic compounds could lead to early diagnosis of specific illnesses through breath analysis. Among those VOCs formaldehyde, acetaldehyde can be listed. In this thesis, VOC detecting thin film sensors have been investigated. Such sensors have been manufactured using semiconducting metal oxides, ligand activated gold nanoparticles and Graphene/TiO2 mixtures. Advanced gas deposition unit, have been used to produce NiO thin films and Au nanoparticles. DC magnetron sputtering has been used to produce InSnO and VO2 thin film sensors. Graphene/TiO2 sensors have been manufactured using doctor-blading. While presenting the results, first, material characterization details are presented for each sensor, then, gas sensing results are presented. Morphologies, crystalline structures and chemical properties have been analyzed using scanning electron microscopy, X-ray diffraction and Xray photo electron spectroscopy. Furthermore, more detailed analyses have been performed on NiO samples using extended X-ray absorption fine structure method and N2 adsorption measurements. Gas sensing measurements were focused on monitoring formaldehyde and acetaldehyde. However, responses ethanol and methane were measured in some cases to monitor selectivity. Graphene/TiO2 samples were used to monitor NO2 and NH3. For NiO thin film sensors and Au nano particles, fluctuation enhanced gas sensing is also presented in addition to conductometric measurements.


This article focuses on a question never before examined in the literature: what evidence is there that those who participated in the drafting and ratification of the Constitution understood that a plenary recognition power was being vested in the president? For at least a century, presidents have used the recognition power as an important tool in conducting and determining the content of the nation's foreign policy. Although most exercises of presidential power have generated heated disputes between pro-presidentialist and pro-congressionalist scholars, there is little dispute about the recognition power. A string of Supreme Court decisions, dating back at least to 1937, states that recognition is a plenary power of the President; and scholars have both influenced and fallen into line with this view. Given this long historical stamp of approval, it may seem predictable that there has been little written questioning whether there is an originalist basis for a plenary executive recognition power. Yet the Constitution does not mention recognition, and it is easier to assert the existence of Executive power than to identify its source. After dismissing textualist arguments for the recognition power, this Article proceeds to a detailed originalist inquiry. Obtaining recognition from and establishing diplomatic relations with European countries were central aims of Congress during the War of Independence and Confederation period. Given this historical experience, which demonstrated the importance and dangers of the recognition power, one would expect that this subject would have been a matter of special attention in the Constitutional Convention and ratification debates. Yet, although the Anti-Federalists attacked, and the Federalists defended, every power that was thought to be vested in the President by the Constitution, there is no discussion, in all of the voluminous records that we possess, of either of the receive ambassadors or executive vesting clauses as being a source of executive power – and no discussion at all of the power to recognize foreign states or governments. The conclusion of this paper is that there is no originalist justification for a plenary executive recognition power. On the other hand, the article proposes an explanation for the founders' silence that also precludes a firm conclusion that this power was deliberately denied to the President. The founders left a void in the Constitution.


Kuwait's leaders from 1961-77 maintained a foreign policy that reflected the country's territorial vulnerabilities. They sought to discretely cultivate an Anglo-American defence relationship without fatally compromising an ideological fealty to at least the slogans of Arabism. The thesis emphasises Kuwait's essential need to offset its international "hard" security component with, as far as practicable, a regional non-alignment posture and adherence to Arab policy norrns. In the process neo-realist and constructivist theory are used to bring out the duality at the heart of the amirate's foreign policy.
Differences between key Al-Sabah over foreign policy were differences of emphasis, while domestic security concerns did not so much determine policy as emphasise Kuwait's regional challenges, against which the amirate chose to deploy ideology. Arabism inevitably had contradictions as a tool of Kuwait foreign policy, and was often more about the cash subventions that accompanied policy stances, than the value of the stances themselves. However deploying ideology was indicative of the ruling Al-Sabah's desire to strike the right tone for external and domestic consumption; a desire to accommodate or befriend key regional players without, it hoped, alienating others.
The inherent contradictions of Kuwait's foreign policy were born of the country's relative weakness, save its one precious asset, oil. In the 1980s Kuwait's strategically vital location and key resource would see the amirate forced to abandon its sometimes illusory regional nonalignment; after 1990 it maintained an overt US alliance. Events post- 1977 therefore emphasised what had been the fragility of Kuwait's foreign policy since independence. The country's limited ability to act to prevent these crises only underscored what had been the limits of the amirate's policy options.


Evaporation and groundwater fluxes are thought to regulate hydrologic variability in lakes of the northern Great Plains, but little is known of how the relative importance of these processes may vary in time or space. To address this issue, we measured the isotopic composition of water (δ18O, δ2H) from 70 closed‐basin lakes in southern Saskatchewan, Canada. All lakes occupied endorheic basins along a long gradient of salinity (0.2–115 g total dissolved solids L−1). Lakes exhibited synchronous seasonal changes in salinity (synchrony, S = 0.78) and δ18O (S = 0.84) during the dry summer of 2003 (~195 mm rain), whereas coherence was reduced to 0.56 and 0.22, respectively, during the wet summer of 2004 (~295 mm rain). However, despite evaporative enrichment of isotopic ratios during dry summers, hydrologic balances were regulated mainly by changes in water inflow (I) rather than evaporation (E) in both wet and dry years, with particularly strong influence of inflow (lowest E : I ratio) in dry southwestern regions. Analysis of isotopic composition also identified winter precipitation or groundwater as the most influential source of water to most lakes, despite only ~30% of annual precipitation being delivered during winter. Therefore, although seasonal variability in lake chemistry was influenced by evaporation during summer, long‐term mean chemical characteristics of prairie lakes were regulated mainly by changes in winter precipitation or groundwater influx.


