I. INTRODUCTION The Chilean Law of Bankruptcy has its origin in the Commercial Code of 1865 that came into force in 1867.1 It was inspired by the French Commercial Code of 18072 and by the Spanish Commercial Code of 1829,3 both of which regulated the insolvency of traders with particular severity. The articles of the Commercial Code were substituted by the rules of Law Number 4.558 of June 23, 1931.4 This regulation of insolvency made applicable the rules of that law to the debtor that was a trader, as well as to the debtor that was not a trader.5 The Commercial Bankruptcy regime was more severe and rigorous than the nontrader's regime. Today, bankruptcy in Chile is regulated by Law Number 18.175 of October 28, 1982,6 which replaces Law Number 4.558 of 1931. Just like the old Law Number 4.558 of 1931, the new legislation designates the class of debtor subject to treatment under the Bankruptcy Law.7 Its provisions apply to every natural or juristic person, whether they practice commercial, industrial, mining, or agricultural activity, or whether they practice none of them at all. Certainly, the debtor that practices commercial, industrial, mining, or agricultural activity (hereinafter, the qualified debtor) could be declared bankrupt for simply failing to pay a trade obligation; the qualified debtor is compelled to request his own bankruptcy before fifteen days since he ceased in the payment (suspension of payment) of the trade obligation. The retroactive effects of bankruptcy are wider for the qualified debtor, and his behavior becomes a matter in a criminal trial to decide if the debtor has or has not committed the crime of fraudulent bankruptcy. The obligation to request his own bankruptcy does not exist for the simple debtor that is not a trader (hereinafter, nonqualified debtor).9 Because this kind of debtor is represented by more complete and complex facts, there is no criminal trial in this case to decide if the crime of fraudulent bankruptcy has been committed.'o In the context of the Chilean Bankruptcy Law, the debtor that finds it impossible to pay may propose to his creditors an extrajudicial agreement to avoid his bankruptcy." To satisfy this purpose, a debtor is able to propose a preventive judicial agreement and a nonqualified debtor is authorized to pay by general assignment in favor of creditors.12 These procedures are the only ones that do not deprive the debtor of the administration and the disposition of his assets or the forced liquidation of the assets to pay to the creditors. In Chilean law there are neither procedures to reorganize companies in economic difficulties nor procedures to recover them. However, in the presence of a preventive agreement presented by the debtor and supported by a minimum of fifty-one percent of the passive total, the debtor cannot be declared in bankruptcy by the Chilean courts. There will be no liquidation of such a debtor's assets in the term of ninety days because of the summons to the creditors to decide about the proposal of the debtor. If this term of ninety days expires and the proposal is not approved by the assembly of creditors, the judge shall declare the bankruptcy of the debtor.l3 When the debtor is declared in bankruptcy, he is inhibited from administering and disposing of his assets and their products or fruits, and he will be unable to appear in court, either as claimant or as defendant or respondent.l4 The administration and disposition of the debtor's estate will be, as a matter of law, exercised by a syndic who will fulfill the purposes of the insolvency proceeding. That is, the syndic will sell out the assets of the debtor and pay the creditors whose claims were marshaled in the insolvency proceedings with the resources obtained in the liquidation.15 During bankruptcy, there are other consequences for the debtor, such as the anticipated demandability of all his debts, the irrevocable settlement of the creditors, claims which remain in the same state that they were at the time of the judicial decision, the suspension of the right to individual execution, joinder of pending trials that affect the debtor's assets before the court that declared the bankruptcy, and some disabilities. …


Millions of high school students take Advanced Placement (AP) courses, which can provide college credit. Using nationally representative data, I identify a diverse set of higher education outcomes that are related to receipt of AP college credit. Institution fixed effects regression reduces bias associated with varying AP credit policies and student sorting across higher education. Results indicate college credits earned in high school are related to reduced time to degree, double majoring, and more advanced coursework. Bounding exercises suggest the time to degree and double major outcomes are not likely driven by bias from unobserved student characteristics. Policies used to support earning college credits while in high school appear to enhance undergraduate education and may accelerate time to degree.


The transcription factor signal STAT5 is constitutively activated in a wide range of leukemias and lymphomas, and drives the expression of genes necessary for proliferation, survival, and self-renewal. Thus, targeting STAT5 is an appealing therapeutic strategy for hematologic malignancies. Given the importance of bromodomain-containing proteins in transcriptional regulation, we considered the hypothesis that a pharmacologic bromodomain inhibitor could inhibit STAT5-dependent gene expression. We found that the small-molecule bromodomain and extra-terminal (BET) bromodomain inhibitor JQ1 decreases STAT5-dependent (but not STAT3-dependent) transcription of both heterologous reporter genes and endogenous STAT5 target genes. JQ1 reduces STAT5 function in leukemia and lymphoma cells with constitutive STAT5 activation, or inducibly activatedbycytokine stimulation.Among theBETbromodomainsubfamilyofproteins, it seems thatBRD2 is the critical mediator for STAT5 activity. In experimental models of acute T-cell lymphoblastic leukemias, where activated STAT5 contributes to leukemia cell survival, Brd2 knockdownor JQ1 treatment shows strong synergy with tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKI) in inducing apoptosis in leukemia cells. In contrast, mononuclear cells isolated formumbilical cord blood, which is enriched in normal hematopoietic precursor cells, were unaffected by these combinations. These findings indicate a unique functional association between BRD2 and STAT5, and suggest that combinations of JQ1 and TKIs may be an important rational strategy for treating leukemias and lymphomas driven by constitutive STAT5 activation. Mol Cancer Ther; 13(5); 1194–205. 2014 AACR.


This paper explores the relationship between non-standard types of employment and mental health. The analysis uses data on workers from the first seven waves of the British Household Panel Study, 1991-97. Four different types of non-standard employment (non-standard ontracts, places, times, and weekly hours of work) are analysed and the General Health Questionnaire (GHQ) index is used as the measure of mental health. We find evidence of only a modest effect of all types of flexible employment on the GHQ scores of men and women. Although the workers' non-standard employment behaviour does not significantly vary with their endowments and unobserved inputs, population health heterogeneity may still have a critical effect on the observed changes in labour market behaviour. Finally, we find some significant effect of non-standard employment on mental health when the sample is stratified by age and education.


This paper tests the hypothesis that government bond markets in the eurozone are more fragile and more susceptible to self-fulfilling liquidity crises than in stand-alone countries. We find evidence that a significant part of the surge in the spreads of the PIGS countries (Portugal, Ireland, Greece and Spain) in the eurozone during 2010-11 was disconnected from underlying increases in the debt-to-GDP ratios and fiscal space variables, and was the result of negative self-fulfilling market sentiments that became very strong since the end of 2010. We argue that this can drive member countries of the eurozone into bad equilibria.

We also find evidence that after years of neglecting high government debt, investors became increasingly worried about this in the eurozone, and reacted by raising the spreads. No such worries developed in stand-alone countries despite the fact that debt-to-GDP ratios and fiscal space variables were equally high and increasing in these countries.


We review the burgeoning literature on the employment effects of minimum wages – in the United States and other countries – that was spurred by the new minimum wage research beginning in the early 1990s. Our review indicates that there is a wide range of existing estimates and, accordingly, a lack of consensus about the overall effects on low-wage employment of an increase in the minimum wage. However, the oft-stated assertion that recent research fails to support the traditional view that the minimum wage reduces the employment of low-wage workers is clearly incorrect. A sizable majority of the studies surveyed in this monograph give a relatively consistent (although not always statistically significant) indication of negative employment effects of minimum wages. In addition, among the papers we view as providing the most credible evidence, almost all point to negative employment effects, both for the United States as well as for many other countries. Two other important conclusions emerge from our review. First, we see very few – if any – studies that provide convincing evidence of positive employment effects of minimum wages, especially from those studies that focus on the broader groups (rather than a narrow industry) for which the competitive model predicts disemployment effects. Second, the studies that focus on the least-skilled groups provide relatively overwhelming evidence of stronger disemployment effects for these groups.


This paper studies Chinese warrant price deviation. By observing "asymmetric price error" phenomena, we propose that the rational hedging and speculation motivation is one important cause for warrant price deviations. Investors do not speculate irrationally under the resale motivation all the time, neither do they ignore warrants' hedging function. Instead, investors would trade for hedging and speculation purpose and drive the warrant prices when the underlying assets are significantly undervalued or overvalued. The paper applies a model-free measure for warrant price deviation and verifies the proposal by studying five couples of warrants from 2006 to the beginning of 2008. It has been found that the rational hedging and speculation motivation dominates other trading motivation in the market.


Measurement of proliferation rates by the more standard in vitro uptake techniques of [3H]thymidine and 5'-bromo-2'-deoxyuridine (BrdUrd) labeling indices (LIs) were compared to proliferating cell nuclear antigen (PCNA) in rectal mucosal biopsies from 16 subjects with resected colorectal cancer and 14 normal age-matched controls. Correlation coefficients for BrdUrd versus PCNA, [3H]thymidine versus PCNA, and BrdUrd versus [3H]thymidine were 0.691, 0.876, and 0.770, respectively. No significant differences (P > 0.05) were detected in total mean LIs between the LI methods for the normal group. In contrast, total PCNA LIs were found to be significantly different in the resected cancer patients when compared to either BrdUrd (P = 0.005) or [3H]thymidine (P < 0.001). A significant difference (P = 0.010) in total PCNA LI but not in total [3H]thymidine or BrdUrd LIs was also observed between normal controls and resected colorectal cancer subjects. Compartmental analysis of the cancer group versus the normals showed a significant difference in compartments 1 and 3 for PCNA LIs only. The reproducibility of two PCNA LI counts was excellent (r = 0.9). In addition, the reliability of mean LIs were > 0.8 with the exception of [3H]thymidine in the normal group (0.7). These study results demonstrate that PCNA LIs in human rectal mucosal biopsies are correlated highly with other more commonly used cellular proliferation measurements; however, PCNA LIs were found to be significantly higher than the other two methods in the resected colorectal cancer subjects.


