Since 2004, Iowa State University Extension and Outreach has been working with Latino entrepreneurs in Iowa and the Midwest to better understand the needs of the fastest growing group of entrepreneurs. After several studies and requests from communities, ISU determined the strengths and weaknesses that Latino Entrepreneurs face, to further encourage sustainable entrepreneurship among newcomers to the Midwest. While urban areas have been intensively studied, the focus has been geared towards rural areas since these are the areas where Latinos have made the biggest impact in the last two decades. The last two decades refer to impact in terms of percentages of growth in population and businesses. Iowa State University has designed several programs aimed at educating Latinos in communities, helping to develop necessary leadership skills, and participate in the communities that they live and work in. One of the key findings in working with Latino entrepreneurs in the Midwest was the lack of knowledge and support of some key business concepts such as: 1) marketing; 2) expansion techniques; 3) taxes; 4) permits; and 5) portfolio diversification (Borich, 2009). To approach and address these issues, ISU Extension and Outreach developed the Latino Business Outreach Program. In Wapello County, Extension partnered with different community agencies and volunteers to start a Microloan program with goals to promote entrepreneurship, leadership and mentor Latino entrepreneurs. The program, still in its initial steps, has become a model of inspiration on how communities can take a non-traditional approach to economic development, social integration and leadership development. Microlending is becoming an important alternative to underserved businesses (Bernanke, 2007) because it provides flexible, fast, small financing and can educate entrepreneurs. We know from research that small businesses can be an answer to the economic issues in rural communities (Martinez, 2005). By creating the necessary tools needed to help those small businesses flourish we can bring economic and social wealth to communities in rural America.


Abstract The 40Ar/39Ar technique is the most commonly used technique to date basaltic rocks. For basaltic rocks older than about 30 Ma, the dating of plagioclase separates is preferred over groundmass as the latter is susceptible to containing cryptic alteration due to fluid circulations, difficult if not impossible to remove during sample preparation. Alteration under such metamorphic conditions progressively forms K-rich sericite after plagioclase. Owing to its transparency, plagioclase allows a distinction to be made optically between partially–completely altered grains and fresh grains. However, practice shows that grains that contain less than about 1% of sericite are hard to identify under the stereomicroscope. Owing to the high K2O content (c. 10 wt%) of sericite, such compromised grains can have dramatic effects on the age determination of plagioclase. Here, we investigate and quantify the effect of sericite on the 40Ar/39Ar age determination of plagioclase using a numerical model with multiple variable parameters. We show that the most influential parameter is the time difference between the crystallization of plagioclase and the sericitization event. We also show that for some continental flood basalts, even 0.1 wt% of sericite can bias the apparent age of a plagioclase separate by several hundred thousand years. The presence of sericite can be identified using a combination of Ca/K ratios, age spectra, and 39Ar and 37Ar degassing curves obtained during a conventional 40Ar/39Ar step-heating procedure. When the age of the fresh plagioclase and its Ca/K ratio are known, the percentage of sericitization and the age of the alteration event can be estimated. Ultimately, above approximately 65% of sericitization, the apparent age measured on the altered plagioclase is within ±1% of the age of the alteration event, with implications for accurately dating low-temperature metamorphism and mineral deposit formations. Supplementary material: Further details of calculation are available at www.geolsoc.org.uk/SUP18609.


Thermal storage is one solution to efficiently use the renewable energy. In this paper we analyze the impact of thermal storage on the building heating and domestic hot water autonomy in the case of local renewable energy production. To be relevant, various building types have been investigated. We proposed earlier a PCM storage solution [1] that solved the efficient heat extraction challenge for building heating [2] [3]. In this paper, we present the first results of a PCM storage system for domestic hot water with measurements of discharge heating power in line with computational fluid dynamics simulations. A comparison of both heat storage systems is however not possible because of their different structures. In order to compare the efficiencies of the PCM discharge for hot water production and air temperature control, we have designed a new PCM heat exchanger that can be used in both cases. Its structure consists of several PCM layers sandwiched between loading and discharge layers. By circulating air or water in the discharge circuit, the heat exchanger can be used for heating air or water, respectively. For both use cases, a three-dimensional analysis of the phase change and calculations of the charge/discharge powers were performed for the fusion and solidification processes. We obtained heating discharge powers ≥ 2.6 kW/m for 8 hours for air and ≥ 65 kW/m for 13 minutes for water with a respective total storage capacity of 28 kWh/m and 37 kWh/m. The heat extraction of air and water flows and their time dependence are discussed according to the percentage of liquid PCM and the temperature profile of the discharge flow inside the heat exchanger.


In a fascinating excursion through the history of her myth, Siegmund Hurwitz presents and interprets the ancient dark-winged goddess Lilith, also known as 'the first Eve'. The author's extraordinarily meticulous study of the original sources brings to light a striking figure long lost from our awareness, yet highly relevant to a psychological understanding of today's evolving masculine and feminine identities. Case material from his analytical practice imbeds Lilith in the everyday problems of contemporary life.


State-subsidized programs develop medical data integration centers in Germany. To get infection disease (ID) researchers involved in the process of data sharing, common interests and minimum data requirements were prioritized. In 06/2019 we have initiated the German Infectious Disease Data Exchange (iDEx) project. We have developed and performed an online survey to determine prioritization of requests for data integration and exchange in ID research. The survey was designed with three sub-surveys, including a ranking of 15 data categories and 184 specific data items and a query of available 51 data collecting systems. A total of 84 researchers from 17 fields of ID research participated in the survey (predominant research fields: gastrointestinal infections n=11, healthcare-associated and antibiotic-resistant infections n=10, hepatitis n=10). 48% (40/84) of participants had experience as medical doctor. The three top ranked data categories were microbiology and parasitology, experimental data, and medication (53%, 52%, and 47% of maximal points, respectively). The most relevant data items for these categories were bloodstream infections, availability of biomaterial, and medication (88%, 87%, and 94% of maximal points, respectively). The ranking of requests of data integration and exchange is diverse and depends on the chosen measure. However, there is need to promote discipline-related digitalization and data exchange.


Aphids cause considerable damage in strawberry crops and massive applications of insecticides have come to a limit with the appearance of plant pathogens resistance. Aphid species such as Rhodobium porosum and Aphis gossypii are resistant to all chemical molecules approved on strawberry crops in France. The large variety of aphid species encountered on the strawberry crop, requires the use of non specific beneficial organisms such as lacewings. The lacewing Chrysoperla carnea is widely known as a natural beneficial insect against aphids. However, its effective use as a predator introduced in strawberry crops has still to be confirmed. The experiment carried out in the year 2007 intended to assess its efficiency as a predator on strawberry plants. In this experiment, various treatments were compared on soil- and soilless-grown everbearing strawberry crops: 1 lacewing per plant, 5 lacewings per plant, and, in the soil-grown crop only, a control treatment without lacewing. The treatments were repeated every two weeks starting from planting date. The results show that aphid infestations were successfully limited by the use of lacewings. The absence of chemical treatment during the release of lacewings was quite encouraging. Control of pest populations differed according to the amount of lacewings introduced, with 5 lacewings per plant, the predatory action could be characterised as both preventive and curative. With 1 lacewing per plant, the increase in aphid populations was limited but it is suggested that several treatments might be necessary to stop this increase. These experiments confirm that lacewings can be used as predators of aphid populations in strawberry crops. Further studies are now required to develop control strategies using lacewings introduction that may be adopted by strawberry growers.


Hollow carbon nanostructures are emerging as advanced electrocatalysts for the oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) due to the effective usage of active sites and the reduced dependence on expensive noble metals. Conventional preparation of these hollow structures is achieved through templates (e.g. SiO2, CdS, and Ni3C), which serve to retain the void interiors during carbonization, leading to an essential template-removal procedure using hazardous chemical etchants. Herein, we demonstrate the direct carbonization of unique hollow zeolitic imidazolate frameworks (ZIFs) for the synthesis of hollow carbon polyhedrons (HCPs) with well-defined morphologies. The hollow ZIF particles behave bi-functionally as a carbon source and a morphology directing agent. This method evidences the strong morphology inherence from the hollow ZIFs during the carbonization, advancing the significant simplicity and environmental friendliness of this synthesis strategy. The as-prepared HCPs show a uniform polyhedral morphology and large void interiors, which enable their superior ORR activity. Iron can be doped into the HCPs (Fe/HCPs), providing the Fe/HCPs with enhanced ORR properties (E1/2 = 0.850 V) in comparison with those of HCPs. We highlight the efficient structural engineering to transform ZIFs into advanced carbon nanostructures accomplishing morphological control and high electrocatalytic activity.


