Abstract. Ocean acidification is a predictable consequence of rising atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO2), and is highly likely to impact the entire marine ecosystem – from plankton at the base of the food chain to fish at the top. Factors which are expected to be impacted include reproductive health, organism growth and species composition and distribution. Predicting when critical threshold values will be reached is crucial for projecting the future health of marine ecosystems and for marine resources planning and management. The impacts of ocean acidification will be first felt at the seasonal scale, however our understanding how seasonal variability will influence rates of future ocean acidification remains poorly constrained due to current model and data limitations. To address this issue, we first quantified the seasonal cycle of aragonite saturation state utilizing new data-based estimates of global ocean-surface dissolved inorganic carbon and alkalinity. This seasonality was then combined with earth system model projections under different emissions scenarios (representative concentration pathways; RCPs 2.6, 4.5 and 8.5) to provide new insights into future aragonite undersaturation onset. Under a high emissions scenario (RCP 8.5), our results suggest accounting for seasonality will bring forward the initial onset of month-long undersaturation by 17 ± 10 years compared to annual-mean estimates, with differences extending up to 35 ± 16 years in the North Pacific due to strong regional seasonality. This earlier onset will result in large-scale undersaturation once atmospheric CO2 reaches 496 ppm in the North Pacific and 511 ppm in the Southern Ocean, independent of emission scenario. This work suggests accounting for seasonality is critical to projecting the future impacts of ocean acidification on the marine environment.


Informal economic exchanges are based on agreements that are inaccessible in the formal system, the object of which is to translate into restricted goods, access to decision-makers, influence on administrative decisions, or the enjoyment of preferential treatment in the bureaucratic system. Individuals have access to social connections within the institutional hierarchy through a system of "intercessions, acquaintances and relationships". Favors start from getting a job, eventually in a government agency, priority in legal matters, preferential position in problem solving, and end to brokering in obtaining licenses, certificates, passports, driving licenses, identity cards, tax amnesty and so on. Corruption, a phenomenon specific to the underground economy, is a deliberate deviation from the legal standards materialized in the misuse of public resources by official persons for private purposes. It is a deviant phenomenon with important economic consequences whose motivation and mechanisms reside in the inner tensions of the individual who is unable to access legal ways of achieving personal goals. However, it should be pointed out that in most cases, tax evasion and corruption go hand in hand. Tax evasion does not exclude corruption, while reciprocal is also valid.


In 1391 many of the Jews of Spain were forced to convert to Christianity, creating a new group whose members would be continually seeking a niche for themselves in society. The question of identity was to play a central role in the lives of these and later converts whether of Spanish or Portuguese heritage, for they could not return to Judaism as long as they remained on the Peninsula, and their place in the Christian world would never be secure. This book considers the history of the Iberian conversos-both those who remained in Spain and Portugal and those who emigrated. Wherever they resided the question of identity was inescapable. The exile who chose France or England, where Jews could not legally reside, was faced with different considerations and options than the converso who chose Holland, a newly formed Protestant country where Jews had not previously resided. Choosing Italy entailed a completely different set of options and dilemmas. Renee Levine Melammed compares and contrasts the lives of the New Christians of the Iberian Peninsula with those of these countries and the development of their identity and sense of ethnic solidarity with "those of the Nation." Exploring the knotty problem of identity she examines a great variety of individual choices and behaviors. Some conversos tried to be sincere Catholics and were not allowed to do so. Others tried but failed either theologically or culturally. While many eventually opted to form Jewish communities outside the Peninsula, others were unable to make a total commitment to Judaism and became "cultural commuters" who could and did move back and forth between two worlds whereas others had "fuzzy" or attenuated Jewish identities. In addition, the encounter with modernity by the descendants of conversos is examined in three communities, Majorca, Belmonte (Portugal) and the Southwestern United States, revealing that even today the question of identity is still a pressing issue. Offering the only broad historical survey of this fascinating and complex group of migrants, this book will appeal to a wide range of academic and general readers.


Vaccination with irradiated tumor cells engineered to secrete granulocyte-macrophage colony stimulating factor (GM-CSF) enhances tumor immunity in murine models through improved tumor antigen presentation by mature CD11b+ dendritic cells and macrophages. CD4+ and CD8+ T cells, CD1d-restricted invariant NKT cells, and antibodies are required for tumor protection. We have conducted several Phase I clinical trials of this vaccination scheme, using adenoviral-mediated gene transfer to engineer autologous tumor cells, in patients with advanced melanoma, non-small lung carcinoma, ovarian carcinoma, and myeloid leukemia. These studies have revealed that vaccination increases tumor immunity in the majority of subjects, as distant metastases become densely infiltrated with T and B cells that accomplish extensive tumor necrosis. Antibody based-expression cloning technologies have uncovered a large number of novel targets of these vaccine-induced responses, with evidence of a coordinated antigen-specific cellular and humoral reaction. Despite improved immunity, however, the majority of vaccinated patients eventually succumb to progressive disease. While the evolution of antigen-loss variants presents one obstacle to durable tumor control, negative immune regulation constitutes an additional major challenge. In preliminary clinical studies, the administration of a fully human monoclonal antibody that blocks cytotoxic T lymphocyte-associated antigen 4 (CTLA-4) to previously vaccinated patients evokes additional tumor destruction with lymphocyte and granulocyte infiltrates and the disruption of the tumor vasculature. CTLA-4 blockade may also breach tolerance to normal tissues, as indicated by the development of autoimmunity. A key issue of ongoing investigation is to determine whether tumor destruction and serious autoimmunity can be dissociated. This abstract was published in Cancer Immunity, a Cancer Research Institute journal that ceased publication in 2013 and is now provided online in association with Cancer Immunology Research.


Any actual information about a building interior can be very useful before entering a dangerous area. It can be used to plan strategies in many rescue and security applications. The paper deals with imaging of the inner and outer building contours from the outside using through the wall UWB radar. The whole processing chain for obtaining the contours of a scanned building is explained. The image processing method of highlighting the building walls using Hough transform with assumed knowledge of the direction of walls is presented. The algorithm was tested on real measurement data acquired from a M-sequence UWB radar system.


Students may use this Guide to learn which textbooks are on reserve at each Berkeley Campus Library. In addition, students may also learn about the policies and procedures related to these texts.


Auditing failures and scandals have become commonplace. In response, reformers (including the Kingman Review in the U.K. and a recent report of the U.K.'s Competition and Market Authority) have proposed a variety of remedies, including prophylactic bans on auditors providing consulting services to their clients in the belief that this will minimize the conflicts of interest that produce auditing failures. Although useful, such reforms are already in place to a considerable degree and may have reached the point of diminishing returns. Moreover, this strategy does not address the deeper problem that clients (or their managements) may not want aggressive auditing, but rather prefer a deferential and perfunctory audit. If so, auditors will realize that they are marketing a 'commodity' service and cannot successfully compete based on their quality of services. Rationally, they would respond to such a market by seeking to adopt a cost-minimization strategy, competing by reducing the cost of their services and not investing in new technology or higher-priced personnel. What could change this pattern? Gatekeepers, including auditors, serve investors, but are hired by corporate management. To induce gatekeepers to better serve investors, one needs to reduce the 'agency costs' surrounding this relationship by making gatekeepers more accountable to investors. This might be accomplished through litigation (as happens to some degree in the U.S.), but the U.K. and Europe have rules that discourage collective litigation. Thus, a more feasible approach would be to give investors greater ability to select and remove the auditor. This paper proposes a two part strategy to this end: (1) public 'grading' of the auditor by the audit regulator in an easily comparable fashion (and with a mandatory grading curve), and (2) enabling a minority of the shareholders (hypothetically, 10%) to propose a replacement auditor for a shareholder vote. It further argues that both activist shareholders and diversified shareholders might support such a strategy and undertake it under different circumstances. Absent such a focus on agency costs, however, reformers are likely only re-arranging the deck chairs on the Titanic.


There is limited public discourse and understanding about the history and science of weather and climate intervention, though scientists have researched, tested and implemented numerous methods of weather modification for six decades. Also, climate-related geoengineering is steadily gaining support as a means of combatting rising global temperatures. With climate change and associated increasing occurrence of extreme weather events, there has not been a more providential moment to consider the implications of anthropogenic, atmospheric intervention. This paper summarizes information about weather and climate intervention with the aim of answering the question: Why aren't more economists interested in evaluating weather and climate intervention activities?


The paper addresses the ability of forest co-management, within the Western Canadian provincial context, to co-exist with the industrial model of forestry. This paper draws on a two-year qualitative study of a new First Nation co-management process in Northern Alberta and a review of other First Nation forest co-management arrangements in Western Canada. Qualitative methods used included 23 semi-structured interviews with key co-management participants, non-participant observation of board and related meetings, and content analyses of previous board minutes. Our findings indicate that co-management has led to the incorporation of diverse values in forest management planning, cooperative relationships among parties to the Board, and shared decision making in forest management. We argue that co-management does not directly challenge the industrial model, but modifies it through a process of incremental change toward a more well-planned industrial presence in First Nation traditional territory. By giving a high priority to cultural sustainability criteria, First Nation participants in the co-management process in Northern Alberta challenge the forest industry to re-think the pace of development, the rates of return required to be profitable and measures to improve First Nation employment within the industry. Ultimately, tests of co-management success should incorporate First Nation priorities to maintain traditional and cultural practices in the context of industrial forestry. Such tests should evaluate the practice of provincial consultation requirements with First Nations, and cooperative efforts to develop Northern boreal forest resources. The success of co-management also depends upon industry practices to reduce the impacts of their activities on First Nation uses of the forest, and overall, on ecological evidence of sustainable forest management, including maintenance of biodiversity.


