Context: Despite international calls to recognize unsafe abortion as a serious health problem in developing countries very little quantitative information exists on national levels of abortion activity major health related sequelae of unsafe abortion or the quality of routine medical care provided to postabortion patients in countries where induced abortion is legally restricted. Methods: Researchers used random sampling procedures to select 569 public-sector hospitals in Egypt and asked designated medical staff to complete a medical abstract form for each postabortion patient admission during a continuous 30-day period. Data were analyzed to assess the state of postabortion care in Egypt and using data from the 1995 Egypt Demographic and Health Survey and other sources to estimate the rate of induced abortion in Egypt. Results: Among the 22656 admissions to the obstetrics and gynecology departments during the 30-day study period approximately one of every five patients (19%) was a woman admitted for treatment of an induced or spontaneous abortion. Projections yielded an estimated induced abortion rate in Egypt of 14.8 per 100 pregnancies. The mean gestational age of the lost pregnancies was 10.8 weeks and a large majority (86%) were lost at 12 weeks or less. Fourteen percent of the women arrived at the hospital suffering from excessive blood loss 1% exhibited one or more signs of trauma and 5% had one or more signs of infection. Dilatation and curettage under general anesthesia was the principal surgical treatment provided. Conclusions: Treatment for complications from unsafe abortion consumes substantial resources within the Egyptian health care system. Postabortion care could be improved if vacuum aspiration under local anesthesia were used as the primary postabortion treatment and if adherence to antiseptic measures were increased. (authors)


Within the R&D program on the International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor (ITER) Poloidal Field (PF) coils, a full size conductor sample was tested in the SULTAN facility (CRPP Villigen, Switzerland). This sample is composed of two straight ITER-like cable-in-conduit conductors, using the same NbTi strand. The two conductors are identical except that one leg has a cable containing steel wraps around the main subcables as in the ITER design, while the other has no wraps inside. The paper presents conductor DC test results compared to predictions given by various models developed within ITER-associated laboratories. These models aim to predict the DC behavior of the cable from the experimental performances of the single strand. They have to explain the observed voltage-current (V-I) or voltage-temperature (V-T) characteristics, including the thermal runaways. The lower experimental performances compared to all expectations have shown the necessity to revise the models and to introduce a possible uneven current distribution among the strands of the cables.


Through seven successful editions, "Sabiston and Spencer's Surgery of the Chest" has set the standard in cardiothoracic surgery references. Now, the new 8th Edition, edited by Frank Sellke, MD, Pedro J. del Nido, MD, and Scott Swanson, MD, carries on this tradition with updated coverage of today's essential clinical knowledge from leaders worldwide. Guidance divided into three major sections - Adult Cardiac Surgery, Pediatric Cardiac Surgery, and Thoracic Surgery - lets you quickly find what you need, while new and revised chapters reflect all of the important changes within this rapidly evolving specialty. Expert Consult functionality - new to this edition - enables you to access the complete contents of the 2-volume set from anyplace with an Internet connection for convenient consultation where and when you need it. This is an ideal source for mastering all of the most important current knowledge and techniques in cardiac and thoracic surgery - whether for specialty board review or day-to-day practice.


Abstract Alarm Management: Electrocardiographic Lead Management Quality improvement and safety that incorporates the Clinical Nurse Leader (CNL) competency of putting in place quality improvements plans that are bases on evidence, analysis, and risk anticipation is the thesis for this project. The associated problem is the myriads of electrocardiographic (ECG) alarms that alert staff to patient issues each day. Of those alerts, 88% to 90% are false or do not require immediate attention (Sendelbach & Jepsen, 2013). The high numbers of false alerts cause staff to become desensitized to the sound. This desensitization may cause staff not to respond to a critical patient need in a timely manner. Objective: The primary objective of the project is to increase patient safety by decreasing the number of alarms alerts. This decrease will lessen the amount of alarm fatigue in the ICU staff. An additional objective includes the increase in staff's efficiency, as less time will be spent addressing inappropriate alarms that will improve both patient and staff satisfaction. Population : The project's populations are the registered nurses and patients in a 20 bed Medical Surgical Intensive Care Unit (ICU). Method: Methods used for the project included a) a survey/pre-test to assess that staff's knowledge of alarm fatigue, b) a learning module that included a quiz that provided staff with information about the project and its processes, and c) the evaluation of staff's compliance to the project's processes and the assessment of the number of alarm alerts compared to baseline data. Results: The project produced a six percent decrease in bed alarms and a 3.2 percent decrease in yellow (moderate) alerts. The total number of alerts decreased by 4.6% but did not meet the project's goal of a 5% reduction in alarm alerts. It is predicted that a greater number of alerts will decrease in the next phase of the alarm management project. This phase will include ECG alarm customization. Reference Sendelbach, S., & Jepsen, S. (2013, May). AACN practice alert: Alarm . American Association of Critical Care Nurses . Retrieved from http://www.aacn.org/wd/practice/docs/practicealerts/alarm-management-practice-alert.pdf


In this paper I would like to challenge the dominating understanding of voluntary risk-taking as activities with a focus on risk (Lyng 2005). Instead I am arguing for a shift in focus from risk to control, which is the outcome of a successful interaction with risk. Based on a case study from scuba diving, I analyse the practice of control as what Foucault (1988) calls a "technology of the self". With this shift in focus to control, participants in risk activities are understood as practicing a dominating ideal in the neo-liberal society, where the individual is increasingly supposed to be responsible and in control of his/her own life (Simon 2002).


The purpose of this study was to examine the influence of two different bar diameters on neuromuscular activation and strength. The bar diameters used reflected a standard Olympic bar (28 mm (1.1 inch); THIN) and a larger fat bar (51 mm [2 inch]; THICK). Eighteen healthy men (age 25.0 ± 1 years) were assessed for their maximal voluntary contraction (MVC) during a unilateral isometric bench press exercise with the 2 bar types at 2 different joint angles (angle 1 and angle 2; elbow joint at ∼45 and 90°, respectively). Additionally, on a separate day, subjects performed three 10-second isometric repetitions at an intensity of 80% MVC using the 2 different bars at angle 1 and angle 2. Electromyographic recordings were collected in the pectoralis major and the muscles of the forearm flexor region at a sampling rate of 1000 Hz during the second day of testing. Analysis of variance was used to examine differences in MVC between bars and also examine between bar differences in electromyographic activity for each muscle group at each joint angle. A significance level of 0.05 was used for all tests. MVC was not different between bar types, although there was a main effect of joint angle on MVC such that it was greater at angle 2. There was a main effect of bar at both angles for the forearm muscles and at angle 1 for the pectoralis such that electromyographic activity was greater with THIN. Our data do not support the hypothesis that bar diameter influences performance during an isometric bench press exercise. However, higher electromyographic activity with THIN suggests greater neuromuscular activation with a standard Olympic bar as opposed to a larger diameter "fat" bar. Although our data do not support the use of a fat bar for increasing neuromuscular activation, these findings should be confirmed in other resistance training exercises.


Mangroves are ecologically and economically important forested wetlands with the highest carbon (C) density of all terrestrial ecosystems. Because of their exceptionally large C stocks and importance as a coastal buffer, their protection and restoration has been proposed as an effective mitigation strategy for climate change. The inclusion of mangroves in mitigation strategies requires the quantification of C stocks (both above and belowground) and changes to accurately calculate emissions and sequestration. A growing number of countries are becoming interested in using mitigation initiatives, such as REDD+ (reducing emissions from deforestation and forest degradation), in these unique coastal forests. However, it is not yet clear how methods to measure C traditionally used for other ecosystems can be modified to estimate biomass in mangroves with the precision and accuracy needed for these initiatives. Airborne Lidar (ALS) data has often been proposed as the most accurate way for larger scale assessments but the application of ALS for coastal wetlands is scarce, primarily due to a lack of contemporaneous ALS and field measurements. Here, we evaluated the variability in field and Lidar-based estimates of aboveground biomass (AGB) through the combination of different local and regional allometric models and standardized height metrics that are comparable across spatial resolutions and sensor types, the end result being a simplified approach for accurately estimating mangrove AGB at large scales and determining the uncertainty by combining multiple allometric models. We then quantified wall-to-wall AGB stocks of a tall mangrove forest in the Zambezi Delta, Mozambique. Our results indicate that the Lidar H100 height metric correlates well with AGB estimates, with R2 between 0.80 and 0.88 and RMSE of 33% or less. When comparing Lidar H100 AGB derived from three allometric models, mean AGB values range from 192 Mg ha−1 up to 252 Mg ha−1. We suggest the best model to predict AGB was based on the East Africa specific allometry and a power-based regression that used Lidar H100 as the height input with an R2 of 0.85 and an RMSE of 122 Mg ha−1 or 33%. The total AGB of the Lidar inventoried mangrove area (6654 ha) was 1 350 902 Mg with a mean AGB of 203 Mg ha−1 ±166 Mg ha−1. Because the allometry suggested here was developed using standardized height metrics, it is recommended that the models can generate AGB estimates using other remote sensing instruments that are more readily accessible over other mangrove ecosystems on a large scale, and as part of future carbon monitoring efforts in mangroves.