ABC of Rheumatology continues to be a practical and informative guide to the assessment, treatment and management of common rheumatic and musculoskeletal conditions within primary care.Fully updated to reflect developments in this fast growing field, the fifth edition covers overviews of all key areas of rheumatology, and includes new chapters on radiology and immunology, as well as expanded coverage on metabolic bone disease, chronic widespread pain, and complex regional pain syndrome.Featuring highly illustrated chapters, boxed summaries and links to further resources, ABC of Rheumatology is an accessible reference for all primary care health professional, general practitioners, family physicians, junior doctors, medical students and nurses.


A Thesis submitted to the Directorate of Research and Graduate Training in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the award of the Degree of Master of Science in Civil Engineering of Makerere University


Maize is a C4 plant species with higher temperature optima than C3 plant species. Growth and productivity of maize are severely constrained by chilling stress. Here, we review the effects of chilling stress on growth, phenology, water and nutrient relations, anatomy, and photosynthesis in maize. Several management strategies to cope with chilling stress are also proposed. In maize, chilling stress is known to reduce leaf size, stem extension and root proliferation, disturb plant water relations, and impede nutrient uptake. Chilling stress in maize is a complex phenomenon with physiological and biochemical responses at both cellular and whole-organ level. CO2 assimilation by leaves is reduced mainly due to membrane damage, photoinhibition, and disturbed activity of various enzymes. Enhanced metabolite flux through the photorespiratory pathway increases the oxidative load on tissues as both processes generate reactive oxygen species (ROS). Injury caused by ROS to macromolecules under chilling stress is one of the major deterrents to growth. Low-molecular-weight osmolytes, including glycinebetaine, proline, and organic acids, are crucial in sustaining cellular function under chilling stress. Plant growth substances such as salicylic acid, gibberellic acid, and abscisic acid modulate the response of maize to chilling stress. Polyamines and several enzymes act as antioxidants and reduce the adverse effects of chilling stress. Chilling tolerance in maize can be managed through the development and selection of chilling-tolerant genotypes by breeding and genomic approaches. Agronomic approaches such as exogenous application of growth hormones and osmoprotectants to seeds or plants, and early vigour, can also aid in chilling tolerance.


The goal of this thesis is to explore men's experiences of living with Parkinson's Disease, a progressive neurological disorder predominantly affecting men in older age. Research into PD has been predominantly informed by a biomedical, neurological model. Although bringing significant benefit to PD's treatment, this approach fails to adequately consider the question of PD's lived experience, leading to major gaps in our knowledge of the condition and its effects on sufferer's lives. In addition, although making up the majority of sufferers, the specific needs of older men with PD have been neglected within wider research into PD. Using a phenomenological methodology concerned with men's experience of the lifeworld, and how this experience is influenced by gender and ageing, this study used narrative interviews combined with a photographic elicitation approach to ascertain the lived experiences of 15 men, from a number of different areas and of differing ages. The findings of this thesis indicate that PD is more than simply a movement disorder. Instead it should be understood as a condition which disrupts the unity of the body, self and world. PD brings about particular challenges to men's experience of the lived body and lived time, distancing them from a shared experience of the lifeworld. Men also found ways to try and cope with their PD, but these approaches had to continually change as men moved through the illness. Finally, men's lived experience was intertwined with ageing and masculinity. PD posed a threat to men's masculine status; however men could also use masculinity as a resource to understand PD's various effects on their lives. How well men could respond to these changes had key implications for their continued well-being and quality of life, therefore giving insights into how future PD services can be improved. This thesis concludes by making recommendations for the development of person and gender sensitive services in PD. These include paying greater attention to PD's lived experience and the stories men tell of their illness; engaging with the problems men identify that PD causes in their lives; and the greater provision of forms of information and psychosocial support which recognises all of PD's effects; including non-motor symptoms, psychosocial consequences and medication induced side effects.


"THE TIMES THEY ARE A-CHANGIN"'":1 SOME PRELIMINARY THOUGHTS ON DEVELOPING COUNTRIES, NGOS AND THE REFORM OF THE WTO At first impression, the tension between developing countries and labor, human rights, environmental, international development and social action groups in industrialized countries2 that were protesting at the November 1999 Ministerial Meeting of the World Trade Organization (WTO) in Seattle is puzzling. Governments of developing countries, who are the official, often democratically elected, representatives of the poorest parts of our world3 and the non-governmental organizations (NGOs), which work to create better conditions for the poor and the powerless in both rich and poor countries, should be natural allies in efforts to reform the WTO. They both want a democratic and accountable WTO that is more concerned with the problems of poverty and development and they both seek a more just and sustainable international trading system. Despite these common objectives, the governments of developing countries and the Northern NGOs do not seem to recognize each other as potential allies. Developing countries tend to view the NGOs as meddling groups from rich countries who do not understand the realities of poor countries, but who nevertheless seek to impose their views upon them. They also believe that the NGOs are seeking to expand the ability of other countries and international organizations to intervene in their affairs, which undermines these countries' ability to control their own development process. Northern NGOs tend to see governments of developing countries as conservative, corrupt, and primarily interested in protecting their own power and wealth. As a result, NGOs tend to find their tactical allies among the G8 countries4 that control the WTO, despite the fact that these countries are the beneficiaries of a trading system that the NGOs view as irresponsible and unfair.5 At one level, the tension between the two groups can be explained by their differing priorities. The priorities of developing countries include: obtaining relief from the difficulties many of them are facing in implementing the Uruguay Round agreements; persuading industrialized countries to open their markets to textile, agricultural, and imported goods from developing countries;6 and making the WTO more sensitive to the problems of development. They also object to the opaque and exclusionary nature of the WTO negotiating process in which a few key countries can make deals that are then foisted onto the remaining WTO member states. Finally, the developing countries are concerned about the creeping expansion in the mandate of the WTO. The NGOs, on the other hand, are demanding that the WTO assume jurisdiction over such issues as labor rights and environment. They are also seeking to make the dispute settlement and decision-making processes in the WTO more open to participation by non-state actors. Differing priorities, however, are not an adequate explanation for the current tension between these two groups. They do not explain, for example, why Northern NGOs and governments of developing countries seem to have such difficulty in communicating with each other and forming tactical alliances on specific issues such as democratizing the governance of the WTO, which can work to their mutual advantage. In seeking a more adequate explanation, it is useful to look at the World Bank, which has for almost twenty years experienced similar conflicts between the governments of developing countries and NGOs.7 These conflicts revolve around the issues of incorporating environmental, labor, and human rights issues into development, and making the Bank more accountable, transparent, and participatory. Given the similarities between the disputed issues in the World Bank and the WTO, it is instructive to look at the underlying cause of the conflicts in the World Bank to determine the cause of the conflicts in the WTO. …


As a nutrient required for growth, phosphorus regulates the activity of life in the oceans. Iron oxides sorb phosphorus from seawater, and through the Archean and early Proterozoic Eons, massive quantities of iron oxides precipitated from the oceans, producing a record of seawater chemistry that is preserved as banded iron formations (BIFs) today. Here we show that Ca 2+ , Mg 2+ , and silica in seawater control phosphorus sorption onto iron oxides, influencing the record of seawater phosphorus preserved in BIFs. Using a model for seawater cation chemistry through time, combined with the phosphorus and silica content of BIFs, we estimate that seawater in the Archean and early Proterozoic Eons likely contained 0.04–0.13 µM phosphorus, on average. These phosphorus limiting conditions could have favored primary production through photoferrotrophy at the expense of oxygenic photosynthesis until upwelling waters shifted from phosphorus to iron limiting.


Childhood could be said as the most important era in building self-confidence, where child faced critical phases to learn something. One factor influenced study achievement in children is self-confidence, since child, especially child with physical defect needs self-confidence to think
positively about their potential and strength in order to optimize their talent and achievement.
That s why the research aimed to find out relation between self-confidence with study achievement in physical defect child.
The research was correlational quantitative. Population in this research were physical defect children schooled in SDLB Bhakti Luhur of Malang, while the samples were physical defect children who educated in grade III, IV, V, VI. Sampling technique used purposive sampling.
Data collection technique used one scale, that was self-confidence scale, consisted of 30 items and used study report to see student s achievement. Data collection was done in 15-18 October 2010. Data analysis method was product moment correlation supported by SPSS 13.0 for
Windows.
The research showed that there was positive and significant relation between self-confidence with study achievement at physical defect children with correlation coefficient value (r) = 0.421 and mistake probability (p) < 0.015. It means, higher the self confidence, there also higher the
self-achievement of physical defect child. In the contrary, lower the self-confidence, there would be lower the study achievement. Here, there could be concluded that the research hypothesis was accepted. Self-confidence variable in research gave effective contribution 17.7% to study
achievement which means there was 82.3% other factors influenced study achievement of physical defect child.


Dislocation-free high-quality AlGaN/GaN heterostructures have been grown by molecular-beam epitaxy on semi-insulating bulk GaN substrates. Hall measurements performed in the 300 K–50 mK range show a low-temperature electron mobility exceeding 60 000 cm2/V s for an electron sheet density of 2.4×1012 cm−2. Magnetotransport experiments performed up to 15 T exhibit well-defined quantum Hall-effect features. The structures corresponding to the cyclotron and spin splitting were clearly resolved. From an analysis of the Shubnikov de Hass oscillations and the low-temperature mobility we found the quantum and transport scattering times to be 0.4 and 8.2 ps, respectively. The high ratio of the scattering to quantum relaxation time indicates that the main scattering mechanisms, at low temperatures, are due to long-range potentials, such as Coulomb potentials of ionized impurities.


