We present a design of a compact set of biplanar coils which produces magnetic fields of eight different profiles for the purpose of gradiometer balancing. The magnetic field profiles correspond to uniform magnetic fields in three orthogonal directions and five linearly independent first-order gradients. The coils are made by etching square printed circuit boards that have dimensions of 0.5 m times 0.5 m. The typical inhomogeneity of the magnetic fields and gradients produced by the ideally assembled coil set in a cylindrically shaped volume that measures 50 mm in diameter and 225 mm in height is of the order of 10 -5. The coils yield uniform fields and first-order gradients of at least 1(muT/A) and 1(muT/Amiddotm), respectively. The influence of manufacturing tolerances on the performance of the set is investigated by means of Monte Carlo simulations. Based on these simulations, we concluded that the coil set needs to be assembled with a tolerance of 0.1 mm in order to reach a required uniformity of order of 10-5-10-4


Chemotherapeutic tumoricidal activity may be enhanced by altering regional blood flow between host organ and tumor by transient embolization with degradable starch microspheres (DSMs) or by altering cellular drug transport with drugs such as verapamil. This study evaluated the effects of intraarterial verapamil and DSMs on hemodynamics and doxorubicin tissue levels. Rabbits (n = 34) with hepatic VX-2 carcinomas underwent hepatic artery infusion of doxurubicin (3 mg/kg) alone, with two doses of verapamil, and with verapamil plus DSMs. Blood pressure and heart rate were monitored, and heart, liver, and tumor tissue was obtained after 30 or 90 minutes. After verapamil (2 mg/kg) alone, mean heart rate decreased but infusion of verapamil plus DSMs resulted in only a 14% decrease in mean heart rate. Thirty minutes after drug infusions, mean hepatic tissue levels of doxorubicin were increased significantly by 2 mg/kg of verapamil compared with results with 1 mg/kg of verapamil and those in control groups (p less than 0.05). Mean tumor doxorubicin levels were not significantly different with verapamil alone. Verapamil plus DSMs or DSMs alone resulted in significantly lower mean hepatic and myocardial levels and increased mean tumor/liver ratios of doxorubicin after 90 minutes, compared with results in control or verapamil-alone groups. These results suggest that hepatic tumor drug levels are more affected by changes in regional blood flow with DSMs than by cellular drug transport changes caused by calcium channel blockers such as verapamil.


The FitAR R (R Development Core Team 2008) package that is available on the Comprehensive R Archive Network is described. This package provides a comprehensive approach to fitting autoregressive and subset autoregressive time series. For long time series with complicated autocorrelation behavior, such as the monthly sunspot numbers, subset autoregression may prove more feasible and/or parsimonious than using AR or ARMA models. The two principal functions in this package are SelectModel and FitAR for automatic model selection and model fitting respectively. In addition to the regular autoregressive model and the usual subset autoregressive models (Tong'77), these functions implement a new family of models. This new family of subset autoregressive models is obtained by using the partial autocorrelations as parameters and then selecting a subset of these parameters. Further properties and results for these models are discussed in McLeod and Zhang (2006). The advantages of this approach are that not only is an efficient algorithm for exact maximum likelihood implemented but that efficient methods are derived for selecting high-order subset models that may occur in massive datasets containing long time series. A new improved extended {BIC} criterion, {UBIC}, developed by Chen and Chen (2008) is implemented for subset model selection. A complete suite of model building functions for each of the three types of autoregressive models described above are included in the package. The package includes functions for time series plots, diagnostic testing and plotting, bootstrapping, simulation, forecasting, Box-Cox analysis, spectral density estimation and other useful time series procedures. As well as methods for standard generic functions including print, plot, predict and others, some new generic functions and methods are supplied that make it easier to work with the output from FitAR for bootstrapping, simulation, spectral density estimation and Box-Cox analysis.


Why does the race of judges matter? This Note argues that racial diversity in the judiciary improves legal decisions about political morality. Judges play a substantial role in regulating our political morality; at the same time, race and ethnicity influence public views on such issues. In cases that involve difficult legal questions of political morality, judges should seriously consider all moral conceptions as potential answers. Racial and ethnic diversity is likely to improve the judiciary's institutional capacity for openness to alternative views-not because judges of any given race will "represent" a monolithic viewpoint, but because of the likelihood that judges of a particular race or ethnicity will be better positioned to understand and take seriously views held within their own racial or ethnic communities. Judicial dialogue, taking place within appellate panels and across courts, serves to diffuse alternative viewpoints more broadly. Greater judicial willingness to consider disparate moral views should ultimately result in better decisions regarding political morality. Specifically, the judiciary may fashion new compromises to resolve political-moral dilemmas, judges and society may better understand the contours of such dilemmas, and the public may even arrive at new conclusions regarding basic questions of political morality.


The Alberta Complex is the most prominent member of a mafic to ultramafic igneous suite within the Rehoboth Basement Inlier/Namibia, being intrusive into sediments and mafic volcanics of the Paleoproterozoic Elim Formations. Subsequent amphibolite grade metamorphism of pre-Kibaran age obscured the original mineral assemblage. Two main units have been distinguished in the past within the Alberta Complex. (1) A thick pile of various amphibolites represents original norite, hyperite, gabbro and anorthosite and constitutes the Layered Sequence. It has been subdivided into four zones, thought to represent individual magmatic pulses. (2) Later stage magmatism comprises pegmatite veins as well as pyroxenite, harzburgite and dunite, emplaced in plugs and a cone sheet. In contrast to field observations, geochemical profiles of compatible elements across the complex indicate more complex layering and subdivision of the Layered Sequence into at least seven units. Incompatible trace elements are largely decoupled from compatible elements, which probably is the result of variable amount of interstitial liquid within cumulate phase. However, the shape of REE patterns has been controlled chiefly by fractionation of clinopyroxene and plagioclase. Finally, decoupling of hydrophile LILE from both compatible and incompatible elements may result from hydrothermal overprint or from redistribution during metamorphism. Gabbroic rocks from the Marginal Zone of the Alberta Compex display affinity to mafic volcanic rocks of the Elim Fm. Modeling based on in situ fractional crystallisation or, alternatively, mixing of evolved liquid with cumulate supports this hypothesis. In contrast, for samples within the magma chamber, only REE could be matched closely by these models, while modeled incompatible trace elements commonly deviate from the measured data. Additional complexity of local magma chamber probably best explains these deviations.


The calculation of aerodynamic characteristics of wings based on linearised supersonic theory has been a subject of investigation for the last two decades. Practically all the methods are essentially based on discretising the fundamental integral equation connecting the velocity perturbation potential with the downwash on the wing13; and the diaphragm region. Having made a critical survey of the available methods, we have adopted an approach based on the work of Fenain which seems to be attractive from the point of view of accuracy and memory requirements. The method is rather general in the sense that the leading edges can be subsonic, sonic pr supersonic. A computer 13; programme has been developed to calculate lift, moment and wave drag coefficients for certain specific configurations including delta wings and deltawings with ailerons. Comparisons are given for a standard configuration for the steady case with other methods of Woodward, Middleton and Carlson and of conical flow theory.


In Made in the USA, Vaclav Smil powerfully rebuts the notion that manufacturing is a relic of predigital history and that the loss of American manufacturing is a desirable evolutionary step toward a pure service economy. Smil argues that no advanced economy can prosper without a strong, innovative manufacturing sector and the jobs it creates. Smil explains how manufacturing became a fundamental force behind America's economic, strategic, and social dominance. He describes American manufacturing's rapid rise at the end of the nineteenth century, its consolidation and modernization between the two world wars, its role as an enabler of mass consumption after 1945, and its recent decline. Some economists argue that shipping low-value jobs overseas matters little because the high-value work remains in the United States. But, asks Smil, do we want a society that consists of a small population of workers doing high-value-added work and masses of unemployed? Smil assesses various suggestions for solving America's manufacturing crisis, including lowering corporate tax rates, promoting research and development, and improving public education. Will America act to preserve and reinvigorate its manufacturing? It is crucial to our social and economic well-being; but, Smil warns, the odds are no better than even.


Background and Objectives: Obesity is associated with a state of chronic inflammation and increased cardiometabolic disease risk. The present study examined the relationship between body mass index (BMI) and cardiometabolic and inflammatory biomarkers among normal weight, overweight, and obese subjects. Methods: Subjects (n = 1,805, aged 18 to 79 years) from Canada were examined for associations between BMI, cardiometabolic markers [apolipoprotein (Apo) A1, ApoB, low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C), high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C), total cholesterol, total:HDL-C ratio, triglycerides, and glycosylated hemoglobin (HbA1c)], inflammatory factors [C-reactive protein (CRP), fibrinogen, and homocysteine), and 25-hydroxyvitamin D [25(OH)D]. Bootstrap weights for variance and sampling weights for point estimates were applied to account for the complex survey design. Linear regression models adjusted for age, sex, physical activity, smoking status, and ethnicity (in addition to season of clinic visit for vitamin D analyses only) were used to examine the association between cardiometabolic markers, inflammatory factors, and BMI in adults. Results: All biomarkers were significantly associated with BMI (P≤0.001). ApoA1 (β= 0.31, P<0.0001), HDL-C (β=-0.61, P<0.0001), and 25(OH)D (β=-0.25, P<0.0001) were all inversely associated with BMI, while all other biomarkers showed positive linear associations. Different patterns of significant associations were noted for all biomarkers among normal weight, overweight, and obese groups, excluding CRP which was consistently correlated with BMI and showed a significant positive association in the overall population (β=2.80, P<0.0001) and in the normal weight (β=3.20, P=0.02), overweight (β=3.53, P=0.002) and obese (β=2.22, P=0.0002) groups. Interestingly, plasma vitamin D levels were significantly inversely correlated with BMI (β=-0.25±0.06, P<0.0001). Conclusions: There is a distinctive profile of cardiometabolic and inflammatory biomarkers that emerges with obesity as BMI increases from normal weight to obesity. Elucidating these profiles may permit developing an effective approach for early risk prediction of cardiometabolic disease and its prevention based on modulating the corresponding metabolic phenotype in each BMI stage., e.g., by micronutrients such as vitamin D.