Recurrent miscarriage, is defined as three or more consecutive pregnancy losses before 20 weeks of gestation. It affects 0.5-2% of pregnant women. A great variety of aetiologic factors has been identified, but a specific cause is still unknown in 50% of cases. It has been suggested that immune causes, including abnormalities in either cytokine production or immune cell populations may be the reason for some of these cases. It is also known that some women with recurrent miscarriage have an endometrial defect, which may lead to abnormal development of the feto-placental unit and subsequent miscarriage. Cytokines are known to be important in the control of embryo implantation and therefore it is possible that abnormalities in endometrial cytokine expression could provide an explanation for unexplained recurrent miscarriages. This study has therefore focused on the possible role of some pro-inflammatory cytokines and leptin in recurrent miscarriage. In the first part of the study, polymerase chain reaction (PCR) was used to establish the frequency of alleles of IL1RN, IL1beta and leptin receptor genes in the DNA extracted from peripheral blood from women who suffer recurrent miscarriage and compared to that seen in controls. The results for both IL1RN tandem repeat polymorphism and IL1beta-511 polymorphism showed that there was no significant difference between the genotype distribution or allele frequency in recurrent miscarriage women and the control population. For IL1beta-511 this was true whether the analysis was carried out on data obtained from the recurrent miscarriage group as a whole or when the women were divided according to the cause of the miscarriage. In the case of IL1RN polymorphism, an increased frequency of 2,2 genotype was seen in recurrent miscarriage women with PCOS, but the numbers in this group were very small.The GLN223ARG leptin receptor polymorphism investigated in this study results in the substitution of amino acids glutamine to arginine in the transmembrane section of the receptor. The results showed no significant difference between the distribution of GLN223ARG leptin receptor genotypes in the recurrent miscarriage women as a whole group compared to the control group.when divided according to the cause of recurrent miscarriage there was a significant increase in the AA genotype in women with secondary recurrent miscarriage and those whose aetiology is unknown.In the second part of the study, expression of IL-11 and IL-11Ralpha in endometrium of recurrent miscarriage and control women were compared using RT-PCR and immunocytochemistry. The results showed that IL-11 and IL-11 Ralpha mRNA and protein were expressed in the endometrium throughout the menstrual cycle by both stromal and epithelial cells. IL-11 and IL-11 Ralpha protein expression was greater in epithelial cells than stromal cells. IL-11 and IL-11Ralpha mRNA and protein were significantly higher in the late secretory phase compared to the proliferative phase of the menstrual cycle. The high levels of IL-11 and IL-11Ralpha mRNA and protein in the late secretory phase suggest that IL-11 may play a role in the functional differentiation that occurs during decidualization of human endometrial stromal cells. IL-11 and IL-11Ralpha were also expressed in the endometrium of women with recurrent miscarriage. There was no significant difference in amounts of IL-11 Ralpha mRNA and protein in the endometrium obtained from normal fertile women or recurrent miscarriage women during the peri-implantation period. However, IL-11 protein expression was decreased in endometrial epithelial cells in the recurrent miscarriage women compared to that seen in normal fertile women. Taken together these results, show decrease endometrial IL-11 production by women with recurrent miscarriage. They also suggest that leptin may be important in preventing miscarriage in some groups of recurrent miscarriage. However, further studies on large groups of recurrent miscarriage women need to be carried out in order to define the importance of this polymorphism. Although, the IL-1RN tandem repeat and IL-1beta-511 polymorphisms appear not to be associated with recurrent miscarriage, this does not mean that the IL-1 system is not involved in causing recurrent miscarriage, as plasma levels of IL-1 did not appear to be different in women with different genotypes.


Collingwood's 'art-proper' definition has been controversial. Wollheim argues that his Theory of Imagination assumes that the nature of the artwork exists solely in the mind, committing him to the Ideal Theory. Consequently, when Collingwood states that the audience is essential for the artist and the artwork, he is being inconsistent. In contrast, Ridley claims that Collingwood's Expression Theory saves him from Wollheim's accusations; hence he is consistent and does not support the Ideal Theory. I demonstrate that Collingwood both adheres to the Ideal Theory (contrary to Ridley) and is consistent in his art theory (contrary to Wollheim). I show that imagination is the sufficient condition of art and expression is the process of art's coming into existence. I argue that Collingwood is consistent in his theory because the audience and the externalization of the work are needed for an appreciation and understanding of the artwork as either good or bad, as either a work of a corrupt consciousness or not. Hence, an account of the role of externalization is a contribution to the epistemology, not the ontology, of art.


The positive core construct of psychological capital (consisting of efficacy, hope, optimism, and resilience) has been conceptually and empirically demonstrated to be related to employee performance. However, much of this work has relied on cross-sectional designs to examine these relationships. This study utilizes longitudinal data from a large financial service organization (N= 179 financial advisory-type employees) to examine within-individual change in psychological capital over time and if this change relates to their change in performance. Latent growth modeling analyses revealed statistically significant within-individual change in psychological capital over time, and that this change in psychological capital was related to change in 2 types of performance outcomes (supervisor-rated performance and financial performance, i.e., individual sales revenue). Moreover, results of an exploratory cross-lagged panel analysis suggested a causal relationship such that prior psychological capital leads to subsequent performance rather than vice versa. Taken together, these results highlight the impact employees' psychological capital may have on their subjectively and objectively measured performance over time and offer evidence-based practical guidelines for human resource selection, development, and performance management.


Previous studies have shown that immature mouse class I molecules transiently associate with a resident endoplasmic reticulum protein of 88 kD that has been proposed to act as a chaperone for class I assembly. Subsequently, this protein was demonstrated to be identical to calnexin and to associate with immature forms of the T cell receptor complex, immunoglobulin, and human class I HLA heavy chains. In this paper we define further the interaction of human class I HLA heavy chains with chaperone proteins and find key differences with the complexes observed in the mouse system. First, calnexin and immunoglobulin binding protein (BiP) both associate with immature HLA class I heavy chains. The two chaperones are not found within the same molecular complex, suggesting that calnexin and BiP do not interact simultaneously with the same HLA class I heavy chain. Second, only free HLA class I heavy chains, and not beta 2-microglobulin (beta 2m)- associated heavy chains are found associated with the chaperones. Indeed, addition of free beta 2m in vitro induces dissociation of chaperone-class I HLA heavy chain complexes. The kinetics for dissociation of the class I HLA heavy chain-chaperone complexes and for formation of the class I HLA heavy chain-beta 2m complex display a reciprocity that suggests the interactions with chaperone and beta 2m are mutually exclusive. Mouse class I heavy chains expressed in human cells exhibit the mouse pattern of interaction with human chaperones and human beta 2m and not the human pattern, showing the difference in behavior is purely a function of the class I heavy chain sequence.


In this study, the wintertime cyclone/anticyclone activity and its variability over China are examined based on the National Centers for Environmental Prediction/National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCEP/NCAR) reanalysis data from 1948 to 2007. The climatology of the source, path and lysis regions for cyclones/anticyclones is investigated using an automatic tracking algorithm. Apparent asymmetries in source, lysis and path regions are observed between cyclones and anticyclones. The 1948–2007 data exhibit an upward trend in the annual number and a downward trend in the cyclone and anticyclone intensity. The leading empirical orthogonal function (EOF) mode of the cyclone transit counts (CTC) for the 1948–2007 period indicates an increase in cyclone activity over northeastern East Asia since the late 1970s that becomes significant in the mid-1980s. The first EOF mode of the anticyclone transit counts (ATC) is a monopole over northern East Asia, centred west of Lake Baikal, which has increased since 1970. The CTC variability dominates the ATC variability, which corresponds well with the storm track variability. Two distinct variability modes in the upper tropospheric jets over East Asia are also observed. The first mode describes an oscillation in the subtropical jet position; the second mode describes the polar-front jet strength variation. Moreover, the second mode is closely linked to the cyclone/anticyclone activity variability.


We prospectively studied the relationship between dietary intake at baseline and the development of AIDS over 6 years in a population-based sample of 296 human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-seropositive men. Nutrient intake was assessed before HIV serostatus was known. Subjects diagnosed with AIDS at baseline or during the 1st year were excluded. After adjustment for baseline CD4 T-lymphocyte count, HIV symptoms, and other risk factors, no nutrients were significantly associated with AIDS. However, when the continuous CD4 count and HIV symptom variables were replaced with a single binary health status variable, the hazard of AIDS decreased as consumption increased for all 11 micronutrients; this relationship was statistically significant for iron, vitamin E, and riboflavin and approached significance for vitamins C, thiamine, and niacin. Higher intake of all 11 micronutrients was associated with higher CD4 counts at baseline, and was significantly so for six of them. Daily multivitamin use was associated with a reduced hazard of AIDS [hazard ratio (HR) = 0.7; 95% confidence interval (CI) = 0.5, 1.0] and a significantly reduced risk for low CD4 counts at baseline (HR = 0.6, 95% CI = 0.4, 0.9). Additional studies are needed to determine whether dietary intake modifies the rate of developing AIDS in those who are HIV seropositive.


The work addresses a significant gap in British dance history between the Romantic period and the advent of the Ballets Russes. The only other author who deals with this period is Guest (1982) but this text differs significantly by addressing the following research questions (i) the relationships of the ballets to their social, economic and artistic context (ii) the lives and working conditions of all of the dancers rather than merely the principals (iii) how a 'voice' might be ascribed to the 'silent' majority who make their livelihoods in dance/the performing arts (iv) using theories of gender how links might be established between the ballets and the sexual psyche of the period and (v) by including a 'fictional' chapter based on extant sources, how debates from new historiography might be deployed to guide and inform the research. Furthermore, the research establishes a link between this period and the so-called 'birth' of British ballet, thus destabilising the accepted chronology. As well as offering a new reading of this historical continuum, the book fills a void in history and, as such, necessitated meticulous primary source research. Details of the ballet productions were gleaned in a conventional manner from theatre programmes, general articles, reviews, etc. However, because the research was concerned with the image, or public perceptions of the dance and dancers, biography, autobiography, poetry, fiction, songs and visual material of the period were all open to critical scrutiny in order to construct a new history of the period.


David Lehman's second book in the Poets on Poetry series confirms his stature as one of our leading literary figures. He is also a literary critic with a rare ability to elucidate thorny ideas and controversial issues in a way that is both entertaining and instructive. The Big Question leads off with a major essay explaining and exploring the concept of postmodernism. The next sections include pieces about poetry and fiction, lives and letters, and criticism and controversy. Other big questions addressed include political correctness, the genre of literary biography, academic life and deconstruction. There is a humorous piece on poetry slams and the whole downtown poetry scene, a feisty op-ed column (on the deconstruction of the Gettysburg Address), a pair of wickedly satirical poems, as well as a group of exceptional book reviews. The subjects covered range from Philip Larkin to Philip Roth- from the greatest poetry hoax of the twentieth century (which took place in Australia during World War II) to Charles Dickens's unfinished last novel- and from nineteenthth-century American poetry to the political career of Martin Heidegger. David Lehman is a poet and author of Signs of the Times: Deconstruction and the Fall of Paul de Man, He is series editor of the celebrated Best American Poetry anthology.


