Concessionary fares schemes are very widespread and account for a large proportion of local authority public transport budgets. The reorganisation of the public transport industry as a result of the Transport Act 1985 means that concessionary fares schemes have to be made available to all operators within the local authority area. Operators are reimbursed for carrying these concessionary passengers. Reimbursement is calculated according to the principle of revenue foregone so it is necessary to take into account any extra travel that such concessions might generate. This report uses the 1985/86 National Travel Survey (NTS) to describe the local authority provision of concessionary fares schemes for Old Age Pensioners (OAPs) on local bus services. It looks at the effects of these local authority provided schemes by estimating the extra travel generated by different types of concessions. (Author/TRRL)


This report describes the current state of motor technology and estimates opportunities for energy savings through application of more advanced technologies in a variety of residential and commercial end uses. The objectives of this report were to characterize the state and type of motor technologies used in residential and commercial appliances and equipment and to identify opportunities to reduce the energy consumption of electric motor-driven systems in the residential and commercial sectors through the use of advanced motor technologies. After analyzing the technical savings potential offered by motor upgrades and variable speed technologies, recommended actions are presented.


Virtual water has been proposed as a mechanism with potential to reduce the effects of water scarcity on food security. To evaluate the ro l of virtual water in reducing the effect of water scarcity on food security, all components of the av ail ble water resource in agricultural areas must be quantified to provide a basis for evaluating foo d imports driven by water scarcity. We refer to this situation as 'agri-compatible connections' amo ng water scarcity, virtual water, and food security. To date, this has not been captured in th e literature on water scarcity, virtual water flows and food security. The lack of agri-compatibility h as rendered the virtual water concept seemingly inconsistent with trade theories and water-food sec urity policy needs. We propose two requirements for achieving agri-compatible connecti ons: (i) the limit of crop production imposed by water scarcity should be captured by quantifying all components of the water available to satisfy specific crop water requirement in the impo rting economy, and (ii) food import should satisfy 'water-dependent food security' need, which is the actual or potential food security gap created by insufficient available water from all so urces for crop production (all other things being equal). Further, we propose that agri-compatible wa ter scarcity should capture three key elements: (i) a reflection of aridity or drought potential, ( ii) quantification of all the components of water resource available to a given crop at a given local ity and time, and (iii) use of cropand catchment-specific water scarcity factors to evalua te the effect of crop production and virtual 292 water on water scarcity. In this paper, we show the conceptual outlines for the proposed agricompatible connections. Achieving agri-compatible c onnections among water scarcity, virtual water and food security will enhance the analysis a nd understanding of the role of virtual water for food security in the importing economy and water sc arcity in the exporting economy. We suggest that achieving agri-compatibility will improve the use of virtual water as a mechanism to reduce existing and future pressures on global food securi ty.


The aim of this article is to examine the potentially controversial role of sustainability reporting in the tobacco industry and to see how the selected company reacted to the new EU Directive 2014/95/EU on non-financial reporting. The key findings are: (1) The company was actively preparing for sustainability reporting even before the new regulation came into force. (2) The parent company was concerned about the impact of its activities on stakeholders including the local community. (3) Financial donations became less popular through the years. (4) The company states that it cares about the health of its customers, the working environment, and the labour conditions of its suppliers. Even though the company operates as part of a controversial industry, it is trying to convince stakeholders, using its reporting style, that it is socially and environmentally responsible.


A "principal-protected" note is a common design for structured product offerings. It is often marketed as a conservative and prudent approach to buffer against a complicated or risky market exposure. In practice, a "principal-protected" note is made up of two underlying components: a zero-coupon bond and a call option. Thorough analysis of these notes suggests that investors might benefit significantly from acquiring and managing the two underlying components independently. This unbundled approach likely improves the market and credit risk profile of the strategy, as well as enhances the liquidity, transparency, fee, and tax aspects. Finally, it readily allows for the consideration of alternative tools to best address a particular investor's objective.


Since the abundance of the O isotope in calcium carbonate varies with the temperature at which it is deposited from water, the variation in abundance can be used as a thermometer. This paper discusses the following problems: (1) the magnitude of the effect expected, (2) the mass spectrometer of high sensitivity, (3) the preservation of the record during geological time, (4) the constancy of the isotopic composition of the ocean, (5) the impossibility of using skeletons of air breathing animals, and (6) the temperature of marine animals relative to their surroundings. A Jurassic belemnite is used to show that the record has been retained since Jurassic times, and belemnites of the Upper Cretaceous of the United States, England, and Denmark are used to determine the temperature of this time at these localities. The temperatures are about 15°-16°C and indicate nearly uniform temperature over this latitudinal belt. Because of the possible variation in O content of the oceans and the limited number of samples, these temperatures are regarded as preliminary.


The OSMOSIS project used a fleet of gliders to survey at the Porcupine Abyssal Plain
(North Atlantic) from September 2012 to September 2013. Different physical and
biogeochemical parameters (salinity, temperature, oxygen concentration, chlorophyll
fluorescence) were measured in the top 1000 m of the water column. The present study focused
on calibrating and analysing the oxygen concentration data.
The mixing layer depth was defined as the depth where oxygen concentration varied by
more than 0.5% from its value at 5 m. The mixing layer was shallower than the mixed layer,
defined by density and temperature. In cases of low turbulence, the mixing layer described the
vertical extent of the biologically productive layer (except deep chlorophyll maximums).
Net community production was calculated over a year-cycle with an oxygen-budget
approach. Net autotrophy was found at the site with a net production of (6.4 ± 1.9) mol m-2 in
oxygen equivalents. The period exhibiting a deep chlorophyll maximum contributed (1.5 ± 0.5)
mol m-2 to the total production. The results were higher than most of the previous estimates and
the productive season longer than that considered in previous studies. Increased net community
production was related to the decrease in water turbulence and mixing layer shoaling,
confirming the validity of the mechanism proposed by the model of Enriquez and Taylor
(2015).
Gross primary production was calculated from the difference between rate of oxygen
increase during the day and decrease during the night, diel cycle shown by in situ data in the top
20 m of the column. Physical processes often disrupted the biological diel cycle and restricted
the analysis to four periods during the year. The gross primary production ranged between 6
mmol m-2 d-1 and 13 mmol m-2 d-1. Results suggest an enhancement of the gross primary
production when the mixing layer shoals.


This paper explores the emerging role of the private sector and public-private partnerships for e-waste management in the developing world. We use a combination of two conceptual frameworks, the triple bottom line approach and the sustainable livelihoods approach, to analyze the case study of the Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) programme in Nigeria, which was launched in 2016. The sustainable livelihoods approach has been adopted in international development for over two decades, but so far it has not been applied for inclusion of informal sector workers in e-waste. Our findings illustrate how the financial and environmental bottom lines have already received considerable attention during the development of the Nigerian EPR programme, but that the social elements, in particular informal sector inclusion, have received less attention. Consequently, based on proven practices of the sustainable livelihoods approach, this paper identifies opportunities and provides recommendations as to how the international and national private sector players and government agencies involved in Nigeria's e-waste EPR programme can establish a social engagement model to support inclusion of the informal sector. This model would not only help meet the financial and environmental bottom lines, but also address the social bottom line to improve livelihood outcomes for informal e-waste recyclers.


Starch is a sustainable polysaccharide with many existing and foreseen applications. Even if a plethora of routes have been described to plasticize it, e.g. with glycerol, sorbitol, and polyols, there remain major challenges related to retrodegradation, stability, and plasticizer leaching. Here we describe plasticization of starch using star-shaped molecules to combine the seemingly conflicting requirements: efficient plasticization typically assigned to low molecular weight hydrogen bonding plasticizers and reduced leaching typical for high molecular weight molecules. Efficient plasticization is allowed by the short, flexible, and hydrogen bonding dangling side chains, which are connected to the core of the plasticizer, leaving crystalline starch domains to allow self-reinforcement. The star-shaped plasticizer, a cyclic phosphazene having six covalently bound aminoethoxy ethanol side groups, was synthesized via nucleophilic substitution, and a series of films using rice starch and different weight fractions of the plasticizer were prepared by drop casting. Incorporating ≥ca. 10 wt% of the plasticizer leads to transparent plasticized films. FTIR indicates that the samples having ≤ca. 60 wt% of the plasticizer involve both plasticized amorphous domains and reinforcing crystalline domains, suggesting self-reinforced nanocomposite structures. The composition with 20 wt% of the plasticizer shows a high tensile modulus of 1.12 GPa and a yield strength of 20.9 MPa, still showing a large strain of 8.8%. No retrodegradation is observed after two months and no clear tackiness is observed even during aging of one year, suggesting stability and suppressed plasticizer leaching. We suggest that the star-shaped hydrogen bonding plasticizers show promising potential to optimize starch-based materials for advanced applications.