Zoya Phan was born in the remote jungles of Burma, to the Karen ethnic group. For decades the Karen have been under attack from Burma's military junta; Zoya's mother was a guerrilla soldier, her father a freedom activist. She lived in a bamboo hut on stilts by the Moei River; she hunted for edible fungi with her much-loved adopted brother, Say Say. Many Karen are Christian or Buddhist, but Zoya's parents were animist, venerating the spirits of forest, river and moon. Her early years were blissfully removed from the war. At the age of fourteen, however, Zoya's childhood was shattered as the Burmese army attacked. With their house in flames, Zoya and her family fled. So began two terrible years of running from guns, as Zoya joined thousands of refugees hiding in the jungle. Her family scattered, Zoya sought sanctuary across the border in a Thai refugee camp. Conditions in the camp were difficult, and Zoya now had to care for her ailing mother. Zoya, a gifted pupil, was eventually able to escape, first to Bangkok and then, with her enemies still pursuing her, in 2004 she fled to the UK and claimed asylum. The following year, at a 'free Burma' march, she was plucked from the crowd to appear on the BBC, the first of countless interviews with the world's media. She became the face of a nation enslaved, rubbing shoulders with presidents and film stars. By turns uplifting, tragic and entirely gripping, this is the extraordinary true story of the girl from the jungle who became an icon of a suffering land.


The seismic response of a shale is a direct result of the original mineral composition, textural configuration at deposition, and degree of compaction. The aim of this article is to show how the compactional processes and mineralogical effects can be directly identified by rock physics techniques and to emphasize the importance of having a thorough geological understanding when doing rock physics analysis. To succeed, we must first understand the fundamental relationships between sedimentology, the compactional processes, and the expected rock physics response that are not restricted to a particular basin or data set. To achieve this, we used wireline logs from 100 wells on the mid-Norwegian shelf to establish robust rock physics background trends in shales that were compared with the local responses in and around a target area. The target was the Tulipan well in the southwestern part of the mid-Norwegian shelf where thick deposits from the glacial-marine North Sea Fan are located.


The analytic hierarchy process (AHP) and the analytic network process (ANP) are impor- tant multi-criteria decision-making (MCDM) methods for solving strategic decision problems. In the field of the research and teaching projects of a university's Management Science Department, the use of adequate decision support systems (DSS) enables an appropriate application and acceptance of these methods. By reason of the great variety of AHP-DSS, the aim of this paper is the selection of AHP-supporting software. Owing to the interdependencies of the software quality criteria, these influences can be evaluated appropriately by the ANP. As for the various requirements of the different department members, the ANP procedure is linked with the DEMATEL approach. Within such a combined framework (DANP), the alternate software products and their quality selection criteria are transparently analysed and evaluated from a multi-personal point of view. The described procedure is an object of reference to solve such structuring and evaluation problems by support of parallel and/or distributed computing architecture.


SUMMARY A sequence of disturbed and undisturbed samples from a borehole drilled at Warham, near Stiffkey in north Norfolk, is described and sub-divided into three lithofacies on the basis of sedimentary structures, particle size distribution, calcium carbonate content, selected heavy mineral composition and indicator lithologies. These properties are used to determine the environment of deposition and establish correlation with glaciogenic deposits elsewhere. The basal sands and gravels (Lithofacies A) overlie the Chalk bedrock and are interpreted as having formed by a braided River Stiffkey that flowed northward through the site in pre-Late Devensian periglacial conditions. Lithofacies B consists of >8 m of laminated sands, silts and clays that were formed in a proglacial lake created by the obstruction of the River Stiffkey when the Late Devensian (Dimlington Stadial) glaciation reached the north Norfolk coast. These sediments are covered by gravelly sands (Lithofacies C), which were deposited as an ice-marginal river deposit as part of the Late Devensian end moraine-ridge complex. Finally, the lake drained and the sediments were dissected as the diverted River Stiffkey adopted a new course to the north-east and the lower, incised section of the present Stiffkey valley was formed.


ABSTRACT We conducted this research because earlier research revealed that Pakistani farmers were growing 8–10-year-old wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) varieties and hence not benefitting from the recent advances in wheat breeding. Participatory varietal selection (PVS) trials were conducted to have farmers validate and include newly released wheat varieties into seed-production stream to speed up replacement of old and obsolete wheat varieties by farmer-preferred new high-yielding varieties. Fourteen new varieties recommended for irrigated and eight for rainfed environments were evaluated in this research involving smallholder farmers in food-deficit districts of Pakistan. Collaborating farmers preferred 10 varieties from the PVS trials, eight of which were germplasm from the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT) that yielded on average 5–17% more grain than local checks. Local checks used in the PVS trials in Sindh and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa were old improved varieties. Greater yield advantage from new varieties over local checks was reported from rainfed environments and areas where old local checks were used. The PVS research showed the possibility of ensuring food security of smallholder farmers as new high-yielding varieties gave an additional 0.3 –0.5 tons of grain per ha, sufficient to feed two to three persons per year. Research also revealed that innovative farmers in rainfed regions grew wheat varieties recommended for irrigated regions to identify high-yielding wheat varieties with stable performance. Feedback by farmers to wheat breeding research system was to develop even higher yielding new wheat varieties with diseases resistance to replace old and obsolete varieties to boost food security.


This article addresses the oft-spoken urban myth that the field of assisted reproductive technologies (ART) is a wholly unregulated medical subspecialty, leaving cowboy physicians to abuse vulnerable patients and disregard the well-being of ART-induced offspring. The birth of octoplets in January 2009 fueled this myth and launched a campaign to regulate the field by restricting the number of embryos allowable for transfer in any single IVF cycle. This article critiques the merits of a federal law codifying embryo transfer limits in the provision of infertility care.Drafting a federal embryo transfer law is easy enough, but assuring enforcement by regulators and compliance by physicians and patients present near insurmountable barriers. Even if such a law set out sensible clinical guidelines on the number of embryos to transfer, validating that practitioners have complied with statutory standards may require invading patient privacy in a wholly distasteful manner. Moreover, data collected on the effectiveness of civil fines in the regulatory setting suggest rampant undercollection, casting doubt on fine-based penalty's capacity to deter banned conduct. Still other data suggests that criminal penalties fare no better, as both prosecutors and juries are reluctant to penalize a physician who, in good faith, responds to a patient's plea for help. Compliance with embryo transfer limits are in doubt not just because traditional penalty structures are ineffective, but because patients and physicians are incentivized by the high cost and low reimbursement rates for infertility care to prefer more embryos be transferred to maximize the chances for a live birth. When multiple birth, particularly twins, is a preferred outcome based on financial constraints, looking to a stand-alone embryo transfer law to curb the high rate of multiples will have little effect. Instead, this article argues that now is the time to ease the financial burden by including infertility care in the package of essential health benefits being developed under the 2010 Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act. Matching the burden of embryo transfer limits with the benefit of coverage will have a real and lasting impact on the public health concerns that legitimately coalesce around multiple births.


Bill Clinton may have claimed the title of "comeback kid" as his own, but in the art of comebacks, the former US President is no match for Peter Mandelson, Britain's new First Secretary of State. In his three decades in public life, Lord Mandelson has suffered all of the vicissitudes of politics and has made several career-threatening mistakes. Written off in 1998 and 2001 as having no future in the Labour Party, Mandelson is now routinely described as the most powerful man in Britain. Harriet Harman, who as Labour's deputy leader shares duties with Mandelson as Prime Minister Gordon Brown's number two, is another political survivor. Regularly ridiculed by the media and the Conservative opposition for her alleged lack of understanding of policy, Harman has used her popularity with grassroots Labour voters and women to win a tough deputy leadership contest in 2007, positioning herself as the staunchest advocate of female voters. What, then, does the resurgence of Mandelson and Harman mean for the Labour Party? The mere fact that Gordon Brown, Peter Mandelson, and Harriet Harman are currently seen as the three most influential members of the government is a savage indictment of the party's future. These three politicians are all of an earlier generation of Labour Members of Parliament (MPs) that cut their political teeth while finding a way to reinvent the party in the face of Thatcherism in the 1980s. Their continued prominence suggests that the "new" Labour generation, MPs and ministers predominantly in their thirties and forties (with the exception of Alan Johnson, the home secretary), have failed to deliver as leaders. The question of Labour Party leadership is immensely important because of the seeming eventuality of a Labour defeat in next spring's general election. An early September YouGov/Daily Telegraph survey of voting intentions had the Conservatives at 40 percent, Labour at 27 percent, and the Liberal Democrats at 18 percent. The Conservatives have maintained a double-digit lead for well over a year, and if reflected in a general election, the numbers would mean a landslide defeat for Labour. Apart from a public lack of confidence in Brown, Labour has also suffered from the growth of the Scottish National Party--with Scotland being one of the party's traditional bases and Brown's home--as well as the success of smaller parties in general. Last June's European Parliament elections saw Labour slip to third place in a national election for the first time in 90 years. What all this means is that Brown is unlikely to continue as the Labour leader beyond the election. The last incumbent Prime Minister to lose an election and continue as leader of his party was Harold Wilson in 1970: in that case, the defeat was mitigated by the closeness of the result and Wilson's own considerable popularity. Brown is likely to enjoy neither of these two advantages and will thus almost certainly follow in the path of Ted Heath, James Callaghan, and John Major in relinquishing his party leadership after an election defeat. A key point to consider is that Mandelson and Harman are themselves highly unlikely to seek leadership. The First Secretary of State would have to resign his Lords seat, contest and win from the Commons, and then attempt to connect with a Labour base that has long disliked him--all in the space of a few months. On the other hand, while Harman is not logistically constrained from leadership because she is a member of the House of Commons, she has made it clear repeatedly that she will not run to replace Brown. There is no reason to expect that she will change her mind. The task of leadership must therefore pass to a member of the party's younger generation. …


