This article explores the legal issues hidden within Arthur Golden's Memoirs of a Geisha. The geisha tradition has been alternately glorified by Japanese society, and outlawed by Japanese law as a form of prostitution. The leitmotif of Golden's famous novel is this evolving duality of the geisha as both artisan and courtesan. At its worst, the geisha tradition involves force, fraud, and deception, and the horrifying practice of selling one's own children into slavery for purposes of sexual exploitation. In striving for historical accuracy, Golden obtained an intimate interview with a real geisha named Mineko Iwasaki, who consented to reveal to him valuable secrets about the closed geisha society. Using her narrative as source material, Golden wrote a fictional biography of a little girl named Chiyo-chan who is sold by her own father at the age of nine into debt bondage. Like many Japanese girls sold by their parents into forced prostitution and slavery, Chiyo-chan endures a harsh indoctrination and eventually becomes a famous geisha known as Nitta Sayuri. The essence of the novel is the transformation of Chiyo-chan into Nitta Sayuri. The poetic, fairy-tale quality of Golden's prose, and his unusual narrative style, made the novel a literary and financial success upon its publication in 1997. In 2001, however, Mineko Iwasaki shocked the literary world by filing a lawsuit against Golden and his publishers, in New York court under Japanese and New York law, claiming breach of contract, quantum meruit, copyright infringement, unjust enrichment, defamation of character, and violation of her rights to privacy and publicity. It seems that Iwasaki became outraged by the discrepancies between her own life and that of Golden's purportedly fictional geisha. This article asks, and seeks to answer, two questions: First, is the geisha tradition as described by Golden a variant of sex trafficking and sexual slavery which, despite possible cultural justifications, should be abolished by law? Second, does Iwasaki's lawsuit have any merit?


Myocardial infarction is the largest cause of morbidity and mortality worldwide. Despite optimal treatment, patients have a mortality which approaches 12% at six months. Reperfusion of the ischaemic myocardium is essential to salvage myocardium. However, reperfusion itself is harmful, with up to 40% of myocardial necrosis occurring at this time. This is known as "Lethal Reperfusion Injury". Opening of the mitochondrial permeability transition pore (MPTP), a channel situated in the inner mitochondrial membrane is central to this process. In its quiescent state, the MPTP remains closed, but once open it becomes non-selectively permeable to solutes of up to 1.5 kDa, resulting in rapidly advancing necrotic cell death. The molecular structure of the MPTP has not yet been fully determined, although cyclophilin D (Cyp D) has been shown to be essential to its function. Genetic ablation of Cyp D has been shown to result in delayed opening of the MPTP and resistance to myocardial damage after acute ischaemia-reperfusion injury. MPTP inhibition is cardioprotective, and may be achieved by a variety of means including ischaemic pre- and post-conditioning, and by pharmacological agents. The aim of this thesis is to investigate the role of the MPTP (cyclophilin D) in cardioprotection from acute ischaemia-reperfusion injury. In chapter 4 we investigate whether it is possible to protect the heart in mice deficient of cyclophilin D by applying a stronger ischaemic preconditioning stimulus to that previously investigated in vivo. We found that there was a non-statistically significant trend towards a protective effect in cyclophilin D deficient mice which were subjected to a stronger IPC stimulus than that previously studied in vivo. Chapter 5 explores whether it is possible to protect the heart whilst avoiding the deleterious extra-cardiac effects of cyclosporin A by sub-cellular targeting of cyclosporin A (CsA) to mitochondria in the first in vivo testing of a mitochondrial-specific form of CsA (mtCsA). We demonstrated that mtCsA administered at reperfusion did not protect the heart of wild type mice from ischaemia- reperfusion. Chapter 6 examines the possibility of achieving cardioprotection independent of cyclophilin D. In this chapter, the effects of the matrix metalloproteinase inhibitor, Ilomastat, are studied. We confirmed that MMP inhibition was cardioprotective in wild type mice and also showed for the first time in vivo that administration of ilomastat can protect the heart from ischaemia- reperfusion in mice deficient in cyclophilin D. In summary our data supports the hypothesis that it is possible to protect the heart from ischaemia – reperfusion in cyclophilin D deficiency by administration of an MMP inhibitor at reperfusion. We also showed a trend towards cardioprotection in cyclophilin D deficiency by administration of an increased IPC stimulus. Together, these data may suggest that necrotic cell death may not all be mediated by the MPTP, or possibly, that the MPTP may exhibit a threshold effect which is surmountable by an increase in inhibitory action of combined pharmacology or increase in IPC stimulus.


The possibility of intertemporal banking and borrowing of tradeable permits is often viewed as tilting the various policy debates about optimal pollution control instruments toward favoring such time-flexible quantities. The present paper shows that this view is misleading, at least for the simplest dynamic extension of the original `prices vs. quantities' information structure. The model of this paper allows the firms to know and act upon the realization of uncertain future costs two full periods ahead of the regulators. For any given circumstance, the paper shows that either a fixed price or a fixed quantity is superior in expected welfare to time-flexible banking and borrowing. Furthermore, the standard original formula for the comparative advantage of prices over quantities contains sufficient information to completely characterize the regulatory role of intertemporal banking and borrowing. The logic and implications of these results are analyzed and discussed.


The aim of this study was to determine the allelopathic potential of invasive species woolly cupgrass (Eriochloa villosa), common milkweed (Asclepias syriaca), bohemian knotweed (Fallopia x bohemica), and giant goldenrod (Solidago gigantea Ait.) on germination crop (Lepidium sativum L.). Experiments were conducted under laboratory conditions to determine effect of water extracts in petri dish bioassay. Water extracts from fresh biomass (leaves and stem) of invasive weeds in concentrations of 4 and 8 g/100 ml were investigated. All invasive plants showed allelopathic effect on germination. In giant goldenrod stem water extract experiment, allelopathic effect was less pronounced.
The cress germination was greatly suppressed with the woolly cupgrass, common milkweed and the giant goldenrod. The experiment showed that the seed germination depended on the concentrations and the plant material used (leaves and stem).


AIMS
To examine non-medical use of prescription opioids (NMUPO) patterns during the transition from adolescence to adulthood, and assess individual characteristics and other substance use behaviors associated with longitudinal patterns of NMUPO.

DESIGN
Nationally representative samples of high school seniors in the United States (wave 1: modal age 18 years) were followed longitudinally across three biennial follow-up waves (waves 2, 3 and 4: modal ages 19/20, 21/22 and 23/24 years).

SETTING
Data were collected via self-administered questionnaires to high school seniors and young adults.

PARTICIPANTS
The longitudinal sample consisted of 27 268 individuals in 30 cohorts (high school senior years 1976-2005) who participated in all four waves.

MEASUREMENTS
Self-reports of NMUPO and other substance use behaviors.

FINDINGS
Approximately 11.6% [95% confidence interval (CI) = 11.2%, 12.0%] of the sample reported past-year NMUPO in at least one of the four waves. Among those who reported past-year NMUPO in at least one wave, 69.0% (67.6%, 70.4%), 20.5% (19.3%, 21.7%), 7.8% (7.1%, 8.6%) and 2.7% (2.3%, 3.1%) reported NMUPO at one, two, three and four waves, respectively. Several wave 1 variables were associated with greater odds of multiple waves of NMUPO and individuals who reported more waves of NMUPO had greater odds of other substance use behaviors.

CONCLUSIONS
Although most non-medical use of prescription opioids among 18-year-olds in the United States appears to be non-continuing, approximately one-third of the sample reporting non-medical use of prescription opioids appear to continue use beyond age 18 and have elevated odds of other substance use behaviors at ages 23/24.


The use of Audience Response Systems, commonly called "clickers," has grown in recent years as instructors have discovered the dual benefits of interaction and accountability when teaching large classes. Caldwell (2007) has shown that "these systems are especially valuable as a means of introducing and monitoring peer learning methods". MacArthur and Jones (2008) have found that students generally have a positive attitude towards clickers, as well as research indicates measureable increases in learning through the use of collaborative response systems. Without clickers, enforcing accountability may still be possible through the use of online quizzes, but interaction remains difficult to implement. One of more obvious problems is the chaotic noise that results with verbal communication, but more subtle dangers lurk as well, such as reaching students who normally hesitate to volunteer, especially in large class settings. One business model using clickers generally involves students purchasing a handheld device (often in the $20-$25 range) and then also paying $20 or more to activate the device for the current semester. Students register the device on the company Web site, and the instructor synchronizes the database in order to know which students have registered devices, thus creating accountability for "quizzes" in class. During the lecture, students "vote" for multiple choice answers on screen, and real-time results are displayed (anonymously) after the polling is finished, providing instant formative feedback.


We develop methods to solve general equilibrium models in which forward-looking agents are subject to waves of pessimism, optimism, and uncertainty that turn out to critically affect macroeconomic outcomes. Agents in the model are fully rational, conduct Bayesian learning, and they know that they do not know. Therefore, agents take into account that their beliefs will evolve according to what they will observe. This framework accommodates both gradual and abrupt changes in beliefs and allows for an analytical characterization of uncertainty. Shocks to beliefs affect economic dynamics and uncertainty. We use a prototypical Real Business Cycle to illustrate the methods.


We describe an active optical system that both measures and corrects the aberrations introduced when writing three-dimensional bit-oriented optical memory by a two-photon absorption process. The system uses a ferroelectric liquid-crystal spatial light modulator (FLCSLM) configured as an arbitrary wave-front generator that is reconfigurable at speeds as great as 2.5 kHz. A method of aberration measurement by the FLCSLM wave-front generator is described. The same device is also used to correct the induced aberrations by preshaping the wave fronts with the conjugate phase aberration as well as to scan the focal spot in three dimensions. Experimental results show the correction of both on- and off-axis aberrations, allowing the writing of data at depths as great as 1 mm inside a LiNbO3 crystal.


