This study examines the mediating influence of consumer expertise on the antecedents and consequences of Affect within a professional services market context. Whilst there is increasing evidence to suggest an empirical link between Affect evoked and satisfaction within such contexts, previous research has largely ignored the role of consumer expertise as a mediating influence. Using a scenario based approach, the objective of the study was to test for multigroup invariance among competing structural models based on the ability of the respondents to form expectation and performance assessments about the service they are receiving. The results indicate that it is important to examine different levels of consumer expertise in detail to better understand how certain characteristics such as experience and qualifications influence the priority and functionality attached to service attributes when making satisfaction judgments within a professional service context. This may in turn have broader implications for our contextual understanding of services.


ABSTRACT Temporary contracts are increasingly used in academia. This is a major concern for non-tenured researchers, since weak job security may hamper job satisfaction. This paper presents an empirical analysis of the role of academic tenure for job satisfaction of researchers in European countries. The work uses data from the MORE2 survey, a large-scale representative survey of researchers in all European countries. The results show that, ceteris paribus, academics with a permanent contract are on average more satisfied with their job than those that are employed on a temporary basis. We also show that academic tenure is a relatively more important factor of job satisfaction for researchers at an intermediate stage of the career. Finally, we point out some important differences in the working of the model among European countries.


Bluetongue viruses (BTV) are infectious, noncontagious viruses in the family Reoviridae and genus Orbivirus that are transmitted to domestic and wild ruminants (sheep, cows, goats, deer) by biting midges (no-see-ums) in the genus Culicoides (Fig. 3) (6).   The viruses are nonenveloped and the icosohedral 85-nm-diameter capsid contains the 10 segments of the linear double-stranded RNA genome of approximately 25 kilobases (4, 5). The disease is found worldwide in sheep, goats, and cattle (ruminant species).  Due to the seasonal increase in the vector, disease is most prevalent mid summer to early fall.
The disease is most problematic in sheep where mortality can approach 80%.  Factors such as severe weather, infection with parasites, poor diet, and stress are known to exacerbate mortality.  Mild infections often go unnoticed. Disease signs include fever (usually 104 to 106oC), depression, and lassitude beginning 6 to 8 days postinfection.  The disease progresses to salivation, redness, and swelling of the mucous membranes of the mouth (Fig. 1), eventually leading to ulceration of the mouth and nose (Fig. 2 and 3) often giving a burnt appearance.  Vomiting may result, which leads to bacterial pneumonia, and is the most common cause of BTV mortality. Figure 4 shows a sheep that has purulent nasal discharge due to the broncho-pneumonia.  Coronitis (swelling of the tissue at the top of the hoof) is also common and may lead to lameness (Fig. 5) and/or sloughing of the hooves (Fig. 6).  The bluish appearance of the tongue from which the virus gets its name, is actually infrequently observed (Fig. 7).   If the animal survives, full recovery usually occurs within 10 to 14 days (1–3).  There are vaccines available but use is limited (2).  BTV in cattle is very similar to infections in sheep although morbidity of adult animals is much lower, usually about 5%.
BTV infection can often be misdiagnosed as sheep and goat pox virus, peste des petits ruminats, and contagious ecthyma (contagious pustular dermatitis, Orf), all of which have similar signs.  Diagnostic tests include the agar gel immunodiffusion assay and enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay.
References.
1.  Committee on Foreign Animal Diseases of the United States Animal Health Association.  1998, revision date.  The Gray book of foreign animal diseases, 6th ed.  United States Animal Health Association, Richmond, Va.  [Online.] http://www.vet.uga.edu/VPP/gray_book/FAD/index.htm.
  2.  Fenner, F., P. A. Bachmann, E. P. J. Gibbs, F. A. Murphy, M. J. Studdert, and D. O. White.
1987. Veterinary virology, p. 587–590.  Academic Press, Inc., Orlando, Fla.
3.  Roberts, W. A., and G. A. Carter.  1976.
 Essentials of veterinary virology,  p. 106.  Michigan State University Press, East Lansing, Mich.
4.  Roy, P.
  2001. Orbiviruses, p. 1679–1728.
In D. M. Knipe and P. M. Howley (ed.), Fields virology.  Lippincott Williams and Wilkins, Philadelphia, Pa.
5.  Tyler
, K. L.
  2001. Mammalian reoviruses, p. 1679–1728.
In D. M. Knipe and P. M. Howley (ed.), Fields virology. Lippincott Williams and Wilkins, Philadelphia, Pa.
6.  Walton T. E., and B. I. Osburn. 1991. Bluetongue, African horse sickness, and related Orbiviruses.  Proceedings of the Second International Symposium. CRC Press, Boca Raton, Fla.


Reservoir computing (RC) is a promising implementation of a non-von Neumann computing architecture. It is well-suited to solve time-dependent and dynamic problems like speech recognition or bitwise operations [1]. In principal integrated photonic RC offers energy-efficient, high-speed signal processing capabilities [1,2]. However, current photonic RC systems perform the linear combination of the complex reservoir states in software. Software weights are ideal (high precision, no drift), but limit the processing speed and energy efficiency of the RC system [2]. Here, we discuss a hardware implementation of photonic weights compatible with silicon photonic RC architectures. First, we demonstrate non-volatile synaptic weights based on ferroelectric barium titanate (BTO) thin films. Second, we explore how imperfections in these hardware weights impact the reservoir performance.


Abstract The tenth anniversary of India and Pakistan's 1998 nuclear tests enables scholars to revisit the issue of South Asian proliferation with a decade of hindsight. I argue that nuclear weapons have had two destabilizing effects. First, nuclear weapons' ability to shield Pakistan against all-out Indian retaliation, and to attract international attention to Pakistan's dispute with India, encouraged aggressive Pakistani behavior. This provoked forceful Indian responses, ranging from large-scale mobilization to limited war. Second, these Indo-Pakistani crises led India to adopt a more aggressive military posture toward Pakistan. This could exacerbate security-dilemma dynamics and increase the likelihood of future Indo-Pakistani conflict.


This study examined the relationship between ICT and Accounting system of SMEs in Nigeria.
The study adopted the survey research design, which involves the collection of data from the
Accounting department of SMEs in Nigeria. Primary data was employed and copies of questionnaire
were administered to respondents for the purpose of this study. Two hypotheses were
formulated and tested using Pearson Product-Moment Correlation Coefficient at a significant
level of 1%. Findings revealed a significant relationship between ICT knowledge (Microsoft
tools) and accounting system of SMEs in Nigeria also, the study further reviewed significant
relationship between ICT adoption (accounting packages) and Accounting system of SMEs in
Nigeria. The study therefore recommended that Management of SMEs must periodically send
employees on training in the use of ICT.


There are about 250 species of smut fungi known from Australia of which 95 are endemic. Fourteen of these endemic species were first collected in the period culminating with the publication of Daniel McAlpine's revision of Australian smut fungi in 1910. Of the 68 species treated by McAlpine, 10 were considered to be endemic to Australia at that time. Only 23 of the species treated by McAlpine have names that are currently accepted .

During the following eighty years until 1990, a further 31 endemic species were collected and just 11 of these were named and described in that period. Since 1990, 50 further species of endemic smut fungi have been collected and named in Australia . There are 115 species that are restricted to either Australia or to Australia and the neighbouring countries of Indonesia, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea and the Philippines . These 115 endemic species occur in 24 genera, namely Anthracoidea (1 species), Bauerago (1), Cintractia (3), Dermatosorus (1), Entyloma (3), Farysporium (1), Fulvisporium (1), Heterotolyposporium (1), Lundquistia (1), Macalpinomyces (4), Microbotryum (2), Moreaua (20), Pseudotracya (1), Restiosporium (5), Sporisorium (26), Thecaphora (2), Tilletia (12), Tolyposporella (1), Tranzscheliella (1), Urocystis (2), Ustanciosporium (1), Ustilago (22), Websdanea (1) and Yelsemia (2).

About a half of these local and regional endemic species occur on grasses and a quarter on sedges . The northern tropical savannah region of Australia offers most promise for the discovery of new endemic species . The agricultural, quarantine and environmental significance to Australia of some introduced species is discussed.


A transmission matrix T is defined as a computational aid for determining refractive indices from the Fourier coefficients of the reflected amplitude in thin-film synthesis. It is shown that the matrix T acts as the term factor in geometric series expansions of the reflected and transmitted amplitudes for a stack of films of equal optical thickness.


The project investigates the theory and design of varactor diode frequency multiplier circuits. Special consideration is given to multipliers which use series-tuned transmission-line cavities for filtering and impedance matching and an assessment is made of the merits of these cavities. Practical multiplier circuits are constructed in microstripline and are tested with the objective of verifying the analytical predictions. The theory of the series-tuned cavity is given and its performance is predicted by computer plots of the insertion loss when it is used between a 50-Ω source and a 50-Ω, load. These predicted results are verified on experimental series-tuned cavities in which the transmission lines are of two types, namely, coaxial lines and microstriplines, and the predictions are used in due course in the design of the multiplier circuits. A new method of analysis for frequency multiplier circuits is introduced in which the device equation is written in terms of a Chebyshev expansion. The coefficients of the terms in the device equation are then given by the results of a spectrum test on the device and this has the considerable advantage that the device law will include the effects of parasitics caused by the test circuit which will be similar to those which occur when the device is used in a multiplier circuit. The method can be used to analyse both shunt mode and series mode multipliers and is used here on three particular circuits: the shunt-diode doubler, the shunt-diode triplet and the shunt-diode triplet with idler. Expressions are obtained for the power delivered to the load resistance and the input and output capacitances of the diode. The main achievement of the analysis is that it produces a method for finding the conditions for matching a non-linear reactive diode to a source and a load so that the harmonic power delivered to the load at the required output frequency can be maximised. Measurements on practical shunt-diode doublers using microstrip technology are reported and they indicate that the predictions given by the analysis of doubler circuit operation are of the correct order. The foundations for the design of microstrip series-tuned cavity multipliers have been laid and further investigations, especially with regard to multipliers with idlers, would be of value.