Objective Following chronic liver injury or when hepatocyte proliferation is impaired, ductular reactions containing hepatic progenitor cells (HPCs) appear in the periportal regions and can regenerate the liver parenchyma. HPCs exist in a niche composed of myofibroblasts, macrophages and laminin matrix. Galectin-3 (Gal-3) is a β-galactoside-binding lectin that binds to laminin and is expressed in injured liver in mice and humans. Design We examined the role of Gal-3 in HPC activation. HPC activation was studied following dietary induced hepatocellular (choline-deficient ethionine-supplemented diet) and biliary (3,5-diethoxycarbonyl-1,4-dihydrocollidine supplemented diet) injury in wild type and Gal-3(−/−) mice. Results HPC proliferation was significantly reduced in Gal-3(−/−) mice. Gal-3(−/−) mice failed to form a HPC niche, with reduced laminin formation. HPCs isolated from wild type mice secrete Gal-3 which enhanced adhesion and proliferation of HPCs on laminin in an undifferentiated form. These effects were attenuated in Gal3(−/−) HPCs and in wild type HPCs treated with the Gal-3 inhibitor lactose. Gal-3(−/−) HPCs in vitro showed increased hepatocyte function and prematurely upregulated both biliary and hepatocyte differentiation markers and regulated cell cycle genes leading to arrest in G0/G1. Conclusions We conclude that Gal-3 is required for the undifferentiated expansion of HPCs in their niche in injured liver.


The Handbook of Behavioral Industrial Organization integrates behavioral economics into industrial organization. Chapters cover concepts such as relative thinking, salience, shrouded attributes, cognitive dissonance, motivated reasoning, confirmation bias, overconfidence, status quo bias, social cooperation and identity. Additional chapters consider industry issues, such as sports and gambling industries, neuroeconomic studies of brands and advertising, and behavioral antitrust law. The Handbook features a wide array of methods (literature surveys, experimental and econometric research, and theoretical modelling), facilitating accessibility to a wide audience.


The KK principle is typically rejected in externalist accounts of knowledge. However, a standard general argument for this rejection is in need of a supportive explication. In a recent paper, Samir Okasha argues that the standard externalist argument in question is fallacious. In this paper I start off with some critical discussion of Okasha's analysis before suggesting an alternative way in which an externalist might successfully present such a case. I then further explore this issue via a look at how Fred Dretske's externalist epistemology, one of the exemplifying accounts, can explain failure of the KK principle.


Tolerance to drought in plants is not a simple trait, but rather a complex of mechanisms working in combination to avoid or to tolerate water deficit. Genotypes that differ in tolerance to water deficit would have qualitative and quantitative differences in gene expression when submitted to periods of drought. Three soybean cultivars (BR-4, BR-16 and MG/BR-46 Conquista) with contrasting responses to water deficit stress were studied by using the "Differential Display" (DD) technique to identify and isolate genes which may differ among these cultivars. A total of 84 cDNA fragments differentially displayed were detected. These fragments were extracted from the DD gels and reamplified. Third-five reamplified fragments were cloned in pGEM-T vectors. From these, 28 clones were able to be sequenced. Search of gene bank databases showed, for example, that two cDNA clones, A1B2-1 and A1B1-8 have high homology with a Transcription Activator found in Arabidopsis thaliana and a NADH Dehydrogenase ND4L subunit found in Spinacia oleracea, respectively. The clone A1B2-1 was found differentially expressed only in roots. Clone A1B1-8, on the other hand, was expressed only in a drought tolerant cultivar and only during a water deficit situation. The results of this work allowed a screening of part of the expressed genes during a drought situation in soybean. Now the study of these expressed genes can be deepened to confirm these results and to help the development of new drought tolerant soybean genotypes.


Notably, many significant breakthroughs for a new generation of supercapacitors have been reported in recent years, related to theoretical understanding, material synthesis and device designs. Herein, we summarize the state-of-the-art progress toward mechanisms, new materials, and novel device designs for supercapacitors. Firstly, fundamental understanding of the mechanism is mainly focused on the relationship between the structural properties of electrode materials and their electrochemical performances based on some in situ characterization techniques and simulations. Secondly, some emerging electrode materials are discussed, including metal-organic frameworks (MOFs), covalent organic frameworks (COFs), MXenes, metal nitrides, black phosphorus, LaMnO3, and RbAg4I5/graphite. Thirdly, the device innovations for the next generation of supercapacitors are provided successively, mainly emphasizing flow supercapacitors, alternating current (AC) line-filtering supercapacitors, redox electrolyte enhanced supercapacitors, metal ion hybrid supercapacitors, micro-supercapacitors (fiber, plane and three-dimensional) and multifunctional supercapacitors including electrochromic supercapacitors, self-healing supercapacitors, piezoelectric supercapacitors, shape-memory supercapacitors, thermal self-protective supercapacitors, thermal self-charging supercapacitors, and photo self-charging supercapacitors. Finally, the future developments and key technical challenges are highlighted regarding further research in this thriving field.


Critical pressure-deficient operating conditions frequently occur in water distribution networks. Head driven analysis (HDA) of water distribution networks allows for the pressure-dependent nature of nodal flows and, therefore, yields the actual nodal flows and heads for both normal and subnormal pressure conditions. Hence, HDA simulation models are more practical than demand driven analysis models that assume that all demands are satisfied in full even under pressure-deficient conditions. This paper describes an approach in which a new pressure-dependent demand function that has no discontinuities has been incorporated in the Gradient Method. The procedure has been tested extensively and demonstrated to be capable of effectively simulating both normal and pressure-deficient operating conditions. The algorithm's convergence is smooth and rapid thanks to a line search and backtracking procedure that ensures progress towards the solution in each iteration. The results presented herein would appear to confirm that the proposed method is robust and efficient. Results for a real network are also included.


Diaper dermatitis is a common cutaneous disorder in neonates and infants, which is caused by chemical irritants, maceration, zinc deficiency and microorganisms. This study aimed to compare the therapeutic effects of three commercial products (Nystatin, Clotrimazole and Mupirocin) in infants suffering from diaper dermititis. This singlecenter, randomized controlled study was carried out in Iran. A total of 112 infants were included in this trial and assigned to 3 experimental groups (Clotrimazole, Nystatin and Mupirocin) and 1 control group (zinc oxide). Survey participants underwent a designed treatment programs for 7 days. Total symptom score after 7 days (TSS-7) and beginning of recovery were assessed as efficacy parameters. All statistical analyses were conducted using Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS), version 19. Although the severity of diaper dermatitis was significantly decreased in all groups by the end of trial (P <0.001), the reduction rate was found to be considerably greater in the Clotrimazole (2.54±0.58 to 0.75±0.65) and Mupirocin (2.17±0.71 to 1.00±0.91), respectively. In addition, time required for first response was significantly lower in Mupirocin, in comparison with the other medications. Clotrimazole and Mupirocin were superior to others with respect to reduction of symptom score and time of recovery, respectively. Therefore, it is important to determine the etiology of skin distruption and priorities of treatment to apply the best therapeutical approach.


If you're in need of a tutorial to learn UNIX from the ground up, this is it. Sams Teach Yourself UNIX in 24 Hours, Fourth Edition will let you experience UNIX through hands-on tutorials divided into 24 one-hour lessons so that you can learn the most common UNIX tasks at your own pace. The author will guide you through the basics of maintaining and manipulating a UNIX/Linux operating system. This hands-on approach will allow you to work through the exercises and grasp common UNIX/Linux concepts, including: Using the Command Line Listing Files and Managing Disk Usage Slicing and Dicing Command Pipe Shell Programming Printing in the UNIX Environment Using telnet, ssh, and ftp Perl Programming in UNIXGain the fundamental knowledge you need to begin working with UNIX with the help of Sams Teach Yourself UNIX in 24 Hours, Fourth Edition.


The Clean Air Act of 1990 listed 187 air toxics that USEPA is required to control to protect public health. To uncover the spatial and temporal trends in air toxic emissions and identify higher contributing emission sources and chemicals to the total inhalation cancer risk in Illinois, we assessed USEPA's National Emissions Inventory (NEI) data. We also analyzed the data of USEPA's National Air Toxics Assessment (NATA), which estimates inhalation cancer risk and non-cancer risks across the U.S. on census tract level. In addition, due to the prominence of diesel PM as agent that is "likely to be human carcinogen" and lack of diesel PM cancer and non-cancer risk estimates under NATA, we calculated diesel PM cancer and non-cancer risks using California EPA-developed toxicity values. We assessed spatial distribution of diesel PM and select air toxics (those which contribute most to cancer and non-cancer risks) in Cook County, IL, to support inhalation exposure and health risk mitigation efforts and guide environmental justice and health disparities research and policy.
Based on our findings, Cook County, IL, is consistently the county that contributes the most to the total air emissions in Illinois in 1999, 2002, 2005, 2011 and 2014 followed by counties near it like DuPage County, Lake County, and Will County, which are more urbanized counties in Illinois.
In terms of spatial and temporal distribution of NATA datasets, all the total inhalation cancer risk areas in Cook County, IL, which excludes the contribution from diesel PM, were in the acceptable range (10^-6 - 10^-4) but the inhalation cancer risk of those higher areas were close to the edge of being above the acceptable range. "On-road" emission was the greatest contributor to total inhalation cancer risk in Cook County, IL, among all studied years. Top three chemicals contributing to 2014 total inhalation cancer risk estimates in Cook County are ethylene oxide, benzene, and formaldehyde in the descending order. The spatial distribution of ethylene oxide inhalation cancer risk estimates in Cook County census tracts aligns well with that for the total inhalation excess cancer risk estimates for Cook County in 2014. This provides the evidence for the critical role that the facilities emitting ethylene oxide into the atmosphere play in cancer risk estimates locally. Most diesel PM excess cancer risk estimates in Cook County were above USEPA's acceptable range (10^-6 to 10^-4), which is a significant public health concern. The mobile sources in urban areas in Cook County contributed the most to the diesel PM inhalation excess cancer risks. This is visually depicted with higher diesel PM cancer risks along major highways in the region in GIS maps of diesel PM cancer risks from 1999-2011.
In terms of respiratory non-cancer risk analysis, acrolein, diesel PM, and formaldehyde are the highest contributing air toxics to the total respiratory non-cancer risk in Cook County, 2014, however, the respiratory non-cancer risks were all within the acceptable range per USEPA guidelines (i.e., hazard quotient less than unity).