Objective: The aim of the present work is to develop a discriminative dissolution method for a practically insoluble pharmaceutical active substance such as indapamide. Methods: Dissolution testing was performed in compliance with USP, using USP apparatus 2. The proper dissolution medium and the optimal rotation per minutes of the apparatus were optimized. In order to quantify the dissolution of indapamide from modified release tablets, a high liquid chromatographic method was developed and validated. Results: An HPLC method was developed in order to provide adequate specificity trying several column types and different mobile phases. We selected the proper dissolution medium based on indapamide solubility, we determined the optimal speed of rotation of the dissolution tester for the indapamide in the selected medium, then we proved the discriminating power of the developed dissolution method. Conclusions: A robust and discriminating HPLC method for analyzing dissolution samples containing indapamide was developed and successfully validated.


The Mesozoic‐Cenozoic basins located between the Faroe, Orkney and Shetland Islands along the NE Atlantic Margin are actively explored oil and gas provinces whose subsidence histories are complicated by multiple tectonic factors, including magmatism, inversion and regional‐scale uplift and tilting, that have resulted in spatially variable exhumation. These basins also exhibit nonburial related, transient Cenozoic heating anomalies that make thermal history interpretation and burial history reconstructions problematic. In this study, we have applied a compaction‐based approach, which is less susceptible to distortions from transient heating, to provide new constraints on Cenozoic burial and exhumation magnitudes in the UK sector of the Faroe‐Shetland region using sonic transit time data from Upper Cretaceous marine shales of the Shetland Group in 37 wells. As estimates of exhumation magnitude depend critically on the form of the normal sonic transit time‐depth trend, a new marine shale baseline trend was firstly constructed from shales presently at maximum burial, consistent with other marine shale baseline trends of different ages from nearby basins. Our results indicate that Upper Cretaceous marine shales are presently at or near (i.e. within ≤100 m net exhumation) maximum burial depths in the Møre and Magnus basins in the northeast of the study area as well as in the deeper water Faroe‐Shetland Basin (i.e. Flett and Foula sub‐basins). However, Upper Cretaceous strata penetrated by wells in the southwest have been more deeply buried, with the difference between maximum burial depth and present‐day values (net exhumation) increasing from ca. 200 to 350 m along the central and northeastern parts of the Rona High to ca. 400–1000 m for wells located in the West Shetland Basin, North Rona Basin and southwestern parts of the Rona High. Although the precise timing of exhumation is difficult to constrain due to the complex syn‐ to post‐rift tectonostratigraphic history of vertical movements within the Faroe–Shetland region, our estimates of missing section, together with available thermal history constraints and seismic‐stratigraphic evidence, implies that maximum burial and subsequent exhumation most likely occurred during an Oligocene to Mid‐Miocene tectonic phase. This was probably in response to major post‐breakup tectonic reshaping of this segment of the NE Atlantic Margin linked to a coeval and significant reorganization of the northern North Atlantic spreading system, suggesting that fluctuations in intraplate stress magnitude and orientation governed by the dynamics of plate‐boundary forces exert a major control on the spatial and temporal variations in differential movements along complexly structured continental margin.


In his article, Clean Energy Federalism, Professor Felix Mormann analyzes the keys facets of how energy law and environmental law intersect, as he considers how to implement a program to "decarbonize America's energy economy." In this forward-thinking piece, Professor Mormann considers the potential role of renewable portfolio (RPSs) and feed-in tariffs (FITs) and how concurrent implementation at the federal and state level could support a lower-carbon energy future. His conclusion — "that one clean energy policy (RPS) be implemented at the federal and another (FIT) at the state level" — is likely correct from a policy-optimization perspective. Still, as Professor Mormann acknowledges, such policies can face enormous political hurdles. This Response acknowledges the enormous role fossil fuels still play in our electricity generation sector and notes that renewables still account for less than 15% of the overall U.S. generation market. The energy sector, though, can be expected to continue its diversification, in part because diversification is valuable for utility reliability and resilience, as well as for financial management purposes. With lower natural gas prices, fuel switching has continued at pace, with the bulk of the new natural gas generation replacing coal-fired generation. This is a positive development for those looking to displace coal, but the change to natural gas also delays at least some of the shifting to renewables.This response argues that all is not lost because of that delay. The coal-fired generation that is displaced by natural gas could create at least some opportunity for a parallel increase in renewable electricity generation. Although some may believe that low natural gas prices undercut the option of bringing new renewable energy online, that does not need to be the case. Professor Mormann's option is still a reality, and the likelihood of success is more a question of priority than opportunity.


The objective of this study was to investigate the effect of inbreeding depression on functional herd life in the South African Jersey population based on individual level and rate of inbreeding. A pedigree file of the South African Jersey breed (n = 912 638) was obtained from the Integrated Registration and Genetic Information System (INTERGIS). The data included registered, grade and imported animals. The percentages of animals in the pedigree file with two, one and zero parents unknown were 22%, 18% and 60%, respectively. The inbreeding coefficient for each animal (Fi) and the rate of individual inbreeding (ΔFi) as an alternative measure of inbreeding that is adjusted for the depth of known pedigree were calculated. The effect of inbreeding on functional herd life in each of the first three lactations was estimated, using a singletrait sire model on data collected from 1985 to 2003. Three analyses for survival in each of the first three lactations were conducted. In the first analysis, in addition to fixed and random effects, an individual inbreeding coefficient (Fi) was fitted as a linear covariate. In the second analysis, the inbreeding coefficient was included as a discrete variable with the following classes of inbreeding: 0 12.5. In the third analysis, the individual rate of inbreeding (ΔFi) was included in the model as a linear covariate. The level of inbreeding in the SA Jersey population showed a gradual increase for the period 1985 to 1994, while the period 1995 to 2003 showed a rapid increase. The current mean level of inbreeding (for the year 2010) is 4.85% with a minimum and maximum of 0 and 31.34%, respectively. The rate of inbreeding showed a gradual increase from 0.36% to 0.43% between 1985 and 2003. The average rate of inbreeding is currently (for the year 2010) at 0.55%. There was a significant unfavourable relationship between inbreeding and functional herd life in the first and second lactations. The effect of inbreeding was more pronounced in the second lactation for both measures of inbreeding. Based on the current level of inbreeding, the reduction in functional herd life in the first lactation can be estimated as 0.68%. The corresponding estimate for the second lactation is 1.70%. The results from the current study indicate that the current level or rate of inbreeding has reached levels that are detrimental to functional herd life. Therefore, individual inbreeding coefficients should be considered in addition to genetic merit when breeding decisions are made by Jersey breeders. Keywords: Inbreeding, longevity, survival, dairy cattle


Book synopsis: Although computational modeling is now a widespread technique in cognitive science and in psychology, relatively little work in developmental psychology has used this technique. The approach is not entirely new, as a small group of researchers has attempted to create computational accounts of cognitive developmental phenomena since the inception of the technique. It should seem obvious that transition mechanisms -- or how the system progresses from one level of competence to the next -- ought to be the central question for investigation in cognitive developmental psychology. Yet, if one scans the literature of modern developmental studies, it appears that the question has been all but ignored.

However, only recently have advances in computational technology enabled the researcher access to fully self-modifying computer languages capable of simulating cognitive change. By the beginning of the 1990s, increasing numbers of researchers in the cognitive sciences were of the opinion that the tools of mathematical modeling and computer simulation make theorizing about transition mechanisms both practical and beneficial -- by using both traditional symbolic computational systems and parallel distributed processing or connectionist approaches. Computational models make it possible to define the processes that lead to a system being transformed under environmental influence from one level of competence observed in children to the next most sophisticated level. By coding computational models into simulations of actual cognitive change, they become tangible entities that are accessible to systematic study.

Unfortunately, little of what has been produced has been published in journals or books where many professionals would easily find them. Feeling that developmental psychologists should be exposed to this relatively new approach, a symposium was organized at the biennial meeting of the Society for Research in Child Development. The "cost of entry" was that speakers had to have a running computational model of a documented cognitive transition. Inspired by that conference, this volume is the first collection where each content chapter presents a fully implemented, self-modifying simulation of some aspect of cognitive development. Previous collections have tended to discuss general approaches -- less than fully implemented models -- or non self-modifying models. Along with introductory and review chapters, this volume presents a set of truly "developmental" computational models -- a collection that can inform the interested researcher as well as form the basis for graduate-level courses.


The practice of the Swiss-German artist Dieter Roth is distinguished by his pioneering use, since the early 1960s, of biodegradable materials. This essay examines the development of Roth's practice from Concrete Art to process-oriented and biodegradable work in the context of the reconceptualization of the "concrete" within the global artistic network of Fluxus in the postwar period. Highlighting the challenge Roth's biodegradable work poses to the traditional conceptual limits of the spheres of culture and nature, it argues that the profound transformation of Roth's practice in the early 1960s was rooted in the artist's growing discontent with the idealist and ethical premises of modern art and aesthetics, at the heart of which is the distinction between the human and the nonhuman. In this, Roth's biodegradable works precede later preoccupations with how humans relate to the natural environment, both in early earthworks from the late '60s and in contemporary practice. By examining Roth's biodegradable works in the context of Fluxus, this essay points towards aspects of Fluxus work that remain unexamined, most crucially the role of the natural and the nonhuman in Fluxus critiques of representation.