In recent years, new kinds of calculators have begun to appear in secondary schools, especially in mathematics departments. These calculators are commonly called 'graphics' calculators (or some variation on the adjective), because they have a small graphics display screen rather than the one-line numerical display that we have been used to with hand-held calculators. The appearance of these devices in schools has been hastened considerably by the official approval of their use in the TEE from the 1998 examinations in all mathematics subjects and also in some science subjects. It would be a mistake, however, to make the inference that these devices are mainly useful for examinations. Rather, the official TEE sanction is an acknowledgment that examination prohibition hampers the use of appropriate technology in schools.

Although they are relatively new to WA, having first appeared in class-set quantities in schools about six or seven years ago, graphics calculators can hardly be described as a 'new' technology. For example, they have been on sale to the general public in USA since 1985, and have been in widespread use in high schools for a decade. Similarly, they have been available in schools and used in A-level examinations in the UK since the late 1980's. The machines on sale today are arguably the third generation of graphics calculators. There are four manufacturers at present, each a familiar multinational company. In alphabetical order, they are Casio, Hewlett Packard, Sharp and Texas Instruments.

The main uses of graphics calculators are for students learning and doing mathematics. However, in Western Australia, it is almost always the same students learning both science and mathematics. So, we can expect that almost all science students in upper school will have an increasing level of access to a graphics calculator in the near future, and that many students will own their own model. Even in the lower secondary school, the most likely scenario for the near future is that a graphics calculator will become standard equipment for most students, instead of the scientific calculator. Although many schools continue to ask students to purchase a scientific calculator early in secondary school, the decreasing price of graphics calculators (the least expensive now around $60 tax exempt) are likely to encourage a rethink of this practice, to reduce the risk that students will need to purchase more than one calculator over their secondary schooling years.

This paper suggests some graphics calculator capabilities that may be of interest to science teachers, with the emphasis on student learning rather than assessment.


If the performance of an optical system A can be executed by a cascade of n identical optical systems B, we term the system B the nth root of A. At the same time A is the nth power of B. It is shown that, in principle, any optical system can be decomposed into its roots of any order. The procedure is facilitated by a merger of the ray matrix representation and the canonical operator representation of first-order optical systems. The results are demonstrated by several examples, including the fractional Fourier transform, which is just one special case in a complete group structure. Moreover, it is shown that the root and power transformations themselves represent special cases of a much more general family of transformations. Application in optical design, optical signal processing, and resonator theory can be envisaged.


Accurate chromosome segregation during mitosis requires the kinetochore, a large protein complex, which makes a linkage between chromosomes and spindle microtubes. An essential kinetochore component, CENP-C, is phosphorylated by Cyclin-B-Cyclin dependent kinase 1 (CDK1) that is a master kinase for mitotic progression, promoting proper kinetochore assembly during mitosis. Here, we describe an in vitro CDK1 kinase assay to detect CENP-C phosphorylation using Phos-tag SDS-PAGE without radiolabeled ATP. Our protocol has advantages in ease and safety over conventional phosphorylation assays using [γ-32P]-ATP, which has potential hazards despite their better sensitivity. The protocol described here can be applicable to other kinases and be also useful for analysis of phospho-sites in substrates in vitro.


This study investigates gender differences in housing, socioeconomic status, and self-reported health status. The analysis focuses on the social and economic dimensions of housing, such as demand, control, material aspects (affordability, type of dwelling) and meaningful aspects (pride in dwelling, home as a refuge) of everyday life in the domestic environment. A random sample, crosssectional telephone survey was administered in the city of Vancouver, Canada in June 1999 (n = 650). Survey items included measures of material and meaningful dimensions of housing, housing satisfaction, and standard measures of socioeconomic status and social support. The main outcome measure was self-reported health (excellent/very good/good vs. fair/poor). A three-stage analysis provides an overall picture of the sample characteristics for male and female respondents, detects significant relations between individual and housing characteristics and self-rated health status, and investigates male-female differences in the factors associated with fair/poor self-rated health. In multivariate analyses, a small number of socioeconomic dimensions of housing were associated with self-rated health status for women. For men, only one attribute of housing was associated with self-rated health: crowding was positively related to poor health, contradicting expectations and the findings for women. The self-reported strain of housework was unrelated to self-rated health for men, bot strongly related to poor health for women. For men and women, satisfaction with social activities increased the likelihood of reporting better health. Future research should focus on the health effects of geodered differences in domestic and paid work, and on home and family roles and the interaction among gender, household crowding, and health.


Abstract The formal and informal sciences can be integrated for the enhancement of training, research and teaching in the formal school system. The knowledge and methods of informal science, although regarded as crude, local or native, when embedded with formal science, can be subsequently developed and packaged as teaching innovation for the promotion of scientific knowledge, skill and training. This is the focus of this study where selected informal science experiences were used to teach some science concepts in inquiry-centred Nigerian classrooms. In inquiry-based lessons, teachers only act as facilitators and resources, creating the environment for investigations to take place. In the experiment, students' explorations were centred on informal science activities which were guided to be incorporated into the knowledge structure of formal science classroom experiences. Subjects were Senior Secondary School 11 male and female students taught the topic alkanols; types and preparation including concepts such as fermentation and the brewing process. Informal science activities involving the processing of cassava, grains and other local products were explored by subjects in the experimental group and there was a control group whose subjects were not exposed to informal science activities. Differences in the cognitive and affective learning outcomes of students from the two groups upon data analyses were found to be significant with sex playing a major role. Implications of the findings were highlighted and recommendations were made.


Data are reported on the formation of filter cakes under pressure where the particles are largely
finer than about 10 μm. The data are analysed through two consecutive mechanisms, filtration
and consolidation. Process design parameters for each mechanism are obtained, which will allow
calculations to be made from small scale experiments. The magnitude and dependence of the
constitutive parameters on pressure, pH, particle size and shape, and the nature of the particleparticle
interactions are shown.


Acute renal failure (ARF) is a sudden, sharp decline in the function of kidneys as a result of an acute toxic or inadequate oxygen supply to the kidneys. Abnormality in complete blood count parameters occur in kidney failure. The aim of the present study i urea and creatinine in acute renal failure patients.Spearman's rho correlation was used to correlate hemoglobin, neutrophils, lymphocyte and basophil levels with serum urea and creatinine in which hemoglobin Technology by Beckman Coulter and urea and creatinine by the Roche Cobas 6000 autoanalyser. This study included 102 diagnosed ARF cases taken from nephrology ward of Kastur Our study showed decline in hemoglobin levels in ARF patients. This decline in hemoglobin levels may be due to decreased production of erythropoietin in ARF cases. A positive correlation of neutrophils with urea in ARF cases may be du to enhanced retention of toxic substances. As a result we can conclude that complete blood count parameters play a significant role in the pathophysiology of ARF cases.


BACKGROUND & AIMS
Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), the most common primary liver cancer, remains a deadly cancer, with an incidence that has tripled in the United States since 1980. In recent years, new systemic therapies for HCC have been approved and a critical assessment of the existing data is necessary to balance benefits and harms and inform the development of evidence-based guidelines.

METHODS
The American Gastroenterological Association formed a multidisciplinary group consisting of a Technical Review Panel and a Guideline Panel. The Technical Review Panel prioritized clinical questions and outcomes according to their importance for clinicians and patients and conducted an evidence review of systemic therapies in patients with advanced-stage HCC. The Grading of Recommendations Assessment, Development and Evaluation framework was used to assess evidence. The Guideline Panel reviewed the evidence and used the Evidence-to-Decision Framework to develop recommendations.

RESULTS
The Panel reviewed the evidence, summarized in the Technical Review, for the following medications approved by the US Food and Drug Administration for HCC: first-line therapies: bevacizumab+atezolizumab, sorafenib, and lenvatinib; second-line therapies: cabozantinib, pembrolizumab, ramucirumab, and regorafenib; and other agents: bevacizumab, nivolumab, and nivolumab+ipilimumab.

CONCLUSIONS
The Panel agreed on 11 recommendations focused on systemic therapy for HCC in patients who are not eligible for locoregional therapy or resection, those with metastatic disease and preserved liver function, those with poor liver function, and those on systemic therapy as adjuvant therapy.


Summary Recent research estimated that an additional 195 suicides among 10- to 17-year-old youths occurred following the release of the television series 13 Reasons Why. There is an underrecognised aspect in this line of research that this effect represents a net effect based on different possible underlying patterns (e.g. +195/−0 or +395/−200).


This article proposes three principles which justice should incorporate if it is to move beyond the closures and exclusions of white man's justice. After a brief review of feminist and critical race theory literature that establishes the white, male character of justice in modern liberal societies, the principles of discursiveness, relationalism and reflectiveness are explained and discussed. Their implications for restorative justice are discussed. Oppression and inequality are suggested as concepts that can guide the operation, context and limits of discursiveness, relationalism and reflectiveness. In the final section, the problem of relativism against universalism is discussed, and its relevance to the development of restorative justice suggested.