Keywords: Ananas comosus; Benin; cultural practices; fruit quality; hapas; heterogeneity; planting material; slips; suckers; supply chain; variation in quality; variation within crop; vigour. Poor average quality and uniformity in quality have become major issues in agri-food chains. This is also the case in the pineapple sector in Benin where less than 2% of the fresh pineapple is exported to international markets. The average quality of pineapple delivered to other markets, local and regional, is poor. The present thesis studied the improvement options in the pineapple sector which will help pineapple producers to produce higher pineapple quality for different markets, including international ones. This thesis aimed at (1) understanding how fresh pineapple supply chains are organised in Benin and identifying the bottlenecks for delivering the right pineapple to the right market; (2) increasing our knowledge on the agronomic tools used by pineapple producers to produce pineapple fruits; (3) understanding how agronomic factors affect pineapple quality and harvesting time, and (4) proposing and discussing the trade-offs between cultural practices. Research included analysis of supply chains and cropping systems and field experimentation. To understand how fresh pineapple supply chains are organised, 54 semi-structured interviews were held with key informants and 173 structured interviews with actor groups. Results indicated six main actor groups in the fresh pineapple chains: primary producers, exporters, wholesalers (those selling at local markets and those selling at regional markets), processors, retailers, and middlemen. Two pineapple cultivars were grown: Sugarloaf and Smooth Cayenne, with Sugarloaf being dominant in local and regional markets and Smooth Cayenne in European markets. The main constraints hampering the effectivity of the chains were: the non-controlled conditions under which the pineapple was transported from one actor group to another, the lack of appropriate storage facilities at wholesaler's and processor's levels, the unavailability of boxes for export and the non-concordance between actor groups in which quality attributes and criteria they valued most. In addition, most respondents interviewed affirmed that the pineapple quality was highly heterogeneous, emphasising the need to understand how pineapple is grown in Benin and what the constraints for producing high pineapple quality are. To find out the agronomic tools in use by pineapple producers in Benin, interviews were held with 100 producers in the pineapple production areas. Pineapple production practices proved diverse for both cultivars in planting density, flowering induction practice and fertiliser application. The production systems of the two pineapple cultivars differed in planting material used (slips in cv. Sugarloaf; hapas plus suckers in cv. Smooth Cayenne); the use of K2SO4 (not commonly used in cv. Sugarloaf and commonly used in cv. Smooth Cayenne); the number of fertiliser applications (lower in cv. Sugarloaf than in cv. Smooth Cayenne) and in the maturity synchronisation practice by means of Ethephon (not commonly used in cv. Sugarloaf and commonly used in cv. Smooth Cayenne). Constraints for high quality production were the unavailability of planting material, unavailability and high costs of fertilisers and the heterogeneity in planting material weight. To understand how agronomic factors affect pineapple quality and harvesting time, four on-farm experiments were conducted in commercial pineapple fields. Results first indicated that the heterogeneity in fruit weight was a consequence of the heterogeneity in plant vigour at artificial flowering induction time. The plant vigour at flowering induction was mainly related with the infructescence weight and less or not with crown weight. Second, results indicated that artificial flowering induction gave fruits with lower infructescence weight and heavier crown than natural flowering induction. Artificial maturity induction reduced the total soluble solids (TSS) concentration in the fruits. Finally, results showed that the reason why a high proportion of fruits in cv. Sugarloaf was not exportable to Europe was the high value in the ratio crown: infructescence height (above 1.5); in cv. Smooth Cayenne, reasons were a ratio crown: infructescence height as well as a TSS below 12 oBrix. To come up with improvement options for high pineapple quality production with low heterogeneity in quality, the possibility of pruning slips on selective plants as means to improve uniformity in fruit quality was evaluated through two on-farm experiments on commercial fields with cv. Sugarloaf. Results revealed that pruning of slips did not significantly improve average fruit quality attributes and was not successful in achieving more uniform fruit quality at harvesting time. Through one experiment per pineapple cultivar, we investigated how fruit quality and its variation were affected by weight (in both pineapple cultivars) and type (in cv. Smooth Cayenne only) of planting material. Results showed that fruits from heavy planting material had heavier infructescence and fruit weights, longer infructescence height, but shorter crown height and smaller ratio crown: infructescence height than those from light planting material. In cv. Sugarloaf fruits from heavy planting material had higher variation in crown weight and lower variation in infructescence height than fruits from light and mixed (light plus heavy) planting materials. In cv. Smooth Cayenne, fruits from heavy planting material had a lower variation in fruit height than fruits from other classes of planting material. The type of planting material (in cv. Smooth Cayenne) had no effect on the average fruit quality attributes except on the crown height where fruits from hapas had shorter crowns than those from suckers. The type of planting material had in overall no significant effect on the variation in the fruit quality attributes. The present study is a step towards the improvement of the whole pineapple sector in Benin. It identified constraints for high pineapple quality production but also tested and proposed improvement options for high pineapple quality production.


Among the most characteristic issues in modern jurisprudence is the distinction between adjudication and legislation. In the some accounts, a judge's role in deciding a particular controversy is highly constrained and limited to the application of preexisting law. Whereas legislation is inescapably political, adjudication requires at least some form of impersonal neutrality. In various ways over the past century, theorists have pressed this conventional account, complicating the conceptual underpinnings of the distinction between law-application and lawmaking. This Article contributes to this literature on the nature of adjudication through the resuscitation of a structuralist mode of legal interpretation. In the structuralist view, the distinction between adjudication and legislation has little to do with so-called neutral law application and political lawmaking. At the same time, and perhaps surprisingly, structuralists do not assume that adjudication is wholly subjective either. Rather, structuralists view judicial practice as at once constrained and discretionary, emerging only in the navigation of the syntactic and tropological structures of legal language. The judge is certainly free to speak the law in myriad ways, but just as critically, the particularly legal forms in which the judge may speak are always limited by the language of law itself. In order to demonstrate this structuralist mode of legal interpretation, I apply it to an emerging and hotly debated field of law known as the law of killing. Within international law's rules regulating the use of force, the law of killing is most commonly associated with the legality of drone strikes in the context of the U.S. Administration's ongoing fight with al Qaeda and "associated forces." Structuralism does not help us figure out whether drone strikes in any given instance are legal. But it does help us understand the patterns of legal reasoning that assist in giving certain strikes a gloss of legal necessity, as well as those patterns that do not.


A pilot study was conducted with the lowest performing sixth grade students in two classes in an urban environment. The nine students participating in this pilot study had been performing below grade level for at least two years despite the provision of supplemental services. With direct instruction, slower pace of instruction, mnemonics, math charts, manipulatives, and metacognitive strategies, gains were noted in the students' performance. Pretest and posttest measure were administered and the results revealed modest gains in calculations and basic fraction knowledge with significant improvement noted with math fluency. The strategies used are known to both general and special educators and the reminder of the impact that relatively simple strategy instruction can have on students' overall performance in inclusive environments can be of value to both teachers and students. Mathematical disabilities in elementary school children


The paper presents the abstraction of process relevant information in order to enable the workflow management based on semantic data. It is shown for three examples, how the standards define the information needed to perform a certain planning activity. Abstraction of process relevant information is discussed for different granularities of the underlying process-model. As one possible application ProMiSE is introduced, which uses process relevant data in individual tokens in a petri-net based process-model.


The phase of a signal at a plane is reconstructed from the intensity profiles at two close parallel screens connected by a small abcd canonical transform; this applies to propagation along harmonic and repulsive fibers and in free media. We analyze the relationship between the local spatial frequency (the signal phase derivative) and the derivative of the squared modulus of the signal under a one-parameter canonical transform with respect to the parameter. We thus generalize to all linear systems the results that have been obtained separately for Fresnel and fractional Fourier transforms.


