This paper formulates and tests a model of the factors influencing organisational capacity to use an ERP system effectively in the years after go-live. Three large organisations' post-implementation studies into end-user training were used as preliminary validation of this model; and to highlight the proposition that users' ERP knowledge and skills will degrade in the absence of a systematic approach to ongoing training and support. The analysis also found that the negative effects of staff attrition and turnover offset the positive initiatives to enhance end-user competence in the most proactive organisation studied.


Designing large ultra-lightweight structures within a fluid flow, such as inflatable hangars in an atmospheric environment, requires an analysis of the naturally occurring fluid-structure interaction (FSI). To this end multidisciplinary simulation techniques may be used. The latter, though, have to be capable of dealing with complex shapes and large deformations as well as challenging phenomena like wrinkling or folding of the structure. To overcome such problems the method of embedded domains may be used. In this work we discuss a new solution procedure for FSI analyses based on the method of embedded domains. In doing so, we are in particular answering the questions: How to track the interface in the embedded approach, how does the subsequent solution procedure look like and how does both compare to the well-known Arbitrary-Lagrangian-Eulerian (ALE) approach? In this context a level set technique as well as different mapping and mesh-updating strategies are developed and evaluated. Furthermore the solution procedure of a completely embedded FSI analysis is established and tested using different small- and large-scale examples. All results are finally compared to results from an ALE approach. It is shown that the embedded approach offers a powerful and robust alternative in terms of the FSI analysis of ultra-lightweight structures with complex shapes and large deformations. With regard to the solution accuracy, however, clear restrictions are elaborated.


Interactions between CO2 and H2O fluids and the rocks that host them are of significance for Geological Carbon Storage (GCS) for several reasons. These interactions determine the amount of CO2 that can be trapped in solution and in minerals. The petrophysical properties of reservoir and cap rocks, especially porosity and permeability, are also affected. Carbon storage in fluids and minerals, coupled with potential changes to the petrophysical properties of rocks, have a direct bearing on the long-term effectiveness of GCS.

Many potential reservoir rocks contain a range of minerals that may react at very different rates. In particular, carbonate minerals are widespread minor components of sedimentary rocks and react much more rapidly than silicates, while clay minerals are often much more reactive than minerals such as quartz or alkali feldspars. It follows that the evolution of pore fluid composition in a reservoir into which CO2 is injected may be strongly influenced by kinetic factors. Dissolution of fast-reacting minerals may be limited by the transport of reactants to the mineral surface, while minerals whose surfaces react only slowly may persist out of equilibrium with pore fluid for extended periods. Some reactions, such as congruent dissolution, proceed until the reacting mineral is in equilibrium with the pore fluid, but other, incongruent reactions may involve unstable reactants which never attain equilibrium with the pore fluid, resulting in very extensive mineralogical transformations over time.

This chapter examines interactions between CO2 and H2O fluids and the rocks and minerals that comprise GCS reservoirs, as well as the caprocks that seal these reservoirs, from the perspective of laboratory experiments. Laboratory experiments determine thermodynamic and kinetic parameters and can identify fluid-rock reactions and processes that may have been previously unknown or unappreciated. Experimental studies of equilibrium and kinetic aspects …


The objective of this paper is to report a study of the intelligence of Yakuts and ethnic Russians in Yakutia. The samples were drawn from Yakutsk, the capital of the Yakutia region containing almost one third of the population of the province, and from Viluysk, a town with the population of approximately 10,600, which is situated 592 km north-west of Yakutsk. The sample from Yakutsk consisted of 52 ethnic Russian and 128 ethnic Yakut school students with a mean age of 12.0 years attending a typical secondary school. The sample from Viluysk consisted of 7 ethnic Russian and 236 ethnic Yakut school students with a mean age of 12.7 years attending two typical secondary schools. The samples were tested in November 2015 with Raven's Standard Progressive Matrices Plus administered by the first author with a time limit of one hour. The British IQs of the participants were obtained from the norms of the 2008 British standardization. The main results were as follows. First, the British IQ of the Russians averaged from the two samples weighted by sample size was 101.7. However, because both samples were urban the true IQ of Russians in Yakutia is probably about by 3 to 5 IQ points lower. Second, the IQ of the Yakuts was 1.8 IQ points lower than that of the Russians but the difference is not statistically significant (t=.76). The results therefore indicate that the Yakuts and the Russians in Yakutia have approximately the same IQ.


Mycobacterium tuberculosis l,d‐transpeptidases (Ldts), which are involved in cell‐wall biosynthesis, have emerged as promising targets for the treatment of tuberculosis. However, an efficient method for testing inhibition of these enzymes is not currently available. We present a fluorescence‐based assay for LdtMt2, which is suitable for high‐throughput screening. Two fluorogenic probes were identified that release a fluorophore upon reaction with LdtMt2, thus making it possible to assess the availability of the catalytic site in the presence of inhibitors. The assay was applied to a panel of β‐lactam antibiotics and related inhibitors; the results validate observations that the (carba)penem subclass of β‐lactams are more potent Ldt inhibitors than other β‐lactam classes, though unexpected variations in potency were observed. The method will enable systematic structure–activity relationship studies on Ldts, thereby facilitating the identification of new antibiotics active against M. tuberculosis.


Abstract : A satellite database management facility was developed to support implementation and real-data testing of new multisource, multi spectral satellite-based cloud analysis algorithms. Cloud algorithms were produced separately under Phase I of the Support of Environmental Requirements for Cloud Analysis and Archive (SERCAA) research and development project. The objective of the database project was to develop a unified capability to store, update, retrieve and catalog satellite and supporting data plus derived algorithm products. Data processing and storage requirements dictated a centralized database management facility capable of operating over a network of processing and mass storage systems. Based on these requirements, specifications were generated for a suitable database management facility. This was followed by development and implementation of software and hardware on the Air Force Interactive Meteorological System (AIMS) used by the Atmospheric Sciences Division at the Air Force Phillips Laboratory for SERCAA algorithm testing. Key features of the database management facility include simultaneous access to the database by multiple users, support for interactive and programmed queries, easy access to satellite and ancillary data from within application programs, network access to the database from multiple-vendor computers, and support for both on-line and removable data storage media.


I'll start with an ending. Des Spence, who has both delighted and upset our readers over many years with his writing from the frontline of primary care, is stopping his weeklyBMJ column next month. An unstoppable force is corporatising UK general practice, Des concludes this week (doi:10.1136/bmj.g1322), and he needs to "concentrate on what I trained to do—building a doctoring business." His job long ago in a Glasgow pub, where he used to break up fights, may well stand him in good stead. We wish Des well and can assure him that we'll keep up the fight against bad medicine. Now for some good medicine. Andrew Bush and colleagues (doi:10.1136/bmj.g15) review recent developments inmanaging wheeze in preschool children. First, they unpick the evidence on differentiation by phenotype. A child might have episodic viral wheeze, multiple trigger wheeze, or asthma with airway obstruction and eosinophilic inflammation, each of which should be managed differently. Drawing on recent high quality evidence, the authors point out serious concerns about misuse and overuse of inhaled corticosteroids in young children: these drugs should not be used by preschool children with no wheeze between viral colds. For preschoolers whomay or may not have more prolonged symptoms there is a dearth of evidence on treatment. So the authors recommend a therapeutic trial of inhaled corticosteroids or montelukast in its standard dose, letting it run for no more than two months. Even better, make that an n of 1 trial and write it up. Let's fill that evidence gap. I'll end with a beginning: the launch of a major new BMJ series. In the first of our State of the Art reviews on bmj.com, Steven Cohen and Jianren Mao examine the mechanisms leading to neuropathic pain (doi:10.1136/bmj.f7656). Around a third of people in the United States and Europe experience chronic pain. In about a fifth of them that pain is largely neuropathic, resulting from injury or dysfunction of the somatosensory system. For complex reasons neuropathic pain is more likely than nociceptive pain to be accompanied by a wide range of symptoms that reduce quality of life—and to be altered by emotional and social factors. No wonder, then, that drugs that reduce neuropathic pain in animal studies don't always work for human patients, say Cohen and Mao. To develop better treatments we need animalmodels that account for comorbidities such as depression, more nuanced behavioural assessment tools, deeper understanding of how changes on brain imaging relate to behaviours and responses to treatment, and a range of biomarkers and genomic tools to differentiate pain types and formulate individualised treatments. One of the reviewers for this article said, "The authors have done a very good job in steering an effective course between oversimplification and overcomplication." That's just what we're aiming for with these State of the Art reviews. They will cover a breadth of topics relevant to all BMJ readers, with enough depth and novelty for specialists, academic clinicians, and researchers. Andmeanwhile our traditional clinical reviews will continue to cover good medicine every week.


The decision to travel and attend sport events is usually an important process for the travelers that involves many key factors such as motivation, time allowance, interests, destination image, past experience, personal factors, and economic condition. While a significant number of studies have been conducted on sport event attendees' and tourists' behavior, especially their motivation, there is little research to date that examines and understands why tourists attend college football events in a structured framework. The objective of this study is to find these reasons and construct an instrument for measuring sport tourists' motivation that can be useful in organizing sport events and developing marketing plans. Three important factors were found: Economical Sport Event Tourism, Football Game Itself, and Being a Good Resident. The results of this study will be very useful for Destination Marketing Organizations (DMOs) and college sport event organizers to understand sport event tourists.