This work presents the results of an investigation into the technique of combined TEM-Cathodoluminescence and its application to the study of GaN epitaxial layers grown by MOVPE and PAMBE on sapphire and LiAlO(_2) substrates respectively - and MOVPE grown In(_x)Ga(_1-x)N/GaN/A1(_2)O(_3) QW structures. The measurement of CL in a TEM allows spectral information to be correlated with structural information. In-situ electron beam degradation curves of panchromatic CL from GaN epilayers and In(_0.1)Ga(_0.9)N QW emission revealed a decline in the luminescence which could be attributed to the introduction of non-radiative recombination centres. The influence of thickness on both CL spectra and images was investigated experimentally and by modelling. A method of normalising STEM-CL images for thickness contrast was developed. Application of this normalisation to In(_0.1)Ga(_0.9)N QWs in cross-section revealed inhomogeneous CL with bright regions 200-700nm in width. No systematic relationship was identified between luminescence at the QW peak emission wavelength, QW(_A), and luminescence at QW(_A) ±10nm. This finding does not support the hypothesis that variation in QW CL brightness is due to local compositional fluctuation. However, clusters of threading dislocations were shown to suppress QW luminescence and are suggested as a cause for the observed inhomogeneity in luminescence. A statistical analysis of (dislocation related) V-pits in In(_x)Ga(_1-x)N MQW samples revealed clustering of pits on a length scale of 60-120nm, but no long range clustering indicative of sub-grain boundaries was found. Finally TEM-CL spectra and monochromatic line-scans were used to show that bundles of basal plane stacking faults in M-plane GaN epitaxial layers grown on LiAlO(_2) emit radiatively at 3.3-3.35eV (l00K). The radiative transition energy is consistent with models in the literature that consider basal plane stacking faults to be layers of cubic GaN in the wurtzite matrix which act as type II QWs.


Faecal prevalence of gastrointestinal bacterial pathogens, including Campylobacter, Escherichia coli O157:H7, Salmonella, Shigella, Yersinia, as well as Arcobacter, were examined in 317 faecal specimens from 44 animal species in Belfast Zoological Gardens, during July–September 2006. Thermophilic campylobacters including Campylobacter jejuni, Campylobacter coli and Campylobacter lari, were the most frequently isolated pathogens, where members of this genus were isolated from 11 animal species (11 of 44; 25%). Yersinia spp. were isolated from seven animal species (seven of 44; 15.9%) and included, Yersinia enterocolitica (five of seven isolates; 71.4%) and one isolate each of Yersinia frederiksenii and Yersinia kristensenii. Only one isolate of Salmonella was obtained throughout the entire study, which was an isolate of Salmonella dublin (O 1,9,12: H g, p), originating from tiger faeces after enrichment. None of the animal species found in public contact areas of the zoo were positive for any gastrointestinal bacterial pathogens. Also, water from the lake in the centre of the grounds, was examined for the same bacterial pathogens and was found to contain C. jejuni. This study is the first report on the isolation of a number of important bacterial pathogens from a variety of novel host species, C. jejuni from the red kangaroo (Macropus rufus), C. lari from a maned wolf (Chrysocyon brachyurus), Y. kristensenii from a vicugna (Vicugna vicugna) and Y. enterocolitica from a maned wolf and red panda (Ailurus fulgens). In conclusion, this study demonstrated that the faeces of animals in public contact areas of the zoo were not positive for the bacterial gastrointestinal pathogens examined. This is reassuring for the public health of visitors, particularly children, who enjoy this educational and recreational resource.


The use of recreational water of poor microbiological quality may negatively impact on the health of people that are exposed during a diversity of leisure activities. Microbiological contamination of recreational waters may arise from various human and animal faecal sources, but the microbiological quality of bathing water may also deteriorate due to proliferation of micro-organisms of non-faecal origin, such as Trichobilharzia and Vibrio. Long-term surveillance of recreational water related illness in The Netherlands showed that most recreational waterborne outbreaks comprised of skin conditions (48%) and gastroenteritis (31%). The number of outbreaks in a bathing season was strongly associated with weather conditions, with higher numbers in warm summers, but did not decline over the years, while compliance with European bathing water legislation increased. Current European bathing water quality standards are guided by faecal contamination events, but do not directly address waterborne pathogens of either faecal or non-faecal origin. The presence of Trichobilharzia, Vibrio, Cryptosporidium and Giardia was demonstrated in Dutch bathing waters compliant with European bathing water legislation, suggesting that monitoring of faecal indicator parameters and striving for compliance with required water quality standards may not sufficiently protect bathers from exposure to faecal and non-faecal waterborne pathogens. Cases of swimmers' itch, caused by larvae of the parasite Trichobilharzia, are one of the most frequently reported health conditions resulting from bathing water exposure in The Netherlands. Epidemiological data from outbreaks of swimmers' itch suggested that longer and more frequent exposure to suspected water resulted in increased reporting of symptoms. The detection of the parasite in the suspected bathing water guides interventions to prevent further cases, but is often difficult. A novel approach of simultaneously testing of collected snails and water samples from implicated bathing waters enhances the chance of parasite detection. Vibrio infections through exposure to Dutch bathing waters seem rare, but may be underestimated. Vibrio was present at four official Dutch bathing sites, albeit in low numbers, and more samples were positive at elevated water temperatures. The common occurrence of Vibrio spp. stresses the need to provide information on this micro-organism particularly to risk groups, such as people with underlying illness or open wounds. In addition, low numbers of Cryptosporidium and Giardia in recreational lakes in Amsterdam, compliant with European bathing water legislation, posed infection risks ranging between 0.01% and 0.05% for Cryptosporidium and between 0.0004% and 0.01% for Giardia, with highest infection risks for children. Infection risk assessment was improved by using newly generated exposure data collected in a study among swimmers in freshwater, seawater and swimming pools through questionnaires administered to approximately 19000 persons representing the general Dutch population. Monitoring of faecal indicator parameters and striving for compliance with standards for these parameters in European bathing water legislation does not prevent all outbreaks of recreational waterborne disease. A more effective approach for adequate protection of bathers may be a combination of the use of information available from bathing water profiles, risk assessment and high frequency monitoring using rapid molecular detection methods, addressing both faecal and non-faecal waterborne pathogens


Computational Hydraulics introduces the concept of modeling and the contribution of numerical methods and numerical analysis to modeling. It provides a concise and comprehensive description of the basic hydraulic principles, and the problems addressed by these principles in the aquatic environment. Flow equations, numerical and analytical solutions are included.

The necessary steps for building and applying numerical methods in hydraulics comprise the core of the book and this is followed by a report of different example applications of computational hydraulics: river training effects on flood propagation, water quality modelling of lakes and coastal applications.

The theory and exercises included in the book promote learning of concepts within academic environments. Sample codes are made available online for purchasers of the book.

Computational Hydraulics is intended for under-graduate and graduate students, researchers, members of governmental and non-governmental agencies and professionals involved in management of the water related problems.

ISBN: 9781780400457 (eBook)

ISBN: 9781780400440 (Print)


Around the globe countries are attempting to forge ahead with the expansion and upgrading of advanced communications networks. In most cases they are setting very ambitious goals with regard to technology and coverage. However, the specific cost structure for broadband projects results in the private-sector-driven, competitive market for network upgrading being primarily focused on densely populated urban areas. By contrast, major progress in rolling out broadband to unserved rural areas will not be made in the foreseeable future without state subsidies. Without having to steer a course towards the return of a monopoly in the telecommunications sector, which would have a detrimental long-term impact, the public sector can in this situation promote sustainable progress in telecommunication by merging projects, entering into risk-sharing partnerships, setting realistic broadband targets, providing essential market information to market participants, offering e-government digital services itself and, on top of that, further enhancing investment incentives with a regulatory framework in a competitive environment.


A two-dimensional finite difference numerical model to solve the vertically integrated non-linear shallow water equations has been developed using an Alternating Direction Implicit (ADI) scheme for description of tidal flows in shallow water bays. The numerical technique for treating nonlinear problem is discussed and computer software is designed to reduce storage and costs of computation. Application to Taipong Bay, China is presented. Taipong Bay is situated on the north of the South China Sea, bounded in the east by Taipong Peninsula, in the north by Senzhen Economic Zone of China, in the west by Hong Kong, and communicating with the South China Sea via a ten kilometer width channel. The computed results agree quite well with the observations available. Based on the computed results and observed data, the tidal level, tidal current, and residual current in the bay are discussed. Applications to environmental problems along the coast of the bay are also mentioned briefly.


This study examines the role of storytelling networks in adolescents' coping with bullying in the United States and South Korea. A survey of 504 U.S. and 302 Korean adolescents found that storytelling networks were important precursors to supportive communication, which developed self-efficacy and life satisfaction. For both U.S. and Korean adolescents, interpersonal networks and media connectedness were significant predictors for social support and evaluation of support, whereas connection to community organizations did not positively predict social support. Adolescents are likely to discuss bullying personally and receive support from media exposure in terms of information or coping strategies. They do not consider disclosing bullying to community organizations to seek support. The results revealed similarities between the two cultures in dealing with bullying. This study suggests that the government and local social organizations provide adolescents with communication channels to increase opportunities for adolescents to receive support.


Two growing literatures critique Hobbesian corporate cultures. Management analyses document the way high-stakes/zero-sum bonus systems undermine, rather than enhance, productivity as they subvert teamwork, valorize self-interested behavior, and weaken ethical standards. This literature treats negative effects of such systems, including lawless and unethical behavior, as the unintended consequences of efforts to shake up complacent institutions or replace an insular old guard with an ambitious and meritocratic new workforce. A second, darker literature terms such Hobbesian environments "masculinities contests" that select for those executives who best exemplify masculine traits such as a single-minded focus on professional success, physical strength, and the willingness to engage in no-holds-barred competition. This literature treats the rule-breaking environment that results as an incidental byproduct of the way that such cultures valorize masculine traits. Drawing on insights from criminology, psychology, and feminist theory, this Article suggests another possibility: that certain management cultures intentionally design the competitions to facilitate breaking the rules with impunity.

In a Hobbesian world, where some profit handsomely from defying convention, zero-sum competitions play a role that extends beyond valorizing alpha males. They select for leaders who will lie, shortchange their families, and break the law to get results—and do so without explicit orders that might subject upper management to accountability for the practices. In such a world, women fall behind not necessarily because of misogyny, though such environments often breed it. Instead, they lose because of a triple bind. First, women cannot prevail in such competitions unless they can outmaneuver men, credibly display greater devotion to the job, or more brazenly flout the laws. Second, they are disproportionately disliked and punished for displaying the self-centered, rule-breaking behavior of men. Third, women become less likely to seek positions because they correctly perceive that they could not thrive and are more likely than men to decide they do not wish to do so on such terms, reinforcing the male-identified character of such environments. Where these companies' business models depend not just on the ability to upend traditional practices, but to break the law, the companies cannot address gender disparities without addressing the business model itself. The Article concludes that gender inequality is intrinsically intertwined with the evisceration of the rule of law in corporate America.