The derivation and long-term maintenance of human embryonic stem cells (hESCs) has been established in culture formats that are both dependent and independent of support (feeder) cells. However, the factors responsible for preserving the viability of hESCs in a nascent state remain unknown. We describe a mass spectrometry-based method for probing the secretome of the hESC culture microenvironment to identify potential regulating protein factors that are in low abundance. Individual samples were analyzed several times, using successive mass (m/z) and retention time-directed exclusion, without sampling the same peptide ion twice. This iterative exclusion -mass spectrometry (IE-MS) approach more than doubled protein and peptide metrics in comparison to a simple repeat analysis method on the same instrument, even after extensive sample pre-fractionation. Furthermore, implementation of the IE-MS approach was shown to enhance the performance of an older quadrupole time of flight (Q-ToF) MS. The resulting number of identified peptides approached that of a parallel repeat analysis on a newer LTQ-Orbitrap MS. The combination of the results of both instruments proved to be superior to that achieved by a single instrument in the identification of additional proteins. Using the IE-MS strategy, combined with complementary gel- and solution-based fractionation methods, the hESC culture microenvironment was extensively probed. Over 10 to 12 times more extracellular proteins were observed compared with previously published surveys. The detection of previously undetectable growth factors, present at concentrations ranging from 10−9 to 10−11 g/ml, highlights the depth of our profiling. The IE-MS approach provides a simple and reliable technique that greatly enhances instrument performance by increasing the effective depth of MS-based proteomic profiling. This approach should be widely applicable to any LC-MS/MS instrument platform or biological system.


Over the past decade, medical simulation has evolved into an essential component of pediatric resuscitation education and team training. Evidence to support its value as an adjunct to traditional methods of education is expanding; however, large multicenter studies are very rare. Simulation-based researchers currently face many challenges related to small sample sizes, poor generalizability, and paucity of clinically proven and relevant outcome measures. The Examining Pediatric Resuscitation Education Using Simulation and Scripting (EXPRESS) pediatric simulation research collaborative was formed in an attempt to directly address and overcome these challenges. The primary mission of the EXPRESS collaborative is to improve the delivery of medical care to critically ill children by answering important research questions pertaining to pediatric resuscitation and education and is focused on using simulation either as a key intervention of interest or as the outcome measurement tool. Going forward, the collaborative aims to expand its membership internationally and collectively identify pediatric resuscitation and simulation-based research priorities and use these to guide future projects. Ultimately, we hope that with innovative and high-quality research, the EXPRESS pediatric simulation research collaborative will help to build momentum for simulation-based research on an international level.


Background: Maternal febrile illness is often linked with undesirable adverse consequences of pregnancy and of fetal development. Objective: The objective of this study was to assess the prevalence of malaria parasitemia and anemia among pregnant women who gave a self-report of febrile illness within 48 hours of presentation at antenatal clinics in semi-urban Lagoon communities in Lagos, Southwest Nigeria where malaria preventive strategies have been carried out. Subjects and methods: A total of 113 pregnant women receiving antenatal care at two secondary-level health facilities in Ikorodu Local Government Area of Lagos State, were recruited into this crosssectional. Relevant information such as age, gravidity, trimester of pregnancy, febrile illness within the past 48 hours and use of malaria commodities were extracted from them. Laboratory analysis was conducted for anemia and malaria parasitemia. Results: In all, 32 (28.3%), 32 (28.3%) and 49 (43.4%) of the study subjects were pregnant for the first time, second time and many times respectively. The overall means (± sd) of age (years) and of PCV (%) were 29.9 (5.8) and 30.0 (6.3) respectively while the mean age of those in 1st 2nd and >2 pregnancies were 26.8 (5.2), 27.3 (3.7) and 33.7 (5.1) years respectively. Also, 38 (33.6%) of the 113 study subjects gave a self-report of febrile illness (SERFI) 48 hours prior to presentation at Antenatal clinic. Laboratory investigation showed that 22 (19.5%) of the study subjects were malaria parasite positive, whose mean Packed Cell Volume (26.8 ± 6.6%) was significantly lower (t=2.64, P-value=0.007) than that of the 91 (80.5%) without malaria parasitemia (30.8 ± 6.0%). The mean (± sd) PCV% of the 38 pregnant women who gave a SERFI (28.4 ± 5.2) was significantly lower (t=-2.13, P-value=0.018) than that of the 75 (66.4%) who did not (30.9 ± 6.6). Women in their first pregnancy were over 2½ times as likely to present with febrile illness than those in their second or more pregnancies (χ²=5.36, Pvalue= 0.02, OR=2.65, 995% CI: 1.15, 6.27). In all 36.8%, 27.8% and 40.0% of those in 1st, 2nd and 3rd trimester presented with febrile illness. Very few of the study subjects slept under Long-lasting Insecticide-treated nets (LLINs) night before the survey or used Sulphadoxine-pyrimethamine (SP) for Intermittent Preventive Treatment of malaria in pregnancy (IPTpp). Conclusion: The prevalence of malaria and anemia among those who gave SERFI in pregnancy was moderately high in Ikorodu Local Government Area of Lagos State, Nigeria. More penetrating stronger health education should be given to pregnant women to report within 24-48 hours of any febrile illness in pregnancy. Efforts should also be intensified to identify cause(s) of maternal febrile illness to reduce maternal and neonatal morbidity and mortality in semi-urban settings of Lagos State specifically and throughout Nigeria in general.


A weighted constraint satisfaction problem (WCSP) is a constraint satisfaction problem in which preferences among solutions can be expressed. Bucket elimination is a complete technique commonly used to solve this kind of constraint satisfaction problem. When the memory required to apply bucket elimination is too high, a heuristic method based on it (denominated mini-buckets) can be used to calculate bounds for the optimal solution. Nevertheless, the curse of dimensionality makes these techniques impractical on large scale problems. In response to this situation, we present a memetic algorithm for WCSPs in which bucket elimination is used as a mechanism for recombining solutions, providing the best possible child from the parental set. Subsequently, a multi-level model in which this exact/metaheuristic hybrid is further hybridized with branch-and-bound techniques and mini-buckets is studied. As a case study, we have applied these algorithms to the resolution of the maximum density still life problem, a hard constraint optimization problem based on Conway's game of life. The resulting algorithm consistently finds optimal patterns for up to date solved instances in less time than current approaches. Moreover, it is shown that this proposal provides new best known solutions for very large instances.


This experiment was conducted to study the chronological relationships between estrus onset, time of LH surge and ovulation time in does synchronized with chronogest or CIDR. Forty six desert goats were divided into 2 groups (A, and B). Induction of oestrous was carried out using intravaginal sponges impregnated with 40 mg fluorgestone and CIDR for group A and B respectively. At time of sponge or CIDR removal, the animals were injected with 300IU eCG. There was no significant difference in the estrus onset, estrous duration, ovulation time and time of LH surge in does synchronized with either chronogest or CIDR. Ovulation was detected 54 hours post sponges or CIDR removal. LH surge occurred 28 hours post removal of sponge or CIDR. No significant difference was detected with regard to the time taken from oestrus onset to ovulation time (25.4 and 23.5 hours respectively). Also, there was no significant difference in the time taken from LH surge to ovulation time in does synchronized with chronogest and CIDR (25.6 and 25.3 hours) respectively. In conclusion, findings observed pertaining to estrous onset, time of ovulation and the time of onset of the LH peak could be of value in timing AI or mating for maximum conception in goat breeding programs when CIDR or sponges were used with 300IU eCG.


An important new stream of organizational research has emerged in recent years that draws on the notion of mindfulness. At the same time, there is a long-standing body of work in the organizations literature that emphasizes the role of routine-driven, or less-mindful, behavior. We attempt to connect these two seemingly disparate literatures arguing that, at a performative level, important elements of less-mindful processes are necessary elements underlying mindfulness. In particular, we note the role of established action repertories that facilitate the response to novel stimuli and how routines and established role structures enable mindfulness to be sustained across time and the span of the organization. Similarly, we note important elements of mindfulness that underlie less-mindful behavior, highlighting in particular the role of mindfulness in interpreting one's context so as to identify what constitutes appropriate action in a given circumstance and in interpreting outcomes that form the basis for processes of reinforcement learning. Although we emphasize the complementarity between the two perspectives, we also note points of tension regarding the opportunity costs of mindfulness and the theories' implied normative claims.


Recent achievements in the area of integrated quantum optics and quantum information processing have shown impressive progress for the implementation of linear circuits based on monolithic waveguide structures. However, most experiments are based on χ(3)-media, such as glas, silicon-on insulator or silica-on-silicon. In these platforms the implementation of highly efficient sources, frequency converters and fast active phase shifters and modulators pose severe challenges. The use of advanced waveguides structures, which harness a χ(2)-non-linearity, allows for the realization various devices with multiple functionalities. These include single- and multi-channel sources with extraordinary brightness, quantum frequency conversion with tailored spectral-temporal properties, and complex circuitries comprising degenerate pair generation in orthogonal polarization, linear elements, and active elements such as polarization rotators or an electro-optically controllable time delay. Here we present our latest progress for the implementation of integrated devices based on χ(2)-media for quantum circuits and quantum communication systems.


15-Lipoxygenase (15-LOX) is one of the key enzymes responsible for the formation of oxidized low-density lipoprotein (ox-LDL), a major causal factor for atherosclerosis. Both enzymatic (15-LOX) and non-enzymatic (Cu(2+)) mechanisms have been proposed for the production of ox-LDL. We have recently reported that cannabidiol-2',6'-dimethyl ether (CBDD) is a selective and potent inhibitor of 15-LOX-catalyzed linoleic acid oxygenation (Takeda et al., Drug Metab. Dispos., 37, 1733-1737 (2009)). In the LDL, linoleic acid is present as cholesteryl linoleate, the major fatty acid esterified to cholesterol, and is susceptible to oxidative modification by 15-LOX or Cu(2+). In this investigation, we examined the efficacy of CBDD on i) 15-LOX-catalyzed oxygenation of cholesteryl linoleate, and ii) ox-LDL formation catalyzed by 15-LOX versus Cu(2+)-mediated non-enzymatic generation of this important mediator. The results obtained demonstrate that CBDD is a potent and selective inhibitor of ox-LDL formation generated by the 15-LOX pathway. These studies establish CBDD as both an important experimental tool for characterizing 15-LOX-mediated ox-LDL formation, and as a potentially useful therapeutic agent for treatment of atherosclerosis.