Boundary multifractality of electronic wave functions is studied analytically and numerically for the power-law random banded matrix (PRBM) model, describing a critical one-dimensional system with long-range hopping. The peculiarity of the Anderson localization transition in this model is the existence of a line of fixed points describing the critical system in the bulk. We demonstrate that the boundary critical theory of the PRBM model is not uniquely determined by the bulk properties. Instead, the boundary criticality is controlled by an additional parameter characterizing the hopping amplitudes of particles reflected by the boundary.


Pharmacokinetics, clinical efficacy and safety of teicoplanin (TEIC) were evaluated in pediatric and neonate patients with MRSA sepsis in the dosages approved in overseas. The administrated dose for pediatrics patients was 10 mg/kg once at hour 0, 12 and 24, followed by every 24 hours intervals. In neonates patients, first dose was 16 mg/kg, then 8 mg/kg every 24 hours intervals. 1. Pharmacokinetic results. All 17 patients (9 neonates and 8 pediatrics) who received TEIC were evaluated for pharmacokinetics. Trough concentrations were analyzed in 16 patients (9 neonates and 7 pediatrics) excluding one patient for lack of measurement of drug concentration at day 7. No patient with a concentration exceeding 60 micrograms/mL in peak or trough concentrations were reported. Mean concentrations in trough at day 3, 4 and 7 in neonates were 15.2, 14.7 and 17.8 micrograms/mL, and in pediatrics were 12.5, 12.2 and 13.1 micrograms/mL, respectively. These results were similar to those reported in foreign pediatrics and neonates patients. 2. Efficacy and safety results. Since no patient was excluded, all patients were evaluated for efficacy and safety. Microbiological efficacy as well as clinical cure were secondarily evaluated in 2 patients for whom MRSA was isolated from blood. Clinical efficacy rate was 76.5% (13/17) and number of cases in judgments of excellent, good, fairly improved and no change were 12, 1, 3 and 1 cases respectively. The patients for whom MRSA was isolated from blood were judged as MRSA eradicated case and cured without any additional anti-MRSA drugs. Adverse events were reported in 2 neonates and 3 pediatric patients. Possibly related adverse events to study drug (adverse drug reactions) were: 1 case of respiratory disorder, thrombocythemia, gamma-GTP increased, GOT increased and GPT increased in 3 pediatrics. These results suggest that an application of overseas dose regimen of TEIC for neonate and pediatrics is appropriate in Japan.


Fleas (Siphonaptera) are wingless insects that are usually found in the nests, or on the bodies, of a wide range of mammals and birds. Some 60 species of flea occur in Britain although approximately 2,600 species and subspecies have been described worldwide.

This atlas presents the results of the flea recording scheme to the end of 2006. Bob George, a former RAF pilot and schoolteacher, began collecting information about British (and Irish) fleas in about 1950, encouraged by the Hon. Miriam Rothschild and others. His work was recognised as a national recording scheme in 1964 by the Biological Records Centre (BRC), and the first edition of a "Flea Atlas" was published by BRC in 1974. Since then Bob has identified hundreds of thousands more fleas. This new Atlas includes distribution maps, species accounts, details about flea hosts, and a range of other information.


The forces that shaped the institution of slavery in the American South endured, albeit in altered form, long after slavery was abolished. Toiling in sweltering Virginia tobacco factories or in the kitchens of white families in Chicago, black women felt a stultifying combination of racial discrimination and sexual prejudice. And yet, in their efforts to sustain family ties, they shared a common purpose with wives and mothers of all classes. In Labor of Love, Labor of Sorrow, historian Jacqueline Jones offers a powerful account of the changing role of black women, lending a voice to an unsung struggle from the depths of slavery to the ongoing fight for civil rights.


The current review provides an overview of socioepidemiological research in Germany about the prevalence of addictive behaviours (smoking, binge and hazardous drinking, consumption of cannabis and other illegal drugs, the non-medical use of prescription drugs and problematic gambling) among adolescents (11-17 years) and young adults (18-25 years), also differentiating between different socioeconomic status (SES) indicators (attended school type, family affluence, parental occupational status, parental SES, employment status) and migration background. The authors evaluated data from ten national surveys and one regional survey conducted between 2002 and 2012, which included different samples. The trends over this time frame reveal that the proportion of adolescents who smoke tobacco, show problematic patterns of alcohol consumption, use cannabis or other illegal drugs has generally declined over the investigated time span in Germany. The results nevertheless suggest that some strong associations still exist between social inequalities and the prevalence of substance use. The detailed results are summarised in twelve tables. The main results are as follows: 1) Low SES (school type, employment status) was consistently associated with more cigarette smoking, and, where such data was available, this pattern was observed in both males and females. 2) With regard to family affluence, two surveys show that boys with low and middle FAS are significantly less likely to have binge drinking experience compared to boys with high FAS. There were no significant associations between problematic alcohol use and parental SES, and not all results of the surveys show that binge drinking is more prevalent among HS-students. Employment status was associated with gender differences; problematic patterns of alcohol consumption were significantly more prevalent among young unemployed males compared to GY-students (secondary high school/grammar school) of the same age. The opposite was true for females. Another consistent finding was that among adolescents and young adults with a Turkish/Asian migration background, a problematic use of alcohol was significantly less common compared to adolescents and young adults of the same age without a migration background. 3) In terms of the consumption of cannabis, the unemployed and students with low educational level ('Hauptschule´) emerge as high-risk groups. 4) The results concerning problematic gambling significantly overlap with and reflect the findings of international research: being male, of low educational attainment, unemployed, receiving social welfare, and having a migration background significantly increased the risk of problematic gambling habits. 5) The highest lifetime prevalence rates for the consumption of illegal drugs (other than cannabis) were observed among students with low educational level. It should be noted that other SES indicators, in addition to school type, have not been examined to date. The review concludes by outlining gaps and future research areas, as well as presenting several implications for prevention initiatives.


Objectives. To demonstrate a curriculum mapping technique and its use in program evaluation and assessment, as well as to provide specific recommendations for potential uses in pharmacy education. Methods. This study employed a descriptive cross-sectional study design based on a learning outcomes document and several existing student and curricular data sets. Results. The population consisted of 209 PharmD students at the University of Arizona College of Pharmacy (UACOP) during the 2004-2005 academic year and mapped 31 of the 34 required didactic courses in the curriculum. There was concordance between student and faculty member ranking of domain coverage in their respective curricular maps. Conclusions. The agreement between the student and faculty graphical curriculum maps on the order of the ranking of the relative emphasis of each domain suggests concordance between the intended/ delivered and received curriculums. This study demonstrated a curriculum mapping methodology that can be used to both make sense and use of existing data in curricular evaluation.


The Fensfjorden Fault separates the Bergen Are System and the Devonian conglomerates of the Fensfjorden Basin from the Western Gneiss Complex. Detailed mapping of kinematie indicators -along the northeastern margin of the Bergen Arcs reveals a distinct pattern. In the upper part of the section, a zone of sinistral movement indications is observed. In contrast, indications of dextral movements are observed in the lower part of the section and along the Fensfjorden Fault, related to a stretching lineation trending about 295 ° and plunging about 20°W. The dextral movements are tentatively eorrelated with the regional late Caledonian 'top-to-west' movements associated with the formation of the Devonian basins of western Norway. It is suggested that the zone of dextral kinematie indicators represents the southern continuation of the Nordfjord-Sogn Detaehment.


PURPOSE
To study the effects of single-dose radiation on the porcine rete mirabile, a tangle of microvessels that mimics human arteriovenous malformations of the brain.

METHODS
Eight retia mirabilia received a single dose of radiation under stereotactic location with digital angiography and CT. The following doses were applied: 20, 30, 40, 50, 60, 70, 80, and 90 Gy. The animals were followed up for a period of 7 months. Findings at neurologic examination, serial angiography, and histopathologic examination were analyzed.

RESULTS
Progressive occlusion as observed by angiography corresponded to the histopathologic finding of intimal hyperplasia; that is, marked thickening of the vessel wall, progressing to occlusion of the vascular lumen, and associated thrombosis. A direct dose response was noted for these changes. Neurologic findings were related to the dose distribution and to histologic findings in structures adjacent to the rete mirabile.

CONCLUSION
The rete mirabile is an excellent model by which to study the radiologic and histologic effects of single-dose radiation to the microvasculature of the central nervous system.