This thesis provides a qualitative research of asylum seeking of unaccompanied children in Sweden. Children who find themselves traveling borders without company of a family member are in a very vulnerable position. In this thesis, the experience of unaccompanied children undergoing an asylum process in the Swedish jurisdiction is presented and the consequences of this process are also presented. With the creation of territorial boundaries embodied with an institution of state sovereignty, unaccompanied children finds themselves in a position of statelessness which produces a situation of rightlessness as they find themselves outside their own territories. This research suggests that, the territorial system provides great examples of unaccompanied children in a situation of statelessness even when they find themselves inside a new community. Even in this new state they do not automatically gain access to the community, instead through migration system, they must undergo investigations and procedures to prove that they have the rights to belong to that current community, a procedure that contributes to stress and other negative factors to the health of these children. From the findings of the interviews with unaccompanied children undergoing the process of seeking asylum and also unaccompanied children in hiding, it is seen that the asylum seeking process in the condition of unaccompanied children is characterized by the paradoxical system of national states, territorialism, totalitarianism, state sovereignty and an effort of maintaining human rights. The suggestion is that, the paradigm of territorialism and state sovereignty deprives unaccompanied children from what one in the Arendtian sense would call the right to have rights. As their journey to a new community starts off as a position of statelessness and with a 50% chance of returning back to that position. Their position slowly emerges from unaccompanied children, to a stateless adultescence and lastly to a forgotten undocumented adult.


Agents plan to achieve and maintain goals. Maintenance that requires continuous action excludes the representation of plans as finite sequences of actions. If there is no upper bound on the number of actions, a simple list of actions would be infinitely long. Instead, a compact representation requires some form of looping construct. We look at a specific temporally extended maintenance goal, multiple target video surveillance, and formalize it in Temporal Action Logic. The logic's representation of time as the natural numbers suggests using mathematical induction to deductively plan to satisfy temporally extended goals. Such planning makes use of a sound and useful, but incomplete, induction rule that compactly represents the solution as a recursive fixpoint formula. Two heuristic rules overcome the problem of identifying a sufficiently strong induction hypothesis and enable an automated solution to the surveillance problem that satisfies the goal indefinitely.


Analyses of authority in the global realm have risen to greater prominence in recent years but many of them employ a model of 'solid' authority borrowed from the domestic context that focuses primarily on commands issued by single institutions. This paper argues that such approaches tend to underestimate the presence of authority in global governance and to misunderstand its nature, leading to skewed accounts of the emergence of authority and the challenges it poses. The paper develops a broader conception of authority which also includes 'liquid' forms – forms characterized by informality, substantive groundings, multiplicity, and significant dynamism. It outlines how such a broader account can help us to reframe the problematique of postnational governance, especially by leading us away from statist frames when confronted with the particular difficulties of authority structures which often have pervasive effects but are hard to locate and grasp.


Neuronal Wiskott-Aldrich syndrome protein (N-WASP) is a stimulator of actin nucleation through the actin-related protein complex, ARP2/3. N-WASP is activated in a cooperative manner by binding of phosphatidylinositol 4,5-bisphosphate [PI(4,5)P2] to the polybasic B motif and binding of the guanosine triphosphatase (GTPase) Cdc42 to the GTPase binding domain (GBD). Papayannopoulos et al. explored the mechanism by which PI(4,5)P2 regulates N-WASP activity. Using in vitro assays with N-WASP peptide fragments, they demonstrated that the B motif bound with highest affinity to PI(4,5)P2 compared with other phosphoinositide lipids and that the 10-lysine motif was the minimum sequence that bound PI(4,5)P2. In vesicle sedimentation assays, PI(4,5)P2 concentration can be increased by either increasing the number of PI(4,5)P2-containing vesicles in the preparation or by increasing the concentration of PI(4,5)P2 within a given vesicle [the mole percent (mol%) of PI(4,5)P2]. The curve representing binding of the B-GBD fragment of N-WASP to vesicles with increasing mol% of PI(4,5)P2 showed a sigmoidal shape, indicating cooperative binding. Furthermore, binding of B-GBD to PI(4,5)P2-containing vesicles that also included cholesterol to induce the formation of membrane microdomains was higher affinity (with cooperative binding) than binding in the absence of cholesterol. Using two N-WASP constructs (one only lacking the EVH1 domain and one consisting of the B, GBD, and VCA domains--called mN-WASP), the authors demonstrated a sigmoidal, highly cooperative curve (Hill coefficient of ~18) for stimulation of ARP2/3-mediated actin polymerization as a function of mol% PI(4,5)P2. The sensitivity of N-WASP to PI(4,5)P2-containing vesicles was increased by the presence of prenylated Cdc42 in the vesicles. Increasing or decreasing the number of lysines in the B motif in the context of mN-WASP changed the sensitivity to PI(4,5)P2 density, with an increase from the native 9 lysines to 14 lysines yielding a Hill coefficient for actin nucleation of ~50. Similar dependency on the number of lysines was observed for the ability of mN-WASP to stimulate endosomal vesicle motility in Xenopus egg extracts. The 14-lysine version of mN-WASP also stimulated a phenomenon called vesicle rocketing in transfected cells, even in the absence of conditions that increased basal PI(4,5)P2 concentrations. Thus, using multiple in vitro and in vivo tests, the B motif of N-WASP appears to confer switchlike activity to N-WASP, allowing N-WASP to be poised to respond to changes in the density of PI(4,5)P2, which may allow cells to link changes in the actin cytoskeleton to signals that alter membrane microdomains and prevent activation of N-WASP in response to "noise" during the quiescent state. V. Papayannopoulos, C. Co, K. E. Prehoda, S. Snapper, J. Taunton, W. A. Lim, A polybasic motif allows N-WASP to act as a sensor of PIP2 density. Mol. Cell 17, 181-191 (2005). [PubMed]


International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) are becoming the benchmark accounting standards for companies listed on international stock exchanges. The SEC treats them as equivalent of US Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP) and is even contemplating allowing their use instead of US GAAP. They are mandatory in Europe, Australia and South Africa. Canada, China, Brazil, Japan and India are planning to use them from 2011.

Anybody interested in companies listed on the US stock exchanges needs to know something about them because hundreds of foreign companies are already using them to report in the US. Anybody interested in international business has to know these benchmark financial reporting rules.

This book will explain the complex inter-relationships between the International Accounting Standards Board (the creator of IFRS), the Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) and the Canadian Accounting Standards Board (AcSB), their work programme and their plans for the future.

It will look at a series of central accounting issues such as revenue recognition, liabilities, pensions, off-balance sheet vehicles, impairment, intangible assets etc. and discuss how IFRS differ from US and Canadian GAAP.

It will explain the organisational structure and background of the IASB and it will look at the potential impacts to financial reporting by American companies.


A funny thing happened to me at IJCAI-81. I went to a panel on "Education in AI" and stepped back into an argument that I had thought settled several years ago. The debate was between the "scruffies," led by Roger Schank and Ed Feignbaum, and the "neats," led by Nils Nilsson. The neats argued that no education in AI was complete without a strong theoretical component, containing, for instance, courses on predicate logic and automata theory. The scruffies maintained that such a theoretical component was not only unnecessary, but harmful.


We present a probabilistic model that uses both prosodic and lexical cues for the automatic segmentation of speech into topically coherent units. We propose two methods for combining lexical and prosodic information using hidden Markov models and decision trees. Lexical information is obtained from a speech recognizer, and prosodic features are extracted automatically from speech waveforms. We evaluate our approach on the Broadcast News corpus, using the DARPA-TDT evaluation metrics. Results show that the prosodic model alone is competitive with word-based segmentation methods. Furthermore, we achieve a significant reduction in error by combining the prosodic and word-based knowledge sources.


The focus of this research was to create and test an introductory computer science course for middle school. Titled "Foundations for Advancing Computational Thinking" (FACT), the course aims to prepare and motivate middle school learners for future engagement with algorithmic problem solving. FACT was also piloted as a seven-week course on Stanford's OpenEdX MOOC platform for blended in-class learning. Unique aspects of FACT include balanced pedagogical designs that address the cognitive, interpersonal, and intrapersonal aspects of "deeper learning"; a focus on pedagogical strategies for mediating and assessing for transfer from block-based to text-based programming; curricular materials for remedying misperceptions of computing; and "systems of assessments" (including formative and summative quizzes and tests, directed as well as open-ended programming assignments, and a transfer test) to get a comprehensive picture of students' deeper computational learning. Empirical investigations, accomplished over two iterations of a design-based research effort with students (aged 11–14 years) in a public school, sought to examine student understanding of algorithmic constructs, and how well students transferred this learning from Scratch to text-based languages. Changes in student perceptions of computing as a discipline were measured. Results and mixed-method analyses revealed that students in both studies (1) achieved substantial learning gains in algorithmic thinking skills, (2) were able to transfer their learning from Scratch to a text-based programming context, and (3) achieved significant growth toward a more mature understanding of computing as a discipline. Factor analyses of prior computing experience, multivariate regression analyses, and qualitative analyses of student projects and artifact-based interviews were conducted to better understand the factors affecting learning outcomes. Prior computing experiences (as measured by a pretest) and math ability were found to be strong predictors of learning outcomes.