Due to the fact that most business considered only product delivery to customer in their supply chain, follow-on logistics support often run short. It often occurs that the supply chain needs to be reconstructed or repaired when products are no longer manufactured. Military components or systems, in particular, will encounter the problem of Diminishing Manufacturing Source and Material Shortage (DMSMS) so that it needs supply chain management repair actions during its deployment phase. Due to DMSMS problems, the availability of parts is affected and the operation and support cost of electronic systems are increased. This study uses the cross-related attribute of concurrent engineering to collect and analyze maintenance data system of the customer's operational data. The concurrent engineering (CE) technique is integrated with DMSMS problems and thus results in increased efficiency of the production and the improvement of product quality. This paper discusses investigation architecture of DMSMS problem and an impact analysis of a fighter electronics system for the span of its product life cycle. It is hoped that this technique can provide a reference for management and decision making of managers when new products enter the market that they not only meet customer requirement, but also enhance company competitiveness.


Objective: To define the clinical and angiographic follow-up results after implantation of paclitaxel-eluting stents (PESs) in stenotic saphenous vein grafts (SVGs). Design: Prospective multicentre study. Comparison with a control group. Methods: 60 consecutive patients with 65 lesions located in 65 SVGs (mean (SD) age of vein grafts 11.3 (5.7) years) treated with PES (V-Flex Plus, 2.7 μg/mm2 paclitaxel, Cook) and 60 patients with 60 SVG lesions treated with bare metal stent (BMS) were included. Lesions had to be <20 mm in length and in grafts of 2.75–3.5 mm diameter. The 6 month angiographic follow-up was obtained on 51 lesions (79%) of the PES group and on 51 lesions (85%) of the BMS group. Results: Baseline clinical and angiographic characteristics were comparable between both groups. At angiographic follow-up, three vein grafts in the PES group and five vein grafts in the BMS group were occluded. In-stent late lumen loss was lower in PES than in BMS (0.61 (0.81) vs 1.06 (0.72) mm, respectively; p = 0.021). In-stent binary restenosis rates were 12% vs 33%, respectively, (p = 0.012). Linear regression analysis showed BMS to be the only factor with an effect on late lumen loss (p = 0.011). Target-vessel failure rates were 18% in the PES group and 41% in the BMS group (p = 0.019), whereas major adverse cardiac event (MACE) rates at 180 days were 15% and 37%, respectively (p = 0.014). Conclusions: Implantation of non-polymer-based PES in SVG lesions is associated with a lower late lumen loss and restenosis rate than those of BMS. There remains a substantial target-vessel failure rate and MACE rate even at 6 months owing to graft occlusion or new lesions in the graft.


The main objective of this research was to investigate the effect of the treated and composed solid sludge from waste water treatment stations on the yield and quality of tobacco. Quality characteristics of the sludge were analyzed, as well as its impact on improving the soil properties as unrivaled environment in agricultural production. Field experiments were set for three consecutive years (2011-2013), in two locations with four variants as follows: variant without fertilization (control), fertilized variants with 10 t/ha, 20 t/ha and 30 t/ha. According to analysis of the sludge it was found that it contains a high percentage of organic matter (>20%) as a good basis for improving lean and poor in organic matter agricultural soils. After three years of the field experiment it can be concluded that sludge has a positive impact on soil quality characteristics. It slightly increases the content of humus and pH of soil, and maintains the content of available phosphorus and potassium. The yield of tobacco was increased so thus the average price and the revenue from the unit area. Usage of the sludge does not deteriorate the quality properties of the produced raw tobacco.


Brilliant and innovative, Jacques Lacan's work lies at the epicenter of modern thought about otherness, subjectivity, sexual difference, the drives, the law, and enjoyment. This new translation of his complete works offers welcome, readable access to Lacan's seminal thinking on diverse subjects touched upon over the course of his inimitable intellectual career.


We derive a set of new unidirectional evolution equations for photonic nanowires, i.e. waveguides with sub-wavelength core diameter. Contrary to previous approaches, our formulation simultaneously takes into account both the vector nature of the electromagnetic field and the full variations of the effective modal profiles with wavelength. This leads to the discovery of new, previously unexplored nonlinear effects which have the potential to affect soliton propagation considerably. We specialize our theoretical considerations to the case of perfectly circular silica strands in air, and we support our analysis with detailed numerical simulations.


The purpose of this article is to demonstrate that, as part of its mission, sustainability science can change the way planners engage with urban problems on three points: First, that effective standard planning is an illusion, and the crucial task for urban planners should be considering—on a place-based rationale—the long-term consequences of decisions, policies and, technology change. Second,how it is necessary to develop collaborative planning and co-production of knowledge. Third, to build effective actions on the basis of collaborative planning, it is crucial to take first into account how the population and the institutions respond to and resist change. Conversely, this paper shows that urban planning is also a breeding ground for consolidating the theoretical framework of sustainability science, considering that cities can be seen as paragons of both socio-ecological systems and complex adaptive systems—a position that is discussed throughout the article. Bringing sustainability science and urban planning in closer dialogue with each other, to exploit their potential synergies, has not been done sufficiently: It is an important gap in the academic literature that this article aims at filling.


Run-up on a truncated impermeable beach is analysed theoretically and experimentally to find the volume of fluid, associated with a single wave event, that flows over the end of the beach. The theoretical calculations investigate the motion using the shallow-water equations and the fluid is allowed to flow freely over the end of the beach. Two models of wave events are considered: dam-break initial conditions, in which fluid collapses from rest to run-up and overtop the beach, and a waveform that models swash associated with the collapse of a long solitary bore. The calculations are made using quasi-analytical techniques, following the hodograph transformation of the governing equations. They yield predictions for the volume of fluid per unit width that overtops the beach, primarily as a function of the dimensionless length of the beach. These predictions are often far in excess of previous theoretical calculations. New experimental results are also reported in which the overtopping volumes due to flows initiated from dam-break conditions are studied for a range of reservoir lengths and heights and for a range of lengths and inclinations of the beach. Without the need for any empirically fitted parameters, good agreement is found between the experimental measurements and the theoretical predictions in regimes for which the effects of drag are negligible.


The objective of the current study was to investigate the effects of whey protein coating on the quality of common Kilka during frozen storage. For this study, common Kilka was coated with 20% whey protein concentration. Non- coated Kilka also was used as a control. Coated and non-coated samples were then stored at -18 °C for six months. Bacterial, chemical and sensory properties of the samples were determined in each month. Results showed that Coliform, Escherichia coli and Pseudomonas bacteria contaminations were negative until the end of storage period in the covered samples. Total bacterial counts and Staphylococcus bacteria count were lower in the test samples compared with the control samples. Humidity, protein, lipid, ash and calorie contents were higher in test samples as compared with the control samples, while peroxide value, free fatty acids, thiobarbitoric acid, TVN and pH were lower in test samples. Taste, odor, color, tissue and overall acceptability were studied in the test and control samples. These specifications had a better quality in test samples compared with the control ones. These factors showed a significant difference in the uncoated samples (control) (p<0.05). Significant decrease was observed in bacterial counts in the covered and control samples. According to the statistical analysis in sensory specifications, there was a significant difference between the covered samples and the control ones (p<0.05). According to the results of experiments and statistical analysis, the covered samples had a favorable quality until the end of storage period but the control samples had lost their quality after three months.


The demands for ubiquitous connectivity and high data rates have led to a proliferation of mobile devices such as smartphones, media tablets and netbooks. These devices, equipped with powerful communication and storage resources, are carried by humans during their daily activities and, thus, possess a high potential for opportunistic networking. In this networking mode, encounters between users define the "topology" of the network and can be exploited for content sharing. A large portion of user encounters occur in densely populated public urban areas such as city squares, subway stations, shopping malls, etc. In this paper, we propose an analytic model to study content dissemination characteristics inside smaller areas where the mobility of nodes does not affect their connectivity. Subsequently, we argue that this model is suitable for modeling larger areas as interconnections of these basic blocks.


Proposals to create a national health care plan such as "Medicare for All" rely heavily on reducing the prices that insurers pay for health care. These changes affect physicians' short-run incentives for care provision and may also change health care providers' incentives to invest in capacity, thereby influencing the availability of care in the long term. We provide evidence on these responses using a major Medicare payment change combined with survey data on physicians' time use. We find evidence that physicians increase their time spent on capacity building when remuneration increases, and that they are subsequently more willing to accept new patients—especially those who may be the residual claimants on marginal capacity. These forces imply that short-run supply curves likely differ from long-run supply curves. Policymakers need to account for how major changes to payment incentives would influence the investments that determine health system capacity.


High power neutral beam injector has been developed with the atom energy of 25 keV, a current of 60 A, and several milliseconds pulse duration. Six of these injectors will be used for upgrade of the atomic injection system at central cell of a Gas Dynamic Trap (GDT) device and 2 injectors are planned for SHIP experiment. The injector ion source is based on an arcdischarge plasma box. The plasma emitter is produced by a 1 kA arc discharge in hydrogen. A multipole magnetic field produced with permanent magnets at the periphery of the plasma box is used to increase its efficiency and improve homogeneity of the plasma emitter. The ion beam is extracted by a 4-electrodes ion optical system (IOS). Initial beam diameter is 200 mm. The grids of the IOS have a spherical curvature for geometrical focusing of the beam. The optimal IOS geometry and grid potentials were found with the numerical simulation to provide precise beam formation. The measured angular divergence of the beam is 0.02 rad, which corresponds to the 2.5 cm Gaussian radius of the beam profile measured at focal point.