OBJECTIVE
To assess the prevalence and risk factors of diabetic nephropathy among Omani type 2 diabetics in Al-Dakhiliyah region of the Sultanate of Oman.

METHODS
A cross-sectional and a case control study designs were used to assess the prevalence and risk factors respectively. For the prevalence study a sample of 699 diabetic subjects were selected randomly from two polyclinics in Al-Dakhiliyah region; Sumail and Nizwa polyclinics. For the case control study, a sample consisting of 215 cases and 358 controls were randomly selected from those who were included in the cross-sectional study. A well designed questionnaire has been used to collect data regarding the disease and risk factors. Data was analyzed using SPSS19 statistical program.

RESULTS
Total prevalence of diabetic nephropathy was calculated as 42.5% (95% C.I: 38.83% - 46.15%). The difference in the prevalence in the two polyclinic catchment area was not significant. The prevalence was significantly higher among males (51.6%) compared to females (36.5%). Crude analysis of the risk factors showed significant association between diabetic nephropathy and the following factors; male gender, decreased literacy, long duration of diabetes mellitus, hypertension, retinopathy, neuropathy, family history of diabetic nephropathy, poor glycemic control (high HbA1c), and hypertriglyceridemia. Multivariate analysis showed the following factors to be independent risk factors; male gender, decreased literacy, long duration of diabetes, family history of diabetic nephropathy and poor glycaemic control (high HbA1c).

CONCLUSION
The prevalence of diabetic nephropathy in this study was 42.5% and the significant risk factors associated with it included male gender, decreased literacy, long duration of diabetes, family history of diabetic nephropathy and poor glycemic control (high HbA1c).


Governments in the European Union frequently bail out firms in distress by granting state aid called Rescue and Restructuring Subsidies. This thesis consists of three chapters analyzing three different aspects of European bailouts. In the first chapter, I use data from 86 cases during the years 1995-2003 to examine the effectiveness of bailouts in preventing bankruptcy and the determinants of bailout policy. The results are threefold. First, the estimated discrete-time hazard rate increases during the first four years after the subsidy and drops after that, suggesting that some bailouts only delayed exit instead of preventing it. Second, governments' bailout decisions favored state-owned firms, even though state-owned firms did not outperform private ones in the survival chances. Third, subsidy choice is an endogenous variable in the analysis of the hazard rate. Treating it as exogenous underestimates its impact on the bankruptcy probability. Several policy implications of the results are discussed in the chapter. The second chapter is a theoretical study of the effects of bailouts on market structure and welfare in an international asymmetric Cournot duopoly. I adopt a common market setting, where consumers from the two countries form one market. I show that the subsidy is positive also when it fails to prevent the exit. The reason is a strategic effect, which forces the more efficient firm to make additional cost-reducing effort. When the exit is prevented, allocative and productive efficiencies are lower than in case of exit and the only gaining player is the rescued firm. The third chapter provides evidence of political, institutional and economic determinants of bailout policies in the countries of the European Union. I use a new data set based on European Commission's rescue and restructuring aid decisions during the years 19952003 merged with information about electoral outcomes in European countries. The main finding is that in countries with majoritarian democratic institutions bailouts are more likely, in particular during years preceding elections. Since bailouts are a targeted fiscal policy, the evidence supports the theory of Persson and Tabellini (2000) predicting that electoral systems shape incentives for fiscal policy choices.


Dons book is a very good addition both to the testing literature and to the literature on quality assurance and software engineering . [It] is likely to become a standard for test training as well as a good reference for professional testers and developers. I would also recommend this book as background material for negotiating outsourced software contracts. I often work as an expert witness in litigation for software with very poor quality, and this book might well reduce or eliminate these lawsuits. Capers Jones, VP and CTO, Namcook Analytics LLC Software and system testers repeatedly fall victim to the same pitfalls. Think of them as anti-patterns: mistakes that make testing far less effective and efficient than it ought to be. In Common System and Software Testing Pitfalls, Donald G. Firesmith catalogs 92 of these pitfalls. Drawing on his 35 years of software and system engineering experience, Firesmith shows testers and technical managers and other stakeholders how to avoid falling into these pitfalls, recognize when they have already fallen in, and escape while minimizing their negative consequences. Firesmith writes for testing professionals and other stakeholders involved in large or medium-sized projects. His anti-patterns and solutions address both pure software applications and software-reliant systems, encompassing heterogeneous subsystems, hardware, software, data, facilities, material, and personnel. For each pitfall, he identifies its applicability, characteristic symptoms, potential negative consequences and causes, and offers specific actionable recommendations for avoiding it or limiting its consequences. This guide will help you Pinpoint testing processes that need improvementbefore, during, and after the project Improve shared understanding and collaboration among all project participants Develop, review, and optimize future project testing programs Make your test documentation far more useful Identify testing risks and appropriate risk-mitigation strategies Categorize testing problems for metrics collection, analysis, and reporting Train new testers, QA specialists, and other project stakeholders With 92 common testing pitfalls organized into 14 categories, this taxonomy of testing pitfalls should be relatively complete. However, in spite of its comprehensiveness, it is also quite likely that additional pitfalls and even missing categories of pitfalls will be identified over time as testers read this book and compare it to their personal experiences. As an enhancement to the print edition, the author has provided the following location on the web where readers can find major additions and modifications to this taxonomy of pitfalls: http://donald.firesmith.net/home/common-testing-pitfalls Please send any recommended changes and additions to dgf (at) sei (dot) cmu (dot) edu, and the author will consider them for publication both on the website and in future editions of this book.


Bioenergy production has increased significantly in the last decade, and recent legislative efforts such as the discussion draft for the American Clean Energy and Security Act of 2009 and the Energy Independence and Security Act (EISA) of 2007 are expected to encourage even more growth. The growing demand for bioenergy will necessitate production of large quantities of woody biomass and plant residues if it is to be met. However, concerns are being raised as to how increased pressures will affect the sustainability of woody biomass. In order to avoid potential pitfalls and ensure the sustainability of wood-based bioenergy systems, a set of sustainability indicators needs to be developed. Some of these indicators can be based on standards similar to those developed for sustainable forest management, energy balances, greenhouse gas emission reductions, and existing codes and guidelines for biomass harvesting. This article discusses a potential set of sustainability indicators encompassing ecological, economic, and social principles for harvesting woody biomass for bioenergy. The extent to which existing standards and certification systems reflect these indicators is elaborated upon. Methods for making these standards operational are also suggested.


This detailed, meticulous ethnographic study on mobile phone use among Nuba students at the University of Khartoum in Sudan, distinguishes itself from other studies by taking a focused look at the linguistic content of mobile phone interactions via text-messaging, portraying it as a site for the expression of personalized and affective language. While men and women appear to be equally aggressive consumers and producers of text-message poetry, women are formally discouraged in using the phone for relations that go beyond the publicly acceptable norms of 'keeping in touch' and making arrangements. Nonetheless, women use it for such purposes and many manage it discreetly, showing how this technology can serve to subvert discursive norms on gender and marriage. The mobile phone in Sudan enhances individual autonomy over interactions, making possible the extension and creation of social spaces. It simultaneously enlarges private space and trespasses into public space. Poetic themes and language, previously limited to elite producers those both more literate and who had control over mass media domains, radio and newspapers are exposed to anonymous recipients, who draw from, copy or forward them in continuous circulation, thereby staking a claim in the public sphere. Similarly, the mobile phone serves as a site for the exercise of several layers of identity in negotiation, and reflects or creates alternative identities and the contestation of existing discourses, communities in physical space and notions of belonging.


Evolutionary computation has emerged as a major topic in the scientific community as many of its techniques have successfully been applied to solve problems in a wide variety of fields. Modeling Applications and Theoretical Innovations in Interdisciplinary Evolutionary Computation provides comprehensive research on emerging theories and its aspects on intelligent computation. Particularly focusing on breaking trends in evolutionary computing, algorithms, and programming, this publication serves to support professionals, government employees, policy and decision makers, as well as students in this scientific field.


Post-2015, as global leaders move towards SDGs, it is important for countries in the Global South to situate water and sanitation interventions not simply as 'ends', but also as 'means' towards achieving broader goals of human development. The paper demonstrates this, firstly, by discussing theoretical debates in secondary data to situate the importance of water and sanitation in human development, and secondly, by using primary data (pre-and-post intervention analysis) from the case study of Water and Sanitation Extension Programme (WASEP) which has successfully applied an integrated model for provision of safe water and sanitation, along with a behavioural change communication strategy for improved health and hygiene practices in the mountainous regions of Pakistan. Drawing from the learning of WASEP approach, the paper concludes that policymakers in the Global South should reconceptualize WASH interventions to account for issues of community empowerment, WASH sustainability, and the regional/national human development goals.