India has a wide scope of materials regarding plan, procedures, colors utilized and strategies. Indian material history has been layered and advanced by subtleties of transitory weavers, unfamiliar attacks and strict impacts. The wide scope of plan and weave, explicit to the area of theirorigin,are magnum opuses upgraded by the aptitudes of the specific skilled workers and their custom. Material planning is tied in with making designs for fabric which can be utilized in different applications. Bhatnagar (2002) states that materials have been delivered in India since relic. The creation and advancement of Indian material has an ancient birthplace. Nonetheless, not many of the old plans actually exist. One explanation is that material has for some time been viewed exclusively as an article of utilization, instead of as a work of art and plans are lost through regular mileage. Everyone mourns about the perishing artistic expressions of the nation in which Kurumba painting is one.


This paper addresses the application of physiological status monitoring (PSM) for assessing the impact of harsh weather conditions on sports activities in universities in Saudi Arabia. Real sports measurement was conducted during sports activities such that the physiological status (HR and BR) of five students were continuously monitored by using Zephyr BioHarnessTM 3.0 sensors in order to identify the physiological bonds and zones. These bonds and zones were employed as indicators of the associated physiological risks of the performed sports activities. Furthermore, a short yes/no questionnaire was applied to collect information on participants' health conditions and opinions of the applied PSM sensors. The results show the absence of a warning system as a protective aid for the hazardous levels of extremely hot and humid weather conditions that may cause dangerous and fatal circumstances. The applied formulas for estimating maximum HR provides accurate estimations for Maximum Heart Rate (HRmax). The physiological results reveal that the performed activities by the participants are considered the highest category (90-100%) in terms of activity intensity. This category is associated with higher HR, BR and physiological risks including losing the ability to control human body behaviors. Therefore, there is a need for immediate intervention actions to reduce the intensity of the performed activities to safer zones. The outcomes of this study assist the safety improvement of sports activities inside universities and athletes performing their sports activities. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first paper to represent a special case of the application of PSM technology for assessing sports activities in universities considering the impacts of harsh weather conditions on students' health and safety.


Innovation in public services is going to prove crucial to the UK's ability to meet the social challenges of the 21st century. However, at the moment, the UK does a poor job of developing innovations in the public sector. We are particularly weak in using innovations in one service to improve public services in others in the same locality or nearby.

Historically, nearly all innovation policy has been tailored to the needs of for-profit manufacturing sectors. However, there is an increasing thirst for understanding how finance, policy and institutions can support Social Innovation. This report draws on extensive research, including literature reviews and case studies from around the world, and from interviews. The Young Foundation collaborated with NESTA to produce this report.

It looks at successes as well as failures. It aims to clarify which conditions best support and sustain local social innovation and it provides guidance to future practitioners and policymakers.


The study by Gutierrez-Jiménez et al. 1 evaluates the predictive value of total serum calcium and albumin-corrected calcium in acute pancreatitis. The authors concluded that these parameters, when determined within the first 24 h of the onset of an acute pancreatitis episode, are useful predictors of severity, even comparable or superior to the Ranson and APACHE-II scoring systems. This study reports that serum calcium measurement has a predictive usefulness similar to that of other scales, in addition to being low-cost, as well as easily obtained and available, but it is important to point out that some of the comparisons were made using Ranson and APACHE-II cutoff points that are different from those now established as severity predictors; using a Ranson's score > 5 or an APACHE 7 instead of a 3 and 8, respectively, as the definition of severity, increases the risk for underestimating and/or overestimating the true severity of the event. Furthermore, the authors did not use the Bedside Index for Severity in Acute Pancreatitis (BISAP), which has shown itself to have a prognostic performance for severity and mortality in acute pancreatitis that is comparable or superior to the Ranson and APACHE-II, with areas under the curve (AUC) between 0.81-0.82, 0.94, and 0.78-0.83, respectively,, in addition to being relatively easy to calculate. Had the BISAP, which possibly will be the most widely used methodology for predicting severity in acute pancreatitis in the coming years, been included in the comparisons, it would have increased the value of the results. When the usefulness of any predictive method is analyzed, it is common that the evaluation takes into consideration sensitivity and specificity values, positive predictive value (PPV), and negative predictive value (NPV). However,