Recent analyses of entry deterrence strategies have required an incumbent's post-entry output or pricing strategy to be profit maximizing. However, most papers have continued to assume that either an incumbent can commit not to exit after entry or that exit is never optimal. When there are avoidable fixed costs of operating in any period, however, exit can be the optimal strategy. In this situation, entry deterrence strategies operate very differently than when exit is never optimal. In fact, the possibility of exit can make some, previously effective, strategies completely ineffective while improving the effectiveness of others.


In recent years there has emerged a renewed interest in the effects of electoral systems on politics in new democracies. Many of these recent works have been based on earlier monographs which examined such issues as the effects of electoral rules on the characteristics of party systems and governmental and political stability,(1) on party organization,(2) the "nationalization" of politics,(3) and the potential for the reduction of ethnic political conflict.(4) Part of the reason for this resurgence in interest lies in the fact that electoral rules are within the grasp of politicians to manipulate - far more so than the overhaul of entire political systems.(5) Although many of the issues involved in designing electoral arrangements may seem minor when compared to the "big questions" involved in democratization, they are, in fact, essential to an understanding of politics in new democracies. Indeed, as O'Donnell, Schmitter and Whitehead (1986) note: Democracy itself may itself be a matter of principles, but democratization involves putting them into practice through specific and detailed rules and procedures, which quite often have effects far beyond their seemingly microscopic significance.(6) Despite these tantalizing opportunities to apply existing models, the new democracies of Eastern Europe provide a special set of circumstances. In particular, the problem of ethnic conflict and disintegrative trends toward regionalism plague many of the societies of this region, a situation which presents a relatively difficult problem for electoral systems engineers. On the one hand, an electoral systems such as proportional representation, which rewards minority groups, may have the following implications within an ethnically-cleaved society: first, it may keep one political bloc from becoming monolithic and thus running roughshod over the views of others; second, it may provide representation, and thereby perhaps a stake in the current political system, for minority groups. On the other hand, it may not provide enough incentive for such groups to moderate the demands they make, and may make government less stable and less effective due tot he need for coalition government. An electoral system such as a single member plurality or majority system, on the other hand, may lead to the establishment of a stable and effective government, and the reduction of the danger of party systems "hyper-fractionalization," but it may also lead to the dominance of a single political bloc and the disaffection of minority groups from the political system. As a result, and especially in ethnically-divided societies, "first-past-the-post" systems may in fact strengthen the lines of polarized political conflict, although it may lead to a reduction of the number of political parties. Despite the seeming intractability of this tradeoff, there are a number of promising "mixed" systems which theoretically combine the advantages of PR and Plurality/Majority. Examples of such "hybrid" systems include the Additional-Member system (currently used in the Federal Republic of Germany) and the Single Transferable Vote (STV - currently used in the Republic of Ireland and Malta). These two models of "mixed" systems were employed to govern the initial legislative elections in three East European cases - a variation of the Additional Member system in Hungary and Bulgaria and the Single Transferable Vote in Estonia. One promising opportunity to test the utility of these East European hybrids is presented by the newly democratizing nations of East Central Europe and the Republics of the former Soviet Union. Indeed, the fluidity and relative malleability of these new institutional arrangements make for tantalizing opportunities for the application-minded systems engineer. Furthermore, the common economic and social problems these countries face following the collapse of communist rule make these countries prime candidates for a comparative investigation of the political effects of different constitutional experiments now taking place. …


Mathematical predictions of flow conditions along a steep gradient rock bedded stream are examined. Stream gage discharge data and Manning's Equation are used to calculate alternative velocities, and subsequently Froude Numbers, assuming varying values of velocity coefficient, full depth or depth adjusted for vertical flow separation. Comparison of the results with photos show that Froude Numbers calculated from velocities derived from Manning's Equation, assuming a velocity coefficient of 1.30 and full depth, most accurately predict flow conditions, when supercritical flow is defined as Froude Number values above 0.84. Calculated Froude Number values between 0.8 and 1.1 correlate well with observed transitional flow, defined as the first appearance of small diagonal waves. Transitions from subcritical through transitional to clearly supercritical flow are predictable. Froude Number contour maps reveal a sinuous rise and fall of values reminiscent of pool and riffle energy distribution.


During the past several years, there has been tremendous progress on the development of the RF system and accelerating structures for a Next Linear Collider (NLC). Developments include high-power klystrons, RF pulse compression systems and damped/detuned accelerator structures to reduce wakefields. In order to integrate these separate development efforts into an actual X-band accelerator capable of accelerating the electron beams necessary for an NLC, we are building an NLC Test Accelerator (NLCTA). The goal of the NLCTA is to bring together all elements of the entire accelerating system by constructing and reliably operating an engineered model of a high-gradient linac suitable for the NLC. The NLCTA will serve as a test-bed as the design of the NLC evolves. In addition to testing the RF acceleration system, the NLCTA is designed to address many questions related to the dynamics of the beam during acceleration. In this paper, we will report on the status of the design, component development, and construction of the NLC Test Accelerator.


A graduate-level online university located in the northwest area of the United States of America implemented a policy to help graduate learners increase their interactions with faculty and peers. No research had been conducted at the research site to examine the effects of the policy on the communication between faculty and graduate learners. In order to gain some empirical evidence that the policy was effective, the researchers measured the frequency of postings posted by faculty and graduate learners during the duration of randomly selected online classes before and after the implementation of the policy. Grounded in the social learning theory of Vygotsky, the goal of this research was to determine the relationship of the frequency of communication between faculty and graduate learners. Archived data were collected for two cohorts of 235 graduate learners and 16 faculty members from before and after the implementation of the policy. Content analysis procedures were used on the computer-mediated transcripts of the online discussions between faculty and graduate learners within several graduate courses in education offered entirely online. An independent sample t test was utilized to analyze the data and a significant difference between the means of faculty and student postings was found in the two cohorts. The empirical evidence was that the communication policy increased the frequency of posting between faculty and graduate learners. The results of this study can be used by online faculty and university leadership to support the continued advocacy for professional development for faculty.


What are the characteristics of a school as learning organisation? This paper should be seen as an attempt to work towards a common understanding of the school as a learning organisation concept that is both solidly founded in the literature and is recognisable to all parties involved, i.e. educators, policy makers, parents and others alike. The paper provides an in-depth analysis of the learning organisation literature in general, and within a school context. It identifies and operationalises the characteristics of the school as learning organisation in an integrated model that consists of seven overarching 'action-oriented' dimensions: 1) developing and sharing a vision centred on the learning of all students; 2) creating and supporting continuous learning opportunities for all staff; 3) promoting team learning and collaboration among staff; 4) establishing a culture of inquiry, innovation and exploration; 5) establishing embedded systems for collecting and exchanging knowledge and learning; 6) learning with and from the external environment and larger learning system; and 7) modelling and growing learning leadership. The dimensions and underlying key characteristics are intended to provide practical guidance on how schools can transform themselves into a learning organisation and ultimately enhance student outcomes.


Influx of aerosols from the mid-latitudes has a wide range of impacts on the Arctic atmosphere. In this study, the capability of the CALIPSO-CALIOP instrument to provide accurate observations of aerosol layers is exploited to characterize their vertical distribution, probability density functions (PDFs) of aerosol layer thickness, base and top heights, and optical depths over the Arctic for the 4-yr period from June 2006 to May 2010. It is shown that the bulk of aerosols, from about 65% in winter to 45% in summer, are confined below the lowermost kilometer of the troposphere. In the middle troposphere (3-5 km), spring and autumn seasons show slightly higher aerosol amounts compared to other two seasons. The relative vertical distribution of aerosols shows that clean continental aerosol is the largest contributor in all seasons except in summer, when layers of polluted continental aerosols are almost as large. In winter and spring, polluted continental aerosols are the second largest contributor to the total number of observed aerosol layers, whereas clean marine aerosol is the second largest contributor in summer and autumn. The PDFs of the geometrical thickness of the observed aerosol layers peak about 400-700 m. Polluted continental and smoke aerosols, which are associated with the intrusions from mid-latitudes, have much broader distributions of optical and geometrical thicknesses, suggesting that they appear more often optically thicker and higher up in the troposphere.


An experimental work has been carried out to investigate the dynamic behavior and the intensity of erosive partial cavitation on a 2-D hydrofoil. Both sheet (stable) and cloud (unstable) cavitation have been tested in a cavitation tunnel for various free stream velocities. Special attention has been given to validate the use of acceleration transducers for studying the physical process. In particular, the modulation in amplitude of the cavitation induced vibrations in a high frequency band has allowed us to determine the shedding frequency and the relative intensity of the collapse process for each testing condition. Regarding the cavity dynamics, a typical Strouhal value based on its length of about 0.28 has been found for cloud cavitation; meanwhile, for sheet cavitation, it presents a value of about 0.16. Furthermore, the level of the vibration modulation in the band from 45 kHz to 50 kHz for cloud cavitation shows a power law dependency on the free stream velocity as well as a good correlation with the pitting rate measured on stainless steel samples mounted on the hydrofoil.