A ZONE-BASED APPROACH TO IDENTIFYING URBAN LAND USES USING NATIONALLY-AVAILABLE DATA James A. Falcone, Ph.D. George Mason University, 2010 Dissertation Director: Dr. David Wong Accurate identification of urban land use is essential for many applications in environmental study, ecological assessment, and urban planning, among other fields. However, because physical surfaces of land cover types are not necessarily related to their use and economic function, differentiating among thematically-detailed urban land uses (single-family residential, multi-family residential, commercial, industrial, etc.) using remotely-sensed imagery is a challenging task, particularly over large areas. Because the process requires an interpretation of tone/color, size, shape, pattern, and neighborhood association elements within a scene, it has traditionally been accomplished via manual interpretation of aerial photography or high-resolution satellite imagery. Although success has been achieved for localized areas using various automated techniques based on high-spatial or high-spectral resolution data, few detailed (Anderson Level II equivalent or greater) urban land use mapping products have successfully been created via automated means for broad (multi-county or larger) areas, and no such product exists today for the United States. In this study I argue that by employing a zone-based approach it is feasible to map thematically-detailed urban land use classes over large areas using appropriate combinations of non-image based predictor data which are nationally and publicly available. The approach presented here uses U.S. Census block groups as the basic unit of geography, and predicts the percent of each of ten land use types nine of them urban for each block group based on a number of data sources, to include census data, nationally-available point locations of features from the USGS Geographic Names Information System, historical land cover, and metrics which characterize spatial pattern, context (e.g. distance to city centers or other features), and measures of spatial autocorrelation. The method was demonstrated over a four-county area surrounding the city of Boston. A generalized version of the method (six land use classes) was also developed and cross-validated among additional geographic settings: Atlanta, Los Angeles, and Providence. The results suggest that even with the thematically-detailed ten-class structure, it is feasible to map most urban land uses with reasonable accuracy at the block group scale, and results improve with class aggregation. When classified by predicted majority land use, 79% of block groups correctly matched the actual majority land use with the ten-class models. Six-class models typically performed well for the geographic area they were developed from, however models had mixed performance when transported to other geographic settings. Contextual variables, which characterized a block group's spatial relationship to city centers, transportation routes, and other amenities, were consistently strong predictors of most land uses, a result which corresponds to classic urban land use theory. The method and metrics derived here provide a prototype for mapping urban land uses from readily-available data over broader geographic areas than is generally practiced today using current image-based solutions.


NO C chemical ionization mass spectrometry (NO C CIMS) can achieve fast (1 Hz and faster) online mea- surement of trace atmospheric volatile organic compounds (VOCs) that cannot be ionized with H3O C ions (e.g., in a PTR-MS or H3O C CIMS instrument). Here we describe the adaptation of a high-resolution time-of-flight H3O C CIMS instrument to use NO C primary ion chemistry. We evalu- ate the NO C technique with respect to compound specificity, sensitivity, and VOC species measured compared to H3O C. The evaluation is established by a series of experiments in- cluding laboratory investigation using a gas-chromatography (GC) interface, in situ measurement of urban air using a GC interface, and direct in situ measurement of urban air. The main findings are that (1) NO C is useful for isomeri- cally resolved measurements of carbonyl species; (2) NO C can achieve sensitive detection of small (C4-C8) branched alkanes but is not unambiguous for most; and (3) compound- specific measurement of some alkanes, especially isopen- tane, methylpentane, and high-mass (C12-C15) n-alkanes, is possible with NO C. We also demonstrate fast in situ chemi- cally specific measurements of C12 to C15 alkanes in ambient air.


The present article is among the first reports on the effects of poly(ampholyte)s and poly(betaine)s on the biomimetic formation of calcium phosphate. We have synthesized a series of di- and triblock copolymers based on a non-ionic poly(ethylene oxide) block and several charged methacrylate monomers, 2-(trimethylammonium)ethyl methacrylate chloride, 2-((3-cyanopropyl)-dimethylammonium)ethyl methacrylate chloride, 3-sulfopropyl methacrylate potassium salt, and [2-(methacryloyloxy)ethyl]dimethyl-(3-sulfopropyl)ammonium hydroxide. The resulting copolymers are either positively charged, ampholytic, or betaine block copolymers. All the polymers have very high molecular weights of over 106 g mol−1. All polymers are water-soluble and show a strong effect on the precipitation and dissolution of calcium phosphate. The strongest effects are observed with triblock copolymers based on a large poly(ethylene oxide) middle block (nominal Mn = 100 000 g mol−1). Surprisingly, the data show that there is a need for positive charges in the polymers to exert tight control over mineralization and dissolution, but that the exact position of the charge in the polymer is of minor importance for both calcium phosphate precipitation and dissolution.


This paper presents a solution for improving the network spectral efficiency (NSE) of a MIMO ad hoc network by simultaneously increasing the number of concurrent links in the network while maximizing the spectral efficiency of each. Our approach combines multiple physical layer techniques and balances the trade-offs of them. Assuming only the channel state information to the intended receiver, a two-level iterative algorithm is designed and presented. The inner loop uses an algorithm, which we refer to as the "greedy MCS packing"(GMP), generates the generalized (eigen-) beam forming, performs power allocation and chooses proper modulation and coding scheme (MCS). The GMP attempts to maximize the rate while packing them in as few eigen-channels as possible. The outer loop is used for frequency sub-band selection. It uses a heuristic algorithm to choose the number of "spectral segments" used by each TX-RX pair to further reduce overall network interference. Simulation results show that our algorithm yields as much as 71% improvement over a related previous work, which also combines multiple MIMO techniques and considers finite MCS rate with imperfect channel information. We further investigate the improvements in network spectral efficiency (NSE) when our baseline GMP approach is augmented by nonlinear Successive Interference Cancellation (SIC) at the receiver. While the NSE gain brought by this SIC-enhanced receiver is quite limited, our simulation shows that more concurrent links can be supported compared with GMP scheme using an MMSE receiver.


This paper reconstructs Gilles Deleuze's interpretation of Epicurean atomism, and explicates his claim that it represents a problematic idea, similar to the idea exemplified in early, "barbaric" accounts of the differential calculus. Deleuzian problematic ideas are characterized by a mechanism through whose activity the components of the idea become determinate in relating reciprocally to one another, rather than in being determined exclusively in relation to an extrinsic paradigm or framework. In Epicurean atomism, as Deleuze reads it, such a mechanism of determination can be found in the famous atomic "swerve". It is necessary to bear this interpretation of Epicurean atomism in mind when understanding Deleuze and Guattari's promulgation of a new image of thought in What is Philosophy? , which has an explicitly Epicurean inspiration. The paper argues that this inspiration is particularly evident to the extent that Deleuze and Guattari identify the sub-representative feature that lies at the heart of their new image of thought with "chaos", defined as "infinite speed". I claim that infinite speed, this otherwise puzzling feature of What is Philosophy? , ought to be understood in the light of Deleuze's interpretation of Epicurus. Moreover, the Epicurean distinctions between different speeds must be read together with Deleuze's appropriation of the metaphysics of the ancient Stoics, who, although widely recognized as Deleuze's Hellenistic counterparts, lack important theoretical resources that the Epicureans provide for Deleuze.


Galaxies in the local universe are almost as old as the universe itself, many
of the stars in these galaxies were formed billions of years ago. To get a more
complete understanding of the formation and evolution of galaxies, we also need
to study younger galaxies in distant regions.
This bachelor's thesis uses existing methods in order to study distant galaxies
from the time around 3 billion years after the Big Bang, when the star formation
rate density is measured to have been at its highest. The aim is to determine the
star formation rate and stellar mass of a sample of star-forming galaxies.
We study a selection of galaxies of the type sBzK, which are star-forming
galaxies at z 1:5 2:5. Interstellar dust is present in these star-forming galaxies,
and the dust grains are heated by ultra-violet and optical light from young
stars. The dust then re-emits the energy at far-infrared and submillimeter wavelengths.
This thermal dust emission can therefore be used to estimate the star
formation rate for these galaxies. Data, collected at submillimeter wavelengths,
by the interferometric observatory ALMA is analysed and processed to extract
the aforementioned properties of the sBzK galaxies.
This sample of galaxies are generally too faint to be individually detected
at millimeter wavelengths. Therefore two types of stacking methods, image and
uv-stacking, are used to estimate their average properties. The results from the
different stacking methods are compared with each other. Monte Carlo stacking
with both methods is also performed in order to evaluate the results from the
stacking processes.
With the stacked ALMA data we were able to detect the sBzK sample. The
obtained results using uv-stacking was a SFR of 212:3M=yr, when assuming
= 1:6, T = 30K and a Chabrier initial mass function. Using image stacking
we derive a similar star formation rate of 18 2:4M=yr. Based on simple
assumptions we obtain an estimate for the stellar mass of 4;6 1010M. It is
also found that the image stacked result gives a lower
ux than the uv-stacked
result, leading to higher star formation rates for the uv-stacked sources. This star
formation rate can be compared to our current knowledge of our own galaxy.


This thesis explores the lives of young adults (18-25-year-old) who identify as Muslim in Copenhagen and Montreal. As a comparative ethnography, it sets out to examine the transatlantic similarities and differences among young people who grew up in an era where Muslims were often represented as a foreign object in need of integration, and at times as threatening. The thesis investigates processes of representation depicting young Muslims' life histories, social positions and social identifications. Furthermore, it follows these young individuals' movements through their cities and the spatial narratives they construct through these movements. I have sought to unravel the complexity of my interlocutors' self-ascribed identifications of Muslim and Copenhagener/Montrealer – as well as the many other identifications they adopted - by furnishing their narratives with spatial representations; in many ways, these young people were shaped by and shaped the social spaces they inhabit. In so doing, the thesis seeks to counter the populist positioning of 'the Muslim other' by informing the broader themes entailed in the intersection between young adulthood, social mobility, spatial mobility, urban life and self-identification as a Muslim in a Western society.
The ethnographic methods I employed in this study were threefold; I used participant observation to study my interlocutors' social contexts, the cities they live in, and the public debates that permeate their city spaces. Semi-structured interviews were another important avenue for understanding how my interlocutors represented their lives, experiences and social positions. Finally, I used interlocutor-directed city tours to explore their movements in their localities. This last method was an essential instrument with which to situate and contextualize my interlocutors' lives, experiences and navigations within their cities.


Mitigating transmission of SARS-CoV-2 has been complicated by the inaccessibility and, in some cases, inadequacy of testing options to detect present or past infection. Immunochromatographic lateral flow assays (LFAs) are a cheap and scalable modality for tracking viral transmission by testing for serological immunity, though systematic evaluations have revealed the low performance of some SARS-CoV-2 LFAs. Here, we re-analyzed existing data to present a proof-of-principle machine learning framework that may be used to inform the pairing of LFAs to achieve superior classification performance while enabling tunable False Positive Rates optimized for the estimated seroprevalence of the population being tested.