1. The wavelength, tail-beat frequency and trailing-edge amplitude have been measured for five groups of rainbow trout at various subfatigue cruising speeds. Four groups of fish were fitted with extra drag loads. The swimming mode was anguilliform by definition, but is probably best considered as intermediate between this and the carangiform mode. 2. The wavelength of the propulsive wave represented 0.76 of the body length. The specific amplitude (amplitude/length) tended to reach a maximum value of 0.175 at tail-beat frequencies approaching 5/sec. 3. The product of frequency and specific amplitude was found to be linearly related to swimming speed in all five groups of fish. 4. The critical swimming speed for the non-loaded control group was 1.73 body length/sec, and fell in groups 1-4 as the magnitude of the extra drag loads increased. The critical swimming speed for the control group is low for salmonids, probably as a result of the unfavourable history of the fish. 5. A method is described for calculating the drag of a swimming fish from the effects of the extra loads on the characteristics of the propulsive wave. It was found that thrust, T = 7.9 (swimming speed) 1.79 . The thrust was approximately 2.8 times greater than that required for an equivalent straight rigid vehicle. 6. It was calculated that the power output of the red muscle system would need to be about 0.48-0.77 ergs/sec/g muscle to overcome the drag of the fish at cruising speeds. 7. The power output of the fish was compared with values calculated by means of mathematical models proposed by Taylor and Lighthill. It was found that the fish did not fit the assumptions made in Taylor9s model, and so power output calculations were not comparable with those calculated in the present paper. Lighthill9s model was found to give values which were within 5 % of the values calculated here at higher swimming speeds. At lower swimming speeds the values were up to about 50 % lower than expected because again the fish did not fit the assumptions involved. 8. The relationship between thrust and swimming speed was extended into the sprint-speed range. It was calculated that fish could reach a maximum sprint speed maintained for 1 sec, provided that drag was reduced by about a half, or that the power required was that to accelerate the fish to that speed.


Description: Anatomy and Physiology for Veterinary Technicians and Nurses: A Clinical Approach is a comprehensive resource on the anatomy and physiology of dogs and cats, with comparisons to horses, birds, and ruminants. Organized by body system with a comparative approach, the book follows a unique format by addressing anatomy separately from physiology for clarity and improved comprehension. Each anatomy chapter has a corresponding physiology chapter, complete with illustrations, charts, and boxes to promote understanding. Written specifically for veterinary technicians and nurses, the book applies anatomy and physiology to clinical practice, with case examples demonstrating clinical relevance. The figures from the book, additional questions and answers, labeling quizzes, teaching PowerPoints, and a dissection video are available online. This introduction to body system analysis of normal structure and function is a must–have resource for students of veterinary technology and nursing, as well as a useful quick review for the busy professional. Key features-Discusses anatomy and physiology in separate sections to promote a fuller understanding-Allows the reader to build a complete understanding of anatomy to better understand complex physiological concepts-Focuses on clinical relevance, with case scenarios for each chapter-Poses questions for self–assessment and to aid comprehension-Emphasizes dogs and cats, with notes on horses, birds, and ruminants-Includes access to the figures from the book, additional questions and answers, labeling quizzes, teaching PowerPoints, and a dissection video at [URL]


The onset of the early Aptian oceanic anoxic event (OAE) 1a (ca. 120 Ma) coincided with a major perturbation of the carbon cycle, which is reflected in the sedimentary carbon isotope record. Triggering mechanisms, duration, and climatic repercussions of this episode of accelerated organic matter burial remain poorly constrained. Here, we present millennial-scale bulk rock carbon and oxygen isotope data from a marly subtropical intrashelf basin (La Bedoule, southeast France) with unusually high sedimentation rates, which track the onset of OAE1a in unprecedented resolution. Our record reveals that the negative, low-amplitude delta(13)C excursion preceding OAE1a lasted >100 k.y., implying that enhanced volcanic CO(2) emission and/or pulsed methane dissociation over a prolonged time span were instrumental in triggering OAE1a. The main positive carbon isotope shift at the onset of OAE1a, previously regarded as continuous, occurred stepwise over an extended period of >300 k.y. Transient climate cooling during the initial delta(13)C increase probably reflects ephemeral high-latitude glaciation, triggered by changes in radiative forcing and drawdown of atmospheric CO(2).


Background: Family history is an established risk factor for breast cancer. Although some important genetic factors have been identified, the extent to which familial risk can be attributed to genetic factors versus common environment remains unclear. Methods: We estimated the familial concordance and heritability of breast cancer among 21,054 monozygotic and 30,939 dizygotic female twin pairs from the Nordic Twin Study of Cancer, the largest twin study of cancer in the world. We accounted for left-censoring, right-censoring, as well as the competing risk of death. Results: From 1943 through 2010, 3,933 twins were diagnosed with breast cancer. The cumulative lifetime incidence of breast cancer taking competing risk of death into account was 8.1% for both zygosities, although the cumulative risk for twins whose co-twins had breast cancer was 28% among monozygotic and 20% among dizygotic twins. The heritability of liability to breast cancer was 31% [95% confidence interval (CI), 10%–51%] and the common environmental component was 16% (95% CI, 10%–32%). For premenopausal breast cancer these estimates were 27% and 12%, respectively, and for postmenopausal breast cancer 22% and 16%, respectively. The relative contributions of genetic and environmental factors were constant between ages 50 and 96. Our results are compatible with the Peto–Mack hypothesis. Conclusion: Our findings indicate that familial factors explain almost half of the variation in liability to develop breast cancer, and results were similar for pre- and postmenopausal breast cancer Impact: We estimate heritability of breast cancer, taking until now ignored sources of bias into account. Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev; 25(1); 145–50. ©2015 AACR.


Historically, rendering system development has been mainly focused on improving the numerical accuracy of the rendering algorithms and their runtime efficiency. In this paper, we propose a method to improve the correctness not of the algorithms themselves, but of their implementation. Specifically, we show that by combining static type checking and generic programming, rendering system and shader development can take advantage of compile‐time checking to perform dimensional analysis, i.e. to enforce the correctness of physical dimensions and units in light transport, and geometric space analysis, i.e. to ensure that geometric computations respect the spaces in which points, vectors and normals were defined. We demonstrate our methods by implementing a CPU path tracer and a GPU renderer which previews direct illumination. While we build on prior work to develop our implementations, the main contribution of our work is to show that dimensional analysis and geometric space checking can be successfully integrated into the development of rendering systems and shaders.


3rd party content service expands the variety of contents that IPTV usually distributes and opens the opportunity to create new and attractive content to anyone. However, the hosting service for 3rd party content demands high cost. Therefore, IPTV provider needs an effective strategy of resource management to minimize the cost. Thereby, the cost function is based on the IPTV management of content including storage and distribution. This paper proposes three cost-based policies management. In addition, we design an experiment to evaluate each policy for two types of 3rd party content service i.e. static and dynamic and suggest the least-cost policy management that complies with Service Level Agreements (SLAs) delivering the 3rd party content in the shortest period of time.


What explains differences in pre-market factors? Three types of inputs are believed to determine the skills agents take to the labor market: ability, family inputs and school inputs. Therefore to answer the previous question it is crucial to understand first the importance of each of those inputs. The literature on the production of achievement has not been able to provide an estimation that can take the three factors into account simultaneously at the student level. This paper intends to fill this gap by providing an estimation of the production function of achievement where both types of investments (families and schools) are considered in a framework where the inputs are allowed to be correlated with the unobserved term, ability to learn. I do that by applying Olley and Pakes' (1996) algorithm which accommodates for endogeneity problems in the choice of inputs for the production of achievement and by using parents' saving for their child's postsecondary education to control for the unobserved component (i.e. ability to learn) in the production of skills. The estimates for the role of family inputs are in line to previous findings. Additionally, the estimates of school inputs show that they are also important for the formation of students' skills even after controlling for ability to learn.


Manufacturing panels from Tetra Pak® (TP) packaging material might be an alternative to conventional wood-based panels. This study evaluated some chemical and physical properties as well as biological, weathering, and fire performance of panels with and without zinc borate (ZnB) by using shredded TP packaging cartons. Such packaging material, a worldwide well-known multilayer beverage packaging system, is composed of cellulose, low-density polyethylene (LDPE), and aluminum (Al). Panels produced from waste TP packaging material were also examined by FT-IR to understand the fungal deterioration and extent of degradation after accelerated weathering. Before FT-IR investigations, panel specimens were ground under nitrogen atmosphere due to non-uniformity of the composite material. The FT-IR results showed that fungal degradation occurred in the natural polymer of the panel matrix. Although the natural polymer is mostly composed of cellulose, there were also small amounts of polyoses and lignin. It was seen that especially polyose and lignin bands in FT-IR spectra were affected more than cellulose bands by fungal attack. No changes were observed by the fungi in the plastic component (LDPE) of the matrix; however, LDPE seemed more sensitive to weathering than cellulose. Incorporation of ZnB at loading level of 1% (w/w) did not contribute fire performance of the panels when compared to control panel specimens, while a loading level of 10% improved fire performance considering test parameters such as mass loss, ignition time and peak heat release rate.


against suicide The recent paper by Gunnell et al and the accompanying editorial by Pitman & Caine clearly outline the practice and principles of a contemporary approach to suicide prevention in mental health settings. However, I do not think the policy initiative that every patient with a serious mental illness or a recent episode of self-harm should be followed up within a week of discharge is really a high-risk approach to suicide prevention. Patients who self-harm and those with serious mental illness must constitute the vast majority of people who are admitted to psychiatric hospitals and therefore this recommendation is more like a universal precaution against suicide than a targeted intervention based on a high-risk model. In my view there are compelling reasons to doubt the usefulness of high-risk categorisation for future suicide at the point of discharge from psychiatric hospitals. It is known that discharged patients have about a 100-fold increased risk of suicide compared with the general community in their first few weeks at home. However, those categorised as at high risk of suicide after discharge are only about four times more likely to take their own life than discharged patients categorised as at low risk of suicide. Hence, compared with the risk of just being a discharged patient, being at high risk or low risk is virtually meaningless. If the English guideline for early follow-up of patients has been successful, this is almost certainly because it approximates a universal precaution against suicide and not because of the success of a high-risk approach. We need to acknowledge that all those admitted to psychiatric hospitals have a very high absolute risk of suicide and that we are unable to tell who will be safe.