Whatever its actual location, any public monument stands in the slot where politics collides with cultural politics. Energies beyond the purely aesthetic are always at play. Consider for a moment the currents that bore the monument there in the first place. Power--the power to control public space and what resides there--operates at a deeper level than any hole dug for the statue's foundation. Governments exercise that power over the public gaze. Governors in turn sway governments, though in democratic societies this power is often diffused or hidden. Wherever power's veil slips, investigation can follow. One of Canada's most enduring and purposeful of governors, Prime Minister William Lyon Mackenzie King (1874-1950) exercised his control over public space as a means both of altering public memory and reconstituting his own sense of selfhood. (2) Seldom has any statue not a literal representation of its donor or subject so fused public with private concerns. Walter Seymour Allward's (1876-1955) monument to William Lyon Mackenzie (1795-1861) has stood since 1940 along the west side of the Ontario legislature in Toronto, in the area known as Queen's Park. It stands there still, its meaning and significance puzzling nearly every observer. Representational in nature, it nevertheless evokes in any public whom I have introduced to the monument the same response that abstract monuments arouse: shrugs, head-scratching, the usual passerby testimonials to the work's continuing opacity. (3) In this instance, however, an extensive documentary record lets us delineate each of production's traditional components: patron, artist and work. The record nor only illuminates the "meaning" (in the sense of "message") of the work itself. The record also allows us to study the inner workings of a process through which a political and cultural ideology, accompanied at every step by a personal obsession, became promulgated, shaped, and finally enshrined. Patron and artist alike bear national significance. Not only was William Lyon Mackenzie King Canada's longest-serving Prime Minister, he saw himself as the keeper of his grandfather's reputation. His commissioning and supervision of the Queen's Park monument to his forbear proved, as we shall see, a final step in a dogged process of consecrating ancestral memory. Walter S. Aliward in turn was easily the most celebrated Canadian artist of his time. His Vimy Memorial (1936) on the battle site--all 6,000 tonnes of its statuary and pylons, plus the 15,000 tonnes of concrete and steel that it rests upon--represents the most significant commitment that any agency of the Government of Canada has ever made toward a single item of artistic production not a building. Its 126-foot height towers both literally and figuratively over any competitors. For his grandfather's monument, Mackenzie King commissioned the artist who had enshrined Canada's overseas exploits to commemorate a figure whom he sought to place among Canada's makers. The Vimy monument stood overseas, where relatively few Canadians could view it. King's testimony to his grandfather stands in the heart of Canada's largest metropolis, and at the center of public power there, a power that his grandfather once actively sought to overthrow. Vimy rests upon what our civic religion views as the sacred ground of wartime sacrifice. The Mackenzie monument stands in Ontario's via sacra, a public space whose bronze occupants came to rest there as a tribute to the political clout they exercised even after death. Lord Melbourne is said to have relished his membership in the Order of the Garter above any other honor because it entailed "no damned nonsense about merit." Some of the same considerations govern any appearance in the Queen's Park space. Since 1870, two full decades before the provincial legislative buildings were inserted into a portion of the site, Queen's Park had functioned as "commemorative space. …


Mayer-Rokistanky-Kuster-Hauser(M.R.K.H.) syndrome is a rare disorder often characterized by congenital absence of the uterus and vaginal. It may be associated with anomalies of the kidneys ranging from Ectopic to congenital absence, and also bony anomalies. Two cases of this rare disorder occurring in siblings, which, to the best of our knowledge has not been reported before are hereby discussed. The evaluation by laparoscopy, Ultrasound, Intravenous Urography, Computerized Tomography and classification of these two cases are also discussed. INTRODUCTION Congenital absence of the uterus and vagina, MayerRokitansky-Kuster Hauser (MRKH) syndrome is a rare disorder1. The prevalence has been reported as 1 in 4000 -5000 female births2. Two cases of this rare, non-hereditary disorder presenting in siblings are hereby discussed. CASE REPORT (A) EB is a 30year old spinster who presented at the GOPD with primary amenorrhoea. The family history revealed delayed menarche of the mother which was at age 21. She (the mother) however subsequently proceeded to have an uneventful reproductive period; the married elder sibling, age 32 years also has primary infertility and primary amenorrhoea. General physical examination was essentially normal. The Central nervous, Cardio-pulmonary and abdominal examination were also normal. Vaginal examination revealed normal labia majora with Type I female genital mutilation. Normal labia minora, external urethra meatus, vestibule with shallow (2.5cm deep) vagina ; ending blindly. Bimanual pelvic examination revealed a palpable mass of about 8 x 6cm in the suprapubic region. Abdomino-pelvic ultrasound [Fig 1] revealed A solitary ectopic kidney which measures 10.2cm x 4.6cm in Longitudinal x Anterio-posterior dimension was seen superior to the urinary bladder. The uterus and ovaries were absent. Figure 1 Figure 1: Pelvic ultrasound showing an ectopic pelvic kidney indenting on the urinary bladder superiorly. A diagnosis of congenital absence of the uterus with Ectopic pelvic kidney was made. Intravenous urography [Fig 2] revealed partial sacralization Mayer Rokitansky Kuster Hauser Syndrome: Two Cases Of A Rare Non Hereditary Disorder In Siblings 2 of 6 of the fifth lumbar vertebra; renal pelvicalyceal system was demonstrated in the right aspect of the pelvis, superior to the urinary bladder. The calyces appeared splayed with a short ureter which showed normal caliber and smooth outlines. Figure 2 Figure 2: Intravenous urography showing pevicaeal system of the ectopic kidney. No renal outline or excretion was seen in the lumbar regions. The diagnosis of an ectopic pelvic kidney was confirmed. Enhanced Computerized Tomography scan [Fig 3]showed similar findings and also confirmed absence of the uterus. Figure 3 Figure 3: Enhanced axail CT (with rectal contrast) of the pelvis showing ectopic kidney; contrast filled urinary bladder but no uterus. The Karyotype result came back to be 46 XX; laparascopy was not done to avoid injury to the pelvic kidney. The final diagnosis was Mayer – Rokitansky – Kuster – Hauser Syndrome. She was counseled, and had vaginal dilatation (frank technique) CASE REPORT (B) OO is also a 32 year old teacher, an elder sister to EB, who presented Primary infertility after 4yrs of marriage and primary amenorrhoea. There was history of delayed menarche in the mother and her only sister, age 30 has primary amenorrhoea. The significant findings were on vaginal examination which showed a blindly ended vagina with a normal depth (8 x6cm). The clitoris, labia majora and minora and the vestibule were normal. A clinical diagnosis of primary amenorrhoea was made. Abdominopelvic ultrasound [Fig 4] revealed normal liver, spleen and both kidneys. However, no uterine tissue was seen in the pelvis. The ovaries too were not visualized. A diagnosis of congenital absence of the uterus was made. Mayer Rokitansky Kuster Hauser Syndrome: Two Cases Of A Rare Non Hereditary Disorder In Siblings 3 of 6 Figure 4 Figure 4: Pelvic ultrasound longitudinal showing the urinary bladder and absent uterus. Intravenous urography showed spinal bifida occulta of the sacral vertebrae,the kidneys were normal. Computerized Tomography scan [Fig 5] revealed similar findings (absence of uterus; with normal kidneys). Figure 5 Figure 5: Enhanced axial CT of the pelvis showing contrast in the urinary bladder (and rectal contrast) but no uterus. The karyotype result also came out to be 46XX and Laparascopy demonstrated ovoid pearly white structures (in keeping with the ovaries) bilaterally. The fallopian tubes were also demonstrated but no uterus nor uterine bud was seen. A diagnosis of MayerRokitansky Kuster-Hauser syndrome was made. She was counseled with her husband and offered the option of assisted conception:surrogate motherhood or adoption. DISCUSSION Agenesis of the uterus and vaginal i.e Mayer -Rokistansky Kuster Hauser syndrome (MRKH) represents a dysplasia of the mulleran duct resulting in an absence of the uterus and the middle and upper thirds of vagina3. Although the uterus is not present, rudimentary uterine anlagen (structure) are often present. The tubes and ovaries are often normal. In about 6-10% cases, endometrial tissue or even variable development of the uterus with haematometra may be present, resulting in cyclic abdominal pain1. Associated congenital anomalies of the upper urinary tract are reported in about 30-40% of all cases2 and these may vary from renal agenesis to pelvic kidney as seen in case A. Two different types of MRKH syndrome have been described The typical form/type of the syndrome is characterized by the absent or rudimentary vagina; absent uterus ,only symmetric uterine remnants(the muscular buds (uterine) , both fallopian tubes and normal ovaries are present1. In the atypical variants, there is asymmetry of the uterine remnants: aplasia of one or both muscular bud; and when both are present, one may be larger than the other with associated hypoplasia or aplasia of one or both fallopian tubes. The atypical variant may also show cystic ovaries or anomalies in form or position of the ovaries1. Discrimination between the type A (typical) and type B (atypical) is important because associated renal and ovarian abnormalities occur only in type B. The second presented case is an example of the typical form because of the presence of normal ovaries and fallopian tubes with no urinary tract anomaly. The first case presentation is likely to be the atypical form though, laparoscopy was not done due to the risk of injury to the pelvic kidney. The association between renal and genital anomalies in MRKH syndrome is said to be due to the faulty gonadal differentiation which consequently produces mulleran inhibiting factor and induces mulleran ducts regression. Depending on the onsets of production of mulleran inhibiting factor, and the asymmetry in production by the Mayer Rokitansky Kuster Hauser Syndrome: Two Cases Of A Rare Non Hereditary Disorder In Siblings 4 of 6 two gonads, the development of the mulleran ducts would stop at various stages1. The karyotype of affected patient is usually 46XX4. It is however not clear whether this condition is autosomal recessive disorder or single gene defect. Both cases presented have 46XX karyotype. Growth and development of these patients are usually normal as seen in both cases presented. This is due to normal ovarian function. The secondary sexual characteristics are often well developed though patients with TYPE B MRKH syndrome may have a slight form of female pseudohermaphroditism. None of the two cases have evidence of female pseudohermaphroditism. The external genitalia are normal in appearance although the vagina may sometimes be a shallow pouch of three cm indepth or is absent. Normal external genitalia was found in both patients ; the vagina was shallow in the first case, but of normal depth, though ended blindly in case 2, possibly because of regular coital dilatation. Review of the patients' medical history and a simple gynecologic examination usually suggest MRKH syndrome; most of the patients present with primary amenorrhea with or without primary infertility. Case I and Case II presented with amenorrhoea and primary infertility respectively. Sonography has been recommended for diagnosis of these abnormalities3,5. It is useful to confirm uterine agenesis or in some cases, endometrial tissue with uterine bud or even a unicornuate uterus with haematometra may be seen. Sonography will however not differentiate between TYPE A & TYPE B and may not be able to detect small remnants of endometrial tissue in the muscular bud5. However, sonography will provide similar information to excretory urography on the anomalies of upper urinary tracts. Preliminary films (of excretory urography) may show anomalies of bony structures which are seen in about 5% of cases of MRKH sydrome3. These include sacralizaiton of the 5 lumbar vertebra and lumbarization of the 1 sacral vetebra. Both cases have congenital bony anomaly: sacralization of the fifth lumbar and sacral spina bifida in Case I and II respectively. Laparoscopy is useful in detecting the remnant endometrial tissue and assessing the fallopian-tube thereby classifying the syndrome into TYPE A or B. However, Magnetic Resonance Imaging also has a role in demonstrating small amounts of endometrial tissue in patients with cyclical abdominal pain6,7. It is still very not certain whether MRI will be able to differentiate the two forms accurately6,7. Management option include intensive psychological counselling followed by vaginoplasty the Franks technique of vaginal dilatation, the Ingram passive dilatation technique or the MCIndoe Reed Split thickness graft technique can be used. The first patient had Frank's technique of vaginal dilatation because of the shallow vagina (2.5 cm in depth) while the second patient that needed no dilatation is being prepared for assisted conception. Both patients were lost to