This paper examines totes truncation, a previously undescribed morphophonological process. Totes constructions are formed by combining totes, a shortened form of the English adverb totally, and an optionally truncated and suffixed stem (e.g., totes atrosh > totally atrocious). Totes constructions are predominantly used by young adults both in speech and electronically. Using two data sets comprised of tokens pulled from electronic communication and social media posts, this work describes the construction's distribution, outlines its formation, and discusses its distinctive morphophonology. Totes constructions are formed post-lexically (Kiparsky 1982), resulting from prosodic template mapping and maximization (McCarthy and Prince 1986, Weeda 1992) and often end in unattested, or "creative" consonant clusters resulting from the deletion of extratemplatic material. Some totesed forms pose problems for traditional theories of English phonotactics, especially those that implicitly conflate the notions of 'unattested' and 'illicit.' By setting aside this categorical classification, this work offers an account of totes constructions' unique phonotactics and explores its implications for phonological theory. Totesed forms' creative coda clusters are unattested in un-totesed English, but adhere to English's sonority hierarchy, indicating that totesers are able to distinguish between a language's idiosyncratic phonotactic accidental gaps and crosslinguistic universals, and that they are willing to flout unprincipled co-occurrence restrictions, as long as creative forms exhibit wellformed sonority contours. Additionally noteworthy is the disproportionate presence of word-final alveopalatal consonants in the data. 180 of 618 stems (29.1%) end in an alveopalatal consonant, as opposed English in general, where alveopalatals occur only 1.86% of the time in any position (Dewey 1970). This preponderance of palatalization is argued to be due to the convergence of three factors: totesers targeting base words with underlying alveopalatals for truncation, phonologically-conditioned palatalization, and affective palatalization. Both types of palatalization are widely attested crosslinguistically (Kochetov & Alderete 2010, Chen 1973, Bhat 1978, Ohala 1994, Nichols 1971), but totes constructions may be the first documented systematic use of affective palatalization in English. This working paper is available in University of Pennsylvania Working Papers in Linguistics: http://repository.upenn.edu/pwpl/


In this tribute to the 2007 recipient of the winner of the Jeffrey Z. Rubin Theory-To-Practice Award from the International Association for Conflict Management (IACM), we celebrate Linda Babcock's contributions to diverse lines of research, her tireless and effective efforts to put the insights of her research into practice, and at a personal level, the impact she has had on each of our lives. Innovative ideas and novel methods have been the hallmarks of Linda's research on diverse topics: the impact of self-serving conceptions of fairness on negotiations, the labor supply behavior of cab drivers, the impact of damage caps on settlements, the propensity of men and women to initiate negotiations, and the readiness of each gender to volunteer for, and work on, "nonpromotable tasks." Linda won this award, however, not only for her path-breaking academic research, but for her interest in and ability to convert it into actionable initiatives. From founding the Program for Research and Outreach on Gender Equity in Society (PROGRESS), whose mission is to develop tools to teach women and girls how to harness the power of negotiation, to her leadership of the Carnegie Mellon Leadership and Negotiation Academy for Women, Linda shows how academics can play a leading role in translating theory into practice.


We propose a compact and high conversion efficiency asymmetric Y junction mode multiplexer/demultiplexer for applications in on-chip mode-division multiplexing. Traditionally, mode sorting is achieved by adiabatically separating the arms of a Y junction. We shorten the device length using invariant-based inverse engineering and achieve better conversion efficiency than the adiabatic device.


The global pandemic caused by the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS‐CoV‐2) is a highly pathogenic RNA virus causing coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID‐19) in humans. Although most patients with COVID‐19 have mild illness and may be asymptomatic, some will develop severe pneumonia, acute respiratory distress syndrome, multi‐organ failure, and death. RNA viruses such as SARS‐CoV‐2 are capable of hijacking the epigenetic landscape of host immune cells to evade antiviral defense. Yet, there remain considerable gaps in our understanding of immune cell epigenetic changes associated with severe SARS‐CoV‐2 infection pathology. Here, we examined genome‐wide DNA methylation (DNAm) profiles of peripheral blood mononuclear cells from 9 terminally‐ill, critical COVID‐19 patients with confirmed SARS‐CoV‐2 plasma viremia compared with uninfected, hospitalized influenza, untreated primary HIV infection, and mild/moderate COVID‐19 HIV coinfected individuals. Cell‐type deconvolution analyses confirmed lymphopenia in severe COVID‐19 and revealed a high percentage of estimated neutrophils suggesting perturbations to DNAm associated with granulopoiesis. We observed a distinct DNAm signature of severe COVID‐19 characterized by hypermethylation of IFN‐related genes and hypomethylation of inflammatory genes, reinforcing observations in infection models and single‐cell transcriptional studies of severe COVID‐19. Epigenetic clock analyses revealed severe COVID‐19 was associated with an increased DNAm age and elevated mortality risk according to GrimAge, further validating the epigenetic clock as a predictor of disease and mortality risk. Our epigenetic results reveal a discovery DNAm signature of severe COVID‐19 in blood potentially useful for corroborating clinical assessments, informing pathogenic mechanisms, and revealing new therapeutic targets against SARS‐CoV‐2.


Particulate matter was measured in Conroe, Texas (~60 km north of downtown Houston, Texas) during the September 2013 DISCOVER-AQ campaign to determine the sources of particulate matter in the region. The measurement site is influenced by high biogenic emission rates as well as transport of anthropogenic pollutants from the Houston metropolitan area and is therefore an ideal location to study anthropogenic-biogenic interactions. Data from an Aerosol Chemical Speciation Monitor (ACSM) suggest that on average 64 percent of non-refractory PM1 was organic material, including a high fraction (27%–41%) of organic nitrates. There was little diurnal variation in the concentrations of ammonium sulfate; however, concentrations of organic and organic nitrate aerosol were consistently higher at night than during the day. Potential explanations for the higher organic aerosol loadings at night include changing boundary layer height, increased partitioning to the particle phase at lower temperatures, and differences between daytime and nighttime chemical processes such as nitrate radical chemistry. Positive matrix factorization was applied to the organic aerosol mass spectra measured by the ACSM and three factors were resolved—two factors representing oxygenated organic aerosol and one factor representing hydrocarbon-like organic aerosol. The factors suggest that the measured aerosol was well mixed and highly processed, consistent with the distance from the site to major aerosol sources, as well as the high photochemical activity.


The COVID-19 pandemic created the largest experiment in working from home. We study how persistent telework may change energy and transport consumption and costs in Germany to assess the distributional and environmental implications when working from home will stick. Based on data from the German Microcensus and available classifications of working-from-home feasibility for different occupations, we calculate the change in energy consumption and travel to work when 15% of employees work full time from home. Our findings suggest that telework translates into an annual increase in heating energy expenditure of 110 euros per worker and a decrease in transport expenditure of 840 euros per worker. All income groups would gain from telework but high-income workers gain twice as much as low-income workers. The value of time saving is between 1.3 and 6 times greater than the savings from reduced travel costs and almost 9 times higher for high-income workers than low-income workers. The direct effects on CO2 emissions due to reduced car commuting amount to 4.5 millions tons of CO2, representing around 3 percent of carbon emissions in the transport sector.


Integral inequalities that concern the weighted positivity of a differential operator have important applications in qualitative theory of elliptic boundary value problems. Despite the power of these inequalities, however, it is far from clear which operators have this property. In this paper, we study weighted integral inequalities for general second order elliptic systems in IR (n ≥ 3) and prove that, with a weight, smooth and positive homogeneous of order 2 − n, the system is weighted positive only if the weight is the fundamental matrix of the system, possibly multiplied by a semi-positive definite constant matrix.


Activation of TLR4 signaling by saturated fatty acids plays an important role in the hypothalamic response to a high-fat diet. Animal models of obesity indicate that the consumption of a high-fat diet can lead to an inflammatory response in the hypothalamus and thereby to insulin and leptin resistance and dysregulated energy balance. Noting that cytokine production in response to activation of Toll-like receptor (TLR) signaling and of the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress response has been implicated in development of insulin resistance in peripheral tissues, Milanski et al. investigated the mechanisms whereby high-fat diet elicits an inflammatory hypothalamic response. Rats fed a diet rich in saturated fat (HF diet) showed increased abundance of various cytokines in the hypothalamus compared with rats fed normal chow. Intracerebroventricular administration of different fatty acids indicated that long-chain saturated fatty acids elicited the most pronounced hypothalamic inflammatory response. Moreover, whereas HF diet promoted leptin resistance, consumption of a calorically equivalent diet high in unsaturated fatty acids did not. Administration of the long-chain saturated fatty acid arachidic acid elicited association of MyD88 with TLR2 and TLR4 (indicative of their increased activation) and phosphorylation of proteins implicated in the ER stress response; moreover, hypothalamic association of MyD88 with TLR2 and TLR4 was enhanced in rats fed a HF diet. Analysis of the effects of inhibitory antibodies directed against TLR2 and TLR4, as well as that of a protein chaperone, indicated that TLR4 activation was primary; ER stress was secondary and mediated part of the response. Mice with a TLR4 loss-of-function mutation showed a smaller increase in body mass with a HF diet than did control mice; indeed, intraperitoneal or intracerebroventricular administration of the TLR4-inhibitory antibody inhibited diet-induced weight gain. The authors thus propose that activation of TLR4 by saturated fatty acids plays an important role in the hypothalamic response to HF diet, leptin resistance, and the pathogenesis of obesity. M. Milanski, G. Degasperi, A. Coope, J. Morari, R. Denis, D. E. Cintra, D. M. L. Tsukumo, G. Anhe, M. E. Amaral, H. K. Takahashi, R. Curi, H. C. Oliveira, J. B. C. Carvalheira, S. Bordin, M. J. Saad, L. A. Velloso, Saturated fatty acids produce an inflammatory response predominantly through the activation of TLR4 signaling in hypothalamus: Implications for the pathogenesis of obesity. J. Neurosci. 29, 359–370 (2009). [Abstract] [Full Text]


Research has garnered support for a systemic view of factors affecting child dental caries that accounts for the influence of social factors such as the family environment. Our previous work has demonstrated the association between mother-to-father emotional aggression and child caries. The present study builds on these results by evaluating pathways that might explain this relation. Families (n = 135) completed a multimethod assessment of mother-to-father emotional aggression, child caries, and several hypothesized mediators (i.e., child cariogenic snack and drink intake, child internalizing behaviors, child salivary cortisol and α-amylase reactivity, parental laxness, child oral hygiene maintenance, and parental socialization of child oral hygiene maintenance). Mediation analyses partially supported the role of the child's diet as a mechanism linking mother-to-father emotional aggression and child caries. However, children's neglect of oral hygiene, parental laxness, and child emotional and biological disturbances failed to stand as conduits for this association. Future investigations should expand upon these results to better establish the causal links that could only be suggested by the present cross-sectional findings.