Milos Zeman won a second term as Czech President on 27 January, narrowly defeating opposition candidate Jiri Drahos. Jan Rovny writes that the country is now sharply divided between two political blocs that cut across old left-right allegiances, with identity politics playing an increasingly important role in shaping support. The presidential election also underlined that Czech politics is likely to take another step closer to Poland and Hungary, but with the key distinction that the country's liberal opposition has shown an ability to unite against Zeman and garner almost 50% of the vote.


The Semidefinite Program (SDP) has recently attracted much attention of researchers in various fields for the following reasons: (i) It has been intensively studied in both theoretical and numerical aspects. Especially the primal-dual interior-point method is known as a powerful tool for solving large-scale SDPs with accuracy. (ii) Many practical problems in various fields such as combinatorial optimization, control and systems theory, robust optimization and quantum chemistry can be modeled or approximated by using SDPs. (iii) Several software packages for solving SDPs and related problems (ex. the Second-Order Cone Program : SOCP) are available on the Internet. In 1995, we started the SDPA Project aimed for solving large-scale SDPs with numerical stability and accuracy. The SDPA (SemiDefinite Programming Algorithm) is a C++ implementation of a Mehrotra-type primal-dual predictor-corrector interior-point method for solving the standard form SDP and its dual. We have also developed some variants of the SDPA to handle SDPs with various features. The SDPARA is a parallel version of the SDPA on multiple processors and distributed memory, which replaces two major bottleneck components of the SDPA by their parallel implementation using MPI and ScaLAPACK. The SDPARA on parallel computer has attractive features; it can load a large-scale SDP into the distributed memory and solve it in a reasonable time. In this paper, we show through some numerical experiments that the SDPARA attains high performance. The SDPARA-C is an integration of two software SDPARA and SDPA-C which is a primal-dual interior-point method using the positive definite matrix completion technique. The SDPARA-C requires a small amount of memory when we solve sparse SDPs with a large- scale matrix variable and/or a large number of equality constraints. The paper also explains a grid portal system for solving SDPs, which we call the SDPA Online Solver. In this paper, we review the major achievements of the SDPA Project on solving large-scale SDPs. This paper provides an introductory and comprehensive materials for researchers who are interested in practical computational aspects of the SDPs.


Abstract. We present a calibration method for a water vapour Raman lidar using a meteorological probe lifted by a kite, flown steadily above the lidar site, within the framework of the Hydrological Cycle in the Mediterranean Experiment (HyMeX) and Chemistry-Aerosol Mediterranean Experiment (ChArMEx) campaigns. The experiment was carried out in Menorca (Spain) during June 2013, using the mobile water vapour and aerosol lidar WALI. Calibration using a kite demonstrated a much better degree of co-location with the lidar system than that which could be achieved with radiosondes, and it allowed us to determine the overlap function and calibration factor simultaneously. The range-dependent water vapour lidar calibration was thus determined with an uncertainty of 2 % in the 90–8000 m altitude range. Lidar water vapour measurements are further compared with radiosondes, showing very good agreement in the lower troposphere (1–5 km) and a relative difference and standard deviation of 5 and 9 % respectively. Moreover, a reasonable agreement with MODIS-integrated water vapour content is found, with a relative mean and standard deviation of 3 and 16 % respectively. However, a discrepancy is found with AERONET retrievals, showing the latter to be underestimated by 28 %. Reanalyses by the ECMWF/IFS numerical weather prediction model also agree with the temporal evolution highlighted with the lidar, with no measurable drift in integrated water vapour content over the period.


Abstract In recent years, what has been called citizen initiatives for global solidarity (CIGS) have grown considerably in numbers across Europe and beyond. Lately, CIGS have also received attention as they are responding to humanitarian crisis across the world. In Europe during 2015, citizens were heavily involved in catering for incoming refugees, putting up loosely organised voluntary-based initiatives. CIGS popped up in places such as Lesvos, which is the focus of our research. Humanitarian CIGS are quick in their response to needs on the ground, are quickly governed by rules and regulations as well as overall ideas about crisis management, and come to work either with or in opposition to other actors. We examine two examples of CIGS positioned at the margins of the humanitarian aid machinery in Lesvos. Through a lens of power and resistance, we discuss how they resisted paradigmatic ideas of crisis management and instead called for a different interpretation of how to think about and do crisis management.


Objectives: Youth mentoring involves a supportive relationship between a youth and a volunteer adult with the aim of promoting a range of positive developmental outcomes. The predominant paradigm in mentoring research involves large-N, pre- post designs. The present study examined a small number of child-mentor pairs over time in order to gain a more detailed understanding of patterns of change. Method: A multiple case, longitudinal design was used, looking in depth at four children, aged 9 to 10 years. Data were collected at regular intervals over the first 15 months of the mentoring relationship from the child, their mother, and their mentor, using self-report measures of key domains of psychosocial functioning. The quality of the mentoring relationship was also measured. Results: At baseline, all four children were functioning in the clinical range in at least one domain. Two of the children reported modest improvement over the course of the mentoring relationship, with reliable changes occurring mostly in the behavioural domains; however, this improvement was not reflected in the data provided by the parent. The scores for the other two children, as reported both by themselves and their mothers, were relatively stable over the 15 month period. Conclusions: The wider literature suggests that more consistent improvements would have been expected; it may be that 15 months was not long enough for the influence of mentoring to be borne. A multiple case design offers a detailed view of patterns of change, providing the opportunity to identify potential moderating factors for particular individuals, which could improve the theoretical understanding of mentoring as well as its practical application. Further research using this paradigm could help define the role that mentoring should play within the helping services and which children would benefit most.


An analytical framework is developed to derive the response time and service availability of client/server based SOA and P2P based SOA. The impact on the response time and service availability for varying load conditions and connectivity for both client/server and P2P SOA implementation is studied. It is found that the response time reduces significantly in P2P based SOA depending on network connectivity and service replication factors. Service availability is also found to be much higher in case of P2P based SOA and the gain are enhanced for higher values of load. In our analysis the impacts of search latency and bandwidth penalty resulting from UDDI distribution are not yet considered.


The work concerns development of a prototype molecular tests to identify vitality status of conifer seedlings. The work is done by NSure, Holland, Dalarna University and SUAS. In case for spruce, a successful validation experiment has been performed to validate the identified frost tolerance and vitality genes. Multiple indicators were identified that can be used to either reinforce the existing ColdnSure test, but also for development of a vitality test. The identified frost tolerance and vitality genes for pine still need to be validated. NSure together with Dalarna University aim to perform a validation next season. Multiple LN indicators were identified in spruce that can be used to determine the effectiveness of a LN treatment, but they are not yet validated. In spruce and pine hardly any scientific research is performed to study the effect of a LN treatment, particularly not at molecular level. Therefore NSure together with Dalarna Research Station want to apply for a project. Within this project, we would be able to develop the tests further.


It is known that female birds increase medullary mineral stores in long bones shortly before egg laying. Here, we present results from two groups of budgerigars, in both of which females had significantly higher bone mineral contents and densities, as measured by peripheral quantitative computed tomography of the tibiotarsus, during a reproductively dormant period. The results could indicate that female birds can accumulate mineral stores outside of the breeding season.


In developing a contractual response to changes in the economic environment, parties choose the method by which their innovation will be adapted to the particulars of their context. These choices are driven centrally by the thickness of the relevant market and the uncertainty related to that market. In turn, the parties' choice of method will shape how generalist courts can best support the parties' innovation and the novel regimes they envision. In this essay, we argue that contractual innovation does not comes to courts incrementally, but instead reaches the courts later in the innovation's evolution and more fully fledged than the standard picture contemplates. Highly stylized, the trajectory of innovation in contract we find is this: Private actors respond to exogenous shocks in their economic environment by changing existing structures or procedures to make them efficient under the new circumstances. The innovating parties stabilize their newly emergent practices through a variety of regimes, both bilateral and multilateral, whose goal is to establish the context through which the innovation is implemented. It is only at this point that courts step in when a dispute is presented to them. If contract innovation does indeed reach generalist courts through the mediating institution of these contextualizing regimes, then our argument follows directly: If a central goal of contract adjudication is to enforce the context the parties have provided, then the courts' willingness to defer to the context the parties give them will put the law more directly in the service of innovation.


The EU–SADC economic partnership agreement (EPA) came into force in October 2016 and offers Lesotho a number of tariff preferences above competitor countries in the EU market. These preferences become more significant the more processed a product is. The tariffs are supported by liberal rules of origin, while the implementation of the agreement will be supported by EU development cooperation, with an EUR 6 million (about $7,010,600) envelope announced recently. However, Lesotho continues to face challenges in producing the necessary volumes of products that meet the standards required to export to the EU. This policy briefing explores some of the reasons for this and makes recommendations on how the EU and South Africa could play a critical role within the ambit of the EU–SADC EPA to promote agriculture and agro-processing in Lesotho. This will have a direct positive RECOMMENDATIONS


In this thesis we apply the vertex operator approach of Jimbo and Miwa to higher spin Heisenberg chains with the aim of computing the form-factors of these quantum integrable models. The work is motivated by the relation of the form-factors to the dynamical structure factors of the model objects that are experimentally realisable and potential for comparison with real-world results. Using a one boson, one fermion free field realisation of Uq(ŝl2), in conjunction with a realisation for the fermionic contribution due to Shiraishi, we are able to give the formalism required to obtain explicit multiple integral expressions for the 2m-particle form-factors of the antiferromagnetic spin-1 Heisenberg chain. Using this novel boson-fermion-Shiraishi scheme, we are able to obtain single integral expressions for the two-spinon contribution to the S form-factor. We also consider a certain modification of a known q-Wakimoto bosonisation scheme for arbitrary spin and its relevance to the computation of higher spin form-factors. We consider the form of the resultant BRST relations and discuss simplifications arising through this approach, as well as the difficulties faced in obtaining integral expressions.