Arctic Indigenous communities have been classified as highly vulnerable to climate change impacts. The remoteness of Arctic communities, their dependence upon local species and habitats, and the historical marginalization of Indigenous peoples enhances this characterization of vulnerability. However, vulnerability is a result of diverse historical, social, economic, political, cultural, institutional, natural resource, and environmental conditions and processes and is not easily reduced to a single metric. Furthermore, despite the widespread characterization of vulnerability, Arctic Indigenous communities are extremely resilient as evidenced by subsistence institutions that have been developed over thousands of years. We explored the vulnerability of subsistence systems in the Cup'ik village of Chevak and Yup'ik village of Kotlik through the lens of the strong seasonal dimensions of resource availability. In the context of subsistence harvesting in Alaska Native villages, vulnerability may be determined by analyzing the exposure of subsistence resources to climate change impacts, the sensitivity of a community to those impacts, and the capacity of subsistence institutions to absorb these impacts. Subsistence resources, their seasonality, and perceived impacts to these resources were investigated via semi-structured interviews and participatory mapping-calendar workshops. Results suggest that while these communities are experiencing disproportionate impacts of climate change, Indigenous ingenuity and adaptability provide an avenue for culturally appropriate adaptation strategies. However, despite this capacity for resiliency, rapid socio-cultural changes have the potential to be a barrier to community adaptation and the recent, ongoing shifts in seasonal weather patterns may make seasonally specific subsistence adaptations to landscape particularly vulnerable.


Deep Roots presents a series of works by six of the most established international artists who have engaged with soils over many years. It ranges from previously unseen work by Mel Chin, who uses plants to extract heavy metals from contaminated land, to that of Claire Pentecost who has refashioned soil into the shape of gold ingots to reflect its true worth. Individual works by seven British artists working with soils today are also shown.

The exhibition is the climax of the Soil Culture programme, initiated by the Centre for Contemporary Art and the Natural World in partnership with Falmouth University, to celebrate the UN International Year of Soils.

Artists are Paolo Barrile, Mel Chin, Herman de Vries, Richard Long, Ana Mendieta and Claire Pentecost with work by Chris Drury, Andy Goldsworthy, Sandra Masterson, Daro Montag, David Nash, Peter Ward and Adam White.


Phase conjugation in stimulated Brillouin scattering (SBS) from an optical waveguide is studied numerically, using a Cartesian two-dimensional propagation code (bounce) that includes pump depletion. The simulations show that light scattered back through a phase aberrator produces a far-field profile closely matching that of the incident beam; however, the near-field intensity exhibits large and rapid spatial inhomogeneities across the entire aberrator, even for conjugation fidelities H as high as 98%. This effect can be only partially removed by spatial-filtering techniques. The dependence of H on SBS gain, scattering length L, and the average intensity Ī and angular divergence θD of the pump beam is first studied in the low-reflectivity regime (i.e., ignoring pump depletion). For amplitude gains ≳e10, H decreases monotonically with the factor Ī/θD that is due to a small-scale intensity pulling effect. This result appears to be independent of whether θD arises entirely from the aberrator or from a combination of the aberrator plus curvature introduced by a lens. In all cases, pump depletion is found to enhance the fidelity by inhibiting the small-scale pulling effect. Under appropriate conditions, this can actually reverse the intensity dependence of H seen in the absence of pump depletion.


We consider the asymptotic option pricing formula under an infinite variance paradigm using a randomized version of the Cox–Ross–Rubinstein binomial option pricing approach. We discuss practical difficulties in applying the asymptotic formula and suggest a non-parametric bootstrap as an estimation technique. Using point process theory, the asymptotic consistency of the bootstrap approach is established under a resampling scheme of m=o(n). We briefly discuss extensions to correlated data and show the option pricing formula may no longer be valid in such settings. Finally, we consider a finite variance setting involving innovations from a variance gamma process. We derive the asymptotic option pricing formula and show that the non-parametric bootstrap is consistent.


Abstract We developed two leafy spurge bacterial artificial chromosome (BAC) libraries that together represent approximately 5× coverage of the leafy spurge genome. The BAC libraries have an average insert size of approximately 143 kb, and copies of the library and filters for hybridization-based screening are publicly available through the Arizona Genomics Institute. These libraries were used to clone full-length genomic copies of an AP2/ERF transcription factor of the A4 subfamily of DEHYDRATION-RESPONSIVE ELEMENT-BINDING PROTEINS (DREB) known to be differentially expressed in crown buds of leafy spurge during endodormancy, a DORMANCY ASSOCIATED MADS-BOX (DAM) gene, and several FLOWERING LOCUS T (FT) genes. Sequencing of these BAC clones revealed the presence of multiple FT genes in leafy spurge. Sequencing also provided evidence that two different DAM transcripts expressed in crown buds of leafy spurge during endo- and eco-dormancy result from alternate splicing of a single DAM gene. Sequence data from the FT promoters was used to identify several conserved elements previously recognized in Arabidopsis, as well as potential novel transcription factor binding sites that may regulate FT. These leafy spurge BAC libraries represent a new genomics-based tool that complements existing genomics resources for the study of plant growth and development in this model perennial weed. Furthermore, phylogenetic footprinting using genes identified with this resource demonstrate the usefulness of studying weedy species to further our general knowledge of agriculturally important genes. Nomenclature: Arabidopsis, Arabidopsis thaliana L. ARATH; leafy spurge, Euphorbia esula L. EPHES.


During his confirmation hearings before the Judiciary Committee of the United States Senate, then Judge John Roberts testified that he wanted to be a "modest" judge. By this, he appears to have meant a judge who strives to interpret the law as the lawmakers intended, and provides judicial answers only to the questions necessary to resolve the case before the court. The purpose of this article is to consider the implications of this conception of "judicial modesty" for the constitutional jurisprudence of abortion. The first section of this article will consider whether the Constitution, by its terms, historical understanding, or previous judicial interpretation, required the Court to constitutionalize questions related to abortion. My conclusions compel me to join the legions of legal scholars who have sharply criticized the reasoning employed by the Court in Roe v. Wade. Section two of the article attempts to determine whether the Court expanded or limited the impact of Roe's flawed reasoning in its subsequent abortion cases until the time of Chief Justice Robert's confirmation. The evidence largely supports the conclusion that the Court expanded its flawed reasoning, reaching new heights of judicial hubris in Planned Parenthood of Southeastern Pennsylvania v. Casey and new lows in its indifference to the evidentiary record in Stenberg v. Carhart. The third section of this article then carefully examines Ayotte v. Planned Parenthood of Northern New England and Gonzales v. Carhart. These are the only two decisions on abortion that have issued since Chief Justice Roberts assumed leadership of the Supreme Court. These cases appear to foreshadow greater judicial restraint when reviewing abortion-related legislation, and thus greater freedom for the people and their elected representatives to decide the proper limits of the state's interest in protecting women and the unborn life they carry within them. In the final section, I briefly speculate about the impact of a judicially modest approach in shaping future abortion jurisprudence. I predict fewer successful facial challenges to abortion regulations; greater emphasis on the requirements of constitutional and prudential standing; skepticism regarding claims of third-party representation; and careful review of the evidentiary record offered to support assertions that contested abortion regulations unduly burden women's liberty when seeking abortions. Contrary to claims made in abortion activitists' hysterical denunciations of Carhart II, the Court's decision upholding the federal partial-birth abortion ban, I conclude that a judicially modest approach is unlikely to result in the overruling of Roe v. Wade within the foreseeable future.


Recommender Systems have obvious influence in environments where data size exceeds the capabilities of any user to fully explore the available choices in the store (physical or on-line). Many algorithms and techniques have been used to help recommending useful and interesting items to users. If the user is unidentified, the process is even harder as there are no historical or other data to use as input. Association rules is a popular technique used for many purposes in Recommender Systems such as for building more robust systems, improving quality of recommendations; and even addressing fundamental limitations of recommender systems and, generally, large datasets, e.g. sparsity and cold start. At the same time, efforts have been made to fully understand if and how differently customers are behaving in an online and in a physical environment.This work tries to combine the two efforts. We use association rules to provide recommendations to customers, as well as understand who the customer is, what her needs are and what is her mentality when entering a physical store or the corresponding e-shop. To fulfill our goal, we used descriptive statistics along with Association Rules analysis of the POS transactional data on basket data level and historical data level.


The objective of this study was to characterize the fatty acids (FA) in milk based on genetic and herd parameters to investigate the origin of the different FA in milk. Milk samples of 1912 Dutch Holstein-Friesian cows were analysed for 39 different FA including odd and branched-chain fatty acids. The proportion of variation caused by genetic and herd effects was calculated. In addition, genetic and herd correlations among the fatty acids were estimated and a clustering technique was used to visualise these correlations. The results indicated that in Dutch milk C12:0 is not completely synthesised de novo but also partly blood derived. It was suggested that C20:0 in milk is formed from the action of elongase enzymes on C18:0 and that the odd-chain FA C5:0–C13:0 and a part of C15:0 and C17:0 are synthesised de novo while the other part of C15:0 and C17:0 is blood derived. Furthermore, this work gives an overview of the opportunities to change the concentration of individual FA both by breeding and feeding. It is clearly shown that the extent to which the individual FA can be changed varies greatly and is dependent on the origin of the different FA in milk.