Given the disproportionate and increasing number of impoverished women, and poor women's increased vulnerability to woman abuse, it is crucial we examine economic policies in regards to their equity and adequacy for abused women. Current policies and programs designed to address the economic resources/needs of abused women are analyzed. Limitations in current policies are addressed, and a recommendation is made for the formation and implementation of a policy that would serve to empower women economically. Both the prospect and achievement of economic independence for women may not only reduce woman abuse, but will also increase women's options for economic security. ********** In western culture the abuse of women by their partners can be traced back at least as far as Romulus, the founder of Rome, who around 753 B.C.E. formalized the first known law of marriage (McCue, 1995; Wallace, 1996). While social policies have changed over the years in regards to woman abuse, many of the myths and biases about women and abuse persist. Consequently, contemporary policies and programs targeting woman abuse are inadequate. As noted by Gutierrez (1987), "feminist and sociological theories encouraged social workers to place responsibility for battering on society ... [but] for the most part social workers were not encouraged to work toward larger social changes as much as toward local reforms or changing their daily practice" (p. 45). Not surprisingly then, in a national study examining services and programs designed to assist abused women, Davis, Hagen, and Early (1994) found that the majority of services offered across the country focus on two types of interventions, providing counseling/supportive services and temporary protection. Given the shame and fear women often experience in revealing their abuse, woman abuse continues to be underreported (McCue, 1995). However, estimates are that each year 4 million women will experience battering in an intimate relationship, and over their lifetimes, 25% of all women will experience such abuse (Postmus, 2000). Indeed, woman abuse is a leading cause of female injury and death (Mills, 1996). When women attempt to leave an abusive relationship, they often risk losing their children in custody battles (Bryan, 1999). They also risk economic hardship such as losing their homes and possessions (McCue, 1995). Findings from the Senate Judiciary Committee in 1990 indicate that a woman who leaves her abusive partner faces a 50 percent chance that her standard of living will drop below the poverty line (McCue, 1995). Not only are women more vulnerable than men to impoverishment (Abramovitz, 1996; Kemp, 1994; Zopf, 1989), but poor women are also more likely to experience violence by an intimate partner than are women from higher economic levels, with women on welfare experiencing the most severe violence (Kurz, 1998). While "domestic violence is a factor in approximately 6 percent of all U.S. households, 20 to 30 percent of women receiving welfare are current victims of domestic violence--a considerable over-representation" (Raphael, 2000, p. 5). Although the connection between woman abuse and economic security for women has been made, few detailed policy recommendations have been forthcoming. Even when authors emphasize women's economic needs, the tendency is to focus on only one or two economic components and seldom on long-term economic security (Christy-McMullin, 2000). Therefore, after highlighting the interrelated nature of woman abuse and economic security through a critical examination of the relevant literature, limitations inherent in contemporary services and policies will be discussed and a recommendation made for policy formulation which promises to address the various economic needs faced by abused women. Six Components Of Economic Security For Abused Women Research suggests that increasing economic independence for women will not only decrease violence within an intimate relationship, but also provide women with the needed economic resources to leave an abusive relationship if they so desire. …


Abstract : Real-time citizen interaction has the potential to transform society's response to crisis situations. New systems and processes must be developed to support citizen involvement and first responders must be trained in their use. The Citizens' Emergency Response Portal System (CERPS) Simulation Experiment (CERPS SIMEX) examined the role of public interaction through social media during emergency situations. The SIMEX was conducted over five days in October 2012 at the Net-Centric C4ISR Experimentation Lab (NCEL) housed at The MITRE Corporation's McLean, Va., headquarters and on the George Mason University (GMU) campus in Fairfax, Va. No actual emergency activities occurred on the campus; the SIMEX was conducted behind a firewall to avoid unintentional public panic. The SIMEX brought together emergency response personnel from federal, state, county, and city jurisdictions in the National Capital Region of Washington, D.C. Emergency operators used real command and control systems with simulated reporting and sensor systems. Citizen participants were volunteers recruited from the GMU student body. The primary purpose of the SIMEX was to examine the hypothesis that citizen participation via social media in crisis response decision-making can improve the outcome of a crisis. This SIMEX was intended to establish a baseline for future research on crisis response decision support employing citizen participation.


This paper examines the role of volunteer emergency responders in civil protection activities. It distinguishes between spontaneous and organised voluntarism and focuses upon the latter. The potential of volunteer organisations to run different kinds of services is evaluated, but it is noted that the degree to which volunteers are important in civil protection varies considerably from one country to another. The literature on volunteers in emergencies is surveyed with respect to the forms of voluntarism in this sector, its organisation and management, problems of recruitment and retention, and volunteers' motivations, levels of satisfaction, liability problems and psychological support needs. With reference to examples, the place of volunteer organisations in civil protection systems is evaluated. Recommendations are offered on how to improve the integration of these organisations with other elements of the system, how to create or strengthen a culture of voluntarism and how best to train volunteers to respond to emergencies. A three-level training scheme is presented. It is argued that training is the key to improving the profile of volunteers, enhancing their job satisfaction and increasing the efficiency of the emergency services that they provide.


Abstract. This paper discusses assimilation experiments of methane (CH4) and nitrous oxide (N2O) profiles retrieved from the Michelson Interferometer for Passive Atmospheric Sounding (MIPAS). Here we focus on data versions 6 and 7 provided by the ESA processor. These data sets have been assimilated by the Belgian Assimilation System for Chemical ObsErvations (BASCOE). The CH4 and N2O retrieved profiles can oscillate, especially in the tropical lower stratosphere. Using the averaging kernels of the observations and a background error covariance matrix, which has previously been calibrated, allows the system to partly remedy this issue and provide assimilated fields that are more regular vertically. In general, there is a good agreement between the BASCOE analyses and independent observations from ACE–FTS (CH4 and N2O) and MLS (N2O), demonstrating the general good quality of CH4 and N2O retrievals provided by MIPAS ESA. Nevertheless, this study also identifies two issues in these data sets. First, time series of the observations show unexpected discontinuities due to an abrupt change in the gain of MIPAS band B, generally occurring after the instrument decontamination. Since the calibration is performed weekly, the abrupt change in the gain affects the measurements until the subsequent calibration is performed. Second, the correlations between BASCOE analyses and independent observations are poor in the lower stratosphere, especially in the tropics, probably due to the presence of outliers in the assimilated data. In this region, we recommend using MIPAS CH4 and N2O retrievals with caution.