This paper reports on a three point unit A277: From University To Workplace that has been run for the past three years at Murdoch University. The overall aim of the unit is to improve students' ability to make key choices in their lives and to enhance their self-efficacy in making the transition into employment. The future is always unknown and this unit assists students to develop skills to move between university life and the unknown future of the workplace and to create bridges between different demands, different experiences and different cultures. The unit examines current workplace policies and practices and includes significant input from industry. The practical component of the unit complements this with experiential tasks which develop skills and confidence to enhance employment prospects, whilst providing strategies for utilizing the knowledge and skills gained at university. This paper, written by the unit coordinators, reflects on the strengths and weaknesses of this unit, the changes introduced over the past two years in response to student feedback and in recognition of the importance of students developing into independent, creative and resourceful learners.


ABSTRACT Young feminist organising is springing up in all corners of the globe – from Mexico to Morocco to Malaysia – powered by brave young women, girls and trans* youth who are creating the change the world needs. FRIDA | The Young Feminist Fund – is a young feminist-led organisation that began in 2010. It aims to provide young feminist leaders with the resources they need to amplify their voices and initiatives as well as bring attention to their work. This article offers a view from four young feminists involved in FRIDA's work, sharing some of the innovative and creative strategies currently being used to challenge the status quo.


Background Decreased kidney function and greater albuminuria are associated with increased incidence and extent of coronary artery calcium (CAC). We investigated whether the associations between kidney function and urine protein-to-creatinine ratio (UPCR) with CAC differ by HIV serostatus. Methods Using data from the Multicenter AIDS Cohort Study, a prospective multicenter US study of men who have sex with men, we carried out a cross-sectional study comprised of 592 HIV-infected (HIV+) and 378 uninfected (HIV−) men who underwent noncontrast computed tomography to measure CAC. Logistic and linear regression models were used to determine whether HIV infection modified associations of estimated glomerular filtration rate and UPCR with the presence and extent of CAC, adjusting for age, race, and cardiovascular risk factors. Results Every 10 U decrease in estimated glomerular filtration rate below 90 ml/min/1.73 m2 was significantly associated with 1.3-fold [95% confidence interval (CI): 1.06–1.51] higher odds of CAC presence and was similar by HIV serostatus (Pinteraction=0.37). Greater UPCR was associated with more extensive CAC, with a change in log CAC score of 0.32 (95% CI: 0.10–0.55) per 1% increase in UPCR. There was a strong trend for effect modification by HIV serostatus for this association [HIV−: 0.75 (95% CI: 0.26–1.25); HIV+: 0.22 (95% CI: −0.03 to 0.47), Pinteraction=0.06]. Conclusion Greater CAC burden is apparent among individuals with early kidney disease, irrespective of HIV serostatus. Increased UPCR is associated with a greater extent of CAC with a trend for differences by HIV serostatus; a clearer proteinuria/CAC extent relationship was apparent among HIV− patients.


Title of Document: THE LINK BETWEEN RELATIONSHIP ORIENTATIONS AND FRIENDSHIP QUALITY: THE MEDIATING ROLES OF SOCIAL GOALS AND RESOLUTION STRATEGIES Bridget Kay Fredstrom, Doctor of Philosophy, 2013 Directed By: Professor Judith Torney-Purta, Department of Human Development & Quantitative Methods During adolescence, friendships become increasingly important to overall well-being, yet it is common for individuals to experience frequent conflicts with their friends. Theories relating to social cognition offer a framework to examine how adolescents think about expectations for reciprocity as well as goals and strategies in response to hypothetical conflicts (and how these social cognitions are associated with friendship quality). Participants included 198 adolescents from 6 th , 7 th , and 8 th grades from two racially diverse schools in a southern state. All participants had parental consent and provided verbal assent. They provided nominations of two same-sex best friends in their grade who attended their school and rated their perceptions of four dimensions of positive friendship quality for each. Participants also completed an exchange and a communal orientation scale (revised from adult versions) responding with reference to each of their nominated friends. Finally, participants read four hypothetical conflicts and were asked to imagine that they and their nominated friend were described. They rated the likelihood that they would choose each of a set of specific social goals and strategies in resolving conflict. Hierarchical linear regressions examined whether adolescents' exchange and communal orientations predicted their perceptions of positive friendship quality. Moderated-mediation analyses examined whether individual differences in social goals and resolution strategies mediated the associations between exchange and communal orientations and positive friendship quality (and also gender differences). Exchange and communal orientations had different associations with friendship quality. Choice of social goals appears to be one process through which relationship orientations are associated with friendship quality. Exchange orientation was not significantly associated with positive friendship quality. However, mediation models revealed that adolescents with higher expectations for tit-for-tat exchanges were more likely to endorse revenge goals which in turn were associated with lower friendship quality. In contrast, communal orientations were positively and significantly associated with overall rated friendship quality, suggesting the importance of reciprocity in meeting the needs of others. Finally, gender differences suggest that relationship orientations partially explain why adolescent males and females have qualitatively different friendships, and manage conflict differently. Limitations, implications, and future directions for analyses and research are discussed. THE LINK BETWEEN RELATIONSHIP ORIENTATIONS AND FRIENDSHIP QUALITY: THE MEDIATING ROLES OF SOCIAL GOALS AND RESOLUTION STRATEGIES


AIM
To evaluate treatment safety and hemodynamic changes during a single 6-h treatment with the Prometheus liver assist system in a randomized, controlled study.

METHODS
Twenty-four patients were randomized to either the study group or to one of two control groups: Fractionated Plasma Separation Adsorption and Dialysis, Prometheus system (Study group; n = 8); Molecular Adsorbent Recirculation System (MARS) (Control group 1, n = 8); or hemodialysis (Control group 2; n = 8). All patients included in the study had decompensated cirrhosis at the time of the inclusion into the study. Circulatory changes were monitored with a Swan-Ganz catheter and bilirubin and creatinine were monitored as measures of protein-bound and water-soluble toxins.

RESULTS
Systemic hemodynamics did not differ between treatment and control groups apart from an increase in arterial pressure in the MARS group (P = 0.008). No adverse effects were observed in any of the groups. Creatinine levels significantly decreased in the MARS group (P = 0.03) and hemodialysis group (P = 0.04). Platelet count deceased in the Prometheus group (P = 0.04).

CONCLUSION
Extra-corporal liver support with Prometheus is proven to be safe in patients with endstage liver disease but does not exert the beneficial effects on arterial pressure as seen in the MARS group.


After decades of implementation of territorial use rights in fisheries (TURFs) and other fisheries management measures around the world, it is clear that monitoring their progress and results in biological and socioeconomic terms is necessary, and that involving fishers in the design and implementation will improve their likelihood of success. However, what receives less attention is the importance of multistakeholder collaboration, communication, and shared vision that increase management implementation capacity and effectiveness, while achieving an efficient use of the limited resources available to fisheries managers. Five years ago, an initiative called "Kanan Kay Alliance" emerged in Mexico: a voluntary, multistakeholder collaborative network formed by 40+ organizations (fishing cooperatives, government, non-governmental organizations, researchers, and philanthropic foundations). The alliance established a shared vision and collaborative work plan focused on the establishment of fish refuges (no-take zones) within TURFs across the Mexican Caribbean. The Kanan Kay Alliance offers a unique opportunity for dialogue, promotes value-added collaborative actions, and reinforces key initiatives. This collaborative model grounds management measures in a participatory and inclusive way, fostering their effectiveness and efficiency, as well as potential for reaching scale. Here we document the establishment of the Kanan Kay Alliance and provide recommendations for the replication of similar initiatives.


Designing cryptographic permutations and block ciphers using a substitutionpermutation network (SPN) approach where the nonlinear part does not cover the entire state has recently gained attention due to favorable implementation characteristics in various scenarios.For word-oriented partial SPN (P-SPN) schemes with a fixed linear layer, our goal is to better understand how the details of the linear layer affect the security of the construction. In this paper, we derive conditions that allow us to either set up or prevent attacks based on infinitely long truncated differentials with probability 1. Our analysis is rather broad compared to earlier independent work on this problem since we consider (1) both invariant and non-invariant/iterative trails, and (2) trails with and without active S-boxes.For these cases, we provide rigorous sufficient and necessary conditions for the matrix that defines the linear layer to prevent the analyzed attacks. On the practical side, we present a tool that can determine whether a given linear layer is vulnerable based on these results. Furthermore, we propose a sufficient condition for the linear layer that, if satisfied, ensures that no infinitely long truncated differential exists. This condition is related to the degree and the irreducibility of the minimal polynomial of the matrix that defines the linear layer. Besides P-SPN schemes, our observations may also have a crucial impact on the Hades design strategy, which mixes rounds with full S-box layers and rounds with partial S-box layers.


Mussels of the family Mytilidae occur worldwide in temperate waters, where they form dense aggregations on the sediment surface of soft-bottom coastal systems. In the largest sedimentary environment of the world, the European Wadden Sea (south-eastern North Sea), beds of the blue mussel Mytilus edulis provide a suitable habitat for a species rich community and a preferred substratum for invasive species. This mussel-associated community is much more diverse than the species assemblages of the surrounding sand flats and thus a hot spot of biodiversity. Do mussel beds have a general function as ecosystem engineers when compared with other parts of the world? Beds of different species of mytilid mussels and their associated species communities were investigated in Germany, southern Chile, South Korea and South Australia. In all coastal systems, mussel beds provided an additional habitat and supported a specific species assemblage different from the bare sand flats. Thus, the role of mussel beds as ecosystem engineers by increasing habitat availability and heterogeneity can be generalised over many coastal systems.