The suppression of the individual Υ(nS) states in PbPb collisions with respect to their yields in pp data has been measured. The PbPb and pp data sets used in the analysis correspond to integrated luminosities of 150 μb(-1) and 230 nb(-1), respectively, collected in 2011 by the CMS experiment at the LHC, at a center-of-mass energy per nucleon pair of 2.76 TeV. The Υ(nS) yields are measured from the dimuon invariant mass spectra. The suppression of the Υ(nS) yields in PbPb relative to the yields in pp, scaled by the number of nucleon-nucleon collisions, R(AA), is measured as a function of the collision centrality. Integrated over centrality, the R(AA) values are 0.56±0.08(stat)±0.07(syst), 0.12±0.04(stat)±0.02(syst), and lower than 0.10 (at 95% confidence level), for the Υ(1S), Υ(2S), and Υ(3S) states, respectively. The results demonstrate the sequential suppression of the Υ(nS) states in PbPb collisions at LHC energies.


Test case prioritization is the process of ordering the execution of test cases to achieve a certain goal, such as increasing the rate of fault detection. Increasing the rate of fault detection can provide earlier feedback to system developers, improving fault fixing activity and, ultimately, software delivery. Many existing test case prioritization techniques consider that tests can be run in any order. However, due to functional dependencies that may exist between some test cases-that is, one test case must be executed before another-this is often not the case. In this paper, we present a family of test case prioritization techniques that use the dependency information from a test suite to prioritize that test suite. The nature of the techniques preserves the dependencies in the test ordering. The hypothesis of this work is that dependencies between tests are representative of interactions in the system under test, and executing complex interactions earlier is likely to increase the fault detection rate, compared to arbitrary test orderings. Empirical evaluations on six systems built toward industry use demonstrate that these techniques increase the rate of fault detection compared to the rates achieved by the untreated order, random orders, and test suites ordered using existing "coarse-grained" techniques based on function coverage.


Since the early 1920s, when furfural was first produced, several other processing routes have been developed but none have been able to produce yields comparable to those obtained in the standard TAPPI procedure for xylan which almost completely converts xylan to furfural. Karl Zeitsch, a German chemist, believed that the key feature of a process which could achieve high yields was rapid removal of the furfural on formation. Zeitsch suggested using gas phase HCl catalysis to produce gaseous furfural from xylan containing material, the process was titled s-Suprayield. The experimental apparatus heated a water and HCl solution to a superheated vapour phase and then allowed for contact of the vapour and a bed of pentosan-containing material (in this case sunflower husks). The raw material was analysed by the TAPPI procedure for xylose while the product solutions were analysed for HCl, acetic acid and furfural by titration and refractive index. Tests were performed at four acid concentrations of 0.5, 1.1, 2.2, 4.3% wt and three different temperatures viz. 163oC, 152 oC and 144 oC. The best yields of over 80% were achieved when an acid concentration of 4.3% was used. Temperature did not appear to be as significant a factor as acid concentration in affecting the furfural yield. At an acid concentration of 0.5% the yield was low ranging from 33% to 42%. The reactor modelling was used to verify the results. The s-Suprayield process has been demonstrated to be successful at mini-pilot plant scale indicating that a process using gaseous catalysis to produce furfural at moderate temperatures and low acid concentrations can work and that further exploration of this process should be undertaken for potential industrial use. Acid concentration was observed to have a significant effect on the reaction yield while the effect of temperature was not clear from the experimental results. Further work should focus on understanding the reaction kinetic and the development of a laboratory scale test method for which parameters such as gas flow rate and temperature can be properly controlled. Product analysis should be more rigorous with the use of an HPLC.


Based on simulations of implied values for credit worthiness over a period of 5 years for 1000 consumers, we establish a case for the semi-markov models as a proxy for internal credit risk models for a portfolio of consumer loans. With ample calibration, we prove the robustness of the semi-markov models in forecasting probabilities of default and loss given default. With a view of credit risk as a reliability problem, we generate credit risk indicators as qualifications of adequacy of a loan portfolio. This informs prospective holding of capital based on forecast delinquencies as opposed to the current retrospective practice that relies on the trigger event of default. We use Monte-Carlo simulation techniques to generate consumer ratings and adopt this to the Merton model to derive the initial probability transition matrix. Initial consumer rating is in accordance with industry practice using a credit score sheet backed by the logit model. The banking credit function could espouse the study results to fulfill regulatory credit risk capital requirements for consumer loans in line with the Central Bank of Kenya Prudential Risk Guidelines or banks in other jurisdictions compliant with the Basel banking framework.


Consumption of highly colored fruits and vegetables rich in anthocyanins has been associated with numerous health benefits. Purple carrots (PC) and purple potatoes (PP) have higher anthocyanin concentrations and higher biological activities compared with less pigmented cultivars. We hypothesized that substitution of the majority of carbohydrate in a high fat diet with PP or PC, for 8 weeks, would improve insulin resistance and hypertension, major components of metabolic syndrome, compared with orange carrots (OC), white potatoes (WP) or a control, high fat, sucrose-rich diet (HFD) in obese Zucker rats. After 8 weeks of feeding, intraperitoneal glucose tolerance test, intraperitoneal insulin tolerance test (ipITT), and invasive hemodynamic tests were performed. The PP group had better glucose tolerance compared with the WP and the HFD groups and higher insulin sensitivity as measured by the ipITT and homeostatic model assessment of insulin resistance (P = .018) compared with the HFD without having any effect on blood pressure. The PC reduced left ventricular pressure compared with both the HFD (P = .01) and the OC (P = .049) groups and reduced systolic and diastolic blood pressures compared with the HFD group (P = .01 and <.0001, respectively) without having any effect on glucose homeostasis. The PC animals consumed more and were more obese than other groups, possibly obscuring any benefit of this vegetable on glucose tolerance. The bioactives in the vegetables responsible for blood pressure and glucose homeostasis could be different, and their effects could be independent of each other. The specific bioactives of each vegetable and their molecular targets remain to be identified. Nonetheless, incorporation of purple vegetables in functional food products may provide metabolic/cardiovascular benefits in the background of a high-fat diet that promotes obesity.


This is a complex and complete picture of the theory, practice, and reception of Sophistic argument. Recent decades have witnessed a major restoration of the Sophists' reputation, revising the Platonic and Aristotelian 'orthodoxies' that have dominated the tradition. Still lacking is a full appraisal of the Sophists' strategies of argumentation. Christopher W. Tindale corrects that omission in "Reason's Dark Champions". Viewing the Sophists as a group linked by shared strategies rather than by common epistemological beliefs, Tindale illustrates that the Sophists engaged in a range of argumentative practices in manners wholly different from the principal ways in which Plato and Aristotle employed reason. By examining extant fifth-century texts and the ways in which Sophistic reasoning is mirrored by historians, playwrights, and philosophers of the classical world, Tindale builds a robust understanding of Sophistic argument with relevance to contemporary studies of rhetoric and communication. Beginning with the reception of the Sophists in their own culture, Tindale explores depictions of the Sophists in Plato's dialogues and the argumentative strategies attributed to them as a means of understanding the threat Sophism posed to Platonic philosophical ambitions of truth seeking. He also considers the nature of the 'sophistical refutation' and its place in the tradition of fallacy. Tindale then turns to textual examples of specific argumentative practices, mapping how Sophists employed the argument from likelihood, reversal arguments, arguments on each side of a position, and commonplace reasoning. What emerges is a complex reappraisal of Sophism that reorients criticism of this mode of argumentation, expands understanding of Sophistic contributions to classical rhetoric, and opens avenues for further scholarship.


We are currently witnessing major changes to the regulation of privacy, both in Europe and North America, as well as in the Asia-Pacific region. One of the most complex and controversial aspects of any regulatory scheme addressing privacy is the regulation of cross-border data flows, and such regulation has become all the more complex in an interconnected world. After providing some necessary background observations regarding the issues surrounding the regulation of cross-border data flows on the Internet, this article identifies and analyses eight fundamental policy considerations for any regulatory scheme addressing cross-border privacy issues.


Current research in text simplification has been hampered by two central problems: (i) the small amount of high-quality parallel simplification data available, and (ii) the lack of explicit annotations of simplification operations, such as deletions or substitutions, on existing data. While the recently introduced Newsela corpus has alleviated the first problem, simplifications still need to be learned directly from parallel text using black-box, end-to-end approaches rather than from explicit annotations. These complex-simple parallel sentence pairs often differ to such a high degree that generalization becomes difficult. End-to-end models also make it hard to interpret what is actually learned from data. We propose a method that decomposes the task of TS into its sub-problems. We devise a way to automatically identify operations in a parallel corpus and introduce a sequence-labeling approach based on these annotations. Finally, we provide insights on the types of transformations that different approaches can model.


It is widely recognized that a major challenge in low carbon transitioning is the reduction of energy consumption. This implies a signifi cant level of transformation in our ways of living, meaning the challenge is one that runs deep into the fabric of our personal lives. In this article we combine biographical research approaches with concepts from Bourdieu's practice theory to develop understanding of processes of change that embed particular patterns of energy consumption. Through an analysis of "case biographies" we show the value of biographical methods for understanding the dynamics of energy demand.


Urban sensing describes the use of today's mobile devices to collectively gather information about environmental issues of public interest. Such information and communication technology (ICT) tools can enhance current e-government practices by enabling citizens to actively participate in urban decision making and service delivery. Yet, it is widely unclear whether there is a link between the citizens' propensity to participate and the use of urban sensing technology. In this study we draw on technology acceptance literature to propose a model for the acceptance of a mobile reporting service, i.e. a sensing tool for reporting urban infrastructure issues to a municipality. The model explains perceived usefulness of urban sensing by the citizen's degree of environmental awareness and his/her willingness to participate in public affairs. Furthermore, we conceptualize mobile literacy as an important antecedent of perceived ease of use. Empirical tests using data from 200 potential service adopters support these ideas. The findings also suggest that for mobile e-government offerings, perceived privacy risks are not a significant barrier to adoption. These results provide important implications for theory and practice.