Preface. Introduction. Bioceramics. One-Step Preparation of Organosiloxane Derived Silica Particles. ( Song Chen, Akiyoshi Osaka, Satoshi Hayakawa, Yuki Shirosaki, Akihiro Matsumoto, Eiji Fujil, Koji Kawabata, and Kanji Tsuru ). Fabrication of Hybrid Thin Films Consisting of Ceramic and Polymer Using a Biomimetic Principle. ( Langli Luo and Junghyun Cho ). Structural Investigation of Nano Hydroxyapatites Doped with Mg2+ and F Ions. ( Z.P. Sun and Z. Evis ). Novel Bioceramics for Bone Implants. ( P.I. Gouma, K. Ramachandran, M. Firat, M. Connolly, R. Zuckermann, Cs. Balaszi, P.L. Perrotta, and R. Xue ). 20 Years of Biphasic Calcium Phosphate Bioceramics Development of Applications. ( Guy Daculsi, Serge Baroth, and Racquel LeGeros ). Biocompatibility Aspects of Injectable Chemically Bonded Ceramics of the System CaO-Al2-O3-P2O5-SiO2. ( Leif Hermansson, Adam Faris, Gunilla Gomez-Ortega, and Jesper Loof ). Aspects of Dental Applications Based on Materials of the System Cao-Al2O3-P2O5-H2O. ( Leif Hermansson, Adam Faris, Gunilla Gomez-Ortega, John Kuoppala, and Jesper Loof ). Synthesis and Characterization of Bioactive Glass Ceramics. ( Saikat Maitra, Ariful Rahaman, Ram Pyare, Hilmi B. Mukhtar, and Binay K. Dutta ). Evaluation of a PDLLA/45S5 Bioglass Composite: Mechanical and Biological Properties. ( Ginsac Nathalie, Chevalier Jerome, Chenal Jean Marc, Meile Sylvain, Hartmann Daniel, and Zenati Rachid ). Synthesis and Characterization of Wet Chemically Derived Magnetite-HAP Hybrid Nanoparticles. ( S. Hayakawa, K. Tsuru, A. Matsumoto, A. Osaka, E. Fuji, and K. Kawabata ). Low Temperature Consolidation of Nanocrystalline Apatites Toward a New Generation of Calcium Phosphate Ceramics. ( D. Grossin, M. Banu, S. Sarda, S. Martinet-Rollin, C. Drouet, C. Estournes, E. Champion, F. Rossignol, C. Combes, and C. Rey ). Sintering Behavior of Hydroxyapatite Ceramics Prepared by Different Routes. ( Tan Chou Yong, Ramesh Singh, Aw Khai Liang, and Yeo Wel Hong ). Vaterite Bioceramics: Manodisperse CaCO3 Boconvex Micropills Forming at 70 C in Aqueous CaCl2-Gelatin-Urea Solutions. ( A. Cuneyt Tas ). Novel DNA Sensor Based on Carbon Nanotubes Attached to a Piezoelectric Quartz Crystal. ( Jessica Weber, Deena Ashour, Shreekumar Pilai, Shree R. Singh, and Ashok Kumar ). Thermal Conductivity of Light-Cured Dental Composites: Importance of Filler Particle Size. ( Michael B. Jakubinek, Richard Price, and Mary Anne White ). Porous Bioceramics. Manufacturing of a Porous PPLA-HA Composite Scaffolds by Sintering for Bone Tissue Engineering. ( Ana Paula M. Casadei, Fabicio Dingee, Tatiana E. da Silva, Andre L.G. Prette, Carlos R. Rambo, Marclo C. Fredei, and Eliana A.R. Duek ). Effect of Zinc on Bioactivity of Nano-Macroporous Soda-Lime Phosphofluorosilicate Glass-Ceramic. ( H.M. Moawad, S. Wang, H. Jain, and M.M. Falk ). Porous Scaffolds Using Nanocrystalline Titania for Bone Graft Applications. ( Arun Kumar Menon and Samar Jyoti Kalita ). Porous Biomophic SiC for Medical Implants Processed From Natural and Artificial Precursors. ( J. Ramirez-Rico, C. Torres-Raya, D. Hernandez-Maldonado, C. Garcia-Ganan, J. Martinez-Fernandex, and A.R. de Arellana-Lopez ). Porous Ceramics. Strength and Permeability of Open-Cell Macro-Porous Silicon Carbine as a Function of Structural Morphologies. ( Joseph R. Fellows, Hyrum S. Anderson, Hames N. Cuttis, Charles A. Lewinsohn, and Merrill A. Wilson ). Design of Silica Networks Using Organic-Inorganic Hybrid Alkoxides for HIghly Permeable Hydrogen Separation Membranes. ( Masakoto Kanezashi, Kazuya Yada, Tomohisa Yoshioka, and Toshinori Tsuru ). Computer Simulation of Hydrogen Capactiy of Nanoporous Carbon. ( V. Kartuzov, Y. Gogotsi, and A. Kryklia ). Nanostructured Alumina Coatings Formed by a Dissolution/Precipitation Process Using AIN Powder Hydrolysis. ( Andraz Kocjan, Kristoffer Krnel, Peter Jevnikar, and Tomaz Kosmac ). Porous FeCr-ZrO2(7Y2O3) Cermets Produced by EBPVD. ( B.A. Mocvhan, F.D. Lemkey, and L.M. Nerodenko ). Use of Ceramic Microfibers to Generate a High Porosity Cross-Linked Microstructure in Extruded Honeycombs. ( James J. Liu, Rachel A. Dahl, Tim Gordon, and Bilal Zuberi ). Porous B-Si3N4 Ceramics Prepared with Fugitive Graphite Filler. ( Probal Chanda and Kevin P. Plucknett, Liliana B. Garrido, and Luis A. Genova ). Data Reliability for Honeycomb Porous Material Flexural Testing. ( Randall J. Stafford and Stephen T. Gonezy ). Aluminum Silicate Aerogeis with High Temperature Stability. ( Roxana Trifu, Wendell Rhine, Irene Melnikova, Shannon White, and Frances Hurwitz ). Development of Novel Microporous ZrO2 Membranes for H2/CO2 Separation. ( Tim Van Gestel, Doris Sebold, Wilhelm A. Meulenberg, Martin Bram, Hans-Peter Buchkremer, and Detlev Stover ). Author Index.


As the world's population becomes increasingly urbanised, the need for peopl~ to see nature on their doorstep is becoming more appealing. The city of Perth (Western Australia) has large areas of bu~hland that have been reserved as conservation estate, and therefore are only minimally modified by urban development. But while many of these urban bushland reserves contribute highly to biodiversity in the fonn of vegetation, vertebrate surveys have indicat~d a low diversity of fauna. These areas have the potential to function in a more complete manner as nature reserves with significant conservation value by supporting populations of native animals which once inhabited these areas. In Western Australia the Dcpmtment of Conservation and Land Management has achieved success at fauna re-introductions as part of its Western Shield Program due to intensive predator control, in particular foxes. Fox control is achieved by baiting using toxic 1080 baits. Fox control using 1080 baits has also been effective in semi-urban areas of Perth and Sydney. But in a highly urban I residential area baiting poses potential lethal risks to domestic animals. Three parks in the Perth Metropolitan Region were used to detennine an effective method for urban fox control that maximises bait uptake by target species (fox) and minimises uptake by non-target species. Two bait types were tested, together with four different bait presentation meth,Jds, combined to give a total of eight treatments. Two seasons were also tested, to see if fox activity differed. The potential risks of poison baiting to target and non-target animals in an urban area leads to social concerns for the people who live near or use the areas where baiting would take plar.c. Therefore another aim of this study was to establish the level of support for fox control in the Perth Metropolitan Region, as well as the level of awareness Perth people have for Western Shield, and the risks associated with 1080 baits. A questionnaire was constructed and distributed to the users and nearby residents of two of the three parks used in this study. Although foxes showed no clear preference for a particular bait type or presentation method, lechniques were found that reduced bait uptake by nontarget animals. Tethering was an effective method to reduce birds such as ravens moving the baits, while an effective public awareness campaign seeking responsible dog control was found to reduce uptake of baits by dogs. Level of support for fox conlrol in Perth was high, even though many of lhe questionnaire respondents were not aware of the Western Shield program. This study has shown there is the potential for effective predator control to be undertaken in Perth, with the support of park users and residents. Perth has the potential to lead the way in urban ecology. With Kings Park and Botanic Gardens already renowned for its flora attractions, in the future it could be a leader in urban fauna conservation.


The list experiment, also known as the item count technique, is becoming increasingly popular as a survey methodology for eliciting truthful responses to sensitive questions. Recently, multivariate regression techniques have been developed to predict the unobserved response to sensitive questions using respondent characteristics. Nevertheless, no method exists for using this predicted response as an explanatory variable in another regression model. We address this gap by first improving the performance of a naive two-step estimator. Despite its simplicity, this improved two-step estimator can only be applied to linear models and is statistically inefficient. We therefore develop a maximum likelihood estimator that is fully efficient and applicable to a wide range of models. We use a simulation study to evaluate the empirical performance of the proposed methods. We also apply them to the Mexico 2012 Panel Study and examine whether vote-buying is associated with increased turnout and candidate approval. The proposed methods are implemented in open-source software.


Newspapers and weekly magazines catering to the investing crowd often rank funds according to the returns generated in the past. Aside from satisfying sheer curiosity, these numbers are probably also the basis on which investors pick a fund to invest in. In this article, we fully characterize the equilibrium in a game between a mutual fund manager of unknown ability who controls the riskiness of his portfolio and investors who only observe realized returns. We derive conditions under which (i) investors invest in the fund if the realized return falls within some interval, ie., is neither too low nor too high, (ii) an informed fund manager picks a portfolio of minimal riskiness, (iii) an uninformed mutual fund manager will pick a portfolio with higher risk, 'gambling' on a lucky outcome and (iv), when the fee structure is endogenous, both types of manager choose the same fraction-of-fund fee structure. Our results are consistent with empirical evidence about the lack of persistence of top performance, and about the very wide use of fraction-of-fund fee structure among mutual funds.