Peat is a spongy substance which is an effect of incomplete decomposition of plant residues in different stages of decomposition. Between the several organic matters which are used as substrate for horticultural plants cultivation in soilless conditions, peat is the unabandonable ingredient for mixtures for commercial production of plants. Peat is used in horticulture as a component of garden plant substrates, in agriculture for the production of garden soil and as an organic fertilizer, and in balneology as a material for baths and wraps. The use of peat for agriculture and horticulture is determined by the following quality parameters: the degree of decomposition, ash content, pH, the presence of carbonates, the density of the solid phase, bulk density, and porosity. As an organic material, the peat forms in the acidic, waterlogged, and sterile conditions of fens and bogs. The conditions seem like the development of mosses. The plants do not compose as they die. Instead of this, the organic matter is laid down and accumulates in a slow time as peat due to the oxygen deficiency in the bog. This makes peat a highly productive growing medium. In the present novel review, we discuss the peat use in horticulture.


After World War II, the United States emerged as the world's dominant superpower, inaugurating a golden age of prosperity and abundance. Depression and war were over, affording time to enjoy the comforts of domestic normalcy. Yet the cultural record of that moment belied the cause for optimism. "The suburbanization of American culture" describes how postwar American culture registered a new set of spatial and racial tensions and codified a new suburban way of life. It considers Hollywood's film noir genre; the soaring popularity of television in the 1950s; the development of shopping malls and theme parks; the increasing automobile culture; the rise of pop art and rock and roll; and the American youth radicalized by the Vietnam War.


Preventing co-enrolment in clinical trials ensures participant safety and data integrity. To facilitate co-enrolment checks, a novel biometric coenrolment prevention system (BCEPS) was developed and implemented in 2010 by the HIV Prevention Research Unit (HPRU) in collaboration with the South African Medical Research Council's (SAMRC) Information Technology Services Division. The use of this web-based system to capture participant's identification details in real time was approved by the SAMRC Ethics Committee. BCEPS was implemented at 13 other research organisations conducting clinical trials in South Africa (SA). Participants who screened at the clinical research sites (CRSs) had their names, SA identity or passport number and fingerprints captured onto BCEPS after comprehensive education and discussion. This information was verified at all study visits. If a participant attempted to screen or co-enrol at multiple CRSs, the system flagged this as a potential coenrolment. By addressing the ethical concerns around participant consent and rights, participant confidentiality and privacy, data security and access, and data management and storage, we were able to successfully implement BCEPS within the clinical trials conducted at HPRU, while adhering to the principles of good clinical practice (GCP), including respect for persons, beneficence and justice.


In two expeditions to Israel (in 1994 and 1996), 123 species of Buprestidae (Coleoptera), including one with two subspecies, were collected. Data collected, general distribution, and known larval host plants are given for each species. Fifteen Buprestidae species, and new hosts for four species, are recorded from Israel for the first time, including three new host associations for species that already had other known hosts. Xantheremia (Xantheremia) freidbergi is described as a new species. Acmaeodera (Palaeotethya) macchabaea Abeille de Perrin is resurrected from synonymy with A. rubromaculata sensu Volkovitsh 1986, in part, and two new synonyms, A. pharsaea Obenbberger and A. houskai Obenberger, are established for this species. Acmaeoderella sefrensis Pic is a new status for Acmaeodera rufomarginata var. sefrensis Pic, and two new synonyms are established for it: A. rufomarginata var. stramineipennis Chobaut and A. virgulata var. lucasi Thery. Acmaeodera miribella Obenberger is a new subspecies of Acmaeoderella elegans (Harold) n. comb., and Acmaeodera eucera Obenberger is its synonym. Acmaeoderella adspersula arabica Cobos is elevated to species status. Lectotypes are designated for A. rufomarginata var. sefrensis, A. rufomarginata var. stramineipennis, and A. virgulata var. lucasi.


Some provisions of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act of 2010 (ACA) as well as regulatory policies under the Obama administration reflected the overwhelming evidence that to reduce health care costs, and to improve quality of care and population health, the social determinants of health (SDOH) must be addressed. These policies included funding for partnerships between public health agencies, community organizations, and health care institutions, promotion of value-based payment models that incentivize integrated health and social care delivery, and support for Medicaid program innovations that directly address social needs as part of health care. The Trump administration, through a series of legislative and regulatory changes, has undermined many of these efforts, reversing the momentum toward a more preventive and integrated health care system. This article traces how the Trump administration's policy approach to investments in value-based and integrated care models, state Medicaid waivers, and funding of the safety net backtrack from Obama administration evidence-based reforms that acknowledged the large role that SDOH play in health inequity, worsening population health outcomes in the U.S., and out of control health care costs. * J.D., M.A.; The Warren Alpert Medical School and School of Public Health, Brown University. SAINT LOUIS UNIVERSITY SCHOOL OF LAW 30 SAINT LOUIS UNIVERSITY JOURNAL OF HEALTH LAW & POLICY [Vol. 12:29


Algae are recognized as the main producer of commercial alginate. Alginate produced using algae is located in the walls and intracellular regions of their cells. Its properties vary depending on the species, growing and harvesting seasons, and extraction methods. Alginate has attracted the attention of several industries, thanks to its unique properties such as its biodegradability, biocompatibility, renewability and lack of toxicity features. For example, it is considered a good encapsulation agent due to the transparent nature of the alginate matrices. Also, this biopolymer is recognized as a functional food in the food industry. It can be tolerated easily in human body and has the ability to reduce the risk of chronic diseases. Besides, it is used as an abrasive agent, antioxidant, and thickening and stabilizing agents in cosmetic and pharmaceutic industries. Generally, it is used in emulsion systems and wound dressing patches. Furthermore, this polysaccharide has the potential to be used in green nanotechnologies as a drug delivery vehicle via cell microencapsulation. Moreover, it is suitable to adopt as a coagulant due to its wide range of flocculation dose and high shear stability. In this chapter, the mentioned usage areas of algal alginate are explained in more detail.


Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to consolidate the servitization knowledge base from an organizational change perspective, identifying developed, developing and undeveloped topics to provide a platform that directs future research. Design/methodology/approach: This paper addresses three objectives: it comprehensively examines organizational change management literature for selection of a theoretical framework; it classifies extant studies within the framework through a systemic literature review; and it analyses 232 selected papers and proposes a research agenda. Findings: Analysis suggests increasing global awareness of the importance of services to manufacturers. However, some topics, especially related to servitization transformation, remain undeveloped. Research limitations/implications: Although the authors tried to include all publications relevant to servitization, some might not have been captured. Evaluation and interpretation relied on the research team and subsequent research workshops. Practical implications: One of the most significant challenges for practitioners of servitization is how to transform a manufacturing organization to exploit the opportunity. This paper consolidates literature regarding servitization, identifying progress concerning key research topics and contributing a platform for future research. The goal is to inform research to result eventually in a roadmap for practitioners seeking to servitize. Originality/value: Although extant reviews of servitization identify themes that are examined well, they struggle to identify unanswered questions. This paper addresses this gap by focusing on servitization as a process of organizational change.


This study aims to explore community perceptions and understandings of Rwandan Genocide Memorials. It used selected samples of ten genocide memorials that are scattered throughout the country. Those memorial sites are Bisesero, Kamonyi, Kiziguro, Murambi, Nyamashake, Nyamata, Nyange, Nyanza, Rebero and Shyorongi. The genocide of 1994 has strongly affected Rwandans and its consequences continue to distress the social and cultural values.
Today Rwanda is tirelessly committed to rebuild and restore the remnants of material and non material aspects of the country. One of the non material aspects emphasized in this research is remembrance. In building genocide memorials, Rwanda is refusing to let go unrecognized the victims of genocide. Through pictures, graphics and photographs, genocide memorials talk to the community.
The population reads and interprets differently the messages genocide memorials communicate. The community's interpretation is often influenced by various personal experiences and by social, cultural, political and religious environments. The way the community reads and interprets the message of genocide memorials has the potential to influence social relationships.
The approach used to discover the perceptions and interpretations of the genocide memorials messages from the community views was the functionalist theory. Manifest and latent functions helped to determine respectively the pre-defined and non-recognized functions. This theory helped to discover the dysfunctional roles of those symbols among the community.
The present research is an empirical study which used a qualitative approach. It helped the researcher to describe and analyze different perceptions and understandings attributed to the genocide memorials from the ordinary people. The methodology that was used in order to
achieve relevant results was focus groups and personal interviews. Through group discussions and interviews, it was discovered that genocide memorials communicate a non violent message that assist Rwandans to improve their social relationships.
On the other side, genocide memorials communicate a violent message able to stand in the way of improving social relationships in the community and both poles were stressed. The third position stood between those two extreme poles. It accepted the positive and the negative effects of the messages of the genocide memorials. The themes that were identified by the respondents reflected and articulated these functional and dysfunctional consequences of genocide memorials messages in the community.
Although genocide memorials are important monuments, their messages are critical to the Rwandan situation where the community relationships are still not settled. The atrocities that continue to be expressed necessitate a particular consideration in order to reduce their negative consequence.