This compilation explores the scope of responsibilities undertaken by social workers in the field of criminal law in India when dealing with clients who are either offenders or victims of crime. It provides an in-depth understanding of the socio-structural, legal and practical challenges faced by Indian criminal justice social workers.

The book encourages social work professionals and students to consider three major areas: encouraging education and training in this subject; protecting the human rights of offenders and victims of crime; and addressing mental illness within the criminal justice system. It hopes to demystify social work in the area of criminal justice, particularly because of the stigma attached to it, given the potentially coercive enforcement of criminal law vis-a-vis the traditional ethos of social work being primarily about 'caring', 'empathy' and 'empowerment'.


Marketization and quantification have become ingrained in academia over the past few decades. The trust in numbers and incentives has led to a proliferation of devices that individualize, induce, benchmark, and rank academic performance. As an instantiation of that trend, this article focuses on the establishment and contestation of 'algorithmic allocation' at a Dutch university medical centre. Algorithmic allocation is a form of data-driven automated reasoning that enables university administrators to calculate the overall research budget of a department without engaging in a detailed qualitative assessment of the current content and future potential of its research activities. It consists of a range of quantitative performance indicators covering scientific publications, peer recognition, PhD supervision, and grant acquisition. Drawing on semi-structured interviews, focus groups, and document analysis, we contrast the attempt to build a rationale for algorithmic allocation-citing unfair advantage, competitive achievement, incentives, and exchange-with the attempt to challenge that rationale based on existing epistemic differences between departments. From the specifics of the case, we extrapolate to considerations of epistemic and market fairness that might equally be at stake in other attempts to govern the production of scientific knowledge in a quantitative and market-oriented way.


Two Association of Research Libraries member libraries, the University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign (UIUC) and Pennsylvania State University (Penn State), evaluated their monograph acquisition approval plan profiles to answer basic questions concerning use, cost effectiveness, and coverage. Data were collected in tandem from vendors and local online systems to track book receipt, item circulation, and overlap between plans. The study period was fiscal year 2005 (July 1, 2004–June 30, 2005) for the approval plan purchasing data, and circulation use data were collected from July 1, 2004, through March 31, 2007, for both UIUC and Penn State. Multiple data points were collected for each title, including author, title, ISBN, publisher, Library of Congress classification number, purchase price, and circulation data. Results of the study measured the cost-effectiveness of each plan by subject and publisher, analyzed similarities and differences in use, and examined the overlap between the two approval plans. The goals were to establish a benchmark for consistently evaluating approval plan profile effectiveness and to provide a reproducible method with baseline data that will allow other libraries to collect comparable data and conduct their own studies.


Injuries in children are a well-known occurrence and often lead to fractures. The fractures may affect long bones, occur in all ages and could be accidental or nonaccidental with associated injuries that may cause disability or permanent deformity. Lack of epidemiological research on causes, mechanism of injury and site of long bone fractures in children in our environment prompted this study. The study evaluates variables that maybe responsible for long bone fractures in children and document them accordingly for use in planning injury prevention strategies in children. The study was carried out in a tertiary hospital in a metropolitan city (Enugu State University of Science and Technology [ESUT] Teaching Hospital, Enugu, Nigeria). Medical records of patients, ward admission register, accident and emergency register and theatre registers were used for data collection. Children under 16 years who presented to the hospital with long bone fractures between January 2015 and December 2017 were part of the study. Eighty-five children with 86 long bone fractures out of 258 children that presented and were admitted into the orthopedic service were noted. Mean age of patients was 7.2 years + 1.8 years. The commonest long bone fractured was the femur n23 (26.7%). Males-female ratio was 1.15:1. Fall from height was the commonest cause of injury and abrasion/laceration the commonest associated injuries. Long bone fractures in children occur mostly due to falls from height and affects the femur more than any other bone. Bimodal annual occurrence rate has been noted and caregivers ought to be more vigilant during those times to help reduce the rate of long bone fractures in children.


While there are many available textbooks on quantum information theory, most are either too technical for beginners or not complete enough. Filling this gap, Elements of Quantum Computation and Quantum Communication gives a clear, self-contained introduction to quantum computation and communication. Written primarily for undergraduate students in physics, mathematics, computer science, and related disciplines, this introductory text is also suitable for researchers interested in quantum computation and communication. Developed from the authors lecture notes, the text begins with developing a perception of classical and quantum information and chronicling the history of quantum computation and communication. It then covers classical and quantum Turing machines, error correction, the quantum circuit model of computation, and complexity classes relevant to quantum computing and cryptography. After presenting mathematical techniques frequently used in quantum information theory and some basic ideas from quantum mechanics, the author describes quantum gates, circuits, algorithms, and error-correcting codes. He also explores the significance and applications of two unique quantum communication schemes: quantum teleportation and superdense coding. The book concludes with various aspects of quantum cryptography. Exploring recent developments and open questions in the field, this text prepares readers for further study and helps them understand more advanced texts and journal papers. Along with thought-provoking cartoons and brief biographies of key players in the field, each chapter includes examples, references, exercises, and problems with detailed solutions.