Decoy routing is a recently proposed approach for censorship circumvention. It relies on cooperating ISPs in the middle of the Internet to deploy the so called "decoy routers" that proxy network traffic from users in the censorship region. A recent study, published in an award-winning CCS 2012 paper [24], suggested that censors in highly connected countries like China can easily defeat decoy routing by selecting Internet routes that do not pass through the decoys. This attack is known as "routing around decoys" (RAD). In this paper, we perform an in-depth analysis of the true costs of the RAD attack, based on actual Internet data. Our analysis takes into account not just the Internet topology, but also business relationships between ISPs, monetary and performance costs of different routes, etc. We demonstrate that even for the most vulnerable decoy placement assumed in the RAD study, the attack is likely to impose tremendous costs on the censoring ISPs. They will be forced to switch to much more costly routes and suffer from degradation in the quality of service. We then demonstrate that a more strategic placement of decoys will further increase the censors' costs and render the RAD attack ineffective. We also show that the attack is even less feasible for censors in countries that are not as connected as China since they have many fewer routes to choose from. The first lesson of our study is that defeating decoy routing by simply selecting alternative Internet routes is likely to be prohibitively expensive for the censors. The second, even more important lesson is that a fine-grained, data-driven approach is necessary for understanding the true costs of various route selection mechanisms. Analyses based solely on the graph topology of the Internet may lead to mistaken conclusions about the feasibility of decoy routing and other censorship circumvention techniques based on interdomain routing.


Background: The effect of anterior and posterior leaflet preservation on left ventricular function after mitral valve replacement is still the subject of ongoing research. The objective of this study is to analyze the early outcomes of total leaflets preservation compared to posterior and non-leaflet preservation during mitral valve surgery on cardiac function and dimensions measured by echocardiography and on the clinical outcomes.Methods: This prospective cohort study recruited 155 patients who had mitral valve replacement (MVR) from April 2016 to March 2018 at Assiut University Hospital. Patients were divided into three groups according to the technique of leaflets preservation; Group I (no leaflet preservation-N-MVR), Group II (total leaflet preservation- T-MVR) and Group III (posterior leaflet preservation-P-MVR). Patients who underwent redo mitral valve replacement (MVR) or those with endocarditis and had combined coronary artery bypass grafting with the MVR were excluded from the study.Results: There were nine early deaths (6%); eight patients were in Group I (N-MVR). Causes of mortality were massive intracranial hemorrhage (n= 2) and left ventricular failure (n=6). One patient died in Group III (P-MVR) from intracranial hemorrhage (1.3%). Hospital stay was significantly longer in N-MVR group compared to T-MVR and P-MVR (10.6±2.13 days in N-MVR group; p= 0.03 and 0.011 respectively). Postoperative low cardiac output occurred in all patients in N-MVR group. Left ventricular function (ejection fraction= 61.28±6.02%) and dimensions (end-diastolic diameter= 5.18±0.69 mm, end-systolic diameter= 3.58±0.78 mm) improved significantly in total leaflets preservation group.Conclusion: Leaflet preservation during mitral valve replacement was associated with improved clinical and echocardiographic outcomes. Non-leaflets preservation increased the risk of postoperative complications and length of hospital stay. Leaflet preservation is recommended as the standard approach during mitral valve replacement.


Exposure to high concentrations of inhalable particulate matter (PM) is a known human health risk, depending on the chemical composition of the PM inhaled. Mogale City (Gauteng) is known for having several sources of airborne PM, however, less is known about the metals in the airborne PM. The aim of this study was to determine the metals in measured PM at Kagiso, Mogale City. An independent PM10 monitor was installed at the municipality's existing monitoring site. This monitor continuously monitored PM10 between 23 August and 9 October 2013 and simultaneously sampled particles below 20 µm in diameter onto a glass fibre filter. This filter was replaced once towards the middle of the monitoring period. These two filters were chemically analysed to determine their metal content (30 metals) by the South African Bureau of Standards accredited laboratory at the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research by means of Inductively Coupled Plasma Spectroscopy (ICPS) based on the US EPA Method IO-3.1. To provide an estimate of possible health risk, the metal concentrations were used in a screening US-EPA human health risk assessment (HHRA). Since the analysed metals were reportedly below the detection limit, three hypothetical exposure scenarios (S) based on US-EPA recommendations were created for the HHRA. In S1, concentrations were considered to be the same as the detection limit for each metal; S2 assumed concentrations to be 50% of the detection limit; and S3 put concentrations at 10% of the detection limit. Potential risks (should pollution worsen) of developing respiratory and neurological effects were identified depending on the hypothetical scenarios. Continuous long-term monitoring and chemical characterisation are necessary to confirm these preliminary findings.


For a resilient farming system, smooth and sufficient intergenerational renewal is crucial, and it has been defined as one of nine goals for the CAP post-2020. Before implementing specific policy measures and instruments, however, policy makers must determine the degree and nature of the generational renewal problem that needs to be addressed. Also, policies need to focus on increasing the attractiveness of farming as an occupation and lifestyle, as many non-entry decisions are made before measures aimed at the young farmer start to play a role. Further policy directions include increasing the mobility of land and labour, supporting the management of extreme calamities as they involve a great risk of exit and non-entry and facilitating the provision of personal and farm-specific advice and coaching. The power and responsibility of national and regional governments to address these issues is often underestimated and overlooked.


I have developed a new financial instrument which will be much more valuable than the bonds or the treasury bills government sells in the open market to raise much needed funds to run the country. These are all interest based instruments and can only be used by institutions. The instrument I am proposing is without interest and will be used by everybody to purchased goods and services in the government and private sector resulting in up to 60% discounts .This is why these will be massively bought up front in large amounts in the shortest period of time of one month to run the country for at least a year and much more by the end of the year. INTRODUCTION: The world is facing many challenges with no solution in sight. The main cause of all these ills is the POVERTY. Float bonds which can be used by everybody rich or poor and are not debt to the state so there is no question of interest. How: Take the example of USA which is going through a great recession. USA borrows money by selling treasury bills and the interest based bonds. The suggestion is to sell these bonds on non interest basis EXAMPLE: ONE dollar buys 5 bonds on the condition that the amount should be $100000 or multiple of it. Fewer amounts will get the rate of four and three. This discount massive period is only for first month at the start of the implementation of this system. In the second month the rate will be 4 but the rate of 3 will apply to subsequent months for the same amount WHERE THESE BONDS WILL BE USED? 1. All state controlled services and commodities. EXAMPLE: A bill of (any service or Commodity) $100 can be paid with 200 bonds and there will be no exception to this rule .A NET DISCOUNT OF 60 %. A simple formula will apply: Total bill in dollars x2 is the number of bonds surrendered. Price in bonds will not be less than the cost price but without the direct indirect taxes and the duties which are added to the present to make it very expensive. It will attract at least 50 million people to take this opportunity as early as possible. And if one is sure of making 100% profit within 30 days there will be many more that will help themselves. RESULT - Government gets at least $15 trillion within a very short period of time of few days and much more in the rest of the year .THIS IS NOT A DEBT AS STATE HAS SOLD BONDS( Commodity) WHICH IS AN ALTERNATE CURRENCY AND DO NOT CARRY ANY INTEREST. One immediately thinks who will join this club bear the loss and this loss to the state will not be more than total year budget of $2.5 trillion which it collects in one year with all the taxes and the duties but the bond price is simply a cost price without any kind of tax or duty. So there is a net gain of approximately 2.5 trillion within a short period of time. WHO WILL SELL THESE BONDS? State will float tenders to will select a private agency (USMF) UNITED STATES MONITORY FUND JUST A NAME GIVEN TO THIS ORGANIZATION with the lowest bid WHERE AS second third and forth bidders will be auditors of USMF. This agency will employ at least 20 million unemployed on 10% commission basis and without any salary. These agents will have to pay $500 as an annual fee to USMF in order to build the infrastructure for the sale of bonds. Agents quota Will be $300000 per month or they will be allowed to sell their whole year quota in one day or in a month, This will only materialize if the agent shares his commission with the would be buyer. Greater the share of commission quicker the sale. This investor or a buyer will sell these bonds at the same rate of 5 per dollar and his bonds will sell like hot cakes every day as there is no condition of the amount of money to purchase of bonds. In this way even the poorest person will get the same rate or near the same rate as the investor except for the commission which he takes from the agent who makes almost 100% profit by only investing $100000 .He will sell these bonds repeatedly and will keep at least 6% profit every day till the demand lasts. NOW THINK HOW MUCH STATE HAS ACCUMULATED Much more than few years budget in matter of only one month.


Ubiquitin-like with PHD and ring finger domains 2 (UHRF2) is a multi-domain E3 ubiquitin ligase which is involved in epigenetic regulation and plays an essential role in tumorigenesis. However, the role of UHRF2 in histone H3 acetylation has not yet been fully elucidated and few studies have reported its role in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). In this study, we examined the correlation between UHRF2 and acetylated H3 in HCC. Immunohistochemistry and western blot analysis demonstrated that the levels of histone H3 lysine 9 acetylation (H3K9ac) and histone H3 lysine 14 acetylation (H3K14ac) were higher in the HCC tissues and HepG2 HCC cells compared with the adjacent non-tumor tissues and L02 normal cells. The level of UHRF2 was higher in the HCC tissues compared with the adjacent non-tumor tissues, but its expression did not exhibit a significant difference between the HepG2 HCC cells and the L02 normal cells. In addition, when comparing the HCC tissues, a higher expression of UHRF2 correlated with a lower expression of H3K9ac in the HCC tissues. The overexpression of UHRF2 increased the expression of H3K9ac in L02 normal cells (P<0.01), but decreased the expression of H3K9ac in HepG2 cancer cells (P<0.05). Moreover, immunofluorescence staining and co-immunoprecipitation assay indicated that UHRF2 co-localized and interacted with H3K9ac in L02 and HepG2 cells and the plant homeodomain (PHD) finger domain was the key domain for UHRF2 directly binding to H3K9ac. Taken together, these results suggest that UHRF2 decreases the expression of H3K9ac in HepG2 HCC cells and interacts with it through the PHD domain.


