Abstract Arising mainly from its exceptionally varied suites of igneous and sedimentary rocks, Cornwall has a rich variety of building and decorative stones that were extensively exploited, both for local use and for export, before concrete and brick came to dominate construction in the twentieth century. Many of the types of building stone, such as elvan and sandrock, do not occur outside Cornwall, so local stone provides much character to the local built environment. Granites were extensively worked in the eastern part of the Carnmenellis Granite (mainly in Mabe parish), in the St Austell Granite (Luxulyan, Carn Grey and the china stone areas) and on Bodmin Moor (De Lank, Hantergantick, Cheesewring, etc.), as well as in the Kit Hill, Tregonning and Land's End granite masses. The predominant type used was the 'coarse grained megacrystic biotite granite – smaller megacryst variant' of Hawkes & Dangerfield. A significant trade in granite developed in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, employing large numbers of skilled quarrymen. Finished granite was exported all over the world; many iconic buildings in London and other major cities use Cornish granite. A tourmalinized granite, luxullianite, was an important decorative stone, and was used for the Duke of Wellington's sarcophagus in St Paul's Cathedral. Schorl rock is often found in older buildings in the granite areas. Most pre-nineteenth century granite building did not use quarried stone but used 'moorstone' obtained from boulders lying on the surface of the granite uplands. Large quantities of 'minestone' have been used in vernacular buildings, past and present, and in some medieval churches, sourced from the waste tips of metalliferous (both alluvial and vein operations) and china clay workings. Allied to the granites are the fine-grained elvans of granitic composition, usually intruded in the form of dykes. Greisening often improves the durability of elvans, which have been extensively used in some of the finest stone buildings in Cornwall, such as St Austell church tower, Antony House (NT), Trelowarren, Place (Fowey) and the Georgian buildings of Lemon Street, Truro. The best-known elvan quarries were at Pentewan, which yielded a freestone capable of fine carving. However, not all buildings described by architectural historians as being of Pentewan Stone came from Pentewan. Another important elvan was Newham Stone, widely used in the older buildings in Truro. Tremore elvan was used, together with luxullianite, mainly as a polished decorative stone to line Porphyry Hall at Place in Fowey and in other high-status buildings. Basic igneous rocks include an Upper Devonian metadolerite at Cataclews Point, west of Padstow, which provided the extremely durable Cataclews Stone, used from medieval times onwards for fonts and church carvings in the area around the Camel estuary. A more unusual stone, produced by carbonatization of an ultrabasic intrusion, is Polyphant Stone, mainly used for interior use and by sculptors, composed of a mixture of talc, chlorite, and various calcium and magnesium carbonates. The Polyphant Quarry was recently reopened to supply stone for the rebuilding of Newquay parish church and to supply stone for sculpting. Allied to Polyphant Stone is Duporth Stone, obtained from the cliffs of Duporth Bay, south of St Austell, which was used in the pillars of Truro Cathedral. Basic hyaloclastite was the main stone used in the great Norman Church of St German's in SE Cornwall. The Lizard ophiolite complex provided a source of serpentine for building and for the manufacture of polished slabs; ornaments made from serpentine are still produced. Slaty mudstones and sandstones of Devonian and Carboniferous age have been extensively used for traditional buildings throughout Cornwall, nowadays much slaty mudstone is still used for building and for Cornish hedge building. The Upper Devonian Delabole Slate Quarry has yielded high-quality roofing slate from Tudor times onwards but there are many other large active and disused roofing slate quarries in the Tintagel area and elsewhere in Cornwall, such as the underground slate workings at Carnglaze, now a tourist attraction and concert venue. Devonian sandstones, usually of turbiditic origin, are widely used for vernacular building in south Cornwall, and Upper Carboniferous turbidite sandstones are used in north Cornwall. The geologically youngest building stone, seen in the Newquay and Padstow areas, is a cemented bioclastic Quaternary beach sand, laid down at a time of high sea level during an interglacial as a raised beach. It is known locally as 'sandrock' but is a relatively weak building stone. St Carantoc's Church at Crantock and St Piran's Church on Perran sands were largely built of it. Supplementary material: A more detailed review of the various granite and elvan quarries that have been worked in Cornwall is available at http://www.geolsoc.org.uk/SUP18675.


When the impact between a baseball and a bat occurs outside the "sweet-spot" region, the resulting vibration in the handle often produces a stinging sensation in the hands. Pain from a poorly hit ball is primarily felt in the fleshy web between thumb and forefinger in the top (distal) hand, and also to a lesser degree in the heel of the bottom (proximal) hand, and the sensation of sting is more prevalent in aluminum bats than in wood. Several bat manufacturers have attempted to minimize handle vibration in aluminum bats through various methods including handle grips, foam injected into the hollow handle, two-piece construction joining composite handles to aluminum barrels, and the insertion of vibration absorbers in the taper region and in the knob of the handle. This paper will assess and compare the performance of several such vibration damping applications implemented in baseball bats. Experimentally measured damping rates corresponding to the bending mode shapes responsible for sting will be compared ...


The article develops a correctness theory of truth (CTT) for semantic information. After the introduction, in section two, semantic information is shown to be translatable into propositional semantic information (i). In section three, i is polarised into a query (Q) and a result (R), qualified by a specific context, a level of abstraction and a purpose. This polarization is normalised in section four, where [Q + R] is transformed into a Boolean question and its relative yes/no answer [Q + A]. This completes the reduction of the truth of i to the correctness of A. In sections five and six, it is argued that (1) A is the correct answer to Q if and only if (2) A correctly saturates (in a Fregean sense) Q by verifying and validating it (in the computer science's sense of "verification" and "validation"); that (2) is the case if and only if (3) [Q + A] generates an adequate model (m) of the relevant system (s) identified by Q; that (3) is the case if and only if (4) m is a proxy of s (in the computer science's sense of "proxy") and (5) proximal access to m commutes with the distal access to s (in the category theory's sense of "commutation"); and that (5) is the case if and only if (6) reading/writing (accessing, in the computer science's technical sense of the term) m enables one to read/write (access) s. The last section draws a general conclusion about the nature of CTT as a theory for systems designers not just systems users.


Humans can learn many novel tasks from a very small number (1–5) of demonstrations, in stark contrast to the data requirements of nearly tabula rasa deep learning methods. We propose an expressive class of policies, a strong but general prior, and a learning algorithm that, together, can learn interesting policies from very few examples. We represent policies as logical combinations of programs drawn from a domain-specific language (DSL), define a prior over policies with a probabilistic grammar, and derive an approximate Bayesian inference algorithm to learn policies from demonstrations. In experiments, we study six strategy games played on a 2D grid with one shared DSL. After a few demonstrations of each game, the inferred policies generalize to new game instances that differ substantially from the demonstrations. Our policy learning is 20–1,000x more data efficient than convolutional and fully convolutional policy learning and many orders of magnitude more computationally efficient than vanilla program induction. We argue that the proposed method is an apt choice for tasks that have scarce training data and feature significant, structured variation between task instances.


Find out how your company s full project portfolio can benefit from the principles of agility from an expert on agile processes. Agile software development is now more popular than ever, but agility doesn t need to stop there. This guide takes a big-picture look at how portfolio managers and project managers can make use of proven agile development methods to increase organizational efficiency. It can be difficult for companies to manage multiple development teams and to ensure that they are in line with evolving corporate strategies. Agile project-management methods help you build more flexible processes that invite feedback and collaboration, adapt to change, and gain better project insights. They enable project teams to execute corporate strategy and top-level managers to make sound decisions. This guide delivers practical, real-world strategies for implementing agile methods across your organization. Learn best practices for reassessing your company-wide processes; successfully coordinating multiple software teams without imposing a rigid, top-down structure; developing clear roles and responsibilities; and transitioning to an agile enterprise. Key Book Benefits: Delivers practical, real-world guidance on bringing agile software development methods to your entire enterprise Provides specific suggestions for improving processes, developing clear roles, and making decisions Features a survey of popular agile project management methods


Crowdfunding systems are social media websites that allow people to donate small amounts of money that add up to fund valuable larger projects. These websites are structured around projects: finite campaigns with well-defined goals, end dates, and completion criteria.  We use a dataset from an existing crowdfunding website --- the school charity Donors Choose --- to understand the value of completing projects. We find that completing a project is an important act that leads to larger donations (over twice as large), greater likelihood of returning to donate again, and few projects that expire close but not complete. A conservative estimate suggests that this completion bias led to over $15 million in increased donations to Donors Choose, representing approximately 16\% of the total donations for the period under study. This bias suggests that structuring many types of collaborative work as a series of projects might increase contribution significantly.


ABSTRACT Making predictions of future realized values of random variables based on currently available data is a frequent task in statistical applications. In some applications, the interest is to obtain a two-sided simultaneous prediction interval (SPI) to contain at least k out of m future observations with a certain confidence level based on n previous observations from the same distribution. A closely related problem is to obtain a one-sided upper (or lower) simultaneous prediction bound (SPB) to exceed (or be exceeded) by at least k out of m future observations. In this paper, we provide a general approach for computing SPIs and SPBs based on data from a particular member of the (log)-location-scale family of distributions with complete or right censored data. The proposed simulation-based procedure can provide exact coverage probability for complete and Type II censored data. For Type I censored data, our simulation results show that our procedure provides satisfactory results in small samples. We use three applications to illustrate the proposed simultaneous prediction intervals and bounds.