Investigation of the palaeoclimatic conditions associated with Upper Jurassic strata in Portugal and comparison with published palaeoclimate reconstructions of the Upper Jurassic Morrison Formation in western North America provide important insights into the conditions that allowed two of the richest terrestrial faunas of this period to flourish. Geochemical analyses and observations of palaeosol morphology in the informally named Upper Jurassic Lourinhã formation of western Portugal indicate warm and wet palaeoclimatic conditions with strongly seasonal precipitation patterns. Palaeosol profiles are dominated by carbonate accumulations and abundant shrink‐swell (vertic) features that are both indicative of seasonal variation in moisture availability. The δ18OSMOW and δDSMOW values of phyllosilicates sampled from palaeosol profiles range from +22·4‰ to +22·7‰ and −53·0‰ to −37·3‰, respectively. These isotope values correspond to temperatures of formation between 32°C and 39°C ± 3°, with an average of 36°C, which suggest surface temperatures between 27°C and 34°C (average 31°C). On average, these surface temperature estimates are 1°C higher than the highest summer temperatures modelled for Late Jurassic Iberia using general circulation models. Elemental analysis of matrix material from palaeosol B‐horizons provides proxy (chemical index of alteration minus potassium) estimates of mean annual precipitation ranging from 766 to 1394 mm/year, with an average of approximately 1100 mm/year. Palaeoclimatic conditions during deposition of the Lourinhã formation are broadly similar to those inferred for the Morrison Formation, except somewhat wetter. Seasonal variation in moisture availability does not seem to have negatively impacted the ability of these environments to support rich and relatively abundant faunas. The similar climate between these two Late Jurassic terrestrial ecosystems is probably one of the factors which explains the similarity of their vertebrate faunas.


Desert riparian ecosystems of North America are hotspots of biodiversity that support many sensitive species, and are in a region experiencing some of the highest rates of climatic alteration in North America. Fremont cottonwood, Populus fremontii, is a foundation tree species of this critical habitat, but it is threatened by global warming and regional drying, and by a non-native tree/shrub, Tamarix spp., all of which can disrupt the mutualism between P. fremontii and its beneficial mycorrhizal fungal communities. Specialist herbivorous leaf beetles (Diorhabda spp.) introduced for biocontrol of Tamarix are altering the relationship between this shrub and its environment. Repeated episodic feeding on Tamarix foliage by Diorhabda results in varying rates of dieback and mortality, depending on genetic variation in allocation of resources, growing conditions, and phenological synchrony between herbivore and host plant. In this article, we review the complex interaction between climatic change and species introductions and their combined impacts on P. fremontii and their associated communities. We anticipate that (1) certain genotypes of P. fremontii will respond more favorably to the presence of Tamarix and to climatic change due to varying selection pressures to cope with competition and stress; (2) the ongoing evolution of Diorhabda's life cycle timing will continue to facilitate its expansion in North America, and will over time enhance herbivore impact to Tamarix; (3) defoliation by Diorhabda will reduce the negative impact of Tamarix on P. fremontii associations with mycorrhizal fungi; and (4) spatial variability in climate and climatic change will modify the capacity for Tamarix to survive episodic defoliation by Diorhabda, thereby altering the relationship between Tamarix and P. fremontii, and its associated mycorrhizal fungal communities. Given the complex biotic/abiotic interactions outlined in this review, conservation biologists and riparian ecosystem managers should strive to identify and conserve the phenotypic traits that underpin tolerance and resistance to stressors such as climate change and species invasion. Such efforts will greatly enhance conservation restoration efficacy for protecting P. fremontii forests and their associated communities.


Five hundred and forty nine (549) of carcasses and intestinals content and 73
samples of chicken litter and feed were examined for Salmonella. Two hundred and
thirty (237) Salmonella isolates belonging to 15 different serotypes were isolated. The
predominant serotypes were: S. enteritidis (35.2%), S. muenchen (20%), S. kentucky
(14.3%), S. blockley (10.4%) and S. chincol (5.2%). S. enteritidis were detected
throughout the broiler production chain.
The detection rate of Salmonella in poultry carcasses under different conditions
were as follows: 83% (126/232), direct enrichment of pelleted (DEP) rinse fluid In
Rapaport Vasiliadis broth (RV) incubated at 42°C; 28% (43/232) ,for both DEP enriched in RV and Manitol Selanite Cystine Broth (MSCB) incubated at 37°C; and
9% (14/232), streaking the pellet directly onto the plating media. In a parallel analysis,
the conventional method detected Salmonella in 43.5% (115/264) of carcasses, litter
and feed samples compared to 18.2% (48/264) detected by rapid method TECRA
UNIQUE Salmonella test kit.
Two hundrad and thirty seven (237) isolates of Salmonella belonging to 15
different serovars were susceptible to gentamicin, advosin and enrofloxacin except for
one isolate of S. agona, which was resistant to enrofloxacin. S. kentucky isolates
displayed 11 discrete antibiotic resistant patterns, followed by S. blockley (7), s. agona
(4) and S. muenchen (3).
Plasmids were detected in 80% of the isolates with molecular weights ranging
from <1 to 50 MDa. The frequency of plasmids in different serovars are as follows:
S. blockely (96%), S. chnicol (92%), s. muenchen (90%); S. kentuckey (88%) and S.
enteritidis (75%). Different variations in plasmid profile pattern were exhibited by S.
muenchen (24 patterns), S. kentucky (11 patterns), S. blockley (14 patterns), S.
enteritidis (7 patterns), S. chincol (4 patterns) and S. newport (5 patterns).


The World Trade Organization Trade Facilitation Agreement (WTO TFA) has been ratified by the requisite two-thirds majority of WTO member states. Consequently all member states are now bound to implement the reforms covered by the agreement. The WTO TFA requires among its provisions the implementation of a post-clearance audit function in customs organizations which is risk-based. International implementation of post-clearance audits has not been uniform amongst revenue and border management administrations, and the WTO TFA creates an opportunity for greater rigour internationally in the approach to post-clearance audit.


This paper takes its cue from Eur. Medea 190-203, a polemic statement focusing on the hedonistic conception of poetry and in particular on convivial poetry, a pleasure considered superfluous in comparison with that of the banquet. Instead, the passage claims the value of poetry comforting and healing pain, as Euripides suggests in his late tragedy, The Trojan Women. This perspective is framed in the debate with Homeric epic, stating the essence and task of the poetry in the delight of the listeners. Thus emotional intensity and deep involvement are constantly presented as coexistent, along with the pleasure and ordeal of listening. Nevertheless, the aesthetic pleasure turns to profound personal pain of those listeners personally involved in the narratives of the aedic performance, as Penelope in the first book of the Odyssey and Ulysses in the eighth. Instead, this Euripidean conceptualisation on the role of poetry features a strong thematic affinity with the poetics of the Hesiod's Theogony.


This article analyses credibility and reputation in the context of peace negotiations. The model is applicable to the credibility of peace agreements in post-conflict situations in the immediate aftermath of civil war, where there is a danger of conflict breaking out again. The analysis is motivated by the empirical regularity with which peace agreements break down in the context of civil war, as for example in Angola, Sierra Leone and many of the conflicts in the Caucasus region. Where war provides economic gains to one side, peace is not incentive compatible, and peace agreements will necessarily degenerate, as they become time inconsistent. The party that has something to gain from surprise warfare, agreeing to peace but reneging on it, will do so and return to war. The levels of conflict chosen by this group are an increasing function of greed and capturable rents, but decreasing in the direct costs of war. In this context, action by external powers could lower the risk of civil war reigniting. Basically, these involve a greater commitment to peace, induced by policies known as commitment technologies. Sanctions, aid and direct intervention, if effective, could eliminate conflict, as well as help in devising commitment technologies to peace. In a multiple-time framework, uncertainty about the type of the group that may renege on peace generates extra costs in terms of greater fighting, and the key role of the discount rate in trading off present versus future consumption enters the analysis. High discount rates and the impatience to consume at present engender greater conflict.


Background Early experiences of traumatic events (TEs) may be associated with subsequent eating disturbance. However, few studies have investigated overall exposure and trauma-type frequency in various types of eating disorders (EDs). Objective This study aimed to investigate the prevalence and type of TEs in a nationally representative sample of Swedish ED patients. Method Data from a database (Stepwise) for specialized ED care were used. Trauma history was assessed as a part of the routine, initial assessment. Participants over the age of 18 with a diagnosed DSM-IV ED were included (N=4,524). Results The number of patients having experienced at least one TE was 843 (18.6%), and 204 (24.2%) reported at least one additional trauma. Sexual trauma was the most common form of TE (6.3%). There was no difference in overall traumatic exposure or in type of experienced trauma between the ED diagnostic subgroups (AN, BN, EDNOS, and BED). Overall traumatic exposure was linked to self-reported severity of ED symptoms, more secondary psychosocial impairment, psychiatric comorbidity, and negative self-image. Conclusions Trauma history in ED patients merits attention. Results are partly in line with and partly in contrast to previous research. Measurement of trauma history has varied substantially in research on EDs, and this study adds to the indistinct literature on trauma history in ED.


The result of neutrality of vertical integration for competition postulated by the Chicago School can be supported by a benchmark model with (1) an upstream monopolist, (2) homogeneous goods downstream and (3) observable (two-part tariff) contracts. The result does not hold however, whenever any of the three assumptions is relaxed. In this paper we show first, that in presence of an alternative supply, vertical integration is profitable and leads to anticompetitive market foreclosure; second, under product differentiation, inefficient alternative supplies make vertical integration welfare improving, whereas it is profitable only for\ efficient enough second source supplies. As a consequence, a clear prescription for antitrust emerges: we should not allow for vertical integration.


The liana Artabotrys hexapetalus (L.f.) Bhand., which is widely planted in the Tropics and native to African rain forests, produced new reiterations (new leader shoots) normally and after damage induced by Hurricane Andrew (August 24, 1992). In each new orthotropic shoot, there is a gradient in lateral branch structures from basal thorns, to vegetative leafy branches, to distal leafy flowering branches. We noted that reiterations developing in shade had more thorns than similar reiterations developing in full sun. Tents with clear (66% photosynthetically active radiation [PAR]) and shaded plastic film (12%–14% PAR) were placed over nodes when the axillary buds began to expand to produce reiteration shoots. After 2 mo of growth inside the tents and in the open, the types of lateral outgrowths (thorn vs. branch) were recorded. Shoots in spectrally neutral shade (red to far red of full sun) and spectrally altered shade (red to far red of canopy shade) produced significantly more thorns at the lower nodes of the shoots as compared to those in full sun. Shoots in control clear plastic tents were the same as those in full sun. We conclude that the fate of lateral bud development is controlled by irradiance (light level) but not by light quality. Increased thorn production in shade could be advantageous to plants growing in the deep shade of rain forests. Thorns in the self‐shaded regions of the plant, and well below the forest canopy, could aid in protection from herbivory and in climbing by acting as hooks.