BACKGROUND
The proliferation of relationships between community health systems and academic medical centers has created a need to identify effective components of these models. This article reports on frontline physician experiences, with one such relationship established through the Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center (MSK) Cancer Alliance. MSK created the Alliance with the goals of rapidly bringing the newest standards of care into community settings and increasing patient access to clinical trials in their local communities.

METHODS
Alliance leadership administered a 10-question anonymous survey to physicians treating patients with cancer across the 3 Alliance member health systems: Hartford HealthCare Cancer Institute, Lehigh Valley Cancer Institute, and Miami Cancer Institute at Baptist Health South Florida. The purpose of the survey was to identify opportunities to improve physician engagement.

RESULTS
There were 103 clinician respondents across Alliance members, of which 87 reported participation in a disease management team and were included in the final analysis. Most respondents reported high value from Alliance activities, such as attending MSK tumor boards (94%) and lecture series (96%), among those who reported them applicable. Across all respondents, most reported satisfaction with engagement opportunities, such as MSK physician participation in their institution's meetings (76%). When asked where they would like to see increased engagement, the most commonly reported response was for more lecture series (45%). Most respondents (88%) reported that the Alliance led to practice change, either for themselves or for other clinicians at their institution. Many attributed this practice change to MSK disease-specific process measures.

CONCLUSIONS
The activities most valued by community physicians were heavily physician relationship-based. The encouraging experience of the MSK Cancer Alliance suggests that activities involving physician investment may be effective for promoting practice change in the context of cross-institution relationships. Future research is needed in this area.


The past decade has taught us that there are quite some attacks vectors on USB. These vary from hardware key-logging to driver fuzzing and from power surge injection to network traffic re-routing. In addition to addressing these issues, the security community has also tried to fix some of these. Several defensive hardand software tools focus on a particular piece of the puzzle. However none, is able to completely mitigate the risks that involves the everyday use of USB in our lives. Key stroke injectors like Rubber Ducky and MalDuino have a big disadvantage: they are not very stealthy. When no protection is in place, there is a big change the end-user will notice something fishy is going on. Proper USB Class filtering policies and a daemon that monitors typing speed will put this kind of attacks to a halt. To bypass both the user's attention and current security mechanisms, I have developed Keynterceptor. This is a proof of concept keyboard implant that is able to capture and inject keystrokes and communicate over the air via a back-channel while keeping the local time. Since Keynterceptor is made up from very affordable, offthe-shelf electronic parts, it is likely that such an attack tool can be created and used by someone with few resources. I will demonstrate the effectiveness of Keynterceptor in a real-world scenario where an end-point gets compromised.


Significant progress has been made in thermoelectric materials during the last decades and it is found that thermoelectric thin film materials have high thermoelectric conversion efficiency. ZnO based thermoelectric materials, such as ZnO:Al (AZO), are considered as the most promising oxide materials for high-temperature, nontoxic and low-cost thermoelectric application. In this work, the effects of annealing temperature on the thermoelectric properties of AZO thin films prepared by direct current magnetron sputtering were investigated. The results indicate that the Seebeck coefficient of AZO thin films increases and the resistivity decreases as increasing of annealing temperature. Among the prepared AZO films in this work, the maximum absolute value of Seebeck coefficient is 460 μV/K and the minimum resistivity is 3.25×10-4 Ω·m. The sample annealed at 773 K has a maximum power factor value of 1.46×10-4 W/mK2 at 620 K with a moderate Seebeck coefficient of-355 μV/K and a electrical conductivity of 1.16×103 S/m.


Since it was first organized by Flaherty's widow Frances over 40 years ago, the Robert Flaherty Seminar has offered participants a unique opportunity to view new visual works and discuss the processes, problems and politics of imagemaking. The Seminar has attempted, if at times belatedly, to respond to the evolving concerns of independent film- and video-making, including the relation between producers and their subjects, and the context and circumstances of production. These issues have become of increasing consequence in recent years as critical practices have informed the work of independent mediamakers. This year's Seminar, "The Camera Reframed: Technology and Interpretation," was curated by Marlina Gonzalez-Tamrong and Bruce Jenkins of the Walker Arts Center in Minneapolis. The programming theme was prefaced in the Seminar brochure by the questions "Who's looking at whom?" "Whom are you looking at?" and "Who's looking at you?" invoking familiar considerations about the ways power is inscribed in visual media. The curators' opening comments linked an analysis of new communications technologies with an historical interrogation of the cinematic apparatus. Juxtaposing documentary and experimental film and video with archival collections, home movies, travelogs, advertisements, CD-ROMs and the World Wide Web, the curators established a critical discursive conjuncture between the politics of representation and emerging interactive media technologies. The overall strength of the program was this connection between an analysis of these recent technologies and an understanding of how power operates through such filmic conventions as framing, mode of address, temporal compression and identification. Themes that resurfaced throughout the week included the consequences and possibilities of the archive, public and private memory, models of self-representation and the ever-present nonfiction film topics of authenticity, objectivity and truth. The Seminar's formal discussions provided a context to situate the individual works both in relation to one another and to the curators' overall project. As Gonzalez-Tamrong proposed during one of these discussions, the structure of technology is itself an interpreting mechanism. By characterizing the association between technology and interpretation in this manner, the programmers established a preliminary connection between the diverse works exhibited. Particular projects were used to make the thematic points through which Gonzalez-Tamrong and Jenkins addressed the application of interactive media technologies. The paradigms and problems of ethnographic film practice provide one direction from which to approach the program's themes. Fatimah Tobing Rony's short video, On Cannibalism (1994), among the work in the opening screening, pointedly addresses the dialectic of the colonial gaze. Footage of ethnographic museums, anthropological drawings and Hollywood cinema is recontextualized by Rony's voice-over recollection of the moment she understood that she was one of the "savages" depicted in these texts, and that she therefore had somehow inadvertently occupied a position at the wrong end of the gaze. Her crisis of positionality, resulting from this contradiction between public imaginary and personal memory, bifurcates the intended narrative of identification as she occupies both sites simultaneously. The master narrative of traditional ethnographic film, which demands the clear delineation of subject and object, is thus displaced. Thomas Allen Harris's fourth independent project, Vintage: Families of Value (1995), explores the dynamics of three African American families, specifically relationships involving lesbian and gay siblings. The film project was initiated by circulating a video camera among the subjects of the film. Shot over a five-year period, Vintage offers an intricate series of portraits that complicate the established parameters of identity politics. …


The present study is a phenomenological study of Chinese immigrants' experience of racial discrimination in New Zealand. The aim is to have an in-depth look at Chinese immigrants' subjective feelings and lived experiences of racial discrimination. The participants were 6 Chinese women and 2 Chinese men ranging in ages from 23 to 62. They talked about a variety of racial discrimination episodes in unstructured interviews. Their overall experience was a sense of being objectified by the perpetrators of racism. The participants felt they were being judged by stereotypes and preconceived conceptions instead of being treated as individuals. They felt marginalised and were sometimes taken advantage of and being denied access to opportunities and resources. As a result, they suffered identity problems, felt a lot of anger and fear, and had lowered self-esteem. The participants used a variety of ways to deal with their predicament. These ranged from open confrontation to avoidance, denial, minimalisation, rationalisation and relying on social support. There was a distinctive difference between experiencing isolated racist attacks and continuous racial harassment. While the effect of isolated discrimination was relatively transient, persistent racism led to feelings of low selfesteem, vulnerability and depression. This study had a cathartic and therapeutic effect for the participants. It also deepened my own understanding and awareness of discrimination. It is hoped that it would enable readers to rethink their attitude towards Chinese immigrants and other minorities.


Central nervous system (CNS) abnormalities are known in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) and attributed mostly to diabetic vasculopathy. We aimed to determine the direct effect of chronic hyperglycemia on the brain in absence of numerous potential vascular confounders. we systematically investigated markers of brain compromise in 57 patients with T2DM. Cognition was tested using a sensitive battery of psychometric testing [Mini-mental State Examination or MMSE, Stanford Binet Intelligence Scales 4th edition (SBIS) and Wechsler Memory Scale- Revised or WMS-R] and by recording P300 component of event related potentials [ERPs], a neurophysiological analogue for cognitive function. We also measured the serum levels of neuron specific enolase (NSE), a sensitive marker of neuronal cell damage. Compared to healthy subjects (n = 40), patients had lower total scores of cognitive testing (MMSE, SBIS and WMS-R) (p = 0.004), higher Beck Depression Inventory 2nd edition (BDI-II) scores (p = 0.001), prolonged latencies and reduced amplitudes of P300 component of ERPs (p = 0.0001 for both) and higher NSE concentrations (p = 0.001). No differences in clinical, lab and ERPs variables, scores of cognition testing and depression and NSE concentrations were identified regardless the degree of control on anti-diabetic treatments. Significant correlations had been identified between total score of cognitive testing and age (r = -0.370, p = 0.050), duration of illness (r = -0.658, p = 0.001), blood glucose level (r = -0.543, p= 0.010), ERPs latency (r = -0.560, p = 0.004) and amplitude ( r = 0.340, p = 0.053) and NSE concentrations (r = -0.698, p = 0.001). After adjustment of confounders, the total scores of cognitive testing was significantly correlated with NSE concentrations regardless the level of glycemic control. This study indicates that direct brain damage may result from poor glycemic control and chronic hyperglycemia and this contributes to progressive cognitive deficits with T2DM.