This paper examines modern hermeneutic approaches and how patristic exegetes can complement interpretative methods. Modern hermeneutics apply different procedures depending on the genre. Kannengiesser's Handbook of Patristic Exegesis is used to summarize patristic views by specific book and genre, while Russell's Playing with Fire, Klein, Blomberg and Hubbard's Introduction to Biblical Interpretation, and Kaiser and Silva's, Introduction to Biblical Hermeneutics frame the range of modern hermeneutic approaches. Perspectives on spiritual formation are addressed per genre since it is important for biblical interrelation and application and was valued by patristic exegetes like Augustine. The paper shows how patristic exegetes focused on the spiritual and seeking the Bible's deeper meaning. It demonstrates how Russell's spiritual formation emphasis aligns with Augustine's spiritual burning that transformed his life and how this emphasis aligns with the patristic exegetes' desire to seek deeper spiritual meaning in scripture.


The quantitative retrieval of soil apparent electrical conductivity using electromagnetic induction (EMI) has remained limited due to strong simplifications regarding EMI antenna modelling. In this paper, a new technique for EMI antenna modelling is applied for the common-offset EMI systems. The EMI system is efficiently described using global transmission and reflection coefficients and Green's functions are used to describe wave diffusion for horizontal and vertical dipole modes. We performed EMI measurements along a 180-metre-long transect with two different instrument heights above the soil surface, as well as with different orientations and frequencies. To ensure proper retrieval of the soil apparent electrical conductivity, the reference values were obtained from electrical conductivity data measured from 11 undisturbed soil cores taken along the EMI transect. The apparent electrical conductivity values calculated by applying the proposed model have a good agreement with reference values, however some discrepancies can be observed that are mainly attributed to the presence of local heterogeneities and also errors due to the variations in the height of the EMI instruments above the ground. The proposed method appears to be promising for quantitative retrieval of soil apparent electrical conductivity and resolving calibration issues that are typically encountered using EMI. In addition, the model calibration (antenna transfer functions determination) was successfully accomplished using conductivity values measured from the soil cores.


Several hypotheses have been proposed to explain the negative effects of delayed motherhood on an offspring's morbidity later in life. However, these hypotheses are not supported by clinical and epidemiological evidence. Because advanced maternal age is associated with increased risk of obstetric complications, the aim of the present study was to ascertain whether the negative effects on offspring of intrauterine exposure to maternal age-related obstetric complications may explain the reported negative effects of delayed motherhood on offspring. To this end, a literature search was performed to identify relevant publications up to March 2016 on PubMed; references cited in relevant articles were also searched. There was a direct correlation between the risks to offspring conferred by intrauterine exposure to at least one of the obstetric complications present at the time of delivery in women aged ≥35 years and the risks to offspring of delayed motherhood. This correlation was not observed when comparing the risks to offspring of delayed motherhood and the risks associated with maternal transmission of defective mitochondria, chromosomal anomalies or DNA double-strand breaks. Most of the effects on offspring of intrauterine exposure to maternal age-related obstetric complications may be induced by epigenetic DNA reprogramming during critical periods of embryo or fetal development. Women wanting to enrol in a fertility preservation program to offset age-related declines in fertility should be informed not only about their chances of pregnancy and the percentage of live births, but also about the risks to themselves and their prospective offspring of delaying motherhood.


A 51-year-old patient with haemophilia since childhood (usual factor VIII level 14%) developed acute viral hepatitis type B two months after an operation which had been covered by cryoprecipitate. The course of the hepatitis following admission was severe with encephalopathy and ascites. Evidence of intravascular coagulation with an increased radioactive fibrinogen turnover was also present. The factor VIII level measured by a one-stage clotting factor assay rose rapidly to 200% of normal and remained at this level for two weeks, and factor-VIII-related antigen as measured by electroimmunoassay also became greatly elevated (900% of normal). The possible mechanisms underlying those surprising changes are discussed.


A haunting tale of an Africa and an adolescence undergoing tremendous changes by a talented young Nigerian writer. Fifteen-year-old Kambili's world is circumscribed by the high walls of her family compound and the frangipani trees she can see from her bedroom window. Her wealthy Catholic father, although generous and well-respected in the community, is repressive and fanatically religious at home. Her life is lived under his shadow and regulated by schedules: prayer, sleep, study, and more prayer. She lives in fear of his violence and the words in her textbooks begin to turn to blood in front of her eyes. When Nigeria begins to fall apart under a military coup, Kambili's father, involved in mysterious ways with the unfolding political crisis, sends Kambili and her brother away to their aunt's. The house is noisy and full of laughter. Here she discovers love and a life -- dangerous and heathen -- beyond the confines of her father's authority. The visit will lift the silence from her world and, in time, reveal a terrible, bruising secret at the heart of her family life. This first novel is about the promise of freedom; about the blurred lines between the old gods and the new; between childhood and adulthood; between love and hatred. An extraordinary debut, Purple Hibiscus is a compelling novel which captures both a country and an adolescence at a time of tremendous change.


Background: Diabetes and cancer have been the leading cause of mortality all over the world. Studies on association between diabetes and cancers over a decade indicate a positive relationship between them. Epidemiologic evidence suggests that people with diabetes are prone to various types of cancers. This work suggests a novel strategy for the treatment of diabetes and cancers. Methods: Extra-precision (XP) docking strategy, was used to predict the binding interactions of partial, full agonists of PPARγ and aldose reductase inhibitors on the PPARγ crystal structures. Binding interactions of PPARγ with the partial agonists, NTzDpa and MEKT76 and the full agonist Rosiglytasone were exploited to identify partial and full agonists of PPARγ among aldose reductase inhibitors. Results: Full and partial agonists of PPARγ inhibit various cancers, by suppressing the factors associated with neovascularisation. Partial agonists of PPARγ are prefered than full agonists like thiazolidinediones, reported to have serious side effects. Aldose reductase inhibitors used to treat diabetic complications, show binding interactions similar to the agonists of PPARγ and could hold a heuristic approach in treating diabetes and cancers. Conclusion: Aldose reductase inhibitors, tetrahydrocurcumin, catechin-5-O-gallate, rutin, (2S)-2'- methoxykurarinone, epalrestat, 8-lavandulylkaempferol depict interactions of partial agonists of PPARγ and could be further studied for their dual role as agonist and antagonist of the proteins PPARγ and Aldose reductase respectively. Key words: Aldose reductase inhibitors, Cancer treatment, Diabetes, Natural compounds, PPARγ agonists.


"Powerful ocean waves fascinate the public, and they have made a lot of news lately." With that indisputable observation, scientist J. B. Zirker takes off on a whirlwind tour of the world of waves - from the "ordinary" waves that constantly churn the sea to the rogues or freaks that can rise up seemingly from nowhere to heights of 20 meters or more ...and everything in between. Addressing questions most ocean visitors have had and offering new ones for our consideration, The Science of Ocean Waves explains in accessible language how waves are formed, how they move, how they become huge and destructive, and how they're being studied now for clues that will help us plan for the future. Devoting chapters to wind, tides, currents, breakers, tsunamis, forecasting, renewable energy, and El Nino - as well as discussing the gentler properties of ocean waves which inspire us and offer opportunities for relaxation and recreation - Zirker explores the physical factors that create waves. Drawing on some of the recent storms that have devastated entire regions - such as Hurricane Katrina, the tsunami launched by the 2004 Sumatran earthquake, and the great tsunami that crushed the shore of Japan in 2011 - Zirker explains the forces that cause these monster waves and reveals the toll they take on human lives. Enhanced by dozens of illustrations and a comprehensive glossary, The Science of Ocean Waves will fascinate anyone curious about the science behind the headlines. Praise for J. B. Zirker: "Scientists know their stuff but are rarely good storytellers, whereas good storytellers rarely possess the necessary sweeping command of a scientific discipline. Zirker is that rare animal who can both communicate the most demanding technical detail and make it accessible." (New Scientist).


Chlorinated solvents form a significant part of groundwater contamination worldwide. They are difficult to remove via physical means, and anaerobic source-zone remediation based on provision of fermentable e-donor is an attractive clean-up dechlorination option. However, organic acids and HCl lower the groundwater pH and thereby stall the microbial consortia responsible for the biodegradation process. Often, the soil's natural buffering capacity will be exceeded, in which case a strategy of adding buffer to the groundwater is a priori beneficial to maintain dechlorination. Geochemical modelling was used to investigate the feasibility of adding naturally occurring buffering minerals to the groundwater for pH control. The simulations revealed that anorthite has the potential to be used as a sustainable pH buffering mineral.


Construction is not carried out in a laboratory setting under controlled conditions—especially in areas of socio-political conflict, such as El Salvador in the 1980s. Instead, the construction project, if managed by an American firm, may become a tempting target for terrorists. What makes things more difficult is that terrorist acts are seldom random, or haphazardly planned. They're usually well-choreographed and the costs and benefits are carefully considered. With that in mind, FMI-Hammer Joint Venture, (composed of Fred McGilvray, Inc. and Hammer Corp., both of Miami) developed a comprehensive project security plan during its stint as construction manager of three military projects in El Salvador. The jobs are long since completed, but the lessons learned are timeless. The key is to reduce the benefit and increase the cost of terrorism by properly safeguarding personnel, equipment and project itself.


BACKGROUND
Many children living with HIV/AIDS in developing countries are infected with intestinal parasites. These infections add unnecessary morbidity to children already suffering the clinical insult of living with HIV/AIDS.

OBJECTIVE
To determine the prevalence and potential risk factors for intestinal parasitic infections in HIV-infected children living in two institutions in Jamaica.

METHODS
A total of 82 faecal specimens were collected from 41 HIV-infected children (age range 2-14 years) who resided in two Children's Homes. A structured 42-item questionnaire was administered to caregivers to obtain clinical and demographic data on each child. Faecal specimens from each patient were examined using standard microbiological techniques and Cryptosporidium antigen detection was conducted using a commercially available enzyme immunoassay (EIA).