The tested hypothesis was that features on polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) surfaces coated with a poly(N-isopropylacrylamide)/aminopropyltriethoxysilane or pNIPAAM/APTES thin film would accelerate cell detachment than the film coated on a unfeatured surface. This project tested samples with features generated by molds, wrinkling, and sandpaper roughened substrates. Surface feature generation methods were limited to mechanical means, and characterized by microscopy and strain rates. 50/50 mixtures of 1.5 wt.% pNIPAAM/ APTES were used to coat thin films (30-40 nm) on PDMS membranes by spin-coating, and the coated membranes were thermally annealed to chemically graft pNIPAAm/APTES on the membrane and their thermoresponsive property was assessed by water contact angle at a temperature above and below the transition temperature of pNIPAAm (i.e., 32°C). The contact angle was found to be 47.7° at 25°C and 95° at 40°C, illustrating the thermo-responsivity was achieved. . They were then seeded with human mesenchymal stem cells and incubated at 37 °C until cells reached confluence, after which, they were cooled to room temperature to allow cell detachment. The fastest detachment results came from surfaces wrinkled using a 1-dimensional strain of 0.5, with wavelengths and depth of features at the micron scale. On these surface, the first group of cells detached in 12 min , and all cells detached in 22 min, as compared to 14 min and 44 min for pNIPAAm/APTES on featureless membrane. The featured membranes were shown to significantly improve cell detachment, by allowing water to flow through channels, created by wrinkling, below the cells to accelerate pNIPAAm film hydration, hence speeding up cell detachment.


This study offers new insights into the complex and underexplored nature of reported threats. Combining the theoretical framework of speech act analysis with the concept of reported speech, the study finds six categories of reported threats, uncovering ones that have been overlooked by existing scholarship thus far. The texts presented are derived from audio-recordings of 847 interviews carried out in four Central American countries: El Salvador, Honduras, Guatemala, and Panama between 2010 and 2014. References to threats and threat narratives came from school teachers, community leaders, police officers, clergy, and members of municipal violence prevention committees. The interpretation of indirect and implicit threats are made in the social context of communities under siege, that is, under constant attack by local gangs, many of whom are connected to national gangs and international narcotrafficking cartels. The credibility of the different types of threats is evaluated, using Goffman's (1981) insight into the complexity of speaker roles in face-to-face interaction.


In this paper, we present a method to make personalized recommendations when user preferences change over time. Most of the works in the recommender systems literature have been developed under the assumption that user preference has a static pattern. However, this is a strong assumption especially when the user is observed over a long period of time. With the help of a data set on employees' blog reading behavior, we show that users' product selection behaviors change over time. We propose a hidden Markov model to correctly interpret the users' product selection behaviors and make personalized recommendations. The user preference is modeled as a hidden Markov sequence. A variable number of product selections of different types by each user in each time period requires a novel observation model. We propose a negative binomial mixture of multinomial to model such observations. This allows us to identify stable global preferences of users and to track individual users through these preferences. We evaluate our model using three real-world data sets with different characteristics. They include data on employee blog reading behavior inside a firm, users' movie rating behavior at Netflix, and users' music listening behavior collected through last.fm. We compare the recommendation performance of the proposed model with that of a number of collaborative filtering algorithms and a recently proposed temporal link prediction algorithm. We find that the proposed HMM-based collaborative filter performs as well as the best among the alternative algorithms when the data is sparse or static. However, it outperforms the existing algorithms when the data is less sparse and the user preference is changing. We further examine the performances of the algorithms using simulated data with different characteristics and highlight the scenarios where it is beneficial to use a dynamic model to generate product recommendation.


This article summarizes the panel discussion at Americas Conference on Information Systems (AMCIS) 2012 on the social media environment around the world, particularly the United States, South Korea, and China. The panelists discussed the current status of social networking and social media in the aforementioned countries. The first section begins with United States, with social networking pertaining to the population at large, the use of social networks in the business environment, and observed overuse and addictive behavior of wireless mobile devices (WMD) among users. The second section covers South Korea, with the discussion addressing social networking sites (SNS) and its history; the collectivism of Asian culture and how it affects users' behavior toward SNS; current trends, which include privacy concerns; and the future direction of SNS in Korea. Finally, in China, social media is further explored in the business models of SNS providers, followed by the customer base comparison between the United States and China.


Abstract Introduction: Over-triage of patients by emergency medical services (EMS) dispatch is thought to be an acceptable alternative to under-triage, which may delay how quickly life-saving care reaches a patient. Previous studies have looked at advanced life support (ALS) misutilization in urban- and county-based EMS systems and have attempted to analyze how dispatch methods either contribute to or alleviate this problem.1–5 Objective: The purpose of this study is to assess the relationship between dispatches of a cardiac nature in a Medical Priority Dispatch (MPD) system, and the actual clinical diagnosis as determined by an emergency department physician. Methods: Calls for emergency medical assistance in a suburban community outside of a major metropolitan area were surveyed over a three-month period. Medical Priority Dispatch protocols determined that 104 of these calls were cardiac-related. Of these emergency calls, 56 (53.8%) patients were transported to the local community hospital and treated by the emergency physician. A retrospective review of the medical records was conducted to determine whether the patient had a cardiac-related discharge diagnosis from the emergency department. Results: Sixteen (28.6%) of the patients in this cohort were diagnosed with a cardiac-related condition upon discharge from the emergency department. Forty (71.4%) were diagnosed with a non-cardiac-related condition. The positive, predictive value of the dispatch protocol for the detection of an actual cardiac emergency in this EMS system was 28.6%. Conclusion: In this suburban community, the MPD system may over-triage emergency medical responses to cardiac emergencies. This can result in the only ALS (paramedic) unit in the community being unavailable in certain situations. Future studies should be conducted to determine what level (in any) of over-triage is appropriate in EMS systems using a MPD system.


Objective of this paper is to reduce the error in the estimation of the position of the robot. The localization of robot is a critical aspect in making them completely autonomous. Hence accuracy in estimating the position of the robot is of paramount importance. In order to make decisions without direct manual instructions the robot has to be aware of its position in the environment along with the situation at hand. For this effect the robots are built with sensors specifically designed to suit the need of the environment to gain feedback from the surrounding thereby obtaining data about its placement and the conditions around it. It is here that the problem of accuracy arises as there are uncertainties in both the feedback system as well as controlling system of the robot. To make a logical decision, the errors have to be minimized by optimally combining the data received from all the sources. The estimation theory provides us with a solution in the form of Kalman filter algorithm. It is an adaptive filter that combines uncertain data to obtain valid values of output required. It is seen that as SNR increases MSE in the position of the robot decreases thus accuracy increases. In this paper we concentrate on the issue of robot localization in closed space whose dimensions are previously known. We model the localization process as a linear phenomenon, as Kalman filter algorithm can only be used for linear systems. Using MATLAB Simulink we simulate our model to verify the concepts and validate the use of this filter in accurately determining the position of robot.


A description is given of the Titan Graphics Supercomputer. The primary design philosophy was to have as little redundant hardware as possible and to make as much of the hardware available to compiled application code as possible. This led to a design with multiple parallel processors, each with an integer unit and a vector floating-point unit. The system provides 3D graphics and image processing, using the main processors for most computations. The graphics subsystem consists of only a frame buffer with rasterization (vector and triangle pixel drawing) support. The Titan architecture provides a very good balance of computation and graphics but to make it more competitive in graphics or imaging-intensive applications, a special-purpose accelerator also fits into the architecture.<<ETX>>


ijur_1018 932..948 Previous research into local participation (often based on in-depth studies of the most successful examples of the phenomenon) has highlighted its qualities and potential. In this article we adopt a different strategy, in the first part building an explanatory analysis of the procedural qualities of local participation based on a mapping of local processes. This mapping — comprising 103 experiences drawn from Catalonia (Spain) — allows us to make a more accurate assessment, and to get a more plural and diverse (albeit less optimistic) picture of this reality. The second part of the article suggests a multidimensional strategy to capture some of the important democratic qualities of local participation, and discusses the role that several factors play in the explanation of these qualities. We pay special attention to the ideology of political parties in the development of participatory processes, the role of external support from supra-local institutions, and the role of civil society (which emerges as the most crucial explanatory factor) in the promotion of these experiences.


Selected papers from the proceedings of the Geo-Hubei 2014 International Conference on Sustainable Civil Infrastructure, held in Yichang, Hubei, China, July 20-22, 2014. Sponsored by the China Three Gorges University, the Committee on Sustainability of ASCE, and the Geo-Institute of ASCE.