The ligand 4-azido-2,2′-bipyridyl (1) has been used to prepare 1,2,3-triazole-substituted ligands through copper-catalyzed alkyne/azide cycloaddition (CuAAC or "click" chemistry) with phenylacetylene, ethynylferrocene and 2-ethynylpyridine to yield 4-(4-phenyl-1,2,3-triazol-1-yl)-2,2′-bipyridyl (2a), 4-(4-ferrocenyl-1,2,3-triazol-1-yl)-2,2′-bipyridyl (2b) and 4-[4-(pyridyl-2-yl)-1,2,3-triazol-1-yl]-2,2′-bipyridyl (2c). Complexes of the form [Ru(p-cymene)(Cl)(L)]PF6 (3, L = 1; 4a, L = 2a; 4b, L = 2b) were then prepared and characterized. We also report the synthesis of the complex of the analogous ligand 4,4′-bisazido-2,2′-bipyridyl (1′), [Ru(p-cymene)(Cl)(1′)]PF6 (3′). Complexes 4a and 4b were also prepared by an alternative route, whereby 3 undergoes CuAAC coupling with phenylacetylene and ethynylferrocene respectively. Complexes prepared with ligands that are pre-assembled or "clicked" at the metal show identical 1H NMR spectra. CuAAC coupling of 3 and 2-ethynylpyridine results in the formation of the complex [Ru(p-cymene)(Cl)(2c)]PF6 (4c), which contains a coordinatively vacant pyridyltriazole moiety. The reaction of [Ru(p-cymene)(Cl)2]2 with pre-assembled 2c results in the formation of the dinuclear complex [{Ru(p-cymene)(Cl)}2(2c)]·2PF6 (5), which incorporates ruthenium atoms at both bipyridyl and pyridyltriazole binding domains. The 1H NMR spectrum of the complex shows two signals for the triazole ring proton as well as duplicate signals for other protons of the bridging ligand, which indicates that 5 is produced as a mixture of diastereoisomers. The complex [{Ru(p-cymene)Cl}2{di-4-([1-{2,2′-bipyrid-4-yl}triazol-4-yl]methyl)ether}][PF6]2 (7) was also prepared through the coupling of 3 with dipropargyl ether.


The focus of this research is to explore the structure present in the wavelet decomposition of natural images and use this structure for image compression and representation. We first show empirically that the wavelet coefficients of a natural image, when sorted by magnitude, lie almost exactly on a curve of the form $. This, in turn, helps us to demonstrate that natural images may exhibit self-similarity in the wavelet domain, although no such property may be apparent in the pixel domain. In order to predict which scale-space positions may have large wavelet coefficients, we define a data structure called a "web". We use this together vvith a top-down adaptive search (TAS) algorithm that we propose. Using this, one can predict not only which scale-space positions have large wavelet coefficients, but also the magnitudes of the wavelet coefficients. Further, we are able to find a bound on the error in our prediction. We also show that this prediction scheme has the ability of automatically zooming in onto the edges in the image. Additionally, this method of predicting scale-space positions yields a number (we call it y) which is indicative of the amount of structure present in an image. Finally, we derive a theoretical bound on the value y can attain when the TAS algorithm is applied to an autoregressive process. This theoretical bound further supports the empirical evidence that y is indicative of the amount of structure in the image. We use the prediction scheme to construct an image compressiorl algorithm. The image compression algorithm is comparable in performance to the best available algorithms and also has low computational requirements. Further, the ;algorithm allows the user to control both the mean square error as well as the number of non-zero coefficients in the representation. Finally, we use these properties to formulate a stochastic process to model an image and explore various theoretical properties of the stochastic process.


This study focuses on consumers' perception of control over personal information disclosure on the Internet. Specifically, we examine how consumers perceive controlling their personal data that online companies collect for marketing and customer relationship management purposes. We aim to answer this research problem by clarifying 1) how do consumers express the perception of control over their personal information, and 2) how do consumers perceive controlling their personal information disclosure. Our empirical data is based on four computer-mediated focus group interviews. Our findings show that the perception of control is combined with all stages of personal data utilization: collection, storage and usage. Thus, consumers keep these stages in mind when thinking about their attitudes towards the collection and offering of their personal information. The interviewees also spontaneously mentioned various means with which they control personal data. Perceived trust towards companies, own initiative and permission-based marketing were also combined to the control speech. In summary, the interviewees mostly perceived that they were not controlling their personal data on the Internet. Only when they were talking about control methods of the information disclosure stage, they expressed the perception of control.


The 2017-2018 North American influenza season caused more hospitalizations and deaths than any year since the 2009 H1N1 pandemic. The majority of recorded influenza infections were caused by A(H3N2) viruses, with most of the virus's North American diversity falling into the A2 clade. Within A2, we observe a subclade which we call A2/re that rose to comprise almost 70% of A(H3N2) viruses circulating in North America by early 2018. Unlike most fast-growing clades, however, A2/re contains no amino acid substitutions in the hemagglutinin (HA) segment. Moreover, HI assays did not suggest substantial antigenic differences between A2/re viruses and viruses sampled during the 2016-2017 season. Rather, we observe that the A2/re clade was the result of a reassortment event that occurred in late 2016 or early 2017 and involved the combination of the HA and PB1 segments of an A2 virus with neuraminidase (NA) and other segments a virus from the clade A1b. The success of this clade shows the need for antigenic analysis that targets NA in addition to HA. Our results illustrate the potential for non-HA drivers of viral success and necessitate the need for more thorough tracking of full viral genomes to better understand the dynamics of influenza epidemics.


Instantaneous brain states have consequences for our sensation, perception, and behaviour. Both fluctuations in arousal and in neural desynchronization likely pose perceptually relevant states. However, their relationship and their relative impact on perception is unclear. We here provide evidence that, at the single-trial level in humans, desynchronization in sensory cortex (expressed as time-series entropy) and pupil-linked arousal differentially impact perceptual processing. While we recorded electroencephalography (EEG) and pupillometry data, stimuli of a demanding auditory discrimination task were presented into states of high or low desynchronization of auditory cortex via a real-time closed-loop setup. Desynchronization and arousal distinctly influenced stimulus-evoked activity and shaped behaviour displaying an inverted u-shaped relationship: States of intermediate desynchronization elicited minimal response bias and fastest responses, while states of intermediate arousal gave rise to highest response sensitivity. Our results speak to a model in which independent states of global arousal and local desynchronization jointly optimise sensory processing and performance.


Policy-based management is based on defining a set of global rules, according to which a network or distributed system must operate. In the last few years, policy-based management has begun to emerge as the dominant paradigm for developing network and systems management functions, primarily, since it can reduce complexity in management applications. Although attempts are underway to standardize policy-based management, significant research challenges remain. At KTH and SICS, a joint activity has been started to focus on some of the key issues. The paper outlines the research agenda for this activity.


Cardiac troponins are proteins found in cardiac muscle cells, which can be released into the bloodstream as a result of myocardial injury. Their detection in the blood has been used for over 15 years to aid the diagnosis of myocardial infarction. Troponin forms a part of the troponin–tropomyosin complex that regulates cardiac muscle contraction, and consists of three subunits: troponin T, which binds to tropomyosin; troponin C, which binds calcium ions; and troponin I, which is the inhibitory subunit. When the complex is activated by calcium ions, the tropomysin strands move to reveal myosin-binding sites on the actin filaments, initiating muscle contraction.1

Assays for troponins I and T are in routine clinical use for measuring their concentration in the blood. Detection of a rise (and fall) in troponin is a key component of the current universal definition of myocardial infarction, and troponins are used clinically to differentiate acute coronary syndromes into unstable angina (no troponin release) and myocardial infarction (cardiac muscle damage due to ischaemia).2 However, a range of other cardiac conditions (such as cardiomyopathies, arrhythmias and heart failure) and non-cardiac conditions (such as hypoxia, sepsis, pulmonary embolism, renal failure, stroke and strenuous exercise) may also cause a rise in troponin. …


The concept of a "diabetic cardiomyopathy" has been invoked to explain the higher than expected occurrence of congestive heart failure (CHF) in subjects with diabetes (1,2). However, the evidence supporting the existence of such a condition in humans is mostly inferential. Cardiomyopathies are chronic diseases of the myocardium in which the heart is abnormally enlarged, thickened, and/or stiffened. The weakened heart muscle has a reduced ability to pump blood effectively. Diabetic cardiomyopathy is frequently considered to be present when there is any abnormality of myocardial diastolic or systolic function, even when very mild, in a diabetic subject (or animal) without known hypertension or coronary artery disease. Isolated metabolic or biochemical abnormalities in the heart have also been taken as evidence of this entity. It has been referred to as a "specific" cardiomyopathy that may include features such as left ventricular (LV) hypertrophy, myocardial fibrosis, altered myocardial energetics, and variable degrees of myocardial mechanical dysfunction.