Preface. 1. How and Why Nuclei Relax. 1.1. Nucleus in the magnetic field. 1.2. Spin--lattice and spin--spin nuclear relaxation. 1.2.1. Macroscopic magnetization: relaxation times T1 and T2. 1.3. Molecular motions as reason of nuclear relaxation. 1.3.1. Correlation times and activation energies of Molecular Motions. 1.3.2. Isotropic and anisotropic molecular motions. 1.4. Bibliography for Chapter 1. 2. How to Measure the NMR Relaxation Times. 2.1. Exponential and non--exponential nuclear relaxation. 2.2. Measurements of spin--lattice relaxation times. 2.3. Measurements of selective and bi--selective T1 times. 2.4. Determinations of T1( and T2 times. 2.5. Preparation of samples for relaxation experiments. 2.6. Bibliography to Chapter 2. 3. Errors in Determinations of Relaxation Times. 3.1. Instrumental errors. 3.2. Incorrect parameters for T1, T2 measurements and T1, T2 calculations. 3.3 Coupled nuclear relaxation. 3.4. Chemical exchanges. 3.5. Bibliography to Chapter 3. 4. NMR Relaxation by Dipole--Dipole and Quadrupole Interactions. 4.1. The intramolecular dipole--dipole relaxation: homo-- and hetero--nuclear dipolar coupling and the spectral density function. 4.2. Haw to reveal the presence of the dipolar mechanisms. 4.2.1. NOE as a test for dipole--dipole nuclear relaxation. 4.2.2. Evaluations of the dipolar contributions from selective and non--selective T1 times. 4.3. Intermolecular dipole--dipole interactions. 4.4. Electric field gradients at quadrupolar nuclei. 4.5. Nuclear quadrupole coupling constant as a measure of the electric field gradient. 4.6. Quadrupole relaxation. 4.7. Bibliography to Chapter 4. 5. Relaxation by Chemical Shift Anisotropy, Spin--Rotation Relaxation, Scalar Relaxation of the Second Kind and Cross--Mechanisms. 5.1. Relaxation by chemical shift anisotropy. 5.2. Spin--rotation relaxation. 5.3. Interference mechanisms of nuclear relaxation. 5.4. The scalar relaxation of the second kind. 5.5 Bibliography to Chapter 5. 6. Nuclear Relaxation in Molecular Systems with Anisotropic Motions. 6.1. Spin--lattice nuclear relaxation in ellipsoid molecules: Temperature dependences of T1times. 6.2. How to reveal anisotropic molecular motions in solutions. 6.3. Nuclear relaxation in the presence of correlation time distributions. 6.4. Bibliography to Chapter 6. 7. 1H T1 Relaxation Diagnostics in Solutions. 7.1. Revealing weak intermolecular interactions by T1 time measurements in solutions. 7.2. T1 studies of exchanges in simple molecular systems. 7.3. Structural 1H T1 criterion. 7.4. Partially--relaxed NMR spectra. 7.5. Bibliography to Chapter 7. 8. Internuclear Distances from the 1H T1 Relaxation Measurements in Solutions. 8.1. X...H distances: metal -- hydride bond lengths. 8.1.1. How to determine metal--hydride bond lengths by standard 1H T1 measurements. 8.1.2. Metal--hydride bond lengths by 1H T1sel and 1H T1min times measurements. 8.2. Proton--proton distances by standard T1 measurements. 8.3. H--H distances from T1sel / T1bis measurements. 8.4. H--H distances in intermediates. 8.5. Analyzing the errors in 1H T1 determinations of internuclear distances. 8.6. Bibliography to Chapter 8. 9. Deuterium Quadrupole Coupling Constants from 2H T1 Relaxation Measurements in Solutions. 9.1. How to determine DQCC values. 9.2. DQCC values from the 2H T1 times measurements in solutions (fast motional regime). 9.3. DQCC values via 2H T1min measurements in solutions. 9.4. Errors in DQCC determinations. 9. 5. Bibliography to Chapter 9. 10. Spin--Lattice 1H and 2H Relaxation in Mobile Groups. 10.1. 1H T1 times and H--H distances in the presence of fast vibrations and librations. 10.2. 1H T1 times and H--H distances in the presence of fast rotational diffusion. 10.3. The spectral density function for high--amplitude librations. 10.4. 900--jumps in four--fold potential. 10. 5. Deuterium spin--lattice NMR relaxation in mobile molecular fragments. 10.6. Bibliography to Chapter 10. 11. Relaxation of Nuclei Other Than 1H and 2H) and Specific Relaxation Experiments. 11.1. Chemical shift anisotropies and nuclear quadrupole coupling constants from T1 times of heavy nuclei in solutions. 11.2. Multinuclear relaxation approaches to complexation, association and H--bonding. 11.3. Na relaxation in solutions of complex molecular systems. 11. 4. Character of molecular motions from 17O and 2H T1 relaxation in solutions. 11.5. 2D T1 and T1( NMR experiments. 11.6. Chemical exchanges in complex molecular systems from 15N nuclear relaxation in solutions. 11.7. R1/R2 method. 11.8. Cross--correlation relaxation rates and structure of complex molecular systems in solutions. 11.9. Variable -- field relaxation experiments. 11.10. Bibliography to Chapter 11. 12. Paramagnetic NMR Relaxation. 12.1. Theoretical basics of the paramagnetic relaxation enhancement. 12.2. Paramagnetic relaxation rate enhancements in the presence of chemical exchanges. 12.3. Structural applications of paramagnetic relaxation rate enhancements. 12.4. Kinetics of ligand exchanges via paramagnetic relaxation rate enhancements. 12.5. Longitudinal electron relaxation time in paramagnetic centers from variable--high field NMR experiments. Bibliography. Concluding Remarks. Index.


Photograph of the front and south side of a modified L-plan house located at 715 S. Magnolia in Palestine, Texas. It is painted off-white with green accents and has a distinctive hipped roof and gabled extensions. The house has some Queen Anne-style embellishments including the use of shingles in the gable ends and a dormer window and also has some Classical Revival-style features including small Doric-like columns and simple balustrade on the wrap-around front porch.


Herein we present a comparative study on highly transparent, conductive aluminium-doped ZnO (AZO) thin films deposited by pneumatic spray pyrolysis (PSP) of a zinc acetate based solution and a zinc acetylacetonate based solution on soda lime glass. The structural, optical and electrical properties of the films were studied depending on aluminium content in the precursor solution and substrate temperature during deposition (Ts). The solution used to prepare AZO thin films contained 0.2 M zinc acetate or 0.2 M zinc acetylacetonate and aluminium acetylacetonate between 0–15 at.% [Al]/[Zn]. Substrate temperature was varied from 275 to 450 °C. Transmittance and reflectance spectra were recorded by UV-VIS-NIR spectroscopy. Resistivity, mobility and charge carrier density were determined by four point probe measurements in ambient conditions. According to X-ray diffraction analysis, AZO films are highly c-axis oriented until 2–3 at.% [Al]/[Zn] in the spray solution, depending on zinc precursor. Crystallite size is 25–30 nm for AZO films deposited at Ts 400 °C. All AZO films exhibited high average optical transmittance of 76–94% in the visible spectrum 400–800 nm wavelength range. Eg values ranged from 3.32 in undoped ZnO to 3.58 eV in in highly doped AZO films deposited from zinc acetylacetonate due to the formation of secondary AlOx phases. The lowest resistivities were obtained at Ts 400 °C for films deposited from zinc acetate, 3–7.5 at.% [Al]/[Zn] in solution (0.40 Ωcm) and at Ts 400 °C, 3–7.5 at.% [Al]/[Zn] in solution for films deposited from zinc acetylacetonate (0.47 Ωcm).


In this paper the results of a reservoir evaluation study of the Bahar Field, one of the most important oil and gas fields in the Azerbaijanian sector of the Caspian Sea are presented. The study has concentrated on the most important reservoir sections, Balakhany X and Pereriv Suite, encompassing (i) sedimentological and stratigraphic interpretation, (ii) petrophysical analysis, (iii) structural interpretation, (iv) assessment of hydrocarbon distribution, (v) geochemical characterization of the hydrocarbons, (vi) assessment of reservoir compartmentalization, (vii) establishment of static and dynamic reservoir models in digital format, as a basis for calculating in-place resources and assessing the potential for improved oil recovery. The study has provided new and detailed insight into the reservoir architecture and properties of the Bahar Field. In a broader context this detailed information and data analysis is believed to provide an improved basis for evaluating other tested and untested structures in this prolific hydrocarbon province.


The purpose of this project was to perform on-site and laboratory testing of a modified Iowa Department of Transportation (DOT) M-quality management concrete (QMC) mix placed on five slip-form concrete pavements in West Des Moines, Iowa. The aim of the project was twofold: (1) Assess whether a modified mixture would be more likely to resist premature joint deterioration than conventional mixtures; and (2) Assess the practicality of some innovative test methods being proposed for inclusion in future specifications and quality control plans. The modification of the mixture was based on findings of a multi-year, multi-university research plan seeking to better understand and prevent premature joint deterioration being experienced in Midwest locations. Because concrete placement was scheduled to occur late in the season, additional recommendations were made to reduce the risk of early age random cracking. Several new test methods are being investigated as part of a Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) effort to develop more effective specifications based on measuring and accepting mixtures based on critical properties. These tests were conducted at the construction sites in order to evaluate the practicality of the proposed test methods in field conditions and assess if the acceptable results can be obtained in the field using mixtures such as the one specified. Test data collected thus far indicate that the M-QMC mixture is performing as intended, including improved resistance to deicing salts. The test methods under development appear to be contributing useful information, although not all of the methods are ideal for field applications.