Ability to Pay is the second Liman Center publication focused on the burdens that individuals with limited income and wealth face in courts. An impressive body of emerging literature maps the needs of low-income individuals in courts as civil litigants and as criminal defendants and identifies the harms of court-imposed debt. As these materials reflect, legal and political will has begun to put reforms into place that limit the ways in which courts impose financial obligations.

Part I, Challenging, Restructuring, and Abolishing Fee Structures, provides examples of the many lawsuits, as of the spring of 2019, that have challenged fees, fines, forfeiture, bail charges, and driver's license suspensions. The litigation interacts with legislative revisions, also excerpted, and, in some jurisdictions, abolition of certain court fees and money bail.

Part II, Data Collection and Creation, offers an innovative overview of the kinds of data that state and federal court systems collect to understand how courts gain or lack information about the needs of participants in the legal system. This segment explores the current metrics used and the ways to "measure" what counts as justice. Given the growth of online technologies and the outsourcing of court filing systems to private providers, new questions have emerged about the need to have accessible and sufficient data, the concerns about individual privacy, and the problem of accountability.

Part III, Innovations and Interventions: A Sampling of New Research Projects, provides a window into the breadth of activities across the country, as law schools have become research hubs taking on a host of issues related to court users. Again, we are not comprehensive but illustrative when we explore the ways in which research agendas are formulated, their impacts measured, and their effectiveness appraised.

Part IV, Law Schools, Funders, and Institutionalizing Reform, reflects on the many times in which law schools have reinvented what counts as the "standard" curriculum. In the 1960s, foundation support brought clinical education to many law schools, and, since then, clinical education has become a fixture. In the 1980s, funding went to law and economics, which has likewise become a familiar marker in legal education.

Ability to Pay makes plain that another reordering is underway. Law schools are committing to teaching and generating new data on courts and their users and to engaging students through coursework and research in how courts operate and impact communities. In short, just as clinical education and law and economics are now ensconced in the curriculum, the economics of court services is likewise becoming a routine part of legal education.


Background: A novel protein post-translational modification, citrullination was shown previously in a number of key myofilament proteins, tropomyosin (R 133, R 238), actin (R 39) and myosin heavy chain (R 1176, 1303, 1434) in HF patient (values for total spectra counts for citrullinated proteins in control, ISHD and IDCM: 1.8 ±1.3, 3.2±2.7 and 2.3±1.9, respectively). The alterations in contractile proteins underlying enhanced Ca2+-sensitivity of the contractile apparatus in end-stage failing human myocardium are still not resolved. Protein citrullination arises from the enzymatic conversion of arginine residues to citrulline result in loss of a positive charge and reduction in hydrogen-bonding ability. And here, the biophysical and biochemical effect on myofilament function is determined. Method: F-actin-tropomyosin binding, tropomyosin-actin-myosin, actin-myosin and myosin ATPase activity assays, and F-actin stability assays were carried out. Results: In vitro citrullinated tropomyosin significantly enhance affinity for F-actin (p=0.001) and decrease in the ATPase activity (p=0.06). Furthermore, citrullination of myosin HMM is not essential for actin affinity, although it modulate ATPase activation (p=0.3). Contrary, the ATPase activity is increase by pretreatment of actin (but not myosin) with PAD2 (p=0.09). Conclusion: Citrullination of the contractile proteins could affect different aspects of regulatory function. It either triggers a structural change or stabilizes a conformation that is necessary for actin-activated release of Pi and completion of the ATPase cycle. Significance: Citrullination of specific myofilament proteins in HF can have dramatic effect on modulating actin filament integrity and myosin function and tropomyosin action on myofilament regulation.


Many of the features of Web 2.0 encourage users to actively interact with each other. Social tagging systems represent one of the good examples that reflect this trend on the Web. The primary purpose of social tagging systems is to facilitate shared access to resources. Our focus in this paper is on the attempts to overcome some of the limitations in social tagging systems such as the flat structure of folksonomies and the absence of semantics in terms of information retrieval. We propose and develop an integrated approach, social tagging systems with directory facility, which can overcome the limitations of both traditional taxonomies and folksonomies. Our preliminary experiments indicate that this approach is promising and that the context provided by the directory facility improves the precision of information retrieval. As well, our synonym detection algorithm is capable of finding synonyms in social tagging systems without any external inputs.


No meteorites from Mercury and Venus have been conclusively identified so far. In this study, we develop an original approach based on extensive Monte Carlo simulations and diffusion models to explore the radiogenic argon (40Ar*) and helium (4He*) loss behavior and the range of 40Ar/39Ar and (U‐Th)/He age signatures expected for a range of crystals if meteorites from these planets were ever to be found. We show that we can accurately date the crystallization age of a meteorite from both Mercury and Venus using the 40Ar/39Ar technique on clinopyroxene (± orthopyroxene) and that its 40Ar/39Ar age should match the Pb‐Pb age. At the surface of Mercury, phases like albite and anorthite will exhibit a complete range of 40Ar* loss ranging from 0% to 100%, whereas merrillite and apatite will show 100% 4He* loss. By measuring the crystal size and diffusion parameters of a series of plagioclase crystals, one can inverse the 40Ar* loss value to estimate the maximum temperature experienced by a rock, and narrow down the possible pre‐ejection location of the meteorite at the surface of Mercury. At the surface of Venus, plagioclase and phosphate phases will only record the age of ejection. The (U‐Th)/He systematics of merrillite and apatite will be, respectively, moderately and strongly affected by 4He* loss during the transit of the meteorite from its host planet to Earth. Finally, meteorites from Mercury or Venus will each have their own 40Ar/39Ar and (U‐Th)/He isotopic age and 38Arc cosmic ray exposure age signatures over a series of different crystal types, allowing to unambiguously recognize a meteorite for any of these two planets using radiogenic and cosmogenic noble gases.


In this paper the conditional location problem is discussed. Conditional location problems have a wide range of applications in location science. A new meta-heuristic algorithm for solving conditional p-median problems is proposed and results are compared to those of the previous studies. This algorithm produces much better results than the previous formulations.


1552 Background: The role of insulin resistance as a mediator in the association of body mass index (BMI) with site-specific cancer risk has, to our knowledge, never been systematically quantified. We aimed to determine to what extent insulin resistance measured as the logarithmized triglyceride glucose product (TyG index) mediates the effect of BMI on risk of obesity-related cancers. Methods: A total of 510,471 individuals from six European cohorts with a mean age of 43.1 years were included in the study. We fitted Cox models, adjusted for relevant confounders, to investigate associations of TyG index with ten common obesity-related cancer sites, and quantified the proportion of the effect of BMI mediated through TyG index. Results: During a median follow-up of 17.2 years, 16 052 individuals developed obesity-related cancers. TyG index was associated with the risk of cancers of the kidney (hazard ratio (HR) per one standard deviation increase 1.13, 95% confidence interval: 1.07-1.20), liver (1.13, 1.04-1.23), pancreas (1.12, 1.06-1.19), colon (1.07, 1.03-1.10), and rectum (1.09, 1.04-1.14). Substantial proportions of the effect of BMI were mediated by TyG index for cancers of the pancreas (42%), rectum (34%), and colon (20%); smaller proportions for kidney (15%) and liver (11%); none for endometrium, ovary and breast (postmenopausal). Conclusions: In this pooled cohort study including more than 500,000 individuals, insulin resistance measured as the logarithmized triglyceride glucose product significantly mediated the effect of overweight and obesity on risk of cancers of the kidney, liver, pancreas, colon, and rectum. In contrast, insulin resistance did not mediate the risk for cancers of the endometrium, ovary and breast. Our results confirm a promoting role of insulin resistance in the pathogenesis of gastrointestinal cancers. Although often claimed, insulin resistance does not appear to connect excess body weight with cancers of the female reproductive organs.


Marine networks are experiencing an expanding role in the global transportation of goods and are demanding an increasing energy resource while being a contributor to climate change-related emissions. This paper investigates the potential of hybrid energy source systems (HESS) that employ energy storage devices and peak power devices in a combination that is capable of providing average energy while recovering and managing the electrical power system transients. Moreover, the contribution of the energy storage device, or power buffer, may result in reduced rating for the main energy source, reducing system mass and volume while improving energy conversion efficiency. Crane system power flow is analyzed and energy saving calculated for a representative load cycle. Experimentally validated power-train models are presented, control strategies developed, and alternative energy/power storage devices in single and HESS configurations analyzed. While many papers discuss similar concepts for road vehicles, the application to port cranes has not been reported previously. Similarly, detailed design encompassing system losses, thermal management, component mass, volume, and system dynamic operation have not been reported previously. This paper develops procedures for the design of battery alone and battery-supercapacitor HESS that are shown to be different and independent of the optimization method chosen.


Physical-layer key generation makes use of the reciprocity of wireless time-division duplex (TDD) channels. Both transmission directions experience the same channel, apart from independent noise and quantization effects. The randomness of a mobile channel ensures a certain regeneration rate of keys. Reconfigurable antennas, so-called RECAPs, offer a possibility to also provide randomness in the extreme case when both transmitter and receiver are not moving, even have a line-ofsight connection. RECAP structures and the steps for obtaining a reliably identical and secure key on both sides are discussed.