[1] We present a method for the measurement of spatially variable signal-to-noise (S/N) ratios in multichannel teleseismic receiver function (RF) images. The S/N ratio is defined as a measure of coherency of the final image, and the approach is applicable to any RF imaging technique that employs mapping of the records into depth followed by their summation as the final signal enhancement step. In such methods, all of the converted phases become horizontally aligned in the depth domain, and their coherent (signal) and incoherent (noise) components can be estimated by using stacking statistics. For 10 locations along two subarrays of the Continental Dynamics of Rocky Mountains Project (CD-ROM) teleseismic array, after a limited RF editing, we apply our method to the image resulting from three-dimensional (3-D) prestack RF depth migration. The resulting amplitude S/N values to vary from 0.1 to 0.3 in the individual RFs and from 1 to 5 in the final image, with significant spatial variability. These moderate S/N values argue in favor of sampling redundancy achieved in array recording and multichannel RF processing. In order to further reduce noise in RF images, denser and longer deployments or additional signal enhancement techniques are advisable. Because of its ability to provide direct assessment of image quality in three dimensions, including its dependence on the frequency band and data coverage, our method can also be potentially used for real-time array tuning and image focusing required for moving arrays proposed for the USArray program.


IPCA (Intelligent Process Control Architecture) is an architecture for flexible, intelligent control. IPCA is rooted in the generic task (GT) approach to knowledge-based systems and incorporates plan generation and real-time plan execution monitoring components. The plan generation component produces a state-based process control plan representation which typically contains a collection of possible paths from initial to desired process states. Selection of the precise path taken through the process control plan is determined by a plan execution monitoring component. The plan execution monitor incrementally determines in real time appropriate partial paths through the process control plan based on sensory input gathered from real-time process monitoring. This real-time selection of appropriate plan fragments and control methods contained in the process control plan is facilitated through the use of a sponsor-selector mechanism. The usefulness of this approach to intelligent control is demonstrated by applying the architecture to the control of a microwave-based composite material fabrication process. Experimental results demonstrate the effectiveness of IPCA in this domain.


The design of streets, and the connections between streets of different character, is the most important task for architects and urbanists working in an urban context. Considered at two distinct spatial scales – that of the individual street – the Street Section – and the complex of city streets – the City Transect – The Urban Section identifies a range of generic street types and their success or otherwise in responding to climatic, cultural, traditional, morphological, social and economic well being.
Using comparative studies a profile of best practice in street and city design is identified, showing methodologies in both the analysis of, and design for, successful streets and public places – place-making. In uniquely dealing with both the historic and contemporary description and analysis of urban 'streets' around the world, the work is of both academic and professional interest to architects, urban planners and designers, highway engineers, landscape and urban design advisers in both the public and private sectors; students, amenity and civic societies, city authorities and government agencies.


Bush v. Gore brought an unprecedented level of attention to the administration of elections. This legal and political spotlight offers an ideal opportunity to reflect on the importance of the voting process, and evaluate how the choices election officials make in administering elections impact the civil rights of different groups. It is with this goal that this Article examines voting rights for people with disabilities. Part II canvasses the available data and presents the range of barriers that people with disabilities face in exercising their right to vote. Two patterns emerge. First, people with disabilities tend to vote in lower numbers than the general population. Second, when they do vote, their voting experience is fundamentally different than most other voters. Inaccessible polling places force many people with disabilities to vote in other, less public ways (like curbside or absentee ballots). And the voting machines used in federal elections do not allow many people with disabilities to cast their vote secretly and independently. These inequities have developed because of the failure of federal and state law. This is not a technological issue, but the result of choices by lawmakers and election officials. Part III argues that as a policy matter, this is a grave problem. Denial of a secret and independent vote and polling place access for people with disabilities offends the values of "equal dignity" and "expanded instrumentalism." From an equal dignity perspective, it is troubling when different groups of people are treated differently when exercising a fundamental right. Expanded instrumentalism, in contrast, is concerned with practices and laws that undermine the effectiveness, accuracy, and informed nature of the exercise of a right for a particular group. The lack of secret and independent voting for people with disabilities creates a heightened chance of voter fraud (demonstrated by "volunteers" trying to change votes), and suggests that people with disabilities are not able to function independently. Similarly, non-polling place voting lessens the voting power of people with disabilities, (by forcing them to vote before other citizens, by absentee ballot, or, with curbside voting, denying their right to vote completely in cases of inclement weather), and sends a harmful signal about their inclusion into larger society. For these reasons, I suggest that merely ensuring "the right to vote" for people with disabilities is not enough - they must be guaranteed the ability to vote on the same terms as their fellow citizens. Part IV explores the structure and viability of an argument for a constitutional right for people with disabilities to vote in their polling places, and to vote in a secret and independent manner. Although, relying heavily on Bush v. Gore's statement that one source of the fundamental nature of the right to vote "lies in the equal weight accorded to each vote and the equal dignity owed to each voter," such an argument is possible, it does not stand a strong chance of success in today's federal courts. More fruitful, suggested in Part V, is a federal statutory model. This Part presents and evaluates the Help America Vote Act (HAVA) as it impacts the voting rights of people with disabilities. While this statute unambiguously provides a federal right for people with disabilities to vote secretly and independently, it is less definite on polling place access. Ultimately, this Part concludes that much of HAVA's success in creating change will depend on how it is funded and administered.


Magnetically induced current densities and current pathways have been calculated for a series of fully annelated dicationic and dianionic tetraphenylenes, which are also named [8]circulenes. The gauge including magnetically induced current (GIMIC) method has been employed for calculating the current density susceptibilities. The aromatic character and current pathways are deduced from the calculated current density susceptibilities showing that the neutral [8]circulenes have two concentric pathways with aromatic and antiaromatic character, respectively. The inner octatetraene core (the hub) is found to sustain a paratropic (antiaromatic) ring current, whereas the ring current along the outer part of the macrocycle (the rim) is diatropic (aromatic). The neutral [8]circulenes can be considered nonaromatic, because the sum of the ring-current strengths of the hub and the rim almost vanishes. The aromatic character of the doubly charged [8]circulenes is completely different: the dianionic [8]circulenes and the OC-, CH-, CH2-, SiH-, GeH-, SiH2-, and GeH2-containing dicationic species sustain net diatropic ring currents i.e., they are aromatic, whereas the O-, S-, Se-, NH-, PH- and AsH-containing dicationic [8]circulenes are strongly antiaromatic. The present study also shows that GIMIC calculations on the [8]circulenes provide more accurate information about the aromatic character than that obtained using local indices such as nuclear-independent chemical shifts (NICSs) and (1)H NMR chemical shifts.


Chicago has been the railroad hub of the nation since the middle of the 19 Century. It continues to maintain that distinction today as almost one-third of the nation's rail freight originates, terminates or travels through Chicago. It is the fourth largest container handler in the world after Hong Kong, Singapore and Shanghai. It is also the crossroads of the nation's Interstate Highway system. With O'Hare International and Midway Airports, it is the nation's air hub as well. Chicago also is one of the leading metropolitan areas in congestion. The Texas Transportation Institute ranks it second in the nation in congestion when measuring the travel time index. The U. S. Department of Transportation estimates the annual cost of congestion in the Chicago area to be in the order of magnitude of $11 billion. This represents time delays, excess fuel costs, productivity, environmental, safety and unreliability losses, cargo delays and airline and railroad congestion costs. Freight congestion is a significant cause of much of the delay that Chicago area commuters face. Some of the freight impacts on the Chicago commute are as follows: Freight train interference impacts Metra's ability to provide quality commuter rail service. It is a major cause of commuter train delays and resulting poorer on-time performance. In 2007, almost 18 percent of all Metra delays were caused by freight interference, an increase of 8 percent over the prior year. Additionally, freight train operations impede the ability of Metra to add service, particularly for the reverse commute, a growing need in the region, and for off-peak service. Congestion in rail yards causes back-ups of trains resulting in blocked highwaygrade crossings. This delays auto commuters as well as transit and school buses. Blocked crossings also provide barriers to emergency responders in many communities. Rail yard congestion has also resulted in a large number of rubber-tire transfers via truck cartage from one rail yard to another. Container traffic is growing at a rate almost twice that of general freight. An estimated 15,000 such movements occur daily in Chicago area adding significantly to an already crowded roadway system. One of the largest components of increased VMT (Vehicle Miles Traveled) is increased truck traffic. Changing distribution patterns, smaller shipments, just-intime distribution, has added vehicles to the highways contributing to congestion. Our research has shown that the largest increase in VMT, almost 42 percent, has resulted from non-household travel, trucks and external travel. Decentralization of manufacturing and distribution facilities to the outer suburban area increases cartage mileage and costs. For example, intermodal facilities have located in Rochelle and Joliet, 81 and 47 miles respectively from Chicago. Solid waste is being transported to Pontiac, Illinois, 98 miles from Chicago. The Chicago metropolitan region has experienced increased congestion in the past two decades, much of it the result of increased truck and rail freight traffic. Forecasts predict


Wikipedia has been cited in over four hundred American judicial opinions. Courts have taken judicial notice of Wikipedia content, based their reasoning on Wikipedia entries, and decided dispositive motions on the basis of Wikipedia content. The impermanent nature of Wikipedia entries and their questionable quality raises a number of unique concerns. To date, no law review article has comprehensively examined the citation of Wikipedia in judicial opinions or considered its long-range implications for American law.This article reports the results of an exhaustive study examining every American judicial opinion that cites a Wikipedia entry. The article begins with a discussion of cases that cite Wikipedia for a significant aspect of the case before the court. The impact of these citations on litigants' constitutional and procedural rights, the law of evidence, judicial ethics, and the judicial role in the common law adversarial system are explored. Part II discusses collateral references to Wikipedia entries. Part III proposes a set of best practices for when and how Wikipedia should be cited. Detailed statistics on the quality of Wikipedia entries cited in judicial opinions and the completeness and accuracy of citations to Wikipedia entries are provided. The article concludes with a discussion of the impact of Wikipedia citations in judicial opinions on the future of the law.