Most accounts of the unilateral presidency emphasize the institutional barriers that severely limit the ability of Congress and the courts to check executive action. An emerging literature argues that political checks, including public opinion, may serve as an important, but informal constraint. However, the empirical evidence for such a popular check is limited. We argue that presidents have incentives to be particularly responsive to their popular standing beyond their party's base. Rather a president's approval ratings among independents and opposition partisans will most influence the likelihood of pushback from would-be opponents in Congress, which can further erode public support for the administration and its policies. Presidents' anticipatory calculations also vary with the health of the economy. A strong economy allows presidents to increasingly resort to unilateral action in periods of divided government and to be less concerned with their approval ratings. By contrast, a weak economy heightens responsiveness to public opinion and blunts the positive effect of divided government on executive action. We find strong support for our hypotheses using a new database of executive action, broadly defined, that achieved some threshold of media coverage from 1977 to 2018. Finally, we explore the extent to which President Trump has employed his unilateral power differently than his predecessors. While we find that Trump has issued more major executive actions than most of his predecessors, ceteris paribus, we find little evidence that he is less responsive to public opinion.


This article takes the form of an epistolary exchange across the centuries, comparing and contrasting two noted wills in Victorian literature. The first of these testaments is the final will of Dr. Henry Jekyll, in Robert Louis Stevenson's The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll & Mr. Hyde; this will bequeaths the doctor's estate to his friend and attorney, Gabriel John Utterson. The second testament is the putative will of Jonas Oldacre, in Arthur Conan Doyle's The Adventure of the Norwood Builder; this will bequeaths Oldacre's estate to the young solicitor who drafted the will, John Hector McFarlane. Taken together, these two testaments raise the issues of the testator's capacity and intent to make the will, undue influence and bequests to attorneys (notably to the drafting attorney), due execution of the will, and the effect of the beneficiary's possible murder of the testator. A comparison of these two fictional Victorian-era wills remains relevant today because the legal issues that these two testaments raised in 19th century England are still very much present in 21st century America.


Research indicates that attendance at lectures and tutorials is associated with university students' level of success and satisfaction, and pre-service teachers' relatively low levels of attendance at scheduled classes is of significant concern to many lecturers. However, little research has been undertaken to investigate the factors associated with absenteeism among pre-service teachers. This study investigates rates of absenteeism among different groups of pre-service teachers in a large School of Education in a Western Australian university and considers pre-service teachers' self-reported reasons for being absent from lectures and tutorials. The results show that levels of attendance and reasons for absence at lectures vary according to demographic factors such as age, paid employment, entry pathway, course, mode of study and year level of study. Level of attendance at tutorials is affected by the same factors, except that the year of study (first, second, third or fourth) does not appear to be an influence. The relationships between attendance and achievement are also interrogated.


The goal of this paper is to demonstrate two cases of continuity in the Greek tense system from Antiquity till today, viz. the Imperfect and the Future, both of which, in spite of partly changing morphology and other variation on a surface level, remain remarkably constant semantically and conceptually. The constant meaning of the Imperfect may be defined quite cogently, depending on the choice of theoretical framework, either as developing , intraterminal or inclusive . Also the Future, in spite of more radical surface variation diachronically, displays a remarkably high degree of continuity on a conceptual level. Already Ancient Greek had the possibility of expressing different aspects also in the future tense by means of modal expressions or by periphrasis.


In his critique of consumption, Jean Baudrillard contends that the consumer no longer relates to a particular object in its specific utility, but to a set of objects in its total signification. Thus, increasingly, when consumers make their purchases, they do not simply select goods and services purely for their functional or utilitarian values, but are buying into the significations of these commodities in the construction of their self-identities. Objects of intellectual property (IP), in particular copyrighted works, trademarks and the celebrity personality, represent far more than a bundle of legal rights. They are invariably associated with a set of cultural narratives and semiotic meanings which are ultimately consumed.
A well-known literary or artistic work does much more than simply educate, inform or entertain; it also functions as a signifier of a set of signified meanings. A trademark does not only designate the source or origin of goods. Famous brands like Louis Vuitton, Apple and Nike possess particular configurations of meanings that offer peculiarly powerful affirmations of belonging and recognition in the lives of their customers around the world. Celebrities, whose identities may be protected against commercial appropriation by the right of publicity, have become common points of reference for millions of individuals who may never interact with one another, but who have, by virtue of their participation in a mediated culture, a shared experience and a collective memory. This essay explores how the encoded narratives in certain objects of IP may be read as polysemous texts that invite playful semiotic recodings, culture jamming and poststructural disruptions. It also suggests how audiences who engage with works of copyright, trademarks and celebrities via such textual signification may avail themselves of a number of legal defenses under the current legal regime.


Introduction: Despite the epidemic-prone nature of rubella and absence of its vaccine in routine immunization in Nigeria, there have been no reported cases of rubella outbreak in Osogbo, capital city of Osun State. We therefore hypothesized that susceptibility to rubella viral infection was low among males and females attending LAUTECH Teaching Hospital, Osogbo.
Methodology: To verify this, 89 sera of consecutively selected consenting males and females in the General-Out-Patient Department of LAUTECH Teaching Hospital were tested for presence of protective level of anti-rubella virus IgG antibody using ELISA. Relevant socio-demographic/clinical data were obtained with interviewer-administered questionnaires. The serologic results were analyzed vis-à-vis the participants' data.
Results: The 89 participants were aged 3-85 years (mean age: 39.4 years) with 38.2% as males (mean age: 36.3 years). Overall rubella virus IgG seropositivity was 97.8%. Consequently, the rubella viral infection susceptibility rate was 2.2%, with group-specific susceptibility ranging from 0.0% to 4.2%. The susceptibility for males and females were 2.9% and 1.8% respectively. None of the participants' variables was statistically associated with the susceptibility; this was mainly due to zero susceptibility of most groups of the participants. The 11 pregnant women and the 7 participants reporting skin rash had zero susceptibility to rubella.
Conclusion: The study concludes that males, as well as females, had very low level of susceptibility suggestive of herd immunity against the virus which apparently was responsible for absence of rubella outbreaks in Osogbo, Osun State. As the high positivity rate indicated rubella endemicity, we recommend inclusion of rubella virus-containing immunization in national routine immunization for children and young adults, as well as, public enlightenment regarding rubella in Osogbo, Osun State.


These conversion kits are designed for a DF8000H Ducar Power Generator to enable the engine to run on gasoline, natural gas or propane.


BACKGROUND
With recent advances in medical and nursing care, many high-risk infants are surviving the neonatal period with severe, life-threatening chronic illnesses, resulting in extended hospitalizations and/or frequent rehospitalizations and long periods of dependence on technology for survival.

OBJECTIVE
To describe the factors predicting maternal adjustment in mothers caring for medically fragile infants.

METHOD
Subjects were mothers (n = 67) whose infants had a serious life-threatening illness requiring hospitalization and technology for survival. Data for this longitudinal study were collected at enrollment and hospital discharge, and at 6, 12, and 16 months after birth. Distress was measured as depressive symptoms using the Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale, and growth was assessed using a personal developmental impact rating scale. Data about personal characteristics, parental role attainment, infant-illness characteristics, and maternal illness distress were collected.

RESULTS
Mothers of medically fragile infants experience distress and growth as a result of their child's illness. Mean scores on the depression scale at both time points were moderately high and a high percentage of mothers scored at risk for depressive symptoms. Maternal developmental impact ratings at 6 months were neutral to slightly negative and at 16 months were between neutral and positive. While the mean depressive symptom scores and maternal developmental ratings were lower at the later time points, these differences were not significant. Maternal depressive symptoms and developmental impact ratings were moderately but negatively correlated at 6 and 16 months, indicating that higher depressive symptoms were related to more negative developmental impact ratings. Distress was influenced by maternal characteristics, hospital environmental stress, and worry about the child's health. Growth was influenced by characteristics of the child's illness, hospital environmental stress, concern about the child's health, and level of maternal role attainment.

CONCLUSIONS
Nurses should consider personal characteristics and level of parental role attainment as well as characteristics of the child and illness-related distress in their approaches to intervention with mothers of critically ill infants.