Abstract: Over the last three decades a great deal of research, money, and effort have been put into the development of theory and techniques designed to make conservation more efficient. Much of the recent emphasis has been on methods to identify areas of high conservation interest and to design efficient networks of nature reserves. Reserve selection algorithms, gap analysis, and other computerized approaches have much potential to transform conservation planning, yet these methods are used only infrequently by those charged with managing landscapes. We briefly describe different approaches to identifying potentially valuable areas and methods for reserve selection and then discuss the reasons they remain largely unused by conservationists and land‐use planners. Our informal discussions with ecologists, conservationists, and land managers from Europe and the United States suggested that the main reason for the low level of adoption of these sophisticated tools is simply that land managers have been unaware of them. Where this has not been the case, low levels of funding, lack of understanding about the purpose of these tools, and general antipathy toward what is seen as a prescriptive approach to conservation all play a part. We recognize there is no simple solution but call for a closer dialogue between theoreticians and practitioners in conservation biology. The two communities might be brought into closer contact in numerous ways, including carefully targeted publication of research and Internet communication. However it is done, we feel that the needs of land managers need to be catered to by those engaged in conservation research and that managers need to be more aware of what science can contribute to practical conservation.


This paper addresses holistic management process and the idea of holism, pertained in certain aspects of Western management through the ideas of green marketing and sustainable agriculture. The idea of holism, i.e. consideration for how and in what ways, the sum of all the parts in the company impacts the environment plays especially important role in the companies from the Eastern hemisphere, especially Japan. Since the concept of holistic management is grounded in the Eastern philosophical theories, with profound influence of Buddhism on it, we believe that there might be obstacles in trying to translate it in the so called Western rational management based on the premise of Homo economicus. By outlining the historical development of the Western management thought and the philosophical origins of the holistic management process in the Japanese business, this paper presents some thoughts on the paradigm shift necessary for holism to take full part in the West.


The study was designed to evaluate impacts of #3 container wall attributes on root morphology. Trunk diameter of 'Florida Flame' red maples (Acer rubrum L.) growing in smooth-sided containers was no different than for any other container type. Trees in Smart Pot® grew more in height than trees in Florida Cool Ring™. Only trees in smooth-sided containers had roots 100% around the top of containers. As a result all 9 trees excavated from smooth-sided containers were graded a cull according to Florida Grades and Standards for Nursery Stock. Trees in smooth-side pots had lesser root ball quality rating than all other container types except RootMaker®, but trees in Jackpot™ had a higher quality rating than those in smooth-sided and RootMaker® pots. No container reduced length of descending, ascending, or kinked roots compared to smooth-sided containers. RootBuilder® had fewer descending roots than Jackpot™. RootMaker® developed more roots growing up the container wall than any other container except smooth-sided. Diameter of the 5 largest roots emerging from the trunk was smaller in Jackpot™ than smooth-sided, RootBuilder®, RootMaker®, and Smart Pot® containers. RootMaker® had larger diameter peripheral roots than Fanntun pot, Jackpot™ and Smart Pot®. Jackpot™ had smaller diameter peripheral roots than smooth-sided and Smart Pot®. A higher percentage of the largest 5 roots branched as they met the container wall in Smart Pot®, RootBuilder®, and Fanntum Pot compared to smooth-sided. A larger percentage of the 5 largest roots circled in the RootMaker® than in Air-Pot™, Florida Cool Ring™, and Jackpot™.


Textbooks frequently extol plate tectonics theory without questioning what might be wrong with the theory or without discussing a competitive theory. How can students be taught to challenge popular ideas when they are only presented a one-sided view? In just a few pages, I describe more than a century of geodynamic ideas. I review what is wrong with plate tectonics theory and with Earth expansion theory, and describe my new Whole-Earth Decompression Dynamics Theory, which unifies the two previous dominant theories in a self- consistent manner. Along the way, I disclose details of what real science is all about, details all too often absent in textbooks and classroom discussions. In these few pages, I only touch on highlights and just part the curtain a bit so that teachers might glimpse ways to bring to their students some of the richness and excitement of discovery that becomes evident when one begins to question prevailing, currently popular perceptions of our world.


Mycotoxins are important contaminants of food and feed. In this study, low fermenting yeast (Lachancea thermotolerans) and its derivatives were applied against toxigenic fungi and their mycotoxins. A. parasiticus, P. verrucosum and F. graminearum and their mycotoxins were exposed to yeast volatile organic compounds (VOCs) and cells, respectively. VOCs reduced significantly the fungal growth (up to 48%) and the sporulation and mycotoxin synthesis (up to 96%). Very interestingly, it was shown that even 7 yeast colonies reduced Fusarium's growth and the synthesis of its mycotoxin, deoxynivalenol (DON). Moreover, decreasing yeast nutrient concentrations did not affect the inhibition of fungal growth, but reduced DON synthesis. In addition, inactivated yeast cells were able to remove up to 82% of the ochratoxin A (OTA). As an application of these findings, the potentialities of the VOCs to protect tomatoes inoculated with F. oxysporum was explored and showed that while in the presence of VOCs, no growth was observed of F. oxysporum on the inoculated surface areas of tomatoes, in the absence of VOCs, F. oxysporum infection reached up to 76% of the tomatoes' surface areas. These results demonstrate that the application of yeasts and their derivatives in the agriculture and food industry might be considered as a very promising and safe biocontrol approach for food contamination.


"No state ...shall deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws." So says the Equal Protection Clause of the U.S. Constitution, a document held dear by Carl Cohen, a professor of philosophy and longtime champion of civil liberties who has devoted most of his adult life to the University of Michigan. So when Cohen discovered, after encountering some resistance, how his school, in its admirable wish to increase minority enrollment, was actually practicing a form of racial discrimination--calling it "affirmative action"--he found himself at odds with his longtime allies and colleagues in an effort to defend the equal treatment of the races at his university. In A Conflict of Principles Cohen tells the story of what happened at Michigan, how racial preferences were devised and implemented there, and what was at stake in the heated and divisive controversy that ensued. He gives voice to the judicious and seldom heard liberal argument against affirmative action in college admission policies. In the early 1970s, as a member of the Board of Directors of the American Civil Liberties Union, Cohen vigorously supported programs devised to encourage the recruitment of minorities in colleges, and in private employment. But some of these efforts gave deliberate preference to blacks and Hispanics seeking university admission, and this Cohen recognized as a form of racism, however well-meaning. In his book he recounts the fortunes of contested affirmative action programs as they made their way through the legal system to the Supreme Court, beginning with DeFunis v. Odegaard (1974) at the University of Washington Law School, then Bakke v. Regents of the University of California (1978) at the Medical School on the UC Davis campus, and culminating at the University of Michigan in the landmark cases of Grutter v. Bollinger and Gratz v. Bollinger (2003). He recounts his role in the initiation of the Michigan cases, explaining the many arguments against racial preferences in college admissions. He presents a principled case for the resultant amendment to the Michigan constitution, of which he was a prominent advocate, which prohibited preference by race in public employment and public contracting, as well as in public education. An eminently readable personal, consistently fair-minded account of the principles and politics that come into play in the struggles over affirmative action, A Conflict of Principles is a deeply thoughtful and thought-provoking contribution to our national conversation about race.


Objectives:Central venous catheter insertions may lead to preventable adverse events. Attending physicians' central venous catheter insertion skills are not assessed routinely. We aimed to compare attending physicians' simulated central venous catheterinsertion performance to published competency standards. Design:Prospective cohort study of attending physicians' simulated internal jugular and subclavian central venous catheter insertion skills versus a historical comparison group of residents who participated in simulation training. Setting:Fifty-eight Veterans Affairs Medical Centers from February 2014 to December 2014 during a 2-day simulation-based education curriculum and two academic medical centers in Chicago. Subjects:A total of 108 experienced attending physicians and 143 internal medicine and emergency medicine residents. Intervention:None. Measurements and Main Results:Using a previously published central venous catheter insertion skills checklist, we compared Veterans Affairs Medical Centers attending physicians' simulated central venous catheter insertion performance to the same simulated performance by internal medicine and emergency medicine residents from two academic centers. Attending physician performance was compared to residents' baseline and posttest (after simulation training) performance. Minimum passing scores were set previously by an expert panel. Attending physicians performed higher on the internal jugular (median, 75.86% items correct; interquartile range, 68.97–86.21) and subclavian (median, 83.00%; interquartile range, 59.00–86.21) assessments compared to residents' internal jugular (median, 37.04% items correct; interquartile range, 22.22–68.97) and subclavian (median, 33.33%; interquartile range, 0.00–70.37; both p < 0.001) baseline assessments. Overall simulated performance was poor because only 12 of 67 attending physicians (17.9%) met or exceeded the minimum passing score for internal jugular central venous catheter insertion and only 11 of 47 (23.4%) met or exceeded the minimum passing score for subclavian central venous catheter insertion. Resident posttest performance after simulation training was significantly higher than attending physician performance (internal jugular: median, 96%; interquartile range, 93.10–100.00; subclavian: median, 100%; interquartile range, 96.00–100.00; both p < 0.001). Conclusions:This study demonstrates highly variable simulated central venous catheter insertion performance among a national cohort of experienced attending physicians. Hospitals, healthcare systems, and governing bodies should recognize that even experienced physicians require periodic clinical skill assessment and retraining.