There is some controversy about the existence and/or nature of a diabetic cardiomyopathy because there are inconsistencies in the definition of the syndrome, there is a high reliance on findings in small animal models, there are problems with referral bias in many clinical studies, and there is a lack of prospective or longitudinal human studies (3,4). It may be argued that the simple criteria frequently used to characterize this condition are not adequate for defining a cardiomyopathy. The structural, mechanical, histological, and biochemical features mentioned above also are not specific to one disease state. Rather they are common features of nearly all myocardial diseases. Inclusion of type 2 diabetic patients in studies of diabetic cardiomyopathy is problematic because it is very difficult to separate the cardiovascular effects of obesity and diabetes. If we draw …


New isotopic ages and a fresh understanding of stratigraphic relations among siliciclastic strata in the Pensacola Mountains along the northern margin of the East Antarctic craton result in removal of some constraints for the Proterozoic break-up of Rodinia and necessitate revision of the subsequent history of the East Antarctic margin. These rocks, formerly all included in the Patuxent Formation, were thought to be of mid-Neoproterozoic age, to have formed as a consequence of Rodinia rifting, and to have been deformed during a Neoproterozoic orogenic event. Our data show, in contrast, that these siliciclastic strata were deposited in two chronologically distinct basins. The older basin, in which the Hannah Ridge Formation (new name) accumulated, received sediment that contains detrital zircons of latest Neoproterozoic or Early Cambrian age. It was deformed and its contents uplifted and eroded prior to the late Mid-Cambrian in an orogenic event that we interpret as the early stage(s) of the Ross orogeny. The second basin formed later, accumulated turbidite-rich sediments of the redefined Patuxent Formation of Mid- and probably Late Cambrian age, and was subsequently deformed, possibly in Ordovician time. Review of both biostratigraphic and isotopic ages along the length of the Transantarctic Mountains indicates that almost everywhere the main episodes of deformation predate 500 Ma and are thus older than latest Mid-Cambrian, rather than Ordovician, as they are commonly considered to be. Only in the accreted Bowers and Robertson Bay terranes of northern Victoria land, which reveal no clear record of pre-latest Mid-Cambrian or older folding, is the principal episode of Ross orogenic deformation demonstrably younger than Late Cambrian.


The Internet, Social Media in particular, brought far-reaching change to journalism, asking journalists' traditional role concepts into question. In this paper, we introduce Social Identity Theory as an alternative perspective to research journalistic role change, and propose a qualitative approach to study journalists' professional identity and relate it to their interpretation of change in the newsroom. We interviewed 26 journalists of a daily newspaper and investigated their professional self-concept. We identified a group of elitist journalists who act on traditional role scripts and feel threatened by online journalism and related principles. They see status and quality journalism endangered. A second group of service-and user-oriented journalists strives for the improvement of online journalism but lacks shared values and adapted role scripts. The paper shows the reciprocal interaction between journalists' activities and professional role concepts and affirms the question, if professional identity can serve as a resource to cope with uncertainty.


Acquiring and maintaining public support is frequently cited as an important requirement for governments fighting non-state actors. But how exactly can public support influence the course of counterterrorism campaigns and thereby contribute to an escalation or de-escalation of violence? This article argues that public support can provide a mandate for action but that it can also set boundaries for the measures governments and their non-state adversaries can legitimately use. Fluctuations in the quantity and quality of public support for either side can expand or contract these boundaries, potentially instigating marked changes in conflict-related violence levels and affecting the efficacy of government countermeasures.


Macrophytes growing in shallow coastal zones characterised by intense metabolic activity have the capacity to modify pH within their canopy and beyond. We observed diel pH changes in shallow (5–12 m) seagrass ( Posidonia oceanica ) meadows spanning 0.06 pH units in September to 0.24 units in June. The carbonate system (pH, DIC, and aragonite saturation state (Ω Ar )) and O 2 within the meadows displayed strong diel variability driven by primary productivity, and changes in chemistry were related to structural parameters of the meadow, in particular, the leaf surface area available for photosynthesis (LAI). LAI was positively correlated to mean, max and range pH NBS and max and range Ω Ar . In June, vertical mixing (as Turbulent Kinetic Energy) influenced max and min Ω Ar , while in September there was no effect of hydrodynamics on the carbonate system within the canopy. Max and range Ω Ar within the meadow showed a positive trend with the calcium carbonate load of the leaves, pointing to a possible link between structural parameters, Ω Ar and carbonate deposition. Calcifying organisms, e.g. epiphytes with carbonate skeletons, may benefit from the modification of the carbonate system by the meadow. There is, however, concern for the ability of seagrasses to provide modifications of similar importance in the future. The predicted decline of seagrass meadows may alter the scope for alteration of pH within a seagrass meadow and in the water column above the meadow, particularly if shoot density and biomass decline, on which LAI is based. Organisms associated with seagrass communities may therefore suffer from the loss of pH buffering capacity in degraded meadows.


The development of a "cradle-to-cradle" mindset with both material performance during utilization and end of life disposal is a critical need for both ecological and economic considerations. The main limitation to the use of the biopolymers is their mechanical properties. Reinforcements are therefore a good alternative but disposal concerns then arise. Thus the objective of this dissertation is to investigate a biopolymer nanocomposite where the filler is a synthetically prepared layer double hydroxide (inorganic interface); and a biopolymer paper (organic interface) based coating or laminate. The underlying issues driving performance are the packing density of the biopolymer and the interaction with the reinforcement. Since the polyhydroxyalkanoates or PHAs (the biopolymers used for the manufacture of the nanocomposites and coatings) are semicrystalline materials, the glass transition was investigated using dynamic mechanical analysis (DMA) and dielectric spectroscopy (DES), whereas the melt crystallization, cold crystallization and melting points were investigated using differential scanning calorimetry (DSC). Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy was used to estimate crystallinity in the coated material given the low thermal mass of the PHA in the PHA coating. The significant enhancement of the crystallization rate in the PHA nanocomposite was probed using DSC and polarized optical microscopy (POM) and analyzed using Avrami and Lauritzen-Hoffman models. Both composites showed a significant improvement in the mechanical performance obtained by DMA, tensile and impact testing. The degradation and decomposition of the two composites were investigated in low microbial activity soil for the cellulose paper (to slow down the degradation rate that occurs in compost) and in compost. An in-house system according to the American Society for Testing and Materials ASTM D-98 (2003) was engineered. Soil decomposition showed that PHA coating into and onto the cellulose paper can be considered to be a useful method for the assessment of the degradability of the biopolymer. PHA nanocomposite showed enhanced compostability.


A five-laboratory collaborative study was undertaken to determine the precision and accuracy of broth microdilution susceptibility tests of Streptococcus pneumoniae isolates performed with Haemophilus test medium (HTM) compared with tests performed with lysed horse blood-supplemented Mueller-Hinton broth (LHB). The intra-and interlaboratory reproducibilities of MICs of 10 antimicrobial agents determined with the two media were found to be quite similar and highly reproducible in both media. On the basis of favorable performance in this study, S. pneumoniae ATCC 49619 is recommended as a quality control strain to assess the performance of HTM when this medium is used for testing of pneumococci. Testing of 293 unique clinical isolates of S. pneumoniae with both media in the respective participant laboratories allowed a direct comparison of MIC results and a calculation of interpretive error rates. Although there were some slight differences between MICs determined with HTM and MICs determined with LHB, few very major or major errors resulted from testing the clinical isolates against the 10 antimicrobial agents. However, MIC-interpretive criteria specific for S. pneumoniae should be developed and promulgated through a national consensus mechanism.


Hong Kong is seeking to increase the use of 'assessment for learning' rather than rely on 'assessment of learning' through summative examinations. Nearly 300 teachers from 14 primary and secondary schools answered a Chinese translation of the Teachers' Conceptions of Assessment inventory and a new Practices of Assessment Inventory. Structural equation modelling showed that there was clear alignment between conceptions and practices. Further, there were significant differences in the conceptions of assessment held by Hong Kong teachers as compared to New Zealand and Queensland teachers. This sample of Hong Kong teachers strongly associated (r=.91) using assessment to improve teaching and learning with making students accountable through assessment, which, in turn, led to a strong use of examination preparation practices (β=.43). Hong Kong teachers believed learning outcomes were improved by using assessments to make students accountable and by preparing them for examinations. These results suggest that broader Chinese cultural norms concerning examinations are part of school culture and may provide barriers for the assessment reform agenda in Hong Kong and other Confucian societies.


We define a generic multiplication in quantized Schur algebras and thus obtain a new algebra structure in the Schur algebras. We prove that via a modified version of the map from quantum groups to quantized Schur algebras, defined in (A. A. Beilinson, G. Lusztig and R. MacPherson, A geometric setting for the quantum deformation of GL(n), Duke Math. J. 61 (1990), 655-677), a subalgebra of this new algebra is a quotient of the monoid algebra in Hall algebras studied in (M. Reineke, Generic extensions and multiplicative bases of quantum groups at q = 0, Represent. Theory 5 (2001), 147-163). We also prove that the subalgebra of the new algebra gives a geometric realization of a positive part of 0-Schur algebras, defined in (S. Donkin, The q-Schur Algebra, London Mathematical Society Lecture Note Series 253. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, 1998, x + 179. ISBN: 0-521-64558-1.). Consequently, we obtain a multiplicative basis for the positive part of 0-Schur algebras.