Between late 1938 and August 1939, eight children's transports left Prague, bringing 669 children to Great Britain to escape the Holocaust. This rescue mission has been increasingly discussed on both popular and scholarly platforms in recent years. The commemoration of Sir Nicholas Winton, who has been credited with single-handedly organizing this rescue, has been promoted by the now-adult children themselves and enthusiastically supported by the British and Czech governments, even though this operation was not, in fact, led by Winton alone but was part of a much larger voluntary sector project to support refugees fleeing fascism. This article outlines the intricate and, at times, fraught organization of the child migration and questions the historical implications of venerating humanitarian actors.


BACKGOUND AND PURPOSE: Published reports of controlled experiments designed to evaluate the performance of over-the-wire microcatheter systems are rare and have often been based on subjective impressions from small clinical series. This investigation was designed to compare the load forces required to propel state-of-the-art, hydrophilically coated microcath-eters from each of four manufacturers through a standardized tortuous pathway constructed of polytetrafluoroethylene tubing. METHODS : Currently available hydrophilically coated microcatheters were provided by four manufacturers. A 20-cm long, three-dimensional pathway simulating the intracranial carotid circulation was constructed of 0.065-in. (inner diameter) polytetrafluoroethylene tubing and immersed in a water bath at 37°C. Testing was performed using an Instron tabletop load frame fitted with a 2-lb load cell. Durability and load force tests were conducted using a 0.014-in. stainless steel noncoated guidewire, with the wire tip protruding 1 cm beyond the catheter tip. At least four samples of microcatheters from each manufacturer were tested. RESULTS : Extensive trackability testing of the guidewire alone established reproducible performance with maximum load forces of less than 8 g. Maximum gram forces for the four reinforced microcatheters were not greatly different, measuring between 9 and 14 g. Excessive buckling of the only nonreinforced catheter was initially overcome early in the pathway in a staccato, stepwise fashion. After reaching a critical load, however, the catheter and guidewire prolapsed. CONCLUSION : All reinforced microcatheters tested established good and reproducible performance in our model. Reinforced microcatheters provided superior trackability over the one nonreinforced device tested. Over-the-wire


In the early days of the Internet, researchers across various fields and disciplines focused on the phenomenon of digital divides and digital inequalities, and this area is reviving as a focus of research. However, with changing proportions of Internet users and non-users and the perception from the Internet shifting from being a new innovation to something that the majority of citizens in North America and Western Europe take for granted come changing foci of investigation and changing questions. In this paper, we will investigate the history of digital divides and inequalities in the United States, with a case study of an ongoing survey of the State of Michigan. Using data sets reaching back to 1997, this paper examines how the very definition and severity of digital divides have evolved over the last twenty years in Michigan and in the US as a whole. The observed changes in the proportion of users and non-users as well as the frequency of use and the way we inquire about digital divides and inequalities can be a powerful and informative tool for understanding not only the history of digital divides, but also remind the research community of the dramatic changes that have occurred in the Internet's short history in ways that can open up new and old streams of research for understanding digital divides in countries with low or high proportions of Internet users.


When a transition probability matrix is represented as the product of two stochastic matrices, swapping the factors of the multiplication yields another transition matrix that retains some fundamental characteristics of the original. Since the new matrix can be much smaller than its precursor, replacing the former for the latter can lead to significant savings in terms of computational effort. This strategy, dubbed the "stochastic-factorization trick," can be used to compute the stationary distribution of a Markov chain, to determine the fundamental matrix of an absorbing chain, and to compute a decision policy via dynamic programming or reinforcement learning. In this paper we show that the stochastic-factorization trick can also provide benefits in terms of the number of samples needed to estimate a transition matrix. We introduce a probabilistic interpretation of a stochastic factorization and build on the resulting model to develop an algorithm to compute the factorization directly from data. If the transition matrix can be well approximated by a low-order stochastic factorization, estimating its factors instead of the original matrix reduces significantly the number of parameters to be estimated. Thus, when compared to estimating the transition matrix directly via maximum likelihood, the proposed method is able to compute approximations of roughly the same quality using less data. We illustrate the effectiveness of the proposed algorithm by using it to help a reinforcement learning agent learn how to play the game of blackjack.


BACKGROUND
Photodynamic therapy (PDT) has been shown to be an effective treatment modality for surface-oriented neoplasms of the skin, respiratory, gastrointestinal, and urogenital systems. The purpose of our study was to assess the safety and efficacy of PDT using Photofrin in the treatment of squamous cell carcinomas of feline facial skin.

MATERIALS AND METHODS
Cats with naturally occurring squamous cell carcinomas of the skin were entered into the study. PDT was delivered to the tumors using an argon-pumped dye laser 48 hours after the administration of the photosensitizer porfimer sodium (Photofrin). Following treatment, the tumors were evaluated for complete response rates and local control durations.

RESULTS
Eight tumors were staged T1a, 9 staged T1b, and 14 staged T2b. Complete response rates as well as local control durations were significantly related to stage (p < 0.0001). Complete response was achieved in 100% of the T1a tumors and 53% of the T1b tumors; the overall 1-year local control rate for all treated tumors was 62%. Clinical, hematological, and biochemical evidence of toxicity was not seen in any cat following drug administration.

CONCLUSION
PDT with the photosensitizer Photofrin was safe and effective in treating early stage squamous cell carcinomas of the feline skin.


Unsupervised learning of 3D-aware generative adversarial networks (GANs) using only collections of single-view 2D photographs has very recently made much progress. These 3D GANs, however, have not been demonstrated for human bodies and the generated radiance fields of existing frameworks are not directly editable, limiting their applicability in downstream tasks. We propose a solution to these challenges by developing a 3D GAN framework that learns to generate radiance fields of human bodies or faces in a canonical pose and warp them using an explicit deformation field into a desired body pose or facial expression. Using our framework, we demonstrate the first high-quality radiance field generation results for human bodies. Moreover, we show that our deformation-aware training procedure significantly improves the quality of generated bodies or faces when editing their poses or facial expressions compared to a 3D GAN that is not trained with explicit deformations.


The methodology for finding the same individual in a network of cameras must deal with significant changes in appearance caused by variations in illumination, viewing angle and a person's pose. Re-identification requires solving two fundamental problems: (1) determining a distance measure between features extracted from different cameras that copes with illumination changes (metric learning); and (2) ensuring that matched features refer to the same body part (correspondence). Most metric learning approaches focus on finding a robust distance measure between bounding box images, neglecting the alignment aspects. In this paper, we propose to learn appearance measures for patches that are combined using a spring model for addressing the correspondence problem. We validated our approach on the VIPeR, i-LIDS and CUHK01 datasets achieving new state of the art performance.


Newton-Krylov methods are standard tools for solving nonlinear problems. A common approach is to 'lag' the Jacobian when assembly or preconditioner setup is computationally expensive, in exchange for some degradation in the convergence rate and robustness. We show that this degradation may be partially mitigated by using the lagged Jacobian as an initial operator in a quasi-Newton method, which applies unassembled low-rank updates to the Jacobian until the next full reassembly. We demonstrate the effectiveness of this technique on problems in glaciology and elasticity. (authors)


Corn stover and rice straw lignin samples received from ethanol pilot plants, along with softwood kraft lignin samples, were characterized using pyrolysis GC-MS, 13C CP/MAS NMR spectroscopy, and permanganate oxidation degradation. The lignins were then esterified using 1-methylimidazole as a catalyst in a pyridine-free reaction, and the thermal properties of the products were evaluated. Solid state NMR showed the rice straw lignin contained 18% residual polysaccharides. Pyrolysis GC-MS showed the softwood kraft, corn stover, and rice straw lignins to be G – type, H/G/S – type, and G/S – type, respectively. However, some discrepancy was apparent between the pyrolysis and permanganate oxidation studies as to the ratios of the monomeric make-up of the lignins. The kraft and rice straw lignins were determined to have high degrees of condensation, while the corn stover lignin was uncondensed. Little to no increase in solubility was noticed for corn stover or rice straw lignin esters in organic solvents. Glass transition temperatures (Tg) of the lignin derivatives were determined by a combination of differential scanning calorimetry, dynamic mechanical analysis, and parallel plate rheometry.


Abstract This study provides the first assessment of the latent structure of the Profile of Emotional Distress (PED). The PED is a self-report measure of emotional distress (ED) associated strongly with its links to Rational Emotive Behaviour Therapy (REBT). To date, the PED has been weakly conceptualized using both unitary and binary models of ED. In this study, the dimensionality of the PED was examined within an alternative models' framework using confirmatory factor analysis and bifactor modelling techniques. A total of 313 law enforcement, military, and related emergency-service personnel completed the PED. Results indicated that a bifactor model conceptualization was the best fit of the data. The bifactor model included a single general factor (ED) and four grouping factors (Concern, Anxiety, Sadness, Depression). Model parameter estimates indicated that the ED factor accounts for the majority of covariance among the observable indicators. Low factor loadings were observed on each of the grouping factors, thus subscale construction is not recommended. Composite reliability results demonstrated that the ED factor possesses excellent internal reliability. The PED was found to be a reliable and valid measure of emotional distress.


We show that the degenerate positive-norm physical propagating fields of the open bosonic string can be gauged to the higher rank fields at the same mass level. As a result, their scattering amplitudes can be determined from those of the higher spin fields. This phenomenon arises from the existence of two types of zero-norm states with the same Young representations as those of the degenerate positive-norm states in the old covariant first quantized (OCFQ) spectrum. This is demonstrated by using the lowest order gauge transformation of Witten's string field theory (WSFT) up to the fourth massive level (spin-five), and is found to be consistent with conformal field theory calculation based on the first quantized generalized sigma-model approach. In particular, on-shell conditions of zero-norm states in the OCFQ stringy gauge transformation are found to correspond, in a one-to-one manner, to the background ghost fields in off-shell gauge transformation of WSFT. The implication of decoupling of scalar modes on Sen's conjectures is also briefly discussed.