»National Socialism in Vienna. Seize of Power, Consolidation, and Radicalisation, 1938/39«. The question of how National Socialism came to power in Vienna has been an absolute taboo in Austrian History for a long time. SS-Terror and the pressure of Reichsdeutsche corresponded with the enthusiastic assistance of Austrian Nazis and a rebellious Kleinbürger movement – being torn between storms of enthusiasm and anti-Jewish-pogroms. This article integrates the results of Gerhard Botz's large monograph of 1978, which has been revised and extended several times since then. The example of Vienna in 1938/39 shows how of the Nazi's seize of power and consolidation went hand in hand with daily mechanisms of surveillance and rewards, conviction and persecution of individuals and groups. Hitler himself interfered often in Viennes anti-Jewish and other racial matters as well in many decisions on city planning, architecture and music, he displayed a real love-hate relationship with the city where he had spent several years of his youth.


This study presents a comparison of two existing methods for the determination of urea concentration in seawater. These methods are referred to here as the enzymatic method, which is based on the use of the enzyme urease, and the direct method, which is based on the reaction of urea with diacetylmonoxime. A room temperature modification of the direct method was adapted for a single reagent and both the enzymatic and the direct method were tested in artificially prepared solutions and in natural samples from estuaries and shelf waters. We were particularly interested in the effects of salinity and humic acids on the accuracy of both methods. The effect of humic acids was negligible. In contrast, salinity ~34 caused a 15% to 40% underestimation in the urea concentrations measured by the enzymatic method and the degree of underestimation varied among enzyme batches. Urea concentrations corrected for the salt effect should, however, be considered estimations, as other factors also interfered with the enzymatic method in natural samples. The direct method as modified in this study presented a low detection limit (0.04 µM urea‐N) and high precision (standard deviation: 0.02 µM urea‐N; coefficient of variation: 1.1%) comparable to those of the enzymatic method. The direct method was more accurate and less salinity dependent than the enzymatic method. As urea levels could have been underestimated by the enzymatic method, our findings support previous conclusions regarding the important role of urea in the nitrogen cycle and its link with some harmful algal bloom phenomena.


The human computer interaction issues associated with the creation of personalized role playing simulations are discussed in this paper. This paper is aimed at those who are interested in building authoring applications which enable educators to build role playing simulated e-learning resources to use with their students. One of the main issues which have come to our attention is that many learning designers and educators do not understand what exactly it is we are trying to achieve by creating personalized role playing simulations. Also, how to gauge the pedagogic merits which can be achieved by using these e-learning resources. Potential users require guidance on the most appropriate uses for this authoring application. The provision of exemplars of use of such personalized e-learning activities would assist potential users in creating their own role playing simulations. Other issues which are to be addressed in authoring applications for creating personalized e-learning activities are: documentation; training materials; preview mechanisms; integration; usability; and the use of clear and relevant terminology. Human acceptance is paramount to the effective use of educational software which is designed to facilitate the creation of personalized e-learning resources. In conclusion, if the realization of an authoring application for creating personalized role playing simulations is to be achieved the following issues must be resolved: relevance to the learning experience; efficiency in production; and improvements in the human computer interaction.


BACKGROUND
 Recent evidence suggests the effectiveness of stepwise, targeted approaches for the prevention of lifestyle-related diseases with combinations of web-based and face-to-face interventions showing promising results.

 OBJECTIVE
 This paper reports on 1-year changes in health-risk behaviors, BMI, self-rated health, mental well-being, and risk of disease at 1-year follow-up after participation in a stepwise intervention that targeted persons at high risk of disease and persons with health-risk behavior. To this end, we distinguish between participants who took up the full intervention (web-based plus face-to-face) and those who received only the web-based intervention.

 METHODS
 The Early Detection and Prevention (Danish acronym: TOF) pilot study was conducted as a nonrandomized, 1-year follow-up intervention study in two municipalities in the Region of Southern Denmark. A total of 9400 citizens born between 1957 and 1986 (aged 29 to 60 years) were randomly sampled from participating general practitioner (GP) patient-list systems and were invited to take part in the study. Participants were subsequently stratified into risk groups based on their responses to a questionnaire on health-risk behavior and data from their GP's electronic patient record (EPR) system. All participants received a digital personal health profile with individualized information on current health-risk behavior and targeted advice on relevant health-risk behavior changes. In addition, patients at high risk of disease, as indicated by their digital health profile, were offered a targeted intervention at their GP. Patients who were not deemed at high risk of disease but who exhibited health-risk behaviors were offered a targeted intervention at their municipal health center (MHC). At 1-year follow-up, health-risk behaviors, self-rated health, BMI, and mental well-being were reassessed by questionnaire, and current information on diagnoses and medical treatment was retrieved from the EPRs.

 RESULTS
 Of 598 patients at high risk of disease or with health-risk behavior, 135 took up the targeted intervention at their GP or MHC and 463 received the personal health profile only. From baseline to 1-year follow-up, the number of patients with unhealthy eating habits decreased, mean mental well-being increased, and smoking prevalence decreased in patients who had received the digital personal health profile alone. Among patients who took up the targeted intervention, unhealthy eating habits and sedentary lifestyles decreased and significant reductions in mean BMI were observed. At 1-year follow up, no health-risk behaviors were detected among 17.4% of patients who at baseline had exhibited health-risk behaviors or high risk of disease.

 CONCLUSIONS
 A stepwise targeted preventive approach using web-based and face-to-face elements may lead to favorable lifestyle changes. Specifically, a web-based approach may improve smoking and eating habits and mental well-being, whereas supplementary face-to-face interventions may be necessary to improve exercise habits and BMI.