RESULTS
No opportunistic intestinal parasites were identified in this study. Non-opportunistic parasites diagnosed included Giardia lamblia (12.2%) and Ascaris lumbricoides (2.4%) while the commensals Endolimax nana and Entamoeba hartmanni were found in 4.9% and 2.4% of children, respectively.

CONCLUSION
Children living with HIV/AIDS in institutions in Jamaica that are closely supervised do not appear to be at substantial risk for intestinal parasites. This may be due to the strict clinical monitoring of the children and personal and environmental hygiene practices.


The native populations of Portuguese America were essential for the implementation of the Portuguese colonial project. Their labor was indispensable in constructing the colony, and political alliances with native peoples ensured the success of the conquest at several crucial moments, and only with the aid of native knowledge it was possible to occupy the land and advance the conquest of the immense territory that became known as Brazil. In this sense, peace was a necessity.
 Yet, in highlighting the centrality of Indians in the settlement of the Portuguese colony in the Americas, it must also be recognized that the relations established there between Portuguese conquerors and native populations were also historically marked by tension and violence. A war of extermination, often masquerading as a "just war," and slavery became inseparable parts of colonial strategy. Moreover, access to land and the use of indigenous labor could both constitute secure indicators of success in the conquest of Portuguese America. In the process of colonization the Portuguese Crown was confronted by various forms of native resistance and by the differing interests of diverse colonial agents. During the 17th and 18th centuries the Crown faced tensions, disputes, and contradictions in relation to the slavery and freedom of Indians and the way it solved these conflicts revealed the configuration of its indigenist policy.


China has achieved rapid urbanization and unprecedented economic booming over the past three decades. Numerous cities and towns dreamed of cloning the miracles of Shenzhen and Pudong, Shanghai, in terms of their international development. However, inappropriate development strategies have meant that the majority of fast expanding urban suburbs or newly developed towns suffer a high ratio of vacant dwellings in real estate markets and a massive loss of farmland. The frequent exposure of these empty cities to mass media or the public has urged urban governments to impose fiscal austerity. These unexpected and negative consequences of urban development have explicit conflicts with sustainability. This paper aims to provide a political economy view of these unsustainable outcomes of new development. To achieve this, the processes and agendas of new city or town planning in Wujin District, Changzhou City, are analyzed and evaluated from the perspective of scale theory. Extensive interviews conducted with local politicians at different levels, planners, real estate agents and local residents facilitate the interpretation of these processes and agendas. It is argued that the legends of Shenzhen and Pudong, Shanghai originate from a modified neoliberal capitalism intervention at the right time and place, with which other peer cities are not comparable. It is concluded that the scaling-up strategy is not appropriate for the local new town development of Wujin, which has led to unsustainable outcomes—empty cities and towns—and created important lessons for the sustainable development of Chinese cities.


The Arab-American population grew by 42% in the 1980s, reaching over one million in 1990 (although less conservative estimates have put it at around 2.5 million). Arab-Americans are increasingly diverse in national origin and more likely to be Muslim. They have higher than average educational levels and incomes, though poverty remains high among the foreign-born. This article examines changes in the demographic and socioeconomic profile of Arab-Americans, their implications, and the assimilation trajectory for this group. Although still small in size relative to many other US ethnic groups, the Arab-American population may gain more public recognition if current demographic trends hold and a positive assimilation path is maintained. he Arab world has figured prominently in media eyes at the turn of the century. The price of oil, Islamic revivalism, recurrent conflict in the Persian Gulf, and the roadblocks to peace in the Israeli-Palestinian dispute remain important areas of concern. Attention has also turned to the growing size and voice of Arab peoples now living in the United States, a group often viewed suspiciously by mainstream commentators and public alike. Its relatively small size notwithstanding, the Arab-American population is gaining recognition for its potential political influence. In 1998, Bill Clinton became the first US President to address an Arab-American conference when he spoke to a meeting of the Arab American Institute, a Washington-based advocacy organization. Both major presidential candidates in the 2000 elections met separately with Arab-American community leaders in Detroit, where the suburb of Dearborn is home to the largest concentration of Arab immigrants in North America. These meetings marked the first such overtures made by presidential candidates to Arab-American leaders.I They also underscored the growing political import of Arab-Americans, whose activists have worked hard in recent political elections to place their constituency on the political map and to help push the issues of civil rights and US foreign policy in the Middle East that top Arab-American concerns. Although Arab-Americans have become more visible as a minority and more politically prominent as a group, their demographic, social, and economic characteristics remain inadequately described and poorly understood. This article seeks to redress this imbalance by analyzing the demography of this ethnic group and the implications of the trends and changes noted. A secondary objective is to examine the social and economic adaptation of foreign- and native-born Arab-Americans. With Arabs continuing to immigrate to the US in large numbers, they are becoming a more significant yet diverse ethnic community. Since the 1970s, a group consciousness has become more apparent among Americans of Arab ethnic heritage, alongside the emergence of many Arab-- American organizations at the community and national levels.2 At the same time, the Arab image in popular American culture has been affected by the growing presence of a Muslim population and its association with the rise of militant Islam as a force in international politics, as well as by US Government policy toward the Middle East.3 A review of Arab-Americans in the present and recent period should contribute to contemporary scholarship as well as to an understanding of this ethnic group. Such work is also necessary to help inform public debate and to overcome stereotypes and misperceptions. Immigration to the US has grown markedly in the last three decades of the twentieth century. As a result, the share of foreign-born persons in the US population has more than doubled from 4.8% in 1970 to 10.4% in March 2000.4 This rise in the number of foreign-born residents has generated considerable interest and public debate on how well these new groups will assimilate. This article seeks to inform discussion about the Arab-American population; specifically, to present a profile of how its demographics have evolved in recent decades and to fill a gap created by the uncertain nature of the statistical base characterizing this group. …


OBSTACLES FOR IFRS International markets are becoming more and more common in today's society; people are investing in stocks in foreign countries and doing business overseas with regularity. The world is quickly becoming more interconnected and more involved as technology develops. Cell phones, the internet, and quicker transportation make business opportunities endless. With a quickly changing world, new needs arise that were previously unnecessary or irrelevant. When these needs arise, new standards or laws may be proposed to keep markets running smoothly. In the area of accounting, with international markets comes the need for harmonization of international accounting standards: "Harmonization is the process of bringing international accounting standards into some sort of agreement so that the financial statements from different countries are prepared according to a common set of principles of measurement and disclosure" (Osborne, 2001). If harmonization were to occur, companies would no longer have to deal with the hassle of reformatting their financial statements from one country to the next. It would eventually be more cost efficient and certainly time efficient. This would not only aid the specific business, but would also be beneficial to investors, especially in understanding the financial position of a business for stock purposes. With a huge revolutionary idea there are costs that must be accounted for as well. Although it is not argued that international accounting standards have many benefits to offer companies, there are some negative aspects or obstacles that must be thoroughly examined in order to make accounting harmonization possible. Two of the major problems specific to the differences among countries are cultural diversity and governmental differences (Osborne, 2001). A third major challenge for each nation that has or is thinking of changing to international standards is the lack of support among some or many of the nation's people. In order to do a thorough analysis of these obstacles, this paper will specifically focus on three countries: China, India, and Australia. This paper will provide information on cultural values in a general sense through the eyes of a few researchers; it will then apply how these cultural values affect the mindset of a particular country and how this mindset may cause differences to occur on financial statements. The next section of the paper will present a brief history of the government of each country, an explanation of the government's control, an account for the government's support of international standards, and finally a report of how international standards can work or are working for each country. Last, there will be a focus on the positives and negatives related to the change of accounting standards for the business owners and accountants in the three countries. There will also be an explanation about how to overcome the lack of support for the change in standards in these nations. THE OBSTACLE OF CULTURE Those opposed to universal accounting standards have argued that differing cultures would make it impossible to have international accounting standards. According to Timothy S. Doupnik (2004), a professor at the University of South Carolina, "Culture is considered to be a powerful environmental factor that affects the accounting system of a country, as well as how individuals perceive and use accounting information." Culture can have a huge influence in the way that accounting standards are formed and the way that financial statements are prepared. There are specifically three areas in which people have found that culture affects accounting standards. This involves the reporting of financial information, the auditor's perspective and "attitude," and the system for management control (Doupnik & Tsakumis, 2004). Each of these areas changes from country to country because people are affected by the roles that their nations uphold. …


The final and most advanced volume of the Al-Kitaab Arabic textbook program, Part Three is intended to help learners reach a superior level of proficiency by expanding vocabulary and providing paragraph-level activities in reading, writing, and speaking. More than thirty authentic texts by writers from across the Arab world address a range of political, social, religious, and literary themes and represent a range of genres, styles, and periods. Although the book focuses primarily on modern Arabic, classical Arabic texts have been incorporated into some of the lessons to introduce students to the continuity of the language throughout its history. Like previous books in the series, Part Three presents vocabulary-building drills and contextualized explanations of grammar, with exercises designed to push students toward independent learning. The original text and audio are now bound together in one volume along with new video material on DVD that continues the story of Maha and Khalid in Egyptian Arabic, making Part Three an invaluable textbook and reader. This book: guides learners to the superior level of proficiency; strengthens reading skills; increases vocabulary acquisition; refines and expands knowledge of sentence structure and the Arabic verb system; provides extensive writing activities; widens cultural background; and includes more than thirty authentic texts by writers from across the Arab world. Audio tracks have been remastered as MP3 files, recorded on one CD, and bound into the book. It includes all new video material on DVD that continues the story of Maha and Khalid. New video material continues instruction in the Egyptian dialect.