This research sought to determine whether or not futures methods are scalable and applicable to individual lives. Could the same futures methods that are used effectively around the world by governments, institutions and businesses be applied successfully to individuals? This paper describes the development of a futuring process for individuals. This system substantially reduces complexity and guides individuals through the steps of personal research, scenario development, and personal strategic planning. Post-doctoral experience suggests some effective learning approaches.


As works councils' information, consultation and co-determination rights affect the decision process of the management, works councils play a key role in the implementation of digital technologies in establishments. However, previous research focuses on the potential of digital technologies to substitute for labor and its impact on labor market outcomes of workers. This paper adds the role of industrial relations to the existing literature by analyzing the impact of works councils on the implementation of digital technologies. Theoretically, the role of works councils in the digital transformation is ambiguous. Using establishment data from the IAB Establishment Survey of 2016 combined with individual employee data from the Federal Employment Agency and occupational level data about the physical job exposure, empirical evidence indicates an ambivalent position of works councils towards digital technologies. The sole existence of works councils is associated with statistically significant lower equipment levels with digital technologies. However, works councils seem to foster the equipment with digital technologies in those establishments, which employ a high share of workers who are conducting physical demanding job activities. Thus, this study highlights the importance of establishment-level workforce representation for the digital adoption process within Germany. *Corresponding author: Sabrina Genz, Institute for Employment Research, Nuremberg, Germany; and University of Erlangen-Nuremberg, Nuremberg, Germany, E-mail: firstname.lastname@example.com Lutz Bellmann, Institute for Employment Research, Nuremberg, Germany; and University of Erlangen-Nuremberg, Nuremberg, Germany; and Institute of Labor Economics, Bonn, Germany, E-mail: email@example.com Britta Matthes, Institute for Employment Research, Nuremberg, Germany, E-mail: email@example.com Journal of Economics and Statistics 2019; 239(3): 523–564


Due to the rapid rise of mobile phones around the globe, many consumers, researchers, clinicians, and health services are starting to see their utility in health. As well as a health informatics role in improving the uptake and efficiency of current health services, mobile communication-assisted health care (m-health) also opens opportunities for services that are strikingly new and curative, in particular delivering personal health behaviour change programmes . Herein, we report the preliminary findings of a health-promotion survey titled "Mobile Apps User Trend Analysis of Turkish People". The survey examines the information needs and media preferences of women and men who research health information and use mobile apps for their healthcare in everyday life. Also this study tries to recover the behaviour of people and what applications they are downloading with respect to health, wellness, and medical mobile applicaitons. In looking the data, it appears that adoption of mHealth is growing at a furious pace. In this context, improvements to health communication have the potential to make a significant role to a promising new medium for health education and communication.


Objectives: Parkinson's disease (PD) represents a multi-part progressive neurodegenerative disease described by rigidity, bradykinesia and tremor in addition to postural unstable appearing of patients as the disease progress. The purpose of this study evaluate of some parameters (Ca, Vitamin D, C, E and phosphorus) in sera of PD Iraqi patients. Methods: Two main groups were included in this study; 55 patients (22 male &23 female) with PD (patients group) and 30 (11male & 19 female) apparently healthy controls (control group) without a history of PD were involved in the current study. Results: Vitamin D in the sera of patient group was a highly significant decrease (p<0.001) in comparison to the control group while highly significant decrease (p<0.001) in the calcium levels of patient group, as well as highly significant decrease (p<0.001) in the phosphorus of patients group was observed in comparison with their levels in corresponding control gruop. Meanwhile, a significant decrease (p<0.05) in vitamin C of patients group when compared to that of control group and a highly significant decrease (p<0.001) in serum vitamin E concentration of patients group when compared to that of control group. Conclusion: The current study results show a deficiency in most antioxidant parameters [vitamin D3, E, C and phosphorus] that may subsequently lead to their inability to suppress free radicals and thus lead to oxidative stress. This leads to relapse and the progression of patients' condition for the worse.


Abstract. Sensors on satellites provide unprecedented understanding of the Earth's climate system by measuring incoming solar radiation, as well as both passive and active observations of the entire Earth with outstanding spatial and temporal coverage. A common challenge with satellite observations is to quantify their ability to provide well-calibrated, long-term, stable records of the parameters they measure. Ground-based intercomparisons offer some insight, while reference observations and internal calibrations give further assistance for understanding long-term stability. A valuable tool for evaluating and developing long-term records from satellites is the examination of data from overlapping satellite missions. This paper addresses how the length of overlap affects the ability to identify an offset or a drift in the overlap of data between two sensors. Ozone and temperature data sets are used as examples showing that overlap data can differ by latitude and can change over time. New results are presented for the general case of sensor overlap by using Solar Radiation and Climate Experiment (SORCE) Spectral Irradiance Monitor (SIM) and Solar Stellar Irradiance Comparison Experiment (SOLSTICE) solar irradiance data as an example. To achieve a 1 % uncertainty in estimating the offset for these two instruments' measurement of the Mg II core (280 nm) requires approximately 5 months of overlap. For relative drift to be identified within 0.1 % yr−1 uncertainty (0.00008 W m−2 nm−1 yr−1), the overlap for these two satellites would need to be 2.5 years. Additional overlap of satellite measurements is needed if, as is the case for solar monitoring, unexpected jumps occur adding uncertainty to both offsets and drifts; the additional length of time needed to account for a single jump in the overlap data may be as large as 50 % of the original overlap period in order to achieve the same desired confidence in the stability of the merged data set. Results presented here are directly applicable to satellite Earth observations. Approaches for Earth observations offer additional challenges due to the complexity of the observations, but Earth observations may also benefit from ancillary observations taken from ground-based and in situ sources. Difficult choices need to be made when monitoring approaches are considered; we outline some attempts at optimizing networks based on economic principles. The careful evaluation of monitoring overlap is important to the appropriate application of observational resources and to the usefulness of current and future observations.


Variational methods are extremely popular in the analysis of network data. Statistical guarantees obtained for these methods typically provide asymptotic normality for the problem of estimation of global model parameters under the stochastic block model. In the present work, we consider the case of networks with missing links that is important in application and show that the variational approximation to the maximum likelihood estimator converges at the minimax rate. This provides the first minimax optimal and tractable estimator for the problem of parameter estimation for the stochastic block model with missing links. We complement our results with numerical studies of simulated and real networks, which confirm the advantages of this estimator over current methods.


In 2008, the University of Nevada Las Vegas (UNLV) University Libraries piloted the Educational Testing Service's standardised test of information, communication, and technology (ICT) skills (iSkills) in spring and autumn 2008. In the course of administering the test we explored motivational strategies, a critical component in low-stakes, low-personal-consequences testing. Motivational strategies included providing feedback on test performance, highlighting the value of the test for the individual student, and appealing to the student's willingness to improve the overall performance of the institution. We addressed ways to motivate students in order to enhance their level of participation in and performance on the test. As the use of standardised testing to benchmark student information skills is increasing within the information literacy community, it is vital to address these motivational aspects to ensure the generation of reliable data. This article describes the strategies and language the University Libraries used to convey value and stimulate interest; it also provides feedback from test-takers on why they tried to do their best on the test.


Interpolation based automatic abstraction is a powerful and robust technique for the automated analysis of hardware and software systems. Its use has however been limited to control-dominated applications because of a lack of algorithms for computing interpolants for data structures used in software programs. We present efficient procedures to construct interpolants for the theories of arrays, sets, and multisets using the reduction approach for obtaining decision procedures for complex data structures. The approach taken is that of reducing the theories of such data structures to the theories of equality and linear arithmetic for which efficient interpolating decision procedures exist. This enables interpolation based techniques to be applied to proving properties of programs that manipulate these data structures.


Abstract The rate at which new protein and gene sequences are being discovered has grown explosively in the omics era, which has increasingly complicated the efficient characterization and analysis of their biological properties. In this study, we propose a web-based graphical database tool, SeQuery, for intuitively visualizing proteome/genome networks by integrating the sequential, structural and functional information of sequences. As a demonstration of our tool's effectiveness, we constructed a graph database of G protein-coupled receptor (GPCR) sequences by integrating data from the UniProt, GPCRdb and RCSB PDB databases. Our tool attempts to achieve two goals: (i) given the sequence of a query protein, correctly and efficiently identify whether the protein is a GPCR, and, if so, define its sequential and functional roles in the GPCR superfamily; and (ii) present a panoramic view of the GPCR superfamily and its network centralities that allows users to explore the superfamily at various resolutions. Such a bottom-up-to-top-down view can provide the users with a comprehensive understanding of the GPCR superfamily through interactive navigation of the graph database. A test of SeQuery with the GPCR2841 dataset shows that it correctly identifies 99 out of 100 queried protein sequences. The developed tool is readily applicable to other biological networks, and we aim to expand SeQuery by including additional biological databases in the near future.