As our closest celestial neighbor, the Moon is a familiar and inspiring object to investigate using a small telescope, binoculars, or A even photographs or one of the many high-quality maps available online (see "On the web"). The wondrously varied surface of the Moon--filled with craters, mountains, volcanic flows, scarps, and rilles--makes the Moon an excellent context for students to explore the methods scientists use to date geologic features, while learning about scientific observation and inference. This activity includes a unique application of the law of super-position that allows students to explore the relative ages of key lunar features and their origins. Even with an unaided eye, two types of terrain seem to dominate the Moon's surface: the relatively light, very heavily cratered highlands and the dark, nearly smooth maria (Figure 1, page 36). The maria are extensive basaltic lava flows that cover about 16% of the lunar surface. As on Earth, the different types of terrain on the Moon have different ages. The relative ages of the Moon's highlands and maria can be determined by counting the number of craters per unit area superimposed on them (see sidebar at right). The older highlands have built up a larger number of impact craters than the smooth maria, which have not been exposed as long to bombarding meteoroids, asteroids, and comets (Wilhelms 1987). Craters Most craters on the Moon were caused by objects impacting the surface and explosively releasing their kinetic energy. In a typical collision, the impacting body burrows into the surface and is nearly instantly vaporized. The kinetic energy of the impactor is converted into shock waves that pulverize and launch the target material outward from the impact point, creating the crater (Shoemaker 1963). On the Moon, a typical impact crater is about 10 times the diameter of the impactor. The material launched from the crater comes crashing down on the surrounding surface, creating a halo of debris called the ejecta blanket. Material launched higher on ballistic trajectories impacts the surface farther from the crater, creating secondary craters. In many cases, these secondaries cluster together, and the cluster may be oriented to point back to the primary crater. Superposition/stratigraphy An important tool of the geologist is the law of superposition: In general, younger formations are found atop older formations (see sidebar, page 37). While originally formulated for stratigraphy on Earth, the law of superposition can also help us understand the geologic history of many of the planets and moons in our solar system. Just as the history of the Earth has been divided into geological eons, eras, periods, and so on by studying the layers of rocks found on Earth, geologic periods of the surface of the Moon can be discerned by studying the layers evident in photographs of the lunar surface (Shoemaker and Hackman 1962). Until the mid-20th century, the history of the surface of the Moon was widely argued. Some believed the craters had a volcanic origin. Others said they were impact craters. Such debates are common in science when data are inconclusive, especially in the early stages of a research program. Eugene Shoemaker largely settled the debate in 1959 (Wilhelms 1993). Shoemaker had studied the geology of the Great Meteor Crater in Arizona and a number of large craters in Nevada carved by nuclear weapons. He realized that the similarity of the craters to those on the Moon demonstrated that most lunar craters resulted from impacts. Thus, observations about craters on Earth led to inferences about the origin of craters on the Moon. In 1962, Shoemaker and Hackman were the first to define the five geologic periods of the surface of the Moon by studying its northwest quadrant (Figure 2, page 38). This activity allows your students to follow in Shoemaker's and Hackman's footsteps by using the law of superposition to determine the relative ages of some of the Moon's key features. …


US legislators have recently proposed output-based emissions intensity metrics as an approach to credit greenhouse gas (GHG) offsets from agriculture and other uncapped sectors. This article explains the features and rationale of the output-based offset (OBO) approach, outlines a candidate accounting methodology, discusses the potential advantages and limitations of such an approach relative to the area-based offset (ABO) approach that is standard practice in some settings, and introduces possible policy implications. By incentivizing improvements in agricultural efficiency, the OBO approach strives to achieve the dual goals of food security and climate change mitigation. It expands the toolkit for achieving reductions in agricultural emissions, rewards technological advancement in both emission reductions and yields, and offers promise for addressing the problem of accounting for leakage. But because it is based on improvements in GHG efficiency in agriculture rather than on absolute reductions, emissions and climate risks could continue to rise while credits are being issued. An OBO approach might work best as a transitional strategy to address emissions from sectors or countries likely to remain outside a strict regulatory cap. Because it is the total atmospheric concentration of GHGs that creates the environmental threat of climate change, policies should ultimately focus not on the intensity of emissions but rather on their absolute levels.


Most antitrust scholars agree that vertical and horizontal intrabrand restraints such as minimum resale price maintenance and ancillary exclusive territories usually enhance welfare. Nonetheless, there is not universal agreement regarding how, exactly, such restraints have this impact. Following the lead of Lester Telser and Robert Bork, many scholars argue that, without more, such restraints can overcome a failure in the market for promotional services. Others, however, argue that such restraints cannot themselves induce dealers to engage in promotional activity. Under this view, intrabrand restraints are said to confer upon dealers economic rents that such dealers forfeit if terminated. The threat of such termination, it is said, serves as a performance bond for a set of promotional obligations that manufacturers and dealers negotiate separate and apart from the intrabrand restraint. Under this view, manufacturers basically plan the promotional activities of dealers and employ intrabrand restraints to encourage dealers to execute such plans. Finally, a few holdouts continue to argue that intrabrand restraints are anticompetitive and that firms can achieve the same benefits as such restraints by means of the less restrictive alternative of contracting directly with dealers for promotional services or integrating forward to take on the distribution function themselves. This article examines and articulates an account of intrabrand restraints that helps evaluate the competing explanations of such agreements. In particular, the article argues that - as some have adumbrated or proposed - intrabrand restraints function as contractual property rights. By insulating firms from certain forms of rivalry, such contracts can function as property rights that ensure that dealers internalize the benefits of promotional expenditures. In this way, such restraints can play an important role in a system of distribution that delegates economic decision making to dealers with localized knowledge about the characteristics of actual and potential consumers. Far from facilitating a manufacturer's efforts to plan and direct a dealer's promotional strategy, such restraints help empower dealers, who compete with dealers distributing other products, to choose their own promotional strategies, thereby furthering a manufacturer's policy of relying upon the market to distribute its products in the first place. Thus, the property rights explanation fortifies the original Telser and Bork account of such restraints. The property rights account of intrabrand restraints also lays the foundation for a rebuttal of arguments for banning such restraints. For instance, those who claim that manufacturers can achieve the same benefits via the less restrictive alternative of specifying promotional obligations fail to recognize the manufacturer's interest in delegating authority over promotional decision making to individual dealers who are in a better position to discern and implement promotional strategies that achieve the manufacturer's objectives. In addition, those who invoke complete vertical integration as a less restrictive alternative ignore the beneficial consequences of relying upon numerous individual firms, each with an incentive to maximize its own profits, to distribute a manufacturer's products. When coupled with intrabrand restraints, such a strategy can achieve the best of both worlds: decentralized decision making by firms that fully internalize the costs and benefits of their actions. None of this is to say that the "property rights" account explains each and every intrabrand restraint. Some such restraints may, in fact, function as performance bonds. Others may be anticompetitive. Still, the property rights account tends to undermine any claim that such restraints are usually performance bonds or "always or almost always" anticompetitive.


In order to choose the best period of acoustic sampling and fishing on diel in the Lahme Reservoir (North Tunisia), acoustic surveys day and night were carried using a Simrad EK60 echosounder. The surface layer from0 to 3m depth was sampled with a horizontal transducer tilted 2 degrees down to the surface, while the layer more than 3m depth was sampled with a vertical transducer located at 50cmbelowthe surface of thewater.Acoustic sizes of the fish were higher in daytime than during the night while the biomass of fish was significatively higher during daytime. We concluded that at Lahme Reservoir the accesibility to the biggest fish were largest during daytime and consequently this period is the most conducive for acoustic sampling and for fishing.


The design of a simple cost-effective planar semiconductor microwave diode is proposed. The operation is based on hot carrier phenomena and rectification of microwave currents flowing through the structure composed of two diodes connected in series and having different active region areas. A simplified technological process and the use of simplex semiconductor material result in the reduction of both the time and the cost of fabrication of a dual microwave diode. By choosing an appropriate GaAs substrate, two types of microwave diodes were produced simultaneously: one almost demonstrating the ohmic behaviour and the other two having the asymmetrical Schottky-like I–V characteristic. The Schottky-like planar diodes exhibited a higher responsivity to millimetre range microwave radiation and a faster response to pulsed (down to a nanosecond scale) excitation, but the ohmic ones demonstrated better noise properties.


An n-SOI microdosimeter which has been proposed as a device for predicting the occurrence of single event effects in semiconductor electronics in the high-energy, mixed heavy ion space radiation environment has been investigated to better understand the charge collection geometry and charge collection mechanisms. Ion beam induced charge collection studies using 20 MeV 12C ions, 5.5 MeV 4He ions, and 2 MeV H ions were carried out, and the effects of different bias conditions, angles of ion incidence, and coincidence analysis were observed to understand the sensitive volume geometry. The energy response of the n-SOI microdosimeter has been observed to exhibit an over-response of 56%, 113%, and 23% for the above ions compared to expected energy depositions calculated using SRIM 2008. No relationship between particle LET AU: Please provide spelling for "LET" and the enhance energy response was apparent. A comparison of experimentally measured and simulated spectra suggest a cylindrical charge collection geometry despite the physical rectangular parallelepiped geometry of the p-i-n diode. This was supported by observing the response of the microdosimeter to ions at oblique ion incidence. A simplified model of diffusion charge collection found that diffusion charge collection contributes to the low-energy tail observed in experimental spectra, but does not account for the observed enhanced energy response. This supports the current theory that the enhanced energy response is a result of a displacement current produced when charge carriers in the substrate induce charge in the SOI layer due to the parasitic capacitance of the buried SiO2 insulating layer.