Pseudomorphs after lawsonite from the Glockner nappe (south-central Tauern Window, Austria), a metamorphic sequence of metasediments intercalated with metavolcanics of mid-ocean ridge basalt origin, have been dated using Rb-Sr mineral systematics. The basalts were metamorphosed in blueschist facies, as evident from pseudomorphs after lawsonite and relics of glaucophane, and then overprinted at greenschist-facies conditions. The foliated fabric suggests late syndeformative greenschist-facies formation of the pseudomorphs. The pseudomorphs show the mineral assemblage Ab +Ep +Phe +Chl +Cal +Ttn +Act ± Qtz ± Ap. Minerals from the pseudomorphs and the matrix yield an Oligocene internal mineral isochron age of 29.82 ± 0.54 Ma. This age corresponds to the late prograde-early retrograde decomposition of lawsonite and the syntectonic crystallization of the greenschist facies matrix assemblage. The new data imply that the last penetrative deformation and thermal overprint of the Glockner nappe in the central Tauern Window only slightly postdates the exhumation of the nearby Eclogite zone by about 2 Ma. The history of Alpine nappe stacking, exhumation and passage of the rocks through their thermal peak conditions is thus constrained to a surprisingly narrow time frame in the Oligocene.


We propose to find simultaneously the flight schedule design and the aircraft routing, considering at the same time maintenance requirements. This approach leads to a closer global optimal solution than the typical sequential one, and it is practical for the case of airlines with a single fleet, such as many emerging young low-cost airlines. The formulation of this optimization problem is a Longest Path Problem with maintenance requirements as side constraints. It is based on a network diagram where a flight schedule is defined as the set of legs included in all routes to be flown. Then an algorithm to solve this integrated problem is proposed. It is a greedy heuristic that starting from a given large number of potential flight legs, it identifies at each cycle the route that provides the maximum profit. The model was tested using 7 instances extracted from real-world timetables of three Latin American airlines. It was found that the model can be solved using standard type of computers in less than a minute for single fleet airlines with less than 10 aircrafts. Results were compared to the ones obtained from a scheduling model that does not include maintenance constraints. This approach allowed comparing the results with lower bounds of the cost per flight times. It was found that for most of the instances, the proposed approach generates the same values.


The article provides a snapshot examination of what it considers to be 'standard' research on corruption conducted by researchers in South African research institutions. These include the Institute for Security Studies, Public Service Accountability Monitor, Human Sciences Research Council and the University of the Witwatersrand. The article argues that, generally, the studies on corruption in South Africa are short-term, lack a longitudinal research perspective, often fragmented initiative of various institutions, donor driven and do not take full advantage of multi-disciplinarity and institutional collaborations. Hence the conceptualisations of corruption in existing research are inadequate. The normative, legalistic and moralistic premise of the state's definition of corruption is not problematised but is assumed, to be the national understanding of corruption. The article also argues that existing research fails to examine corruption in all its historical complexity and detail in order to expose how various forms of corruption evolved over time. This is important in order to widen the knowledge base and insights of public policy. The lack of innovation in how researchers feed their findings into local and national policy arenas is also highlighted. The articles emphasises the case for better co-ordination of research initiatives and orientation towards long-term research projects, as well as innovative research dissemination strategies to better inform public policy.


People are often faced with a self-control dilemma whenever the attainment of a longterm goal would come at the expense of an alluring temptation. The goal-conflict model of eating (Stroebe, van Koningsbruggen, Papies, & Aarts, 2013) suggests that restrained eaters (i.e., chronic dieters) experience self-regulation failure (e.g., overeating, or disinhibition) due to inner competing goals of eating enjoyment and weight control. The current study examined these concepts in a sample of people classified as unrestrained eaters (N = 123), allowing for an investigation of restricted cognitive focus as a causal mechanism of disinhibited eating. A 2 (restraint condition: restriction, intuitive eating) X 2 (temptation manipulation: temptation, no temptation) study design was used to manipulate cognitive restraint and temptation, thus modeling goal-conflict. Results of both a pilot study and the laboratory based experiment indicated the restraint manipulation was effective, such that those in the restriction condition showed greater resistance to eating and reported a greater positive change in desire to cognitively manage food intake at the end of the experiment; however, food consumption did not change based on temptation or restraint conditions. Though findings did not support predictions that a restricted cognitive focus is a causal mechanism of disinhibited eating, it appears restraint does operate on a cognitive level and additional work is needed to further examine the effects of time and context in the relation between cognitive restraint and eating behaviors.


 Abstract — In non-cohesive soil, onshore wind turbines are often found on shallow foundations with a circular or octagonal shape. For the current generation of wind turbines, shallow foundations with very large breadths are required. The foundation support costs thus represent a considerable portion of the total construction costs. Therefore, an economic optimization of the type of foundation is highly desirable. A conceivable alternative foundation type would be a pier foundation, which combines the load transfer over the foundation area at the pier base with the transfer of horizontal loads over the shaft surface of the pier. The present study aims to evaluate the load-bearing behavior of a pier foundation based on comprehensive parametric studies. Thereby, three-dimensional numerical simulations of both pier and shallow foundations are developed. The evaluation of the results focuses on the rotational stiffnesses of the proposed soil-foundation systems. In the design, the initial rotational stiffness is decisive for consideration of natural frequencies, whereas the rotational secant stiffness for a maximum load is decisive for serviceability considerations. A systematic analysis of the results at different load levels shows that the application of the typical pier foundation is presumably limited to relatively small onshore wind turbines.


In order to assess the accuracy with which we can determine the morphologies of AGN host galaxies, we have simulated more than 50,000 ACS images of galaxies with z < 1.25, using image and noise properties appropriate for the GOODS survey. We test the effect of central point-source brightness on host galaxy parameter recovery with a set of simulated AGN host galaxies made by adding point sources to the centers of normal galaxies. We extend this analysis and also quantify the recovery of intrinsic morphological parameters of AGN host galaxies with a set of fully simulated inactive and AGN host galaxies. We can reliably separate good from poor fit results using a combination of reasonable error cuts, in the regime where (L host /L PS) > 1 : 4. We give quantitative estimates of parameter errors as a function of host-to-point-source ratio. In general, we separate host and point-source magnitudes reliably at all redshifts; point sources are well recovered more than 90% of the time, although spurious detection of central point sources can be as high as 25% for bulge-dominated sources. We find a general correlation between Sérsic index and intrinsic bulge-to-total ratio, such that a host galaxy with Sérsic n < 1.5 generally has at least 80% of its light from a disk component. Likewise, " bulge-dominated " galaxies with n > 4 typically derive at least 70% of their total host galaxy light from a bulge, but this number can be as low as 55%. Single-component Sérsic fits to an AGN host galaxy are statistically very reliable to z < 1.25 (for ACS survey data like ours). In contrast, two-component fits involving separate bulge and disk components tend to overestimate the bulge fraction by ∼ 10%, with uncertainty of order 50%.


Critical care nurses are the health care professionals who have the obligation to protect critically ill patients against infection especially those who are immune compromised, in order to enhance their recovery, prevent deterioration in their health, and achieve high quality nursing care. Therefore critical care nurses should have sound knowledge and strict adherence to infection control standard precautions. Aim of the study: to assess nurses' knowledge and evaluate their practice regarding infection control standard precautions . Research design: A descriptive research design was utilized in this study. Sample: A sample of convenience including 77 ICU nurses was recruited in the current study.  Setting: The study was carried out at the Intensive Care of a selected Cancer Hospital in Egypt. Tools of data collection: Two tools were developed, tested for clarity and feasibility, and then used to collect data pertinent to the current: a- Structured Interview Questionnaire to assess nurses' knowledge regarding infection control standard precautions. b-Nurses' Performance Observational Checklist to evaluate nurses' practice / utilization of infection control standard precautions. Results: the current study revealed that, approximately two thirds (63.6%) of the studied sample had unsatisfactory knowledge level ( 75%) with a mean total performance scores of 77.3 + 4.4. Negative significant correlations were found between: mean knowledge scores, and age; mean knowledge scores and years of experience (r = -.323 & r = -.325 at P < 0.004 respectively); between mean practice scores and age; and mean practice scores and years of experience (r = -.235 & r =-.291 at P < 0.39, 0.010 respectively). However, positive correlations were found between mean knowledge scores and mean practice scores; age and years of experience (r = 0.318 & 0.794 at P < 0.005 & 0.000 respectively). Conclusion: Based on findings of the current study, it can be concluded that inspite of having satisfactory performance level regarding infection control standard precautions, critical care nurses had unsatisfactory knowledge level. Recommendation: updating knowledge and performance of ICU nurses through continuing in-service educational programs; emphasizing the importance of following the latest evidence-based practices of infection control in continuing education / training programs; strict observation of nurses' performance/ utilization of infection control standard precautions and correction of poor practices by the infection control team are required; and providing training programs for  newly joined ICU nurses about infection control standard precautions and at regular intervals. Key Words: Infection control (IC), Standard precautions (SP), Intensive care unit (ICU), Knowledge, Practices


In scientific investigations on how organizations can learn from their mistakes the perspective is usually that of the social engineer; the object is to prevent human errors through modeling the system in a certain way. The aim of this paper is to explore the learning process from a different standpoint than those usually applied in organizational learning and error theory. By studying the learning process in Swedish health care I seek to discover how theoretical presumptions affect the outcome in terms of what we actually learn. The theoretical framework draws on two major discussions in contemporary political science; the question of structure and agency and the question of whether to focus on formal or informal structures when explaining organizational behavior.

The investigation shows that Swedish health care tend to understand human errors as a result of formal organizational structure. Such a view leads to insufficient explanations to why errors occur but is useful in producing preventative measures. On the other hand, a view that focuses upon the relationship between agent and context and which relates errors to the informal structure of the organization, offers a better insight into organizational behavior but makes the creation of preventative measures more complicated.