Foot infections are a common and serious problem in persons with diabetes. Diabetic foot infections (DFIs) typically begin in a wound, most often a neuropathic ulceration. Diabetes Mellitus is known to have many complications and one of the most distressing is diabetic foot ulcer which affects 15% of people with diabetes. It puts enormous financial burden on the patient and the health care services, even though it is preventable. Diabetic foot ulcer is characterized by a classical triad of neuropathy, ischemia, and infection. Most DFIs are polymicrobial, with aerobic gram-positive cocci (GPC), and especially staphylococci, the most common causative organisms. Empiric antibiotic therapy can be narrowly targeted at GPC in many acutely infected patients, but those at risk for infection with antibiotic-resistant organisms or with chronic, previously treated, or severe infections usually require broader spectrum regimens. Imaging is helpful in most DFIs; plain radiographs may be sufficient, but magnetic resonance imaging is far more sensitive and specific. This review is conducted to provide a general idea about Pathophysiology, Etiology, Epidemiology, Prognosis, Risk factors, Foot Complications, Patient education, Prevention and methods of treatment and also the aim of this review is to discuss the current diagnostic and management options for diabetic foot.


A sustain driver with a resonant energy recovery circuit is proposed based on asymmetric voltage excitation for a complete resonant commutation of panel capacitor in plasma display panels (PDPs). The developed driver configures the sustain circuit and the resonant circuit in such a way that the resonant network is energized by higher voltage level and lower level than half sustain voltage in charging and discharging the panel capacitor, respectively. This proposed operation can guarantee perfect commutation of the panel capacitor voltage, zero-voltage switching of the sustain switches, and reduced electromagnetic interference due to no surge current. Furthermore, the developed sustain circuit is designed to eliminate the conduction losses and the current stresses on the circuit and the switching devices caused by the reverse recovery operation of the diodes. The energy trapped in the resonant inductors due to the inevitable diode reverse-recovery phenomena, which generates additional conduction losses and thermal problem with circulating currents, is recovered in the proposed circuit.


Since the Amsterdam Treaty of 1997 empowered the EC to adopt rules in the field of conflicts of laws, legal instruments have been adopted that provide common rules on issues that touch upon the day-to-day life of European citizens. There are now instruments covering jurisdiction and the recognition and enforcement of judgments in civil and commercial matters, family matters and maintenance obligations, and the law applicable to contractual and non-contractual obligations, legal separations and divorces. There is also legislation establishing swift procedures for recovering claims abroad, ie the European Enforcement Order, the European Order for Payment Procedure and the European Small Claims Procedure, and legislation regulating cross-border insolvency proceedings and judicial assistance in the field of service of documents, taking of evidence and access to justice. This long list of EU legislation is not exhaustive of EU conflicts of laws rules: numerous further provisions are scattered among other EU legislation, eg directives on consumer, labour and insurance contracts; company law; IP rights; securities; privacy; and so on. Besides this the European Court of Justice has issued many judgments addressing relevant aspects of the conflict of laws found in the acquis communautaire in this field. This book, which assembles all the relevant EU legislation and ECJ decisions in one place, provides a guide to the maze of legal instruments now in place, supplemented by brief commentaries identifying the leading principles and anticipating future developments.


Islamic art or the arts of Muslims is a part of art in Muslim society and not necessarily by Muslims. Although in some cases, this arts may not go with the ethics and rules of Islam. The impact of Islamic and regional culture in this arts is obvious. Islamic art is not an art that is only related to Islam. The "Islamic" does not only refer to the religion but also it refers to the rich culture and different types of people who live in Islamic lands. Familiarity with Islamic art in the shrines and the pictorial motifs in them leads to getting familiar with semiology. Arts used in the shrines are one of the most obvious representatives of Islamic culture and spiritual atmosphere. The way of doing the research is based upon the descriptive and analytic nature, and the way of compiling information is combined. The way of taking sample is not random (Chosen) and the way of interpreting and analyzing the information is both qualitative. Initially in this research, the basic of Islamic art are introduced and then the example of Islamic art in the shrine of Ghasem (AS) which include, wood carving, fretwork, girih tile, illumination and reticulated metal. Motifs and signs and other features are shown in tables and diagrams and one motif is analyzed semiologically. Getting the meaning and understanding the patterns and motifs necessitate deep study. This essay is to consider pictorial motifs, religious beliefs and symbolic meaning in the Islamic art. In the Islamic art, we faced the repeated elements, like; the use of geometric patterns or non-realistic drawing of a flower or plant that is called arabesque. Arabesque motifs in Islamic art are often used as the symbol of a very vast universe which is created by God. Deliberation in not showing and imitating nature exactly is said to be as a sign of the modesty of the artists who believe, creation of perfection is just for god, as a result in the motifs and decoration of Damavand shrine, the flowers and plants that are specific for that region is not used. Islamic art, shrine, Damavand city, the shrine of Ghasem (AS) Ureh, Semiology


Cloud service certifications (CSC) attempt to assure a high level of security and compliance. However, considering that cloud services are part of an ever-changing environment, multi-year validity periods may put in doubt reliability of such certifications. We argue that continuous auditing (CA) of selected certification criteria is required to assure continuously reliable and secure cloud services, and thereby increase trustworthiness of certifications. CA of cloud services is still in its infancy, thus, we conducted a thorough literature review, interviews, and workshops with practitioners to conceptualize an architecture for continuous cloud service auditing. Our study shows that various criteria should be continuously audited. Yet, we reveal that most of existing methodologies are not applicable for third party auditing purposes. Therefore, we propose a conceptual CA architecture, and highlight important components and processes that have to be implemented. Finally, we discuss benefits and challenges that have to be tackled to diffuse the concept of continuous cloud service auditing. We contribute to knowledge and practice by providing applicable internal and third party auditing methodologies for auditors and providers, linked together in a conceptual architecture. Further on, we provide groundings for future research to implement CA in cloud service contexts.


The assessment of profit change over time and its drivers is essential to analyse firms' financial performance. This paper investigates profit change and its components for the 10 English and Welsh water and sewerage water companies over the period 1991-2008 and for three regulatory sub-periods. Profit changes and their drivers are computed following two approaches, namely: without controlling for water and sewerage quality issues, and after decomposing the output effect into high quality and low quality output effect. In both cases, profit change is decomposed into various factors such as quantity and price effect, technical change, efficiency change, resource mix, product mix, and scale effect. Profit change over the whole period was negative, with the substantial negative price effect being the main driver, which outstripped the positive quantity effect. This negative profit change was significantly marked from 2000 to 2005 while in the sub-period 1994-2000, which covers the 1994 price review, the profit change was positive. A further decomposition illustrated the significant negative impact of the input price and scale effects on profit changes. The methodology and conclusions of this paper are of great interest for both regulators and water utilities managers to improve future performance.


Concepts such as law, religion or morality may refer both to a practice (or process) and to a doctrine (or product). My thesis is that we should not regard these as separate phenomena, but as two partly incompatible models of the same phenomenon. Law, religion and morality are therefore essentially ambiguous concepts (EAC). An EAC is a concept which refers to a dynamic phenomenon that may only be described and modeled in at least two different ways that are each essentially incomplete and which are partly incompatible with each other. This means that we have to choose between either an incomplete description or an incoherent one. An EAC resembles an essentially contested concept (ECC) as both allow of conflicting conceptions. However, for an ECC the explanation of pluralism lies in the evaluative character of the concept, for an EAC it lies in the dynamic character of the phenomenon. The insight that many of our social concepts are essentially ambiguous may provide a better understanding of social and customary rules and of the debate between legal positivism and its opponents. I reconstruct the positions of three contributors to this debate, Fuller, Hart and Dworkin. An EAC framework offers a better insight into their theories, highlights the deficiencies, and explains why their debates were characterized by serious misunderstandings.


This paper addresses the timing of the use of biological carbon sequestration and its capacity to alleviate the carbon constraint on the energy sector. We constructed a stochastic optimal control model balancing the costs of fossil emission abatement, the opportunity costs of lands allocated to afforestation, and the costs of uncertain climate damages. We show that a minor part of the sequestration potential should start immediately as a "brake" slowing down both the rate of growth of concentrations and the rate of abatement in the energy sector, thus increasing the option value of the emission trajectories. But, most of the potential is put in reserve to be used as a "safety valve" after the resolution of uncertainty, if a higher and faster decarbonization is required: sequestration cuts off the peaks of costs of fossil abatement and postpones the pivoting of the energy system by up to two decades. Copyright © 2006 by the IAEE. All rights reserved.


An important task in the genetic understanding of disease is determining whether there is a significant association between a phenotype and a set of markers. This task is sometimes referred to as a group test in a genome-wide association study. Examples of this task include determining whether a set of rare variants are associated with a phenotype, and whether a set of single nucleotide polymorphisms in a gene are associated with a phenotype. Another important task is determining whether a phenotype is significantly heritable (in the narrow sense) relative to a given set of genetic markers. We show that the two tasks can be formulated as the same statistical test. In addition, we show that the inclusion of extraneous markers in the set under consideration leads to substantial loss in power to detect heritability or association, a phenomenon we call dilution.