The main purpose of this study was to identify strategies used by
Indonesian elite badminton players to cope with stressful situations they had
experienced as elite athletes. Participants were 16 current Indonesian elite
badminton players who had experienced playing in the Olympic Games. Each
participant was interviewed using an in-depth, open-ended interview technique
that inquired about stressors experienced, ways of coping, and their effectiveness.
The interviews were conducted in Indonesian language, tape recorded,
transcribed verbatim, and the Indonesian transcripts were translated into English
by two bilinguals naive to the purpose of the study. The English transcripts were
treated as the main data for analysis. An inductive content analysis technique was
used to develop stress source and coping strategy general dimensions. Seven
stress sources and 14 coping strategy general dimensions were identified. The
seven stressor dimensions, in order from most to least cited by the players, were:
precompetition stressors, competition stressors, psychological demands of being
an elite shuttler, social relationship problems, illness and injury concerns, failure
issues, and personal life concerns. These findings provided further evidence that
there is a range of stressor dimensions into which a wide variety of specific
stressful situations fit, and that each individual perceived a different pattern of
stressors. Results also revealed that the players used a range of strategies to cope
with different stressors. Fourteen coping strategy general dimensions were
developed from the players' interviews, including: social support and
relationships; positive thinking and orientation; training hard, preparing, and playing smart; personal mental strategies; rational thinking and self-talk; leisure
activities; determining solutions to problems; personal physical fitness strategies;
detachment; reactive behaviours; religious orientation; isolation; inability to cope;
and preparing for the future. The results also indicated that one strategy might used for coping with different stressors with different effectiveness, and to cope
with one stressor, a player might also use more than one strategy simultaneously.
Although stressor and coping strategy dimensions revealed in this study were
mostly parallel with previous Western research, several differences across culture
were also found. Moreover, gender, specialty of play, and levels of experience, in
some degree differentiated the usefulness and the effectiveness of coping
strategies used by the Indonesian elite badminton players. The research reported
in this thesis also demonstrated that an open-ended interview technique can be
used effectively with Indonesian elite badminton players. In identifying a high
degree of similarity between the stress experienced and the coping strategies used
by Indonesian elite athletes and those from Western backgrounds, along with
some noteworthy differences, this thesis is encouraging for further research on
stress and coping in elite sport in Asian cultures. It has also provided valuable
information for practitioners whose aim is to help athletes cope effectively with
the stress of being involved in elite sport.


OBJECTIVES
To assess post-traumatic stress symptoms (PTSSs) in young adult survivors of childhood cancer not receiving survivorship care and to determine whether attending a survivorship-focused healthcare visit was associated with changes in PTSSs.

SAMPLE & SETTING
44 young adult survivors from the Yale Cancer Center in Connecticut without prior survivorship clinic attendance.

METHODS & VARIABLES
As part of a larger trial, participants were randomized to a model of survivorship-focused health care. The University of California at Los Angeles Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) Reaction Index assessed PTSS severity and frequency before and after the visit.

RESULTS
At baseline, almost half of the participants were classified as partial PTSD likely or PTSD likely. Many met criteria for elevated levels of individual symptoms, particularly avoidance or numbing. At follow-up, PTSSs did not differ significantly from baseline.

IMPLICATIONS FOR NURSING
Survivorship care should be encouraged by nurses in healthcare settings that do not specialize in caring for long-term survivors. Nurses should facilitate screening for PTSSs and promote interventions among survivors completing cancer therapy to help them transition to survivorship care.


We develop a framework for understanding how legal structures relate to imprisonment. We hypothesize that relatively more hierarchy within criminal justice institutions, compared to commercial law, fosters higher rates of incarceration. Our framework predicts that incarceration reflects asymmetric opportunities for rent seeking across differently organized legal institutions. Instead of comparing criminal justice institutions across nations in absolute terms, we investigate the relative degrees of institutional centralization across legal spheres. To provide support, we document the separate historical experiences that shaped divergent organizations across England and France. Within each country, criminal legal institutions developed inverse organizational traits from commercial legal processes. As a result, the contrasting organizations created asymmetric opportunities for rent seeking. Divergent contemporary outcomes can be understood by recognizing these initial organizational choices, the relative opportunities they created, and their subsequent path dependencies. We document contemporary England, France, and the United States' incarceration trends and penal outcomes to provide empirical support.


Robust Portfolio Modeling (RPM) Theory is a decision-support methodology to analyze multiple criteria project portfolio problems. Liesioa et al [17] generalized RPM based on the appendix information, and studied the characteristics of non-inferior solution sets, but they did not compare the portfolio of each other in this non-inferior solution sets, and could not offer a precise decision. This paper considers this question, and gives a positive answer. The results posed in this paper can be regarded as a natural generalization of the work [17].


We use an island specific presence/absence data set for the Canary Islands' Arthropoda, Spermatophyta, Fungi, Lichenes, Bryophyta, Mollusca, Chordata, Pteridophyta, Annelida and Nematoda to assess the relative influence of environmental and historical factors on species distribution and endemism. Species richness and the percentage of island endemic species as well as similarity indices for island comparisons were calculated for all species groups. Hierarchical partitioning is used to identify the independent and joined influence of 21 environmental and historical variables. The pattern of species richness is best explained by island elevation. Elevation reflects a variety of factors that contribute to habitat diversity. A similar pattern is detected for the "percentage of single island endemics" (pSIE), a factor associated with speciation. Variables associated with geographical distance have highest explanatory power for biotical similarity of islands. Various Canary Islands species groups show strong distance-decay within the archipelago. According to our findings, speciation is not necessarily driven by species richness or island age alone. Thus, we conclude that correlations between species richness and pSIE, identified in previous studies, could represent an artefact related to differing degrees of isolation between zonal altitudinal ecosystems. This would lead to an increase of speciation with altitude resulting in higher values for pSIE on high altitude islands.


New Zealand's logging industry is one of the country's largest exporting industries. With increased global competition and demands, work environments like the logging industry are finding that problems such as accidents and turnover rates are intensifying. Much research has been completed on accident and turnover rates, yet no decrease is apparent. New approaches in identifying reasons for such problems are therefore necessary. Gaining knowledge of the rationale for high turnover and accident rates (adverse activities) within the logging industry included investigating the general PC, group and organisational climate, safety climate, organisational commitment and intentions to quit (job behaviours/perceptions )of logging industry members. Field and Abelson's ( 1982) model asserts that PC can affect job behaviours/perceptions and adverse activities. Their 'new evolution' model of climate also argues that aggregation of psychological climate (PC) perceptions to gain evidence of group and organisational climate is possible if there is consensus in PC perceptions within groups and across organisations. Respondents were a heterogeneous group of contractors (n=6) and crew members (n=67) drawn from a list of Corporate and Woodlot crews provided by Carter Holt Harvey Limited and Fletcher Challenge Limited. The relationships between demographic variables and PC were examined using analysis of variance (ANOVA). ANOVA's and Pearson r's correlations were also performed to analyse potential relationships between all the variables to determine effects on the adverse activities of the logging industry. The psychological climate, safety climate, organisational commitment, and intentions to turnover variables were found to be rather negative in direction. Aggregation of PC to group level climate proved unfruitful because of the lack of consensus within crews. However, organisational climate was evident across the logging industry. Some PC variables were found to be significantly related to safety climate variables, organisational commitment variables, and intention to quit variables. The contractors perceptions of the PC variables role ambiguity and workgroup fiiendliness and warmth were significantly related to crewmember turnover rates. Moreover, the contractors perceptions of the safety climate variable fatalism were significantly related to crewmember accident rates. The research limitations and implications were discussed along with recommendations for future research.


ABSTRACT Our purpose was to use group and single-case methods to examine inter-individual variability in the context of factors related to landing injuries. We tested the load accommodation strategies model (An exploration of load accommodation strategies during walking with extremity-carried weights. Human Movement Science, 35, 17–29) using landing impulse, revealing pre-landing strategies following height and external load manipulations. Ten healthy volunteers (8 male, 2 female, 24.0 ± 1.4 years, 1.72 ± 0.06 m, 73.5 ± 8.7 kg) were analysed across 12 trials in each of three load conditions (100% body weight [BW], 110% BW, 120% BW) from two landing heights (30 cm, 60 cm). Landing impulse (BW ∙ s) was computed for each participant-condition-trial, using impulse ratios (unit-less; BW ∙ s/BW ∙ s) to evaluate load accommodation strategies between adjacent load conditions (110%/100%, 120%/110%) at each landing height. Load accommodation strategy classifications were based on 95% confidence intervals (CIs) containing mechanically predicted impulse ratios (1.10 and 1.09 for 110/100% BW and 120/110% BW, respectively; α = 0.05). Mean group impulse ratios matched and exceeded predicted impulse ratios. Single-case analyses revealed a range of individual landing strategies that might be overlooked during group analyses, possibly uncovering individuals at greater risk of injury during landing activities.