Objective: The aim of present study was to evaluate phytochemical, cytotoxic and antioxidant potential of dichloromethane and methanol extracts of Dryopteris ramosa (Hope) C. Chr. belongs to family Dryopteridaceae. The plant is traditionally used as anthelminthic, diuretic, antibacterial, astringent and as tonic for various stomach and intestinal problems. Method: The phytochemical potential, total phenol, flavonoid and alkaloid contents of Dryopteris ramosa were determined for the first time. Plant was subjected to Brine shrimp lethality and DPPH inhibition assay was done. Identification and quantification of various phenolic content by was done HPLC. Results: Phytochemical analysis revealed that flavonoids, terpenoids, cardiac glycosides, alkaloids and saponins were present in the plant while tannins were absent. The results depicted high in vitro cytotoxic effect by dichloromethane extract with a LD50 0.6903 μl/ml as standardized with Etoposide with LD50 of 7.4625 μl/ml. The methanol extract showed the strong DPPH scavenging activity with 72.76 ± 1.52% inhibition as compared to the dichloromethane extract with 55.37 ± 3.055% inhibition. The high phenol content was found in methanol extract having 199.2 ± 4.50(mg of GA/g of extract). HPLC analysis showed the presence of various phenol compounds (Gallic acid, quercetin, caffeic aid, vanillic acid, cinnamic acid etc.) with their relevant concentration, in the plant. The dichloromethane extract exhibited high flavonoid content 73.02 ± 1.00 (mg of RE/g of extract). Alkaloidal content was highest in dichloromethane extract with 29.73 ± 4.04 (mg of AE/g of extract).


We propose a method for estimation of the 3D shape of a non-convex object from an image sequence taken with the object rotating under a fixed light source. First, all the territory candidates of the object are prepared in voxel space. The empty voxels are selected by using cross-section estimation using a silhouette, that is the conventional method. However this method cannot reconstruct the non-convex object, because change isn't shown in the silhouette by the dents. Therefore, we remove part of the dents by using the cross-section estimation using occlusion and shading. For the cross-section estimation using occlusion, we apply a technique similar to the shape from silhouette. That is to say, the ray connects the point of view and occlusion to the tangent toward the front object of occlusion and removes the territory surrounded by the corresponding two tangents of the two neighboring views. For the cross-section estimation using shading, we decide the most suitable position of the surface point in the searched ray, which connects a point of view and the surface and on which the surface point is searched. To decide a suitable position, we examine a change in brightness of backward rays, which connect a voxel and each point of view. At each voxel on the searched ray, the most suitable position is where the degree of agreement with the bi-directional reflectance model is the highest. For demonstrating the effectiveness of the proposed method, we show the reconstructed image of non-convex objects, such as balls, or a doll and chair, which are successfully recovered.


In decisions since Miranda, the Supreme Court has characterized the required warnings as less than constitutionally required ?prophylactic rules.? The prophylactic rules cases are generally regarded as inconsistent with the Court?s cases applying Miranda in state cases. The Fourth Circuit?s recent Dickerson decision relied on the prophylactic rules cases to admit a Miranda-tainted statement on the authority of Title II of the 1968 Crime Control Act, which purports to repudiate Miranda in favor of the due process voluntariness test. The Department of Justice asked the court to review Dickerson, and cert was granted in early December. The article argues that consistency does not require major changes in the law. In only five cases has the Court approved the admission of evidence obtained in violation of Miranda. The impeachment cases can be squared with Miranda on either or both of two theories. First, the defendant who testifies at trial waives the privilege at trial and can be compelled to answer pertinent questions on cross. Thus the use of previously compelled testimony for impeachment does not constitute a renewed violation of the Fifth Amendment, and adequate deterrence of the pretrial compulsion satisfies the Fifth Amendment. Second, compelled statements admitted for credibility rather than truth are not testimonial, so long as the jury follows the court?s instructions. The limiting instruction is a fiction, but in many other cases the constitutionality of admitting evidence depends on just this fiction. The need to deter coerced confessions justifies a broader exclusionary rule for due process violations, and the greater difficulty of proving perjury when the pretrial statement was not sworn justifies a broader exclusionary rule for statements compelled by formal process. The derivative evidence cases can be read as merely shifting the burden of proof on the issue of whether evidence was derived from previously compelled testimony. Given that interrogation takes place at an early and dynamic stage of the investigation, exclusion of all evidence arguably derived from a Miranda violation would cost the government much evidence it would have discovered in the absence of the violation. By contrast, immunity grants are deliberate prosecutorial decisions, issued after the government has exhausted other avenues of investigation. It follows that assigning the government the burden of disproving causation in immunity cases, but assigning the defense the burden of proving causation in Miranda cases, rests on a defensible distinction. The public safety case can be squared with Miranda by emphasizing the interplay between custody and interrogation. When the suspect is asked a single question in public during an emergency, it is fair to say that even though the suspect is in custody and even though the suspect has been questioned, the suspect has not been subjected to custodial interrogation. Traffic stops and prison informers have been held not to involve custodial interrogation, even though in both contexts the suspect is not free to leave and is questioned. The underlying theory of the prophylactic rules cases is indeed inconsistent with the underlying theory of Miranda. It is possible, however, to explain almost all the holdings in the Miranda caselaw without calling Miranda into question.


The purpose of this paper is to examine the exclusion effect on excluded stocks' cost of equity capital. We study the effect by examining European and US tobacco stocks before and after 2010, relative to chosen comparable companies. Our findings suggest that exclusions of tobacco companies can have a significant direct effect on the cost of equity. The direct effect can be explained by Merton's market segmentation model, and a premium for "boycotted" stocks. Exclusionary investing creates a segmented market, which reduces the demand for the excluded stocks, causing limited risk-sharing and restricted diversification opportunities for investors. Thus, investors will require a risk premium for holding excluded stocks, implying a higher cost of equity for excluded stocks. Additionally, we study coal companies to examine the effects and implications of excluding fossil fuel companies. Our results indicate that the exclusions of coal companies have no significant direct effect on the cost of equity. These findings could imply that there is not a sufficient number of investors who have excluded coal stocks. The coal industry has been the primary focus for exclusions within the fossil fuel industry. Hence, the direct exclusion effect of oil and gas companies on their cost of equity will likely be limited.


From the Publisher:
This book is designed to serve two specific needs: * A tutorial on how to write PLI applications * A reference book on the IEEE 1364-1998 Verilog PLI standard.
Towards this end, this book has two distinct parts. Part One is written for new users of the PLI. These chapters explain how the PLI works and how it is used to solve basic design verification tasks. A large number of small but useful examples illustrate the concepts presented in each chapter. Part Two provides a comprehensive reference of the IEEE 1364 PLI standard.
The Verilog PLI Handbook: A User's Guide and Comprehensive Reference on the Verilog Programming Language Interface will be of interest to hardware design engineers who use or are familiar with the Verilog Hardware Description Language.


Since growth of cool season grasses is more related to soil temperatures than air temperatures, a method was developed for independent control of soil and air temperatures utilizing a modified chest-type freezer placed inside a controlled environment growth chamber. The freezer door was replaced with a plywood top insulated with styrofoam. Pots containing two cultivars of Poa pratensis L. were suspended through holes in the top into the freezer chamber and root zone temperature was controlled utilizing a sensitive thermostat. Carboys containing nutrient solution were placed in the chamber and subirrigation was accomplished by pressurizing the carboys with an air pump. The temperature of the material in the pots reached equilibrium with the freezer environment in 4 hours. The system was effective in controlling root-zone temperatures at optimum for shoot growth (22 C) during a 10-week period where ambient temperatures were increased in 4 C increments every 2 weeks from 22 C to 38 C. The system could be used wherever growth or physiological responses to soil temperature must be separated from responses to air temperature.


Circular migration is also being advocated as a potential solution (at least in part) to a number of challenges surrounding contemporary migration. What are policy-makers suggesting, why now, and what should we bear in mind if circular migration is indeed to be the way forward in global policy?


An experiment was conducted to evaluate how subjective impressions of a light source's colour quality depend upon the details of the shifts it causes in the colour appearance of illuminated objects. Twenty-eight participants each evaluated 26 lighting conditions in a 3.1 m by 3.7 m room filled with objects selected to cover a range of hue, saturation, and lightness. IES TM-30-15 Fidelity Index (Rf) values ranged from 64 to 93, IES TM-30 Gamut Index (Rg) values ranging from 79 to 117, and IES TM-30 red chroma shift (Rcs,h1) values ranging from −19% to 26%. All lighting conditions had the same nominal illuminance and chromaticity. Participants were asked to rate each condition on eight point scales for saturated–dull, normal–shifted, and like–dislike, as well as classifying the condition as one of saturated, dull, normal, or shifted. The findings suggest that gamut shape is more important than average gamut area for modeling human preference, with red playing a more important role than other hues. Average fidelity alone is a weak predictor of human perception, especially CIE Ra. Nine of the top 12 rated products had a CIE Ra value of 73 or less, which indicates that the criteria of CIE Ra ≥ 80 may be excluding many preferred light sources.


Qualitative and quantitative data are presented for secondary xylem of 14 species of four genera of Calyceraceae; root wood is studied for acaulescent perennials and one annual. The wood anatomy of most species of Calycera has character states identical to those seen in wood of most Asteraceae (including phylads of Asteraceae thought to be basic in that family) . Goodeniaceae have two features (tracheids, diffuse parenchyma) more primit ive than corresponding conditions in Asteraceae and CaIyceraceae according to traditional criteria. Diversity in wood anatomy within Calyceraceae is explainable in terms of adaptation to particular ecological conditions. Although woods of the family as a whole are xeromorphic, most Calycera species show few adaptations to extreme xeromorphy. The highest degree of wood xeromorphy occurs in species of relatively high elevation or high latitude. The presence of pseudoscalariform pitting, with transitions to helical-banded secondary xylem vessels, very much like those of primary xylem, in Boopis graminea and Nastanthus spp., coupled with absence of Iibriform fibers (replaced by axial parenchyma) are probably related to expansion and contraction of the wood in response to fluctuation in moisture availability.