 CLINICALTRIAL
 ClinicalTrials.gov NCT02797392; https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT02797392

 INTERNATIONAL REGISTERED REPORT
 RR2-10.1186/s12875-018-0820-8


Abstract Despite mountains of election returns, opinion surveys, and controlled experiments, political scientists have not offered a particularly compelling explanation for the most important conundrum facing students of U.S. elections: how could we have had such different election results across the past decade when the electorate is so polarized along partisan lines? Relying mostly on data from the American National Election Studies, this article examines the nature of party attachments and presidential voting in the 2000s, with an eye towards estimating the relative importance of persuasion and mobilization for variation in electoral outcomes. I also consider the most obvious source for future party system transformation: the mobilization of Hispanic-American and Asian-American voting cohorts.


The importance of family experiences on children's development and wellbeing has been widely documented. Yet, recent reports generated by inquiries into child abuse and neglect in the Irish context raise disturbing questions with regard to how the severe maltreatment of children can occur within the family context. It is imperative that the messages generated from these inquiries can effectively inform policy and practice in terms of protecting children from harm and providing support to families at-risk. The present paper draws together key issues for parenting and family support for families 'at risk' based on the Roscommon and Monageer inquiries with a view to gaining insight into key issues which need to be addressed in terms of protecting children from harm and providing support for parents experiencing adversity. A number of implications arising from these reports are outlined and discussed. Specifically, the need to amplify the focus on support for parenting in the context of poverty and substance abuse is highlighted with a particular emphasis on developing sensitive screening and assessment for parents who may be difficult to engage with due to chronic mental health issues. The importance of accessing the voice of children within the provision of family support is also underlined in these findings. A key recommendation from these reports is that the needs, wishes and feelings of each child must be considered as well as the totality of the family situation. Moreover, the need for staff in child welfare and protection services to have access to ongoing training and professional development to meet the complex and changing needs of the children and families they are working with is also highlighted. Specifically, ongoing training for frontline staff in understanding the effects of drug and alcohol dependency, and, in particular, the effects on parenting and parent-child relationships is underscored in findings from these reports.


During the 1990s the Kagera region of Tanzania experienced a forced migration shock. A series of geographical barriers led to a higher concentration of forced migrants in some parts of the region relative to others, resulting in a natural experiment. Using panel data (pre and post forced migration shock), we find that greater exposure to the refugee shock resulted in Tanzanians having a lower likelihood of working outside the household as employees. However, employees more affected by the shock had a higher probability of being in professional occupations and being part of a pensions program.


Polychlorinated biphenyls (PCB) are highly lipophilic compounds and persistent in the environment, which converts them into substances able to accumulate in the food chain and persistent contaminants in soil, air, and water. Our objective was to determine the concentration of PCB in the serum of patients with Breast Cancer (BC) and its correlation with PCB in the soil of their homes in different areas of the Comarca Lagunera region in Mexico. With non-probabilistic sampling, we selected the homes of subjects with and without BC. In 20% of cases, the diagnosis was carried out 25 and 39 years of age. Sample analysis was by Gas-mass Chromatography (GC). The concentration of the different congeners was similar between the samples of household soil in cases and controls, with a sole exception with marginal significance (p=0.056), that is, congener 52, was greater in the cases. The highest concentrations found in soil in the study were for congeners 118 and 138. The highest risk found for BC was congener 195; however, it was not statistically significant, similar to the other congener quantified in soil. The correlation analysis between PCB serum concentrations and that of the soil exhibited a low concentration, the highest being for congener 101. The concentrations in serum of the 13 congener were significantly greater between cases and controls. No risk association was found among the individual concentrations of the 41 congeners' PCB or among total PCB neither in soil nor with BC.


An interlingua is a notation for representing the content of a text that abstracts away from the characteristics of the language itself and focuses on the meaning (semantics) alone. Interlinguas are typically used as pivot representations in machine translation, allowing the contents of a source text to be generated in many different target languages. Due to the complexities involved, few interlinguas are more than demonstration prototypes, and only one has been used in a commercial MT system. In this article we define the components of an interlingua and the principal issues faced by designers and builders of interlinguas and interlingua MT systems, illustrating with examples from operational systems and research prototypes. We discuss current efforts to annotate texts with interlingua-based information.


The expansion of fat mass in the obese state is due to increased adipocyte hypertrophy and hyperplasia. Knowledge on what drives adipocyte hyperplasia in obesity remains limited. SIRT1, a key regulator of mammalian metabolism, maintains proper metabolic functions in many tissues counteracting obesity. By stably knocking down SIRT1 in mouse 3T3-L1 preadipocytes, we demonstrate that SIRT1 is a key regulator of proliferation in preadipocytes and mitotic clonal expansion (MCE) in differentiating adipocytes. Quantitative proteomics reveals that the p53 pathways is altered to drive enhanced proliferation in SIRT1 knockdown preadipocytes. Moreover, p53 is hyperacetylated, p27 is reduced and CDK2 is activated in SIRT1-silenced preadipocytes. Remarkably, differentiating SIRT1-silenced preadipocytes exhibit enhanced MCE accompanied with reduced p27, increased C/EBPβ, and also have hyperacetylated p53, leading to hyperplastic and dysfunctional adipocytes. Better understanding of the molecular mechanisms of adipocyte hyperplasia will open new venues towards understanding obesity.