The assumption of aggregate matching functions in labor markets is tested using a network configuration model for directed multigraphs. We use employer–employee matched records of the universe of employees and firms in Finland and find that aggregate matching functions, even at the level of submarkets, cannot explain the vast majority of the observed patterns of labor flows between firms. Our findings suggest the need for theoretical frameworks that take into account the structure of labor market frictions.


Careful reflection is needed in examining options for streamlining and capacitating the myriad Africa-led initiatives that have emerged recently in the area of resource governance. The best known among them – the Africa Mining Vision (AMV) and its implementing arm, the African Minerals Development Centre (AMDC) – have faced implementation challenges since the AMV's endorsement by African heads of state in 2009. This briefing argues that important insights emerging from ground-level research by African institutions should play a greater role in shaping the new African-inspired resource governance frameworks. These initiatives should also try to engage more systematically with the experiences of forerunner frameworks, many of which have accumulated years of potentially useful experience on addressing resource management issues in the African context. Finally, the twin challenges of duplication in African efforts and the lack of appropriate technical capacity to guide them must be addressed if the recent shift to African leadership in this policy area is to gain meaningful traction.


This dissertation investigates the question: are mission critical occupations more favored than other occupations in performance appraisals in pay pools? While many types of bias in performance appraisals occur, such as gender or race, occupational bias--favoring or showing preference for one occupation over another in performance appraisals and subsequent ratings-has not been fully examined. There is a lack of empirical evidence that addresses occupational bias in performance appraisal and ratings in the Federal civil service sector, and more specifically the Department of Defense. The importance of occupational bias in performance appraisals is seen in the cost to organization and taxpayer, the degradation to fairness and trust in the workplace, and the erosion of organizational values. The methodology used to address this dissertation"s hypothesis is a quantitativequalitative inquiry that investigates performance ratings of the engineering occupational series within three Department of Defense (DOD) engineering agencies. The methodology is comprised of three parts: quantitative analysis of pay pool rating data and qualitative analysis of archived documents and expert interviews. Each part of the methodology is intended to be mutually supportive. The quantitative analysis yields a null finding of the hypothesis based on two findings. First, indicators of occupational bias were not found using differences of average occupational performance ratings between engineers and other occupations in three DOD engineering organizations. Second, Fiscal Year 2008 engineer occupational series performance ratings in three Department of Defense engineering agencies did not show statistically significant differences when compared to occupations such as personnel management specialists and accountants. This may be due to privacy act limitations in the data set used. Anecdotal evidence of preferences for mission critical occupations in performance appraisals and ratings was found to support the hypothesis.


CRISPR-Cas adaptive immunity systems of bacteria and archaea insert fragments of virus or plasmid DNA as spacer sequences into CRISPR repeat loci. Processed transcripts encompassing these spacers guide the cleavage of the cognate foreign DNA or RNA. Most CRISPR-Cas loci, in addition to recognized cas genes, also include genes that are not directly implicated in spacer acquisition, CRISPR transcript processing or interference. Here we comprehensively analyze sequences, structures and genomic neighborhoods of one of the most widespread groups of such genes that encode proteins containing a predicted nucleotide-binding domain with a Rossmann-like fold, which we denote CARF (CRISPR-associated Rossmann fold). Several CARF protein structures have been determined but functional characterization of these proteins is lacking. The CARF domain is most frequently combined with a C-terminal winged helix-turn-helix DNA-binding domain and "effector" domains most of which are predicted to possess DNase or RNase activity. Divergent CARF domains are also found in RtcR proteins, sigma-54 dependent regulators of the rtc RNA repair operon. CARF genes frequently co-occur with those coding for proteins containing the WYL domain with the Sm-like SH3 β-barrel fold, which is also predicted to bind ligands. CRISPR-Cas and possibly other defense systems are predicted to be transcriptionally regulated by multiple ligand-binding proteins containing WYL and CARF domains which sense modified nucleotides and nucleotide derivatives generated during virus infection. We hypothesize that CARF domains also transmit the signal from the bound ligand to the fused effector domains which attack either alien or self nucleic acids, resulting, respectively, in immunity complementing the CRISPR-Cas action or in dormancy/programmed cell death.


Our purpose in this study was to investigate the effect of acupuncture therapy on body weight and on levels of the serum total cholesterol, triglyceride, high-density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol and low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol in obese women. Fifty-five women were studied in three groups as follows: (1) control group (n = 12; mean age = 43.3 +/- 4.3, and mean body mass index {BMI} = 32.2 +/- 3.4); (2) electroacupuncture (EA) (n = 22; mean age = 39.8 +/- 5.3, and BMI = 34.8 +/- 3.3); and (3) diet restriction (n = 21; mean age = 42.7 +/- 3.9, and BMI = 34.9 +/- 3.3). EA was performed using the ear points, Sanjiao (Hungry) and Shen Men (Stomach), and the body points, LI 4, LI 11, St 25, St 36, St 44 and Liv 3, once daily, for 30 minutes, for 20 days, whereas patients on diet restriction had a 1425 Kcal diet program, that consisted of 1425 Kcal daily for 20 days. There was a 4.8% weight reduction in patients with EA application, whereas patients on diet restriction had a 2.5% weight reduction. There were significant decreases in total cholesterol and triglyceride levels in EA and diet groups compared with the control group (p < 0.05 in both cases). Furthermore, there was a decrease in LDL levels in the EA group compared with the control group (p < 0.05). No significant changes could be found in HDL levels among the three groups. Our results suggest that EA application in obese women may decrease the serum total cholesterol, triglyceride, and LDL cholesterol levels by increasing the serum beta endorphin level. This lipolytic effect of EA may also reduce the morbidity of obesity by mobilizing the energy stores that result in weight reduction.


In this book a number of dialects are used, to wit: the Missouri negro dialect; the extremest form of the backwoods South-Western dialect; the ordinary "Pike-County" dialect; and four modified varieties of this last. The shadings have not been done in a hap-hazard fashion, or by guesswork; but pains-takingly, and with the trustworthy guidance and support of personal familiarity with these several forms of speech. I make this explanation for the reason that without it many readers would suppose that all these characters were trying to talk alike and not succeeding.'


Is a new system of economic and commercial relations emerging across the wider Atlantic space? This article explores this question by identifying factors and actors likely to shape economic trends over the next decade; illuminating key dimensions the main 'tracks' along which change may be assessed; and combining these factors and trends to project key dimensions and over-the-horizon narratives of change for the evolving pan-Atlantic commercial space in a world of more diffuse power and interdependence in 2025.


Abstract Numerous studies have documented how prey may use antipredator strategies to reduce the risk of predation from a single predator. However, when a recolonizing predator enters an already complex predator–prey system, specific antipredator behaviors may conflict and avoidance of one predator may enhance vulnerability to another. We studied the patterns of prey selection by recolonizing wolves (Canis lupus) and cougars (Puma concolor) in response to prey resource selection in the northern Madison Range, Montana, USA. Elk (Cervus elaphus) were the primary prey for wolves, and mule deer (Odocoileus hemionus) were the primary prey for cougars, but elk made up an increasingly greater proportion of cougar kills annually. Although both predators preyed disproportionately on male elk, wolves were most likely to prey on males in poor physical condition. Although we found that the predators partitioned hunting habitats, structural complexity at wolf kill sites increased over time, whereas complexity of cougar kill sites decreased. We concluded that shifts by prey to structurally complex refugia were attempts by formerly naïve prey to lessen predation risk from wolves; nevertheless, shifting to more structurally complex refugia might have made prey more vulnerable to cougars. After a change in predator exposure, use of refugia may represent a compromise to minimize overall risk. As agencies formulate management strategies relative to wolf recolonization, the potential for interactive predation effects (i.e., facilitation or antagonism) should be considered.


Abstract Lavas from the current eruption of the Soufrière Hills Volcano (SHV), Montserrat exhibit evidence for magma mingling, related to the intrusion of mafic magma at depth. We present detailed field, petrological, textural and geochemical descriptions of mafic enclaves in andesite erupted during 2009–2010, and subdivide the enclaves into three distinct types: type A are mafic, glassy with chilled margins and few inherited phenocrysts; type B are more evolved with high inherited phenocryst content and little glass, and are interpreted as significantly hybridized; type C are composite, with a mafic interior (type A) and a hybrid exterior (type B). All enclaves define tight linear compositional trends, interpreted as mixing between a mafic end member (type A) and host andesite. Enclave glasses are rhyolitic, owing to extensive crystallization during quenching. Type A quench crystallization is driven by rapid thermal equilibration during injection into the andesite. Conversely, type B enclaves form in a hybridized melt layer, which ponded near the base of the chamber and cooled more slowly. Vesiculation near the mafic–silicic interface resulted in disruption of the hybridized layer and the formation of the type B enclaves. The composite enclaves represent an interface between types A and B, suggesting multiple episodes of mafic injection.