Polyurethane dispersions containing phosphate and siloxane groups in the main chain were investigated as possible self-assembling metal coatings. Improved adhesion of the polymer to the metal was observed because of the formation of an insoluble metal phosphate layer at the metal–coating interface. The neutralizing amine of the dispersions affected the formation of this metal phosphate, and the metal phosphate formation was dependent on the curing temperature and boiling point of the amine used for neutralization. A crosscut comparative study of adhesion proved that the phosphate-containing coatings had better adhesion because of the formation of ionic bonds at the metal–coating interface. A solid-state adhesion prediction method based on thermodynamic considerations was used. The results of the solid-state adhesion method correlated well with that obtained from the crosscut adhesion test method. © 2003 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 88: 900–907, 2003


The old nova DQ Herculis was the Whole Earth Telescope Northern Hemisphere target for the 1997 July campaign and was observed on four nights with the SARA 0.9 m telescope during 2003 June. We present updated ephemerides for the eclipse and 71 s timings. The Fourier transform displays power at the presumed white dwarf spin period of 71.0655 s, but no significant power at either 142 or 35.5 s. The mean pulsed light curve is obtained by folding on the orbital period modulus the mean ephemeris of the 71 s period, and from this we calculate an O - C phase diagram and amplitude versus orbital phase diagrams. In addition to the phase variations during eclipse ingress and egress, the WET data reveal significant phase variations outside of eclipse. These must result from the self-eclipse of a nonaxisymmetric disk. We simulated the disk in DQ Her using smoothed particle hydrodynamics. We improve our effective spatial signal-to-noise ratio by combining 250 snapshots of the N = 20,000 phase space solution over time to obtain a 5 million particle ensemble disk. From the surface shape of the ensemble disk, the radius and vertical height above the midplane of the rim of the reprocessing region can be derived as a function of azimuthal angle. From this profile we can calculate the O - C phase and amplitude diagrams as a function of inclination angle. The calculated O - C diagrams are a remarkably good match to the observed phase and amplitude variations of the 71 s signal. The best match is for inclination angle 89.°7.


This paper develops and tests a recursive model of debt issuance and rating migration. We examine a signaling game with firms who have private information about their probability distribution of future rating migration. A key assumption of the model is that rating agencies reveal information over time, creating a recursive information problem, which in turn generates an adverse selection problem in debt issuance similar to that for equity issuance in Myers and Majluf (1984). This adverse selection model predicts that debt issuance provides a negative signal of rating migration, and that the signal strengthens with economic downturns. Another prediction regarding the maturity of debt issuance is that long maturity debt sends a negative signal relative to short maturity debt (Flannery 1986). Using data from 1980 to 1998 on straight bond issuance and Moody's ratings, and controlling for firm and issue specific factors, we find that debt issuance sends a negative signal of a firm?s default probability, and that this signal intensifies with a decline in economic activity and with an increase in debt maturity.


Abstract. The darkening effects of biological impurities on ice and snow have been recognised as a control on the surface energy balance of terrestrial snow, sea ice, glaciers and ice sheets. With a heightened interest in understanding the impacts of a changing climate on snow and ice processes, quantifying the impact of biological impurities on ice and snow albedo ( bioalbedo ) and its evolution through time is a rapidly growing field of research. However, rigorous quantification of bioalbedo has remained elusive because of difficulties in isolating the biological contribution to ice albedo from that of inorganic impurities and the variable optical properties of the ice itself. For this reason, isolation of the biological signature in reflectance data obtained from aerial/orbital platforms has not been achieved, even when ground-based biological measurements have been available. This paper provides the cell-specific optical properties that are required to model the spectral signatures and broadband darkening of ice. Applying radiative transfer theory, these properties provide the physical basis needed to link biological and glaciological ground measurements with remotely sensed reflectance data. Using these new capabilities we confirm that biological impurities can influence ice albedo, then we identify 10 challenges to the measurement of bioalbedo in the field with the aim of improving future experimental designs to better quantify bioalbedo feedbacks. These challenges are (1) ambiguity in terminology, (2) characterising snow or ice optical properties, (3) characterising solar irradiance, (4) determining optical properties of cells, (5) measuring biomass, (6) characterising vertical distribution of cells, (7) characterising abiotic impurities, (8) surface anisotropy, (9) measuring indirect albedo feedbacks, and (10) measurement and instrument configurations. This paper aims to provide a broad audience of glaciologists and biologists with an overview of radiative transfer and albedo that could support future experimental design.


Study Design. A systematic review. Objectives. To determine the quality of the research and assess the interexaminer and intraexaminer reliability of spinal palpatory diagnostic procedures. Summary of Background Data. Conflicting data have been reported over the past 35 years regarding the reliability of spinal palpatory tests. Methods. The authors used 13 electronic databases and manually searched the literature from January 1, 1966 to October 1, 2001. Forty-nine (6%) of 797 primary research articles met the inclusion criteria. Two blinded, independent reviewers scored each article. Consensus or a content expert reconciled discrepancies. Results. The quality scores ranged from 25 to 79/100. Subject description, study design, and presentation of results were the weakest areas. The 12 highest quality articles found pain provocation, motion, and landmark location tests to have acceptable reliability (K = 0.40 or greater), but they were not always reproducible by other examiners under similar conditions. In those that used kappa statistics, a higher percentage of the pain provocation studies (64%) demonstrated acceptable reliability, followed by motion studies (58%), landmark (33%), and soft tissue studies (0%). Regional range of motion is more reliable than segmental range of motion, and intraexaminer reliability is better than interexaminer reliability. Overall, examiners' discipline, experience level, consensus on procedure used, training just before the study, or use of symptomatic subjects do not improve reliability. Conclusion. The quality of the research on interreliability and intrareliability of spinal palpatory diagnostic procedures needs to be improved. Pain provocation tests are most reliable. Soft tissue paraspinal palpatory diagnostic tests are not reliable.


The phenomenon of learning has always been of fundamental interest to psychologists. Although much of the research in this area approaches the process of learning as a consequence of direct experience, this volume is principally concerned with learning by example. A widening interest in modeling and vicarious processes of learning has been apparent in recent years. "Psychological Modeling" highlights the most important work done in the subject and offers an extensive review of the major theories of learning by modeling. In his introductory essay, the editor identifies the most important controversial issues in the field of observational learning and reviews a large body of research findings. Among the questions debated in this volume are: How do observers form an internal model of the outside world to guide their actions? What role does reinforcement play in observational learning? What is the relative effectiveness of models presented in live action, in pictorial presentations, or through verbal description? What is the scope of modeling influences? What factors determine whether people will learn what they have observed? What types of people are most susceptible to modeling influences, and what types of models are most influential in modifying the behavior of others? This volume deals with an important problem area in a lively fashion. Its special organization makes it a stimulating adjunct to all courses in psychology - undergraduate and graduate - in which psychological modeling is discussed. It also provides a readable introduction for educators and other professionals seeking reliable information on the state of knowledge in this area.


This essay attempts to elucidate the structual principles of Irving9s "low" humor in the Knickerbocker History of New York by showing that the History is predicated on a schema of human development. In this comprehensive comic allegory the "peopling" of North America suggests the process of human reproduction while the "infant history" of seventeenth-century New York parallels the process of childhood psychological development according to a Freudian psychoanalytic model. As clusters of comic imagery and episode reveal, the reigns of Irving9s three Dutch governors-Walter the Doubter, William the Testy, and Peter the Headstrong-embody the oral, anal, and genital (phallic) stages of child development. Similarly, the instinctual orientation of the gubernatorial body is mirrored in the body politic. The reign of Peter Stuyvesant, which occupies the most space in the History, is also notable for a pair of allegorical doublets, Jacobus Von Poffenburgh and Antony Van Corlear, who represent Peter9s false and true phallic heroes, respectively. During Peter9s reign, an implied contest between these two phallic personages transpires, ending with the English takeover of New Amsterdam.


BACKGROUND
Although precise mechanisms remain to be determined, recent studies show that heme oxygenase-1 (HO-1), providing endogenous carbon monoxide (CO) and bilirubin, serves as an antiinflammatory enzyme. This study aimed to clarify roles of CO in regulation of microvascular adhesion of platelets and leukocytes in endotoxemia.

METHODS
Rats pretreated with or without hemin were anesthetized with pentobarbital and received continuous infusion of endotoxin. Platelets labeled with carboxyfluorescein diacetate succinimidyl ester and leukocyte behavior in mesenteric venules were visualized using intravital ultra-high-speed intensified fluorescence videomicroscopy. To examine the mechanisms for the effects of HO-1 on platelet and leukocyte behavior during endotoxemia, these studies were repeated with superfusion of either CO, bilirubin, or zinc protoporphyrine-IX.

RESULTS
Endotoxin caused a marked depression of platelet velocity traversing along periendothelial regions, accompanied by augmented rolling and adhesion of leukocytes in venules. The endotoxin-elicited changes were attenuated by the HO-1 induction with hemin and restored by blockade of the enzyme activity with zinc protoporphyrine-IX, a potent inhibitor of HO-1. Such an inhibitory action of HO-1 on microvascular cell adhesion was reproduced by local superfusion of the buffer containing CO at micromolar concentrations. Such antiadhesive actions of CO on leukocytes disappeared under immunoneutralization of glycoprotein Ibalpha, an adhesion molecule against platelets, but not against leukocytes. Platelets isolated from hemin-treated rats increased their ability to generate CO and displayed lesser sensitivity of agonist-induced aggregation than those from controls.

CONCLUSIONS
These results suggest that CO desensitizes endotoxin-induced adhesive responses of leukocytes, mainly through its ability to ameliorate platelet activation.


We consider real-time CORBA 1.2 (dynamic scheduling) distributable threads operating in multihop networks. When distributable threads are subject to time/utility function-time constraints, and timeliness optimality criteria such as maximizing accrued system-wide utility is desired, utility accrual real-time channels must be established. Such channels transport messages that are generated as distributable threads transcend nodes, in a way that maximizes system-wide, message-level utility. We present 1) a localized utility accrual channel establishment algorithm called localized decision for utility accrual channel establishment (or LocDUCE) and 2) a distributed utility accrual channel establishment algorithm called global decision for utility accrual channel establishment (or GloDUCE). Since the channel establishment problem is NP-complete. LocDUCE and GloDUCE heuristically compute channels, with LocDUCE making decisions based on local information pertaining to the node and GloDUCE making global decisions. We simulate the performance of the algorithms and compare them with the open shortest path first (OSPF) routing algorithm and the optimal algorithm. We also implement these algorithms in a prototype testbed and experimentally compare their performance with OSPF. Our simulation and experimental measurements reveal that GloDUCE and LocDUCE accrue significantly higher utility than OSPF and also perform close to the optimal for some cases. Furthermore, GloDUCE outperforms LocDUCE under high downstream traffic.