Background The Japan Chronic Kidney Disease Database (J-CKD-DB) is a nationwide clinical database of patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD) based on electronic health records. The objective of this study was to assess the prevalences of hyperuricemia and electrolyte abnormalities in Japanese patients with CKD. Methods In total, 35,508 adult outpatients with estimated glomerular filtration rates of 5–60 ml/min/1.73 m2 in seven university hospitals were included this analysis. The proportions of patients with CKD stages G3b, G4, and G5 were 23.5%, 7.6%, and 3.1%, respectively. Results Logistic regression analysis showed that prevalence of hyperuricemia was associated with CKD stages G3b (adjusted odds ratio [95% confidence interval]: 2.12 [1.90–2.37]), G4 (4.57 [3.92–5.32]), and G5 (2.25 [1.80–2.80]). The respective prevalences of hyponatremia, hypercalcemia, hyperphosphatemia, and narrower difference between serum sodium and chloride concentrations were elevated in patients with CKD stages G3b, G4, and G5, compared with those prevalences in patients with CKD stage G3a. The prevalences of hyperkalemia were 8.3% and 11.6% in patients with CKD stages G4 and G5, respectively. In patients with CKD stage G5, the proportions of patients with optimal ranges of serum uric acid, potassium, corrected calcium, and phosphate were 49.6%, 73.5%, 81.9%, and 56.1%, respectively. Conclusions We determined the prevalences of hyperuricemia and electrolyte abnormalities in Japanese patients with CKD using data from a nationwide cohort study.


ABSTRACT
Past research on air quality within the Kathmandu Valley indicates that diesel vehicles make a substantial contribution to the ambient pollution. Hence, it's important to identify cost-effective measures for reducing their emissions. As a first step, roadside observations of diesel vehicles were recorded between February and April 2017 at six locations: two on the ring road (RR), two inside the RR, and two on major arterial highways outside the RR. Out of all diesel vehicles observed (n = 12,039), 35% were emitting a visible plume of black smoke and hereafter are referred to as "superemitters". Of the 4,248 superemitters, 45% were buses of varying sizes, 34% were large trucks, and 19% were small pickups. Superemitters made up the largest fraction of diesel vehicle traffic on the RR (43%–46%) but were also abundant inside the RR (27%–29%), where human population and pollutant exposure is greatest. Upon developing a comprehensive understanding of the superemitting vehicle types and ownership, maintenance patterns and servicing costs were studied through a survey of vehicle owners, vehicle drivers, and local maintenance centers. The costs of general servicing ranged between USD 16 for tractors and USD 203 for construction vehicles depending on the size of the vehicle. Lastly, the effect of general servicing on emissions while idling was explored for a small sample of superemitters (n = 4). PM2.5 emissions reduced from 10.90 g L–1 to 3.76 g L–1 and BC emissions reduced from 0.847 g L–1 to 0.596 g L–1 after servicing. Taken together, results from this roadside surveillance study and exploratory emission-measurement campaign provide preliminary evidence that a policy of mandatory, routine maintenance of a targeted subset of the diesel fleet can systematically reduce emissions and improve air quality in the Kathmandu Valley and other cities around the world that are facing similar problems.


Teaching integration at the undergraduate level requires thoughtful coordination among psychology faculty. This article describes a content review process by which complimentary strengths and perspectives can be discovered and used to design a coordinated integration curriculum. The George Fox College undergraduate psychology department's integration content review is offered as an example. A content review requires a framework for both exploration of integration activity and desired outcomes. We propose four levels of integration activity in the classroom: (a) modeling of personal faith, (b) integrative discussions, (c) integration readings, and (d) course level integration. These levels are progressive, complimentary, and dependent, to some extent, on the course content. In addition, careful articulation of the knowledge, skills, and attitudes the department wishes a student to have at graduation is important for the design of an integration curriculum and for assessing outcomes. The content review is an opportunity for the department to coordinate efforts toward a multi-layered integration of psychology and Christian faith.


This article explores how contemporary theories of gentrification improve our understanding of past urban change. Discussing municipal housing statistics and local newspaper coverage from late-19th-century Berlin, it first illustrates the tremendous increase in rents that the German capital witnessed in the second half of the century. Rather than focusing on the rise of highly segregated neighbourhoods as urban historians usually do, the article then studies to what extent the growth of industrial cities like Berlin was accompanied by physical displacement in existing proletarian and middle-class quarters. Based on a methodologically innovative use of historical address books, it thus portrays an uneven geography of inner-city transformation. By compiling samples of socio-demographic change on the micro-level of individual streets, this article reveals that historical patterns of displacement followed a peculiar logic that affected socio-economic groups very differently. The article indicates that there exists a contentious pre-history of gentrification that has been utterly neglected in urban studies so far. At the same time, it epitomises the potential of historical research for the advancement of urban theory.


Treating patients with stage 1 (mild) hypertension has no benefit, a Cochrane review of studies conducted in the United Kingdom, Australia, and the United States has found.1

Data from four randomised controlled trials, involving 8912 patients with stage 1 hypertension (systolic blood pressure 140-159 mm Hg or diastolic 90-99 mm Hg, or both) and treated for four to five years, found that drug treatment did not reduce total mortality (risk ratio 0.85 (95% confidence interval 0.63 to 1.15)), coronary heart disease (1.12 (0.8 to 1.57), or stroke (0.51 (0.24 to 1.08)). Patients with pre-existing cardiovascular disease were excluded from the study.

David Cundiff, one of the reviewers, said that he believes that the analysis should lead to dramatic changes in the way doctors treat mild hypertension, allowing patients to throw away their blood pressure pills and focus instead on far more effective as well as evidence based approaches, such as exercising, smoking cessation, and eating a DASH (diet against systolic hypertension) or Mediterranean diet.

Cundiff told the BMJ that "in light of the negative results of the trials in the literature" further clinical …


Purpose: The policy to promote entrepreneurship plays a central role in the strategic management of cities. Therefore, the research question asks how urban policies in Poland support knowledge spillovers and entrepreneurship in comparison to German cities' policies. Also investigated is how do Polish and German cities support entrepreneurship in different forms (including social entrepreneurship, youth entrepreneurship, and creative industries). Methodology: To answer this question, we have adopted a multiple-case study methodology relying on multiple sources of evidence, primarily strategic documents of the biggest Polish cities in the context of cross-country comparison with selected large cities in Germany, and semi-structured interviews with decision-makers representing municipalities from the analyzed cities in Poland. Building on the concept of the knowledge spillover theory of entrepreneurship, we refer to the approach in which spillovers of knowledge are a strategic lever through which firms distribute innovation and have profound implications for the region's entrepreneurial activities development. Findings/research and practical implications: The research enriches our understanding of urban policies in Poland that support knowledge spillovers and entrepreneurship, and discovers the possible relationship between factors determining entrepreneurship in Polish and German cities. In all Polish and German cities, entrepreneurship was an important component of economic development strategy. However, Polish cities depend on EU funding to a much greater extent than German cities in implementing their economic development strategies. Cluster strategies in the framework of key cities' industries were embedded in most urban policies, but a majority of Polish respondents believed that their cities should place greater emphasis on this policy. The main challenge for policy-makers is that current entrepreneurial polices should be more effective and oriented towards reinforcing the social perception of entrepreneurship, especially among young inhabitants. Originality/value: The research allowed enough data to be gathered to answer the research questions. However, future research validating the results in quantitative study is suggested. Also, some limitations in the research process were highlighted, such as a lack of personal contact with the respondents or different levels of economic development among Polish and German cities. Our research demonstrates the opportunities for knowledge spillover and sharing of good practices between the two countries.


Most anaesthesia-related deaths occurred in previously healthy patients.
Severe pre-eclampsia and morbid obesity are the commonest co-morbid conditions associated with maternal anaesthesia-related deaths in level 1 hospitals.
Referral pathways must be agreed upon and adhered to so that these patients can be transferred perioperatively to an appropriate level hospital.
Ergotamine must not be given to hypertensive patients.
Spinal anaesthesia should only be given to cardiovascularly stable patients.
Avoid spinal anaesthesia in case of potential severe haemorrhage, e.g. suspected ruptured uterus.
Patients with cardiac disease should be referred to a level 3 hospital.
All anaesthesia-related deaths should have a postmortem examination.


Objective(s): Methylsulfonylmethane (MSM) is a sulfur-containing compound found in a wide range of human foods including fruits, vegetables, grains and beverages. In this study the effect of MSM pretreatment on acetaminophen induced liver damage was investigated. Materials and Methods: Male Sprague Dawley rats were pretreated with 100 mg/kg MSM for one week. On day seven rats were received acetaminophen (850 mg/kg, intraperitoneal). Twenty-four hours later, blood samples were taken to determine serum aspartate aminotransferase (AST) and alanine aminotransferase (ALT). Tissue samples of liver were also taken for the determination of the levels of malondialdehyde (MDA); total glutathione (GSH), superoxide dismutase (SOD), and myeloperoxidase (MPO) activity together with histopathological observations. Results: High dose of acetaminophen administration caused a significant decrease in the GSH level of the liver tissue, which was accompanied with a decrease in SOD activity and increases in tissue MDA level and MPO activity. Serum ALT, AST levels were also found elevated in the acetaminophen-treated group. Pretreatment with MSM for one week was significantly attenuated all of these biochemical indices. Conclusion: Our findings suggest that MSM pretreatment could alleviate hepatic injury induced by acetaminophen intoxication, may be through its sulfur donating and antioxidant effects.