ABSTRACT This paper addresses how far co-creation methodologies can be applied to policy-making innovation in the platform economy. The driving question is how co-creation collaboration-based policy-making can increase diversity and strengthen the participation of actors. The analysis is based on a three-year case study on the platform economy in Barcelona, describing how co-creation dynamics contributed to the participatory definition of local public policies and agenda. The methodology is based on participatory design techniques, involving participant observation and content analysis. Results indicate that co-creation can increase participation diversity aligning academic, economic, and social viewpoints in policy innovation from a quadruple helix perspective. In addition, collaboration schemes assist in engaging a wide diversity of participants in the policy ideation process which, in this case, resulted in 87 new policy measures, with contributions from more than 300 people of different backgrounds and perspectives. The case study demonstrates the value of a cycle of collaboration going beyond mere symbolic engagement or citizen support to public policy-making. It further shows the importance of combining co-creation with methods of action research, strategic planning and knowledge management, as well as with face-to-face interactions and online channels.


AbstractWe used statistical methods on rock properties derived from more than 480 wells to catalog shale velocity and density trends in different pressure regimes in the Gulf of Mexico and evaluated the reasons for their variations. A detailed evaluation of the density and velocity trends revealed that in the northern part of the Louisiana shelf, unloading is the major mechanism of overpressure. The onset of overpressure occurs at depths around 3000 m where temperatures are normally greater than 70°C. The relationship of the temperature gradient increase and the velocity decrease to the smectite-illite transformation allowed us to believe that inelastic unloading may be the major mechanism for overpressure in this region. On the other hand, in the southern part of the Louisiana shelf, abnormal pore pressure is often caused by compaction disequilibrium where the sediment section has a low sand percentage. In this type of pressure regime, velocity and density values cease to change at the onset of overpress...


We propose that the accretion of a dwarf spheroidal galaxy provides a common origin for the giant southern stream and the warp of M31. We run about 40 full N-body simulations with live M31, infalling galaxies with varying masses and density profiles, and cosmologically-plausible initial orbital parameters. Excellent agreement with a full range of observational data is obtained for a model in which a dark-matter-rich dwarf spheroidal, whose trajectory lies on the thin plane of corotating satellites of M31, is accreted from its turnaround radius of about 200 kpcs into M31 at approximately 3 Gyrs ago. The satellite is disrupted as it orbits in the potential well of the galaxy and forms the giant stream and in return heats and warps the disk of M31. We show that our cosmologically-motivated model is favoured by the kinematic data over the phenomenological models in which the satellite starts its infall from a close distance of M31. Our model predicts that the remnant of the disrupted satellite resides in the region of the North-Eastern shelf of M31. The results here suggest that the surviving satellites of M31 that orbit on the same thin plane, as the disrupted satellite once did, could have all been accreted from an intergalactic filament.


In modern literary studies the problem of revelation and characterization of literary process of the early XXI century presenting itself as a social document and reflection of modern reality through artistic details and language is conceptually meaningful. The origin of new humanitarian trends topicalizes the elaboration and formation of new methodological approaches to the study of development of literary process at the turn of the XX-XXI centuries. The research of modern literary process seems to be very important as it differed by complex, ambiguously discrepant and multilayer character, which specificity is conditioned by qualitatively new peculiarities defining inner regularities of development of modern literature. The present article is devoted to the characteristics and detailed analysis of main conceptions of contemporary Russian literary process. The conceptual models by M.Remizova, N.Ivanova, S.Chuprinin, Y.Yermolin are analyzed and generalized; personal opinion on conceptual tendencies of the development of Russian literature at the turn of the XX-XXI centuries, represented in the scheme perturbation – climate – arena, is suggested. Such approach to the systematization of literary material allowed displaying the key tendencies of the development of modern literary process in Russia. Besides, the definition of conceptual lines of the development of Russian literary process of the early XXI century in the scheme perturbation – climate – arena allows revelation of general principle of comprising a full-fledged conception of literary process of the researched period that, in its turn, gives a stimulus for broadening horizons of researches in literary studies with the tide of renovation of terminological and categorical apparatus.


The aerodynamic interaction between wind turbines grouped in wind farms results in wake-induced power loss and fatigue loads of wind turbines. To mitigate these, wind farm control should be able to account for those interactions, typically using model-based approaches. Such model-based control approaches benefit from computationally fast, linear models and therefore, in this work, we introduce the Dynamic Flow Predictor. It is a fast, control-oriented, dynamic, linear model of wind farm flow and operation that provides predictions of wind speed and turbine power. The model estimates wind turbine aerodynamic interaction using a linearized engineering wake model in combination with a delay process. The Dynamic Flow Predictor was tested on a two-turbine array to illustrate its main characteristics and on a large-scale wind farm, comparable to modern offshore wind farms, to illustrate its scalability and accuracy in a more realistic scale. The simulations were performed in SimWindFarm with wind turbines represented using the NREL 5 MW model. The results showed the suitability, accuracy, and computational speed of the modeling approach. In the study on the large-scale wind farm, rotor effective wind speed was estimated with a root-mean-square error ranging between 0.8% and 4.1%. In the same study, the computation time per iteration of the model was, on average, 2.1 × 10 − 5 s. It is therefore concluded that the presented modeling approach is well suited for use in wind farm control.


Background About 85% of paediatric gastrointestinal stromal tumours (GISTs) and about 10–15% of adult GISTs do not harbour any mutations in the KIT and PDGFRA genes and are defined as KIT/PDGFRA wild type (WT). Over the years it has been demonstrated that KIT/PDGFRA WT GISTs are profoundly different from mutant GIST in clinical and molecular profiles, so that they are now considered a separate pathological entity. Moreover, due to their extreme molecular and clinical heterogeneity, KIT/PDGFRA WT GIST should be considered as a family of diseases and not as a single disease entity. However, although several genetic alterations belonging only to KIT/PDGFRA WT GIST have been identified, the exact role of these molecules in the pathogenesis and development of this subgroup is not yet defined. Methods The aim of this review is to report all current data about the molecular biology of syndromic and non-syndromic KIT/PDGFRA WT GIST, focusing on the potential clinical implication of each biological feature shared by this subgroup and discussing unresolved problems and future research perspectives on this topic. Results WT GIST is definitely a set of different diseases sustained by specific molecular alterations not yet completely known. Conclusion Large series of patients are required for defining the biological fingerprint of each subtype and integrating it with clinical data. This will allow the transfer of biological information to clinical practice and its use as an additional tool for diagnosis, prognosis and selection of medical treatment.


Previous work has demonstrated that planning behaviours may be more adaptive than avoidance strategies in driving self-regulation, but ways of encouraging planning have not been investigated. The efficacy of an extended Theory of Planned Behaviour (TPB) plus implementation intention based intervention to promote planning self-regulation in drivers across the lifespan was tested. An age stratified group of participants (N=81, aged 18 to 83 years) was randomly assigned to an experimental or control condition. The intervention prompted specific goal setting with action planning and barrier identification. Goal setting was carried out using an agreed behavioural contract. Baseline and follow-up measures of TPB variables, self-reported, driving self-regulation behaviours (avoidance and planning) and mobility goal achievements were collected using postal questionnaires. Like many previous efforts to change planned behaviour by changing its predictors using models of planned behaviour such as the TPB, results showed that the intervention did not significantly change any of the model components. However, more than 90% of participants achieved their primary driving goal, and self-regulation planning as measured on a self-regulation inventory was marginally improved. The study demonstrates the role of pre-decisional, or motivational components as contrasted with post-decisional goal enactment, and offers promise for the role of self-regulation planning and implementation intentions in assisting drivers in achieving their mobility goals and promoting safer driving across the lifespan, even in the context of unchanging beliefs such as perceived risk or driver anxiety.


America's diplomacy towards Europe has passed through two broad historic phases. A first, isolationist phase, determined in part by America's need to maintain its domestic multinational consensus, was replaced, after World War II and under the Soviet threat, by a policy of hegemonic engagement. The Soviet collapse opened a new era forcing a reinterpretation of America's role in Europe and the world. Four different narratives have emerged: triumphalist, declinist, chaotic or pluralist. If a unipolar American role seems unlikely to persist, American decline is all too possible. A new hegemonic replacement seems unlikely, which makes the pluralist narrative plausible and desirable. This multipolar world will require an adaptation of the Western alliance and a new way of thinking about interstate relations. Confederal Europe, for its experience in bargaining and conciliation, might have much to offer to the new plural world order.