P olitics has inappropriately taken center stage in the South African response to the AIDS epidemic with the publication of the open letter from President Mbeki stating that "whatever lessons we have to and may draw from the West about the grave issue of HIV/AIDS, a simple superimposition of Western experience on African reality would be absurd and illogical." Ironically, those who offer misguided solutions for this "African reality" are not Africans, but a loosely connected group of Western scientists often referred to as "dissidents."

This latest instance is merely another entry in a lengthening list of politically driven decisions regarding the South African AIDS crisis. In 1998, a number of politicians, including President Mbeki, enthusiastically embraced virodene as an inexpensive therapeutic against AIDS without any scientific evidence. The government's refusal to give AZT to pregnant women for the prevention of maternal-fetal HIV transmission flies in the face of evidence showing that AZT and nevirapine reduce mother-to-child HIV transmission. This decision poses serious moral and ethical dilemmas in a nation where maternal-fetal transmission of HIV accounts annually for 10% of the total HIV disease burden. Most recently, the politically motivated suggestion, in the absence of scientific evidence, that malnutrition and poverty cause AIDS in Africa is not only absurd but may also represent a form of national denial. South Africa is rapidly becoming a fertile ground for the types of pseudoscience often embraced by politicians

During the critical period of 1990-95, when the HIV epidemic could have been curbed, South Africa had no effective government and no public health policy to deal with the epidemic. The current government was going through a process of massive renewal. New democratic civil institutions were being created at a phenomenal rate. In the midst of the heroic efforts to build a new, pluralistic South Africa, the HIV epidemic simply became one challenge too many. Now that the euphoria of Uhuru and social transformation in Africa has settled, the government finds itself lurching from one crisis to the next with no coherent short- or long-term strategy to deal with the explosive HIV/AIDS epidemic. Instead of accepting our mistakes, the government is retreating behind revisionist theories.

There is little doubt that HIV causes AIDS, as has been demonstrated by many carefully conducted experiments and clinical case studies. In contrast, there is no evidence that common African conditions such as poverty, malnutrition, and many chronic infectious diseases by themselves, singly or in combination, cause the characteristic immunodeficiency typical of AIDS, that is, progressive depletion of CD4+ cells. To conflate causation with cofactors through a mixture of pseudoscientific statements is scientifically and politically dangerous in societies where denial, chauvinism, fear, and ignorance are rampant. In such societies, the manipulation and misrepresentation of scientific facts only serve to fuel the epidemic.

The introduction of highly specific and effective antiretrovirals has transformed the natural history of HIV/AIDS. Today, in the developed countries, AIDS is seen as a controllable disease. Yet, these drugs are neither a panacea for the management of HIV/AIDS nor a cure. Furthermore, there are deep moral and ethical dilemmas with regard to sustainability and affordability of these treatments in developing countries. The South African government must address these problems immediately and unambiguously, at the level of policy and research.

The current political and scientific furor in South Africa, fuelled largely by the dissidents' theories on HIV/AIDS and the seeming support of Mr. Mbeki, has much broader implications for South Africa and South Africans than some are prepared to admit. The current controversy is undermining the constructive public health messages this government has put in place. It is sending mixed messages to all those who have dedicated themselves to the alleviation and eradication of this epidemic and is having a negative impact on the morale of affected patients and families. The undermining of scientists and the scientific method is especially dangerous in a developing country still in the process of establishing a strong scientific research base. Furthermore, it may erode investor confidence in our country, with dire economic consequences. We present South Africans cannot afford to make any more mistakes lest history judges us to have collaborated in one of the greatest crimes of our time.

Previous articles from Science concerning the controversy over HIV and AIDS


Global aerosol optical thicknesses and radiative properties need to be known for the study of decadal temperature change. Aerosol distributions have been developed from global transport models for a mixture of sulfate and carbonaceous aerosols from fossil fuel burning, including also contributions from other major aerosol types such as soil dust and sea salt. Between the years 1950 and 1990 the aerosol distributions change due to changes in emissions of SO2 and carbon particles from fossil fuel burning. The optical thickness of fossil fuel derived aerosols increased by nearly a factor of 3 during this period, with particularly strong increase in eastern Asia. In countries where environmental laws came into effect since the early 1980s (e.g., United States and western Europe), emissions and consequently aerosol optical thicknesses did not increase considerably after 1980, resulting in a shift in the global distribution pattern. In addition to the optical thickness, aerosol single scattering albedos may have changed during this period due to different trends in absorbing black carbon and reflecting sulfate aerosols. However, due to uncertainties in the emission trends, which are especially large in the case of carbonaceous aerosols, such change cannot be determined with any confidence. Radiative forcing of this aerosol distribution is calculated for several scenarios. Uncertainties in the contribution of the strongly absorbing black carbon aerosol leads to a range in top-of-atmosphere forcings of ≈ −0.5 to +0.1 Wm−2.


1. The acute ventilatory response to 3 min periods of hypoxia (AHR) was examined in nine patients with clinically complete spinal cord transection (T4‐T7) during (a) rest and (b) electrically induced leg exercise (EEL). 2. EEL was produced by surface electrode stimulation of the quadriceps muscles so as to cause the legs to extend at the knee against gravity. End‐tidal PCO2 was held constant 1‐2 mmHg above resting values throughout both protocols. 3. On exercise, the average increase in metabolic CO2 production (VCO2 +/‐ S.E.M.) was 41 +/‐ 5 ml min‐1. Venous lactate levels did not rise with exercise. 4. Baseline euoxic ventilation did not increase significantly with EEL, but there was a consistent and highly significant increase in the ventilatory response to hypoxia during EEL (mean delta AHR +/‐ S.E.M. of 1.6 +/‐ 0.21 min‐1). 5. We conclude that an increase in hypoxic sensitivity during exercise can occur in the absence of volitional control of exercise and in the absence of afferent neural input from the limbs.


Self-harm among adolescents presents unique treatment challenges and significant economic difficulties for community-based Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS). Dialectical Behaviour Therapy adapted for adolescents (DBT-A) is a promising treatment (Miller, Rathus, Linehan, Wetzler, & Leigh, 1997). However, research suggests variability in its implementation, compromising its efficacy. Furthermore, emotion dysregulation, the core theoretical construct underpinning the DBT model, is not generally targeted in measures of treatment outcome.

This thesis reviews the literature on emotion dysregulation in the ontogenesis of self-harm, linking it to early developmental experiences of attachment disruption and trauma. A major aim of this thesis is to develop a suitable, validated measure of adolescent emotion regulation for use with clinical populations. The thesis also explores the feasibility of applying a DBT-A programme to self-harming adolescents presenting at community CAMHS clinics in Perth, Western Australia.

Part A, consisting of four interrelated studies, investigates the psychometric properties and clinical utility of a reworded version of an adult measure of emotion regulation, the Affective Control Scale (Williams, Chambless, & Ahrens, 1997). The four sub-scales of the MACS-A and its total scale measuring Fear of Emotion were found to be internally consistent in a sample of high school students (N = 2,128) aged between 12 and 17 years. The MACS-A was also found to successfully discriminate between matched clinical and non-clinical samples of adolescents (N = 60) on all of its scales, except for the Fear of Positive Emotion sub-scale. Exploratory factor analysis revealed four factors that explained 35.4% of the common variance. A comparison of factor loadings over a two-week period indicated a relatively stable factor structure. In a further study, the MACS-A was also found to have moderate to high (0.68 – 0.93) internal consistency within a sample of young adults (N=73) aged 18 to 19 years of age.

Part B of this thesis sets out the development, implementation and evaluation of the 26-week DBT-A pilot programme, 'Life Surfing'. All five components of the Miller et al. (1997) programme, with the exception of out-of-hours telephone support and a follow-up patient consultation group, were included. A parent of each adolescent was also required to attend the 18-week family skills group. All individual and group sessions were videotaped for review by the multidisciplinary supervision-consultation team, and for later evaluation of treatment adherence. Baseline, post-treatment and three-month follow-up measures indicated improvements in the ability of adolescents to regulate their affect and a reduction in trauma symptomology. Adolescents' self-harm behaviours and suicidal ideation also decreased.

A general discussion of the unique contributions made by the five studies within Parts A and B of this thesis concludes this work. In particular, pragmatic issues related to further development and use of the MACS-A and recommendations regarding implementation of adolescent DBT programmes within community adolescent clinics are made from a scientist-practitioner perspective.


Examines the potential of listening to conversations taking place about immigration on Twitter. Summary Over the last fifteen years, immigration has become an increasingly important political issue in the United Kingdom – with growing concern among the settled population about its economic and cultural impact. In 2012, 60 per cent of citizens viewed the rate of settlement of migrants in the United Kingdom negatively, and three quarters wanted an overall reduction in immigration levels – scores which are consistently among the most negative in Europe. Over the same period, there has been a change in the way people access, consume and produce media: a shift away from mainstream media and toward internet- based content and social media. Social media is a new, dynamic and less hierarchical space which has opened up the public portrayal of immigration. It also presents a novel way to research and understand attitudes, trends and media consumption. The report focussed on: the frequency and type of conversations taking place on Twitter relating to immigration; the traffic flows of those conversations, such as what sort of stories get picked up by Twitter users and shared; the demographic and topographic features of these conversations; the effectiveness of automated data collection and analysis; and the ethical and methodological considerations in doing work of this nature. Concludes by setting out the strengths and weaknesses of using Twitter data as a source of insight and research, and where it might be usefully employed by research and campaign groups.