A 25 year old female presented to our emergency as a case of G3P2+0 (2A and H), full term pregnancy with intrauterine foetal demise with obstructed labour with severe anaemia. In view of obstructed labour with severe anaemia suspicion of rupture uterus was raised. Abnormal contour of abdomen also raised suspicion of bladder tumour. Here emergency caesarean section was done, peroperatively she was diagnosed as a case of anterior cervico-vaginal rupture along with posterior bladder wall rupture which is a rare entity. Uterine closure was done along with anterior cervico-vaginal wall with posterior bladder wall repair. This repair was done through trans- bladder route. Unique finding of this case was tear of anterior cervico-vaginal region with associated posterior bladder wall tear without rupture of uterus despite of obstructed labour in multiparous women. Most probable cause behind this type of injury is impacted head in neglected or obstructed labour responsible for ischemia and necrosis.


We present the results of a photometric and spectroscopic study of the white dwarf candidate members of the intermediate age open clusters NGC 3532 and NGC 2287. Of the nine objects investigated, it is determined that six are probable members of the clusters, four in NGC 3532 and two in NGC 2287. For these six white dwarfs, we use our estimates of their cooling times together with the cluster ages to constrain the lifetimes and masses of their progenitor stars. We examine the location of these objects in initial mass–final mass space and find that they now provide no evidence for substantial scatter in initial mass–final mass relation (IFMR) as suggested by previous investigations. Instead, we demonstrate that, when combined with current data from other solar metallicity open clusters and the Sirius binary system, they hint at an IFMR that is steeper in the initial mass range 3 M⊙ ≲ M init ≲ 4 M⊙ than at progenitor masses immediately lower and higher than this. This form is generally consistent with the predictions of stellar evolutionary models and can aid population synthesis models in reproducing the relatively sharp drop observed at the high mass end of the main peak in the mass distribution of white dwarfs.


Sand Sea Extents and Sediment Volumes on Titan from Dune Parameters Karl Douglas Arnold Department of Geological Sciences, BYU Master of Science Linear dunes are one of the most abundant and important features on the surface of Titan. We present a model for estimating the volume of dune sediment using the area coverage of Titan's sand seas along with dune widths, spacings, and heights. This helps to reveal local sediment transport and deposition. We refine global dune area estimates from Cassini SAR (Synthetic Aperture RADAR) of 20 million km2 or 24 ± 3% of Titan's surface based on ~50% Cassini RADAR global coverage. Additionally, the global area of sand seas is estimated from a joint analysis of Cassini SAR and ISS (Imaging Science Subsystem) images of 12.8 ± 2 million km2 or 15.4 ± 2.4% of Titan's surface. Also, we provide the first area measurements by sand sea, then describe a new method for estimation of the volume of dune sands across the sand seas based on imagery and measured dune characteristics (i.e., width, spacing, profile, and height) on Titan and in Earth's Namib Sand Sea. Our volume thickness map shows sand sea volumes of 3.8–7.9 x 104 km3 in Senkyo, 6.1–12.7 x 104 km3 in Belet, 5.3–11.0 x 104 km3 in Shangri-La, and also 5.3–11.0 x 104 km3 in Fensal and Aztlan Sand Seas. Our estimate for global dune sand volume is 206,000 km3 427,000 km3. The volume map identifies regional changes in sediment thickness implying local variations in transport and deposition and spatial variations in wind strength and direction. We show that dunes might be isolated to equatorial regions because of wind strength, topography, sediment supply, and humidity. Our preliminary map can be used as a tool to understand sediment transport and deposition to explain spatial variations in eolian sediment volume on Titan.


[About the book]:

Educational Dialogues provides a clear, accessible and well-illustrated case for the importance of dialogue and its significance for learning and teaching. The contributors characterise the nature of productive dialogues, to specify the conditions and pedagogic contexts within which such dialogues can most effectively be resourced and promoted. Drawing upon a broad range of theoretical perspectives, this collection examines: theoretical frameworks for understanding teaching and learning dialogues; teacher-student and student-student interaction in the curricular contexts of mathematics, literacy, science, ICT and philosophy; the social contexts supporting productive dialogues; implications for pedagogic design and classroom practice. Bringing together contributions from a wide range of internationally renowned researchers, this book will form essential reading for all those concerned with the use of dialogue in educational contexts.


We show that any concurrent zero-knowledge protocol for a non-trivial language (i.e., for a language outside BPP), whose security is proven via black-box simulation, must use at least ~ (log n) rounds of interaction. This result achieves a substantial improvement over previous lower bounds, and is the rst bound to rule out the possibility of constant-round concurrent zero-knowledge when proven via black-box simulation. Furthermore, the bound is polynomially related to the number of rounds in the best known concurrent zero-knowledge protocol for languages in NP.


In the paper is presented one new approach for creation and management of medical image databases with multi-layer access, based on the Inverse Pyramid Decomposition (IPD). The archived visual data is compressed using the special IDP format, presented in detail in this paper. The new approach offers flexible tools for multi-layer transfer of the processed information with consecutively quality improvement, together with reliable content protection ensured by digital watermark insertion and data hiding. The IDP permits insertion of multiple watermarks in same file. Part of the visual information (specific regions of interest in the medical images) is hidden for the low access levels and could be revealed by authorized users only.


Abstract In this experimental randomized placebo-controlled 4-way crossover trial, we explored the analgesic effects of inhaled pharmaceutical-grade cannabis in 20 chronic pain patients with fibromyalgia. We tested 4 different cannabis varieties with exact knowledge on their [INCREMENT]9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) and cannabidiol (CBD) content: Bedrocan (22.4-mg THC, <1-mg CBD; Bedrocan International BV, Veendam, the Netherlands), Bediol (13.4-mg THC, 17.8-mg CBD; Bedrocan International BV, Veendam, the Netherlands), Bedrolite (18.4-mg CBD, <1-mg THC; Bedrocan International BV, Veendam, the Netherlands), and a placebo variety without any THC or CBD. After a single vapor inhalation, THC and CBD plasma concentrations, pressure and electrical pain thresholds, spontaneous pain scores, and drug high were measured for 3 hours. None of the treatments had an effect greater than placebo on spontaneous or electrical pain responses, although more subjects receiving Bediol displayed a 30% decrease in pain scores compared to placebo (90% vs 55% of patients, P = 0.01), with spontaneous pain scores correlating with the magnitude of drug high (&rgr; = −0.5, P < 0.001). Cannabis varieties containing THC caused a significant increase in pressure pain threshold relative to placebo (P < 0.01). Cannabidiol inhalation increased THC plasma concentrations but diminished THC-induced analgesic effects, indicative of synergistic pharmacokinetic but antagonistic pharmacodynamic interactions of THC and CBD. This experimental trial shows the complex behavior of inhaled cannabinoids in chronic pain patients with just small analgesic responses after a single inhalation. Further studies are needed to determine long-term treatment effects on spontaneous pain scores, THC–CBD interactions, and the role of psychotropic symptoms on pain relief.


This body of research focuses on the cultural and political origins and implications of the global economic crisis of 2007-2013, through the production of three new artworks. Re: Evolution is an imaginary flag combining the Soviet flag with the design of a computer; Culture is a neon sign using antique lettering whose power cable is too short to reach the nearest socket; and Opus 2012, Symphony No.27 ('Europa') is a video that employs official footage from the European Parliament and likens Europe to an orchestra tuning without ever initiating a performance. In a precarious context for global societies, the works are intended to highlight the contradictions inherent in the current condition, by using elements of irony, humour and kitsch. The three artworks employ different media and materials (neon, fabric and video) alongside diverse symbols and cultural references, in order to create a hybrid visual language. They were nominated, as a body of work, for the 2013 AUDI Art Award for the most innovative young artist. The award is supported by the German Federal Government, the State of North Rhine-Westphalia, Art Cologne (Koelnmesse) and the Bundesverband Deutscher Galerien und Editionen (BVDG). Two of the works (Culture and Re: Evolution) have been developed further and are currently being shown in the main exhibition of the 4th Thessaloniki Biennale of Contemporary Art (central exhibition Everywhere But Now, curated by Adelina von Furstenberg, 18 Sept. 2013 – 31 Jan. 2014: http://www.thessalonikibiennale.gr). My aim in redeveloping them was to further engage with the context of the Greek socioeconomic crisis and its connections with current political conditions in the Mediterranean region.


Ursula Le Guin's "Always Coming Home "is a major work of the imagination from one of America's most respected writers of science fiction. More than five years in the making, it is a novel unlike any other. A rich and complex interweaving of story and fable, poem, artwork, and music, it totally immerses the reader in the culture of the Kesh, a peaceful people of the far future who inhabit a place called the Valley on the Northern Pacific Coast.


Syrian doctors who have fled the country's civil war to Lebanon and Jordan are being prevented from treating fellow refugees despite their huge healthcare needs, because of laws protecting the livelihoods of local health professionals.

"Lebanon and Jordan are not allowing Syrian doctors to practise, even to treat Syrians," said Redwan El Khayat, a UK based Syrian psychiatrist and member of the Paris based Union of Syrian Medical Relief Organizations.

Four years after the Syrian conflict began 3.8 million Syrian refugees are now living in Lebanon, Syria, and Turkey in what the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees has described as the biggest humanitarian crisis since the second world war. Their healthcare needs are huge, most cannot afford the cost of local health services, and aid agencies are struggling to care for them. …


"Provider profiling" is the evaluation of the performance of hospitals, doctors, and other medical practitioners to enhance the quality of medical care. We propose a new method and compare conventional and Bayesian methodologies that are used or proposed for use for such "report cards." Conventional statistical approaches to these provider assessments use likelihood-based frequentist methodologies, and the new Bayesian method is patterned after these. For each of three models, we compare the frequentist and Bayesian approaches using data used by the New York State Department of Health for its annually released reports that profile hospitals permitted to perform coronary artery bypass graft surgery. We use additional, constructed data sets to sharpen our conclusions. Comparisons across methods associated with different models are important because of current proposals to use random-effects (exchangeable) models for provider profiling. We also summarize and discuss important issues in the conduct of provider profiling, such as inclusion of provider characteristics in the model and choice of criteria for determining unsatisfactory performance.