Zinc is an essential metal and is required for a plethora of cellular and physiological processes. Highlighting its essential role in biology are predictions that up to 10% of the human genome encodes proteins with zinc binding domains. The maintenance of zinc homeostasis at a cellular level is largely controlled by two interacting protein families, the ZIP (SCL39) family responsible for zinc uptake into the cytosol and the ZnT (SCL30) family responsible for zinc efflux out of the cytosol. The large number of transporters in Drosophila (17) and mammalian (24) transporters leads to difficulties determining the function of single genes, therefore the basic functional role of many of these transporters remains largely unknown. Utilising the powerful genetic tools available in Drosophila melanogaster this study aimed to build upon previous work conducted in the Burke laboratory and perform a detailed functional analysis of two highly conserved Drosophila dZIP genes, dZIP89B and dZIP88E. These transporters share high amino acid conservation with dZIP42C.1 and dZIP42C.2 which have roles in dietary zinc uptake, and provide an excellent system in which to explore the potential for functional redundancy and specificity within the Drosophila zinc transport system. Here, I provide detailed analysis of genetic interactions, mRNA and protein expression patterns, systemic/localised zinc status and a detailed characterisation of null mutants in these genes that suggests functionally specific roles for dZIP89B and dZIP88E. My results suggest that dIZP89B may be a low affinity, constitutively active transporter involved in dietary zinc uptake, indicating this process may be more sophisticated than previously suggested. I also provide evidence for the novel role of dZIP88E in the regulation of systemic zinc status, a mechanism that has not yet been described in mammalian or insect systems. Furthermore, two genetic modifier screens utilising chromosomal deficiency lines and targeted RNAi suppression in combination with a sensitised zinc toxicity background were carried out to identify novel regulators of zinc homeostasis. The results of these screens not only provide an excellent platform for further research novel genes that interact with the zinc homeostasis machinery, but validate the use of Drosophila for screens of this nature.


Background: Pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) to reduce the risk of HIV was approved in 2012 and post-exposure prophylaxis (PEP) in 2005. We report the differences in awareness of PrEP/PEP and factors associated with awareness by examining 3 risk groups (men who have sex with men (MSM), people who inject drugs, and high-risk heterosexuals). Methods: National HIV Behavioral Surveillance system data collected in New York City (NYC) and Long Island, NY in 2011–2013 were used. Logistic regressions by region were developed to estimate adjusted associations [Adjusted Odds Ratios (AOR)] and determine differences in awareness of PrEP/PEP. Results: Awareness of PrEP/PEP was low for all groups. In multivariate analysis controlling for sociodemographic factors, noninjection drug use, HIV status, and exposure to HIV prevention, males who inject drugs in NYC had significantly decreased odds of PrEP/PEP awareness [AOR: 0.45; confidence interval (CI): 0.25 to 0.81] compared with MSM. MSM aged 18–29 years had increased awareness of PrEP (AOR: 2.94; 95% CI 1.11 to 7.80). On Long Island, females who inject drugs (AOR: 0.18; 95% CI: 0.05 to 0.62), males who inject drugs (AOR: 0.14; 95% CI: 0.05 to 0.39), female heterosexuals (AOR: 0.25; 95% CI: 0.11 to 0.59), and male heterosexuals (AOR: 0.32; 95% CI: 0.14 to 0.73) had significantly decreased odds of PrEP/PEP awareness. Black MSM had increased awareness of PrEP (AOR: 4.08 CI:1.21 to 13.73). Conclusions: Large proportions of groups at-risk for HIV were unaware of PrEP/PEP. When comparing risk groups to MSM, we found MSM to have greater awareness in both regions. On Long Island, people who inject drugs and heterosexuals were far less likely to have PrEP/PEP awareness than in NYC. On Long Island, Black MSM had increased PrEP awareness and in NYC MSM aged 18-29 had increased PrEP awareness. These findings suggest that awareness may be spreading through networks and highlight the importance of targeted educational and prevention efforts by group and region.


Barley (Hordeum vulgare ssp. vulgare) was first cultivated 10,500 years ago in the Fertile Crescent and is one of the founder crops of Eurasian agriculture. Phylogeographic analysis of five nuclear loci and morphological assessment of two traits in >250 domesticated barley accessions reveal that landraces found in South and East Asia are genetically distinct from those in Europe and North Africa. A Bayesian population structure assessment method indicates that barley accessions are subdivided into six clusters and that barley landraces from 10 different geographical regions of Eurasia and North Africa show distinct patterns of distribution across these clusters. Using haplotype frequency data, it appears that the Europe/North Africa landraces are most similar to the Near East population (FST = 0.15) as well as to wild barley (FST = 0.11) and are strongly differentiated from all other Asian populations (FST = 0.34–0.74). A neighbor-joining analysis using these FST estimates also supports a division between European, North African, and Near East barley types from more easterly Asian accessions. There is also differentiation in the presence of a naked caryopsis and spikelet row number between eastern and western barley accessions. The data support the differential migration of barley from two domestication events that led to the origin of barley—one in the Fertile Crescent and another farther east, possibly at the eastern edge of the Iranian Plateau—with European and North African barley largely originating from the former and much of Asian barley arising from the latter. This suggests that cultural diffusion or independent innovation is responsible for the expansion of agriculture to areas of South and East Asia during the Neolithic revolution.


The Rochechourt impact structure in south‐central France, with maximum diameter of 40–50 km, has previously been dated to within 1% uncertainty of the Triassic–Jurassic boundary, at which time ~30% of global genera became extinct. To evaluate the temporal relationship between the impact and the Triassic–Jurassic boundary at high precision, we have re‐examined the structure's age using multicollector ARGUS‐V 40Ar/39Ar mass spectrometry. Results from four aliquots of impact melt are highly reproducible, and yield an age of 206.92 ± 0.20/0.32 Ma (2σ, full analytical/external uncertainties). Thus, the Rochechouart impact structure predates the Triassic–Jurassic boundary by 5.6 ± 0.4 Ma and so is not temporally linked to the mass extinction. Rochechouart has formerly been proposed to be part of a multiple impact event, but when compared with new ages from the other purported "paired" structures, the results provide no evidence for synchronous impacts in the Late Triassic. The widespread Central Atlantic Magmatic Province flood basalts remain the most likely cause of the Triassic–Jurassic mass extinction.


The deposition of pyrolytic carbon from methane has been used to investigate the influence of the ratio of substrate surface area to reactor volume, A S /V R , on deposition chemistry and kinetics. Deposition studies were performed at a pressure of about 100 kPa (ambient pressure), a methane partial pressure of 10 kPa, and a temperature of 1100 °C. The A S /V R ratio was varied from 0.18 to 8.2 mm -1 . Carbon deposition rates and corresponding compositions of the gas phase were determined as a function of residence time. The experimental results show volume-related carbon formation rates increasing with increasing surface area or increasing A S /V R ratio, but surface-related carbon deposition rates decreasing with increasing surface area or increasing ratio. The latter result implies that any kinetics of chemical vapour deposition determined in the past are only valid for the reaction system used.


This lavishly illustrated book provides a hands-on, step-by-step introduction to the intriguing mathematics of symmetry. Instead of breaking up patterns into blocks--a sort of potato-stamp method--Frank Farris offers a completely new waveform approach that enables you to create an endless variety of rosettes, friezes, and wallpaper patterns: dazzling art images where the beauty of nature meets the precision of mathematics. Featuring more than 100 stunning color illustrations and requiring only a modest background in math, Creating Symmetry begins by addressing the enigma of a simple curve, whose curious symmetry seems unexplained by its formula. Farris describes how complex numbers unlock the mystery, and how they lead to the next steps on an engaging path to constructing waveforms. He explains how to devise waveforms for each of the 17 possible wallpaper types, and then guides you through a host of other fascinating topics in symmetry, such as color-reversing patterns, three-color patterns, polyhedral symmetry, and hyperbolic symmetry. Along the way, Farris demonstrates how to marry waveforms with photographic images to construct beautiful symmetry patterns as he gradually familiarizes you with more advanced mathematics, including group theory, functional analysis, and partial differential equations. As you progress through the book, you'll learn how to create breathtaking art images of your own. Fun, accessible, and challenging, Creating Symmetry features numerous examples and exercises throughout, as well as engaging discussions of the history behind the mathematics presented in the book.


Abstract Water transport in wood is vital for the survival of trees. With synchrotron radiation X-ray tomographic microscopy (SRXTM), it has become possible to characterize and quantify the three-dimensional (3D) network formed by vessels that are responsible for longitudinal transport. In the present study, the spatial size dependence of vessels and the organization inside single growth rings in terms of vessel-induced porosity was studied by SRXTM. Network characteristics, such as connectivity, were deduced by digital image analysis from the processed tomographic data and related to known complex network topologies.


In this book, Maria Pretzler combines a thorough introduction to Pausanias with exciting new perspectives. She considers the process and influences that shaped the "Periegesis", and maps out its literary and cultural context. Pausanias' text records contemporary interpretations of monuments and traditions, and is concerned with the identity and history of Greece, issues that were crucial concerns for Greeks under Roman rule. Parallels with various texts of the period offer insights into Pausanias' attitudes as well as illustrating important aspects of Second Sophistic culture. A discussion of Greek texts that deal with fictional or actual travel experiences provides a background for a detailed study of the Periegesis as travel literature. Pausanias' treatment of geography and his descriptions of landscapes, cities and artworks are considered in detail, and there is also a study of his methods as a historian. The final chapters deal with Pausanias' impact on modern approaches to Greece and ancient Greek culture.