Recently a new type of spatial phase shifting interferometer was proposed that uses a phase-mask over the camera's pixels. This new interferometer allows one to phase modulate each pixel independently by setting the angle of a linear polarizer built in contact over the camera's CCD. In this way neighbor pixels may have any desired (however fixed) phase shift without cross taking. The standard manufacturing of these interferometers uses a 2x2 array with phase-shifts of 0, pi/2, pi, and 3 pi/2 radians. This 2x2 array is tiled all over the video camera's CCD. In this paper we propose a new way to phase demodulate these phase-masked interferograms using the squeezing phase-shifting technique. A notable advantage of this squeezing technique is that it allows one the use of Fourier interferometry wiping out the detuning error that most phase shifting algorithms suffers. Finally we suggest the use of an alternative phase-mask to phase modulate the camera's pixels using a linear spatial carrier along a given axis.


ABSTRACT.
 Black-footed ferrets (Mustela nigripes) spend most daylight hours underground in prairie dog (Cynomys) burrows and exhibit aboveground movements primarily at night. Moonlight can influence the activity patterns of ferrets and, consequently, might influence the efficiency of spotlight surveys used by biologists to monitor ferret populations. We related detection of adult ferrets during postbreeding spotlight surveys to lunar and temporal conditions. We most frequently located ferrets during surveys in which the moon breached the horizon. The data suggested intersexual differences in response to moonlight. We located male ferrets most frequently during nights with greater moon illumination, but we did not detect a correlation between moon illumination and spotlight detection of female ferrets. In general, moonlight could facilitate aboveground navigation by ferrets. However, it seems activity under bright moonlight could be costly for female ferrets while they raise young. Detection of ferrets also varied among months. We detected female ferrets most frequently in August–September, when mothers increase hunting efforts to acquire prey for growing offspring (kits). Detection of adult female ferrets declined in October, when kits were likely independent of their mother. We located male ferrets most frequently in September–October, when males might increase activity to monitor female ferrets and male competitors. Consideration of lunar and temporal influences and standardization of postbreeding surveys could enhance site-specific assessment of reintroduction success and across-site assessment of species recoveiy progress. We suggest that postbreeding surveys for ferrets should be enhanced by concentrating efforts in August–September during moonlit nights when the moon is above the horizon.


I. INTRODUCTION In 1988, Congress redefined the term "reside' in the general venue statute, 28 U.S.C. sec1391(c),(1) as it applies to corporate defendants. In VE Holding Corp. v. Johnson Gas Appliance Co.,(2) this new definition was applied to a corporate defendant in patent infringement suit by reading the definition into the patent venue statute.(3) By applying the definition to corporations in patent infringement cases, the Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit changed the 100 year-old basis for appropriate venue in patent infringement cases from the jurisdiction where the defendant resides to where personal jurisdiction may be obtained.(4) The major argument in favor of applying the new definition to patent infringement cases is to bring the venue provisions in patent infringement cases "more in line with venue law generally, as well as with other types of patent litigation."(5) Although the 1988 amendment of the general venue statute as interpreted in VE Holding did make the law of venue in patent cases more consistent with venue laws generally, Congress should have repealed the patent venue statute, thereby placing all types of patent litigation under the general venue statute. Because the 1988 amendment to the general venue statute is expressly limited to corporations, the repeal of the patent venue statute is necessary to eliminate the inconsistencies that now exist in patent venue litigation. Consequently, this note analyzes how venue law in patent infringement cases has changed as a result of the interpretation given in VE Holding and discusses the practical effects of those changes More specifically, this note examines the inconsistencies and problems resulting from Congress's decision to make only part of the law of venue in patent cases consistent with general venue law.(6) The note concludes that, in order to make venue law in patent cases consistent with general venue law, Congress should repeal the patent venue statute. II. BACKGROUND Appropriate venue for patent infringement cases, as now set forth in 28 U.S.C. sec1400(b),(7) has remained virtually unchanged for nearly 100 years.(8) In Fourco Glass Co. v. Transmirra Products Corp.,(9) the Supreme Court held that sec1400(b) was the exclusive venue statute for patent infringement cases."(10) Under sec1400(b) venue is appropriate in patent infringement cases when either of two tests is met: (1) the defendant resides in the judicial district, or (2) "the defendant has committed acts of infringement and has a regular and established place of business."(11) This section continues to govern patent infringement cases notwithstanding the general venue statute codified in 28 U.S.C. sec1391(c).(12) Prior to VE Holding, the term "resides" as applied to a corporate defendant in the first prong of sec1400(b) meant the defendant's state of incorporation only."(13) At the time Fourco was decided, sec1391(c) stated that a "corporation may be sued in any judicial district in which it is incorporated or licensed to do business or is doing business, and such judicial district shall be regarded as the residence of such corporation for venue purposes."(14) The plaintiffs in Fourco argued that sec1391(c) supplemented the provisions in sec1400(b) and that the defendant could be sued where it was doing business, not just the state of incorporation.(15) The Court, however, rejected this argument and held that sec1391(c) did not supplement the specific venue provisions of sec1400(b).(16) After receiving pressure from the bar and the courts,(17) Congress amended sec1391(c) in 1988 and thereby introduced two significant changes.(18) The first change affected how the general venue statute of sec1391(c) applies to other sections in the chapter. Section 1391(c) now begins with the phrase, "For purposes of venue under this chapter...."(19) Because sec1400(b) is within the same chapter as sec1391(c), the 1988 amendment applies to sec1400(b) as well. …


Software developers' innovative behavior is imperative for the achievement of organizational innovation. Focusing on two prominent issues in the software industry, viz., role-related debate and wide information technology (IT) application, we explore how software developers innovate in the IT-enabled work environment by considering their role perceptions. Based on the theory of role dynamics and IT affordance theory, our research model depicts the relationships between IT affordances (i.e., collaborative affordance, collective memory affordance and process management affordance), role perceptions (i.e., role ambiguity and role conflict) and individual innovative behavior. A survey on software developers will be conducted to test the model. This research intends to shed light on software developers' innovative behavior by linking it with IT affordances and role perceptions, and provide software firms with suggestions to enhance innovation.


We describe a new species of Oecomys, O. sydandersoni (Cricetidae: Sigmodontinae), from the Parque Nacional Noel Kempff Mercado in eastern Bolivia. One of its diagnostic traits, a derived carotid circulatory plan, provides morphological evidence for its close relationship to O. concolor and O. mamorae among the 15 species of Oecomys currently recognized. Notwithstanding this shared trait, other morphological contrasts and morphometric analyses demonstrate the sharp differentiation of the eastern Bolivian form from both of those species. Oecomys sydandersoni, n. sp., is arboreal and was encountered above ground on limbs and woody vines only in densely wooded hummocks scattered through grassland, in contrast to adjacent closed tropical deciduous forest where three other species of Oecomys (O. bicolor, O. roberti, O. trinitatis) were obtained. The new species represents the fourth sigmodontine rodent to be named from this restricted region within eastern Bolivia since 1999. Its documentation served as a platform to summarize the nomenclatural history, morphological recognition, and geographic distribution of O. concolor (Wagner, 1845) and O. mamorae (Thomas, 1906) based on fresh examination of all type material and museum specimens. 1 Division of Vertebrate Zoology (Mammalogy), American Museum of Natural History; Department of Vertebrate Zoology, National Museum of Natural History, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, DC 20560-0111 (carletonm@si. edu). 2 Division of Vertebrate Zoology (Mammalogy), American Museum of Natural History; Division of Mammals, Department of Vertebrate Zoology, National Museum of Natural History, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, DC 20560-0111 (firstname.lastname@example.com). 3 Division of Vertebrate Zoology (Mammalogy), American Museum of Natural History. Current address: 305 Clevington Way, Simpsonville, SC 29681 (firstname.lastname@example.com). Copyright © American Museum of Natural History 2009 ISSN 0003-0082 2 AMERICAN MUSEUM NOVITATES NO. 3661


A generic design for a type of flexible structural-health-monitoring sheet with multiple sensor/actuator types and a method of manufacturing such sheets has been developed. A sheet of this type contains an array of sensing and/or actuation elements, associated wires, and any other associated circuit elements incorporated into various flexible layers on a thin, flexible substrate. The sheet can be affixed to a structure so that the array of sensing and/or actuation elements can be used to analyze the structure in accordance with structural-health-monitoring techniques. Alternatively, the sheet can be designed to be incorporated into the body of the structure, especially if the structure is made of a composite material. Customarily, structural-health monitoring is accomplished by use of sensors and actuators arrayed at various locations on a structure. In contrast, a sheet of the present type can contain an entire sensor/actuator array, making it unnecessary to install each sensor and actuator individually on or in a structure. Sensors of different types such as piezoelectric and fiber-optic can be embedded in the sheet to form a hybrid sensor network. Similarly, the traces for electric communication can be deposited on one or two layers as required, and an entirely separate layer can be employed to shield the sensor elements and traces.


The basic argument of this paper is that the American-based model of "democracy" that has been made to prevail in the Philippines from the early days after US conquest is urgently in need of critical reexamination. In the larger context, the same is intended to apply to the theoretical literature on "redemocratization" that has sprung up in the aftermath of the overthrow of a number of military regimes and dictatorships in Latin America, as well as in the Philippines. The collapse of the Eastern European one-party states will certainly swell that literature, much of which is self-serving of US narrow definitions of democracy. These definitions have permitted it to bestow that label on the most outrageously repressive of regimes so long as they hold "elections" and remain loyal allies.