While somewhat difficult to handle due to its corrosive character, arsenic trichloride has certain solvent properties which make it a useful addition to the list of spectroscopic solvents. Conductiometric titrations have been made using this halide as a solvent (2). The hydrolysis of this chloride to arsenous acid is a reversible reaction unlike the behavior of such a related halide as phosphorus trichloride. It is possible to steam distill arsenic trichloride and it forms no basic salt on hydrolysis. We have found that a clear solution in water can be formed with the halide up to 0.5 per cent by volume of water. Concentrated hydrochloric acid solutions in arsenic trichloride have been found to give spectra similar to that of water in the halide.


In an international permit trading regime, the initial allocation of permits across countries determines the participating countries' trading position. Large permit trading countries on both sides of the market can exploit their market power in the permit market. We analyze how the competitive environment on the permit market affects countries' gain from strategic manipulation of the permit price. We conclude that gains from strategic behavior depend on whether there are other strategic players on the same or opposite side of the market.


This is a study of the deployment of systems development methodologies at project level in software houses in South Africa. This study extends previous research of Huisman and livari (2002a. 2002b) who studied the deployment of system development methodologies at organisational level and at individual level. More specifically, the author studied the context and the outsourcing environment in which system development takes place in software houses in South Africa. Furthermore, the use of systems development methodologies at project level in software houses in South Africa and the perceived support that the systems development methodologies provide were studied. In this study the author used a qualitative research method. Multiple case studies were done and the data were collected using semi-structured inte~iews. These interviews were transcribed and a cross-case content analysis was done with the help of ATLASAi. Software houses are increasingly important in the information system development field, especially when taking into account the movement to external development and outsourcing. The constantly changing user requirements as well as the changing environment cause many challenges for the projects in South African software houses. These challenges can be categorised into user related challenges and environment related challenges. The user related challenges include: changing user requirements, managing client expectations, availability of the users and resistance to change. The environment related challenges includes: the constantly changing environment, the difficulty of integrating with 3'* party systems, the neglecting of change management and the lack of readiness for change in the client organisations' culture. It was found that all the projects used systems development methodologies. The projects that involved enterprise resource planning systems all followed the ASAP methodology. The other projects used in-house methodologies based on different parts of the object oriented as well as the extreme programming methodologies. These methodologies are not used strictly by the software houses; instead they are used in a flexible manner to handle the changes and challenges that may arise during a project. The support provided by the use of systems development methodologies includes control support, cognitiveand cooperative support and production support. Support as control technology reflects project management support, ways of tracking progress and keeping to a schedule and budget. It was found that a systems development methodology gives structure and guidance to the project and improves accountability. Cognitive and cooperative support illustrates the way the methodology guides the way team members work together, and the influence it has on communication and the exchange of information. In this study it was found that the use of systems development methodologies improves documentation and communication, this includes communication between team members as well as the communication between the software house and the client organisations. Support as production technology provides the project team with tools, techniques and methods to help them with the development. The general feeling that surfaced was that requirement analysis is a difficult but very important part of the system development process. It was found that many of the cases used methodology based tools to improve the requirement analysis process. The perceptions of project team members on the use of system development methodologies showed that the use of systems development methodologies results in a unique improvement in the areas of communication, documentation and accountability. These are important advantages, especially for software houses, where client relationships and knowledge management are vital.


We study bandit convex optimization methods that adapt to the norm of the comparator, a topic that has only been studied before for its full-information counterpart. Specifically, we develop convex bandit algorithms with regret bounds that are small whenever the norm of the comparator is small. We first use techniques from the full-information setting to develop comparator-adaptive algorithms for linear bandits. Then, we extend the ideas to convex bandits with Lipschitz or smooth loss functions, using a new single-point gradient estimator and carefully designed surrogate losses.


The reduction of ammonia (NH3) emissions associated with manure management requires identification and implementation of effective techniques. The objective of this study was to measure potential ammonia emissions from animal manure and evaluate emission reductions for five mitigation techniques (straw, sawdust, clay, oil and sulphuric acid). Although numerous studies have evaluated individual mitigation techniques, the variability of their effect with different types of slurries has not been fully investigated. Furthermore, the assessment of ammonia emissions from the subsequent land application of stored manure (or slurry) using different techniques would indicate the practical consequences of the entire slurry management chain. The effects of mitigation techniques were evaluated using a model to simulate field application of slurry. Three techniques were compared: broadcast spreading, band spreading and closed-slot injection. Simulations utilised data from experiments conducted at a controlled temperature on six slurries of three different types: pig, cattle and digestate. Ammonia emissions from the raw slurries (i.e., untreated slurry) were determined using the dynamic chamber technique and compared with those from the slurries treated using each of five mitigation techniques. A subsample of one 1 L of each slurry was transferred into 2 L plastic bottles. An airflow of 1 L min–1 across the headspace was established and then emissions were measured over a period of 24 h. The air outlet was connected to two serial acids traps filled with 1% boric acid. The quantity of NH3 trapped was determined by titration. Acidification and oil addition were the most effective techniques, reducing ammonia emission from raw slurries by more than 95% and 80%, respectively. The mitigation effects of straw and sawdust were higher for cattle slurry and digestate than for pig slurry, while clay had an opposite effect. The overall assessment of ammonia emissions from storage and subsequent field application showed that acidification followed by closed-slot injection emitted at most 12% of the emissions from the reference system, while emissions from acidification followed by band spreading were between 14% and 22% of those from the reference system. The latter appears to be both more effective than broadcast spreading and technically more easily operated than a closed-slot injector.


Simultaneous records of precipitation current density, potential gradient and wind speed have been obtained with mobile equipment mounted on a Land-Rover and with fixed equipment located at a field station in the Pennines. Measurements were made in quiet precipitation with the two sets of equipment separated by horizontal distances of up to 8 km in a direction in line with the cloud movement. Maximum cross-correlation between the precipitation current density records at the two stations was usually for time lags corresponding to the time of travel of the clouds between the stations. On one occasion of low wind speed, simultaneous precipitation current correlation was obtained at the two stations when separated by 5 km. It was deduced that the time variations of electrical parameters observed at a ground station would normally be the result of movement of the cloud system rather than its electrical development. Analysis of the effects of wind speed has shown that rain electrification is more intense at sites more exposed to the wind and that the effects may be due to a process operating from ground level up to a height of several hundred metres. The persistence of potential gradient and of precipitation current density has been shown to be inversely proportional to cloud speed. The horizontal dimensions of cloud across which persistence exists at a given point in time has been shown to be independent of wind speed and to be of the order of several kilometres. It is suggested that these dimensions may be a characteristic of cloud type and may be used as a criterion for their identification. A theoretical model to explain the electrical structure of nimbostratus clouds has been proposed, and it has been shown to be consistent with observations. The model satisfactorily explains the inverse relation between precipitation current density and potential gradient and it explains observed differences in phase between precipitation current-time and potential gradient-time curves in terms of the periodicity of the electrical changes within the cloud.


Smart grid is a new revolution in the energy sector in which the aging utility grid will be replaced with a grid that supports two-way communication between customers and the utility company. There are two popular smart-grid reference architectures. NIST (National Institute for Standards and Technology) has drafted a reference architecture in which seven domains and actors have been identified. The second reference architecture is elaborated by ETSI (European Telecommunications Standards Institute), which is an extension of the NIST model where a new domain named distributed energy resources has been added. This chapter aims at identifying the use of IoT and IoT-enabled technologies in the design of a secure smart grid using the ETSI reference model. Based on the discussion and analysis in the chapter, the authors offer two collaborative and development frameworks. One framework draws parallels' between IoT and smart grids and the second one between smart grids and edge computing. These frameworks can be used to broaden collaboration between the stakeholders and identify research gaps.


Here, we provide an alternative synthesis of the natural bromophenol 3,4‐dibromo‐5‐(2,3‐dibromo‐4,5‐dihydroxybenzyl)‐6‐(ethoxymethyl)benzene‐1,2‐diol (3) and the first synthesis of (4,5‐dihydroxy‐2‐methylphenyl)(3,4‐dihydroxyphenyl)methanone (18) and its brominated derivatives 19–21. The compounds were characterized and tested against the two most studied members of the pH regulatory enzyme family, carbonic anhydrase (CA). The inhibitory potencies of the novel compounds and two natural bromophenols 2, 3 were analyzed at the human isoforms hCA I and hCA II as targets and the KI values were calculated. The KI values of the novel compounds were measured in the range of 13.7–32.7 µM for the hCA I isozyme and 0.65–1.26 µM for the hCA II isozyme. The structurally related compound 14 was also tested in order to understand the structure–activity relationship, and the clinically used sulfonamide acetazolamide (AZA) was tested for comparison reasons. All of the compounds exhibited competitive inhibition with 4‐nitrophenylacetate as substrate. The compounds showed strong inhibitory activity against hCA I, being more effective as compared to the clinically used AZA (KI: 36.2 µM), but rather less activity against hCA II.