The section of Gorgo a Cerbara in Italy has been proposed as the Global Stratotype Section and Point (GSSP) for the Barremian/Aptian boundary (Lower Cretaceous). This section displays the transition between the white pelagic limestones of the Maiolica Formation (Tithonian—lowermost Aptian) and the polychrome marls of the Marne a Fucoidi Formation (Aptian—Albian). The Oceanic Anoxic Event 1a (OAE 1a) anoxic horizon (Selli Level) is located in the latter formation. Here, we report for the first time a palynostratigraphical assessment of this key section, with a very high resolution in the Selli Level. Palynomorph groups recorded include acritarchs, microforaminiferal test linings, 58 dinoflagellate cysts, 44 sporomorph taxa, and freshwater fungal and algal bodies. These include such biostratigraphical markers as Rhynchodiniopsis aptiana and Odontochitina operculata among the dinoflagellate cysts and Afropollis cf. jardinus among sporomorphs. Biostratigraphical events recognised allow comparisons with previously studied successions in other similar areas (e.g. Cismon apticore in the Southern Alps, Italy). The distribution of taxa recorded in the Gorgo a Cerbara section is generally consistent with published data, but several differences between the assemblages recorded in the Cismon apticore and in this study were noted. The best global markers for the Barremian/Aptian boundary are represented by the disappearance of R. aptiana and by the appearance of O. operculata, but in this section these occurred 0.65–1.35 Myr after the magnetostratigraphically defined boundary, within the Selli Level. The angiosperm pollen A. cf. jardinus is recorded only within the Selli Level (from 1.4 to 1.6 Myr after the Barremian/Aptian boundary), consistent with an Early Aptian age. A cluster of 10 extremely short-ranging dinoflagellate cyst excursion taxa appear in this section coincident with the Nannoconid Crisis event and its associated thermal peak, ca. 10–20 kyr before the onset of the OAE 1a. Several short-ranging Pteridophyta spore species are found only within the Selli Level itself.


Controlling broadband light in nanoscale volumes is a desired goal in nanophotonics. Metastructures tackle this problem by subwavelength nanostructured patterns. The current technology reaches footprints of 50 nm with plasmonic nanostructures. Scaling down these values is challenging, especially in low loss dielectrics. Here, a new class of metasurfaces is introduced, "printed" point‐to‐point by free‐electron waves and created by altering the resonant atomic transition of inexpensive photosensitive materials. With this approach it is possible to directly write a desired distribution of refractive index and extinction coefficient with a resolution equal to the focusing accuracy of the electron beam, theoretically limited to the single nanometer. An application of this technology is illustrated in structural coloration. Currently, the best results are obtained with plasmonics at 127 000 dual polarization interferometry (DPI), with 50–200 nm structures and chromaticity ranging from blue to yellow. Free‐electron metasurfaces can generate the complete spectrum of colors of the cyan, yellow, magenta, and black system with resolutions up to 256 000 DPI, and nanostructures of 10 nm radius by using a single inexpensive layer of transparent material. This platform can enable a new generation of low cost transparent media supporting ultradense optical circuitry for broadband light control.


A study was conducted on the evaluation of energy use patterns in millet (Pennisetum
glaucum [L.] R. Br.) production for some selected farms in north eastern part of Jigawa State, Nigeria.
Millet farmers were categorized into five (5) groups base on the their farm sizes, that is Group I –
farmers with farm size greater than or equal to 5 hectares, Group II – farmers with farm size between
3-4 hectares, Group III – farmers with farm size between 2-3 hectares, Group IV – farmers with farm
size between 1-2 hectares, Group V – farmers with farm size equal to or less 1 hectare. Fifty (50)
farmers were interviewed from each of the groups. Data for energy input resources during millet
production from land preparation up to harvesting/threshing were collected using structural
questionnaire and oral interviews. A total of 250 sample data were collected. Results show that energy
resources used by the farmers in the five groups considered were manual (human labour), animal
draft, manure, chemical fertilizer, farmyard manure, mechanical and seed (millet) as biological. The
various field operations considered during this study were land clearing, soil tillage, planting, weeding,
farmyard manure/fertilizers and harvesting and threshing. The study revealed that all farmers group
studied had the least amount of energy input for land clearing that varied between 4-8% and highest
intensities of energy used in was soil tillage and weeding that varied between 25-40%. It was shown
that group V farmers consumed the highest total energy values of 6078 MJ/ha in their millet
production while farmers group I expended the least amount of total energy value of 1705 MJ/ha and
total energy output during millet crop production was the highest found in group I farmers and the
least total energy output was found in group II farmers with values of 13100 MJ/ha and 2300 MJ/ha
respectively. A linear relationship between total energy inputs and outputs was obtained with R2 values
of 0.88 using t-test at 0.05 level of significance it shows significant increase in energy input increases
energy output. Energy use ratio values revealed that there was high efficient level of energy use by
group III farmers low efficient energy use by group I farmers with values of 2.4 and 1.3 respectively.
It is recommended that similar studies be carried out for some other crops commonly produced in
north eastern Jigawa State in order to have more data for comparison.


We study the relative power of learning with gradient descent on differentiable models, such as neural networks, versus using the corresponding tangent kernels. We show that under certain conditions, gradient descent achieves small error only if a related tangent kernel method achieves a non-trivial advantage over random guessing (a.k.a. weak learning), though this advantage might be very small even when gradient descent can achieve arbitrarily high accuracy. Complementing this, we show that without these conditions, gradient descent can in fact learn with small error even when no kernel method, in particular using the tangent kernel, can achieve a non-trivial advantage over random guessing.


The transparent conductor (TC) layer in thin film solar cell modules has a significant impact on the power conversion efficiency. Reflection, absorption, resistive losses and lost active area either from the scribed interconnect region in monolithically integrated modules or from the shadow losses of a metal grid in standard modules typically reduce the efficiency by 10–25%. Here, we perform calculations to show that a competitive TC must have a transparency of at least 90% at a sheet resistance of less than 10 Ω/sq (conductivity/absorptivity ≥ 1 Ω−1) for monolithically integrated modules. For standard modules, losses are much lower and the performance of alternative lower cost TC materials may already be sufficient to replace conducting oxides in this geometry.


In a recent Nature paper, McDermott et al. (2016) conclude that the perception of consonance arises from familiarity with the conventions of Western harmonic music and is relatively unconstrained by auditory neurobiology. We refute this idea, citing cross-cultural, developmental and comparative evidence to the contrary, and raising concerns over McDermott et al.9s methodology. We conclude that although familiarity plays an important role in shaping tonal preferences, it must not be cast in opposition to clear biological constraints. Biology and culture (nature and nurture) interact to shape how we experience music, and theories that neglect the former do so at their peril.


They are run hard economic times and rapid changes in the technological environment. We are
currently experiencing an information revolution without realizing it and without knowing fully
the technology that surrounds us, and neither do their really powerful. These new changes
that are happening made ourselves constantly update knowledge related to new technologies.
The needs of people are growing and depend on the age of the information internet browsing.
Today, many people do daily activities in relation to this environment, and we have many
services associated with computers and phones.
One of the most important human needs that exist in the world is taking care of our planet.
That's the reason why is detected the need to drastically reduce paper consumption due to
high global deforestation which is under way. Companies have realized that printing paper
invoices not stop, contributes to deforestation, which is why, since different countries are
treating this issue very closely and are forcing companies to make bigger efforts in this regard.
Companies do not just get global benefits such as reducing paper; they are also reducing their
costs to avoid the process entails getting bills for different customers, suppliers, employees,
companies and public administration.
Regarding the needs and trend of bills in recent years, was born the idea of a web platform
administration called Facturoteca electronic invoices. This platform aims to make a link
between individuals and companies and even among small businesses, SMEs and large
companies.
The problem that exists is that the bills are given to products or services purchased, so there is
the need to receive, manage and pay these bills. Facturoteca it aims to be a company to
centralize bills to facilitate all the tasks of storage, control, analysis and management of all
types of bills. This tool would allow huge savings of time for people who contracted this service
and at the same time, through various ancillary services, would help analyse what is paid and
why is paid to keep all documentation in an orderly manner, to have access to this from
different places, hear about deals and other consumption.
Opt for the SME sector and individuals for the numerous advantages: the technology is
affordable, the market is large and barriers to entry are low. This combination of elements
makes the technology services sector very attractive to SMEs. This could be seen as a
countermeasure, due to is so an attractive sector, the risk of new competitors is constantly
widening. But to enter the sector is necessary to know the secrets that make it up: what is the
need for customer service look like, how to use technology, how to solve the problems of
information systems, etc. In this view the future company takes an edge over competitors in
the future, as currently there is competition, but works with fully electronic invoices still only
large enterprises, forgetting the individuals.
It is based on the idea, the knowledge needed to start the technique, but not enough. Today,
due to the increasing competitiveness and greater knowledge, and therefore, higher customer
requirements, forcing companies to look for solutions unlikely increasingly attractive and of
course the best price.
One problem for all new business is where to look for and find the first customer. Therefore it
is important to clearly define and structure a plan that will enable communication and
advertising company unveiled the fastest way possible. The communication plan begins to
transmit company values implied by the corporate image and finding the best way to advertise
in the media available.
The human potential makes birth and grow the company. These are the people that make
possible the development of the activity, and choosing the right group to participate in the
project can make the difference between success and failure.
Finally, the above would be meaningless if it was not backed by a financial study that made
possible the development of the professional activity. The first thing to consider is the legal
form of the company and once chosen, you can already do a calculation of the initial
investment required: formation expenses, initial publicity, cost of software, etc.
Facturoteca is intended as a small business based on a web platform, which thanks to the
ability of the promoter, planned human potential, communication and good economic
forecasts, has emerged as a company intended to achieve success in their professional activity
and have a steady growth.


Readily available 1,1-dichloro-2-alkynes are versatile starting materials for the synthesis of polyfunctionalized allenes. They can be prepared from commercially available terminal alkynes in a two-step procedure. The Cu-mediated reaction of several 1,1-propargylic derivatives with functionalized alkyl, benzylic, or allylic zinc reagents proceeds exclusively with S(N)2' selectivity and allows a rapid and efficient synthesis of functionalized chloroallenes. These chloroallenes undergo a novel Cu(I) -catalyzed substitution reaction with functionalized arylmagnesium reagents with excellent S(N)2 selectivity to give trisubstituted polyfunctionalized allenes. The functional group tolerance is excellent and functionalities, such as cyano, keto, ester, phosphate, trifluoromethyl, and halogens, are well tolerated.