The OTOF gene (Locus: DFNB9), encoding otoferlin, is reported to be one of the major causes of non-syndromic recessive sensorineural hearing loss, and is also reported to be the most common cause of non-syndromic recessive auditory neuropathy spectrum disorder (ANSD). In the present study, we performed OTOF mutation analysis using massively parallel DNA sequencing (MPS). The purpose of this study was to reveal the frequency and precise genetic and clinical background of OTOF-related hearing loss in a large hearing loss population. A total of 2,265 Japanese sensorineural hearing loss (SNHL) patients compatible with autosomal recessive inheritance (including sporadic cases) from 53 otorhinolaryngology departments nationwide participated in this study. The mutation analysis of 68 genes, including the OTOF gene, reported to cause non-syndromic hearing loss was performed using MPS. Thirty-nine out of the 2,265 patients (1.72%) carried homozygous or compound heterozygous mutations in the OTOF gene. It is assumed that the frequency of hearing loss associated with OTOF mutations is about 1.72% of autosomal recessive or sporadic SNHL cases. Hearing level information was available for 32 of 39 patients with biallelic OTOF mutations; 24 of them (75.0%) showed profound hearing loss, 7 (21.9%) showed severe hearing loss and 1 (3.1%) showed mild hearing loss. The hearing level of patients with biallelic OTOF mutations in this study was mostly severe to profound, which is consistent with the results of past reports. Eleven of the 39 patients with biallelic OTOF mutations had been diagnosed with ANSD. The genetic diagnosis of OTOF mutations has significant benefits in terms of clinical decision-making. Patients with OTOF mutations would be good candidates for cochlear implantation; therefore, the detection of OTOF mutations is quite beneficial for patients, especially for those with ANSD.


We offer new sufficient conditions ensuring demand is downward sloping local to equilibrium. It follows that equilibrium is unique and stable in the sense that rising supply implies falling prices. In our setting, there are two goods, which we interpret as consumption in different time periods, and many impatience types. Agents have the same Bernoulli utility function, but the types differ arbitrarily in time preference. Our main result is that if endowments are identical and utility displays nonincreasing absolute risk aversion, then market demand is strictly downward sloping local to equilibrium. We discuss implications for the Diamond-Dybvig literature.


This thesis is concerned with computable general equilibrium modelling and evaluation of agricultural policy in a global context. Particular emphasis has been given to the EU's Common Agricultural Policy, reform of which was an important element in the successful conclusion of the Uruguay Round (UR), and which is to be subject to further reforms under
Agenda 2000. Nevertheless, attention has also been given to modelling the effects of other Uruguay Round outcomes in manufactures and services, so that the reform of the CAP can be assessed within the liberalised global setting.

Chapter 1 describes the UR agreement in general, and the Agricultural Agreement in detail. Chapter 2 discusses the construction of computable general equilibrium models. This informs the consideration given in Chapter 3 to the Global Trade Analysis Project (GTAP) model and to results from several papers that use the model for the analysis of the UR, as well as other UR CGE models. The GTAP version 2 database is examined in Chapter 4 (the latest version, released in June 1998, is covered in Chapter 7). Chapter 5 gives attention to the finer detail of the standard GTAP model, and describes the
modifications and extensions made to this model, such as the modelling of partiallyspecific- factors and endogenous subsidy rates and a means of decomposing welfare changes in the GTAP model. Chapter 6 presents the resuUs from modelling the Uruguay Round with the aggregation and model developed in Chapters 4 and 5. The main resuUs for these simulations show that the global welfare gain and regional gains to the EU, the USA and Japan are comparable to studies discussed in Chapter 3. Chapters 7 and 8 use the most recent GTAP database, which gives wider coverage of regions, sectors and factors than the version used in earlier chapters. Chapter 7 augments the model of Chapter 5 with production quotas for milk and sugar, explicit modelling of compensation and headage payment, intervention prices and support buying, and detailed representation of the EU export subsidy commitments. Chapter 8 reports the resuUs of simulations using this in a model 'projected' to 2005. The main resuUs are that the UR leads to welfare losses in the EU, which are partially reduced through Agenda 2000, and that in all scenarios, the redistributional impacts of reforms are far greater than the overall welfare changes. Finally, Chapter 9 offers some conclusions and suggestions for future research.


This paper proposes a Fuzzy logic based single-phase Nine level inverter for A.C drives using photovoltaic systems, with a new Pulse width modulated (PWM) control scheme. The topology was applied to a A.C drives using photovoltaic system with considerations for a maximum -power-point tracker (MPPT) and a current-control algorithm. A boost converter is used to step up the input voltage of the inverter interposed between the PV array and Nine Level Inverter. This new nine-level inverter with reduced number of switches converts DC to AC which is capable of producing nine levels of output-voltage levels (Vdc, 3Vdc/4, Vdc/2, Vdc/4, 0,- Vdc/4,-Vdc/2, -3Vdc/4, - Vdc) from the dc supply voltage. The Pulse Width Modulation (PWM) signals are generated to the inverter by using PID and Fuzzy Logic Controllers and the total harmonic distortion (THD) results are compared. The performance of the proposed drive is simulated in MATLAB/Simulink environment, and the obtained results of the drive.


Roger Bannister was the first person to run the mile in under four minutes. Fifty years on, his status, not just as a champion athlete but also as a true British hero, a gentleman and an amateur from a 'golden era' in sport, retains its unblemished appeal. Until now there has been little criticism and even less close historical study of Bannister and his achievement. This book redresses the balance, presenting a revisionist history of Sir Roger Bannister and in doing so providing fresh insights into the making of this British 'champion'. This book does more than detail the history of a sporting giant. It invites the reader to reconsider the very words often used to describe him - notably 'hero' and 'gentleman amateur'. Informed by contemporary sport science, the text also questions the significance of the four-minute mile. Providing fascinating insights into the history of track racing as well as athletic training methods and the beginnings of sport science, this is not just a testimonial to the legend of Roger Bannister, but instead is the first rigorous historical study of his sporting life and the man behind the legend. It reveals him as an ambivalent athlete, highly achievement-orientated and scientific, but also in love with the freedom of running sensuously in nature, in contrast to the constraints of modern sport.


This book examines the decline of Baldwin's reputation after the middle 1960s, his tepid reception in mainstream and academic venues, and the ways in which critics have often mis-represented and undervalued his work. Scott develops readings of "Tell Me How Long the Train's Been Gone", "If Beale Street Could Talk", and "Just Above My Head" that explore the interconnected themes in Baldwin's work: the role of the family in sustaining the arts, the price of success in American society, and the struggle of black artists to change the ways that race, sex, and masculinity are represented in American culture. Scott argues that Baldwin's later writing crosses the cultural divide between the 1950s and 1960s in response to the civil rights and black power movements. Baldwin's earlier works, his political activism and sexual politics, and traditions of African American autobiography and fiction all play prominent roles in Scott's analysis.


In 1973, after several years of bitter dispute, the Board of Trustees of the American Psychiatric Association decided to remove homosexuality from its official list of mental diseases. Infuriated by the Board's action, a substantial number of dissident psychiatrists charged the association's leadership with capitulating to the pressures of Gay Liberation groups, and forced the board to submit its decision to a referendum of the full APA membership. Ronald Bayer presents a political analysis of the psychiatric battle involved, from the first confrontations organized by gay demonstrators at psychiatric conventions to the referendum initiated by orthodox psychiatrists. The result is a fascinating view of the individuals who led the debate and the fundamental questions that engaged them: social and cultural values, the definition of disease, and the nature of sexuality. Available for the first time in paperback, the book includes a new afterword by the author.


Against a backdrop of descriptive snapshots of the years 1975, 2000 and 2025, this paper explores challenges for broadacre farm managers. Issues of particular relevance to Western Australian farm managers are emphasized. Key market, environmental, technical, structural and social challenges and their implications for farm managers are discussed. Established and emerging trends, along with commentaries of a range of futurists, are used to develop forecasts for farm management. The paper concludes by examining the question of change in farm management: How might the farm manager in 2025 be different from one in 2000 and what are the implications for farm management training, farm management advisory services and farm management researchers?


Abstract This study considers how those who work in prisons are affected by and respond to repetitive self-harm of imprisoned women in English prisons. This paper considers the perspectives of custodial staff working in this area on a day-to-day basis. Semi-structured face-to-face interviews were conducted with 14 prison staff and explored using techniques of thematic analysis. The interviews examined: the emotional impact of working with and witnessing self-harm incidents, coping strategies used, training and the support available to prison staff. Findings indicate the strategies used by staff to cope emotionally with such incidents and these include presenting a 'façade of coping', rejecting support and becoming desensitised. It is concluded that staff felt they must portray themselves as coping well with self-harm in prison even when they were troubled and emotionally affected by it. However, some did describe accepting help when outside of the prison and this has implications for how support can be offered in the future. It is recommended that more should be done to support and train staff in this area.


Three natural drugs Saraca indica, Capparis decidua and Lotus garcinii of medicinal importance are utilized in the Unani system of medicine were investigated scientifically. Out of these three, Saraca indica, is very well known for its use in gynecological disorders treatment, was subjected to chemical analysis. Whereas the other two medicinal plants viz. Capparis decidua is utilized in rheumatism and as counter irritant and Lotus garcinii for treating skin ailments were evaluated from the bioactivity' point of view.

Saraca indica showed positively the presence of flavonoid and tannin type of molecules and chemical methodology led to the isolation of two flavonoid, two tannins and 3,4-dihydroxy-benzaldehyde and 3,7,11,15-tetramethyl hexadecen-l-ol compounds. The different compounds so separated physico-chemically and chromatographically were designated as compounds) -6. Structures of these isolates were determined by chemical and spectroscopic techniques including mass spectrometry, proton and carbon magnetic resonance. The ambiguous assignments of isolated flavonoid and tannins were resolved through spectroscopic comparisons. Consequently, it was inferred that these constituents consist of ellagic acid, catechin, quercitin and quercitrin. These types of the compounds are reported for the first time from Saraca indica.