This article analyses a database of 55 squatted social centres in Brighton. By virtue of their public nature, these projects provide a lens through which to examine the local political squatters' movement, which was often underground, private and hidden (residential squatting in contrast is not profiled). Several relevant non-squatted spaces are also included since they were used as organisational hubs by squatters. The data was gathered from a mixture of participant observation, reference to archive materials, conversations with squatters past and present, academic sources and activist websites. The projects are assessed in turn by time period, duration, type of building occupied and location (by ward). Significant individual projects are described and two boom periods identified, namely the late 1990s and recent years. Reasons for the two peaks in activity are suggested and criticised. It is argued that social centres bloomed in the 1990s as part of the larger anti-globalisation movement and more recently as a tool of resistance against the criminalisation of squatting. Tentative conclusions are reached concerning the cycles, contexts and institutionalisation of the squatters' movement. It is suggested that the movement exists in ebbs and flows, influenced by factors both internal (such as the small, transitory nature of the milieu) and external (such as frequent evictions). This research feeds into a larger research project (MOVOKEUR) analysing the various squatters' movement in cities across Western Europe.


Estimatives of the general combining ability (CGA) and specific combining ability (SCA) among eleven commercial maize hybrids were obtained in this study. Single-cross hybrids AS 1550, DK B214, DK B215, DK B330, Dow 2B150, Dow 8460, P 30F33, P 30F53, P 30P70, Penta and Premium Flex were intercrossed in a circulant diallel scheme with p=11 (eleven parents) and s=8 (crossed 8 to 8) to obtain 44 double hybrids. These genotypes were evaluated in randomized block design with three replications. Two experiments were carried out in Center-South Parana State, in Guarapuava and Goioxim, Brazil. The yield, plant height and ear height were obtained and submitted to diallel analysis. There were significant differences between localities and between diallel hybrids for both traits. Significant differences were observed for localities x diallel hybrids interaction for grain yield. Significant differences were detected for GCA in all characteristics and for SCA only in yield. Parents Penta, P 30F53 and Dow 8460 were outstanding for CGA values in yield, and parent AS 1550 in plant height and ear height. The best hybrid combination was Penta x P 30F53, since it showed the highest yield, high SCA value and both parents presented the highest GCA estimative. The hybrid P 30F53 was parent of three among four of the most productive double hybrids. It is possible to obtain good populations from the commercial cultivars that were outstanding because of GCA and SCA estimatives in hybrid combinations.


The Indian electronics industry's high dependence on imports can be directly linked to trade and investment policy liberalisation, in the absence of vertical industrial policy measures to improve productivity and capabilities. With the failure of passive industrial policies oriented towards attracting foreign direct investment, growth in domestic electronics manufacturing will have to come from a comprehensive policy approach encompassing trade, FDI, technology, taxation, infrastructure development, environmental protection, and education and skill development. Apart from significantly increasing the public fund outlay for research and development, such an industrial policy intervention must subsidise the cost of commercialising new innovations and expand the market for domestic electronics products by interlinking the demands of upstream industries with downstream manufacturers through incentives.


Abstract Vertebrate rod and cone photoreceptors require continuous supply of chromophore for regenerating their visual pigments after photoactivation. Cones, which mediate our daytime vision, demand a particularly rapid supply of 11-cis retinal chromophore in order to maintain their function in bright light. An important contribution to this process is thought to be the chromophore precursor 11-cis retinol, which is supplied to cones from Müller cells in the retina and subsequently oxidized to 11-cis retinal as part of the retina visual cycle. However, the molecular identity of the cis retinol oxidase in cones remains unclear. Here, as a first step in characterizing this enzymatic reaction, we sought to determine the subcellular localization of this activity in salamander red cones. We found that the onset of dark adaptation of isolated salamander red cones was substantially faster when exposing directly their outer vs. their inner segment to 9-cis retinol, an analogue of 11-cis retinol. In contrast, this difference was not observed when treating the outer vs. inner segment with 9-cis retinal, a chromophore analogue which can directly support pigment regeneration. These results suggest, surprisingly, that the cis-retinol oxidation occurs in the outer segments of cone photoreceptors. Confirming this notion, pigment regeneration with exogenously added 9-cis retinol was directly observed in the truncated outer segments of cones, but not in rods. We conclude that the enzymatic machinery required for the oxidation of recycled cis retinol as part of the retina visual cycle is present in the outer segments of cones.


Since the 1990's, there has been a rapid rise of Public Private Partnerships (PPPs) across the world. Governments in developing as well as developed countries are increasingly using this procurement method to bridge the much needed infrastructure gap. PPPs are seen as an important tool for producing an accelerated and larger pipeline of infrastructure investments, and catching up with the infrastructure deficit. Arguably, this is why developed and especially developing countries are very keen on PPP models. This paper will compare the PPP procurement process followed in Europe compared to India and presents a thorough review of literature on governance issues, the process, thresholds and choices that the Indian construction industry faces in grappling with this procurement route, together with the associated challenges. The methodology used is a combination of reviewing documentation available/produced to date with a combination of comparison carried out based on Social, Legal, Economical, Environmental, Political, and Technological (SLEEPT). Consideration is also given to the different PPP models used for different sectors in Europe and in India. The paper argues and concludes that the challenges that confront the construction industry in India are multifaceted and likely to impact on the implementation of the PPP model if a strict governance regime is not followed in terms of process, thresholds and implementation.


In this article, I argue that the prevailing literature on contract theory does not adequately address the way real-world lawyers address uncertainty in complex business transactions. I attribute this to the constraints imposed by thinking in legal models, the dominant tendency to turn to economics for analysis and normative prescription, and the focus on adjudicative issues of hindsight interpretation. Commercial uncertainty, and the law's response to it, is only a subset of the broader philosophical issue of contingency. As an alternative to prevailing thought, I trace philosophical approaches to contingency, utility and morality that have come down to us since the Enlightenment, and how those approaches reveal themselves in modern legal and management theory and practice. In particular, I criticize certain characterizations and applications of legal and philosophic pragmatism. While the leading proponents adopt the name legal pragmatism, I suggest that they have nevertheless opted for a dogmatic economic idealism. Successful business leaders (and lawyers) have a more subtle approach: they envision a world as they want it to be (as it ought to be) but are not consumed by the fact that things do not always work out as they should. I argue that lawyers who are legal or economic dogmatists, seeing the world only as they want it to be, or who are only pragmatic or empirical, and will only acknowledge the world as it is, will be far less effective in the highly contingent environment where contracts create more moral than legal markers. The most effective real-world deal lawyers will be prepared to deal with contingency and counsel their clients pragmatically, but with far more idealism than current proponents of the jurisprudence of legal pragmatism have acknowledged.


Coded aperture X-ray diffraction (coherent scatter spectral) imaging provides fast and dose-efficient measurements of the molecular structure of an object. The information provided is spatially-dependent and material-specific, and can be utilized in medical applications requiring material discrimination, such as tumor imaging. However, current coded aperture coherent scatter spectral imaging system assume a uniformly or weakly attenuating object, and are plagued by image degradation due to non-uniform self-attenuation. We propose accounting for such non-uniformities in the self-attenuation by utilizing an X-ray computed tomography (CT) image (reconstructed attenuation map). In particular, we present an iterative algorithm for coherent scatter spectral image reconstruction, which incorporates the attenuation map, at different stages, resulting in more accurate coherent scatter spectral images in comparison to their uncorrected counterpart. The algorithm is based on a spectrally grouped edge-preserving regularizer, where the neighborhood edge weights are determined by spatial distances and attenuation values.


In the 1980s and 1990s, China devoted extensive resources to constructing a legal system, in part in the belief that legal institutions would enhance both stability and regime legitimacy. Why, then, did China's leadership retreat from using law when faced with perceived increases in protests, citizen complaints, and social discontent in the 2000s? This law-stability paradox suggests that party-state leaders do not trust legal institutions to play primary roles in addressing many of the most complex issues resulting from China's rapid social transformation. This signifies a retreat not only from legal reform, but also from the rule-based model of authoritarian governance that has contributed much to the resilience of the Chinese system. The law-stability paradox also highlights the difficulties facing efforts by China's new leadership to reinvigorate legal reform.


Obesity is associated with chronic inflammation and contributes to the development of insulin resistance and nonalcoholic fatty liver disease. The suppressor of cytokine signaling‐3 (SOCS3) protein is increased in inflammation and is thought to contribute to the pathogenesis of insulin resistance by inhibiting insulin and leptin signaling. Therefore, we studied the metabolic effects of liver‐specific SOCS3 deletion in vivo. We fed wild‐type (WT) and liver‐specific SOCS3 knockout (SOCS3 LKO) mice either a control diet or a high‐fat diet (HFD) for 6 weeks and examined their metabolic phenotype. We isolated hepatocytes from WT and SOCS3 LKO mice and examined the effects of tumor necrosis factor α and insulin on Akt phosphorylation and fatty acid metabolism and lipogenic gene expression. Hepatocytes from control‐fed SOCS3 LKO mice were protected from developing tumor necrosis factor α–induced insulin resistance but also had increased lipogenesis and expression of sterol response element–binding protein‐1c target genes. Lean SOCS3 LKO mice fed a control diet had enhanced hepatic insulin sensitivity; however, when fed an HFD, SOCS3 LKO mice had increased liver fat, inflammation, and whole‐body insulin resistance. SOCS3 LKO mice fed an HFD also had elevated hypothalamic SOCS3 and fatty acid synthase expression and developed greater obesity due to increased food intake and reduced energy expenditure. Conclusion: Deletion of SOCS3 in the liver increases liver insulin sensitivity in mice fed a control diet but paradoxically promotes lipogenesis, leading to the development of nonalcoholic fatty liver disease, inflammation, and obesity. (HEPATOLOGY 2010.)