This is a book for digital designers. It highlights and explains analog circuit principles relevant to high-speed digital design. Teaching by example, the authors cover ringing, crosstalk, and radiated noise problems which commonly beset high-speed digital machines. None of this material is new. On the contrary, it has been handed down by word of mouth and passed along through application notes for many years. This book simply collects together that wisdom. Because much of this material is not covered in standard college curricula, many practicing engineers view high-speed effects as somewhat mysterious, ominous, or daunting. For them, this subject matter has earned the name " black magic. " The authors would like to dispel the popular myth that anything unusual or unexplained happens at high speeds. It's simply a matter of knowing which principles apply, and how. Digital designers working at low speeds do not need this material. In low-speed designs, signals remain clean and well behaved, conforming nicely to the binary model. At high speeds, where fast signal rise times exaggerate the influence of analog effects, engineers experience a completely different view of logic signals. To them, logic signals often appear hairy, jagged, and distorted. For their products to function, high-speed designers must know and use analog principles. This book explains what those principles are and how to apply them. Readers without the benefit of formal training in analog circuit theory can use and apply the formulas and examples in this book. Readers who have completed a first year class in introductory linear circuit theory may comprehend this material at a deeper level. Chapters 1–3 introduce analog circuit terminology, the high-speed properties of logic gates, and standard high-speed measurement techniques, respectively. These three chapters form the core of the book and should be included in any serious study of high-speed logic design. The remaining chapters, 4–12, each treat specialized topics in high-speed logic design and may be studied in any order. Appendix A collects highlights from each section, listing the most important ideas and concepts presented. It can be used as a checklist for system design or as an index to the text when facing a difficult problem. Appendix B details the mathematical assumptions behind various forms of rise time measurement. This section helps relate results given in this book to other sources and standards of nomenclature. Appendix C lists standard formulas for computing the resistance, capacitance, and inductance …


Trade ministers from member countries of the World Trade Organization (WTO) convened in Hong Kong in December 2005 to jump-start the flagging Doha Round of multilateral trade negotiations. The ministerial accomplished more in spirit than in substance and placed more emphasis on negotiating process than on policy reform. The industrial countries offered up kernels of subsidy reform and development assistance, but all the big-ticket items were studiously deferred to future meetings. Progress on nonagricultural market access and services was microscopic. Without substantive offers in these areas, the United States and European Union will not be able to augment their offers on farm reforms. Developing countries are skeptical that the European Union will up the ante in agriculture even if they offer concrete reforms on goods and services trade. In any event, most developing countries are reluctant to lower their own market access barriers. So neither side moves. Trade ministers do not have the political authority to break this "Alphonse and Gaston" routine and approve reforms in sensitive areas that are needed to produce a comprehensive package of accords acceptable to all WTO members. To succeed, the Doha Round needs a political jolt. A trade summit involving heads of state of countries whose policy reforms are crucial to the success of the WTO talks must be convened to break the impasse.


Theories that propose feedbacks among climate, tectonics, and surface processes commonly assume that erosion is enhanced by glacial activity. Indeed, studies have shown that glaciers appear to limit the elevation of mountain ranges; however, comparisons between rates of glacial and nonglacial erosion are difficult to make. Ideally, such comparisons must hold precipitation and lithology constant, while only varying the erosional regime. Located in a climatic transition zone during the Pleistocene, the east-west–trending valleys of the Bitterroot Range present an opportunity for a quantitative analysis of glacial and nonglacial erosion because the north-facing sides of the valleys were glaciated, whereas the south-facing slopes were not. The different erosional regimes operating on either side of the valleys created strongly asymmetric ridges. Ridgelines separating the east-west–trending valleys have been pushed southward by glacial headwall retreat such that ridge-to-valley distances are ∼50% greater on the north-facing slopes than on the south-facing slopes. In addition, mean hillslope angles are 6° lower on the glaciated slopes than on the unglaciated slopes, and calculations of geophysical relief suggest that, on average, glaciers have removed nearly twice as much rock as nonglacial processes. Finally, we conclude that, although rates of vertical incision by glacial processes in the Bitterroot Range were more rapid than nonglacial processes, the dominant geomorphological impact of glaciers was lateral erosion by headwall retreat.


I. INTRODUCTION The Abu Ghraib prison in central Baghdad has been called "one of the world's most notorious prisons" because it is where Saddam Hussein's regime tortured and executed countless Iraqi civilians.1 Unfortunately, it has also become notorious because of the abuse Iraqi prisoners received at the hands of U.S. military personnel and civilian contractors.2 Pictures of stripped prisoners forced into humiliating positions or threatened with dogs have become an all too familiar sight on the news and Internet.3 Many of the soldiers and reservists involved in the abuses at Abu Ghraib have been reprimanded,4 a number have pleaded guilty to various crimes,5 and Specialist Charles A. Graner Jr., the alleged ringleader, was recently convicted by a court martial and sentenced to ten years in prison for his participation in the abuse.6 All of this is certainly a necessary response to what happened at Abu Ghraib. Still, because court martial proceedings are essentially criminal in nature, they generally do not provide a civil remedy for victims.7 Not only would providing a civil remedy satisfy the victim's interest in being compensated for a horrible wrong committed against him,8 but because winning the hearts and minds of the Iraqi people is essential to the success of the United States' efforts in Iraq, providing a remedy for the victims of misconduct by U.S. personnel should be important to the United States.9 And given evidence of similar abuses by U.S. military personnel and civilian contractors10 at other locations throughout Iraq, in Afghanistan, and at Guantanamo Bay,11 the availability of civil relief for similar victims should be an important part of the United States' prosecution of the larger war on terror. On the other hand, providing civil relief against U.S. soldiers or civilian contractors accompanying the military is also problematic. After all, the United States really is at war, and some damage and disruption are inevitable. This Comment will argue that the United States should provide relief for the victims of the Abu Ghraib prison scandal, and will discuss the potential avenues that should be available to the victims and the limitations on those theories. Specifically, it will discuss the Foreign Claims Act (FCA), a quasiadministrative remedy created by Congress to provide compensation for damage arising from the noncombat operations of the United States military operating in foreign countries.12 Because there is anecdotal evidence suggesting that the FCA is often inadequate, and because the soldiers and contractors are immune under Iraqi law,13 it will also discuss remedies potentially available under U.S. law, including the Federal Tort Claims Act, the Alien Tort Statute, and the Bivens doctrine. Any discussion of civil remedies under U.S. law for extraterritorial torts by U.S. government employees or their agents is significantly informed by the recent United States Supreme Court decision in Sosa v. Alvarez-Mdckain, a case arising out of the kidnapping of a Mexican doctor by bounty hunters employed by the Drug Enforcement Agency,14 and brought under the Federal Tort Claims Act (FTCA) and Alien Tort Statute (ATS).15 Not only did this decision specifically limit the availability of the FTCA and ATS to remedy extraterritorial tortious conduct, but in intriguing dicta, Justice Souter suggested that the ATS should not "supplant[] the actions under . . . 42 U.S.C. § 1983 and Bivens v. Six Unknown Fed. Narcotics Agents16 . . . that now provide damages remedies for . . . violations" of the federal constitution.17 Of the statutory theories presented in Sosa and the constitutional theories hinted at in Justice Souter's opinion, the FTCA will not provide relief against the United States in its sovereign capacity, but the ATS and Bivens doctrine should provide a remedy against the individual soldiers and contractors who participated in the abuse. Part II will discuss remedies available under U. …


Dynamic and Contact Analysis of a Special Percussive Drill for Planetary Subsurface Exploration Luis J. Vila, Ph.D. University of Connecticut, 2015 Planetary drilling is a vital task in the challenge for space exploration. Drilling and planetary soil/rock sample acquisition provides information about history of past events, minerals and chemical composition of the soil/rock of the planetary body, available resources for future manned missions and the mechanical behavior of the planetary soil/rock. Several types of drilling devices have been proposed for lunar, Mars, and planetary subsurface exploration. However, these devices have limitations (e.g. heavy equipment and need for large axial force) that need to be addressed in order to be feasible for extraterrestrial bodies' exploration. A special type of ultrasonic percussive drill have been proposed by Honeybee Spacecraft Mechanisms Corporation and NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) to address the limitations of current drilling devices. In this study, the mechanical system of the ultrasonic percussive drill and its interaction with the supporting medium is studied. The percussive mechanism consists of an ultrasonic horn, a free mass, and the drill rod. Special attention is given to the impact between the free mass and the drill rod, including the effects of structural damping, the supporting medium of the rod, plastic deformation in the contact area, and repeated impacts of the free mass on the drill rod. A general methodology to analyze the impact of the free mass on the drill rod, analogous to the longitudinal impact of a mass on a rod, is developed. The methodology Luis J Vila – University of Connecticut, 2015 involves uncoupling the nonlinear problem by determining the response of each body independently under the contact force to find the local indentation, then using Hertz forceindentation relation to find the contact force. This method is applied using mode superposition method and finite element technique for various support conditions of the rod (e.g. rigid, elastic, free, viscoelastic). Additionally, a model to account for drill rod penetration into the supporting medium due to impact of the free mass is also presented. It was found that for an undamped rod, the support condition of the rod does not affect the contact force if the contact ends before the arrival of the reflected wave to the point of contact. It was also observed that the contact force due to impact, for a given support condition, increases with increasing damping of the rod. Moreover, a modified Hertz equation is introduced to include plastic deformation on the rod due to impact of the free mass. The study was performed for identical repetitive impacts and it was found that the largest plastic deformation occurs in the first impact, with additional plastic deformation decreasing with the increasing number of impacts. The dynamic response of the overall percussive drill was investigated with a finite element model, including the interaction of the free mass with the ultrasonic horn and the drill rod. A numerical example indicated that the dynamic response of the ultrasonic drill is directly affected by the supporting medium. It was found that system with fixed support experienced a higher frequency of oscillation of the free mass and higher impact force compared to the system with the elastic support and the model accounting for penetration into the supporting medium. Dynamic and Contact Analysis of a Special Percussive Drill for Planetary Subsurface Exploration