This paper provides a detailed analysis of agricultural land use change in Bangladesh over a 59-year period (1948–2006) and examines how these have impacted crop diversity, productivity, food availability and the environment. The key findings of the analysis are: first, land use intensity has increased significantly over this period, mainly from the widespread adoption of a rice-based Green Revolution technology package beginning in the early 1960s; second, contrary to expectation, crop diversity too has increased; third, although land productivity has increased significantly, declines in the productivity of fertilizers and pesticides raise doubts over sustaining agricultural growth; fourth, food availability has improved, with a reversal in the dietary energy imbalance in recent years despite a high population growth rate; and finally, the production environment has suffered with widespread soil nutrient depletion experienced in many agroecological regions. The policy implication points towards crop diversification as a desired strategy for agricultural growth to improve resource economy, productivity and efficiency in farming in Bangladesh.


Objectives The rising prevalence of tobacco use and tobacco-attributable deaths among women is of worldwide concern. In particular, smoking prevention for mothers in early midlife is a significant international public health goal. A higher sense of purpose in life (PIL) is thought to reduce detrimental health behaviours. However, little is known about the association between a sense of PIL and tobacco use. This study investigates this association among community-dwelling mothers of early adolescents. Design This population-based cross-sectional study uses a self-reported questionnaire from the Tokyo Early Adolescence Survey, a large community-based survey conducted in Japan between 2012 and 2015. Setting Participants were randomly recruited from the resident registries of three municipalities in Tokyo, Japan. Participants A total of 4478 children and their primary parents participated. Responses from 4063 mothers with no missing data were analysed (mean age=42.0 years (SD=4.2)). Measures Participants' tobacco use, including the number of cigarettes smoked per day, was documented using a questionnaire. PIL was assessed using a Purpose in Life scale derived from Ryff's Psychological Well-Being Scale. Results Greater PIL was associated with a decreased likelihood of tobacco use, even when adjusted for confounders (OR=0.80, 95% CI 0.70 to 0.91). Multinomial logistic regression analyses revealed that PIL was inversely associated with tobacco consumption among mothers. These associations remained after controlling for psychological distress, socioeconomic factors and frequency of alcohol consumption among moderate to heavy smokers (OR=0.70, 95% CI 0.57 to 0.86), while attenuated among light smokers. Conclusions Increasing PIL may be a valuable intervention for reducing tobacco use among women in early midlife. This study can contribute to our understanding of the psychology of smoking behaviour and shed light on the targeted intervention to reduce tobacco use among early midlife mothers.


Migraine is a painful, disabling, and common disorder that imposes a substantial burden on individual headache sufferers and society at large. Although the prevalence of migraine has remained unchanged in recent years, the number of affected individuals continues to increase as the US population grows. The 1989 and 1999 American Migraine Studies provide insights into trends in epidemiology and patterns of medical care during the past decade and identify challenges in healthcare delivery for migraine. Of particular concern is a persistent treatment gap, reflected in the fact that the number of migraine sufferers currently consulting doctors for headache increased by 31% between 1989 and 1999, but that the proportion taking prescription drugs for migraine increased by only 4% between 1989 and 1999. Another consideration is that the individual and socioeconomic burdens of migraine are often compounded by psychiatric and neurologic comorbidities. Careful attention to comorbidities is required to establish accurate diagnoses, ensure the use of appropriate treatment strategies, and maximize quality of life. Concentrated educational efforts are warranted to increase the recognition of migraine as a legitimate medical condition and to encourage more widespread use of effective therapeutic modalities.


This is the Soviet Laser Bibliography for the third quarter of 1976 and is No. 25 in the series on Soviet laser developments. The coverage includes basic research on solid state, liquid, gas, and chemical lasers; components; nonlinear optics; spectroscopy of laser materials; ultrashort pulse generation; crystal growing; theoretical aspects of advanced lasers; and general laser theory. Laser applications are listed under biological effects; communications; computer technology; holography; laser-induced chemical reactions; instrumentation and measurements; beam-target interaction; and plasma generation and diagnostics.


In this essay policies against non-Muslim minorities implemented during World War II by the Turkish government are analyzed: specifically, the mobilization of minority young men aged eighteen to forty-five years into work battalions from May 1941 to September 1942, as a repetition of the Amele Taburlari during World War I, and the capital tax implemented as a means of economic destruction of the non-Muslim minorities from November 1942 to March 1944. The motivations, conditions, and implementation of both anti-minority measures are analyzed and their consequences are presented.


Author(s): Blum, David; Wetter, Michael | Abstract: Within the last decade, needs for building control systems that reduce cost, energy, or peak demand, and that facilitate building-grid integration, district-energy system optimization, and occupant interaction, while maintaining thermal comfort and indoor air quality, have come about. Current PID and schedule-based control systems are not capable of fulfilling these needs, while Model Predictive Control (MPC) could. Despite the critical role MPC-enabled buildings can play in future energy infrastructures, widespread adoption of MPC within the building industry has yet to occur. To address barriers associated with system setup and configuration, this paper introduces an open-source software platform that emphasizes use of self-tuning adaptive models, usability by non-experts of MPC, and a flexible architecture that enables application across projects.


By any standard one wishes to apply, the impact of violence on the health and safety of the public is significant. The expression of violence among children in the United States has increased significantly during the modern era. Homicide and suicide are the second and third leading causes of death in youths 15-24 years of age. The emergency department (ED) is a common site for the care of these victims, and because victims often become assailants, the emergency care provider needs to know the epidemiology, treatment, and methods for prevention of youth violence in order to curtail the cycle. A multidisciplinary task force was convened by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)-funded Southern California Center of Academic Excellence on Youth Violence Prevention and the Keck School of Medicine at the University of Southern California to define competencies for health professionals in youth violence prevention and control. Three levels of competence were identified: the generalist level, which should be obtained by all health professionals; the specialist level, which should be obtained by health professionals such as emergency medicine providers, who frequently work with populations affected by violence; and a third, or scholar level, to be acquired by health professionals who wish to become experts not only in the care, but also in research and advocacy. This article reports the details of this group's efforts and applies them to emergency care provider education. These competencies should shape the development of curricula for the span of emergency medical training from emergency medical services scholastic training to postgraduate continuous medical education.