Background/Context Pickering v. Board of Education, decided by the U.S. Supreme Court in 1968, is considered the high-water mark in the constitutional protection of public employee free speech. Two significant decisions issued by that Court since Pickering have limited public employees' expressive rights: Connick v. Myers and Garcetti v. Ceballos. Purpose/Objective The principal research questions which were the focus of this study are: is the adverse effect on free speech presumed by legal analysts following Connick and Garcetti having real effects in terms of judicial voting behavior and, if so, how has this occurred? Research Design We set up legal precedent and the judge's ideology as predictors of judicial voting behavior. The legal precedent variable delineates three intervals, namely the Pickering era [1968–1983], the Connick era [1983–2006) and the Garcetti era [2006–2014]. Two different measures of ideology are considered: party affiliation and the judge's DW-NOMINATE score. The dependent variable is the judge's individual vote in each case. Votes are categorized as pro-employer or pro-employee. Data Collection and Analysis Because our interest is specific to K–12 settings we analyze 507 judicial votes drawn from the 169 U.S. Courts of Appeals employer-employee free speech cases brought by school employees between the issuance of Pickering in 1968 and the post-Garcetti period into 2014. Since our dependent variable is dichotomous the statistical estimates are obtained via logistic regression. Conclusions/Recommendations We find that employee-plaintiffs are prevailing at lower rates at the U.S. Courts of Appeals in free speech claims against public school districts following the Garcetti decision. Since Garcetti, Courts of Appeals judges—those appointed by both Republican and Democratic presidents—have voted in an increasingly pro-employer direction. We contend this results from "doctrinal signaling," here, the progressive curtailment in the Supreme Court of public employees' free speech rights from Connick v. Myers in 1983 to Garcetti. We suggest this "signaling" is used by Courts of Appeals judges as an interpretive tool to give meaning to apparently ambiguous decisions such as Garcetti. Finally, the impact and implications of this negative trend for K–12 employees, as well as possible solutions, are considered.


When a continuous symmetry is spontaneously broken in nonrelativistic systems, there appear either type-I or type-II Nambu-Goldstone modes (NGMs) with linear or quadratic dispersion relation, respectively. When equation of motion or the potential term has an enhanced symmetry larger than that of Lagrangian or Hamiltonian, there can appear quasi-NGMs if it is spontaneously broken. We construct a theory to count the numbers of type-I and type-II quasi-NGMs and NGMs, when the potential term has a symmetry of a non-compact group. We show that the counting rule based on the Watanabe-Brauner matrix is valid only in the absence of quasi-NGMs because of non-hermitian generators, while that based on the Gram matrix [DT & MN, arXiv:1404.7696, Ann. Phys. 354, 101 (2015)] is still valid in the presence of quasi-NGMs. We show that there exist two types of type-II gapless modes, a genuine NGM generated by two conventional zero modes (ZMs) originated from the Lagrangian symmetry, and quasi-NGM generated by a coupling of one conventional ZMand one quasi-ZM, which is originated from the enhanced symmetry, or two quasi-ZMs. We find that, depending on the moduli, some NGMs can change to quasi-NGMs and vice versa with preserving the total number of gapless modes. The dispersion relations are systematically calculated by a perturbation theory. The general result is illustrated by the complex linear $O(N)$ model, containing the two types of type-II gapless modes and exhibiting the change between NGMs and quasi-NGMs.


The epidermal nevus syndromes are a group of conditions in which any type of epidermal nevus is associated with extracutaneous changes. The most common associated alterations are skeletal, neurologic, and ophthalmic. Our patient was a 37-year-old woman with a systematized epidermal nevus, present since birth and affecting the left side of the body. The nevus was formed of brownish papillomatous plaques with a characteristic distribution along the Blaschko lines (Fig. 1). She also presented a plaque of alopecia in the temporal region, hyperkeratotic lesions on the left hand, and ipsilateral plantar keratoderma. These findings were associated with multiple musculoskeletal alterations, including marked scoliosis, dysmetria of the hips with atrophy of the left lower limb, painful joint disease affecting the interphalangeal joints of the right hand, and vascular alterations consisting of bilateral chronic lymphedema of the lower limbs secondary to insufficiency of the internal saphenous vein. Neurologically, the patient presented paralysis of the left third cranial nerve, with no evidence of other cerebral abnormalities. In addition, for the previous 7 years she had presented outbreaks of inflammatory lesions in the area of the epidermal nevus, with no apparent cause. These lesions were formed of round or oval plaques with a psoriasiform appearance and a patchy distribution; they improved with topical corticosteroids. Biopsy of 1 of these lesions revealed verrucous epidermal nevus architecture with acanthosis and papillomatous, associated with a


Our research comes within the scope of plant biomasses production as a source of cellulose and hemicelluloses to be used to produce biofuel. The selection of the most suitable plant species to be converted into biofuel requires a good knowledge of their chemical composition and their suitability to be converted into biomethane or into bioethanol by fermentation, or to be used as solid fuel. We have developed an analytical method to quantify cellulose and hemicelluloses. This method is appropriate for the field of plant biomasses conversion into biofuel. It is based on a neutral detergent extraction which extracts interfering components of the biomass (Neutral Detergent Extraction), on an acid hydrolysis (Sulfuric Acid Hydrolysis) of cellulose and hemicelluloses and an analysis by a versatile technique (Liquid Chromatography - Charged Aerosol Detector) of the released monosaccharides. We have shown that this method (NDE-SAH-LC-CAD) quantifies cellulose, hemicelluloses and the composition of hemicelluloses with a high degree of accuracy. By the analyses of many biomasses, we found that the diversity of their chemical composition can be structured in groups of biomasses not only presenting similar properties and fiber contents, but also presenting common phylogenetic origins. To reduce the analytical costs, our approach has allowed us to select three commonly analyzed parameters (contents of cellulose, hemicelluloses and mineral compounds) as sufficient to predict the suitabilities of the different biomass to be converted into biofuel. Finally, it appears that productivity of gross energy per hectare depends primarily on the dry matter productivity of crops, rather than the evolution of their chemical composition during their growth.


In open-chest dogs anesthized with sodium pentobarbital, acetylcholine (ACh, 5 times 10'-5M) infused into the left circumflex coronary artery caused an increase in coronary flow and a decrease in myocardial O'2 extraction ratio (P less than .01) anduptake (P less than .05). Heart rate and mean arterial pressure were not altered,although left ventricular dP/dt declined from 2,037 plus or minus 205 to 1,873 plus or minus 194 mmHg/s (P less than .02). Intracoronary administration of norepinephrine (NE, 2.4 times 10'-6M) caused an increase in myocardial O'2 uptake (P less than .02); simultaneous infusion of both NE and ACh caused a decline in O'2 extraction ratio (P less than .01) and uptake (P less than 0.5). Myocardial adenylatecyclase activity in response to ACh was not altered significantly from a control levelof 188 plus or minus 22 pmol of '14C-labeled cyclic AMP/mg protein per 10 min. Norepinephrine alone elevated adenylate cyclase activity to 401 plus or minus 45 pmol ['14C]cyclic AMP/mg protein per 10 min (P less than .01). However, with simultaneous infusion of both NE and ACh, adenylate cyclase returned to control levels. Although ACh alone did not alter myocardial hormone-sensitive lipaseactivity, NE elevated lipolytic activity from 8.1 plus or minus .7 to 13.2 plus or minus 1.8 mueq free fatty acid (FTA)/g per 30 min (P less than .05). The administration of both ACh and NE returned lipase activity to nearly control levels. Myocardial uptake of FFA increased significantly during ACh infusion alone (P less than 0.5) and during NE infusion alone (P less than 905). However, when NE and AChwere administered together, a decline in FFA uptake was observed (P less than .02). These data indicate that the effects of ACh on cardiac metabolism are minimal, withthe decline in myocardial O'2 uptake of ACh primarily reflecting the decrease in contractility. On the other hand, antagonism of ACh on NE-stimulated myocardial lipid metabolism appears to involve activity of the adenylate cyclase system.


An analysis reveals how the very low terminal differentiation rates in adipocytes are maintained. Precursor cells in adult mammalian tissues differentiate at very low rates; for example, only 10% of fat cells are replaced per year. If all precursor cells responded to the same threshold of stimulus, these low rates would not be possible. Noise in the system (variability in the abundance of key proteins in different cells) could allow only a few cells to differentiate, but then such variability would allow dedifferentiation as well, which is not observed. Ahrends et al. used computational modeling and protein measurements in single cells to show that multiple feedback loops in the regulatory circuits, along with noise, can allow both stable and infrequent differentiation. R. Ahrends, A. Ota, K. M. Kovary, T. Kudo, B. O. Park, M. N. Teruel, Controlling low rates of cell differentiation through noise and ultrahigh feedback. Science 344, 1384–1389 (2014). [Abstract] [Full Text]


Abstract In Old English, negative adjectives, i.e. incorporating the negative prefix -un, are said to generally come in postposition to nouns (e.g. Fischer, 2001; Sampson, 2010). This paper investigates to what extent this general rule is followed in Aelfric's Catholic Homilies, the texts of this author being a typical choice for the study of Old English syntax (cf. Davis 2006; Reszkiewcz, 1966; Kohonen, 1978). The data have been obtained from the York-Toronto-Helsinki Parsed Corpus of Old English Prose (YCOE). The following research questions have been formulated: Do strong negative adjectives outnumber nonnegated adjectives in postposition? Do strong negative adjectives have a tendency to appear in postposition? Do strong negated adjectives occur in preposition? The results indicated that for the sample analyzed, strong adjectives in postposition are not predominantly negated. Additionally, the postposition of most of those which are may potentially be explained by other factors, such as modification by a prepositional phrase, co-occurrence with a weak preposed adjective (both mentioned by Fischer), or indirect Latin influence in a formulaic phrase. Also, the data does not appear to support the observation that negated adjectives tend to appear in post- rather than preposition.