Abstract This article revisits prevailing ideas about the legitimation of monarchical rule through the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) by emphasizing the neo-traditional rule of the GCC regimes. It assumes that legitimacy claims often cross the local, national and (sub-)regional levels and analyzes them from a critical historical perspective and against the background of a global capitalist order. I show that the history of the sub-regional organization is wedded to legitimacy claims, referring to a common Gulf identity and good economic performance for the benefit of the members' citizens. However, I focus on what often is marginalized in scholarly analyses: The common normalization of highly segregated labor markets on which the neo-traditional regimes depend. In effect, I criticize not only the international failures to oppose the GCC's common repression of democratic revolt (2011). I also depict a bias in many scholarly analyses of autocratic legitimacy, as they neglect citizen-foreigner gaps. Finally, I argue that geopolitical and elite competition, as evident in the tensions between Saudi Arabia and Qatar, does not prepare the end of the GCC as we know it. Only substantive democratization could do so.


Over the course of evolution, retroviruses and their hosts have been in constant conflict, resulting in a long-term evolutionary "arms race" in which host and pathogen alternately gain selective advantages through functional innovations. On the host side, cells of higher eukaryotes have evolved to encode numerous inhibitory activities called restriction factors to block retroviral replication. Conversely, retroviruses have evolved to exploit numerous host cellular components to replicate and to efficiently counter host intrinsic lines of defence. The current acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) pandemic exemplifies this struggle, as its causative agent the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) was found to overcome several host-encoded restriction factors active against other retroviruses. TRIM5α is one such restriction factor, which inhibits retroviral infection soon after the virus enters its target cell by recognizing the capsid of incoming virions through its C-terminal PRYSPRY domain. Different TRIM5α alleles block distinct retroviruses in a species-specific manner: Human TRIM5α (huTRIM5α) potently blocks the so-called N-tropic murine leukemia virus (N-MLV), but is ineffective against the closely related B-tropic (B-MLV) and Moloney (Mo-MLV) strains, or against the simian immunodeficiency virus from macaque (SIVmac) and the two HIV strains (HIV1 and HIV2). In contrast, rhesus macaque TRIM5α (rhTRIM5α) potently blocks HIV1 and HIV2 but not N-, B-, Mo-MLV or SIVmac. My thesis aimed at gaining insight into the molecular mechanism of TRIM5α-mediated retroviral restriction. Firstly by investigating the huTRIM5α specific capture of retroviral capsids to better understand the ability of HIV1 to escape this recognition, and secondly by identifying cellular factors that interact with TRIM5α to subsequently determine their putative role in TRIM5α-mediated antiretroviral activity. In the first set of experiments, I demonstrated that substituting a single amino acid in the PRYSPRY domain of huTRIM5α expands its antiviral activity to B-MLV, Mo-MLV, SIVmac and HIV2, while HIV1 is still able to escape this block. Furthermore, I found that MLV could escape this restriction through the negative influence of four critical residues within its capsid, supporting a model whereby TRIM5α directly interacts with retroviral capsids. In the second part of my thesis, I exploited the remarkable conservation of the capsid among retroviruses to map the four key positions found in MLV onto the HIV1 capsid. I then confirmed that amino-acid substitutions at some of these positions could increase the sensitivity of HIV1 to huTRIM5α restriction. Further mutating an exposed cyclophilin A-binding loop of the HIV1 capsid could reinforce susceptibility to this factor. These results indicate that, despite major sequence divergences, HIV and MLV use structurally homologous residues to avoid capture by huTRIM5α. I then investigated the influence of the coiled-coil domain of huTRIM5α on the range of retroviruses recognised by this antiviral factor. I found that the PRYSPRY domain is necessary but not sufficient to dictate TRIM5α specificity as single amino acid changes within the coiled-coil region could modulate the range of targeted retroviruses. We favour a model whereby the coiled-coil domain exerts this effect indirectly, by influencing the orientation of the PRYSPRY domain and hence its ability to recognize retroviral capsids. Finally, I screened a human cDNA library for cellular proteins that interact with huTRIM5α. I found several hits, the physiological roles of which impact on cellular processes as diverse as ubiquitination and endocytosis. These results open possible avenues to pursue in future studies aimed at deciphering further the mechanisms by which TRIM5α blocks retroviruses.


APOBEC3G (also known as CEM15) is an innate intracellular antiretroviral factor that is counteracted by the Vif protein of lentiviruses. While APOBEC3G orthologues from several species are active against a broad range of retroviruses, given Vif proteins have a narrow spectrum of activity. For instance, HIV-1 Vif efficiently blocks APOBEC3G from human but not African green monkey (AGM), whereas the reverse is observed with SIVAGM Vif. Here, we demonstrate that a single amino acid at position 128 of human and AGM APOBEC3G governs the virus-specific sensitivity of these proteins to Vif-mediated inhibition. Furthermore, we show that this phenotype correlates with the ability of Vif to bind APOBEC3G and interfere with its incorporation into virions. These results shed light on an important determinant of the tropism of primate lentiviruses.


Citation only. Includes bibliographical references and index. For full access, check out the book through the USF St. Petersburg Library PN4724.H36 2009, request it on interlibrary loan, or order it through a book dealer.


Purpose: Pap smear screening programs have been ineffective in reducing cervical cancer mortality in most Latin American and Caribbean countries, in part due to low screening rates. The purpose of this review was to analyze recent studies to identify demographic, social, and cultural factors influencing women's participation in Pap screening programs in Latin America and the Caribbean. Design/Method: For this integrative review, cervical cancer screening in Latin America and the Caribbean was searched using PubMed, CINAHL, EMBASE, and PsycINFO databases. Findings/Results: Demographic barriers to screening were socioeconomic status, education, race/ethnicity, and geography. Social barriers included lack of uniformity in screening guidelines, lack of knowledge regarding cervical cancer, and lack of preventive culture. Cultural barriers were fear/embarrassment and gender roles. Conclusions: There are multilevel barriers to Pap smear utilization among women in Latin America and the Caribbean. Implications for Practice: Findings highlight a need for health system engagement, promotion of preventive care, and community-generated educational programs and solutions.


Fluoride is a highly electronegative anion with cumulative toxic effects causing reproductive dysfunction and increase in reactive oxygen species production in different organs including testis. Propolis is a honeybee product that has an antioxidant property. The aim of this study was to elucidate the protective effects of propolis against reproductive toxicity induced by sodium fluoride (NaF) in male rabbits (buck). Four experimental groups receiving a combination of sodium fluoride (10 mg/ kg body weight/day) and/or propolis (25 mg/ kg body weight/day) for 70-day was divided as follows: non treated (control), sodium fluoride alone, propolis alone and sod fluoride + propolis. Sodium fluoride caused a decrease in testes and epididymis weights as well as serum testosterone and accompanied with disturbances in semen quality and quantity, compared to control group. Similarly, histopathological results revealed that NaF caused alterations in the testes, epididymis and prostate gland. There was intensive positive immunoreactivity for caspase- 3 (dark brown granules) was observed in the cytoplasm of germinal cells, Sertoli cells and Leydig cells of NaF treated group compared with the control that indicating the severity of its toxicity in testes. On the other hand, testicular cells of NaF in combination with propolis treated group showed apparent reduction of caspase-3 immunoreactivity to be more or less similar to the control group. Administration of propolis either alone or combined with NaF ameliorated these toxic effects. Testis of control group and propolis only revealed negative or low caspase- 3 immunohistochemical reactivity. In conclusion, propolis reduced the oxidative stress toxicity induced by fluoride in the reproductive system of male albino rabbits


The underlying physics of magnetic resonance imaging is a topic of considerable importance since a basic understanding is necessary to accurately interpret and generate high quality MR images. Yet it can be a challenging topic in spite of the best efforts of both teachers and students of the subject. Practical MR Physics reviews the basic principles of MR using familiar language and explains the causes of common imaging artifacts and pitfalls. The book will also be a helpful guide during review of clinical cases since the reader can look up specific imaging artifacts or pitfalls in the index. Featuring over 375 high quality images, numerous case examples, and concise, clinically oriented discussion of the physics behind the images, Practical MR Physics is an ideal resource for anyone who works in the field of MR imaging.


It is important to determine when and why stereotyped movements indicative of developmental disabilities occur in order to provide timely medical treatment. However, these behaviors are unpredictable, which renders their automatic detection very useful. In this paper, we propose a machine learning system that runs on a smartwatch and a smartphone to recognize stereotyped movements in children with developmental disabilities. We train a classifier by tagging data from an accelerometer and a gyroscope in a smartwatch to one of six stereotyped movements made by children and recognized by special educational needs teachers. This classifier can then recognize when a child wearing a smartwatch is making one of the stereotyped movements. These schemes were implemented as a suite of apps used by parents and caregivers. In tests on children and young people with developmental disabilities, the system achieved an average recognition accuracy of 91% when individual training data was used.


The T cell-dependent B cell response relies on cognate interaction between B cells and CD4+ Th cells. However, the consequences of this interaction for CD4+ T cells are not entirely known. B cells generally promote CD4+ T cell responses to pathogens, albeit to a variable degree. In contrast, CD4+ T cell responses to self- or tumor Ags are often suppressed by B cells. In this study, we demonstrated that interaction with B cells dramatically inhibited the function of virus-specific CD4+ T cells in retroviral infection. We have used Friend virus infection of mice as a model for retroviral infection, in which the behavior of virus-specific CD4+ T cells was monitored according to their TCR avidity. We report that avidity for Ag and interaction with B cells determine distinct aspects of the primary CD4+ T cell response to Friend virus infection. Virus-specific CD4+ T cells followed exclusive Th1 and T follicular helper (Tfh) differentiation. High avidity for Ag facilitated expansion during priming and enhanced the capacity for IFN-γ and IL-21 production. In contrast, Tfh differentiation was not affected by avidity for Ag. By reducing or preventing B cell interaction, we found that B cells promoted Tfh differentiation, induced programmed death 1 expression, and inhibited IFN-γ production by virus-specific CD4+ T cells. Ultimately, B cells protected hosts from CD4+ T cell-mediated immune pathology, at the detriment of CD4+ T cell-mediated protective immunity. Our results suggest that B cell presentation of vaccine Ags could be manipulated to direct the appropriate CD4+ T cell response.