Abstract This paper uses both a demographic model and a regional overlapping generations model calibrated on Canadian data to evaluate the potential economic-welfare and intergenerational equity implications of increasing the number of immigrants on national and regional labour markets, real per-capita income and wages. The simulations are performed according to alternative scenarios of regional residential location decision of immigrants in Canada. Among the key findings, the simulations indicate that increasing the number of immigrants to achievable targets may ease to a certain extent the anticipated decline in national savings and real per-capita income in the long run and partly accommodate future young generations. However, these benefits will take several decades to materialize. They also suggest that immigrant's regional location decisions may have important consequences on regional labour markets and regional income disparity in the future. Introduction The population in Canada and other industrialised countries is ageing and consequently the ratio of elderly to the working-age population (ratio of 65+ to the 15-64 population) is expected to increase dramatically over the next several decades. (1) The trend in retirement decision also indicates that older Canadian workers retire earlier than in previous decades. (2) A direct consequence of ageing population is that the transition of the baby-boom generation from work to retirement is expected to lead to job opportunities in all major occupational groups. In particular, some occupations/sectors where workers are generally older or tend to retire earlier may be more affected (e.g. Social Science, Health and Primary Industries). (3) This in turn could result in a relative scarcity of workers and the trend towards early retirement could intensify the situation. According to the conventional view, the transition of baby-boomers from work-to-retirement could also potentially have important perverse socio-economic effects in the future, such as a decline in national savings and in real per-capita income. (4) It could also put increased pressures on the cost of public pensions and health care, and have negative intergenerational equity implications. However, the relative scarcity of workers is likely to result in increases in real wages, which would provide some compensating effects to workers. A wide range of policies can be considered to help accommodate some of the consequences of ageing. In this respect, the Canadian government has already taken steps forward by reforming the Canada and Quebec Pension Plans (CPP/ QPP) and by adopting a strategy of gradual reduction in the ratio of public debt-to-GDP. Another key policy instrument is Canada's immigration, which reflects a range of socio-economic objectives including economic growth, family reunification and humanitarian objectives. In this respect, in comparison to other industrialised countries, Canada has one of the highest inflows of immigrants relative to its population. In fact, without the contribution of immigration, both the population and the labour force would eventually decline in the future. Since the annual flow and the skill composition of new immigrants to Canada is an important factor of labour force growth, there is no doubt that current immigration trends contribute to enhancing the balance between the working-age population and retired people. It is, however, more difficult to quantify the economic-welfare gains associated with immigration and to evaluate the additional gain that would be associated with an increase in the number of new immigrants. Another important factor to consider when we look at migration flows is the residential location decision of new immigrants, given the potential implications on regional disparity. In fact, according to the stylised facts, recent trends in new immigrant's residential location indicate that a large proportion of them choose to live in central Canada (province of Ontario) in much greater proportions than the province's share of the Canadian population. …


Nutrigenomics is the rapidly developing field of science that studies nutrient-gene interaction. This field has broad implications for understanding the interaction of human genomics and nutrition, but can also have very specific implications for individual dietary recommendations in light of personal genetics. Predicted applications for nutrigenomics include genomics-based dietary guidelines and personalized nutrition based on individual genetic tests. These developments have sweeping ethical, legal and regulatory implications for individuals, corporations and governments.This book brings together experts in ethics, law, regulatory analysis, and communication studies to identify and address relevant issues in the emerging field of nutritional genomics. Contributing authors are experts in the social aspects of biotechnology innovation, with expertise in nutrigenomics. From addressing the concern that nutrigenomics will transform food into medicine and undermine pleasures associated with eating to the latest in the science of nutrigenomics, this book provides a world-wide perspective on the potential impact of nutrigenomics on our association with food.*Explores the rapidly developing, yet not fully understood, impact of nutrigenomics on the relationship to food medicalization, genetic privacy, nutrition and health.*Provides ground for further exploration to identify issues and provide analysis to aid in policy and regulation development*Provides ethical and legal insights into this unfolding science, as well as serving as a model for thinking about issues arising in other fields of science and technology


Endocrine disrupting compounds (EDCs) and pharmaceuticals and personal care products (PPCPs) are a group of chemical compounds with diverse physical and chemical properties. Recent studies have indicated undesired effects of EDCs and PPCPs at their reported trace concentrations (ng l(-1) to microg l(-1)). This paper reviews the current knowledge on the sources, properties, occurrence and health impacts of EDCs and PPCPs, and their removal from drinking water using ozonation and ozone/hydrogen peroxide-based advanced oxidation. The paper also examines the potential threats posed by these chemicals to drinking water and public health. While these compounds are known to have adverse effects on ecosystem health, notably in the fish population, a similar link is yet to be established between ingestion of these compounds through drinking water and human health. In addition, data on the effectiveness of existing methods for the removal of these compounds are not conclusive. Further studies are required to characterize risks, and also to evaluate and optimize existing removal processes. Also concerted international effort is urgent to cut down the risk of exposure and restrain the production and marketing of toxic chemicals.


Classical social choice theory relies heavily on the assumption that all individuals have fixed preference orderings. This highly original book presents a new theory of social preferences that explicitly accounts for important social phenomena such as coordination, compromise, negotiation and altruism. Drawing on cybernetics and network theory, it extends classical social choice theory by constructing a framework that allows for dynamic preferences that are modulated by the situation-dependent social influence that they exert on each other. In this way the book shows how members of a social network may modulate their preferences to account for social context. This important expansion of social choice theory will be of interest to readers in a wide variety of disciplines, including economists and political scientists concerned with choice theory as well as computer scientists and engineers working on network theory.


This paper examines the persistence of under-employment amongst UK higher education graduates. For the cohort of individuals who graduated in 2002/3, micro-data collected by the Higher Education Statistical Agency, are used to calculate the rates of "non-graduate job" employment 6 months and 42 months after graduation. A logit regression analysis suggests the underemployment is not a short-term phenomenon and is systematically related to a set of observable characteristics. It is also found that under-employment 6 months after graduation is positively related to under-employment 42 months after graduation, which is consistent with the view that the nature of the first job after graduation is important in terms of occupational attainment later in the life-cycle.


The significant increase in amount of information readily available on the World Wide Web (WWW) makes it difficult for users to locate the information they desire in a timely manner. Modern information gathering and retrieval methods focus on simplifying this task by enabling the user to retrieve only a small subset of information that is more relevant and manageable. However, often the majority of users will not find an immediate use for the information. Therefore, it is necessary to provide a method to store it effectively so it can be utilised as a future knowledge resource.

A commonly adopted approach is to classify the retrieved information based on its content. A technique that has been found to be suitable for this purpose is Multiple Classification Ripple Down Rules (MCRDR). MCRDR constructs a classification knowledge base over time using an incremental learning process. This incremental method of acquiring classification knowledge suits the nature of Web information because it is constantly evolving and being updated. However, despite this advantage, the classification knowledge of MCRDR is not often utilised for browsing the classified information. This is because MCRDR does not directly organise the knowledge in a way that is suitable for browsing. As a result, often an alternate structure is utilised for browsing the information which is usually based on a user's abstract understanding of the information domain.

This study investigated the feasibility of utilising the classification knowledge acquired through the use of MCRDR as a resource for browsing information retrieved from the WWW. A system was implemented that used the concept lattice based browsing scheme of Formal Concept Analysis (FCA) to support the browsing of documents based on MCRDR classification knowledge. The feasibility of utilising classification knowledge as a resource for browsing documents was evaluated statistically. This was achieved by comparing the concept lattice-based browsing approach to a standard one that utilises abstract knowledge of a domain as a resource for browsing the same documents.


This paper develops a general model of anticommons fragmentation in property. To this end, we differentiate between different forms of property fragmentation. With the use of several functionally related examples, we consider the equilibria obtained under different scenarios. The various illustrations are later utilized as building blocks for the development of a general model of fragmented property. The model reveals that the private incentives of excluders do not capture the external effects of their individual decisions. Specifically, our model suggests that the results of underutilization of joint property increase monotonically in both (a) the extent of fragmentation; and (b) the foregone synergies and complementarities between the property fragments. Within this context, we explore some of the important implications for the institutional responses to issues of property fragmentation.


Inter-organisational collaboration (IOC) has been regarded as a strategic option by companies from different sizes and sectors. In this regard, IOC is often related to innovation and internationalisation performance. However, research shows that these relationships are complex and risky where approximately 50% of them fail. Accordingly, scholars have sought to understand the dynamics of IOC and pointed towards the association between alliance management capabilities (AMC) and IOC success. However, despite the development in this topic, two important gaps remain. First, it is still unclear how AMC can actual lead to superior internationalisation performance. Second, the empirical research on AMC has thus far focused upon large firms, while overlooking SMEs. In this thesis, the two gaps are addressed by examining the process by which SMEs can realise the potential value of AMC for superior internationalisation performance by using the Resource-Based View (RBV). Specifically, in this process, radical and incremental co-innovation are conceived as the two strategic actions needed to leverage AMC for internationalisation performance.

This study adopts a quantitative survey approach to address the research question. To answer the research question of this study, a sample of 278 usable responses from SMEs in UK manufacturing industries was collected through a web-based survey. The quantitative data was analysed using the structural equation modelling (SEM) technique.

The analysis confirms that AMC is positively associated with radical co-innovation and incremental co-innovation. The positive effect of AMC on radical co-innovation is stronger at high levels of alliance partner diversity. The positive effect of AMC on incremental coinnovation is stronger at low levels of alliance partner diversity. In addition, both radical coinnovation and incremental co-innovation are found to have a positive relationship with internationalisation performance. No support is found for the interaction effect of foreign market knowledge on the relationship between radical co-innovation, incremental coinnovation and internationalisation performance.

Overall, this study makes three key contributions to the extant RBV literature in general, and AMC and IOC literature in particular. First, this study answers the question of how in RBV research and considers the strategic actions through which AMC contribute to internationalisation performance. Second, this study adds to current knowledge on IOC by showing some moderating effects. In particular, this study shows that the effect of AMC on strategic action varies depending upon the level of alliance partner diversity. Finally, this study contributes to AMC literature by empirically testing the AMC construct and its dimensions (that are inter-organisational coordination, inter-organisational learning, alliance transformation, alliance proactiveness and alliance bonding) in the context of SMEs. In such cases, the influence of AMC on SMEs' pursuit of actions in IOC is identified. This study offers practical implications for the mangers of SMEs to better understand the need of AMC to effectively manage and execute the strategic actions and to achieve internationalisation performance.