The academic culture of higher educational institutions is characterized by specific pedagogical philosophies, assumptions about rewards and incentives, and values about how teaching is delivered. In many academic settings, however, the field of distance education has been viewed as holding marginal status. Consequently, the goal of this qualitative study was to explore faculty members' experiences in a distance education, online university while simultaneously navigating within a traditional environment of higher education. A total of 28 faculty members participated in a threaded, asynchronous discussion board that resembled a focus group. Participants discussed perceptions about online teaching, working in an institution without a traditional tenure system, and the role of research in distance education. Findings indicated that online teaching is still regarded as less credible; however, participants also noted how this perception is gradually changing. Several benchmarks of legitimacy were identified for online universities to adopt in order to be viewed as credible. The issue of tenure still remains highly debated, although some faculty felt that tenure will be less crucial in the future. Finally, recommendations regarding attitudinal shifts within academic circles are described with particular attention to professional practice, program development, and policy decision-making in academia. Key words: distance education, online education, online faculty experiences, academia, tenure


Background: Children exposed to early life stress (ELS) exhibit enlarged amygdala volume in comparison to controls. The primary goal of this study was to examine amygdala volumes in bonnet macaques subjected to maternal variable foraging demand (VFD) rearing, a well-established model of ELS. Preliminary analyses examined the interaction of ELS and the serotonin transporter gene on amygdala volume. Secondary analyses were conducted to examine the association between amygdala volume and other stress-related variables previously found to distinguish VFD and non-VFD reared animals. Methods: Twelve VFD-reared and nine normally reared monkeys completed MRI scans on a 3T system (mean age = 5.2 years). Results: Left amygdala volume was larger in VFD vs. control macaques. Larger amygdala volume was associated with: "high" cerebrospinal fluid concentrations of corticotropin releasing-factor (CRF) determined when the animals were in adolescence (mean age = 2.7 years); reduced fractional anisotropy (FA) of the anterior limb of the internal capsule (ALIC) during young adulthood (mean age = 5.2 years) and timid anxiety-like responses to an intruder during full adulthood (mean age = 8.4 years). Right amygdala volume varied inversely with left hippocampal neurogenesis assessed in late adulthood (mean age = 8.7 years). Exploratory analyses also showed a gene-by-environment effect, with VFD-reared macaques with a single short allele of the serotonin transporter gene exhibiting larger amygdala volume compared to VFD-reared subjects with only the long allele and normally reared controls. Conclusion: These data suggest that the left amygdala exhibits hypertrophy after ELS, particularly in association with the serotonin transporter gene, and that amygdala volume variation occurs in concert with other key stress-related behavioral and neurobiological parameters observed across the lifecycle. Future research is required to understand the mechanisms underlying these diverse and persistent changes associated with ELS and amygdala volume.


OBJECTIVE
To determine potential patterns that cause males and females to tear the anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) while playing basketball or soccer.

DESIGN AND SETTING
We reviewed data submitted to the National Collegiate Athletic Association Injury Surveillance System over the last 10 years, as well as profile data collected from collegiate certified athletic trainers.

SUBJECTS
College athletes involved in basketball or soccer.

MEASUREMENTS
Historical information was collected on those athletes involved in the National Collegiate Athletic Association Injury Surveillance System. Athletes involved in the profiling study underwent physical measurements related to flexibility, as well as a more detailed history relating to the ACL tear.

RESULTS
College-age women involved in basketball or soccer tear their ACLs at significantly higher rates than college-age men involved in the same sports. No distinct physical or historical measurements could be attributed to this different rate of injury.

CONCLUSIONS
Although the higher rate at which women compared with men tear their ACLs has persisted over the last 10 years, this increased incidence is not clearly attributable to any physical or historical measurements that were monitored.


Objectives
To assess knowledge, attitude and practice in relation to their disease among patients with Type 2 diabetes mellitus in one regional health district in Trinidad and Tobago and to compare these attributes between patients receiving/not receiving nutrition counselling.

Methods
A cohort of 122 patients with diabetes was selected on site at their respective public clinics via quota sampling and surveyed using a structured questionnaire.

Results
Mean knowledge score was 5.4 (SD = 0.985). Mean attitude and practice scores were significant between those who received and did not receive counselling (p = 0.033 and < 0.001, respectively). Patients receiving nutrition counselling were more likely than those not receiving counselling to not drink soft drinks (p < 0.001), consume fast foods (p < 0.001) and drink alcohol (p = 0.003) but were equally likely to drink at least eight glasses of water daily. Additionally, patients receiving and those not receiving counselling were equally likely to agree with the attitude statements given. There was a statistically significant interaction between the effects of gender and age group on knowledge score, F = 2.631, p = 0.039. Nutrition counselling was a statistically significant predictor of knowledge score (B = 0.444, standard error = 0.192, p = 0.023).

Conclusions
Patients receiving nutrition counselling were more knowledgeable about diabetes than those not receiving such counselling, and had a more positive outlook as to what it would take on the part of the patient and clinicians to manage the disease effectively.


Abstract Research was conducted to quantify the development of the corn earworm (= bollworm), Helicoverpa zea (Boddie), on two different transgenic cotton cultivars (DP 50B and NuCOTN 33B) that contained different levels of the Cry1Ac endotoxin from the soil bacterium, Bacillus thuringiensis Berliner. Using a field cage, an inverse relationship between the amount of Cry1Ac among cultivars versus the weight of bollworm larvae was observed. Larvae that were recovered from the DP 50B cultivar expressing lower Cry1Ac weighed significantly more than larvae collected from the higher expressing NuCOTN 33B cultivar. Cotton plants from NuCOTN 33B were measured as expressing 300% more Cry1Ac than DP 50B plants. The distribution of larval weights indicates that more late-instars (> 200 mg) were collected from the lower expressing DP50B cultivar than the higher expressing NuCOTN 33B cultivar. Within a single population, bollworm larvae were highly variable in their development when feeding on Bollgard® cotton. Possible reasons and consequences for this variation are discussed.


One of the most enigmatic aspects of experience concerns time. Since pre-Socratic times scholars have speculated about the nature of time, asking questions such as: What is time? Where does it come from? Where does it go? The central proposal of The Structure of Time is that time, at base, constitutes a phenomenologically real experience. Drawing on findings in psychology, neuroscience, and utilising the perspective of cognitive linguistics, this work argues that our experience of time may ultimately derive from perceptual processes, which in turn enable us to perceive events. As such, temporal experience is a pre-requisite for abilities such as event perception and comparison, rather than an abstraction based on such phenomena. The book represents an examination of the nature of temporal cognition, with two foci: (i) an investigation into (pre-conceptual) temporal experience, and (ii) an analysis of temporal structure at the conceptual level (which derives from temporal experience).


In a bibliometric study [1] we located around 100 high-potency studies, each of which scrutinized an earlier study. An expert round was set to discuss whether it was justified to use the null hypothesis that no difference would be found between the respective test and control groups.

The following two viewpoints were juxtaposed:

1) The classical null hypothesis states that the results from a test group and its respective control will not differ. If difference is found, the null hypothesis must be rejected. In this case, whether the values found in the test group were higher or lower than the ones of the control group is irrelevant. However, in some instances lack of difference between the test and the control groups is not helpful to make an informed decision. In the case of the analyzed bibliometric study, the research question is as follows: is the number of replication studies which produced a result of the same kind as the original study greater than the number of replication studies which produced a result of the opposite kind?

2) Often there is a pragmatic interest in a one-sided difference or in a deviation in one specific direction. A null hypothesis to this end will state, for example, that the result of the test group will not be better than that of the control group. If difference in favor of the test group is found, the null hypothesis must then be rejected. If, conversely, no difference is found or the result of the control group is better, the null hypothesis can be maintained. For the analyzed bibliometric study the question is: is the number of replication studies which yielded a result of the same kind as the original study greater than the number of all other replication studies?

From viewpoint (1) the outcome was that 70% of replication studies yielded the same result as the original study, 10% per cent the opposite result, and in 20% no difference was found between test and control. From this view point the standing is 70 positive, 10 negative and 20 undecided results. Broken down further, the outcome for laboratory-internal replication was 83 and 5 (12 undecided results) while the outcome for multicenter replication was 75 and 11 (14) and that for external replication was 48 and 14 (38).

From viewpoint (2) the outcome was that 70% of replication studies yielded the same result as the original study, and that 30% (= 10% + 20%) either resulted in no difference between the test and the control group or a result opposite to the one of the original study. From this viewpoint the standing is 70 'for reproducibility' versus 30 'not for reproducibility.' Broken down further, the outcome for laboratory-internal replication was 83 and 17 (= 5 + 12), while that for multicenter replication 75 and 25 (= 11 + 14) and the one for external replication 48 and 52 (= 14 + 38).

We conclude that the 2 two viewpoints should be treated as equally valid when discussing the outcome of the analyzed bibliometric study

Keywords: high dilution, experiment repetition, null hypothesis

References
[1] Endler PC, Bellavite P, Bonamin L, Jäger T. Mazon S. Replications of fundamental research models in ultra high dilutions, 1994 and 2015: an update on a bibliometric study. Homeopathy 2015;104:235-245


Abstract The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) has since the turn of the new century experienced a double transformation gap: between global and regionally oriented allies and between allies emulating new military practices defined by the United States and allies resisting radical change. This article takes stock of these gaps in light of a decade's worth of collective and national adjustments and in light of counter-insurgency lessons provided by Afghanistan. It argues first of all that the latter transatlantic gap is receding in importance because the United States has adjusted its transformation approach and because some European allies have significantly invested in technological, doctrinal, and organizational reform. The other transformation gap is deepening, however, pitching battle-hardened and expeditionary allies against allies focused on regional tasks of stabilization and deterrence. There is a definite potential for broad transformation, our survey of officers' opinion shows, but NATO's official approach to transformation, being broad and vague, provides neither political nor military guidance. If NATO is to move forward and bridge the gap, it must clarify the lessons of Afghanistan and embed them in its new Strategic Concept.


The plasminogen activator inhibitors have an important therapeutic role in controlling bleeding in patients with congenital and acquired coagulation disorders. They are being increasingly used in patients with blood loss and to prevent bleeding. However, these antifibrinolytic agents can also facilitate the development of thrombosis. We report a patient with severe gastrointestinal bleeding who developed acute myocardial infarction following the administration of the antifibrinolytic agent, tranexamic acid.