Fish swim by oscillating their pectoral fins forwards and backwards in a cyclic motion such that their geometric parameters and aspect ratios change according to how fast or slow a fish wants to swim; these complex motions result in a complicated hydrodynamic response. This paper focuses on the dynamic change in the shape of a fin to improve the underwater propulsion of bio-inspired mechanism. To do this, a novel transformable robotic fin has been developed to investigate how this change in shape affects the hydrodynamic forces acting on the fin. This robotic fin has a multi-link frame and a flexible surface skin where changes in shape are activated by a purpose designed multi-link mechanism driven by a transformation motor. A drag platform has been designed to study the performance of this variable robotic fin. Numerous experiments were carried out to determine how various controlling modes affect the thrust capability of this fin. The kinematic parameters associated with this robotic fin include the oscillating frequency and amplitude, and the drag velocity. The fin has four modes to control the cyclic motion; these were also investigated in combination with the variable kinematic parameters. The results will help us understand the locomotion performance of this transformable robotic fin. Note that different controlling modes influence the propulsive performance of this robotic fin, which means its propulsive performance can be optimized in a changing environment by adapting its shape. This study facilitates the development of bio-inspired unmanned underwater vehicles with a very high swimming performance.


This article investigates electronic dictionaries under the framework of Systemic-Functional Multimodal Discourse Analysis (SF-MDA) and argues for improving their exemplification multimodally. Multimodal devices, if well coordinated, can help optimize e-dictionary examples in informativity, diversity, dynamicity and interactivity. The term multimodal exemplification is tentatively proposed under the umbrella of multimodal lexicography (Lew 2010), and defined as the selection and presentation of examples with multimodal devices for achieving greater effectiveness in exemplifying than language does alone, especially in an e-dictionary. Evidence shows that multimodal exemplification can expand the three metafunctional meanings of the e-dictionary discourse: ideational, interpersonal and textual. Ideational meaning can be enriched by not only multimodal examples per se but also cross-modal example–definition ties, and hyperlinks facilitate meaning flow in the semantic network. Interpersonal meaning can be expanded by user participation and design options, including those for page layout (spatial mode) and example genre style (verbal mode). Textual meaning can be reinforced by information value, composition, salience and framing. This article makes a first attempt to explore the intermodal relationship between a definition and the examples under the same sense, and to present a diagram illustrating a typical design of visual space in e-dictionaries. By exploring the special features of multimodal example texts, it may deepen our understanding of the emerging multimodal lexicography and complement multimodal discourse studies from a lexicographical perspective.


The present study is concerned with the identification and analysis of the major syntactic functions occurring in the classical Chinese sentence. Of these, it concentrates on those functions which exhibit one of the following two characteristics: that of initiating discourse or predication (e.g., SUBJECT); or that of being governed (e.g., OBJECT). The generic term assigned to these functions is 'nominal', and is employed not because they are always performed by members of the lexical category 'noun' (the syntactic unpredictability of classical Chinese word-classes is notorious), but because they are predominantly so performed and, significantly, because proper names, which are nouns par excellence, occur almost without exception in these functions. Although the study deals mainly with the functions described above, it is inevitable that considerable attention is also paid to other, 'verbal' functions with which the nominal functions are inextricably bound, either through governing the latter, or by forming the basis of the predication which the latter initiate. In this way it is hoped that an overall view of classical Chinese sentence structure may be presented. Known and established nominal functions such as SUBJECT and OBJECT are analysed so as to illustrate their special properties with regard to classical Chinese; hitherto unidentified functions such as CLASSIFICATORY COMPLEMENT and COMPLEMENT OF PLACE receive somewhat fuller treatment to establish their status as nominal functions. In addition, the function TOPIC is treated in some detail. The question of nominalisation also comes in for scrutiny. Qualifying under this head are those constituents which perform nominal functions but are not nouns or noun phrases. Separate chapters are devoted to both non-finite verb phrases and embedded sentences. The corpus under examination consists of concordanced pre-Han texts of the period c.500-c.250 BC, with occasional reference to earlier texts where a diachronic view is desirable.


This paper deals with coupling transformer core saturation problem in cascaded multilevel converter (CMC) based transmission-type static synchronous compensator (T-STATCOM) systems. The effects of nonlinear characteristics of the coupling transformer and CMCs on the core saturation phenomenon are investigated, and the associated mechanisms are described. In order to prevent the transformer core from being saturated, dc current components in the coupling transformer secondary lines are eliminated by modulating one or more than one voltage steps of staircase CMC voltage waveforms via the electronic gating circuitry. The proposed dc current elimination method is implemented on a 154-kV, ±50-MVAr CMC-based T-STATCOM system, which is operating either in interarea oscillation damping or terminal voltage regulation modes at any time in a 400/154-kV transformer substation since March 2010. The effectiveness of recommended dc current elimination method is verified in the field.


Loss of genetic diversity in elite breeding populations is often identified as a potential impediment to future genetic gain. The use of diverse unadapted germplasm in breeding has been suggested as one way of combating this problem but often proves impractical, due to the poor performance of progeny produced by crosses between adapted and unadapted parent lines. This study evaluates the effectiveness of a breeding method aimed at utilizing unadapted sorghum [Sorghum bicolor (L.) Moench] germplasm. The method involves producing large BC 1 F 1 populations, using a single elite line as the recurrent parent, and then selecting the resulting progeny for key adaptive traits (e.g., height and flowering time). Populations of 30 to 90 BC 1 F 4 lines derived from 56 unadapted parents were then evaluated in hybrid combination in 21 trials over a 4-yr period. The unadapted sources included lines with geographic or racial diversity, phenotypic diversity for key traits, elite lines from breeding programs in other countries, and cross-compatible wild species. Despite strong selection for acceptable height and maturity, considerable genetic variation for grain yield was retained in the populations, with molecular marker analysis indicating an average of 22% of the genome being retained in each line as compared with a theoretical 25% in the absence of selection. In all cases progeny were identified in each population that performed significantly better than the recurrent parent hybrid for grain yield, and in some cases specific adaptation of particular populations was observed. The method we used proved to be an effective way to introduce new alleles from unadapted sorghum germplasm into elite breeding material. The potential of the populations as a resource for nested association mapping to elucidate the architecture of complex traits is discussed.


A wide variety of illnesses, including heart disease, cancer, circulatory disorders, and mental illness, are sometimes related to oxygen deficiencies. Although not a cure, oxidative therapies generate more oxygen in the body and can contribute to the recovery of disease, as well as help to achieve optimum overall health and longevity. Developed in the late 1960s by Professor von Ardenne, oxygen multistep therapy combines oxygen therapy, drugs that facilitate intracellular oxygen turnover, and physical exercise adapted to individual performance levels. This unique therapy has diversified into more than 20 different treatment variants and is now practiced in several hundred settings throughout Europe. This classic text walks you through each step of oxygen multistep therapy. The book describes in detail the physiological and technical foundations of the therapy, and provides effective, convenient, and safe patient care guidelines. You will find essential information on tissue reactions to local oxygen deficiencies, oxygen and blood supply increases in body tissues, effective methods to combat oxygen deficiency diseases, and much more! Your complete overview to oxygen multistep therapy, this landmark text belongs in the hands of anyone interested in oxygen therapies.


The performance of 2 popular methods that use age-at-harvest data to estimate abundance of white-tailed deer is contingent on assumptions about variation in estimates of subadult (1.5 yr old) and adult (≥2.5 yr old) male harvest rates. Auxiliary data (e.g., estimates of survival or harvest rates from radiocollared animals) can be used to relax some assumptions, but unless these population parameters exhibit limited temporal or spatial variation, these auxiliary data may not improve accuracy. Unfortunately maintaining sufficient sample sizes of radiocollared deer for parameter estimation in every wildlife management unit (WMU) is not feasible for most state agencies. We monitored the fates of 397 subadult and 225 adult male white-tailed deer across 4 WMUs from 2002 to 2008 using radio telemetry. We investigated spatial and temporal variation in harvest rates and investigated covariates related to the patterns observed. We found that most variation in harvest rates was explained spatially and that adult harvest rates (0.36–0.69) were more variable among study areas than subadult harvest rates (0.26–0.42). We found that hunter effort during the archery and firearms season best explained variation in harvest rates of adult males among WMUs, whereas hunter effort during only the firearms season best explained harvest rates for subadult males. From a population estimation perspective, it is advantageous that most variation was spatial and explained by a readily obtained covariate (hunter effort). However, harvest rates may vary if hunting regulations or hunter behavior change, requiring additional field studies to obtain accurate estimates of harvest rates. © 2011 The Wildlife Society.


Global population is projected to increase over year 2000 levels by 30% in 2025 and by 50% in 2050. Producing sufficient food to feed a more populous Earth will be a challenge requiring additional developed water supplies. Existing supplies are unevenly distributed around the planet. Some developing countries lack sufficient water to grow the food necessary to feed the growing population. With time, more countries will join that group. The strategies available to produce more food depend upon which sources are available. Two options open to all countries are improving the productivity of water in agriculture and importing virtual water in food. For some, the additional options of bringing more land into production or harvesting rainwater may also be available. All these measures reallocate water to agricultural uses from environmental uses. Such reallocations may impose potentially large losses in the form of environmental services and environmental amenities. Difficult water allocation decisions with enormous values at stake confront humanity. These decisions are confounded because they entail the protection of the global commons for which there is no successful experience to draw on.