Electoral reform is a graveyard of well-intentioned plans gone awry. It doesn't take an Einstein to discern a First Law of Political Thermodynamics-the desire for political power cannot be destroyed, but at most, channeled into different forms-nor a Newton to identify a Third Law of Political Motion-every reform effort to constrain political actors produces a corresponding series of reactions by those with power to hold onto it. Consider a few simple examples. The Supreme Court finally broke the lockhold of the self-interested refusal to redistrict in the landmark Baker and Reynolds decisions.' Three decades later, however, the political gerrymander is not only alive and well; it has assumed the role of an institutionalized industry that seems largely immune from substantive review.2 Similarly, the Court's jurisprudence under the Equal Protection Clause3 and the Voting Rights Act of 19654 was intended to dampen the effect of racial polarization and to allow for a more inclusive system of representation. But the combined effect of searching judicial review for race-based claims and muted standards of review for claims of partisan exclusion has led to the recasting of essentially political challenges born of electoral frustration as racial ones.5 Far from diminishing the role of race in politics, current doctrine may exacerbate it. No area, however, can top the aborted reform agenda of the Federal Election Campaign Act Amendments of 1974,6 as truncated by Buckley v. Valeo,' for their paradoxical ability to bring about perverse consequences. A quarter-century after FECA, the conventional view is that American politics is more vacuous, more money driven, more locked up than ever.8 Campaign finance reform is now its own cottage industry with innumerable proposals for statutory and constitutional change and corresponding debates about how some immaculate vision of politics can be forged.9 Most of the legal-academic debate about campaign finance begins with Buckley and its progeny and focuses on whether and to what extent additional regulation comports with the First Amendment.'o Unfortunately, the debate often stops there as well. Because many of the participants in the campaign finance debate are relatively unfamiliar with the more general history of electoral reform or are largely uninterested in the practical details of political regulation, their proposals offer only a static analysis of a dynamic process. They ignore the central lesson of the post-Watergate experience: political money-that is, the money that individuals and groups wish to spend on persuading voters, candidates, or public officials to support their interests-is a moving target. This article takes a sharply different tack, heeding Deep Throat's advice to "follow the money"' rather than grand constitutional principles. On a pragmatic level, such advice leads us to ask where political money will go if the reformers succeed. Both logic and past experience provide reason to worry that, once the dust settles, the current proposals may increase, rather than dampen, the role of money in politics.'2 Even worse, because the reforms may further undermine the capacity of candidates and political parties to shape the electoral agenda, they could exacerbate the very political pathologies they are designed to combat.'3 Far from making politics more accountable to democratic control, they may make it less so. On a more fundamental level, Deep Throat's admonition bids us to trace far more precisely how political money works its way through the system. The calls for reform all stem from the assertion that money corrupts the electoral process. But when we press on the concept of "corruption," we are faced with two additional paradoxes. First, for all the rhetorical focus on money's role in corrupting candidates and elected officials, the critical problem turns out to be that political money corrupts voters.4 The consequence of this thicker account of corruption is to prevent the case for reform from being made along purely egalitarian lines. …


My purpose for this study is to analyse the Romanian consumer's behaviour in the context of the economic crisis that our country as well as other countries have gone through after 2008. The post-crisis Romanian consumer's behaviour is also going to be approached in comparison to that in the period preceding the economic crisis (2005-2008). I will show the consequences brought by the changes in the consumer's behaviour and attitude for retailers and how crisis forced them to apply new strategies and to reinvent some of them in order to cope with the crisis and to record increase in sale despite the crisis.


In this paper, I take the position that a large portion of contemporary academic work is an appalling waste of human intelligence that cannot be justified under any mainstream normative ethics. Part I builds a four-step argument for why this is the case, while Part II responds to arguments for the contrary position offered in Cass Sunstein's "In Defense of Law Reviews." First, in Part I(A), I make the case that there is a large crisis of suffering in the world today. (Part I does not take me very long.). In Part I(B), I assess various theories of "the role of the intellectual," concluding that the only role for the intellectual is for the intellectual to cease to exist. In Part I(C), I assess the contemporary state of the academy, showing that, contrary to the theory advanced in Part I(B), many intellectuals insist on continuing to exist. In Part I(D), I propose a new path forward, whereby present-day intellectuals take on a useful social function by spreading truths that help to alleviate the crisis of suffering outlined in Part I(A).


Technology has supposed a profound paradigm shift in human evolution, following Haraway's cyborg metaphor we have forged a profound psycho-social rapport with machines. This connectivity has also brought changes in crime patterns and fostered the development of cybercrime. From a criminological perspective, this work aims to explore the role of Per-Olof Wikstroms Situational Action Theory in explaining cybercrime by including Syke and Matza's neutralisation techniques in its formulation. The SAT-RI (SAT- Revised for the Internet) takes into consideration the interaction between cybercrime propensity (based essentially in moral perceptions), the internet, neutralisation techniques (cognitive scripts used as protection against blame) and self-control. The theory was tested by using a mixed methods design that includes an online survey (N= 709) and case studies (N= 20) stemming from interviews with law enforcement agents. Once the data was analysed, it was demonstrated that individuals with low self-control tend to have higher cybercrime propensity and are more prone to justify their acts by using adequate neutralisations. In addition, there are differences in the perceptions of cybercriminals by law enforcement agents depending on whether they are fraudsters, child sex abusers, sex abusers or hackers. The resulting theory can be useful in terms of prevention, as it can help design programmes that focus on the different stages of the cybercrime process (self-control, propensity or neutralisation). Also, the book calls for a more anthropological conception of cybercriminology called cyborg criminology.


1. The possible impacts of abstraction of water from streams and rivers in the UK have generated concern in conservation bodies.
2. This paper examines the feasibility of using biotic scores and predictions from the computer-based RIVPACS system to assess the effects of abstractions on benthic fauna.
3. Control and impacted sites on 22 rivers which experienced abstractions for hydroelectric power generation, supply of drinking water (either directly or through groundwater abstraction), spray irrigation and fish farming, were examined.
4. The ratios of observed to predicted biotic scores and comparison of observed fauna with that predicted by RIVPACS were used to assess the biological quality of the sites.
5. Only 11 of the 51 sites on the 22 rivers showed signs of reduced environmental quality. These included eight sites on a small lowland stream which receives run-off from fertilized agricultural land and is subject to spray irrigation; two sites on upland streams which had experienced severe spates prior to our survey and a small chalk stream, the Pang.
6. Discharge, baseflow, substrate and altitude were factors which explained most of the variation in faunal parameters such as biotic score, numbers of species, numbers of families and total abundance.
7. The main conclusions of the study are that upland streams did not appear to suffer adverse effects as a result of abstraction whereas lowland streams appeared to be more degraded, but with the exception of the Pang this could not necessarily be attributed to abstraction.
8. Biotic scores with RIVPACS cannot be used to set minimum ecological flows but can be used either directly, to assess site-quality and to identify areas of concern which may or may not be related to abstraction; or indirectly, by reference to the RIVPACS data-base to assess the conservation interest of invertebrate assemblages.


Wide ranges of natural fibers are used for the new product developments. Phragmites australis is a perennial grass that grows in wetland or near inland waterways. The preferred common name of phagmites australis is common reed (Naanal). Due to its fast growing properties and low content of nutrients and water, it is used for many applications. An attempt has been taken for the extraction of fibers from the reed. The chemical retting process is adopted for the extraction of fibers from the plant. There are three concentrations of NaOH, namely 3%, 4% and 6% has been taken for fiber extraction process. Based on result, as the concentration of NaOH increases, the strength (N) and elongation (%) of the reed fiber also increased.


Grand Larceny, being the Trail of Jane Leigh Perrot, aunt of Jane Austen [1937] Sir Frank Douglas McKinnon 134pp Recollections of the Early Days of the Vine Hunt [1865] James Edward Austen-Leigh 146pp Jane Austen: Her Homes and Her Friends [1902] Constance Hill 278pp Chawton Manor and Its Owners: A Family History [1911] William A Asuten-Leigh and Montagu G Knight 274pp A Pedigree of Austen of Horsmonden [1940] The Austen Papers [1942] Richard A Austen-Leigh 32pp, 368pp Jane Austen and Steventon [1937] Jane Austen and Bath [1939] Emma Austen-Leigh 63pp, 62pp Jane Austen and Lyme Regis [1944] Jane Austen and Southampton [1949] Richard A Austen-Leigh 67pp, 63pp


Noninvasive  positive-pressure  ventilation  is  a  type  of  mechanical ventilation  that  does  not  require  an  artificial airway .  Studies published  in  the  1990s  that  evaluated  the  efficacy  of  this  technique  for  the  treatment  of  diseases  like chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, congestive heart failure and acute respiratory failure have generalized its use  in  recent  years.  Important  issues  include  the  selection  of  the  type  of  ventilation  interface  and  the  type  of ventilator .  Currently  available  interfaces  include  nasal,  oro-nasal  and  facial  masks,  mouthpieces  and  helmets. Comparisons of the  available interfaces have  not found any one of them  to  be superior .  Both critical  care ventilators and  portable  ventilators  can  be  used  for  noninvasive  positive-pressure  ventilation;  however ,  the  choice  of  ventilator type  depends  on  the  patient's  condition  and  therapeutic  requirements.  The  best  results  (decreased  need  for intubations  and  decreased mortality)  have  been  reported  among  patients  with exacerbations  of  chronic  obstructive pulmonary  disease  and  cardiogenic  pulmonary  edema. Key  Words:  Non  Invasive,  Mechanical Ventilation,  Respiratory,  Interfaces.


Financial risk has become a focus of financial and nonfinancial firms, individuals, and policy makers. But the study of risk remains a relatively new discipline in finance and continues to be refined. The financial market crisis that began in 2007 has highlighted the challenges of managing financial risk. Now, in Financial Risk Management, author Allan Malz addresses the essential issues surrounding this discipline, sharing his extensive career experiences as a risk researcher, risk manager, and central banker. The book includes standard risk measurement models as well as alternative models that address options, structured credit risks, and the real-world complexities or risk modeling, and provides the institutional and historical background on financial innovation, liquidity, leverage, and financial crises that is crucial to practitioners and students of finance for understanding the world today.Financial Risk Management is equally suitable for firm risk managers, economists, and policy makers seeking grounding in the subject. This timely guide skillfully surveys the landscape of financial risk and the financial developments of recent decades that culminated in the crisis. The book provides a comprehensive overview of the different types of financial risk we face, as well as the techniques used to measure and manage them. Topics covered include:- Market risk, from Value-at-Risk (VaR) to risk models for options - Credit risk, from portfolio credit risk to structured credit products - Model risk and validation - Risk capital and stress testing - Liquidity risk, leverage, systemic risk, and the forms they take - Financial crises, historical and current, their causes and characteristics - Financial regulation and its evolution in the wake of the global crisis - And much moreCombining the more model-oriented approach of risk management-as it has evolved over the past two decades-with an economist's approach to the same issues, Financial Risk Management is the essential guide to the subject for today's complex world.