Participation is a critical health and education outcome of children and can be opti- mized by environmental supports. Children with physical disabilities often experience participation restriction and environmental barriers. Research is limited in describing participation in everyday activities of children with physical disabilities and identifying environmental barriers faced by those children in Taiwan. This chapter presents data of 94 children with physical disabilities aged 2–6 years and their families in Taiwan. Children with physical disabilities were primarily children with cerebral palsy (36%) and devel- opmental (motor) delay (34%). Parents completed the Chinese version of Assessment of Preschool Children's Participation (APCP-C) and the Chinese version of the Child and Adolescent Scale of Environment (CASE-C) by structured interview to assess pattern of participation and impact of environment factors to their children's daily life. Participation of children with physical disabilities differed on the basis of level of severity, but not age and sex. Parents reported increased impacts of problems with the quality and availability of family and community resources than problems with assistance/attitude supports and physical design and access. The findings provide a profile of children's pattern of partici - pation and environmental barriers that impact participation in Taiwan.


Traditional exegetical scholarship has treated Paul's presentation of reconciliation as referring to reconciliation between people and God, and has primarily focused its attention on key [Greek] passages in the Pauline corpus. The present study challenges this view and argues that Paul has a more complex understanding of the concept and uses a rich symbolism to describe reconciliation as a multifaceted reality that encompasses reconciliation with God and reconciliation between human beings, forming together an inseparable reality. The discussion is placed within Paul's overall religious,
social and political contexts, showing that an analysis of the social dimension of reconciliation in his thought is both plausible and necessary. It is argued that the social
meaning of reconciliation is to be understood within Paul's comprehensive vision of reconciliation: a vision grounded in the story of Christ and Paul's own reconciliation
experience, substantiated by the Isaianic vision of cosmic peace, and given form and expression in a rich symbolism of reconciliation.

Having established this framework of reference, the study offers an analysis of two major sections of Romans, respectively chapters 5-8 and 12-15, using primarily insights from a narrative reading of Paul. A special emphasis is placed on Paul's use of the story of Jesus Christ for community formation, for the shaping of identity, values and practices of the community. In Romans 5-8 we find that Paul shows the inseparability of the horizontal and the vertical dimensions of reconciliation. By describing the complex dynamic of the incorporation of the believer "in Christ, " through baptism, Paul draws his readers into the same story of Christ, thus reminding them that they are an integral part of, and active
participants in, the ongoing story of God's reconciling the world through Christ. In this way, God's reconciling initiative, shown in the very act of Christ's death on the cross, is not only the pronouncement of God's reconciling the world, but also the ground and model for reconciliation among people. Similarly, in Romans 12-15 we find that Paul expresses the social dimension of reconciliation in various ways: as genuine love for one another and for enemies, as welcoming the weak and powerless, as affirming the other, as blessing one's persecutors, as overcoming evil with good and living at peace with all. These, we
argue, are practices of reconciliation which are anchored in, and presuppose, the story of Christ as both the ground and paradigm for a reconciling way of life. Thus, by placing these practices within the larger horizon of God's reconciliation of the world in Christ, Paul provides an unshakable foundation for both the possibility and the actuality of social reconciliation. So then, Paul's ultimate vision of the reconciliation of all things in Christ gives assurance and hope, and an irresistible impetus to the believer's ministry of reconciliation in all its forms and manifestations.

We conclude with several suggestions for how the churches in Romania can build on a Pauline understanding of reconciliation as presented in this research. We suggest that communities of believers could make a contribution to the public arena by offering and maintaining a sense of fundamental values for human life in the world; by discerning, unmasking and resisting any form of totalitarianism and absolutism; and by offering a framework of hope, and a vision of life, that will enable people not only to cope with "otherness" and "difference, " but also to promote a culture of peace and justice, of freedom and love, of forgiveness and reconciliation, i. e., a culture of life.


The suffering patient is thrown into a strange and unfamiliar environment of different technological devices in an Intensive care unit. The intensive room is a place for care and treatment, for rest and recovery, a visiting room, and a working place for the staff. In this context patients and relatives are very vulnerable and are in a need of support. Patients may suffer from unreal experiences, often very traumatic during their stay in ICU and many patients also suffer from unpleasant memories, and some develop post traumatic stress after their discharge. In order to design optimal rooms in ICU it would be important to identify factors which are meaningful for the patients and relatives. The aim of this study, as part of a larger research project, is to illuminate patients' and relatives' experiences of the physical room, the design and the interior in the ICU. Photographs combined with interviews are used as data collection methods within the ICU-context. Relatives and former patients are asked to photograph different aspects of the room that they remember or associate with a feeling. The pictures were used later during an interview with the informants. In total the researcher meets the informants three times, first time to inform, the second time to take the photos and a third time for the interview. This method gives the researcher opportunity to deepen the understanding and capture aspects of the room that otherwise might have been hidden. The presentation will focus on photography as a research method.


Now widely regarded as the best available guide to the study of the Founding, the first edition of Interpreting the Founding provided summaries and analyses of the leading interpretive frameworks that have guided the study of the Founding since the publication of Charles Beard's An Economic Interpretation of the Constitution in 1913. For this new edition, Gibson has revised and updated his study, including his comprehensive bibliography, and also added a new concluding chapter on the "Unionist Paradigm" or "Federalist Interpretation" of the Constitution. As in the original work, Gibson argues in the new edition that scholarship on the Founding is no longer steered by a single dominant approach or even by a set of questions that control its direction. He features insightful extended discussions of pioneering works by leading scholars of the Founding including Louis Hartz, Bernard Bailyn, Gordon Wood, and Garry Wills that best exemplify different schools of interpretation. He focuses on six approaches that have dominated the modern study of the Founding-Progressive, Lockean/liberal, Republican, Scottish Enlightenment, multicultural, and multiple traditions approaches before concluding with the Unionist or Federalist paradigm. For each approach, Gibson traces its fundamental assumptions, revealing deeper ideological and methodological differences between schools of thought that, on the surface, seem to differ only about the interpretation of historical facts. While previous accounts have treated the study of the Founding as the sequential replacement of one paradigm by another, Gibson argues that all of these interpretations survive as alternative and still viable approaches. By examining the strengths and weaknesses of each approach and showing how each has simultaneously illuminated and masked core truths about the American Founding, he renders a balanced account of the continuing and very vigorous debate over the origins and foundations of the American republic. Brimming with intellectual vigor and a based on both a wide and deep reading in the voluminous literature on the subject, Gibson's new edition is sure to reinforce this remarkable book's reputation while winning new converts to his argument."


This work focused on method of modeling multivariate time series with seasonal univariate components. Five variables representing Nigeria's Gross Domestic Products (GDP) were found to exhibit seasonal behaviours. These series were subjected to Box and Jenkins techniques and different univariate seasonal models were entertained for each component. The residuals from the fitted univariate models were cross examined. The correlation and cross correlation structures of these residuals revealed the inter-relationships among the variables, and multivariate consideration was therefore obvious. Multivariate order selection technique was employed to obtain the vector autoregressive (VAR) order of the model. A VAR (1) model was identified and developed to fit the data. Stability of the VAR process was achieved. Diagnostic checks were applied to the fitted model and the model was found to be adequate. Hence, forecasts were generated.


In the present account, the relation between the descending, substance P (SP)-containing projection fibers from the striatum and the dopaminergic cell bodies in the midbrain tegmentum was investigated in several species of reptiles and the domestic chicken by means of antisera against SP and dopamine. It was found that in all species studied an almost complete match of the SP and the dopamine immunoreactivity occurs in the ventral tegmental area. In contrast, considerable differences were observed in the substantia nigra and the retrorubral area. Two different patterns were recognized: one pattern in which there is little overlap between the dopaminergic cells and SP fibers (lizards, turtles) and another with an extensive overlap (snakes, chickens). Similar patterns were found in mammalian species. On the basis of an out-group comparison with anamniotes, it is suggested that the pattern with little overlap represents the primitive character. The pattern with considerable overlap, found in the three classes of amniotes, should be considered an independent development from the same primitive character and should, therefore, be defined as an example of parallel homoplasy.


What common baking ingredient can conceal white rings on furniture? (Crushed pecans.) How do you detect a repair in a pottery vase you want to buy? (Look at it under a black light.) What's the best way to remove water damage from your great-grandfather's Bible? (Put it in your freezer.) Answers to these questions and many more are included in this convenient handbook by long-time antiques expert Dr. Georgia Kemp Caraway. Organized alphabetically, Tips, Tools, and Techniques is easy to consult about the cleaning and maintenance of common antique and collectible objects, including metal advertising signs, glassware, clothing, and jewelry. Addenda provide information such as how to get a good deal at auction, the dates of Chinese dynasties, and U.S. patent numbers. An especially handy pronunciation guide helps the monolingual among us speak with confidence about the provenance of Galle ware and Schlegelmilch porcelain. Compact yet authoritative, this handbook will appeal to both dealers and buyers, as well as everyone with something from Grandma in the attic.


An integrated analysis of facies and palaeontological content of the middle to late Miocene (c. 12.4–9.1 Ma) Angostura Formation led to the identification of facies associations indicative of shoreface and inner-shelf settings. The Angostura Formation comprises eight high-frequency sequences that are stacked to form a tectonically driven lowstand sequence set. The most complete examples of sequences are bounded by transgressively modified unconformities and exhibit a threefold subdivision: (1) a basal suite of deepening-upward shoreface sediments (transgressive systems tract), including a base-of-cycle shell concentration; (2) a mid-cycle shell bed, consisting of molluscan shells dispersed in a matrix of inner-shelf muddy fine-grained sandstones; (3) a shallowing-upward unit of inner-shelf to lower shoreface sediments almost barren of mollusc fossils (highstand systems tract). Biostratigraphic constraints allowed a reasonable correlation between sequence bounding unconformities and the late middle to late Miocene high-frequency glacio-eustatic changes derived from recent δ18O studies. This correlation has far-reaching implications and leads to the following conclusions: (1) glacio-eustasy in tune with oxygen isotope changes at fourth-order frequency (200 ka–1 Ma duration) may have been the principal factor regulating stratigraphic packaging in the Angostura Formation; (2) these sequences provide an excellent shallow-marine outcrop record of late middle to late Miocene Antarctic glaciations.