Efficient inter-thread value communication is essential for improving performance in thread-level speculation (TLS). Although several mechanisms for improving value communication using hardware support have been proposed, there is relatively little work on exploiting the potential of compiler optimization. Building on recent research on compiler optimization of scalar value communication between speculative threads, we propose compiler techniques for the optimization of memory-resident values. In TLS, data dependences through memory-resident values are tracked by the underlying hardware and preserved by re-executing any speculative thread that violates a dependence; however, re-execution incurs a large performance penalty and should be used only to resolve data dependences that are infrequent. In contrast, value communication for frequently-occurring data dependences must be very efficient. We propose using the compiler to first identify frequently-occurring memory-resident data dependences, then insert synchronization for communicating values to preserve these dependences. We find that by synchronizing frequently-occurring data dependences we can significantly improve the efficiency of parallel execution. A comparison between compiler-inserted and hardware-inserted memory synchronization reveals that the two techniques are complementary, with each technique benefitting different benchmarks.


Objective: To assess current attitudes of hospital based paediatricians to off label prescribing, and the performance of clinical trials in children. Design: A prospective, questionnaire based study. Setting: 257 hospital based consultants and specialist registrars in paediatric practice in Scotland during 2003–2004. Results: A 25 item questionnaire was sent to 257 hospital based paediatricians and 151 (59%) were returned completed. Over 90% of responders were familiar with the concept of, and knowingly prescribed, off label drugs; 55% of responders stated that such prescribing disadvantaged children, and 47% expressed concerns about the efficacy of off label medicines. Although 70% of responders expressed concerns about safety, only 17% had observed an adverse event, and 47% a treatment failure, while 69% did not obtain informed consent or tell parents they were prescribing off label, and 67% did not inform the family's general practitioner. Many respondents did not believe it was necessary to carry out clinical trials in children for new (46%) or generic (64%) medicines. However, 52% of respondents stated that they would be willing to undertake clinical studies and recruit their own patients (61%) or children (73%) to take part in such studies. Conclusions: Among Scottish paediatricians there is concern about off label prescribing, although the majority do not consider it necessary to inform parents or GP colleagues. The need for clinical trials in children was recognised but there was a less than wholehearted acceptance of the need for such studies, at variance with the current drive to promote clinical trials in this age group.


This thesis considers the evolution and the consequences of mate choice across a variety of taxa, using game
theoretic, population genetic, and quantitative genetic modelling techniques.
Part I is about the evolution of mate choice. In chapter 2, a population genetic model shows that mate
choice is even beneficial in self-fertilising species such as Saccharomyces yeast. In chapter 3, a game
theoretic model shows that female choice will be strongly dependent upon whether the benefits are fixed, so
that females receive the same fitness boost from a mating with a given male regardless of how many matings
that male has, or dilutable, where the more females a male mates with, the lower the expected benefit to
each. This leads to the prediction that mating skew should be higher in species in which the benefits of mate
choice are hypothesised to be due to good genes.
Part II is about the consequences of mate choice. The theoretical prediction from chapter 3 is borne out
by a literature review of studies of wild populations of birds in chapter 4. In chapter 5, a quantitative genetic
model about poison-dart frogs suggests that sexual selection can speed up the e�ffect of random genetic drift.
This may be of more general importance, further widening the evolutionary impact of sexual selection. Finally,
in chapter 6, a game theoretic model of sperm competition shows that pre-copulatory mate choice can
also have evolutionary eff�ects upon post-copulatory behaviour, aff�ecting the optimal ejaculate expenditure
of males.
Overall, mate choice is shown to be an important evolutionary force, with wide-ranging ramifications
across diverse taxa, and e�ects so varied as to include the evolution of sex, the genetic variation in species,
speciation, and post-copulatory behaviour, amongst others. These e�ffects can be e�ffectively explored using
mathematical modelling.


Direct experimental evaluation of the anisotropic yield locus (YL) of a given material, representing the zeros of the material's yield function in the stress space, is arduous. It is much more practical to determine the YL by combining limited measurements of yield strengths with predictions from numerical models based on microstructural features such as the orientation distribution function (ODF; also referred to as the crystallographic texture). For the latter, several different strategies exist in the current literature. In this work, we develop and present a new hybrid method that combines the numerical efficiency and simplicity of the classical crystallographic yield locus (CYL) method with the accuracy of the computationally expensive crystal plasticity finite element method (CPFEM). The development of our hybrid approach is presented in two steps. In the first step, we demonstrate for diverse crystallographic textures that the proposed hybrid method is in good agreement with the shape of the predicted YL estimated by either CPFEM or experiments, even for pronounced plastic anisotropy. It is shown that the calibration of only two parameters of the CYL method with only two yield stresses for different load cases obtained from either CPFEM simulations or experiments produces a reliable computation of the polycrystal YL for diverse crystallographic textures. The accuracy of the hybrid approach is evaluated using the results from the previously established CPFEM method for the computation of the entire YL and also experiments. In the second step, the point cloud data of stress tensors on the YL predicted by the calibrated CYL method are interpolated within the deviatoric stress space by cubic splines such that a smooth yield function can be constructed. Since the produced YL from the hybrid approach is presented as a smooth function, this formulation can potentially be used as an anisotropic yield function for the standard continuum plasticity methods commonly used in finite element analysis.


Thermal protection systems (TPS) are of extreme importance for the survival of space vehicles especially during superorbital re-entry to Earth. The design of thermal protection systems requires in-depth knowledge of the thermal loading experienced during a re-entry. The thermal loading data is mostly determined using ground testing and can be backed up by modelling activities including computational fluid dynamics (CFD). The verification of this data with flight data is invaluable and a recent, rare example of an opportunity for comparison was the Hayabusa asteroid sample return mission, which landed in Australia in 2010. During this re-entry a team of international scientists collected spectral data which can now be used for comparison and verification of ground test and modelling/CFD data. Ground testing of subscale models at flight equivalent hypervelocity flow conditions (8 − 12 km/s) can be performed in hypersonic impulse facilities such as the X2 expansion tunnel at The University of Queensland. A recently developed method at The University of Queensland enables heated reinforced carbon-carbon (RCC) models to be tested at temperatures repre- sentative of those experienced in flight ( 2000 − 3000 K), in addition to testing with cold-wall metallic models. Hot wall testing allows more realistic simulation of re-entry flow characteristics including important thermal surface effects (surface chemistry, catalycity) which has previously not been possible. The eilmer3 compressible flow CFD code is used extensively for simulating atmospheric re-entry vehicles at flight and laboratory conditions. Simulations of the Hayabusa aeroshell incorporate heated walls, as well as surface catalycity, to accurately model the conditions experienced by the TPS. These simulations can be coupled with SACRAM, a 1D ablation modelling code, to include the effects of ablation and recession at critical points on the model surface. Current work is investigating the effects and validity of heat flux scaling correlations applied to a range of scaled models with the Hayabusa geometry and flight equivalent flow conditions. This will be achieved through results of CFD simulations, incorporating radiation and ablation modelling, and expansion tunnel testing with hot and cold wall models. Increased understand- ing of scaling methods will allow higher fidelity heat loading data to be acquired allowing more efficient and effective design of TPS. This paper will discuss results from CFD simulations coupled with ablation modelling and modelled surface chemistry. An outline of planned experiments in the X2 expansion tunnel, including background on the RCC heating method and condition development, will also be presented.


Advances in the sophistication and affordability of rapid manufacture technology has started to pave
the way for home use (Malone and Lipson, 2007a; Burns and Howison, 2001). This paper explores
scenarios linking the potential of such technologies to craft and DIY use. While certain forms of
automation and semi-industrial processes are already familiar in this area (knitting and embroidery
machines, laser cutting), it is suggested that the next stage of development will involve more
complex processes, currently more closely linked to applications of rapid prototyping. The
improvement in entry-level CAD software (both 2D and 3D) has brought an increasing number of
unlikely end-users into closer contact with the kind of processes normally associated with massmanufacture
or the professional practice of industrial design (Gershenfeld, 2005). Such users are not
merely replicating industrial processes however, but are modifying and experimenting with both the
machines and materials available to them. Future processes might be accessed remotely, some of
them through browser interfaces, or eventually housed at home as is the case with home knitting or
printing solutions. The paper presents examples from a project undertaken by postgraduate industrial
design students investigating the possibilities of future manufacturing scenarios. It also demonstrates
the broader potential of exploring this issue in the area of design education. Illustrative examples are
taken from a project undertaken by postgraduate industrial design students and also demonstrates the
potential of exploring this issue in the area of design education.


: Invasive species are affecting coastal ecosystems worldwide and there are many potential mechanisms that allow their spread into native communities. To investigate this phenomenon, we used an experiment in which the canopy of the southern bull kelp Durvillaea ant arctica was removed in 2 seasons and community development was followed over 3 yr. The invasive kelp Undaria pinnatifida recruited almost exclusively into plots from which the natural canopy had been removed. We examined, through a series of regression tree models and change point analyses, the gradients of community responses that allowed the successful recruitment of this invasive species. Analyses revealed a range of coinciding conditions, especially a decline in fucoid cover below 20% and an increase in turf cover above 80%, that facilitated Undaria recruitment. The abundance of molluscan grazers and cover of subcanopy algae had lesser effects on Undaria recruitment. In an ecological sense, there was a clear tipping point in the interaction between canopy loss and the subsequent expansion of coralline turf that allowed communities to switch from dominance by native species to seasonal dominance of Undaria . This study illustrates the complex nature of disturbance thresholds and inter actions within the native communities that can facilitate the spread and recruitment success of Undaria .


One of the features of current society is that of protest against environmental issues and this paper considers protest against road building and the ecoprotest movement. In doing so it considers both the local inhabitants and new age travellers who are involved in such protest to show that not only does ecoprotest, as a form of protest, raise the profile of environmental issues within public discourse but also opens up space for such discourse. Of greater significance is the effect which the ecoprotest, movement has upon a local sense of identity and community. Indeed the travellers themselves, through their action and engagement, demonstrate that the key determinant of community identity is grounded in self-belief and shared aspirations rather than in an externally imposed definition or in any economic imperatives. This paper shows that the migration of this sense of self-belief into mainstream society serves to demonstrate that community spirit and identity are extant in modern society but need a catalyst for their re-emergence. In doing so the role of ecoprotest points towards a possible mechanism for the re-emergence of an active and participatory sense of community identity within society as a whole.