This study focuses on training needs assessment (TNA) in a Libyan context. It is the first of its kind involving a large Libyan public utility company in relation to investigating training processes and TNA. The study adopts interpretivist and subjectivist paradigms; both are linked to qualitative research. A qualitative and inductive approach was used to generate in-depth data and information from people responsible for training and from those who have received training. A qualitative methodology, using semi-structured interviews and focus group interviews was adopted.
One key contribution of the study was the development of a theoretical TNA framework in a Libyan context, which was based on western models (Olivas's, 2007 model and Vaughn's, 2005, model) and also on the findings of the present study. This theoretical framework consists of six stages of implementation, to suit the Arab and Libyan cultural context in which needs assessment is undertaken through several steps due to the bureaucratic nature of management and the many hierarchical layers of the organisation.
Another contribution was that of the impact of social, personal economic and organisational factors on TNA process and nomination of employees for training. Social factors, e.g., favouritism and 'Wasta', are commonplace in the Libyan culture and plays some role in the nomination process, and social relationships (kinship and friendship) seem to affect the managerial performance when identifying employees' training needs. The study indicates the importance of the individuals' economic factors, in terms of trainees' financial gains, especially training overseas. Organisational factors were also found to have an impact on the process of individuals' needs assessment, in terms of the absence of appropriate regulations or protocols relating to the process of identifying training needs, or overlooking any regulations or protocols, if any, for some reasons, including favouritism. This led to including these factors and issues in the proposed theoretical framework.
The study also contributed to our understanding of IHRD and national HRD policies in non-western countries. The study found that two of the factors identified with IHRD; administration and political and economic factors, seem to have an impact of the LGEC's HRD. It also contributed to the conceptual knowledge in TNA in the field of IHRD, as employees' requirements for training and development is compared with research from Arab countries. In the Libyan context, several social factors seemed to have intervened in the process of nominating candidates, such as 'Wasta', favouritism, kinship and friendship, in addition to management and Ministry officials intervention in this process, which were not found in western literature, and drawing from the empirical data a view was formed of what models and processes form the basis of a public utility sector's practices in a Libyan context based on centrally planned economy and relatively young, growing educational base but tribally based culture. The study also contributed to our knowledge by having a more appropriate definition of TNA and in terms of a clearer debate about TN analysis and TN assessment, and that TN assessment is not synonymous with TN assessment; rather, TN analysis is perceived as a step of TN assessment.


Background: Patients' understanding of their illness is of great importance for recovery. Lacking understanding of the illness is linked with the patients' level of reflection about and interest in understanding their illness. Objective: To describe patients' variations of reflection about and understanding of their illness and how this understanding affects their trust in themselves or others. Method: The study is based on the "Illness perception" model. Latent content analysis was used for the data analysis. Individual, semi-structured, open-ended and face-to-face interviews were conducted with patients (n=11) suffering from a long-term illness diagnosed at least six months prior to the interview. Data collection took place in the three primary healthcare centres treating the participants. Results: The results show variations in the degree of reflection about illness. Patients search for deeper understanding of the illness for causal explanations, compare different perspectives for preventing complication of their illness, trust healthcare providers, and develop own strategies to manage life. Conclusion: Whereas some patients search for deeper understanding of their illness, other patients are less reflective and feel they can manage the illness without further understanding. Patients' understanding of their illness is related to their degree of trust in themselves or others. Patients whose illness poses an existential threat are more likely to reflect more about their illness and what treatment methods are available.


This paper outlines an overview of the SPACE project. SPACE (Simultaneous Prototyping for an Integrated Construction Environment) is a rapid prototyping environment which supports a subset of a construction project life cycle. Its main objective is to develop a future intelligent integrated design and construction system for the civil and building domain through which a number of solutions can be generated and analyzed. This is accomplished through the use of a comprehensive project data model capable of supporting a range of applications. The data model consists of an independent data model and application specific data models. The research concentrates on establishing a project data infrastructure and tools for managing the information exchange that occurs during a project life cycle, with emphasis on the design, site layout and construction planning, cost estimating and maintenance applications. This will enable better, more efficient and more cost effective buildings to be designed. The output generated by the prototype are very detailed which can improve the decision making process, different constraints can be applied and their consequences can be simulated. The prototype was tested with a number of case studies, some of which can be viewed by downloading the demo file attached with this paper.


Physical activity (PA) and social support have known benefits for the well-being and health of older adults, and social support is associated with PA behavior and positive affective experiences in PA contexts. The aim of this study was to synthesize qualitative research conducted on the experiences of social support related to PA among older adults (age ≥55 years). Following meta-study methodology, the authors searched nine databases and extracted information from 31 studies. Results were synthesized in terms of common themes and in light of theoretical and methodological perspectives used. The qualitative literature identifies supportive behaviors and social network outcomes which may be useful for informing how best to support older adults to be physically active. This literature rarely reflected the experiences of vulnerable populations, and future research should aim to further understand supportive behaviors which enable older adults to overcome barriers and challenges to being physically active.