The history of past major energy transitions—from wood to coal, and from coal to oil and gas—suggests that it will be a long, tough road to scaling up alternatives to fossil fuels that don9t stoke greenhouse warming. A big problem is that, for the first time, the world is moving to tap new energy sources that are, in many ways, less useful and convenient than the currently dominant sources: fossil fuels. Oil in particular is densely packed with energy, easily transported and stored, and efficient at releasing its energy in modern engines. Renewables are another matter. Fuel sources like corn kernels or wood chips tend to be bulky, and their energy content is diffuse. Planting energy crops and building solar or wind farms is a land-hungry process, and the energy they deliver is often intermittent and hard to store.


At last, football has its answer to Freakonomics, The Tipping Point and The Undercover Economist. "Why do England lose?" "Why do Newcastle United always buy the wrong players?" "How could Nottingham Forest go from winning the European Cup to the depths of League One?" "Penalties - what are they good for?" These are questions every football fan has asked. Why England Lose answers them. It brings the techniques of bestselling books such as Freakonomics and The Undercover Economist to bear on our national sport. Written with an economist's brain and a football writer's skill, it applies high-powered analytical tools to everyday football topics. Why England Lose isn't in the first place about money. It's about looking at data in new ways. It's about revealing counterintuitive truths about football. It explains all manner of things about the game which newspapers just can't see. It all adds up to a new way of looking at football, beyond cliches about "The Magic of the FA Cup", "England's Shock Defeat" and "Newcastle's New South American Star". No training in economics is needed to read Why England Lose. But the reader will come out of it with a better understanding not just of football, but of how economists think and what they know.


The Depth sounding is the fundamental process for the investigation of sand drift on sandy beach and has been carried out by means of echo-sounders. Although it is necessary to obtain the actual variations of bottom topography under the direct action of strong waves, the data even by the up-to-date method of soundings are limited to the case of calm sea conditions. Moreover, even in calm seas it is often difficult to measure the depth of water in the surf zone which has remarkable change of bottom topography due to wave action. The author has no information on the data of bottom topography under the direct action of waves on actual beaches in Japan, excepting those of Mr. Fujiki on the coast of Niigata along the Japan Sea, who, however, had measured the bottom profile along one fixed line which was set perpendicularly to the beach. At present we have no effective method of measuring the amount of drift sand, and therefore the measurement of dynamical variation of bottom topography is considered to be the possible primary and fundamental approach to the estimation of sand drift on sandy beach without any coast structure and also to be the final method of finding out the similarity law between model test and actual phenomena, through which model test may become a confiderable method of solving the sand drift problem. In order to observe the dynamical varation of bottom topography by wave action, it is necessary to develope newly any possible method without boat and echo-sounder. This is the purpose of study of projection type sounder.


The article "Innovations in teacher education - the Indian context" by Joshi and Thomas (1991, p. 11-15) is a brief but insightful documentary on innovative ideas and practices in teacher education in India. The authors' review highlights on important innovative practices, such as: integrated teacher education, teacher education curriculum, inservice teacher education, and teacher education for rural development. The authors actually point to the fact that the innovations were in respect of examination reforms whose aim was to engage the student in mastery learning. Srivastava (1979) provides an excellent detail of information in a Unesco document entitled "Examination reforms in India". The documentation is 41st in the Asian series: Experiments and innovations in education. Since the 1970s a large number of universities, and specifically teacher education colleges across the country, have worked diligently toward the formation, implementation and acceptance of a national curriculum. As a developing nation, education in India has experienced tremendous progress. In fact, in a superior documentary on the subject (of national curriculum), Taylor (1991a) reflects that "the nation has made enormous progress in all aspects of educational provision in the past half century". Higher education in the sciences has also similarly contributed to the nation's progress. As Sebaly (1988) points out, "It |the country~ has also established a network of post-secondary institutions that makes India one of the leading producers of scientists and technologists". Education in Contemporary India The infrastructure of the Indian school system is built to accommodate the educational goals and objectives of a national curriculum which has been adopted by many states in the country. The educational system provides for three independent tracks of schooling and examination. The ICSE (Indian Certificate of Secondary Education) schooling is affordable by the upper class Indians; CBSE (Central Board of Secondary Examination) is for students from families whose members serve in the defense services and central government agencies, and those generally in jobs that periodically require them to relocate to neighboring states; and, the SSLC (Secondary School Leaving Certificate) is for people from both the middle and lower class of the society. Even though varying in syllabi from state to state, the Indian school system is generally organized into the 10+2+3 pattern. This means that every child who enrolls in formal education will undergo basic education for 10 years (beginning the schooling from age 6), followed by 2 years of pre-university education (the junction between high school and graduate college education). This is then followed by 3 years of graduate education leading to the award of the Bachelors degree in the specific area of specialization, which may be arts, humanities, science, or commerce. Some specialization subjects such as engineering or medicine, require the student to study for 5 years before they are evaluated and the degree is awarded. Most students pursue for their post-graduate education in the various fields of education, sciences, management, engineering, medicine, and the arts disciplines. Students enrolled at the elementary through secondary school level in state government managed schools enjoy free education. Vocational education is a progressive opportunity for talented students; in fact, this is one of the many avenues to encourage and motivate the disinterested children, and dropouts, to become educationally and scientifically literate. Formal education is compulsory and free for all young children up to the secondary school level. Beyond secondary education, the government - both the state and central - make available a few scholarships for the needy and deserving students. There exists, though, stiff competition to obtain any form of scholarship. However, not everything in contemporary India can be labelled as "smooth sailing". …


The underlying cause of people stopping their search prior to the theoretical optimal solution in commonly found sequential search problems, often known as the secretary problem, is as yet undetermined. In the secretary problem, an immediate decision must be made from offers that are presented one at a time in a random sequence without re-call. The factors that might cause the early stopping bias were examined in a series of experiments. In Experiment One, I experimentally investigated the effect of time search cost in a version of the secretary problem framed as a house-selling context and found that, if each additional search involved a pre-announced time delay, people shortened the search. In Experiment Two, I found that if there were a house-selling context, people searched more optimally than with no context, even without house information. Experiment Three extended the findings from Experiment Two, framed the secretary problem as either a house-selling or a secretary-hiring task, and found evidence suggesting that regret aversion was a cause of the early stopping bias. Experiment Four investigated group decision making and found that groups chose less optimal prices than the aggregate performance of individuals. In Experiment Five, I examined the effect of an incentive structure that rewarded only finding the optimal prices and found that people did indeed make more optimal decisions in this treatment. Overall, these findings suggest that when we make sequential search decisions in life, exhausting and exploring all offers is never optimal, time spent can never be regained, nor can the rejected offer. Taking note of the context and gathering information prior to making decisions does lead to better results. Settling for offers other than the best can save time and effort, and the earnings will not be much different than when only aiming for the best.


Interval censoring arises frequently in life history data, as individuals are often only observed at a sequence of assessment times. This leads to a situation where we do not know when an event of interest occurs, only that it occurred somewhere between two assessment times. Here, the focus will be on methods of estimation for recurrent event data, current status data, and multistate data, subject to interval censoring. With recurrent event data, the focus is often on estimating the rate and mean functions. Nonparametric estimates are readily available, but are not smooth. Methods based on local likelihood and the assumption of a Poisson process are developed to obtain smooth estimates of the rate and mean functions without specifying a parametric form. Covariates and extra-Poisson variation are accommodated by using a pseudo-profile local likelihood. The methods are assessed by simulations and applied to a number of datasets, including data from a psoriatic arthritis clinic. Current status data is an extreme form of interval censoring that occurs when each individual is observed at only one assessment time. If current status data arise in clusters, this must be taken into account in order to obtain valid conclusions. Copulas offer a convenient framework for modelling the association separately from the margins. Estimating equations are developed for estimating marginal parameters as well as association parameters. Efficiency and robustness to the choice of copula are examined for first and second order estimating equations. The methods are applied to data from an orthopedic surgery study as well as data on joint damage in psoriatic arthritis. Multistate models can be used to characterize the progression of a disease as individuals move through different states. Considerable attention is given to a three-state model to characterize the development of a back condition known as spondylitis in psoriatic arthritis, along with the associated risk of mortality. Robust estimates of the state occupancy probabilities are derived based on a difference in distribution functions of the entry times. A five-state model which differentiates between left-side and right-side spondylitis is also considered, which allows us to characterize what effect spondylitis on one side of the body has on the development of spondylitis on the other side. Covariate effects are considered through multiplicative time homogeneous Markov models. The robust state occupancy probabilities are also applied to data on CMV infection in patients with HIV.


Soil and water conservation interventions in Africa have had a chequered history, calling into question the way in which soil and water conservation technologies have been studied in the past. This article draws on a case study from eastern Burkina Faso to explore an area usually ignored by soil and water conservation studies — the role of social institutions in guiding decisions regarding the use of technologies. It looks at soil and water conservation through the historical development of what the authors call the 'cultural economy', that is, a system of exchange in which a market economy has mixed with pre-existing forms of exchange. The approach adopted by the authors identifies concepts on which the cultural economy is based and uses these ideas to analyse institutions that affect the choice of soil and water conservation technologies. The article shows how this approach leads to a reconceptualization of the ways in which soil and water conservation technologies are to be considered.