Using an event study, we examine the impact of recalls for E. Coli O157:H7 on wholesale and farm-level beef prices. Prices for boneless beef, a high-volume product primarily used for processing into ground beef, react negatively to recalls, suggesting incentives exist for packing firms to adopt measures that reduce the risk of contamination. However, there is no reaction in live cattle prices and very little reaction in boxed beef prices to recall events. This suggests short-run price responses found at the wholesale level for boneless beef do not transmit back to the farm level.


We determine the amount of light absorbed and scattered by metallic spheres in the presence of a substrate. The analysis is restricted to the spheres whose radius is small compared to the wavelength of the light such that the substrate-particle interactions are adequately described by the electrostatics limit. Results are presented for the absorption and scattering coefficients for: (i) the case when the electric permittivity of the spheres is described by the Drude model and (ii) for specific metals (silver, gold, and copper) for which the data on electrical permittivity as a function of the wavelength are available in the literature. It is found that it is possible to significantly increase the photovoltaic energy collected by a silicon substrate by depositing silver nanospheres on its surface. Mechanisms responsible for this increase are explored in detail in the electrostatics limit. Numerical results for the scattering are also used to derive an approximate formula that can be used to estimate the fractional increase in the photovoltaic energy. The increase predicted by this formula is qualitatively consistent with the literature data on the measured increase in the photocurrent by deposited silver nanospheres.


Current applications of species distribution models (SDM) are typically static, in that they are based on correlations between where a species has been observed (ignoring the date of the observation) and environmental features, such as long-term climate means, that are assumed to be constant for each site. Because of this SDMs do not account for temporal variation in the distribution of suitable habitat across the range of a species. Here, we demonstrate the temporal variability in the potential geographic distributions of an endangered marsupial, the northern bettong Bettongia tropica as a case study. Models of the species distribution using temporally matched observations of the species with weather data (including extreme weather events) at the time of species observations, were better able to define habitat suitability, identify range edges and uncover competitive interactions than models based on static long-term climate means. Droughts and variable temperature are implicated in low densities and local extinctions of northern bettong populations close to range edges. Further, we show how variable weather can influence the results of competition with the common rufous bettong Aepyprymnus rufescens. Because traditional SDMs do not account for temporal variability of suitable habitat, static SDMs may underestimate the impacts of climate change particularly as the incidence of extreme weather events is likely to rise.


This study looks to obtain a better understanding of the issues surrounding the Black Deaf community by examining the cultural and sociolinguistic features that differentiate it from the larger Deaf community. In the present study, three deaf black participants were asked a series of questions about their experiences within the Black Deaf community as well as their observations concerning Black Deaf signing. It was hypothesized that black signers would utilize more traditional signs. On the contrary, results suggested that Black Deaf signing is becoming more similar to Black English. Culturally, participants identified a divide between the black and mainstream Deaf communities. While the prominence of signing styles characteristic of the segregated schools for the Deaf may be waning, the racial attitudes that prompted this divide seem to be ever-present. This paper complements previous work on Black signing because it reveals its evolution and broadening applicability, providing further support for the establishment and promotion of Black Deaf organizations


The aim of this paper is to show that the Tsallis-type (q-additive) entropic chain rule allows for a wider class of entropic functionals than previously thought. In particular, we point out that the ensuing entropy solutions (e.g., Tsallis entropy) can be determined uniquely only when one fixes the prescription for handling conditional entropies. By using the concept of Kolmogorov–Nagumo quasi-linear means, we prove this with the help of Darotzy's mapping theorem. Our point is further illustrated with a number of explicit examples. Other salient issues, such as connections of conditional entropies with the de Finetti–Kolmogorov theorem for escort distributions and with Landsberg's classification of non-extensive thermodynamic systems are also briefly discussed.


[Extract] Climatic excursions in the late Pleistocene dramatically reduced habitat available to organisms dependent on forested landscapes (Hopkins et al. 1993; Kershaw 1994; Kershaw et al. 2007; VanDerWal et al. 2009). Pollen analysis and bioclimatic modelling of rainforest in
northeastern Queensland indicate the region was subject to massive change during Quaternary glaciations. The consequences for rainforest-dependent species were severe, especially for organisms with limited mobility or adaptability (Schneider et al. 1998). We report here on
present-day regional-scale genetic structure in the spectacled flying fox (Pteropus conspicillatus), generally assumed to be a rainforest specialist, and on the insights modern-day processes may provide for understanding responses of an extremely mobile animal to Pleistocene habitat contraction and fragmentation.

All flying foxes are potentially extremely mobile and some species make seasonal migrations across hundreds of kilometres, following cycles of fruiting and flowering of favoured food trees (Eby 1991; Tidemann and Nelson 2004). Species such as the little red flying fox (Pteropus scapulatus) and grey-headed flying fox (P. poliocephalus) traverse many hundreds of kilometres in the course of a year and are apparently panmictic (Sinclair et al. 1996; Webb and Tidemann 1996: Luly et al. 2010). In contrast, the spectacled flying fox is considered to be closely associated with rainforest (Richards 1990a, b) and currently has a discontinuous distribution in northeastern Queensland, New Guinea and adjacent islands. By far the largest known populations are associated with coastal and upland rainforest in the Wet Tropics World Heritage Area (hereafter the Wet Tropics) between about Townsville and Cooktown in northeast Queensland (Westcott et al. 2001). A small colony – a few hundred strong at most (Fox 2006) – is found approximately 400 km north of the Wet Tropics in the Iron Range National Park on Cape York Peninsula, where isolated pockets of wet tropical rainforest provide habitat. The species occurs widely and patchily outside Australia (Figure 1), but little is known about population sizes. It is found in the Molucca Islands in Indonesia, in lowland New Guinea from approximately Agats in Irian Jaya, around the north coast to the Port Moresby district in
the east and offshore in the D'Entrecasteaux Islands and the Louisiade Archipelago. There is a break in the range on the drier southern coast of New Guinea closest to the tip of Cape York Peninsula (Bonaccorso 1998). The New Guinea distribution is, at its closest, approximately 600
km from the northernmost permanent Australian colony at Iron Range. Radio telemetry and satellite tracking have shown that individual spectacled flying foxes in the Wet Tropics region undertake regular movements between colonies (Shilton pers. comm.). It is not known whether any movement occurs between the Wet Tropics, Iron Range (IR) and Papua New Guinea (PNG), or what movements occur within New Guinea and Indonesia.

Given the assumed habitat specialisation of the spectacled flying fox, the species might be expected to exhibit stronger genetic differentiation across its disjunct range than apparently less specialised congeners. Examining the extent of differentiation, if any, in the modern range
of the spectacled flying fox may help inform thinking on the capacity of flying fox species to maintain genetic integrity in the even more severely fragmented habitats that prevailed during glacial episodes. To investigate this, we set out to determine the extent of gene flow between colonies in the Wet Tropics, and between the Wet Tropics as a whole and other regions (IR,PNG) where spectacled flying fox populations occur.


A lifelong feeding study with soybean from different production systems was carried out in the crustacean Daphnia magna (water flea), an acknowledged model organism for ecotoxicological studies. Experimental diets were prepared with soybean meal from different agriculture production systems: (i) genetically modified Roundup-Ready soy (Glyphosate-Tolerant), (ii) conventional soy and (iii) soy from organic agriculture (agriculture with neither synthetic pesticides nor synthetic fertilizers). Overall, feed produced from organic soybeans resulted in the highest fitness (higher survival, better growth and fecundity) in the model organism. Animals fed Roundup-Ready soybean consistently performed less well compared to animals fed either conventional or organic soybeans. We conclude that accumulation of herbicide residues in Roundup-Ready soy and related nutritional differences between the soy types may have caused the observed fitness differences. The results accentuate the need for further research clarifying qualitative aspects, including potential large-scale consequences for food and feed quality, of this dominant crop.


We test for differences across the two most recent NHANES survey periods (1988-1994 and 1999-2004) in self-perception of weight status. We find that the probability of self-classifying as overweight is significantly lower on average in the more recent survey, for both men and women, controlling for objective weight status and other factors. Among women, the decline in the tendency to self-classify as overweight is concentrated in the 17-35 age range, and, within this range, is more pronounced among women with normal BMI than among those with overweight BMI. Among men, the shift away from feeling overweight is roughly equal across age groups, except that the oldest group (56-74) exhibits no difference between surveys. In addition, overweight men exhibit a sharper decline in feeling overweight than normal-weight men. Despite the declines in feeling overweight between surveys, weight misperception did not increase significantly for men and decreased by a sizable margin among women. The shifts in self-classification are not explained by differences between surveys in body fatness or waist circumference, nor by shifting demographics. We interpret the findings as evidence of a generational shift in social norms related to body weight, and propose various mechanisms to explain such a shift, including: (1) higher average adult BMI and adult obesity rates in the later survey cohort, (2) higher childhood obesity rates in the later survey cohort, and (3) public education campaigns promoting healthy body image. The welfare implications of the observed trends in self-classification are mixed.