The hypotensive activity of Capparis decidua ethane! extract at a dose of 1-30 mg/Kg .exerted a dose dependent fall in blood pressure and heart rate in experimental animals. Whereas in guinea pig atria the extract caused a concentration dependent up to one mg/ml decrease in the force and rate of atria contractions. However, the extract displayed inhibition of nor-epinephrine or potassium induced contractions. Furthermore it inhibited the contraction at submaximal level with I mg extract produced with acetylcholine, histamine and histidine. All this clearly manifest that direct relaxation action of Capparis decidua extract on myocardium and blood vessels could be responsible for its hypotensive action. In continuation of the biological study of the ethanolic extract of Cap paris decidua was subjected to anti-hyperlipidemic effects wherein the blood lipid levels in rats with hyper 1ipidemia were determined after IP administration: of an ethanolic extract produced a significant decrease of blood triglycerides and total cholesterol.

Lotus garcinii was studied for bioactivity and a battery of assays was carryout in different extracts, which include antibacterial, antifungal and hypoglycemia activities. The toxicity assessment carried out as acute systemic and intracutaneous toxicity as well as test for hemolytic activity. Antibacterial and antifungal effects of ethanol, hexane, ethyl acetate butanol and water extract of La/us garcinii showed different degree of inhibition profiles. It was noticed that extracts were found to be active against both gram positive and gram negative bacteria such as Bacillus subtilus, Bacillus megaterium, and Pseuodomonas aeruginosa, whereas the antifungal activity of the extract was noted against Microsporum canis, Pleuroetus oustreatus and Candida albicans. These findings very clearly specify that Lo/us garcinii could inhibit selective species of bacteria and fungi.

Lotus. garcinii was also studied for hypoglycemic activity: The extract of whole plant found to possess hypoglycemic action in strep, tozotocin-induced rats and evinces hypoglycemic activity in experimental diabetes ranging from 40-70% of its onset to reduce blood sugar level. Severe toxicity profile was noted when the extract of Lotus garcinii was subjected to acute to acute system toxicity and intracutaneou toxicity in experimental animals. The symptoms of toxicity in intracuatenous test showed erythema and edema whereas breathing problem& frequently observed during the study period. The blood hemolytic test (If the extract of Lotus garcinii furnished a mild activity signifying little response.


In 2006 Congress passed, and the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) rapidly issued, regulations requiring states to obtain proof of citizenship from citizens who had applied for Medicaid. This policy was framed as reducing fraud by illegal aliens to preserve benefits for citizens. In fact, evidence indicates there was no significant problem of fraud by immigrants, and the major effect of the policy was to reduce coverage of eligible citizens. This article addresses the reasons why Congress developed this policy and why CMS acted with uncharacteristic haste to implement these counterproductive policies. We note the importance of the policy's symbolic framing--that is, as establishing sanctions against illegal immigration--in congressional passage during a period of rising nativism in Congress and the nation. The regulatory actions reflected the ideological preferences of political appointees and an increasingly adversarial relationship between CMS and state agencies during this period. These haphazard regulatory actions made the policies more convoluted and likely led more eligible citizens to lose coverage. In 2009, Congress amended the law to modify implementation. These issues have continued to persist in the recent debate on national health care reform.


Accounting estimates and projections potentially improve the relevance of financial information by providing managers a venue to convey to investors forward-looking, inside information. The quality of financial information is, however, compromised by the increasing difficulty of making reliable estimates and forecasts and the frequent managerial misuse of estimates. Given the ever-increasing prevalence of estimates in accounting data, particularly due to the move to fair value accounting, whether these opposing forces result in an improvement in the quality of financial information is among the most fundamental issues in accounting. We examine the contribution of accounting estimates embedded in accruals to the quality of financial information, as reflected by their usefulness in the prediction of enterprise cash flows and earnings. Our out-of-sample prediction tests indicate that accounting estimates beyond those in working capital items (excluding inventory) do not improve the prediction of cash flows. Estimates do, however, improve the prediction of next year's earnings, though not of subsequent years' earnings. We conclude that the usefulness of accounting estimates to investors is limited and provide suggestions for improving the usefulness of estimates.


This study by Starnes and Noyes was immediately recognized as a unique and pioneering work of scholarship and has long been the standard work on the emergence and early flowering of English lexicography. Within the last 20 years we have been witnessing a remarkable scholarly interest in the study of dictionary-making and the role played by dictionaries in the transmission and preservation of knowledge and learning. It is therefore essential to have this classic work available again to all students of linguistic history. In its new edition the book has been vastly enhanced by a lengthy and invaluable introduction by Gabriele Stein, Professor of English Linguistics in Heidelberg and author of The English Dictionary before Cawdrey (1985). In her introduction to the present volume she sets out in scholarly detail the work that has emerged since 1946, which makes this study of the English dictionary from Cawdrey to Johnson as complete as the original authors themselves would have wished.


Proximal spinal muscular atrophy (SMA) is a common neuromuscular disorder causing infant death in 50 percent of all patients. Homozygous absence of the survival motor neuron gene (SMN1) is the primary cause of SMA, while SMA severity is mainly determined by the number of SMN2 copies. One SMN2 copy produces only about 10 percent of full-length (FL) protein identical to SMN1, whereas the majority of SMN2 transcripts are aberrantly spliced due to a silent mutation within an exonic splicing enhancer in exon 7. However, correct splicing can be restored by over-expression of the SR-like splicing factor Htra2-beta1. In the present work, it is demonstrated that in fibroblast cultures derived from SMA patients treated with therapeutic doses (0.5-50 microM) of the histone deacetylase (HDAC) inhibitor valproic acid (VPA) the level of SMN protein increased about 3fold. Augmented SMN protein levels could be attributed to elevated FL-SMN2 transcript levels which were triggered by two different mechanisms: a transcriptional activation of the SMN2 gene, and a preferred exon 7 inclusion in SMN2 transcripts. The latter observation was most likely due to increased levels of the splicing factor Htra2-beta1. In addition to Htra2-beta1, VPA increased the expression of further SR proteins which may have important implications for other disorders affected by alternative splicing. Importantly, the drug was able to elevate rSmn transcript and protein levels ex vivo through transcriptional activation in organotypic hippocampal brain slices from rats. This demonstrated that VPA also exerts an effect on neuronal tissue, the target for a potential SMA therapy. Since VPA is a drug highly successfully used in long-time epilepsy therapy, these findings opened the exciting perspective for a first causal therapy of an inherited disease by elevating the SMN2 transcription level and restoring its correct splicing. The evaluation of two second-generation HDAC inhibitors in SMA fibroblasts in vitro revealed that SAHA, a drug that belongs to the hydroxamic acids, also efficiently elevated SMN protein levels 2.4fold to 3fold. Therefore, SAHA was identified as another attractive candidate for SMA therapy. In contrast, the data obtained for MS-275, an HDAC inhibitor of the benzamide class, demonstrated that the drug does not possess enough potency to substantially elevate SMN protein levels in vitro. Thus, MS-275 will not have a chance to move forward to SMA clinical trials. Based on the promising data for VPA in vitro and ex vivo and given that VPA is already approved for application to humans, a first pilot trial with VPA was carried out in ten SMA carriers (parents of patients with SMA) aiming to evaluate drug potency to increase SMN transcript and protein levels in vivo. In order to further validate the outcome of the study, SMN2 gene expression was analyzed in peripheral whole blood derived from 20 patients with SMA (5x type I, 11x type II, 4x type III) treated with VPA in individual experimental curative approaches all over Germany according to section 41 of the German Drug Act (AMG). Moreover, the value of these screenings was determined for the development of a clinical biomarker to monitor the response to VPA and other HDAC inhibitors in treated individuals. Such a biomarker would be highly useful for clinical trials and future therapies in SMA patients. Drug treatment revealed elevated full-length SMN RNA and protein levels in blood from 7/10 SMA carriers. Importantly, SMN protein levels increased far more substantially (up to 13.8fold) than the levels of the intermediate product, FL-SMN RNA, that showed an increase of up to 3.4fold. These observations provided first proof of the in vivo activation of a therapeutic target gene by VPA in an inherited disease. Among the investigated SMA patients, FL-SMN2 RNA levels were increased 1.5fold to 1.9fold in seven subjects, whereas 13 patients presented unchanged or even decreased transcript levels. This data suggested that some individuals are responders to VPA, while others are most likely nonresponders or even negative-responders. However, so far it is unknown whether SMN expression in blood reflects SMN expression in alpha-motor neurons and correlates with muscle strength. Therefore, systematic long-term clinical trials in SMA patients that correlate SMN expression in blood with individual motor function tests are required in the future to address the question whether SMN transcript and protein levels in blood may serve as biomarker, and to study the effect of VPA on motor function.


Study Design. This study was designed to examine the possibility of a new spinal cord monitoring method using measurement of the refractory period to monitor spinal cord function. Objectives. To determine whether measuring the refractory period and the recovery rate of conductive spinal cord evoked potential is a useful method for estimating spinal cord function. Background. Measuring the refractory period and constructing the recovery curve have been used to investigate peripheral nerve function. Spinal cord evoked potential elicited by the single stimulus usually is used to evaluate spinal cord function, and it has been said that 50% attenuation of the amplitude is the critical alarm level. Methods. In anesthetized cats, amplitude, area, and latency were measured on a personal computer from subtracted data collected with a paired-stimulation technique. The authors constructed recovery curves of ascending and descending conductive spinal cord evoked potentials and measured the refractory period during spinal cord compression. Results. When the amplitude of the ascending spinal cord evoked potential began to decrease during spinal cord compression, the amplitude of the response elicited by the second stimulus with interstimulus intervals of 0.8 msec and 1.0 msec decreased more significantly. When the amplitude of the ascending spinal cord evoked potential decreased to 50% of the precompression amplitude, the mean value of the absolute refractory periods of the ascending and descending spinal cord evoked potentials became prolonged from 0.40 ± 0.007 msec to 0.53 ± 0.014 msec, and the mean values of their amplitude and area recovery rates decreased from 75% ± 1% to 35% ± 2% (interstimulus interval, 0.8 msec) and from 81% ± 1% to 46% ± 2% (insterstimulus interval, 1.0 msec). Conclusions. The change of the responses elicited by the paired stimuli is more sensitive than those elicited by the single stimulus in the spinal cord evoked potentials. The absolute refractory periods and the recovery rate during 50% attenuation of the precompression amplitude is the critical alarm level in spinal cord monitoring.


Social Security spousal benefits were established in the 1930s to help support wives who are financially dependent on their husbands. It has since become more common for both spouses in a couple to work, with the result that, in more cases, both members of a couple are entitled to Social Security or other government pensions based on their own work records. Social Security generally does not provide both a full retiredworker and a full spousal benefit to the same individual. Two provisions are designed to reduce the Social Security spousal benefits of individuals who are not financially dependent on their spouses because they receive benefits based on their own work records. These are • the "dual entitlement" rule, which applies to spouses who qualify for both (1) Social Security spousal benefits based on their spouses' work histories in Social Security-covered employment and (2) their own Social Security retired or disabled worker benefits, based on their own work histories in Social Securitycovered employment; and • the GPO, which applies to spouses who qualify for both (1) Social Security spousal benefits based on their spouses' work histories in Social Security-covered employment and (2) their own government pensions, based on their own work in government employment that was not covered by Social Security. The GPO reduces Social Security spousal benefits by two-thirds of the pension from non-covered government employment. The GPO does not reduce the benefits of the spouse who was covered by Social Security. Opponents contend that the GPO provision is basically imprecise and can be unfair. Defenders argue it is the best method currently available for preserving the spousal benefit's original intent of supporting financially dependent spouses, and also for eliminating an unfair advantage for spouses working in non-Social Securitycovered employment compared with spouses working in Social Security-covered jobs (who are subject to the dual entitlement rule).


Organophosphonates such as isopropyl metylphosphonofluoridate (sarin) are extremely toxic as they phosphonylate the catalytic serine residue of acetylcholinesterase (AChE), an enzyme essential to humans and other species. Design of effective AChE reactivators as antidotes to various organophosphonates requires information on how the reactivators interact with the phosphonylated AChEs. However, such information has not been available hitherto because of three main challenges. First, reactivators are generally flexible in order to change from the ground state to the transition state for reactivation; this flexibility discourages determination of crystal structures of AChE in complex with effective reactivators that are intrinsically disordered. Second, reactivation occurs upon binding of a reactivator to the phosphonylated AChE. Third, the phosphorous conjugate can develop resistance to reactivation. We have identified crystallographic conditions that led to the determination of a crystal structure of the sarinnonaged-conjugated mouse AChE in complex with [(E)-[1-[(4-carbamoylpyridin-1-ium-1-yl)methoxymethyl]pyridin-2-ylidene]methyl]-oxoazanium dichloride (HI-6) at a resolution of 2.2 Å. In this structure, the carboxyamino-pyridinium ring of HI-6 is sandwiched by Tyr124 and Trp286, however, the oxime-pyridinium ring is disordered. By combining crystallography with microsecond molecular dynamics simulation, we determined the oxime-pyridinium ring structure, which shows that the oxime group of HI-6 can form a hydrogen-bond network to the sarin isopropyl ether oxygen, and a water molecule is able to form a hydrogen bond to the catalytic histidine residue and subsequently deprotonates the oxime for reactivation. These results offer insights into the reactivation mechanism of HI-6 and design of better reactivators.


Cook et al (2016) presents a collaborative work by several consensus study authors, who claim a 97% agreement by undefined climate science experts that "humans are causing recent global warming." The statement illustrates the problem of trying to use a social proof of consensus in place of scientifically defined evidence. The lack of empirical parameters that specifically identify the claimed ratio of human effect versus natural influence, the timescale in question, the level of risk or benefit, and the human activity or causative factor(s) are undefined. The notion of consensus defies the fundamental principle of scientific inquiry which is not about agreement, but rather a continuous search for understanding. This paper evaluates key disparities of Cook et al (2016) and outlines why a claimed consensus is a powerful tool for driving public policy, but an inappropriate and unethical means of conducting scientific inquiry or informing the public.


Abstract The extent to which origination and selective extinction influenced the structure and dynamics of Caribbean coral reef communities is evaluated by comparing the diversity and distributional patterns of coral species in two Dominican Republic reef sequences prior to and following late Cenozoic Caribbean faunal turnover. The two sequences consist of the late Miocene Arroyo Bellaco reef of the Cibao Valley, northern Dominican Republic, and the late Pleistocene 125-ka reef terrace of the southern Dominican Republic. Samples were collected along 20-meter transects (10 Miocene, 10 Pleistocene); species identifications were made using standard sets of characters and morphometrics. In particular, species of Montastraea annularis-like corals were distinguished within each sequence using a 2-dimensional landmark technique involving average linkage cluster analysis, discriminant analyses, and non-parametric tests. Four Miocene and four Pleistocene species were recognized. Subsequent community analysis was two-fold: (1) whole coral community, and 2) distribution of the Montastraea "annularis" complex. For the whole coral community, occurrence matrices of transect samples, assembled separately for Miocene (35 species) and Pleistocene (20 species) reef sequences, were analyzed using average linkage cluster analysis, multidimensional scaling, similarity percentages, one-way analysis of similarity, and non-parametric tests for independent samples (Mann-Whitney U, Kruskal-Wallis H). Three assemblages were recognized within each sequence, which correspond with back-reef, reef-crest, and reef-front facies defined independently on the basis of sedimentological criteria. Comparisons between the two sequences suggest that widespread species (ecological generalists) are more common within the Pleistocene sequence than within the Miocene sequence. Fifteen of thirty-five (43%) Miocene species occur in single reef facies compared to five of twenty (25%) Pleistocene species. Of the five species found within both reef sequences, four occur in all three of the identified Miocene reef facies; one was found in two of these three facies. For the distribution of the Montastraea "annularis" complex, samples of M. annularis-like corals were examined to determine if distributional patterns of species within the complex were similar before and after faunal turnover. The four M. annularis-like corals identified within each reef sequence had markedly different distributional patterns. During the late Miocene, cohabitation within reef facies was low. Following faunal turnover, cohabitation within facies increased. This result further suggests that niche partitioning may have been reduced on post-turnover reefs. The results support the hypothesis of selective extinction of ecologically restricted species during Plio-Pleistocene turnover. Despite the prolonged and continuous nature of faunal turnover, reef community change involved more than species replacement–the underlying structure of reef communities and their biological interactions were fundamentally altered.


Efficient NH4+ oxidation is a critical issue in human-impaired streams receiving high N loads from the effluent of wastewater treatment plants (WWTP). Archaeal (AOA) and bacterial (AOB) ammonia oxidizers are strongly photoinhibited in laboratory cultures, so we expected that light availability would affect the distribution of AOA and AOB and NH4+ oxidation rates at the reach scale. We selected 2 contiguous reaches downstream of a WWTP input in La Tordera river (northeastern Spain) that strongly differed in canopy cover (open and shaded). Against expectations and despite significant differences in light availability, the 2 reaches showed similar abundance of AOA and AOB and similar daily rates of ecosystem respiration, gross primary productivity, and NH4+ oxidation. The abundance of ammonia oxidizers was not correlated with biomass in biofilms protected from light, whereas a positive relationship was found for light-exposed biofilms. This result suggests that biomass accrual could provide light protection to ammonia oxidizers in light-exposed biofilms. The contribution of NH4+ oxidation to whole-reach NH4+ uptake reached up to 89%, indicating a high potential for NH4+ oxidation in the 2 reaches. NH4+ oxidation rates were similar between night and day, but their contribution to whole-reach NH4+ uptake tended to be higher at night than during the day. Altogether, these findings highlight that environmental factors other than irradiance drive reach-scale NH4+ oxidation in this urban stream.


For this exhibition (curated by Iris Weaver and Brian Webb) I created five especially produced prints, which were linocuts. In comparison with work produced using computer programs such as Photoshop or Illustrator they are "low tech". They are examples of my strong authorial autographic work and reflect my researched knowledge of the craft and its ancestry. The prints further reinforce my position as being an illustrator and printmaker working in the tradition of Edward Bawden (though not simply copying his style).

In reviving the technique of linocutting, I have added a more contemporary take on the technique, applying it not simply to limited edition prints but also to my commercial work. My ability to design and use limited colour enables me to create strong graphic images, of which Bawden also was a great exponent.

I am interested in the way in which Bawden simplified forms and it is my desire to continue and develop this approach. Like Bawden, my work is a response to the English landscape and architecture whilst also introducing an element of narrative to the imagery.

Ultimately, I aim to combine my low-tech approach to printmaking with computer programs that retain the autographic quality of my works whilst allowing me to develop texture and tone.


When Nicolas Sarkozy was elected President of the France in 2007, the world was shocked. Could this out and out right-winger really be the new leader of the Republic? Alain Badiou, in this sharp and focused intervention, claims that, in and of itself, the election of Nicolas Sarkozy as President is not an event, nor is it the cause for wringing of hands and gnashing of teeth. To understand the significance of "Sarkozy", we have to look behind the insignificance and vulgarity of the figure and ask what he represents, namely a reactionary tradition which goes back to the early nineteenth century. To escape from the ambience of depression and fear that currently envelops the Left, Badiou casts aside the slavish worship of electoral democracy and maps out a communist hypothesis that can lay the basis for emancipatory politics in the twenty-first century.