The waterborne pathogen Vibrio cholerae continues to be responsible for devastating global pandemics of cholera disease. Strains of the O1 or O139 serogroups that carry the cholera toxin can colonize the small intestine of humans and cause massive efflux of water from the victim, resulting in dehydration and death if treatment with saline fluids is not initiated quickly. However, the majority of strains isolated from environmental settings do not carry cholera toxin and are serogroups other than O1 or O139 (hence, their non-O1, non-O139 strain designation). Although these strains are often lumped together when discussing causative agents of cholera disease, they are in fact quite genotypically and phenotypically diverse. In Chapter 2 of this thesis, a first look at the types of genes that account for the genotypic diversity is presented, and this work demonstrated that the V. cholerae pan-species genome is quite extensive. Chapter 3 then follows up on the discovery of a gene encoding a toxin similar to exotoxin A of Pseudomonas aeruginosa, a potent secreted virulence factor of this opportunistic pathogen. In a joint publication, our work describing the biological effects of the new toxin, now designated cholix toxin, complements the work of our collaborators at the University of Guelph, who solved the crystal structure of both full length cholix toxin and its catalytic domain. Chapter 4 then takes a phylogenetic approach to understanding the role the toxin may be playing in V. cholerae virulence or environmental survival, by assessing the presence or absence of the gene encoding cholix toxin, chxA, in a collection of V. cholerae strains amassed from around the world. The chxA gene was then sequenced from a wide variety of clinical and environmental strains, revealing the presence of specific regions with extensive sequence variation. A final chapter describes further efforts to uncover the purpose of this toxin, as well as ideas for future research directions to pursue this goal. Cholix toxin provides a model for understanding selective pressures and the evolution of toxin genes in environmental settings


Cumulative sum (CUSUM) charts are a valuable tool in problem solving because they can reveal when a change occurred. This information then can be used to confirm or eliminate potential causes by showing that the problem appeared at the same or a different time. This article focuses on retrospective analysis for problem solving and not the use of CUSUM for controlling a process. The methods for converting a trend chart into a CUSUM chart in Excel are explained in depth. Because interpreting the charts is not entirely intuitive, a guide is presented, which shows how the chart should be read. One case study is used to provide a running example through the article.


Three separate experiments conducted to survey the response of two populations of common purslane weed collected from Karaj and Ahvaz on germination and early growth. The first experiment was based on 4 levels of flooding, including 1, 2, 4, 8 days plus non-flooding treatment as a control. Second experiment addressed the impact of various acidity levels, such as 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10 and finally third experiment considered the influence of high temperatures of 60, 80, 100, 120, 140, 160, 180, 200, 220 centigrade on germination rate, germination percentage, radicle length and plumule length as well as fresh weight of the aforementioned population of common purslane (Karaj and Ahvaz). Analysis of variance revealed that in both weed populations, all germination indices were impressed by flooding periods, acidity levels and high temperatures. Extending the flooding periods resulted in reducing all measured parameters in both weed populations, so growth of common people was completely inhibited less than 8 consecutive days of flooding. Germination rate and percentage improved gradually by increasing the acidity value from 4 up to 7. An adverse relation was observed between the measured parameters and temperature variations in both Karaj and Ahvaz weed population. Germination rate and percentage, radicle and plumule length as well as fresh weight of seedling decreased significantly in response to increasing the oven temperature. Overall, it can be concluded that boosting our knowledge about both ecology and biology aspects of common person can pave the way for introducing new ways in line with expanding long term strategies, improving management systems and predicting the mode of germination and growth of the this important weed.


Incremental housing drives urbanization worldwide, and is recognized as the basis for socially relevant solutions to housing shortages in the global South. However, scholarship on incremental housing continues to focus largely on tenure, building materials and housing conditions at a local level, while incremental housing is embedded in – and dependent on – larger urban and regional systems and flows. We argue that a further reconceptualization of incremental housing is needed that acknowledges the embeddedness of local incremental building practices within broader industries, markets and practices of city-making. Starting from this observation, we suggest an extended framework for understanding the city-wide industries and flows around incremental housing, in relation to five dimensions: 1) land, 2) finance, 3) infrastructure, 4) building materials and 5) labour. Mapping these dynamics is necessary to understand fundamental questions of where, how and why initiatives aimed at improving or developing incremental housing advance or get stuck.


ABSTRACT Care for children in residential settings is popularly characterised as the last resort for children who have had multiple failed placements and often high levels of need, requiring therapeutic help. It is often assumed that children will leave residential care for independent living. Using administrative data for a six-year period (2008–2014) for children "looked after" in Wales, univariate and bivariate analyses were conducted to provide a characteristic profile of the residential child care population. Of those placed in a residential setting, the vast majority of children were voluntarily placed and the most common reason for leaving residential care was going home. A similar number of children left residential care to move back to a family setting as entered residential care from a family setting, which challenges the assumption of residential care as necessarily the final destination in a troubled care history. The fact that large numbers of children are placed voluntarily in residential care might suggest some potential for preventing some of these placements and keeping children at home with support. Appropriate measures are needed to support children returning from residential care to live with birth families, as well as support for independent living.


A useful scientific theory, claimed Einstein, must be explicable to any intelligent person. In Deep Down Things, experimental particle physicist Bruce Schumm has taken this dictum to heart, providing in clear, straightforward prose an elucidation of the Standard Model of particle physics-a theory that stands as one of the crowning achievements of twentieth-century science. In this one-of-a-kind book, the work of many of the past century's most notable physicists, including Einstein, Schrodinger, Heisenberg, Dirac, Feynman, Gell-Mann, and Weinberg, is knit together in a thorough and accessible exposition of the revolutionary notions that underlie our current view of the fundamental nature of the physical world. Schumm, who has spent much of his life emmersed in the subatomic world, goes far beyond a mere presentation of the "building blocks" of matter, bringing to life the remarkable connection between the ivory tower world of the abstract mathematician and the day-to-day, life-enabling properties of the natural world. Schumm leaves us with an insight into the profound open questions of particle physics, setting the stage for understanding the progress the field is poised to make over the next decade or two. Introducing readers to the world of particle physics, Deep Down Things opens new realms within which are many clues to unraveling the mysteries of the universe.


The paper examines the legal and political impact of the Covid-19 crisis, drawing the attention to fundamental questions on authority and political legitimacy, coercion and obligation, power and cooperation. National states and sovereign governments have had and still will have a crucial role in re-establishing the public health sector and addressing the colossal challenges of economic re-construction. Scholars have accordingly discussed the set of legal means displayed during this crisis: emergency decrees, lockdowns, travel bans, and generally speaking, powers of the state of exception. The aim of this paper is to stress the limits of such perspectives on powers of national governments and sovereigns, in order to illustrate what goes beyond such powers. Focus should be on the ontological, epistemic and normative constraints that affect today's rights and duties of national states. Such constraints correspond to a class of problems that is complex, often transnational, and increasingly data-driven. In addition, we should not overlook the lessons learnt from such fields, as environmental law and internet governance, anti-terrorism and transnational business law, up to the regulation of Artificial Intelligence (AI). Such fields show that legal co-regulation and mechanisms of coordination and cooperation complement the traditional powers of national governments even in the times of the mother of all pandemics. The Covid-19 crisis has been often interpreted as if this were the last chapter of an on-going history about the Leviathan and its bio-powers. It is not. The crisis regards the end of the first chapter on the history of today's information societies.


There are places in the world, such as churches, public buildings,
or stadiums, that hold special meaning, house artistic heritage,
or stand as symbols. In addition to typical visitors, such sites
attract non-typical visitors, namely tourists. They are sites that
are not museums but that are used as if they were. These
circumstances create an unusual condition that, in theory,
requires strategic managerial choices, since the museum-like use
adds to the traditional use.
In light of this, the question must be asked:
Can contemporary museum practices be implemented at
museum-like sites, while preserving the original function of
the sites?
The main research question leads to further queries. For
example: when is a site also a museum? Can different collective
social behaviors be considered rituals? How can different
behaviors/rituals be managed in the same place? Can different
narratives and behaviors coexist? If so, how? In particular, what
tools and design solutions can an architect apply?
This research focuses on the set of issues related to sites that are
enjoyed as "museums," while maintaining their original use. The
research develops in two main parts. Following the introduction,
the first part describes the theoretical framework, in which
general concepts about museums and rituals are related to the
research subject. The second is dedicated to the case studies.
To answer to the research question, the study aims to construct a
theoretical and multidisciplinary framework that helps to
interpret complex situations. In fact, the theoretical part is a tool
for understanding such spaces and their users. The analysis of
the cases enables answering both the main questions and the
sub-questions of the research. The selected case studies are: the
Complex and Basilica of Santa Croce, Florence, Italy; the
Maracana Stadium, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil; the National
September 11 Memorial and Museum, New York City, NY, USA.


A rapidly changing business environment has dictated a need for farmers to improve their risk management skills. The 1996 Federal Agricultural Improvement and Reform Act (FAIR) also created a new environment for American farmers by eliminating planting restrictions and deficiency payments. Congress recognized the changing environment by mandating the Secretary of Agriculture to initiate a risk management education program. A memorandum of understanding specified the responsibilities of the federal agencies involved in risk management services and education. A work group representing all public and private organizations concerned with risk management services and strategies was convened. The work group established a set of objectives, the five major areas of risk to address and an overall educational plan. Five regional extension coordinating offices were established to coordinate activities with federal agencies and the private sector and to distribute funding for extension based educational programs. The initiative originally received funding of $5M in 1997. In 2000, the Agricultural Risk Protection Act, which primarily revised the crop insurance program, provided an additional $5M for risk management education for the 2001 fiscal year and the succeeding four years. The initiative has provided an impetus to look a risk management in a broad and comprehensive manner. This has resulted in the development of very creative and innovative programs, in terms of materials and methods of delivery. The working partnerships between public and private sector organizations have been a key to the success of the programs.


Evangelicals are frequently perceived as conservative, for instance in their perspective on women. There is indeed a widespread evangelical hierarchical or complementarian theological view which objects to women in church leadership. There is, however, a growing egalitarian counter position, sometimes also referred to as "evangelical feminism", which supports female leadership. This article concentrates on the international missionary organisation Youth With A Mission (YWAM), which clearly endorses female leaders in formal statements. In YWAM Germany, however, women are under-represented in leadership positions. The article seeks to explain this under-representation, especially in terms of the role played by Scripture. By means of interviews with leaders in YWAM Germany, possible answers were explored. Surprisingly, for an evangelical organisation, the interpretation of Scripture proved not to be a significant factor. Factors that do play a role are church background, the lack of female role models, lower self-confidence of women, family responsibilities, and the role of incumbent leadership. The latter appears to be the most crucial factor, since the incumbent leaders, who mostly are men, select and appoint new leaders. It is likely that in this they are influenced by stereotypical conceptions of the leader as male and are inclined to appoint leaders similar to themselves.